Volume 37 · pp. 527–528
Chapter V. On purity of heart, which is to be pursued before all things.
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Caput V. De cordis puritate, quae est prae omnibus sectanda.
Si igitur recto et securo tramite ac breviter ad finem beatitudinis viae et patriae, gratiae et gloriae, pervenire desideras et satagis, tunc intenta mente sedulo adspira ad perpetuam cordis munditiam, et puritatem mentis, ac sensuum tranquillitatem: atque cordis affectum recollige, et jugiter defige sursum in Dominum Deum, et inter haec abstrahe te a familiaribus tuis, et ab omnibus hominibus, in quantum in te est, et negotiis hujusmodi propositum tuum impedientibus, semper captans opportunitatem, ubi et quando possis locum, tempus, et modum reperire quietis ac contemplationis, carpens silentii secreta, praesentisque saeculi vitare naufragia, necnon perstrepentis mundi fugere perturbationes.
Qua de re omni tempore puritati, munditiae, ac quieti cordis principaliter stude: ut videlicet continue, velut clausis carnalibus sensibus, in temetipsum convertaris, et cordis ostia a formis et phantasmatibus sensibilium, et imaginationibus terrenorum, quantum possibile est, habeas diligenter serata.
Nempe cordis puritas, inter omnia exercitia spiritualia quodammodo (tamquam finalis intentio, ac laborum omnium retributio, quam in hac vita spiritualis quisque et vere religiosus recipere consuevit) sibi vindicat principatum.
Idcirco cor tuum, sensus, et affectum, cum omni diligentia, solertia et conatu, absolvas ab his omnibus quae libertatem ipsius possent impedire, insuper ab omni re mundi possibilitatem habente alligandi et vincendi te. Sicque cunctas dispersiones cordis, et affectiones mentis, in unum verum, simplex, et principalissimum bonum recolligere, et intra te tamquam in uno loco recollectas habere agoniza, ac per hoc rebus divinis Deoque mente semper inhaerere, atque derelicta fragilitate terrena, cor ad superna in intimis tuis in Jesu Christo jugiter transformare conare.
Quapropter si incipis te nudare et purificare a phantasmatibus et imaginibus, et simplificare et tranquillare fiducialiter in Domino Deo cor tuum et mentem tuam, ut haurias et sentias fontem divini beneplaciti in omnibus interioribus tuis, et per bonam voluntatem sis Deo unitus in intellectu, sufficit tibi hoc pro omni studio et lectione sacrae Scripturae, et ad dilectionem Dei et proximi, ut unctio docet.
Chapter V. On purity of heart, which is to be pursued before all things.
Therefore, if by a straight and secure path and briefly you desire and strive to arrive at the end of the beatitude of the way and of the homeland, of grace and of glory, then with intent mind earnestly breathe toward perpetual cleanness of heart, purity of mind, and tranquility of the senses. Gather together the affection of the heart, and continually fix it upward in the Lord God; and among these things withdraw yourself from your familiars, and from all men, insofar as it lies in you, and from business matters impeding your purpose of this sort, always seizing the opportunity where and when you can find the place, time, and mode of quiet and contemplation, taking hold of the secrets of silence, avoiding the shipwrecks of the present age, and also fleeing the disturbances of the noisy world.
For this reason, at every time devote yourself principally to purity, cleanness, and quiet of heart, namely so that continually, as though the carnal senses were closed, you may be turned into yourself, and may keep the doors of the heart diligently shut, as far as possible, against the forms and phantasms of sensible things and the imaginations of earthly things.
Indeed purity of heart, among all spiritual exercises, in a certain manner claims primacy for itself, as the final intention and the recompense of all labors, which every spiritual and truly religious person is accustomed to receive in this life.
Therefore absolve your heart, senses, and affection, with all diligence, skill, and effort, from all these things that could impede its liberty, and moreover from every thing of the world having the possibility of binding and conquering you. And thus struggle to gather together all the dispersions of the heart and the affections of the mind into one true, simple, and most principal good, and to have them gathered within you as in one place; and through this strive always to adhere in mind to divine things and to God, and, earthly fragility having been abandoned, continually to transform the heart toward heavenly things in your inmost parts in Jesus Christ.
Wherefore, if you begin to bare and purify yourself from phantasms and images, and trustingly to simplify and tranquilize your heart and your mind in the Lord God, so that you may draw and feel the fountain of divine good pleasure in all your inner parts, and through good will be united to God in intellect, this suffices for you in place of every study and reading of sacred Scripture, and for love of God and neighbor, as the anointing teaches.
Omni igitur studio, conatu, et labore simplifica cor tuum, ut a phantasmatibus immobilis et tranquillus convertaris, et stes in Domino semper intra te, tamquam si anima tua sit in illo nunc aeternitatis, id est, divinitatis, taliter scilicet, ut amore Jesu Christi, de corde puro, conscientia bona, et fide non ficta teipsum deseras, et totum te Deo in omni tribulatione et eventu totaliter plene committas, ejusque voluntati et beneplacito parere semper et patienter affectes.
Quod ut fiat, necesse est ut frequenter ad cor redeas, et in eo persistas, et ab omnibus, quantum possibile est, teipsum absolvas: mentis oculum semper in puritate et tranquillitate custodias: intellectum a phantasmatibus et formis rerum infirmarum praeserves: voluntatis affectum a curis terrenorum penitus absolvas, et summo vero bono amore fervido radicitus inhaereas: memoriam quoque jugiter habeas sursum elevatam, et in ipso eodem vero summo bono ac solo essentiali et increato firmiter stabilitam: ita dumtaxat, ut tota anima cum omnibus potentiis et viribus suis in Deum recollecta, unus fiat spiritus cum eo, in quo summa perfectio viae consistere cognoscitur.
Haec vero unitas spiritus et amoris est, quo homo omnibus votis supernae et aeternae voluntati conformis efficitur, ut sit per gratiam, quod Deus est per naturam.
Interea animadvertendum, quod in eo ipso momento, quo quis suam Dei auxilio potest vincere voluntatem, id est, inordinatum amorem aut zelum a seipso abjicere, sic scilicet, ut Domino Deo de omni sua necessitate audeat plane totaliter confidere, hoc ipso facto in tantum Deo complacet, ut suam ei gratiam largiatur, et per ipsam gratiam veram sentiat charitatem et dilectionem, omnem ambiguitatem et timorem expellentem, in Deoque confidenter sperantem. Itaque nihil beatius esse potest, quam omnia in illo ponere, in quo nullus est defectus.
Proinde quamdiu stas in te, et non stas, projice te totum in Deum secure, et suscipiet te, sanabit et salvabit te. Haec si continue intra te veraciter revolveris, plus tibi ad beatam vitam conferent, quam omnes divitiae, deliciae, honores, insuper et omnis sapientia et scientia hujus saeculi fallacis, et corruptibilis mundi et vitae, etiamsi in his excelleres omnes qui umquam fuerunt.
Therefore with every study, effort, and labor simplify your heart, so that, unmoved and tranquil from phantasms, you may be turned and stand always in the Lord within yourself, as if your soul were in that now of eternity, that is, of divinity; in such a way, namely, that for love of Jesus Christ, from a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith not feigned, you abandon yourself, and totally and fully commit your whole self to God in every tribulation and event, and always and patiently desire to obey his will and good pleasure.
That this may happen, it is necessary that you frequently return to the heart, and persist in it, and absolve yourself from all things as far as possible; that you always keep the eye of the mind in purity and tranquility; that you preserve the intellect from phantasms and forms of infirm things; that you utterly absolve the affection of the will from cares of earthly things, and adhere radically with fervent love to the highest true good; and that you also continually have memory lifted upward and firmly established in that same true highest good, alone essential and uncreated. This is only so that the whole soul, gathered into God with all its powers and strengths, may become one spirit with him, in whom the highest perfection of the way is known to consist.
But this is the unity of spirit and love, by which a man is made conformable in all vows to the supernal and eternal will, so that he may be by grace what God is by nature.
Meanwhile it must be noticed that in that very moment in which someone, by God's aid, is able to conquer his own will, that is, to cast away from himself disordered love or zeal, namely so that he dares plainly and totally to trust the Lord God concerning all his necessity, by this very deed he pleases God so greatly that God bestows his grace upon him; and through that grace he feels true charity and love, driving out every ambiguity and fear, and hoping confidently in God. And so nothing can be more blessed than to place all things in him in whom there is no defect.
Therefore, as long as you stand in yourself, and do not stand, cast your whole self securely into God, and he will receive you, heal you, and save you. If you continually turn these things over truly within yourself, they will contribute more to blessed life for you than all riches, delights, honors, and moreover all wisdom and knowledge of this deceitful age and of the corruptible world and life, even if in these you excelled all who ever were.
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