General directions for the guidance of the spiritual man in relation to the Memory.

To conclude, then, this subject of the Memory, it may be as well here to furnish the spiritually-minded reader with certain brief directions, of universal application, how he is to unite himself, in the memory, with God. For, notwithstanding that the matter has been sufficiently discussed, it will be more easily grasped, if I repeat it here concisely. Having this in view, then, we must remember, that my object is the Union of the soul with God in the Memory by Hope. Now, that which we hope for is what we possess not, and the less we possess the greater scope we have for hoping, and, consequently, the greater the perfection of hope; while, on the other hand, the more we possess the less room is there for hope, and, consequently, the less is the perfection of hope. Accordingly the more the soul strips the memory of forms and reminiscible matters, which are not the Divinity or God Incarnate — the recollection of Him always subserves our true end, for He is the Way, the Guide, and the Source of all good —the more it will fix the memory on God, and the more empty it will make it, so that it shall hope for Him who is the Fulness of it.

What we have to do, then, in order to live in the simple and perfect Hope of God, whenever these forms, knowledge, and distinct images occur, is, not to fix our minds upon them but to turn immediately to God, emptying the Memory of all such matters, in loving affection, without regarding or considering them more than suffices to enable us to understand and perform our obligations, if they have any reference thereto. We must do this without taking any satisfaction in them, in order that they may leave no disturbing effects

behind. And therefore we must not omit to think of, and remember, those things which it is our duty to do and to know; for in that case, provided no selfish attachments intrude, these recollections will do no harm. Those sentences of the thirteenth chapter of the first book will be profitable to us in this matter.

But, my dear Reader, bear in mind that I have nothing,

and will have nothing, in common with the opinions of &

those pestilent men who, full of the pride and hate of Satan, labour to destroy among the Faithful the holy and necessary use, and noble worship, of the Images of God and the Saints. My principles are very different from theirs; for I am not saying that Images ought not to be allowed, and worshipped, as they do; but I only show the difference between them and God, teaching men to make use of the sign in such a way as that it shall not hinder their progress to the reality, by resting upon it more than is sufficient for their spiritual advancement.

Means are necessary to the end; such are Images, for they remind us of God and of. His Saints. But when we dwell upon the means more than the nature of such means demands, we are then hindered and perplexed. How much more, then, must this be the case with those interior images and visions which are formed within the soul? These are liable to innumerable risks and illusions. But with regard to the memorial, worship, and veneration of those Images, which our Holy Mother the Church sets before us, there can be neither risk nor delusion; and the recollection of them cannot fail to be profitable, because it is always connected with love of what they represent. And when the Memory makes this use of images they will always help it on towards the Divine union, if it permits the soul to fly upwards, when God grants this grace, from the image to the reality, in forgetfulness of the creature and all that belongs to it.

The

to

the

ful-