Posted on 09/01/2009 7:56:41 AM PDT by GonzoII
CHAPTER SIX
THE NECESSITY OF OUR LOVE OF NEIGHBOR BEING GUIDED
BY PRUDENCE THAT SERENITY OF SOUL BE NOT DISTURBED
GOD DOES NOT DWELL in a soul which He does not first inflame with a love of Him and charity for others; for Christ Himself said He came to set the world on fire.
Although our love of God must have no bounds, our charity for our neighbor must have its limits. We cannot love our God too much, but if our love for others is not guided by prudent moderation, we may destroy ourselves in seeking to save others.
Let us, therefore, love our neighbor in a manner which will not be deleterious to our own souls; this is best accomplished by doing nothing with the sole aim of setting them a good example, lest in saving them we lose ourselves. Rather our actions should be performed with great simplicity and sanctity, with the sole aim of pleasing God in humble acknowledgment of the limited value of our good works to ourselves and others. We are not expected to be so zealous for the salvation of others, as to destroy the peace of our own souls.
We may ardently desire their illumination when God is pleased that we do so; but we must not wait for a Divine communication nor vainly imagine that it is to be acquired by our exaggerated solicitude and imprudent zeal.
Let us seek the peace and repose of a holy solitude, for such is the will of God as it binds us closer to Him; and let us remain recollected and undisturbed until the lord of the vineyard requires our services. God will clothe us with Himself when He finds us divested of all earthly care and solicitude.
When we have forgotten ourselves, God will not forget us; peace will reign in our hearts, and Divine love will grant us an undisturbed facility of action, as well as moderation and temperance in all that we do. Thus every action of our lives shall be performed in the repose of a Heaven-sent peace in which even silence is eloquent; and to be free of earthly care in order to offer ourselves to the service of the Master is to act in accordance with the will of Christ. For it is His Divine goodness that must work in us and with us, requiring no more of us than sufficient humility to present to Him a soul that has but one desire, and this desire is that God's will be accomplished in us in the most perfect possible manner.
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