Exclamations, Or Meditations of The Soul on Its God Exclamation 4 S. Teresa of Jesus of the Order of our Lady of Carmel St. Teresa of Avila ░░░░░░░░░░░░ "Written By The Holy Mother Teresa Of Jesus On Different Occasions, According To The Devotion Imparted To Her By Our Lord After Holy ComMunion. A.D. 1569." ░░░░░░░░░░░░ From the Book, "Minor Works Of St. Teresa Conceptions Of The Love Of God Exclamations, Maxims And Poems" |
Exclamations, Or Meditations of The Soul on Its God Exclamation IV |
Exclamation IV
1.
My soul, O my Lord,
finds some repose in thinking
of the happiness in store for it
if, through Thy mercy,
it is one day permitted to enjoy Thee !
Yet,
I long to labour for Thee first, [1]
I long to labour for Thee first, [1]
since Thy labour won this joy for me.
What shall I do, my Lord,
and
what wilt Thou do, O my God ?
2.
How late has my desire for Thee
caught flame,
but how early didst Thou seek
to win me,
calling me to give myself
wholly to Thee ! [2]
Hast thou ever, O Lord,
rejected the wretched,
or
turned away from the poor mendicant
who sought to draw near Thee ?
Are there limits
to Thy power,
or
to Thy mighty works ?
3.
O my God,
Source of mercy to me !
Now is the time indeed
in which to prove so
to Thy handmaid,
for Thou art almighty.
Now it will be shown
whether my soul is right in believing,
while recalling the wasted years
that are past,
that Thou, Lord, canst
in an instant
turn this loss to gain.
I seem to rave,
for men say that time once spent
can never be recovered.
Blessed be my God !
4.
Lord,
I acknowledge Thy sovereign power.
Almighty as Thou art,
what is impossible to Thee,
Who canst do all things ?
Do Thou only will it, O my God,
do Thou but will it !
Miserable as I am,
yet I believe firmly
that Thou canst do all Thou wilt.
The more I hear Thy wonders spoken of,
the better I know
Thou canst perform still greater things:
Thus my faith and my confidence
grow stronger
that Thou wilt grant my request.
Why wonder at what is done
by the Omnipotent ?
5.
Thou knowest, O my God,
that, in spite of all my faults,
I ever recognised the greatness
of Thy power and mercy:
O Lord,
May this one thing,
in which I have not offended Thee,
stand in my favour !
Restore to me the time lost,
giving me Thy grace,
both now and in the future,
so that I may appear before Thee
in "wedding garments", [3]
as Thou canst do,
if it be Thy will.
Foot Notes: [1] Rel. ix. 19. if, through Thy mercy, it is one day permitted to enjoy Thee ! Yet I long to labour for Thee first, [1] Rel. ix. 19. ...I was thinking how hard it was to remain alive, seeing that it was living on that robbed us of that marvellous companionship; and so I said to myself: "O Lord, show me some way whereby I may bear this life!" He said unto me: "Think, my child, when life is over, thou canst not serve Me as thou art serving Me now, and eat for Me, and sleep for Me. Whatsoever thou doest, let it be done for Me as if thou wert no longer living, but I; for that is what St. Paul said." [ Relation 9: #19] Galat. ii. 20: "Vivo autem, jam non ego: vivit vero in me Christus." And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me. __________________ [2] Castle, M. iv. ch. iii. 3. How late has my desire for Thee caught flame, but how early didst Thou seek to win me, calling me to give myself wholly to Thee ! [2] To seek God within ourselves avails us far more than to look for Him amongst creatures; Saint Augustine tells us how he found the Almighty within his own soul, after having long sought for Him elsewhere. [ Interior Castle: Mansion 4: Ch. 3: # 3 ] Some editors of the Interior Castle think that St. Teresa refers to the following passage taken from the Confessions of St. Augustine: 'Too late have I loved Thee, O Beauty, ever ancient yet ever new! too late have I loved Thee! And behold, Thou wert within me and I abroad, and there I searched for Thee, (St. Augustine's Confessions, bk. x, ch. xxvii.). ' [ Interior Castle: Mansion 4: Ch. 3: # 3 Foot Note ] __________________ [3] St. Matt. xxii. 11, 12: Intravit autem rex ut videret discumbentes, et vidit ibi hominem non vestitum veste nuptiali, et ait illi: Amice, quomodo huc intrasti non habens vestem nuptialem ? At ille obmutuit. And the king went in to see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment. And he saith to him: Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? But he was silent [Mt 22: 11-12 ] |
End of Exclamation 4 Exclamations, Or Meditations Of The Soul On Its God S. Teresa of Jesus of the Order of our Lady of Carmel St. Teresa of Avila From the Book, "Minor Works Of St. Teresa Conceptions Of The Love Of God Exclamations, Maxims And Poems" |
Note: Attempt was made to display the quotes of the other books being cited by the editor's foot notes. But, they may not be the actual intended passages that were cited by the editor since the editions/translations used by the editor may have different paragraph numbering than those available to this blog. |
