第十章

論述最崇高的智性神見：靈魂在天主內見到萬物；以及天主是至高真理。警告不要說謊，並論及謙遜。

1. 主在許多情況下藉著這些顯現與靈魂交流——有時是當它苦惱之際，有時是在它即將承受沉重十字架之前，有時也是為了祂與祂摯愛的靈魂彼此喜悅。我無需一一說明各種情形，也不打算這樣做。我只是想教導你們（就我自己所知道的範圍內）天主在這境界向靈魂所顯示的各種恩惠是什麼、它們的特徵如何，以及它們產生什麼效果。這樣，你們就不會把每一個空洞的幻想當成神見；而若你們真的見到神見，因知道這種事是可能的，就不至於感到不安或痛苦。魔鬼從中大得利益，它很樂意看到靈魂煩惱困擾，因為這阻礙靈魂全心愛天主、服事天主。

2. 天主陛下還有更崇高的方式與靈魂交流；那些方式不那麼危險——我認為邪惡之靈無法仿效——卻更難解釋，因為更為深奧；因此，想像性神見較容易描述。天主有時在一個人正在祈禱、且神志完全清醒時，樂意暫時使她的官能中止，向她揭示崇高的奧秘，她似乎在天主本身之內見到這些奧秘。這不是至聖人性的神見，我也無法說靈魂在「見」，因為它什麼也見不到；這不是想像性的神見，而是高度的智性神見，其中顯明萬物如何在天主內被觀看，以及祂如何在自身內包容它們。³⁷⁵這神見極有價值，因為雖然瞬間而過，卻深深銘刻在記憶中，在心靈內產生極大的羞恥感——心靈更清楚地察覺到冒犯天主的惡意，因為這些最可怕的罪，是在祂本身之內犯下的，因為我們住在祂之內。我要試著用一個比喻向你們解釋這個真理，雖然它是顯而易見的，也常常被告知，但我們要麼從不思考它，要麼不願意理解它。若我們真正認識到它，就不可能如此大膽放肆地行事。

3. 讓我們把天主比作一座極寬廣、極壯麗的宮殿或城堡，並記得這座建築物就是天主本身。罪人能離開它去行惡嗎？當然不能，因為在這座宮殿之內——即在天主本身之內——罪人所犯的一切可憎之事、污穢之行、惡劣作為，都在這裡發生。啊，多麼可怕的念頭，多麼值得深思默想！若我們這些對這些真理了解甚少、只是部分理解的人，能真正明白這一點，又怎麼可能如此輕率膽大妄為？姐妹們，讓我們默想天主無限的仁慈與忍耐，祂沒有立刻把我們扔進地獄，讓我們衷心感謝祂。我們這些世上的糟粕，見到我們這些受造物在天主我們的造物主本身之內對祂所做的種種侮辱，卻還要因為別人對我們所做或所說的事而憤怒，這難道不該感到羞恥嗎？——那些言語也許還毫無惡意，只是我們在不知情時偶然聽到有人說了我們一句不中聽的話。

4. 啊，人類的可悲！女兒們，我們幾時才能在任何事上仿效全能的天主？啊，讓我們不要以為忍耐地承受傷害已是了不起的事：讓我們甘心樂意地承受它們；讓我們愛我們的仇人，因為這偉大的天主儘管我們有如此之多的罪，卻從未停止愛我們！這才是所有人應當寬恕任何加於自己之傷害的主要理由。女兒們，我向你們保證，雖然這神見瞬間即逝，主賜予它的那個人若能善加利用，時時將它銘記於心，主便賜予了她極大的恩惠。

5. 雖然所持的時間短暫，天主卻以難以描述的方式，在那神見中同時顯明：在祂內有一種真實，使受造物中一切的真實相形之下都顯得黯淡。祂使靈魂確信，唯有祂才是那不會說謊的真理，從而彰顯了達味在聖詠中那句話的意義：「人人都說謊。」³⁷⁶這一點無論以其他任何方式都永遠無法如此真切地領會，無論我們多少次聽說天主是不謬的真理。我想起比拉多，在苦難中他如何懇求我們的主回答他的問題：「什麼是真理？」³⁷⁷我這才領悟到，有限的人對那崇高真實是多麼無知。

6. 我希望能把這件事說得更清楚，卻辦不到。姐妹們，讓我們從中學到：若要任何程度地相似我們的天主和我們的淨配，就必須努力時刻行走在真理中。我不只是說不要說謊——感謝天主，我看到你們在這些修院中極為謹慎，任何理由都不說謊——而是渴望我們在天主和世人面前盡可能以完全的真實行事；尤其不要希望別人以為我們比實際上更好；在我們一切行為中，把屬於天主的歸還天主，把屬於我們的歸給自己，在一切事上尋求真實。如此，我們對這個充滿欺騙與謊言、因此無法持久的世界，就會毫不在乎。有一次，我正在思索主為何如此珍視謙遜這德行，突然之間，事先毫無思量，心中閃過一個念頭：那是因為天主是至高的真理，而謙遜就是真理——因為我們本身沒有任何善，只有可憐與虛無，這是最真實不過的；不認識這一點的人，活在謊言中。最深刻認識到這事實的人，最蒙天主——至高真理——喜悅，因為他們行走在真理中。天主賜給我們恩典，姐妹們，使我們永不失去這自我認識！阿門。

7. 主向靈魂顯示這些恩惠，因為她如今真的是祂的新娘，下定決心在一切事上遵行祂的旨意；因此祂願意賜給她一些關於如何完成此事的領悟，並向她顯示祂的某些天主屬性。我不需要多說，但我相信上面提到的這兩點將非常有用。這些恩惠不應引起恐懼，而應使我們讚美天主賜予了這些恩惠。我認為，無論是魔鬼還是我們自己的想像，都與這些恩惠無甚關係；因此靈魂可以享有完全的平安。

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.