第三章

同樣的題目，以及天主有時樂意向靈魂說話的方式。我們在此應當如何行事，不可自作主張。本章給出辨別這恩惠是否是欺騙的徵兆，極值得注意。

1. 神言。 2. 有時由憂鬱症引起。 3. 初期須謹慎。 4. 祈禱中常出現的言語。 5. 抵制含有錯誤教義的言語。 6. 真正神言的第一個徵兆。 7. 言語的效力：「不要煩惱。」8. 「是我，不要害怕。」9. 「保持平安。」10. 第二個徵兆。 11. 第三個徵兆。 12. 魔鬼對真實言語表示懷疑。 13. 靈魂的信念得到印證。 14. 看到天主話語應驗的喜樂。 15. 對天主光榮的熱忱。 16. 出自想像的言語。 17. 在祈禱中自問自答的想像。 18. 關於神言應向告解神父請教。 19. 智性內在神言。 20. 真正智性神言的第一個徵兆。 21. 第二個徵兆。 22. 第三個徵兆。 23. 第四個徵兆。 24. 第五個徵兆。 25. 真實神言的效果。 26. 應令人放心。 27. 回應反對意見。

1. 天主以另一種方式喚醒靈魂；這在某些方面顯然比上述更大的恩惠，卻可能更加危險，因此我要對此作些說明。祂用各種不同的方式以言語對靈魂說話：有時這些言語似乎來自外面，有時來自靈魂的內在深處，有時又彷彿來自靈魂最高的部分，有時則像來自靈魂的外部，卻又清楚地讓她聽見。這些言語並非出神狀態中所聽見的，因為在出神中，感官和官能是停止運作的。

2. 有時候，甚至很常見，這可能不過是幻想，尤其是對那些想像力豐富或有明顯憂鬱症的人而言。我認為，對這兩類人所說的超自然所見所聞所知，都不應加以重視。²³⁸不要對她們說這是來自魔鬼而令她們不安，應只是聆聽，有如聆聽一個病人那樣；告解神父或上司不應加重她們的擾動，而只需讓她們淡然置之，因為憂鬱症往往是難以征服的。

3. 其實，應當注意讓這些人減少祈禱，盡可能說服她們不要理會自己的幻想：魔鬼利用這些脆弱的靈魂傷害別人，縱使她們自己能安然無事。對脆弱和剛強的靈魂，在起初都需要謹慎，直到確定這些事出自何種神靈。我認為在剛開始時，能夠走不依賴這些事物的道路固然較佳，但這裡不應停留太久，因為有許多這類事情留存在記憶中，況且對虔誠祈禱的人而言，這是危險的。

4. 回到談論向靈魂說話的言語：任何我所提及的種類都可能來自天主、魔鬼或想像力。天主的助佑下，我將設法描述辨別彼此的徵兆，以及這些神言何時是危險的——因為它們發生在許多熱心祈禱的人身上。我不希望你們，姊妹們，以為有任何害處可言，甚至對你們說不要害怕它們；若是好的，就接受它們；若不是，就向告解神父求助，讓他辨別。

5. 我提醒你們一點——雖然這些可能來自天主，你們也不應以此自視更高，因為祂曾向法利塞人說話，²³⁹一切的善在於是否從祂的話語中獲益。任何你們聽到的言語，若與聖經相悖，就和聽到魔鬼說話一樣不必理會。即使那是你的想像力，也要把它當作一種誘惑而抵抗；它就會消失，因為它沒有受到重視。²⁴⁰

6. 現在回到第一點——這些神言不管是來自靈魂的下部或上部、或是來自外面，對於它們是否出自天主並無影響。

7. 我認為，最確切的徵兆如下。首先，也是最真實的，是它們所攜帶的力量和權威，因為這些言語是具有效能的。²⁴¹例如：靈魂正在忍受我所描述的種種憂苦和不安，心智昏暗枯乾；但當她聽到：「不要煩惱」，這句話的效力就足以平息一切，使她得到平安和光明，並排除一切困苦，她雖然思考不已，卻彷彿從未有過什麼困苦——就算太陽沒有照耀，天主說了「光明，要有光明」，光明立現。²⁴²人的言語並沒有這種力量：若是告解神父或是博學的人說出這樣的話，我們也許會注意，也許因他所說的理由而得到些許安慰，但那種話進不了心靈的最深處，使痛苦完全消散。

8. 另一方面，有人被告解神父和其他人告知說她的靈魂在邪惡的影響下，感到憂懼惶恐；她聽到一句話說：「是我，不要害怕」，²⁴³所有的恐懼立刻消散，滿懷安慰；確實，她彷彿毫無疑慮，幾乎是歡欣鼓舞地開始應對所有反對她的人。²⁴⁴這種效果不是靠人的話就能產生的。

9. 又，當某人對重要的事情極度焦慮，不知事情能否成功，聽見言語叫她「放心，一切會順利」，她立刻安定下來，不再為此掛慮。²⁴⁵同類的例子還有很多。

10. 第二個徵兆是靈魂中留存的深沉平安、虔誠而安詳的收斂，以及讚頌天主的渴望。有人說，至少在這重居所中，神言並不是直接由天主說出，而是藉由天使傳遞。²⁴⁶那麼，我的天主啊，天主藉使者所傳達的一句話，在靈魂中產生了如此巨大的效果！我對這居所的人說：請全心信賴天主的言語，不要懷疑；您若希望真正屬於祂，而聽到出自肯定是祂的言語，就更應如此。²⁴⁷

11. 第三個證據是這些言語不會從記憶中消逝，而是長久留存；有時終生難忘。這不同於人所說的話——不論多麼莊重有學問，我們也不會這樣銘記。若是預言未來的事，我們也不像信任這些天主神言那般相信它們，讓我們深信不移，縱然大多數時候很難相信它們真的會實現——因為預言的事常常如此超越常情，以致於理智很難接受，而信念卻始終不動搖。²⁴⁸

12. 儘管如此，靈魂在看到預言實現的途徑上有許多障礙時仍感不安。但神言本身、其效果及所帶來的確信，當下都令靈魂相信它們出自天主。事後，懷疑是否出自魔鬼或想像力的念頭也許會出現，雖然在聆聽時靈魂對此毫無疑慮。但靈魂因看見事情似乎不可能成就而陷於憂慮，這又怎麼辦？當然，告解神父讀到此處，或看到靈魂處於不安之中，也應當安慰她，告訴她若這言語真的出自天主，就必應驗。²⁴⁹

13. 儘管有這重重困難，雖然所諮詢的告解神父說這些言語不過是幻想，事情的發展看似使這些預言的實現完全不可能，但心靈中仍有一道活躍的確信之光（我不知道它從何而來），就算一切其他的希望都熄滅，它也無法隨意熄滅這確信之光，縱使自己想要讓它熄滅。的確，靈魂一方面相信，一方面又認為，若那話不應驗，對她而言似乎是蒙受了羞辱，相信它的自己也就同樣受了欺騙；但這也只是她一開始的想法。

14. 我不明白靈魂為何對這些言語是否應驗如此在意。我想若靈魂本身被揭露說謊，她不會如此悲傷，就如這些言語被證明是假的一樣——彷彿她自己能做什麼，不過只是重複她所聽到的！曾有人在這樣的情況下頻頻被提醒先知約納的先例，²⁵⁰以及他對那些可憐的尼尼微人的恐懼。但靈魂的心之所以如此，是因為這神靈超越了它，使它無法懷疑此事；她寧可自稱說謊，也不願相信天主不會應驗祂的話。

15. 其實，既然這些言語來自天主的神，就應當這樣信任它們，渴望那至高真理者不被視為騙子。因此，聽到這些話的人，在歷經無數延誤和重重困難之後終於看見它們實現，理所當然地感到喜樂。縱使這成就對她自己帶來了巨大的苦難，她也寧要它們實現而非落空，雖然後者對她更為有利。這些人對天主的榮耀和尊嚴有著如此強烈的渴望，幾乎忘記了自己的利益，只希望天主的話能在人們心中建立信德。

16. 若這些神言出自想像，²⁵¹則沒有這樣的徵兆，既不帶來確信，也沒有平安和內在的喜悅。但在我所遇見的某些情況下，因體質極為虛弱、或想像力過於豐富、或其他我不知道的原因，有人在深度收斂的寧靜祈禱和靈性安眠中，完全沉浸在深沉的收斂狀態而渾然不覺外在的一切。所有的感官彷彿都沉睡了——有時確實如此——她們就以夢境的方式，幻想有話語向她們說，或幻想所見的事物來自天主，卻沒有留下比夢境更多的效果。

17. 另一種情況是，一個人非常深情地向主求某件事，可能幻想有回答從祂而來。²⁵²這種情況很常見，但我想，習慣領受神言的人，不會在此被想像力所欺騙。

18. 魔鬼的欺騙更為危險；但若以上的徵兆都俱備，我們可以相當有把握地說這些神言來自天主，雖然仍不到確定的程度——若涉及要付諸行動的重大事項，或是關乎第三者，在嘗試行動或著手思考之前，應先諮詢一位既博學又是天主忠僕的告解神父，²⁵³縱使我們已多次聽到這些言語，並確信其真實性和出自天主。陛下希望我們這樣做；服從告解神父並非違背祂的命令——祂命令我們即使毫無懷疑地認定這些神言出自祂，也要把告解神父當作祂的代表；如果事情極為困難，這樣做也能給我們勇氣。主也會安慰我們的告解神父，在祂願意時，激發神父相信這些神言出自聖神。²⁵⁴若不然，我們也就解除了在這事上的進一步責任。我認為，在這樣的事上違背告解神父的意見、偏信自己的看法，是非常危險的。因此，姊妹們，我以我們的主的名義勸告你們，永遠不要這樣做。

19. 天主以另一種方式向靈魂說話，藉著一種我認為無疑出自祂的智性神見；這將在後面描述。²⁵⁵這發生在靈魂最深的內裡，靈魂彷彿以最神秘的方式，用靈性的聽覺，清楚地聽見吾主親口對她說的話。這靈魂感受這些言語的方式，以及它們所產生的效果，使我們確信這些言語絕不可能來自魔鬼。它們強而有力的後效迫使我們承認這一點，並清楚說明它們不是出自想像。²⁵⁶仔細考慮下列理由，就能確信這一點：

20. 首先，不同種類的神言，說話的清晰度各有不同。天主的神言如此分明，聽者能記得有沒有少一個音節，以及即使說了整句話用了哪些詞。若只是想像力的把戲，就不會那麼清晰，語詞也不會那麼分明，而只是半遮半掩的。²⁵⁷

21. 第二個原因是，這些言語往往在人沒有在思考所聽到的事情時出現；有時甚至在談話中突然來臨，雖然有時確實和心中飛速掠過的念頭有關，或是之前所專注的題目。但往往涉及靈魂不知道存在、甚至沒有料到會發生的事情，所以想像力不可能事先虛構出她從未思考的事。²⁵⁸

22. 第三個原因是，在真實的神言中，靈魂似乎是在聆聽言語，而當想像力在運作時，靈魂則是一點一點地自行組合她希望聽到的話。²⁵⁹

23. 第四個原因是，天主的神言與其他言語有著巨大的差別：一個單詞所包含的深度意義，是我們的理解力無法迅速濃縮在一個短語中的。²⁶⁰

24. 第五，以我無法解釋的方式，這些神言往往不需要任何進一步的說明，就使我們理解到遠超言語本身所蘊含的意義。我稍後將再談這種理解隱藏事物的方式，這是極為微妙的，是應當感謝天主的恩惠。有些人對這類和同種類的神言極為懷疑。我尤其說的是某一個人，²⁶¹她自己有過這種體驗，雖然也許有其他人無法理解。我知道她非常審慎地考究了這個題目，天主也曾多次賜予她這種恩惠。她主要的困難是分辨這些神言是否只是幻想。較容易認出的是來自魔鬼的——雖然魔鬼奸詐，能輕易模仿光明的神靈，卻是以如此分明的詞語來模仿，對其真實性不會比來自真理之神更有疑問，而那些來自想像的言語則讓我們不確定自己是否真的聽到了。但撒旦從不能偽造我所說的那些效果，²⁶²它在靈魂中留下的不是平安和光明，只是焦慮和混亂。無論如何，它對謙遜的人、對照我的勸告不按所聽到的話行事的人，所能造成的傷害微乎其微。

25. 若靈魂蒙主賜予恩惠和溫柔的對待，讓她仔細審察自己是否因此自視更高；除非對天主之愛的表達越深，自我貶抑也越深，否則這些並非來自聖神。必然的，當這些是天主的恩惠時，恩惠越大，靈魂越少看重自己，越切實地記起自己的罪惡。²⁶³她越忘記自己的利益：意志和記憶越熱切地專注於追求天主的光榮，而不思及自身。她也越不斷地謹慎，不故意偏離天主的旨意，並越深刻地確信自己不配得這樣的恩惠，反而應當下地獄。

26. 有這些效果，那麼祈禱中所領受的任何恩惠或恩賜都不必使靈魂驚慌，她應當信賴天主的憐憫，祂是信實的，不會允許魔鬼欺騙她；但始終保持警惕也是明智的。

27. 那些不被主帶領走這條路的人，也許以為靈魂可以避免聆聽這些神言，縱使是內在的，至少也可以轉移注意力而不去聽，從而避免危險。這是辦不到的：我說的不是想像力的把戲，那種可以藉由停止渴望某些事情、或不理會其虛構而加以阻止。但若這些神言來自聖神，就不可能如此，因為聖神說話時會阻止一切其他思想，迫使心智去聆聽。²⁶⁴請注意：我認為，對一個聽覺很靈敏的人而言，避免聽到響亮聲音也許還容易些——他可以把思緒和注意力轉到別處。此處則不然：靈魂什麼也做不了，沒有耳朵可以塞住，也無力思索任何對她說的話以外的事。因為那位能使太陽停止運行的主（依若蘇厄的祈禱，²⁶⁵我相信如此），能使靈魂的一切官能和內在如此靜止，使她感知到另一位比她更強大的主掌管著這城堡；她因而充滿深沉的敬虔和謙遜，不得不去聆聽。願天主陛下允許我們，忘卻自我，唯一的目標就是喜悅祂，正如我說的。阿們。但願天主允許我已成功地說明我所要說的，對那些可能體驗到這些恩惠的人有所引導。

TREATS OF THE SAME SUBJECT AND OF THE WAY GOD IS SOMETIMES PLEASED TO SPEAK TO THE SOUL. HOW WE SHOULD BEHAVE IN SUCH A CASE, IN WHICH WE MUST NOT FOLLOW OUR OWN OPINION. GIVES SIGNS TO SHOW HOW TO DISCOVER WHETHER THIS FAVOUR IS A DECEPTION OR NOT: THIS IS VERY NOTEWORTHY.

1. Locutions. 2. Sometimes caused by melancholia. 3. Caution needed at first. 4. Locutions frequently occur during prayer. 5. Resist those containing false doctrine. 6. First sign of genuine locutions. 7. Effect of the words: ‘Be not troubled.’ 8. ‘It is I, be not afraid.’ 9. ‘Be at Peace.’ 10. Second sign. 11. Third sign. 12. The devil suggests doubts about true locutions. 13. Confidence of the soul rewarded. 14. Its joy at seeing God’s words verified. 15. Its zeal for God’s honour. 16. Locutions coining from the fancy. 17. Imaginary answers given to prayer. 18. A confessor should be consulted about locutions. 19. Interior locutions. 20. First sign of genuine interior locutions. 21. Second sign. 22. Third sign. 23. Fourth sign. 24. Fifth sign. 25. Results of true locutions. 26. They should remove alarm. 27. Answer to an objection.

1. GOD arouses the soul in another manner which, though in some ways apparently a greater favour than the above mentioned, yet may prove more dangerous, therefore I will give some particulars about it. He does this by means of words addressed to the soul in many different ways; sometimes they appear to come from without; at other times from the inner depths of the soul; or again, from its superior part; while other speeches are so exterior as to be heard by the ears like a real voice.

2. At times, indeed very often, this may be only a fancy; especially with persons of a lively imagination or who are afflicted with melancholy to any marked extent. I think that no attention should be paid to either class of people when they say they see, hear, or learn anything supernaturally. Do not disturb them by saying that it comes from the devil,²³⁸ but listen to them as if they were sick persons. Let the prioress or confessor to whom they tell their story bid them think no more of it as such matters are not essential in the service of God: the devil has deceived many Christians thus, although perhaps it is not so in their case; therefore they need not trouble themselves about it. Thus we must accomodate ourselves to their humour: if we tell them their fancies proceed from melancholia, there will be no end to the matter, for they will persist in maintaining they have seen and heard these things, for so it seems to them.

3. The truth is, care should be taken to keep such people from too much prayer and to persuade them, as far as possible, to take no notice of their fancies: the devil makes use of these weak souls to injure others, even if they themselves escape unhurt. There is need for caution both with feeble and strong souls at first, until it is certain from what spirit these things proceed. I maintain that, in the beginning, it is always wiser to resist these communications; if they come from God this is the best way to receive more, for they increase when discouraged. At the same time the soul should not be too strictly controlled or disquieted, for it cannot help itself in the matter.

4. To return to discuss the words addressed to the soul: any kind I mentioned may come either from God, the devil, or the imagination. By the help of God I will endeavour to describe the signs distinguishing the one from the other, and when these locutions are dangerous, for they occur to many persons who praise prayer. I do not wish you to think, sisters, that there is any harm either in believing or in disregarding them. When they only console you, or warn you of your faults, it matters not whence they come or whether they are only fancies.

5. I caution you on one point—although they may come from God, you must not esteem yourself more highly, for He often spoke to the Pharisees²³⁹ —all the good consists in profiting by His words. Take no more notice of any speeches you hear which disagree with the Holy Scriptures than if you heard them from Satan himself. Though they may only rise from your vivid imagination, look upon them as a temptation against the faith. Always resist them; then they will leave you, and cease, for they have little strength of their own.²⁴⁰

6. Now let us return to the first point—whether these communications come from the inferior or the superior part of the soul, or from without, does not affect their originating from God.

7. In my opinion these are the most certain signs of their being divine. The first and truest is the power and authority they carry with them, for these words are operative.²⁴¹ For example: a soul is suffering all the sorrow and disquiet I have described: the mind is darkened and dry; but it is set at peace, freed from all trouble and filled with light merely by hearing the words: ‘Be not troubled.’ These deliver it from all its pains, although it felt as though, if the whole world and all its theologians had united in trying to persuade it there was no cause for grief, it could not, in spite of all their efforts, have been delivered from its affliction.²⁴²

8. Again, a person is troubled and greatly terrified at being told by her confessor and other people that her soul is under the influence of the evil one: she hears a single sentence which says, ‘It is I, be not afraid,’²⁴³ and is at once freed from all fears and filled with consolation; indeed, she believes it would be impossible for any one to disturb her confidence.²⁴⁴

9. Again, when exceedingly anxious about important business, not knowing whether or not it will be successful, on hearing words bidding her ‘Be at peace; all will go well,’ she feels reassured and free from all care in the matter.²⁴⁵ Many other instances of the same sort could be mentioned.

10. The second sign is a great calm and a devout and peaceful recollection which dwell in the soul together with a desire to praise God. They say that communications, at any rate in this mansion, are not uttered direly by God but are transmitted by an angel.²⁴⁶ Then, O my God, if a word sent to us by Thee through Thy messenger has such force, what effects wilt Thou not leave in the soul united to Thee in a mutual bond of love?²⁴⁷

11. The third proof is that these words do not pass from the memory but remain there for a very long time; sometimes they are never forgotten. This is not the case with what men may utter, which, however grave and learned they may be, is not thus impressed on our memory. Neither, if they prophesy of things to come, do we believe them as we do these divine locutions which leave us so convinced of their truth that, although their fulfilment sometimes seems utterly impossible and we vacillate and doubt about them, there still remains in the soul a certainty of their verity which cannot be destroyed. Perhaps everything may seem to militate against what was heard and years pass by, yet the spirit never loses its belief that God will make use of means unknown to men for the purpose and that finally what was foretold must surely happen; as indeed it does.²⁴⁸

12. Still, as I said, the soul is troubled at seeing many obstacles in the way of the accomplishment of the prophecy. The words, their effects, and the assurance they carry with them convinced the soul at the moment that they came from God. Afterwards, however, doubts arise as to whether the locutions came from the devil or from the imagination, although while hearing them the person would have died to defend their truth.²⁴⁹ But, as I said, these misgivings must be suggested by the evil one to afflict and intimidate her, especially if by carrying out a command thus given great good will result to souls and some work be done conducing notably to the honour and service of God, concerning which great difficulties have to be overcome. In such cases, where will Satan stop short? At least, he weakens faith, and it is a terrible evil to doubt that God has power to work in a way far beyond our understanding.

13. Despite all these difficulties and although the confessors consulted on these matters say the words were but fancies, while events take such an unfavourable turn as to make the realization of these predictions seem impossible, yet there remains so lively a spark of certainty in the mind (I know not whence it comes) that, although all other hopes die out, it cannot, if it would, quench this ardent spark of confidence. At last, as I said, our Lord’s words are accomplished, at which the soul is so satisfied and joyful that it can do nothing but praise His Majesty—more because it sees His words prove true than on account of the thing itself, even though it may be of consequence to the person concerned.

14. I know not why the soul attaches such importance to these communications being verified. I think that if the person herself were detected in telling falsehoods, she would not be so grieved as at these locutions proving untrue—as if she could do anything in the matter beyond repeating what has been said to her! A certain person was frequently reminded in such a case of the Prophet Jonas, when he found Ninive was not to be destroyed.²⁵⁰

15. In fact, as these words come from the Spirit of God, it is right thus to trust them and to desire that He Who is supreme truth should not be thought a deceiver. Justly, therefore, does their hearer rejoice when, after a thousand delays and enormous difficulties, they are accomplished. Although this success may entail great suffering on herself, she prefers it to the nonfulfilment of what she knows our Lord most certainly foretold. Possibly every one is not so weak as this, if indeed it is a weakness, though I cannot myself condemn it as an evil.

16. If these locutions proceed from the imagination²⁵¹ they show no such signs, bringing neither conviction, peace, nor interior joy with them. But in some cases I have come across, on account of a very weak constitution or vivid imagination or of other causes I do not know, persons while absorbed in the prayer of quiet and in spiritual slumber are so entirely carried out of themselves by their deep state of recollection as to be unconscious of anything external. All their senses being thus dormant, as if asleep—as indeed, at times they really are—they thus, in a sort of dream, fancy they are spoken to or see things they imagine come from God, but which leave no more effect than dreams.

17. Again, one who very lovingly asks something of our Lord may fancy that an answer comes from Him.²⁵² This often occurs, but I think that no one accustomed to receive divine communications could be deceived on this point by the imagination.

18. The devil’s deceptions are more dangerous; but if the foregoing signs are present, we may feel fairly confident that these locutions are from God, though not so certain but that, if they refer to some weighty matter in which we are called upon to act or if they concern a third person, we should consult some confessor who is both learned and a servant of God, before attempting or thinking of acting on them, although we may have heard them repeated several times and are convinced of their truth and divine origin.²⁵³ His Majesty wishes us to take this course; it is not disobedience to His commands, for He has bidden us hold our confessor as His representative even where there is no doubt that the communications come from Him: thus we shall gain courage if the matter is a very difficult one. Our Lord will reassure our confessor, whom, when He so chooses, He will inspire with faith that these locutions are from the Holy Ghost.²⁵⁴ If not, we are freed from all further obligations in the matter. I think it would be very dangerous to act against our confessor’s advice and to prefer our own opinions in such a matter. Therefore, sisters, I admonish you in the name of our Lord, never to do anything of the sort.

19. God speaks to the soul in another way by a certain intellectual vision which I think undoubtedly proceeds from Him; it will be described later on.²⁵⁵ 8 It takes place far within the innermost depths of the soul which appears to hear distinctly in a most mysterious manner, with its spiritual hearing, the words spoken to it by our Lord Himself. The way in which the spirit perceives these words and the results produced by them, convince us that they cannot in any way come from the devil. Their powerful aftereffects force us to admit this and plainly show they do not spring from the imagination.²⁵⁶ Careful consideration will assure us of this for the following reasons;—

20. Firstly, the clearness of the language varies in the different kinds of locutions. Those that are divine are so distinct that the hearer remembers if there were a syllable missing, and what words were made use of even though a whole sentence was spoken. But if the speech were only a freak of fancy, it would not be so audible nor would the words be so distinct but would be only half articulated.²⁵⁷

21. The second reason is that often the person was not thinking of what is heard; sometimes the locution even comes unexpectedly during conversation, though at times it refers to some thought that passed quickly through the mind or to a subject it was before engaged upon. Frequently it concerns things of whose existence the hearer knew nothing nor even imagined such events could ever come to pass; therefore it is impossible for the imagination to have framed such speeches and deceived the mind by fancies about what it had never wished, nor sought for, nor even thought about.²⁵⁸

22. The third reason is that in a genuine case the soul seems to listen to the words, whereas when the imagination is at work, little by little it composes what the person wishes to hear.²⁵⁹

23. The fourth reason is because divine locutions differ immensely from others, a single word comprising a depth of meaning which our understanding could not thus quickly condense into one phrase.²⁶⁰

24. Fifthly because, in a manner I cannot explain, these communications, without any further explanations, frequently give us to understand far more than is implied by the words themselves. I shall speak farther on of this way of understanding hidden things which is very subtle and a favour for which we should thank God. Some people are exceedingly suspicious about these and other communications of the same kind. I speak particularly of some one²⁶¹ who experienced them herself, though there may be others who cannot understand them. I know that she has considered the subject very carefully, God having often bestowed this grace on her. Her principal difficulty was to discover whether the locutions were merely fancied. It is easier to know when they come from the devil although being so wily, he can with facility imitate the spirit of light. However, he would do this in a form of words pronounced so distinctly that there would be no more doubt as to their reality than if they came from the spirit of truth, while those coming from the imagination leave us uncertain whether we heard the words or not. But Satan could never counterfeit the effects I spoke of;²⁶² he leaves neither peace nor light in the soul, only anxiety and confusion. In any case, he can do little or no harm to one who is humble and who, as I advised, does not act on what is heard.

25. If the soul receives favours and caresses from our Lord, let it examine carefully whether it rates itself more highly in consequence; unless self-abasement increases with God’s expressions of love, they do not come from the Holy Spirit. Inevitably, when they are divine, the greater the favours, the less the soul esteems itself and the more keenly it remembers its sins.²⁶³ It becomes more oblivious of self-interest: the will and memory grow more fervent in seeking solely God’s honour with no thought of self. It also becomes unceasingly careful not to deviate deliberately from the will of God and feels a keener conviction that instead of meriting such favours, it deserves hell.

26. When these results follow, no graces or gifts received during prayer need alarm the soul which should rather trust in the mercy of God, Who is faithful and will not allow the devil to deceive it; but it is always well to be on one’s guard.

27. Those our Lord does not lead by this path may suppose that the soul can avoid listening to these locutions and that even if they are interior it is at least possible to distract the attention from them so as not to hear them and thus escape danger. This cannot be done: I am not speaking of freaks of fancy which may be prevented by ceasing to desire certain things or by paying no attention to its inventions. This is not feasible when these communications come from the Holy Ghost Who, when He speaks, stops all other thoughts and compels the mind to listen.²⁶⁴ Mark this: that I believe it would be easier for a person with very keen ears to avoid hearing a loud voice, for he could occupy his thoughts and mind in other things. Not so here; the soul can do nothing, nor has it ears to stop, nor power to think of aught but what is said to it. For He Who could stay the sun on its course (at the prayer of Josue,²⁶⁵ I believe) can so quiet the faculties and the interior of the spirit as to make it perceive that another and a stronger Lord than itself governs this castle; it is thus affected with profound devotion and humility, seeing that it cannot but listen. May the divine Majesty vouchsafe that, forgetting ourselves, our only aim may be to please Him, as I said. Amen. God grant I have succeeded in explaining what I wished and that it may be some guide to those who may experience such favours.