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St. Teresa of Avila
The Way of Perfection
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The Way of Perfection
CHAPTER 7 - Treats of the same subject of spiritual love and gives certain counsels for gaining it.
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CHAPTER
7
-
Treats
of the same
subject
of
spiritual
love
and
gives
certain
counsels
for
gaining
it.
It is
strange
to
see
how
impassioned
this
love
is; how many
tears
,
penances
and
prayers
it
costs
; how
careful
is the
loving
soul
to
commend
the
object
of its
affection
to all who it
thinks
may
prevail
with
God
and to
ask
them to
intercede
with Him for it; and how
constant
is its
longing
, so that it cannot be
happy
unless it
sees
that its
loved
one is
making
progress
. If that
soul
seems to have
advanced
, and is then
seen
to
fall
some
way
back
, her
friend
seems to have no more
pleasure
in
life
: she neither
eats
nor
sleeps
, is never
free
from this
fear
and is always
afraid
that the
soul
whom she
loves
so much
may
be
lost
, and that the
two
may
be
parted
for ever. She
cares
nothing for
physical
death
, but she will not
suffer
herself to be
attached
to something which a
puff
of
wind
may
carry
away so that she is
unable
to
retain
her
hold
upon it. This, as I have
said
, is
love
without any
degree
whatsoever
of
self-interest
; all that this
soul
wishes
and
desires
is to
see
the
soul
[it
loves
]
enriched
with
blessings
from
Heaven
. This is
love
,
quite
unlike our
ill-starred
earthly
affections
-- to
say
nothing of
illicit
affections
, from which
may
God
keep
us
free
.
These last
affections
are a very
hell
, and it is
needless
for us to
weary
ourselves by
saying
how
evil
they are, for the least of the
evils
which they
bring
are
terrible
beyond
exaggeration
. There is no
need
for us ever to
take
such
things
upon our
lips
,
sisters
, or even to
think
of them, or to
remember
that they
exist
anywhere in the
world
; you must never
listen
to anyone
speaking
of such
affections
, either in
jest
or in
earnest
, nor
allow
them to be
mentioned
or
discussed
in your
presence
. No
good
can
come
from our
doing
this and it might do us
harm
even to
hear
them
mentioned
. But with
regard
to the
lawful
affections
which, as I have
said
, we
may
have for each other, or for
relatives
and
friends
, it is
different
. Our whole
desire
is that they should not
die
: if their
heads
ache
, our
souls
seem to
ache
too; if we
see
them in
distress
, we are
unable
(as
people
say
) to
sit
still under it;
27
and so on.
This is not so with
spiritual
affection
. Although the
weakness
of our
nature
may
at first
allow
us to
feel
something of all this, our
reason
soon
begins
to
reflect
whether our
friend
's
trials
are not
good
for her, and to
wonder
if they are
making
her
richer
in
virtue
and how she is
bearing
them, and then we shall
ask
God
to
give
her
patience
so that they
may
win
her
merit
. If we
see
that she is
being
patient
, we
feel
no
distress
-- indeed, we are
gladdened
and
consoled
. If all the
merit
and
gain
which
suffering
is
capable
of
producing
could be made over to her, we should still
prefer
suffering
her
trial
ourselves to
seeing
her
suffer
it, but we are not
worried
or
disquieted
.
I
repeat
once more that this
love
is a
similitude
and
copy
of that which was
borne
for us by the
good
Lover
,
Jesus
. It is for that
reason
that it
brings
us such
immense
benefits
, for it makes us
embrace
every
kind
of
suffering
, so that others, without
having
to
endure
the
suffering
,
may
gain
its
advantages
. The
recipients
of this
friendship
, then,
profit
greatly
, but their
friends
should
realize
that either this
intercourse
-- I
mean
, this
exclusive
friendship
-- must
come
to an end or that they must
prevail
upon Our
Lord
that their
friend
may
walk
in the same
way
as themselves, as
Saint
Monica
prevailed
with Him for
Saint
Augustine
. Their
heart
does not
allow
them to
practise
duplicity
: if they
see
their
friend
straying
from the
road
, or
committing
any
faults
, they will
speak
to her about it; they cannot
allow
themselves to do anything else. And if after this the
loved
one does not
amend
, they will not
flatter
her or
hide
anything from her. Either, then, she will
amend
or their
friendship
will
cease
; for otherwise they would be
unable
to
endure
it, nor is it in
fact
endurable
. It would
mean
continual
war
for both
parties
. A
person
may
be
indifferent
to all other
people
in the
world
and not
worry
whether they are
serving
God
or not, since the
person
she has to
worry
about is herself. But she cannot
take
this
attitude
with her
friends
: nothing they do can be
hidden
from her; she
sees
the
smallest
mote
in them. This, I
repeat
, is a very
heavy
cross
for her to
bear
.
Happy
the
souls
that are
loved
by such as these!
Happy
the
day
on which they
came
to
know
them!
O
my
Lord
,
wilt
Thou not
grant
me the
favour
of
giving
me many who have such
love
for me?
Truly
,
Lord
, I would rather have this than be
loved
by all the
kings
and
lords
of the
world
-- and
rightly
so, for such
friends
use
every
means
in their
power
to make us
lords
of the whole
world
and to have all that is in it
subject
to us. When you make the
acquaintance
of any such
persons
,
sisters
, the
Mother
Prioress
should
employ
every
possible
effort
to
keep
you in
touch
with them.
Love
such
persons
as much as you like. There can be very few of them, but none the less it is the
Lord
's will that their
goodness
should be
known
. When one of you is
striving
after
perfection
, she will at once be
told
that she has no
need
to
know
such
people
-- that it is enough for her to have
God
. But to
get
to
know
God
's
friends
is a very
good
way
of "
having
" Him; as I have
discovered
by
experience
, it is most
helpful
. For, under the
Lord
, I
owe
it to such
persons
that I am not in
hell
; I was always very
fond
of
asking
them to
commend
me to
God
, and so I
prevailed
upon them to do so.
Let us now
return
to what we were
saying
. It is this
kind
of
love
which I should like us to have; at first it
may
not be
perfect
but the
Lord
will make it
increasingly
so. Let us begin with the
methods
of
obtaining
it. At first it
may
be
mingled
with
emotion
,
28
but this, as a
rule
, will do no
harm
. It is sometimes
good
and
necessary
for us to
show
emotion
in our
love
, and also to
feel
it, and to be
distressed
by some of our
sisters
,
trials
and
weaknesses
, however
trivial
they
may
be. For on one
occasion
as much
distress
may
be
caused
by
quite
a
small
matter
as would be
caused
on another by some
great
trial
, and there are
people
whose
nature
it is to be very much
cast
down by
small
things
. If you are not like this, do not
neglect
to have
compassion
on others; it
may
be that Our
Lord
wishes
to
spare
us these
sufferings
and will
give
us
sufferings
of another
kind
which will seem
heavy
to us, though to the
person
already
mentioned
they
may
seem
light
. In these
matters
, then, we must not
judge
others by ourselves, nor
think
of ourselves as we have been at some
time
when, perhaps without any
effort
on our
part
, the
Lord
has made us
stronger
than they; let us
think
of what we were like at the
times
when we have been
weakest
.
Note
the
importance
of this
advice
for those of us who would
learn
to
sympathize
with our
neighbours
'
trials
, however
trivial
these
may
be. It is
especially
important
for such
souls
as have been
described
, for,
desiring
trials
as they do, they make
light
of them all. They must therefore
try
hard
to
recall
what they were like when they were
weak
, and
reflect
that, if they are no
longer
so, it is not
due
to themselves. For otherwise,
little
by
little
, the
devil
could
easily
cool
our
charity
toward our
neighbours
and make us
think
that what is
really
a
failing
on our
part
is
perfection
. In every
respect
we must be
careful
and
alert
, for the
devil
never
slumbers
. And the
nearer
we are to
perfection
, the more
careful
we must be, since his
temptations
are then much more
cunning
because there are no others that he
dare
send
us; and if, as I
say
, we are not
cautious
, the
harm
is done before we
realize
it. In
short
, we must always
watch
and
pray
, for there is no
better
way
than
prayer
of
revealing
these
hidden
wiles
of the
devil
and
making
him
declare
his
presence
.
Contrive
always, even if you do not
care
for it, to
take
part
in your
sisters
'
necessary
recreation
and to do so for the whole of the
allotted
time
, for all
considerate
treatment
of them is a
part
of
perfect
love
. It is a very
good
thing
for us to
take
compassion
on each others'
needs
.
See
that you
show
no
lack
of
discretion
about
things
which are
contrary
to
obedience
. Though
privately
you
may
think
the
prioress
'
orders
harsh
ones
, do not
allow
this to be
noticed
or
tell
anyone about it (except that you
may
speak
of it, with all
humility
, to the
prioress
herself), for if you did so you would be
doing
a
great
deal
of
harm
.
Get
to
know
what are the
things
in your
sisters
which you should be
sorry
to
see
and those about which you should
sympathize
with them; and always
show
your
grief
at any
notorious
fault
which you
may
see
in one of them. It is a
good
proof
and
test
of our
love
if we can
bear
with such
faults
and not be
shocked
by them. Others, in their
turn
, will
bear
with your
faults
, which, if you
include
those of which you are not
aware
, must be much more
numerous
. Often
commend
to
God
any
sister
who is at
fault
and
strive
for your own
part
to
practise
the
virtue
which is the
opposite
of her
fault
with
great
perfection
. Make
determined
efforts
to do this so that you
may
teach
your
sister
by your
deeds
what perhaps she could never
learn
by
words
nor
gain
by
punishment
.
The
habit
of
performing
some
conspicuously
virtuous
action
through
seeing
it
performed
by another is one which very
easily
takes
root
. This is
good
advice
: do not
forget
it.
Oh
, how
true
and
genuine
will be the
love
of a
sister
who can
bring
profit
to everyone by
sacrificing
her own
profit
to that of the
rest
! She will make a
great
advance
in each of the
virtues
and
keep
her
Rule
with
great
perfection
. This will be a much
truer
kind
of
friendship
than one which
uses
every
possible
loving
expression
(such as are not used, and must not be used, in this
house
): "My
life
!" "My
love
!" "My
darling
!"
29
and
suchlike
things
, one or another of which
people
are always
saying
. Let such
endearing
words
be
kept
for your
Spouse
, for you will be so often and so much alone With Him that you will
want
to make
use
of them all, and this His
Majesty
permits
you. If you
use
them among yourselves they will not
move
the
Lord
so much; and,
quite
apart
from that, there is no
reason
why you should do so. They are very
effeminate
; and I should not like you to be that, or even to
appear
to be that, in any
way
, my
daughters
; I
want
you to be
strong
men
. If you do all that is in you, the
Lord
will make you so
manly
that
men
themselves will be
amazed
at you. And how
easy
is this for His
Majesty
, Who made us out of nothing at all!
It is also a very
clear
sign
of
love
to
try
to
spare
others
household
work
by taking it upon
oneself
and also to
rejoice
and
give
great
praise
to the
Lord
if you
see
any
increase
in their
virtues
. All such
things
,
quite
apart
from the
intrinsic
good
they
bring
,
add
greatly
to the
peace
and
concord
which we have among ourselves, as, through the
goodness
of
God
, We can now
see
by
experience
.
May
His
Majesty
be
pleased
ever to
increase
it, for it would be
terrible
if it did not
exist
, and very
awkward
if, when there are so few of us, we
got
on
badly
together.
May
God
forbid
that.
If one of you should be
cross
with another because of some
hasty
word
, the
matter
must at once be
put
right
and you must
betake
yourselves to
earnest
prayer
. The same
applies
to the
harbouring
of any
grudge
, or to
party
strife
, or to the
desire
to be
greatest
, or to any
nice
point
concerning
your
honour
. (My
blood
seems to
run
cold
, as I
write
this, at the very
idea
that this can ever
happen
, but I
know
it is the
chief
trouble
in
convents
.) If it should
happen
to you,
consider
yourselves
lost
.
Just
reflect
and
realize
that you have
driven
your
Spouse
from His
home
: He will have to
go
and
seek
another
abode
, since you are
driving
Him from His own
house
.
Cry
aloud
to His
Majesty
and
try
to
put
things
right
; and if
frequent
confessions
and
communions
do not
mend
them, you
may
well
fear
that there is some
Judas
among you.
For the
love
of
God
, let the
prioress
be most
careful
not to
allow
this to
occur
. She must
put
a stop to it from the very
outset
, and, if
love
will not
suffice
, she must
use
heavy
punishments
, for here we have the whole of the
mischief
and the
remedy
. If you
gather
that any of the
nuns
is
making
trouble
,
see
that she is
sent
to some other
convent
and
God
will
provide
them with a
dowry
for her.
Drive
away this
plague
;
cut
off the
branches
as well as you can; and, if that is not
sufficient
,
pull
up the
roots
. If you cannot do this,
shut
up anyone who is
guilty
of such
things
and
forbid
her to
leave
her
cell
;
far
better
this than that all the
nuns
should
catch
so
incurable
a
plague
.
Oh
, what a
great
evil
is this!
God
deliver
us from a
convent
into which it
enters
: I would rather our
convent
caught
fire
and we were all
burned
alive
. As this is so
important
I
think
I shall
say
a
little
more about it elsewhere, so I will not
write
at
greater
length
here, except to
say
that,
provided
they
treat
each other
equally
, I would rather that the
nuns
showed
a
tender
and
affectionate
love
and
regard
for each other, even though there is less
perfection
in this than in the
love
I have
described
, than that there were a
single
note
of
discord
to be
heard
among them.
May
the
Lord
forbid
this, for His own
sake
.
Amen
.
27
Lit
.: "There
remains
, as
people
say
, no
patience
"; but, as the
phrase
"as
people
say
" (which
E
.
omits
)
suggests
that this was a
popular
phrase
, I have
translated
rather more
freely
and
picturesquely
.
T
. has (after "
ache
too"): "and it
upsets
us, and so on."
28
Ternura
.
Lit
.: ''
tenderness
."
29
Lit
.: "My
life
!" "My
soul
!" "My
good
!"
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