The straitness of the way of life. The detachment and freedom necessary for those who walk in it. The detachment of the intellect.

THE pureness and detachment of the three powers of the soul require, for their discussion, greater knowledge and abilities than mine, so as to enable spiritual persons to comprehend how strait the “way is that leadeth unto life, and that, convinced of this, they may not wonder at the emptiness and detachment wherein we must abandon, in this night, the three powers of the soul. For this end we must ponder well the words of our Lord, applied here to the obscure night, and the way of perfection. Our Lord saith, ‘ How narrow is

the gate and strait is the way that leadeth to life; and few there are that find it.”* Consider the great and significant import of the word ‘ how.’ It is as if He had said, ‘ In truth it is very narrow, much narrower than you think.’ Consider, also, that He began by saying, ‘ How narrow is the gate.’ By this He teaches us that the soul that will enter in by the gate of Christ, which is the beginning of the road, must first of all constrain itself, and detach the will from the things of time and sense, loving God above them all.’ This refers to the night of the senses.

Our Lord immediately adds, ‘ Strait is the way,’ that is of perfection. By this He teaches us that He who will walk in the way of perfection must.not only enter through the narrow gate, emptying himself of everything that relates to sense, but must also renounce all that he possesses, laying a constraint upon himself, and releasing himself entirely from all attachment even to spiritual things. Thus the narrow gate refers to the sensual nature of man, and the strait way to his spiritual or rational nature.

* S. Matth. vii. 14.

He says also, ‘ Few there are that find it.’ Mark here the reason of this, which is that there are but few who understand how, and desire, to enter into this supreme detachment and emptiness of spirit. For this pathway up the lofty moun-tain of perfection, in that it ascends upwards and is strait, requires that those who climb it should carry nothing with them which shall press them downwards, or embarrass them in their ascent upwards. And as this is a matter in which we should seek and aim after God alone; so God only ought to be the sole object of our efforts.

This clearly shows that the soul must be not only disentangled from all that belongs to the creature, but also detached and annihilated in the things of the spirit. And so our Lord teaching us, and guiding us into this road, gives us this wonderful doctrine, and which is, if I may so say, the less practised by spiritual persons the more it is necessary for them. I shall transcribe it here, because it is so necessary and so much to the purpose, and then explain its real and spiritual meaning. ‘ If any man will follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake... shall save it.’* O that some one would teach us how to understand, practise, and feel what is involved in this profound lesson of self-denial given us by our Lord Himself, that spiritual persons may perceive how different, on this road, their conduct ought to be from that which many of them think to be right! Some consider any kind of retirement from the world, and any correction of excesses to be sufficient; others are content with a certain degree of virtue, persevere in prayer and practise mortification, but,they do not rise to this detachment, and poverty, or self-denial, or spiritual pureness—all these are one—which

* S. Mark viii. 34, 35.

our Saviour here recommends, because they nourish and clothe their natural self with consolations, instead of detaching themselves therefrom, and denying themselves in all things for God. They think it enough to deny themselves in the things of this world, without annihilating themselves, and purging away all self-seeking in spiritual things. Hence it comes to pass, that when any of this solid devotion presents itself to them, which consists in the annihilation of all sweetness in God, in dryness, in distaste, in trouble, which is the real spiritual cross, and the nakedness of the spiritual poverty of Christ, they run away from it as from death itself. They seek only for delights, for sweet communications, and satisfactions in God, but this is not self-denial, nor detachment of spirit, but rather spiritual gluttony. They render themselves spiritually enemies of the cross of Christ, for true spirituality seeks for bitterness rather than sweetness in God, inclines to suffering more than to consolation, and to be in want of everything for God rather than to possess; to dryness and afflictions rather than to sweet communications, knowing well that this is to follow Christ and deny self, while the other course is perhaps nothing but to seek oneself in God, which is the very opposite of love. For to seek self in God is to seek for comfort and refreshment from God. But to seek God in Himself is not only to be willingly deprived of this thing and of that for God, but to incline ourselves to will and choose for Christ’s sake whatever is most disagreeable, whether proceeding from God or from the world; this is to

love God. O who can tell us how far God wills that this selfrenunciation should reach! In truth it should be as death, a temporal, natural, and spiritual annihilation in all things which the will esteems; herein is all our gain. This is the meaning of our Saviour when He said, ‘ Whosoever will save

his life shall lose it;’* that is, whosoever will possess, or seek anything for himself, he shall lose it.. ‘ Whosoever shall lose his life for My sake, shall save it;’ that is, whosoever shall renounce for the sake of Christ whatever is pleasing to his own will, choosing rather the cross—to which our Lord referred when He said, ‘He that hateth his life’ — he shall gain it.

Our Lord taught this same truth to the two disciples who asked that they might be admitted to sit on His right hand ‘and on His left. He gave no encouragement to them in the matter of their petition, but offered them the chalice which He was about to drink Himself, as something more safe and more precious on earth than the dignity which they sought. This chalice is the death of our natural self by detachment from all that relates to sense, as I have already said, and from all that relates to the spirit, as I shall explain hereafter, so that we may journey onwards on this strait way, that is, detachment from our own understanding, sense, and feelings, and in such a manner that the soul shall renounce itself both in sense and spirit, and more, so that it may not be impeded even by the things of the spirit on the narrow road. For this road admits only of self-denial—as our Lord declares —and the cross, which is our staff to lean on, and which lightens the road and makes it easy. Thus our Lord hath said: ‘My yoke is sweet, and My burden light.’ This burden is the cross. For if we are determined to submit ourselves, and to carry the cross— this is nothing else but an earnest resolution to seek and endure it in everything for God—we shall find great refreshment and sweetness therein to enable us to travel along this road, thus detached from all things, desiring nothing. But if we cling to anything whatever, whether it come from God or from the world, we

* S. Mark viii. 35. + S. Matth. xi. 30.

are not journeying in detachment and self-denial, and so we shall miss our way, and never be able to ascend the narrow path..

Would that I could persuade spiritual persons that the way of God consisteth not in the multiplicity of meditations, ways of devotion or sweetness, though these may be necessary for beginners, but in one necessary thing only, in knowing how to deny themselves in earnest, inwardly and outwardly, giving themselves up to suffer for Christ’s sake, and annihilating themselves utterly. He who shall exercise himself herein, will then find all this and much more. And if he be deficient at all in this exercise, which is the sum and root of all virtue, all he may do will be but beating the air—utterly profitless, notwithstanding great meditations and communications. There is no progress but in the imitation of Christ, Who is the way, the truth, and the life. ‘I am the way,’ saith He, ‘and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me.’* And again, ‘I am the door. By Me if any man enter in he shall be saved.’ That spirituality, therefore, which would travel in sweetness at its ease, shunning the imitation of Christ, is, in my opinion, nothing worth.

And now, having said that Christ is the way, and that the way is to die to our natural self in all that relates to sense and spirit, I proceed to explain how it is to be done in imitation of Christ, for He is our light and our example. In the first place, it is certain that He died spiritually while on earth to all things belonging to sense, and naturally at His death; ‘The Son of man,’ saith He, ‘ hath not where to lay His head.’{ And when He died it was the same. In the second place, it is certain that at the hour of death His soul was desolate and, as it were, brought to nothing, forsaken of

* §. John xiv. 6, T Ib. x. 9. } S. Matth. viii. 20.

His Father, left without comfort in the most distressing dryness, so that He cried out on the cross, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken Me?”* This was the greatest sensible abandonment of His whole life; and it was then that He wrought the greatest work of His whole life of miracles and of wonders, the reconciliation and union with God by grace of all mankind. This He accomplished at that very moment when He was most annihilated in all things, brought lowest in the estimation of men, for when they saw Him dying on the ignominious tree, they showed Him no reverence, yea, rather they stood by and derided Him. Then, ‘too, was He brought lowest in His very nature, for that was as it were annihilated when He died; and as to the protection and consolation of His Father also, for He was then forsaken that He might pay our debt to the utmost, and unite us with God, being Himself annihilated and, as it were, brought to nothing. Therefore it is that the Psalmist saith of Him, ‘I am brought to nothing, and I knew not.’t This is for the instruction of the truly spiritual man, in the mystery of the gate and way of Christ, that he may become united with God, and also to teach him that the more he annihilates self for God, in sense and spirit, the more will he be united with God, and the greater the work he will accomplish. And when he shall have been brought to nothing, when his humility is perfect, then will take place the union of the soul and God, which is the highest and noblest estate attainable in this life. This consisteth not in spiritual refreshments, tastes, or sentiments, but in the living death of the cross, sensually and spiritually, outwardly and inwardly.

I will not proceed further with this subject, though I could pursue it indefinitely; for I see that Jesus Christ is but little known by those who consider themselves His friends.

* S. Matth. xxvii. 46. + Ps. lxxii. 22.

These, loving themselves very much, seek in Him their own comfort and satisfaction, and not His sufferings and death for love of Him. I am now speaking of those who think themselves His friends, not of those who live at a great distance from Him; men of learning and of dignity, and others who live in the world, slaves of ambition and of honours—of these, we may say, they know not Christ; and their end, however good, will be full of anguish. I am not speaking of these, but they will be remembered in the Day of Judgment, for ‘to them it behoveth us first to speak the word of God,’* as to persons whom He has set up as guides to others, by reason of their learning and exalted rank.

But let me now address myself to the intellect of the spiritual man, and in an especial manner of him whom God in His goodness has raised up to the state of contemplation—for I address myself now particularly to him—and instruct him how he is to direct himself in the way of God by faith, and purify himself from all contrary things, girding up his loins that he may enter on this narrow path of obscure contemplation.