第十章

談到天主以不同方式賜給靈魂的各種其他恩典，以及它們所賦予的巨大好處。

1. 談論這些超自然恩惠的原因。 2. 智慧的遠見。 3. 天主比喻為祂的創造物所居住的宮殿。 4. 寬恕，就像我們被寬恕一樣。 5. 這個異象顯示天主是真理本身。 6. 我們應該效法神誠實。 7. 神為何啟示這些真理。

1. 1. 我們的主在許多場合透過這些顯現與靈魂溝通－有時是在受苦時，有時是在即將接受沉重的十字架時，還有一次是為了他自己和他所愛的人彼此的喜悅。我沒有必要具體說明每種不同的情況，我也不打算這樣做。我只是想告訴你們（據我自己了解）天主在這種狀態下向靈魂所施予的不同恩惠是什麼，以便你們了解它們的特點以及它們所產生的效果。因此，你不會將每一個無聊的幻想都誤認為是一種幻象，如果你真的看到了一個幻象，知道這樣的事情是可能的，你就不會感到不安或不高興。魔鬼從中獲得了巨大的利益，它很高興看到一個靈魂陷入困境和痛苦，因為它知道這如何阻礙它完全致力於愛和事奉天主。

2. 2. 陛下有更高級的方式與靈魂溝通；它們的危險性較小，因為我認為邪靈無法模仿它們。它們更難解釋、更深奧；因此，想像中的景象更容易描述。有時，天主很高興當一個人正在祈禱並完全擁有她的感官時，讓他們暫停並發現她似乎在天主身上看到的崇高奧秘。這不是最神聖的人類的願景，我也不能正確地說靈魂“看到”，因為它什麼也看不見；它沒有看到任何東西。這不是想像中的異象，而是一種高度理智的異象，其中顯示了萬物如何在天主中被看待，以及天主如何將它們包含在自己之中。 ³⁷⁵它具有很大的價值，因為雖然轉瞬即逝，但它仍然深深地銘刻在記憶中，在心靈中產生一種巨大的恥辱感，使人們更清楚地認識到冒犯天主的惡意，因為自從我們居住以來，這些最令人髮指的罪惡就在他的存在中犯下了。在他裡面。我將嘗試透過比較向你們解釋這個真理，因為儘管它是顯而易見的並且經常被告知我們，但我們要么從未反思過它，要么不想理解它。如果我們意識到這一點，我們就不可能做出如此大膽的舉動。

3. 3. 讓我們把神比喻為一座非常寬敞、宏偉的居所或宮殿，並記住這座居所就是神自己。罪人可以退出來實施他的罪行嗎？不，當然不是，因為就在這座宮殿裡，即在神自己裡面，犯下了罪人所犯下的所有可憎的、不潔的和邪惡的行為。哦，可怕的想法，值得深思！它會為我們帶來什麼好處，我們對這些真理知之甚少，但又部分了解，或者我們怎麼可能如此魯莽？姊妹們，讓我們默想神無限的憐憫和忍耐，沒有立刻把我們打入地獄，並衷心感謝神。當然，當我們看到我們這些受造物在我們的造物主天主的存在中向我們提出了怎樣的暴行時，我們當然應該為怨恨任何針對我們——我們這些地球上的敗類——所做的或所說的感到羞恥；然而，每當我們聽到有人在我們不在場的情況下對我們說了不友善的話，儘管也許並無惡意，我們還是會受到傷害。

4. 4.人類的悲慘啊！女兒們，我們什麼時候才能效法全能的天主呢？哦，如果我們耐心地遭受傷害，不要認為我們正在做偉大的事情：相反，讓我們欣然忍受它們；讓我們愛我們的敵人，因為儘管我們有許多罪孽，這位偉大的神並沒有停止愛我們！這確實是所有人都應該原諒對他們造成的任何傷害的主要原因。女兒們，我向你們保證，儘管這個異象轉瞬即逝，但我們的主已將顯著的恩典賜給了他所賜予的她，如果她試圖透過不斷牢記這一異象來獲益的話。

5. 5. 儘管時間短暫，神卻以一種無法描述的方式表明，在他裡面有一種真理，使受造物中的一切真理都顯得模糊不清。他使靈魂相信只有他才是不會說謊的真理，從而證明了大衛在詩篇中所說的話的含義：“每個人都是騙子”，³⁷⁶無論我們多麼頻繁地聽到天主是無誤的真理，都無法通過任何其他方式實現這一點。當我回想起彼拉多以及他如何在受難中懇求我們的主回答他的問題時：「什麼是真理？」³⁷⁷我意識到凡人對這種崇高的真實性知之甚少。

6. 6. 我希望我能更好地解釋這一點，但我無法做到。姊妹們，讓我們從中學習，如果我們想要與我們的天主和我們的配偶有任何相似之處，我們就必須努力永遠行走在真理中。我的意思不僅僅是我們不應該說謊，感謝天主，我看到在這些修道院裡，你們在任何情況下都非常小心，永遠不要這樣做——但我希望我們在天主和人面前盡可能地表現出完美的真理，最重要的是，我們不應該希望被認為比我們更好；在我們所有的行為中，我們應該將屬於天主的歸於天主，我們將屬於我們的一切歸於天主，並且屬於我們自己的一切。因此，我們不會關心這個世界，因為它只是欺騙和謊言，因此無法持久。有一次，當我想知道為什麼我們的主如此熱愛謙卑的美德時，我突然想到，這是因為天主是至高無上的真理，謙卑也是真理，因為我們自己沒有任何好處，只有痛苦和虛無：誰忽視了這一點，誰就過著虛假的生活。最深刻地認識到這一事實的人是最討天主、最高真理喜悅的人，因為他們行在真理中。姊妹們，願天主保佑我們永遠不會失去這種自知之明！阿門。

7. 7. 我們的主向靈魂展示這些恩惠，因為她現在確實是他的新娘，在一切事情上都決心遵行他的旨意；因此，他希望給她一些如何實現這一目標的想法，並向她展示他的一些神聖屬性。不用我多說了，但我相信上面提到的兩點將會非常有用。這些恩惠不應引起恐懼，而應使我們讚美天主賜下這些恩典。我認為無論是魔鬼還是我們自己的想像力都與他們沒有太大關係，因此靈魂可以得到完美的平靜。

SPEAKS OF VARIOUS OTHER GRACES GOD BESTOWS ON THE SOUL IN DIFFERENT WAYS, AND OF THE GREAT BENEFITS CONFERRED BY THEM.

1. Reasons for speaking of these supernatural favours. 2. An intellectual vision. 3. God compared to a palace in which His creatures dwell. 4. Forgive as we are forgiven. 5. The vision shows God to be Truth itself. 6. We should imitate God by truthfulness. 7. Why God reveals these truths.

1.

1. OUR Lord communicates with the soul by means of these apparitions on many occasions—sometimes when it is afflicted, at other times when it is about to receive some heavy cross, and again for the sake of the mutual delight of Himself and His beloved. There is no need for me to specify each different case nor do I intend to do so. I only wish to teach you (as far as I am acquainted with them myself) what are the different favours God shows a soul in this state so that you may understand their characteristics and the effects they produce. Thus you will not mistake every idle fancy for a vision and if you really see one, knowing that such a thing is possible, you will not be disturbed nor unhappy. The devil, who gains greatly by it, is delighted to see a soul troubled and distressed, knowing how this hinders it from employing itself wholly in loving and serving God.

2.

2. His Majesty has far higher ways of communicating Himself to the soul; they are less dangerous for I do not think the evil spirit can imitate them. They are more difficult to explain, being more abstruse; therefore imaginary visions are easier to describe. God is sometimes pleased, while a person is engaged in prayer and in perfect possession of her senses, to suspend them and to discover sublime mysteries to her which she appears to see within God Himself. This is no vision of the most sacred Humanity nor can I rightly say the soul ‘sees,’ for it sees nothing; this is no imaginary vision but a highly intellectual one, wherein is manifested how all things are beheld in God and how He contains them within Himself.³⁷⁵ It is of great value, for although passing in an instant, it remains deeply engraved in the memory, producing a feeling of great shame in the mind which perceives more clearly the malice of offences against God, since these most heinous sins are committed within His very being since we dwell within Him. I will try to explain this truth to you by a comparison, for although it is obvious and has been often told us, we either never reflect upon it or do not wish to understand it. If we realized it, we could not possibly behave with such audacity.

3.

3. Let us compare God to a very spacious and magnificent mansion or palace and remember that this edifice is God Himself. Can the sinner withdraw from it in order to carry out his crimes? No, certainly not, for within this very palace, that is, within God Himself, are perpetrated all the abominations, impurities and evil deeds that sinners commit. Oh awful thought, well worthy to be pondered over! What profit it would bring to us, who know so little and understand these truths but partially or how could we possibly be so reckless in our daring? Let us, sisters, meditate on the infinite mercy and patience of God in not casting us down to hell at once and let us render Him hearty thanks. Surely we should be ashamed of resenting anything done or said against us—we who are the scum of the earth—when we see what outrages are offered to God our Creator within His very being, by us His creatures; yet we are wounded whenever we hear of an unkind word having been spoken of us in our absence, although perhaps with no evil intention.

4.

4. Oh misery of mankind! When, daughters, shall we imitate Almighty God in any way? Oh, let us not think we are doing great things if we suffer injuries patiently: rather let us bear them with alacrity; let us love our enemies, since this great God has not ceased to love us in spite of our many sins! This is indeed the chief reason that all should forgive any harm done them. I assure you, daughters, that though this vision passes very quickly, our Lord has bestowed signal grace on her to whom He grants it, if she seeks to profit by keeping it constantly in mind.

5.

5. Short as the time lasts, yet, in a manner impossible to describe, God also manifests that in Him there is a verity which makes all truth in creatures seem obscure. He convinces the soul that He alone is that Truth which cannot lie, thus demonstrating the meaning of David’s words in the psalm: ‘Every man is a liar,’³⁷⁶ which could never be thus realized by any other means, however often we might hear that God is truth infallible. As I recall Pilate and how he besought our Lord in His Passion to answer his question: ‘What is truth?’³⁷⁷ I realize how little mortals know of that sublime veracity.

6.

6. I wish I could explain this better but am unable to do so. Let us learn from it, sisters, that if we would bear any resemblance to our God and our Spouse, we must strive to walk ever in the truth. I do not merely mean that we should not tell falsehoods thank God, I see that in these convents you are most careful never to do so on any account—but I desire that as far as possible we should at with perfect truth before God and man and above all that we should not wish to be thought better than we are; that in all our deeds we should ascribe to God what is His and attribute what is ours to ourselves, and that we should seek for verity in all things. Thus we shall care little for this world, which is but deception and falsehood, and therefore cannot last. Once, while I was wondering why our Lord so dearly loves the virtue of humility, the thought suddenly struck me, without previous reflection, that it is because God is the supreme Truth and humility is the truth, for it is most true that we have nothing good of ourselves but only misery and nothingness: whoever ignores this, lives a life of falsehood. They that realize this fact most deeply are the most pleasing to God, the supreme Truth, for they walk in the truth. God grant, sisters, that we may have the grace never to lose this self-knowledge! Amen.

7.

7. Our Lord shows the soul these favours because she is now indeed His bride, resolute to do His will in all things; therefore He wishes to give her some idea how to accomplish it and to manifest to her some of His divine attributes. I need say no more about it, but I believe the two points above mentioned will prove very useful. These favours should cause no fear but lead us to praise God for bestowing these graces. I think neither the devil nor our own imaginations can have much to do with them, therefore the soul may rest in perfect peace.