Catholic Caucus: Treatise on Peace of Soul and Inner Happiness Ch 5

Catholictradition.org ^ | Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

[GonzoII]

CHAPTER FIVE
THE NECESSITY OF KEEPING THE SOUL DISENGAGED AND IN SOLITUDE
THAT GOD'S HOLY WILL MAY OPERATE IN IT

IF WE ARE TRULY cognizant of the priceless worth of the immortal soul, that sublime temple of God Himself, let us take care that nothing of the world intrude therein. Placing our hope in the Lord, we should wait with a firm confidence for His coming, and realize that He will certainly enter the soul unattached to worldly things and ready to receive Him alone. Alone, having no desire but the presence of God; alone, loving only Him; alone, void of all will but the will of Heaven.

Let us learn to do nothing to please ourselves, that we may merit in the soul of the human the presence of the Divine, the comprehension of Whom is far beyond the horizons of created intellects.

Let us follow exactly the prescriptions of our spiritual father and of those who govern us in the place of God, that every suffering and good work offered to God may be prudent and salutary.

It is sufficient that we keep ourselves ever ready and willing to suffer for love of Him all that He wills and the manner in which He wills it. Whoever acts solely in conjunction with the dictates of his own will would do much better were he to remain in peace, attentive to what God wills to perform in him. Therefore, we must always avoid attachments of the will which should ever be free and in perfect harmony with the Divine.

And since we ought not to act according to our desires, let us not consciously attach our wills to anyone thing; but if we should desire something, let it be in such a way as to leave us as unperturbed as if we had desired nothing, should our desire fail to materialize.

For our desires are our chains, and to be entangled in them is to be a slave. To free ourselves from desires, therefore, is to free ourselves from tyranny.

God demands that our souls be alone and unattached that He may manifest His manifold wonders in them, glorifying them even in this life by His Divine power.

O Holy Solitude! O desert of happiness! O glorious hermitage, where a soul may find its God! Let us not only run to such an exalted place, but beg the wings of a dove that we may fly to it and find there a holy repose. Let us not stop by the wayside; let us not tarry on the way for frivolous conversation; let us leave the dead to bury their dead, forsaking the land of the lifeless for the land of the living.

[GonzoII]