Exclamations, Or Meditations of The Soul on Its God Exclamation 11 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 11 |
Exclamation XI [1]
1.
Why, O my God,
Source of all my strength,
are we always cowards,
except in rebelling against Thee ?
To this do the sons of Adam
direct all their energies.
Were not their reason blinded
they would never dare
to combine the strength
of the whole human race in
taking arms
and
waging war against Him
Who in an instant could hurl them
down the bottomless abyss.
With minds obscured,
they resemble madmen,
who, bent on their own destruction,
imagine they will thus gain new life;
— in short, they are beside themselves.
2.
What cure is there, my God,
for such frenzy ?
Men say that madness increases strength.
So it is with men
who revolt against God:
Feeble as they may be,
all their fury is spent on Thee,
their greatest Benefactor.
3.
O incomprehensible Wisdom !
Thou needest all Thy love for creatures,
to bear with such folly,
and
to wait until we return to our senses,
whilst by a thousand arts and remedies
Thou art striving
to bring about our cure.
4.
How marvellous,
that though we lack resolution to
conquer self in trivial matters,
and
persuade ourselves
that even if we try,
we cannot avoid
some occasion of sin,
or
some danger by which
we risk eternal perdition,
yet we have the audacity
to affront such sovereign majesty
as Thine !
5.
How is this, my only Good ?
How is it ?
Who gives such strength ?
Is not the captain,
whom men follow
in this war against Thee,
Thy vassal ?
And he dwells in unquenchable flames —
How can he rise up against Thee ?
How can the vanquished inspire courage ?
His poverty is extreme,
for he is deprived
of the riches of
heaven;
Why, then,
do men follow him ?
What can he give,
who owns nothing but sufferings ?
How can it be, my God ?
Why is it, my Creator ?
Why do men, cowed by the devil,
defy Thee ?
6.
Even if, O my Lord,
Thou hadst not aided Thine own —
Even if we owed some debt of gratitude
to this prince of darkness,
should we not compare the joys
Thou hast in store for us
with the false and treacherous promises
of the evil one ?
He has betrayed Thee —
What will he do to us ?
7.
Alas, what utter blindness, my God !
What revolting ingratitude, my King !
What hopeless madness,
to use Thy very gifts to serve Satan !
to requite Thy tender love for us
by loving one who
hates Thee,
and
will hate Thee to eternity !
Thou sheddedst all Thy Blood for us;
For us didst suffer
stripes, and agony,
and
torturing anguish !
And we,
instead of avenging Thy heavenly Father
for the flagrant injuries done to Thee,
His Son
— For Thou, Thyself, didst take
no vengeance on Thine enemies,
but didst ever pardon them —
yet choose,
as friends and companions,
the very men who treated Thee
so barbarously,
since we follow their infernal leader.
Surely we
shall be of their company
and
share their fate,
unless Thy mercy
bring us to reason
and
forgive the past.
8.
Return, ye children of men,
return to your senses !
Gaze on your King,
while yet He is meek;
Cease from such sin
and
spend your fury and your strength on him
who wars against you
to rob you of your inheritance.
Return, return to your senses,
open your eyes,
and
with strong cries and tears
beg for light from Him
Who gives it to all the world.
For the love of God,
reflect that you are aiming,
with all your might,
at slaying Him
Who lost His life to save yours,
Who is your defender
against your enemies !
9.
If this is not enough,
let it suffice to know
that you are helpless against His power —
Sooner or later you must atone
for your insults and blasphemy
in everlasting flames.
Do you dare thus to outrage Him
because you see Him
helpless and fettered by His love for us ?
What more did His murderers do,
after they had bound Him,
than deal Him blows and wounds ?
10.
O my God !
How Thou hast suffered for those
who grieve so little for Thy pain !
The day will come, Lord,
when
Thy justice will be made manifest,
and
men will discover
that it equals Thy mercy.
Mark that, Christians !
Deeply as we may reflect upon it,
never shall we realise
how much we owe our Lord God
and
how magnificent are His mercies.
But,
if His justice is as great, alas, alas !
What will be their fate
who deserve its being
carried out
and
exemplified in them ?
Foot Notes: [1] Milner, etc., Excl. XII. |
End of Exclamation 11 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" |
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