The Dialogue

How God does not reward merit according to the labour of the obe dient, nor according to the length of time which it takes, but according to the love and promptitude of the truly obedient ; and of the miracles which God has performed by means of this vir tue ; and of discretion in obedience, and of the works and reward of the truly obedient man.

" I HAVE appointed you all to labour in the vineyard of obedience in different ways, and every man will receive a price, according to the measure of his love, and not accord ing to the work he does, or the length of time for which he works, that is to say, that he who comes early will not have more than he who comes late, as My Truth told you in the holy gospel by the example of those who were standing idle and were sent by the lord of the vineyard to labour ; for he gave as much to those who went at dawn, ,as to those who went at prime or at tierce, and those who went at sext, at none, and even at vespers, received as much as the first. My Truth showing you in this way that you .are rewarded not according to time or work, but according to the measure of your love. Many are placed in their childhood to work in the vineyard ; some enter later in life, and others in old age ; sometimes these latter labour with such fire of love, seeing the shortness of the time, that they rejoin those who entered in their childhood, because they have advanced but slowly. By love of obedience then, does the soul receive her merit, filling the vessel of her heart in Me, the Sea Pacific. There are many whose obe dience is so prompt, and has become, as it were, so incarnate in them, that not only do they wish to see reason in what is ordered them by their superior, but they hardly wait until ;the word is out of his mouth, for with the light of faith

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they understand his intention. Wherefore the truly obe dient man obeys rather the intention than the word, judging that the will of his superior is fixed in My will, and that therefore his command comes from My dispensation, and from My will, wherefore I say to thee that he rather obeys the intention than the word. He also obeys the word, having first spiritually obeyed in affection his superior's will, seeing and judging it by the light of faith to be Mine. This is well shown in the lives of the fathers, where you read of a religious, who at once obej'ed in his affection the command of his superior, commencing to write the letter o, though he had not space to finish it ; wherefore to show how pleasing his prompt obedience was to Me, My clemency gave him a proof by writing the other half of the letter in gold. This glorious virtue is so pleasing to Me, that to no other have I given so many miraculous signs and testimonies, for it proceeds from the height of faith.

" In order to show how pleasing it is to Me, the earth obeys this virtue, the animals obey it — water grows solid under the feet of the obedient man. And as for the obedience of the earth, thou rememberest having read of that disciple who, being given a dry stick by his abbot, and being ordered by obedience to plant it in the earth and water it every day, did not proceed to ask how could it possibly do any good, but, without inquiring about possibilities, he fulfilled his obedience in such virtue of faith that the dry wood brought forth leaves and fruits, as a sign that that soul had risen from the dryness of disobedience, and, covered by the green leaves of virtue, had brought forth the fruit of obedience, wherefore the fruit of this tree was called by the holy fathers the fruit of obedience. Thou wilt also find that animals obey the obedient man ; for a certain disciple, commanded by obedience, through his purity and virtue caught a dragon and brought it to his abbot, but the abbot, like a true physician of the soul, in order that he might not be tossed about by the wind of vain-glory, and to prove his patience, sent him away with harsh words, saying : ' Beast that thou art, thou hast brought along another beast with thyself.' And as to fire,

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thou hast read in the holy scripture that many were placed in the fire, rather than transgress My obedience, and, at My command were not hurt by it. This was the case of the three children, who remained happily in the furnace — and of many others of whom I could tell thee. The water bore up Maurus who had been sent by obedience to save a drowning disciple ; he did not think of himself, but thought only with the light of faith of how to fulfil the command of his superior, and so walked upon the water as if he had been on dry land, and so saved the disciple. In everything, if thou openest the eye of the intellect, thou wilt find shown forth the excellence of this virtue. Every thing else should be abandoned for the sake of obedience. If thou wert lifted up in such contemplation and union of mind with Me, that thy body was raised from the earth, and an obedience were imposed on thee (speaking generally, and not in a particular case, which cannot give a law), thou oughtest, if possible, to force thyself to arise, to fulfil the obedience imposed on thee, though thou shouldest never leave prayer, except for necessity, charity, or obedience. I say this in order that thou mayest see how prompt I wish the obedience of My servants to be, and how pleasing it is to Me. Everything that the obedient man does is a source of merit to him. If he eats, obedience is his food, if he sleeps, his dreams are obedience ; if he walks, if he remains still, if he fasts, if he watches — everything that he does is obedience ; if he serve his neighbour, it is obedience that he serves. How is he guided in the choir, in the refectory, or his cell ? By obedience, with the light of the most holy faith, with which light he has slain and cast from him his humbled self-will, and abandoned himself with self-hatred to the arms of his order and superior. Reposing with obedience in the ship, allowing himself to be guided by his superior, he has navigated the tempestuous sea of this life, with calm and serene mind and tranquillity of heart, because obedience and faith have taken all darkness from him ; he remains strong and firm, having lost all weakness and fear, having destroyed his own will, from which comes all feebleness and disordinate fear. And what is the food

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of this spouse obedience ? She eats knowledge of self, and of Me, knowing her own non-existence and sinfulness, and knowing that I am He who is, thus eating and knowing My truth in the Incarnate Word. What does she drink ? The Blood, in which the Word has shown her, My Truth, and the ineffable love which I have for her, and the obedience imposed on Him by Me, His Eternal Father, so she becomes inebriated with the love and obedience of the Word, losing herself and her own opinions and knowledge, and possessing Me by grace, tasting Me by love, with the light of faith in holy obedience.

"The obedient man speaks words of peace all his life, and at his death receives that which was promised him at his death by his superior, that is to say eternal life, the vision of peace, and of supreme and eternal tranquillity and rest, the inestimable good which no one can value or understand, for, being the infinite good, it cannot be understood by anything smaller than itself, like a vessel, which, dipped into the sea, does not comprehend the whole sea, but only that quantity which it contains. The sea alone contains itself. So I, the Sea Pacific, am He who alone can comprehend and value Myself truly. And in My own estimate and comprehension of Myself I rejoice, and this joy, the good which I have in Myself, I share with you, and with all, according to the measure of each. I do not leave you empty, but fill you, giving you perfect beatitude ; each man comprehends and knows My goodness in the measure in which it is given to him. Thus, then, the obedient man, with the light of faith in the truth burning in the furnace of charity, anointed with humility, inebriated with the Blood, in company with his sister patience, and with selfcontempt, fortitude, and enduring perseverance, and all the other virtues (that is, with the fruit of the virtues), receives his end from Me, his Creator."

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This is a brief repetition of the entire book.

" I HAVE now, oh dearest and best beloved daughter, satis fied from the beginning to the end thy desire concerning obedience.

" If thou rememberest well, thou didst make four petitions of Me with anxious desire, or rather I caused thee to make them in order to increase the fire of My love in thy soul : one for thyself, which I have satisfied, illuminating thee with My truth, and showing thee how thou mayest know this truth which thou didst desire to know ; explaining to thee how thou mightest come to the knowledge of it through the knowledge of thyself and Me, through the light of faith. The second request thou didst make of Me was that I should do mercy to the world. In the third thou didst pray for the mystical body of the holy Church, that I would remove darkness and persecutions from it, punishing its iniquities at own desire in thy person. As to this I explained that no penalty inflicted in finite time can satisfy for a sin committed against Me, the Infinite Good, unless it is united with the desire of the soul and contrition of the heart. How this is to be done I have explained to thee. I have also told thee that I wish to do mercy to the world, proving to thee that mercy is My special attribute, for through the mercy and the inestimable love which I had for man, I sent to the earth the Word, My only-begotten Son, whom, that thou mightest understand things quite clearly, I represented to thee under the figure of a Bridge, reaching from earth to heaven, through the union of My divinity with your human nature.

" I also showed thee, to give thee further light concerning My truth, how this Bridge is built on three steps ; that is, on the three powers of the soul. These three steps I also represented to thee, as thou knowest, under figures of thy body — the feet, the side, and the mouth — by which I also figured three states of soul — the imperfect state, the perfect

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state, and the most perfect state, in which the soul arrives at the excellence of unitive love. I have shown thee clearly in each state the means of cutting away imperfection and reaching perfection, and how the soul may know by which road she is walking and of the hidden delusions of the devil and of spiritual self-love. Speaking of these three states I have also spoken of the three judgments which My clemency delivers — one in this life, the second at death on those who die in mortal sin without hope, of whom I told thee that they went under the Bridge by the Devil's road, when I spoke to thee of their wretchedness. And the third is that of the last and universal judgment. And I who told thee somewhat of the suffering of the damned and the glory of the blessed, when all shall have reassumed their bodies given by Me, also promised thee, and now again I repeat my promise, that through the long endurance of My servants I will reform My spouse. Wherefore I invite thee to endure, Myself lamenting with thee over her iniquities. And I have shown thee the excellence of the ministers I have given her, and the reverence in which I wish seculars to hold them, showing thee the reason why their reverence towards My ministers should not diminish on account of the sins of the latter, and how displeasing to me is such diminution of reverence ; and of the virtue of those who live like angels. And while speaking to thee on this sub ject, I also touched on the excellence of the sacraments. And further wishing thee to know of the states of tears and whence they proceed, I spoke to thee on the subject and told thee that all tears issue from the fountain of the heart, and pointed out their causes to thee in order.

11 1 told thee not only of the four states of tears, but also of the fifth, which germinates death. I have also answered thy fourth request, that I would provide for the particular case of an individual; I have provided as thou knowest. Further than this, I have explained My providence to thee, in general and in particular, showing thee how everything is made by divine providence, from the first beginning of the world until the end, giving you and permitting every thing to happen to you, both tribulations and consolations

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temporal and spiritual, and every circumstance of your life for your good, in order that you may be sanctified in Me, and My truth be fulfilled in you, which truth is that I created you in order to possess eternal life, and manifested this with the blood of My only-begotten Son, the Word.

" I have also in My last words fulfilled thy desire and My promise to speak of the perfection of obedience and the im perfection of disobedience ; and how obedience can be obtained and how destroyed. I have shown it to thee as a universal key, and so it is. I have also spoken to thee of particular obedience, and of the perfect and imperfect, and of those in religion, and of those in the world, explaining the condition of each distinctly to thee, and of the peace given by obedience, and the war of disobedience, and how the disobedient man is deceived, showing thee how death came into the world by the disobedience of Adam, and how I, the Eternal Father, supreme and eternal Truth, give thee this conclusion of the whole matter, that in the obedience of the only begotten Word, My Son, you have life, and as from that first old man you contracted the infection of death, so all of you who will take the key of obedience have contracted the infection of the life of the new Man, sweet Jesus, of whom I made a Bridge, the road to Heaven being broken. And now I urge thee and My other servants to grief, for by your grief and humble and continual prayer I will do mercy to the world. Die to the world and hasten along this way of truth, so as not to be taken prisoner if thou goest slowly. I demand this of thee now more than at first, for now I have manifested to thee My truth. Beware that thou never leave the cell of self-knowledge, but in this cell preserve and spend the treasure which I have given thee, which is a doctrine of truth founded upon the living stone, sweet Christ Jesus, clothed in light which scatters darkness, with which doctrine clothe thyself, My best beloved and sweetest daughter, in the truth."

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How this most devout soul, thanking and praising God, makes prayer for the whole world and for the Holy Church, and commending the virtue of faith brings this work to an end.

THEN that soul, having seen with the eye of the intellect, and having known by the light of holy faith the truth and excellence of obedience, hearing and tasting it with love and ecstatic desire, gazed upon the divine majesty and gave thanks to him saying, " Thanks, thanks to Thee, oh eternal Father, for Thou hast not despised me, the work of Thy hands, nor turned Thy face from me, nor despised my desires, Thou, the Light, hast not regarded my darkness ; Thou, true Life, hast not regarded my living death ; Thou, the Physician, hast not been repelled by my grave infirmities ; Thou, the eternal Purity, hast not considered the many miseries of which I am full ; Thou, who art the Infinite, hast overlooked that I am finite ; Thou, who art Wisdom, hast overlooked my folly ; Thy wisdom, Thy goodness, Thy clemency, Thy in finite good, have overlooked these infinite evils and sins, and the many others which are in me. Having known the truth through Thy clemency, I have found Thy charity, and the love of my neighbour. What has constrained me ? Not my virtues, but only Thy charity. May that same charity constrain Thee to illuminate the eye of my intellect with the light of faith, so that I may know and understand the truth which Thou hast manifested to me. Grant that my memory may be capable of retaining Thy benefits, that my will may burn in the fire of Thy charity, and may that fire so work in me that I give my body to blood, and that by that blood given for love of the Blood, together with the key of obe dience, I may unlock the door of Heaven. I ask this of Thee with all my heart, for every rational creature, both in general and in particular, in the mystical body of the holy church. I confess and do not deny that Thou didst love me before I existed, and that Thy love for me is ineffable, as if Thou wast mad with love for Thy creature.

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Oh, eternal Trinity ! oh Godhead ! Which Godhead gave value to the Blood of Thy Son, Thou, oh eternal Trinity, art a deep Sea, into which the deeper I enter the more I find, and the more I find the more I seek ; the soul cannot be satiated in Thy abyss, for she continually hungers after Thee, the eternal Trinity, desiring to see Thee with light in Thy light. As the hart desires the spring of living water, so my soul desires to leave the prison of this dark body and see Thee in truth. How long, oh ! Eternal Trinity, fire and abyss of love, will thy face be hidden from my eyes ? Melt at once the cloud of my body. The knowledge which Thou hast given me of Thyself in Thy truth, constrains me to long to abandon the heaviness of my body, and to give my life for the glory and praise of Thy Name, for I have tasted and seen with the light of the intellect in Thy light, the abyss of Thee — the eternal trinity, and the beauty of Thy creature, for, looking at myself in Thee, I saw myself to be Thy image, my life being given me by Thy power, oh ! eternal Father, and Thy wisdom, which belongs to Thy only-begotten Son, shining in my intellect and my will, being one with Thy Holy Spirit, who proceeds from Thee and Thy Son, by whom I am able to love Thee. Thou, Eternal Trinity, art my creator, and I am the work of Thy hands, and I know through the new creation which Thou hast given me in the blood of Thy Son, that Thou art enamoured of the beauty of Thy workmanship. Oh ! Abyss, oh ! Eternal Godhead, oh ! Sea Profound ! what more couldst Thou give me than Thyself, Thou art the fire which ever burns without being consumed ; Thou consumest in Thy heat all the soul's selflove ; Thou art the fire which takes away all cold ; with Thy light Thou dost illuminate me so that I may know all Thy truth ; Thou art that light above all light, which illuminates supernaturally the eye of my intellect, clarifying the light of faith so abundantly and so perfectly, that I see that my soul is alive, and in this light receives Thee — the true light. By the Light of faith I have acquired wisdom in the wisdom of the Word — Thy only-begotten Son. In the light of faith I am strong, constant, and persevering.

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In the light of faith I hope, suffer me not to faint by the way. This light, without which I should still walk in darkness, teaches me the road, and for this I said, Oh ! Eternal Father, that Thou hast illuminated me with the light of holy faith. Of a truth this light is a sea, for the soul revels in Thee, Eternal Trinity, the Sea Pacific. The water of the sea is not turbid, and causes no fear to the soul, for she knows the truth ; it is a deep which manifests sweet secrets, so that where the light of Thy faith abounds, the soul is certain of what she believes. This water is a magic mirror into which Thou, the Eternal Trinity, biddest me gaze, holding it with the hand of love, that I may see myself, who am Thy creature, there represented in Thee, and Thyself in me through the union which Thou didst make of Thy godhead with our humanity. For this light I know to represent to myself Thee — the Supreme and Infinite Good, Good Blessed and Incomprehensible, Good Inestimable. Beauty above all beauty ; Wisdom above all wisdom — for Thou art wisdom itself. Thou, the food of the angels, hast given Thyself in a fire of love to men ; Thou, the garment which covers all our nakedness, feedest the hungry with Thy sweetness. Oh ! Sweet, without any bitter, oh ! Eternal Trinity, I have known in Thy light, which Thou hast given me with the light of holy faith, the many and wonderful things thou hast declared to me, explaining to me the path of supreme perfection, so that I may no longer serve thee in darkness, but with light, and that I may be the mirror of a good and holy life, and arise from my miserable sins, for through them I have hitherto served Thee in darkness. I have not known Thy truth and have not loved it. Why did I not know Thee ? Because I did not see Thee with the glorious light of the holy faith ; because the cloud of self-love darkened the eye of my intellect, and Thou, the Eternal Trinity, hast dissipated the darkness with Thy light. Who can attain to Thy Greatness, and give Thee thanks for such im measurable gifts and benefits as Thou hast given me in this doctrine of truth, which has been a special grace over and above the ordinary graces which Thou givest also to

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Thy other creatures ? Thou hast been willing to con descend to my need and to that of Thy creatures — the need of introspection. Having first given the grace to ask the question, Thou repliest to it, and satisfiest Thy servant, penetrating me with a ray of grace, so that in that light I may give Thee thanks. Clothe me, clothe me with Thee, oh ! Eternal Truth, that I may run my mortal course with true obedience and the light of holy faith, with which light I feel that my soul is about to become inebriated afresh."

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