The Dialogue

Of the fruit of the fourth and unitive tears.

11 1 HAVE spoken to thee of the fruit of the third kind of tears ; now follows the fourth and last state of unitive tears, which is not separated from the third but united to it, as has been said, in the same way as love for Me is united with love of the neighbour ; the one love flavours the other. So greatly has the soul developed in reaching the fourth state, that she not only bears with patience, but even desires, with joy, to suffer to such an extent that she despises every recreation from whatever quarter it come, in order that she may be conformed to My Truth, Christ crucified.

" She receives the fruit of quietness of mind, a union with My sweet Divine Nature, where she tastes the milk, as when the child, who sleeps at peace on the breast of its mother, draws to itself milk by means of the flesh of its mother ; so the soul, arrived at this last state, reposes on the breast of My Divine Charity, keeping in the mouth of holy desire the flesh of Christ crucified, that is, by follow ing His Footsteps and doctrine ; for the soul learnt well, when she was in the third state, that it was not right for her to come directly to Me, the Father, because no penalty could be borne by Me, the Eternal Father ; but it is other wise with My beloved Son, the sweet and amorous Word, and therefore it is that you cannot walk without pain, and, with much endurance, will you attain to proved virtue. So the soul reposes at the breast of Christ crucified, Who is the Truth, and thus draws to herself the milk of virtue, in which she finds the life of grace, tasting in herself My Divine Nature, which gives sweetness to virtue, for truly the virtues are not in themselves sweet unless they are performed in and united to Me the Divine Love, so that the soul may have no regard to her own profit, but only act for My honour and the salvation of souls.

" Now look, sweet daughter, how sweet and glorious is this state, in which the soul has made so close a union with

202 THE DIALOGUE OF ST. CATHERINE

the breast of Charity, that the mouth is not found without the breast, neither the breast without the milk. And so this soul does not find herself without Christ crucified or without Me, the Eternal Father, Whom she finds, tasting the Supreme and Eternal Deity. Oh, who can see how the powers of that soul are filled !

" The memory is filled with continual remembrance of Me, which remembrance she draws to herself through love of My benefits, as the affection of charity with which I gave them to her. And particularly the benefit of creation, seeing herself created in My image and similitude, through which benefit, spoken of in the first state, she feels suffering for the ingratitude with which she received it. Wherefore she has arisen from her misery through the benefit of the Blood of Christ, with which I re-created her to grace, wash ing the face of your souls from the leprosy of sin.

" In the second state the soul found sweetness, tasting the sweetness of love, and the displeasure caused her by guilt, as regards which, she sees that so displeasing to Me was her guilt, that I punished it in the person of My onlybegotten Son.

" Later she discovers the advent of the Holy Spirit, Who convinced, and still convinces, the soul of truth. When does the soul receive this light ? When she has known My benefits in her, in both the first and the second states. She then receives a perfect light, knowing the truth of Me, the Eternal Father, that is, that by love have I created her, in order to give her eternal life.

" For this indeed is the truth, and I have shewn it forth to you in the Blood of Christ crucified. When the soul has known this love, she loves it, and loving it she proves her love, sincerely loving what I love, and hating what I hate. Thus she finds herself in the third state of love to her neighbour.

" At this breast of love the memory fills itself, forsaking all imperfections, for it recalls, and keeps in itself, My benefits. The intellect has received light, and, looking into the memory, recognises the truth, and, having lost the blindness of selflove, remains in its true object the Sun of Christ crucified

A TREATISE OF PRAYER 203

where it learns to know God and man. Besides this know ledge of union, there rises on the soul a light not acquired by nature, nor obtained through her own virtue, but given her, as a grace, by My sweet Truth, who does not despise the anxious desires and fatigue that she has offered before Me. Then the affection, following the intellect, unites itself with Me in a most perfect and ardent love. And if any one should ask Me who this soul is ? I would reply, ' She is another Myself, become so by the union of love.' What tongue can tell the excellence of this last unitive state, and the divine and varied fruits that are received from it, the three powers of the soul being filled! This is that sweet gather ing together which I mentioned to thee, in three general steps, in a previous discourse on the words of My Truth.

" The tongue is not sufficient to relate^it, but well did the holy doctors, illuminated with this glorious light, prove its nature, for with it they explained the mysteries of holy Scripture. Hence that saying of the glorious Thomas of Aquin, that his learning had come to him rather by means of prayer, elevation of mind, and a Divine Light infused into his intellect, than by human study. He was a light whom I placed in the mystic body of the Holy Church to disperse the shadows of error. Turn to the glorious John the Evangelist — what light did he not acquire on the precious Breast of Christ, My Truth ! And with this light he preached My Gospel for so long a time. And all the saints have manifested it, some in one way and some in another ; but the intrinsic feeling, the ineffable sweetness of this perfect union cannot be told by thy tongue which is but a finite thing. It would seem that Paul meant this when he said : ' Eye hath not seen what He hath laid up for them that love Him.1 Oh, how sweet above all sweetness is that dwelling which the soul has made by perfect union with Me ! She sheds odours over the whole world, the fruits of continual and humble prayers, the odour of her desire cries out for the salvation of souls, with no human voice, before My Divine Majesty. These are the fruits of union, eaten by the soul in this life in the last state, acquired by many fatigues, tears, and sweatings. And

204 THE DIALOGUE OF ST. CATHERINE

thus the soul passes, by true perseverance, from the life of grace and from this union, which, though perfect as far as grace goes, is yet imperfect, to a durable eternal union. I call this union imperfect, because, while the soul is bound in the body in this life, she cannot satiate herself with what she desires, and also because she is bound by the law of sin, of her passions, though these have been put to sleep by her virtue. But the passions are not dead, for they will wake up if the instrument of virtue, which makes them sleep, be removed ; for this reason the union is said to be imperfect, but it leads on the soul to receive durable perfection, which can never for any reason be taken away from the soul, because it consists, as I have told thee (in speaking of the Blessed), in tasting Me in very truth, the Eternal Life, the Supreme and Eternal Good, Who never come to an end. These have received eternal life, in con tradistinction to those others who have received the fruit of their sorrow, eternal death. They have come from grief to joy, receiving eternal life with the fruit of their tears, shouting with burning love, and offering tears of fire before Me for you. And now I have completed the relation of the different states of tears, and of the perfection and fruit which the soul receives from them, and how the perfect receive, on account of them, eternal life, and the wicked, eternal damnation."