does not hinder the clear shining of moon or stars. And then be sure that it all falls immeasurably short of the glory of Paradise. O bright and blessed country, O sweet and precious place!
2. Consider the beauty and perfection of the countless inhabitants of that blessed country — the millions and millions of angels, Cherubim and Seraphim; the glorious company of apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and saints. O blessed company, any one single member of which surpasses all the glory of this world, what will it be to behold them all, to sing with them the sweet song of the Lamb? They rejoice with a perpetual joy, they share a bliss unspeakable, and unchangeable delights.
3. Consider how they enjoy the presence of God, who fills them with the richness of his vision, which is a perfect ocean of delight — the joy of being forever united to their head. They are like happy birds, hovering and singing forever within the atmosphere of divinity, which fills them with inconceivable pleasures. There each one vies without jealousy in singing the praises of the creator. “Blessed are you forever, O dear and precious Lord and Redeemer, who so freely gives us a share of your own glory!” they cry. And he in his turn pours out his ceaseless blessing on his saints. “Blessed are you — my own forever, who have served me faithfully and with good courage.”
Affections and Resolutions
1. Admire and rejoice in the heavenly country, the glorious and blessed New Jerusalem.
2. Reprove the coldness of your own heart for having sought so little after that glorious abode. Why have I remained indifferent so long to the eternal happiness set before me? Woe is me that, for the sake of poor, flavorless, earthly things, I have so often forgotten those heavenly delights. How could I neglect such real treasures for mere vain and contemptible earthly matters?
3. Aspire earnestly after that blessed abode. Dear Lord, as you have been pleased to turn my feet into your ways, never again will I look back. Go forth, my soul, toward your promised rest; journey without tiring to that hoped-for land. Why should you tarry in Egypt?
4. Resolve to give up such and such things, which hinder you on the way, and to do such others as will help you reach your destination.
Give thanks, offer, pray.
Chapter 17
Ninth Meditation — On the Choice Between Heaven and Hell
Preparation
1. Place yourself in the presence of God.
2. Humble yourself before him and ask his inspiration.
Considerations
1. Imagine yourself alone with your good angel in an open plain, as was Tobit on his way to Rages. Suppose the angel to set before you heaven, full of delights and joys, and hell, with all its torments. Contemplate both, kneeling in imagination before your guardian angel. Consider that you are most truly standing between hell and heaven, and that both the one and the other are open to receive you, according to your own choice.
2. Consider that the choice you make in this life will last forever in the next.
3. Consider, too, that while both are open to receive you according to your choice, yet God (who is prepared to give the one by reason of his justice, the other by reason of his mercy) all the while desires unspeakably for you to choose heaven. And your good angel is urging you with all his might to do so, offering you countless graces on God’s part, countless helps to attain to it.
4. Consider that Jesus Christ, enthroned in heaven, looks down upon you in loving invitation: “O beloved one, come unto me, and joy forever in the eternal blessedness of my love!” Behold his mother yearning over you with maternal tenderness: “Courage, my child, do not despise the goodness of my Son, or my earnest prayers for your salvation.” Behold the saints, who have left you their example, the millions of holy souls who long for you, desiring earnestly that you may one day be joined to them forever in their song of praise. They urge upon you that the road to heaven is not so hard to find as the world would have you think. “Press on boldly, dear friend,” they cry. “Those who will ponder well the path by which we came here will discover that we attained to these present delights by sweeter joys than any this world can give.”
The Choice
1. O hell, I abhor you now and forever; I abhor your griefs and torments, your endless misery, the unceasing blasphemies and curses which you pour out upon my God. And turning to you, O blessed Paradise, eternal glory, unfading happiness, I choose you forever as my home, your glorious mansions, your precious and abiding tabernacles. O my God, I bless your mercy that gives me the power to choose. O Jesus, Savior, I accept your eternal love, and praise you for the promise you have given me of a place prepared for me in that blessed New Jerusalem, where I will love and bless you forever.
2. Dwell lovingly upon the example set before you by the Blessed Virgin and the saints, and strive to follow where they point you. Give yourself up to your guardian angel, that he may be your guide, and gird up your courage anew to make this choice.
Chapter 18
Tenth Meditation — How the Soul Chooses the Devout Life
Preparation
1. Place yourself in the presence of God.
2. Humble yourself before him and ask his aid.
Considerations
1. Once more imagine yourself in an open plain, alone with your guardian angel. Picture on your left hand the devil, sitting on a high and mighty throne, surrounded by a vast troop of worldly men, who bow bareheaded before him, doing homage to him by the various sins they commit. Study the faces of the miserable courtiers of that most abominable king — some raging with fury, envy, and passion, some murderous in their hatred, others pale and haggard in their craving after wealth, or madly pursuing every vain and profitless pleasure, others sunk and lost in vile, impure affections. See how all alike are hateful, restless, wild; see how they despise one another and have only an unreal, self-seeking love. Such is the miserable reign of the hateful tyrant.
2. On the other hand, behold Jesus Christ crucified, calling these unhappy wretches to come to him, and interceding for them with all the love of his precious heart. Behold the company of devout souls and their guardian angels; contemplate the beauty of this holy kingdom. What could be lovelier than the troop of virgin souls, men and women, pure as lilies; widows in their holy desolation and humility; husbands and wives living in all tender love and mutual cherishing. See how such pious souls know how to combine their exterior and interior duties — to love the earthly spouse without diminishing their devotion to the heavenly bridegroom. Look around: one and all, you will see them with loving, holy, gentle faces listening to the voice of their Lord, all seeking to enthrone him more and more within their hearts.
They rejoice, but it is with a peaceful, loving, sober joy; they love, but their love is altogether holy and pure. Those among these devout souls who have sorrows to bear are not disheartened by them, and they do not grieve too much, for their Savior’s eye is upon them to comfort them, and they all seek only him.
3. Surely you have already fully renounced Satan with his weary, miserable troop, by the good resolutions you have made. Nevertheless, you have not yet wholly attained to the king Jesus, or fully joined his blessed company of devout souls; you have hovered between the two.
4.
