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The Forty-Ninth Chapter
THE DESIRE OF ETERNAL LIFE; THE GREAT REWARDS PROMISED TO THOSE WHO STRUGGLE
THE VOICE OF CHRIST
MY CHILD, when you feel the desire for everlasting happiness poured out upon you
from above, and when you long to depart out of the tabernacle of the body that
you may contemplate My glory without threat of change, open wide your heart and
receive this holy inspiration with all eagerness. Give deepest thanks to the
heavenly Goodness which deals with you so understandingly, visits you so
mercifully, stirs you so fervently, and sustains you so powerfully lest under
your own weight you sink down to earthly things. For you obtain this not by your
own thought or effort, but simply by the condescension of heavenly grace and
divine regard. And the purpose of it is that you may advance in virtue and in
greater humility, that you may prepare yourself for future trials, that you may
strive to cling to Me with all the affection of your heart, and may serve Me
with a fervent will.
My child, often, when the fire is burning the flame does not ascend without
smoke. Likewise, the desires of some burn toward heavenly things, and yet they
are not free from temptations of carnal affection. Therefore, it is not
altogether for the pure honor of God that they act when they petition Him so
earnestly. Such, too, is often your desire which you profess to be so strong.
For that which is alloyed with self-interest is not pure and perfect.
Ask, therefore, not for what is pleasing and convenient to yourself, but for
what is acceptable to Me and is for My honor, because if you judge rightly, you
ought to prefer and follow My will, not your own desire or whatever things you
wish.
I know your longings and I have heard your frequent sighs. Already you wish to
be in the liberty of the glory of the sons of God. Already you desire the
delights of the eternal home, the heavenly land that is full of joy. But that
hour is not yet come. There remains yet another hour, a time of war, of labor,
and of trial. You long to be filled with the highest good, but you cannot attain
it now. I am that sovereign Good. Await Me, until the kingdom of God shall come.
You must still be tried on earth, and exercised in many things. Consolation will
sometimes be given you, but the complete fullness of it is not granted. Take
courage, therefore, and be strong both to do and to suffer what is contrary to
nature.
You must put on the new man. You must be changed into another man. You must
often do the things you do not wish to do and forego those you do wish. What
pleases others will succeed; what pleases you will not. The words of others will
be heard; what you say will be accounted as nothing. Others will ask and
receive; you will ask and not receive. Others will gain great fame among men;
about you nothing will be said. To others the doing of this or that will be
entrusted; you will be judged useless. At all this nature will sometimes be sad,
and it will be a great thing if you bear this sadness in silence. For in these
and many similar ways the faithful servant of the Lord is wont to be tried, to
see how far he can deny himself and break himself in all things.
There is scarcely anything in which you so need to die to self as in seeing and
suffering things that are against your will, especially when things that are
commanded seem inconvenient or useless. Then, because you are under authority,
and dare not resist the higher power, it seems hard to submit to the will of
another and give up your own opinion entirely.
But consider, my child, the fruit of these labors, how soon they will end and
how greatly they will be rewarded, and you will not be saddened by them, but
your patience will receive the strongest consolation. For instead of the little
will that you now readily give up, you shall always have your will in heaven.
There, indeed, you shall find all that you could desire. There you shall have
possession of every good without fear of losing it. There shall your will be
forever one with Mine. It shall desire nothing outside of Me and nothing for
itself. There no one shall oppose you, no one shall complain of you, no one
hinder you, and nothing stand in your way. All that you desire will be present
there, replenishing your affection and satisfying it to the full. There I shall
render you glory for the reproach you have suffered here; for your sorrow I
shall give you a garment of praise, and for the lowest place a seat of power
forever. There the fruit of glory will appear, the labor of penance rejoice, and
humble subjection be gloriously crowned.
Bow humbly, therefore, under the will of all, and do not heed who said this or
commanded that. But let it be your special care when something is commanded, or
even hinted at, whether by a superior or an inferior or an equal, that you take
it in good part and try honestly to perform it. Let one person seek one thing
and another something else. Let one glory in this, another in that, and both be
praised a thousand times over. But as for you, rejoice neither in one or the
other, but only in contempt of yourself and in My pleasure and honor. Let this
be your wish: That whether in life or in death God may be glorified in you.
