The Dialogue

How this soul, knowing the Divine Goodness, did not remain content to pray only for Christians, but prayed in general for the whole world.

THEN that soul (rising on the wings of greater knowledge, and standing before the Divine Majesty with very great joy and comfort, both through the hope which she had received of the Divine Mercy, and the ineffable love which she had

A TREATISE OF DISCRETION 55

tasted, seeing that God, on account of His love and desire to do mercy to men, in spite of their being His enemies, had given the means and the way to His servants to con strain His own goodness, and appease His anger), rejoiced, losing all fear of the persecutions of the world, seeing that God was on her side, and the fire of her holy desire grew greatly, so that she could not remain content, but, with holy confidence, begged for mercy for the whole world. And although in this, her second prayer, she asked for the good and profit of Christians and of the faithful, that is to say for the reformation of Holy Church, nevertheless, in her hunger, she spread her prayer over the whole world, as if the world itself caused her to pray, crying — " Oh, Eternal God ! Give mercy to Thy lambs, like the Good Shepherd that Thou art. Do not delay Thy mercy to the world, because it seems to be hardly able to exist any longer without it, but to be entirely deprived of the union of love with Thee, the Eternal Truth, and men seem equally deprived of love towards each other, for they do not love each other with a love founded in Thee."