Chapter 41 teaches that the soul utterly surrendered to divine Love is freed from all anxiety over past sins and from any hope placed in her own merits. Completely annihilated in herself by the sheer goodness of God, she no longer acts from her own initiative-not even for God’s sake-because God alone now acts through her. This self-emptying renders her beyond the reach of Reason and Nature, so that she feels nothing of her union with God, yet abides in Him truly and silently. Such a soul is unconcerned with either the joys of heaven or the torments of hell, seeking only God’s will. Even Holy Church, upon hearing this, stands in reverent silence, acknowledging that this mystery surpasses Scripture and cannot be grasped by Reason, but only by the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
—
1. “Thus such a Soul has no anxiety from sin which she might have ever committed, nor hope in something which she might be able to do, but only in the goodness of God.”
This opening establishes the soul’s radical detachment from both guilt and merit. Her peace does not come from forgetting sin or denying goodness, but from being totally emptied of self-regard, depending only on God’s pure goodness. This is the fruit of a complete interior death: she neither clings to her failures nor takes refuge in her accomplishments.
2. “And the secret treasure of this goodness alone so annihilates her within herself that she is dead to all feeling from within and without, to the extent that such a Soul no longer does any works, neither for God’s sake nor for her own.”
Here, the soul enters into a profound spiritual passivity-not from negligence but from a divine stillness. She is so overcome by the mystery of divine goodness that she no longer acts even for God, but simply is in God. This language echoes mystics like Eckhart or Ruysbroeck, where annihilation means resting entirely in God’s operation, not one’s own.
3. “This Soul, says Love, is no longer with herself, which is why she must be excused from everything.”
Being “no longer with herself” suggests complete self-transcendence. The soul no longer lives by her own lights, and so cannot be judged by ordinary standards. Her life is hidden with God, and thus she must be excused from typical expectations of piety, works, or moral effort.
4. “And the One in whom she is does His work through her, for the sake of which she is entirely freed by the witness of God Himself, says Love, who is the worker of this work.”
This is the high point of divine indwelling: God acts entirely through her, and her freedom consists in His sole agency. This is not Quietism but the mystical vision of total union, where divine Love is the sole source of life and movement.
5. “She is where she loves, says Love, without her feeling it.”
Though she does not feel God’s presence, she dwells in Him. This paradox underscores that spiritual union at this stage transcends awareness or emotion. The soul’s love is no longer experienced as possession but as dispossession-she abides in Love even without consolation.
6. “For whoever does anything by the movement of himself, says Love, is no longer without himself … But the one … who has died from love neither feels nor understands either Reason or Nature.”
This distinction between natural and supernatural life is crucial. The soul who acts from herself is still moved by nature or reason. But the soul who has died from love is moved only by God, and thus transcends rational and natural categories. Reason and Nature are good in themselves, but here they are surpassed.
7. “Such a Soul wills none of the joys of paradise … nor does she refuse any torments of hell …”
This extraordinary statement expresses the soul’s total indifference to reward or punishment-her will is aligned so purely with God’s that she seeks neither consolation nor escape. She no longer loves God for His gifts but simply because He is.
8. “Most sweet Holy Spirit, teach it to us, for this word surpasses our Scripture, and so we cannot grasp by Reason what Love says.”
Here, the Church herself is astonished. The soul’s state transcends theological comprehension and even Scripture as traditionally interpreted. This is not a critique of Scripture but an acknowledgment that divine union passes into mystery beyond discursive knowledge. Love speaks what Reason cannot grasp, and even Holy Church listens in reverent silence.
—
1. Why does the Soul in this chapter no longer feel anxiety over sin or hope in her own good works?
Because her entire trust and orientation are centered solely in the goodness of God, not in anything she has done or might do. She has been so inwardly annihilated by this divine goodness that she has died to both interior and exterior activity. Her past sins and future efforts no longer carry any emotional or spiritual weight; all is surrendered to God.
2. What does it mean that the Soul “no longer does any works, neither for God’s sake nor for her own”?
It means that she is completely passive before God-not from laziness or disobedience, but because she has been utterly emptied of self-will. She is not moved even by religious motivations; she does not act “for” God because she is in God, and God is acting through her. Her own selfhood has been transcended.
3. How does Love explain that this Soul is “no longer with herself”?
Love explains that the Soul is “no longer with herself” because she is fully given over to God-she is not guided by her own will, reason, or natural inclinations. She has become so interiorly detached that she cannot even seek or find God by her own power. God alone works in her, and this divine operation excuses her from all ordinary obligations or judgments.
4. What is meant by the Soul being “where she loves, without her feeling it”?
This phrase expresses the deep mystery of mystical union: although the Soul feels no emotional or conscious awareness of God’s presence, she dwells in Him through Love. Her union is real and complete, but it exists beyond the realm of sensation or intellect.
5. What does this chapter say about Reason and Nature in relation to the soul’s state?
It says that whoever acts from their own movement is still influenced by Reason and Nature, whereas the soul who has “died from love” is beyond both. She neither feels nor understands Reason or Nature because her life is now entirely absorbed in divine Love, not in created faculties or structures.
6. How does the Soul relate to joy and suffering in this chapter?
She is completely indifferent. She wills neither the joys of paradise nor the avoidance of the torments of hell. Her will is so united to God that she does not seek reward nor fear punishment; she desires only God’s will, whatever that may entail.
7. How does Holy Church respond to this teaching, and what does it signify?
Holy Church is amazed and reverent, admitting that what Love says “surpasses our Scripture” and cannot be understood by Reason. This shows that the state of the Soul described here is a profound mystical grace that transcends ordinary theological categories. Even the Church, in her wisdom, listens with humility and awe.
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In Chapter 42, the Soul is revealed as utterly emptied of self-knowing nothing and willing nothing-and it is precisely through this radical unknowing and unwilling that she receives everything. The Holy Spirit teaches that such a Soul, through the power of Love (not by divine nature), possesses the hidden treasure of the Trinity itself, because she shares in all that the Spirit possesses, which includes all that the Father and the Son possess. This profound mystical union is possible because the Soul is entirely dead to the world, allowing the Trinity to dwell in her fully and eternally. The chapter emphasizes that this spiritual state, which surpasses the grasp of Reason and even Holy Church’s usual categories, is the fruit of divine grace and the utter annihilation of self in Love.
—
1. “This Soul knows only one thing, that is, she knows nothing. And so she wills only one thing, that is, she wills nothing.”
This radical “unknowing” and “unwilling” is not ignorance or apathy but the fruit of perfect detachment and self-emptying. The soul has renounced all claims to knowledge and volition apart from God. In doing so, she becomes receptive to the fullness of divine wisdom and will, which transcend human capacities. Her interior poverty becomes the space in which divine fullness can be poured.
2. “This knowing-nothing and this willing-nothing give her everything, says the Holy Spirit, and allow her to find the secret and hidden treasure which is enclosed in the Trinity forever.”
The paradox at the heart of this teaching is that renouncing all personal striving allows the soul to receive “everything.” The “everything” is not material or even merely spiritual goods-it is the mystery of God Himself. The “secret and hidden treasure” refers to an intimate union with the inner life of the Trinity, granted not by nature but by the transformative power of Love.
3. “She possesses all that I have, and the Father and the Son have nothing which I do not have in myself … thus this Soul possesses … the treasure of the Trinity, hidden and enclosed within her.”
This statement reveals the depth of the soul’s union with God. Through her union with the Holy Spirit, the soul mystically shares in all that belongs to the Father and the Son. The presence of the Trinity within her is not symbolic-it is an ontological inhabitation, hidden but real. The soul becomes a living sanctuary of the divine.
4. “Because she is dead to the world and the world is dead in her, the Trinity will dwell in her forever.”
The condition for this indwelling is total detachment from the world-both its attractions and its fears. The soul’s death to the world allows her to live in God alone. This death is not loss but transformation. The indwelling of the Trinity is a perpetual state, not dependent on emotional experience but rooted in divine constancy and the soul’s spiritual death and rebirth.
Overall Insight:
This chapter expresses the peak of mystical union: a soul so emptied of self that she knows and wills nothing but God, and in that emptiness, receives all. The soul becomes a hidden vessel of the Trinity itself, living in silent possession of the divine mystery, no longer distinguished from Love, but abiding wholly within it.
—
1. What does the Holy Spirit say the Soul knows and wills?
The Soul knows only one thing-that she knows nothing-and she wills only one thing-that she wills nothing. This total renunciation of self-knowledge and self-will is the ground of her spiritual poverty and openness to divine fullness.
2. What is the result of the Soul’s “knowing-nothing” and “willing-nothing”?
According to the Holy Spirit, this knowing-nothing and willing-nothing give the Soul “everything,” allowing her to discover the “secret and hidden treasure” enclosed in the Trinity. This signifies profound mystical union with God through the power of Love.
3. How does the Soul come to possess all that the Holy Spirit possesses?
Since the Holy Spirit possesses everything that the Father and the Son possess, and the Soul possesses all that the Holy Spirit has, the Soul therefore mystically possesses the treasure of the Trinity itself-though not by nature, but by Love.
4. What condition allows the Trinity to dwell in the Soul?
The Trinity dwells in the Soul because she is “dead to the world and the world is dead in her.” This death is spiritual detachment from all worldly concerns, which makes her a pure vessel for divine indwelling.
5. How does this teaching relate to Holy Church’s understanding?
Holy Church is amazed and confesses that such teaching “surpasses our Scripture” and cannot be grasped by Reason. This suggests that the depth of mystical union described here transcends the external forms and rational categories of doctrine.
6. By what power does the Soul possess the treasure of the Trinity, if not by divine nature?
The Soul possesses it “through the power of Love,” not by divine nature. This means her union with the Trinity is not ontological equality, but a loving participation granted by grace.
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Chapter 43 teaches that the Souls fully united to God through Love become, in essence, the true Holy Church-not by ecclesiastical function but by inward participation in the Trinity itself. These Souls no longer live by Reason but by pure Love, having given up all they possess, including their will, in a total self-offering to God. In return, the Trinity dwells in them and gives them all that It has-not by nature, but by the right of Love. Their memory, understanding, and will are now fully absorbed in God’s Being, and their actions flow not from themselves but from divine ordination. These Souls exemplify perfect love: not seeking reward, they return all to God purely for His sake, becoming vessels of divine sustenance for the whole Church.
—
1. “These Souls, says Love, are properly called Holy Church, for they sustain and teach and feed the whole Holy Church. And not merely they, says Love, but the whole Trinity within them.”
Love identifies the fully annihilated Souls-those utterly conformed to God’s will-not simply as members of the Church but as its very heart, its substance. They are Holy Church in its truest form, because the indwelling Trinity acts in and through them. This radical statement redefines the Church not as institutional first, but as mystically incarnated in the souls who live in perfect unity with God.
2. “We wish to say, says Holy Church, that these Souls are of the life above us, for Love dwells in them and Reason dwells in us.”
Institutional or “Little” Holy Church acknowledges a hierarchy-not of authority but of spiritual elevation. These Souls dwell above Reason’s domain because they are governed by Love, not by doctrine or rational guidance. Reason may teach and interpret, but it bows to what it cannot grasp: divine Love in its pure operation.
3. “Ah, Reason, says Love, you will always be one-eyed, you and all those who are fed by your doctrine. For, to be sure, one has faulty vision who sees things before his eyes and does not understand them at all.”
Love critiques Reason’s limitations-its partial vision. Even when faced with divine realities, Reason fails to comprehend them fully. This reflects the soul’s journey beyond rational faith into a lived union, where knowing is no longer cognitive but experiential and mystical.
4. “This Soul … has given everything to us, whatever she held dear … without wishing anything in return in heaven or on earth, but for the sake of our will alone.”
The Soul’s self-gift is absolute-nothing is held back. She desires neither reward nor consolation but only God’s will. This is pure charity: a self-emptying that mirrors the kenosis of Christ. Her total offering opens her to receive the fullness of divine life.
5. “Thus what we possess in us, says the Holy Spirit, is by divine nature, and this Soul possesses it from us in herself by right of Love.”
A bold theological claim: by Love-not by nature-the Soul shares in what God has by essence. This is not ontological equality but a deep participation through Love’s gift. It stresses that divine union is possible, not by merit, but by Love’s sheer generosity.
6. “This Soul … possesses memory, understanding and will in the abyss completely in One Being, that is, in God.”
The human faculties-memory, understanding, and will-are now entirely subsumed in God. They no longer function in autonomy but are integrated into divine Being. The Soul lives from God’s life, not her own, and therefore acts only through God’s ordination.
7. “There is not any greater discernment than temperance, nor a greater richness than sufficiency, nor a greater power than love.”
This triad-temperance, sufficiency, and love-summarizes the transformed soul’s character. Her wisdom is restraint (temperance), her wealth is contentment (sufficiency), and her strength is divine charity (love). These virtues express the economy of divine life: quiet, hidden, total.
This chapter establishes the mystical identity of the annihilated Soul with Holy Church itself. She is not merely a member of the Church; she is its living, nourishing heart, because the Trinity dwells and acts in her without mediation. Her total detachment and radical union with God become the source from which the institutional Church is fed, taught, and sustained.
—
1. Why does Love say that these Souls are properly called “Holy Church”?
Because they sustain, teach, and feed the entire Church-not through their own power, but through the indwelling Trinity. Love emphasizes that the presence of the whole Trinity within these Souls makes them, in essence, the living substance of the Church.
2. How does Holy Church distinguish between herself and these Souls?
Holy Church acknowledges that these Souls belong to a higher spiritual life-one governed by Love rather than Reason. While the institutional Church functions through rational guidance and scriptural interpretation, these Souls live beyond that, guided directly by Love and united to God.
3. What critique does Love make of Reason in this chapter?
Love rebukes Reason as “one-eyed,” meaning it has partial vision and lacks true spiritual understanding. Though Reason sees divine realities, it cannot grasp them because it is not united with Love. This underscores the limitation of purely rational or doctrinal approaches to divine mysteries.
4. On what basis does the Holy Spirit give everything to the Soul?
The Holy Spirit gives everything by right of Love. The Soul, having given everything of herself to God-her will, her affections, and her identity-without seeking anything in return, receives everything that the Trinity possesses, not by nature, but as a gift of Love.
5. How does the Soul return what she receives from the Trinity?
The Soul renders all things back to God freely, just as she received them, without desire for reward in heaven or on earth. Her only motivation is to do God’s will, reflecting a pure love that mirrors the generosity of the Trinity.
6. What does the chapter say about the Soul’s faculties-memory, understanding, and will?
The Soul possesses these faculties in the abyss, fully absorbed in One Being, which is God. She no longer acts with her own memory, understanding, or will, but entirely through God’s Being, showing her total transformation and union.
7. What virtues summarize the wisdom of the Soul in this state?
Temperance (true discernment), sufficiency (true richness), and love (true power). These virtues reflect a divine order in the soul’s life, grounded not in striving, but in resting in God’s sufficiency and overflowing Love.
——————–
Chapter 44 teaches that the soul who languishes in divine love undergoes a profound interior battle, warring against vice through the acquisition of virtue-a struggle so intense it is likened to sickness and ultimately leads to death, not of the body, but of self-will. This “death from love” signifies complete detachment from the world and the surrender of all personal desires, leaving the soul hidden in God and invulnerable to sin, the flesh, or the devil. Such a soul no longer wills anything of her own but lives entirely in the repose of God’s will, possessing perfect peace. Her transformation reveals that true union with God is attained only when the soul has relinquished her own will entirely and lives solely by the divine will, rendered through love.
—
1. Reason: “Ah, Lady Love … what does a Soul do who languishes in love?”
Reason, still operating within its framework of analysis and inquiry, turns to Love for insight into the experience of the soul that is consumed by divine longing. This question sets the stage for revealing how intense divine desire becomes a kind of transformative suffering.
2. Love: “She wars against vices … in acquiring virtues.”
Love responds that such a soul is not passive in her longing; she actively battles sin and cultivates virtue. The soul’s desire for union with God fuels her interior struggle-a warfare not against the world, but against vice within herself, to attain divine likeness.
3. Soul: “Ah, very sweet Love … one must certainly call such a strenuous life sickness and a life of war.”
The Soul confirms that the path of love is agonizing, even likening it to an illness-spiritually painful yet redemptive. Love is not romanticized here; it is a burning fire that consumes the soul, demanding heroic endurance and radical purification.
4. Love: “She has so languished in love … that she has died from love.”
This turning point introduces the mystical “death from love”-a symbolic death in which the soul is entirely taken out of herself. She no longer clings to the world, self-will, or created things. Her identity becomes lost in divine union, not by annihilation but by transformation.
5. Love: “She has finished with the world … she lives in the repose of peace.”
The soul’s death to the world brings about profound invulnerability: demons, the flesh, and worldly distractions can no longer reach her. Her will no longer reacts to created things; she lives in perfect stillness, untouched and at rest in God.
6. Reason: “Such a Soul … has no more will … we have no merit before God except as we leave our will.”
Even Reason now concedes the truth of Love’s teaching: true merit before God comes not from effort or calculation, but from the total surrender of will. Only in letting go of self-will does the soul align fully with divine love.
7. Soul: “I believe this … since I will nothing.”
The Soul affirms the teaching experientially: her peace comes from willing absolutely nothing apart from God’s will. This is the mystical paradox-by surrendering will, the soul finds completeness and lacks nothing.
8. Love: “What do you know, Lady Soul?” / Soul: “I have proven it by certain tests … I almost died from it.”
This exchange shows the soul’s journey through trial and stripping. She has been tested by God’s school of goodness, where the renunciation of all will led her to the brink of total transformation. Her survival and peace now rest in God’s will alone.
9. Soul: “One has no more will who wills nothing … has nothing with which to will except the will of Him …”
This is the heart of the teaching: the soul who truly gives her will to God retains nothing for herself-not even the capacity to will apart from Him. Her will becomes God’s will. This is not loss, but the most intimate union.
This chapter captures the soul’s final passage through the fiery school of divine love. By dying to her own will and detaching from all created things, she lives now entirely in and from God. The soul’s “death from love” is not an end, but an entrance into peace, invulnerability, and the deepest possible unity with the divine will.
—
1. What does a soul do when she “languishes in love”?
She wages war against vice by acquiring virtue. Her yearning for God makes her fight tirelessly to purify herself, leading to an intense spiritual struggle that is both exhausting and sanctifying.
2. How does the Soul describe this process of longing and virtue-acquisition?
She calls it a “great and perilous war” and likens it to a sickness. The battle for holiness is not romantic but a painful, consuming experience that can feel like illness or death.
3. What does it mean that the Soul has “died from love”?
It means that the Soul has completely detached from the world and self-will. She no longer lives by her own desires but is entirely hidden in God, untouchable by the world, sin, or temptation. This “death” is the full absorption of the soul into divine peace and will.
4. What is the result of this spiritual death for the Soul?
She lives in perfect peace, immune to the world, flesh, and demons because they can no longer find her in any worldly work or attachment. She desires nothing and wills nothing except God’s will.
5. How does Reason respond to this transformation?
Reason admits that such a soul has no more will and recognizes that true merit before God comes from surrendering one’s will entirely. This admission marks Reason’s conversion to Love’s wisdom.
6. What does the Soul say about her experience of willing nothing?
She confirms that her peace comes from giving up all will of her own. She states that she “almost died” from this surrender, but it was the only path to complete union with God’s will-having no will but His.
7. How is the will of the Soul described at the end of the chapter?
The Soul who truly gives her will to God has nothing left with which to will except the divine will itself. She is emptied of self and lives entirely by God’s ordination, becoming one with His intention.
——————–
Chapter 45 teaches that souls who have surrendered their will entirely to God live in the freeness of divine charity. Having come to a profound awareness of their own nothingness, they no longer desire anything, nor act from self-will. This nothingness is not a void but a place of radical receptivity, where God alone acts. The chapter emphasizes that all human comprehension-even of divine things-is nothing compared to the infinite, ungraspable mystery of God’s essence. Thus, true spiritual freedom arises not from understanding or striving, but from relinquishing all claims to will or knowledge, allowing God to work freely in the soul. This self-emptying becomes the soul’s liberation and perfection in love.
—
1. “Such ones live in freeness of charity who have no more will. And whoever would ask such persons what they want, in truth they would say that they want nothing.”
Here, Love defines true spiritual freedom as a state of total self-abandonment, where the soul desires absolutely nothing for itself. Having no will of its own, the soul lives in the pure charity of God, free from all attachments and self-interest. This “freeness of charity” is not merely passive; it is a sign of having been wholly transformed by divine love.
2. “They have arrived at the understanding of their nothingness… the understanding of such belief is that one can understand nothing about it.”
The soul reaches a paradoxical insight: it knows it is nothing, but even this nothingness is beyond full comprehension. This reflects the mystic’s apophatic realization-God is infinitely beyond knowing, and likewise, the creature’s nothingness before God is not a measurable absence but a total poverty of being. This humility opens the soul to divine fullness.
3. “Nothing? says Reason. / No, says Love.”
Here, Reason confronts Love with incredulity about the idea of ‘nothingness’ being the path to God. Love corrects Reason by showing that even the highest intellectual understanding falls short of divine reality. The soul that embraces its own nothingness is more in touch with truth than the one who tries to grasp God through rational comprehension.
4. “Even if one did not place in this comparison His power, His judgment, His knowledge, His goodness… still it would be nothing.”
This section illustrates the utter transcendence of God. Even the most exalted human or angelic comprehension, even of divine attributes, pales before the true essence of God. A spark of His goodness exceeds all created understanding. The created intellect cannot contain the infinite-thus, even the least of God remains unreachable in its fullness.
5. “What will the Soul do who believes this about you? / She will do nothing, says God; but I will do my work in her without her.”
The culmination of the teaching is this: the soul that has truly emptied itself does not act, but is acted upon by God. Divine charity works in her without her own intervention. This is the radical passivity of union, where the soul rests in its own nothingness and is thereby made a vessel for God’s own action.
6. “The understanding of this nothingness… releases her completely and frees her, for nothing is lacking to her since she wills nothing.”
The paradox of mystical freedom is that by willing nothing, the soul lacks nothing. This detachment is not bleak or nihilistic-it is total liberation into the sufficiency of divine love. Having no self-centered desires, the soul is finally free to live entirely in and from God, receiving everything in His love.
—
1. What characterizes the soul that “has no more will,” according to Love?
Such a soul lives in freeness of charity. When asked what they desire, these souls truthfully reply that they want nothing. This is because they have reached the recognition of their nothingness and no longer act from their own will but are entirely given over to God’s will.
2. What is the significance of “nothingness” in this chapter?
“Nothingness” signifies both the soul’s recognition of its utter poverty before God and its total surrender. This awareness is so deep that even trying to comprehend it is beyond the soul’s capacity. The understanding of nothingness frees the soul completely, making space for God to work in it without hindrance.
3. How does Reason respond to the idea of ‘nothingness,’ and what is Love’s reply?
Reason questions the notion, asking skeptically, “Nothing?” Love replies affirmatively-yes, nothing. Love explains that even the most sublime understanding or comparison of God’s attributes would still be nothing compared to His actual essence. The smallest spark of His goodness exceeds all comprehension.
4. How does the soul’s belief in its own nothingness relate to God’s action in it?
God declares that the soul who believes in its nothingness does nothing-but God Himself acts in her. This belief places her in such a degree of self-emptying that she cannot act on her own. Her powerlessness becomes the condition for divine activity.
5. What paradox about spiritual freedom is revealed at the end of the chapter?
The paradox is that the soul, by willing nothing, lacks nothing. This detachment leads to total liberation. Freed from its own will, the soul no longer experiences deficiency or need-it rests entirely in God’s sufficiency.
6. What does this chapter teach about knowledge and comprehension of God?
It teaches that no amount of human understanding-no matter how high-can grasp even the smallest part of God’s essence. Every attempt to understand God falls short, and even what we do understand is “nothing” compared to what remains hidden in Him.
——————–
Chapter 46 teaches that the soul who has reached a high degree of union with God comes to a profound awareness of divine transcendence. Even as she receives gifts and understanding from God, she perceives that all she knows and experiences is nothing compared to the infinite fullness of God Himself. The smallest spark of His goodness, hidden within His own divine knowledge, surpasses all created understanding. This realization leads the soul not to despair, but to a serene humility and contentment, as she entrusts herself entirely to Love, who alone knows God as He is. In this surrender, she is freed from striving, resting in the mystery of a God whose greatness always exceeds comprehension.
—
1. “Now this Soul has fallen and arrived at understanding of the greater part. Truly, but only in the sense that she understands nothing of God, compared to the whole of Him.”
The soul is said to have reached an “understanding of the greater part,” yet paradoxically, this means realizing how little she understands of God. The deeper her insight, the more she recognizes the immeasurable distance between her perception and the divine fullness. True understanding reveals the soul’s incapacity to comprehend God, not through ignorance, but through awe-filled recognition of His transcendence.
2. “Ah, dear! says Reason. Does one dare call nothing a thing which is of God?”
Reason, surprised and almost scandalized, questions how something that comes from God could be called “nothing.” This reflects the natural tendency of reason to attribute weight and value to anything divine. However, what follows challenges reason’s framework by relativizing even the gifts of God compared to God Himself.
3. “Truly, whatever might be given us or will be from Him is indeed nothing… still it would be nothing compared to one sole spark of His goodness, which remains in His understanding, beyond our understanding.”
The soul asserts that even the most exalted gifts from God are “nothing” in comparison with the unfathomable depths of His being. The analogy of “one sole spark” of divine goodness, which lies hidden in God’s own understanding, renders all perceived gifts infinitesimal. This isn’t a denial of the value of God’s gifts but an act of adoration that highlights His infinite transcendence.
4. “Oh… and what might be thus from the whole of Him, since one can speak so much of the goodness of the least part of Him?”
This rhetorical awe climaxes in a question: if such divine glory is found in just a fragment, how unfathomable must the whole of God be? The soul marvels at the disproportion between what can be known or said and the unspeakable grandeur of God in Himself.
5. “Ah, most sweet Love, says this Soul, this you alone know, and it is sufficient for me.”
The soul surrenders intellectual striving to Love, acknowledging that Love alone comprehends the mystery of God. The soul finds peace not in understanding but in trusting Love’s knowing. It is a consummate act of mystical humility: to rest in the sufficiency of what Love knows, even if the soul herself cannot.
—
1. What does it mean that the Soul has “arrived at understanding of the greater part”?
Although it sounds like progress, this “understanding of the greater part” actually reveals to the soul how infinitely beyond her God remains. She recognizes that all she understands is as nothing compared to the incomprehensible whole of God.
2. Why does Reason object to calling something from God “nothing”?
Reason finds it contradictory to label something divine as “nothing,” since reason associates God with all that is supremely valuable. The soul’s mystical insight, however, goes beyond this logic, emphasizing God’s total transcendence.
3. How does the Soul respond to Reason’s objection?
The Soul affirms that even the highest gifts or revelations given by God are “nothing” in comparison to a single spark of His goodness that remains hidden in His own divine understanding. Her insight relativizes all things before God’s infinite grandeur.
4. What is meant by “a sole spark of His goodness”?
This image illustrates how even the smallest, most hidden aspect of God’s goodness surpasses all the soul can experience or comprehend. It points to the infinite excess of divine reality over any created participation in it.
5. How does the Soul finally react to this overwhelming contrast between what is known and what is beyond knowledge?
The Soul turns to Love, acknowledging that only Love can comprehend God fully. She is content in this surrender, resting in the sufficiency of Love’s knowledge rather than striving for her own.
6. What is the theological significance of calling God’s known gifts “nothing”?
This language reflects a mystical theology of negation: the closer one draws to God, the more one sees that even divine gifts fall short of God’s essence. It fosters humility, detachment, and a deeper trust in God’s incomprehensible being.
——————–
In Chapter 47, the soul reaches a profound awareness of her own nothingness-not only in terms of her incapacity for good apart from God, but also in recognizing that even the true gravity of her sins lies beyond her comprehension, known only to God. Through this realization, she relinquishes all self-will and knowledge, entering a state of radical humility and interior poverty. This detachment liberates her, allowing her to live in the freeness of perfect charity, guided solely by divine grace. She ceases to judge herself or others, resting in pure intention, and finds peace in all things, because peace now abides within her. Firmly rooted in this inward transformation, she becomes unshakable, seated in the throne of peace, living from the depths of a good conscience and in total harmony with God’s will.
—
1. “Now I will tell you, says Love, how she has arrived at understanding of her nothingness. Thus she understands that neither she nor any other understands the nothingness of her horrible sins and faults, compared to what is in the knowledge of God about them.”
The soul has come to see her own utter nothingness-not only in the face of God’s grandeur but also in relation to the mystery of her own sinfulness. Even her worst sins are only truly known in their depth and horror by God alone. This humbling insight reveals that true self-knowledge is not a matter of psychological introspection, but of surrender to divine knowledge, which alone sees the truth of both sin and grace.
2. “Such a Soul, says Love, has retained no will, but instead has arrived at and fallen into willing nothing and the certain knowledge of knowing nothing.”
The soul’s total surrender is marked by a twofold kenosis: she wills nothing and knows nothing. This is not ignorance or passivity, but the highest form of spiritual poverty. By emptying herself of all self-will and self-reliance, she is free-available for God’s work and action. This “knowing-nothing” is a mystical state of humility and receptivity that releases the soul from all grasping.
3. “And this knowing-nothing and willing-nothing have released and freed her.”
Freedom is paradoxically found in this utter abandonment. What the world might see as a loss of autonomy is, in truth, the soul’s liberation. She is no longer bound by illusions of control or self-merit but rests in God alone. This is the heart of true contemplative peace.
4. “Such a Soul, says Love, maintains the counsel of the Gospel which says: ‘Have a simple eye and then you will not sin.'”
The “simple eye” refers to spiritual singleness and purity of intention. Because the soul is no longer divided by self-interest or judgments, she perceives all through the lens of charity. Her simplicity protects her from sin-not by effort, but by orientation of the heart.
5. “So this Soul is at peace in all that God suffers from her, for she has true intention in all her undertakings and peaceful repose in the actions of her neighbors.”
The soul is not disturbed even by her faults, because she knows they are permitted by God for her transformation. Her peace flows from right intention and from refusing to judge her neighbor, instead resting in the belief that goodness is present in all. Her repose is rooted in deep trust in God’s providence.
6. “This Soul has her peace in all places, for she carries peace with her always, so that, because of such peace, all places are comfortable for her, and all things also.”
Peace is no longer circumstantial. Because the soul carries interior peace-born of detachment and divine union-she finds comfort in all things. She is no longer tossed about by externals, for her rest is in God alone, and therefore portable and unshakable.
7. “Thus such a Soul seats herself without moving herself on the throne of peace in the book of life, in the witness of a good conscience and in freeness of perfect charity.”
This final image conveys regal stillness: the soul is enthroned in peace, inscribed in the book of life. She lives in the freedom of perfect charity and the quiet testimony of a conscience purified by grace. Her transformation is complete-not by achievement, but by surrender.
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1. What does it mean that the soul understands her “nothingness”?
The soul has come to realize not only her utter dependence on God but also that even the depth of her sins and faults cannot be truly comprehended by herself or anyone else-only God fully knows them. Her “nothingness” is a recognition of her radical insufficiency and total need for divine grace.
2. How does the soul relate to her will and knowledge in this state?
She has completely relinquished both. She “wills nothing” and knows “nothing,” not from apathy or ignorance, but from a mystical humility. This total detachment from her own faculties of control and understanding liberates her and allows God to act freely within her.
3. How is this emptiness connected to freedom?
By letting go of all personal will and knowledge, the soul becomes free from the burdens of self, pride, and judgment. This interior poverty opens her to God’s action alone, granting her peace and spiritual freedom beyond self-effort.
4. What Gospel counsel does the soul fulfill, and how?
She fulfills the counsel: “Have a simple eye and then you will not sin.” This means she lives with pure, undivided intention. Her gaze is fixed on God without distraction or duplicity, leading her away from sin and toward clarity, simplicity, and peace.
5. How does the soul respond to her own faults and the actions of others?
She is at peace with her own faults because she accepts all that God permits and trusts His judgment. Likewise, she has “peaceful repose” in the actions of her neighbors, making no critical judgments but assuming all is ordered in divine goodness.
6. Why is the soul said to have peace in all places and things?
Because peace resides in her-not in circumstances. Having been inwardly transformed and freed, she carries peace with her, making every place comfortable and every experience bearable. Her peace is stable, not dependent on external conditions.
7. What is the final image of the soul in this chapter, and what does it signify?
She is seated “on the throne of peace in the book of life,” resting in the witness of a good conscience and the freeness of perfect charity. This image conveys her secure position in divine life, characterized by stillness, assurance, and love perfected.
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Chapter 48 teaches that true spiritual freedom is found only in the soul who has completely renounced her own will, even the subtle desire that God’s will be fulfilled in her to her own honor. As long as a person wills anything for themselves-even something that appears holy-they remain a servant of their own will and not truly free. Such souls settle for a limited spiritual state, deceived by a sense of calm that is rooted in self-satisfaction. Only the soul governed by Faith and Love, rather than Reason, Fear, or personal desire, is truly unencumbered. This soul is liberated from fear and attraction alike, resting entirely in God without seeking anything for herself, and thus she alone receives the kingdom of God.
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1. “Thus the Soul wills nothing, says Love, since she is free; for one is not free who wills something by the will within him, whatever he might will.”
True freedom, in Love’s teaching, is found in complete self-emptying-not even willing God’s will for oneself. Any inward claim, even the desire that God act through us for our honor, is a subtle form of self-service and thus bondage to self-will. Love redefines freedom as the absence of all personal claims or desires.
2. “For when one is a servant of oneself, one wills that God accomplish His will to one’s own honor… God refuses His kingdom.”
Self-will, even masked in piety, seeks its own glory through God’s action. This is a betrayal of true charity. The soul who seeks divine will only when it honors her cannot receive God’s kingdom, for she still clings to herself. Such self-regard obstructs the soul’s full entry into divine life.
3. “Such folk… are not calm no matter how much they think they are… their state is sufficient for them.”
Those attached to their own spiritual progress or reputation may appear composed, but inner rest eludes them. They mistake complacency for peace, clinging to a self-satisfied sense of spiritual sufficiency that blinds them to greater depths of surrender.
4. “They do not have as much worthiness… as to think there is no one greater than they, and this keeps them from arriving at what is better.”
Pride subtly blocks spiritual growth. When one unconsciously assumes spiritual superiority or completeness, they close themselves off from greater graces. True humility opens the soul to what is better by acknowledging its utter need.
5. “Certainly not… Since will remains in them they are servants of their will.”
Freedom and satisfaction are impossible where self-will reigns. As long as one clings to personal desire-even in spiritual matters-one lives in servitude. The will, rather than being surrendered, becomes a tyrant that keeps the soul chained.
6. “A Soul enters such servitude… who believes completely these two Virtues, that is, Reason and Fear, and this insatiable Will.”
Reason and Fear, though often seen as moral virtues, can bind the soul if unaccompanied by Faith and Love. If the soul depends solely on rational control or fear of loss, it falls into anxious striving and inner dissatisfaction.
7. “But the one alone is free… whom Faith and Love govern, for they remove such a one from all servitude, without fear of frightening things, without desire of delectable things.”
Faith and Love liberate the soul completely. No fear or desire moves such a soul; she neither shrinks from suffering nor clings to sweetness. Governed only by God’s presence through pure Faith and Love, she transcends all spiritual ambition and becomes truly free.
This chapter critiques subtle forms of spiritual egoism and affirms that only total surrender-beyond even the desire for divine action in oneself-opens the soul to perfect liberty in God.
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1. What does Love say about the nature of true spiritual freedom?
Love teaches that true freedom is found in willing nothing-in complete detachment from personal will. As long as the soul retains any inward desire, even for God’s will to be done in her to her own honor, she is not truly free but remains a servant of herself.
2. Why does Love say that God refuses His kingdom to certain souls?
Because these souls desire that God’s will be accomplished in a way that benefits their own honor or reputation. Such a desire reveals self-interest and self-will, which are incompatible with the total self-emptying required to receive God’s kingdom.
3. How are such souls deceived in their spiritual state?
They may believe themselves calm and satisfied, but Love reveals this as a false peace. Their spiritual opinion of themselves is “sufficient” for them, which means they settle for a limited state and do not seek greater detachment or deeper union with God.
4. What keeps these souls from progressing further in spiritual life?
Their inability to see anyone as greater than themselves. This subtle pride keeps them from humbling themselves and becoming receptive to what is “better”-namely, fuller transformation in God.
5. What does the Soul say about those who remain servants of their own will?
The Soul explains that as long as the will remains active and attached-even in spiritual things-one remains a servant of that will. True freedom only comes when the will itself is relinquished.
6. How can a soul fall into spiritual servitude, even with good intentions?
When it depends entirely on Reason and Fear, it may appear morally upright but is still governed by inner striving and caution rather than surrender. This reliance leads to spiritual exhaustion and a lack of true peace.
7. According to Love, who is the truly free soul?
The soul governed by Faith and Love. These virtues lift the soul beyond fear and desire, freeing her from all servitude. She is not moved by frightening things nor drawn by pleasurable ones, and so rests entirely in God.
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In Chapter 49, the main teaching is that the soul who has entirely renounced her own will is the most noble and free. Such a soul no longer desires heaven, fears hell, or seeks any created thing; she wills absolutely nothing except that God’s will be done. This state of “willing nothing” is held to be far more worthy than even the greatest spiritual achievements, such as miracles, martyrdom, or mystical raptures, because all such acts still involve the soul’s active will. In contrast, the soul who rests in God’s will without any self-directed desire has reached a state of pure love and divine nobility, surpassing all multiplicities of religious action. This radical detachment and simplicity of spirit marks the soul’s highest freedom and closest union with God.
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1. “Such a Soul no longer has will, and thus it does not matter to her what God might do, only that He might always do His will.”
The soul’s nobility comes precisely from the total abandonment of her own will. She is detached from outcomes, spiritual rewards, or any created good. Her only desire is for God to act according to His own will-whether it exalts or humbles her. This pure consent to God’s being is the essence of spiritual nobility.
2. “She does not need hell, or paradise, or any created thing. She neither wills nor not-wills anything which might be named here.”
This radical detachment includes even the desire for salvation or avoidance of damnation. The soul does not seek paradise nor flee from hell-not from presumption or despair, but because she has transcended self-interest altogether. Her identity is dissolved into God’s will, leaving her without any personal preference.
3. “Nothing, says Love, she wills nothing. But to say this seems indeed strange to those who desire great burdens from multiplicities of love.”
Love affirms that the soul wills absolutely nothing-an idea shocking to those who equate holiness with intense spiritual striving and acts of love. The paradox is that deeper union comes not through more activity, but through the death of personal will-even the will to love greatly.
4. “Such folk, says this Soul, are so blind that a great thing seems little to them.”
People who cling to their own religious zeal, efforts, or virtues are spiritually blind. They cannot see the greatness of the soul who wills nothing, because they measure sanctity by visible or felt expressions. This blindness prevents them from grasping the depth of spiritual simplicity.
5. “This willing nothing in God is more worthy than willing good for God’s sake.”
Here we reach the heart of the chapter. Even willing good for God’s sake involves self-movement, and thus a residual selfhood. The soul who wills nothing in God rests in a higher nobility-it is not what she does for God that matters, but how she disappears into God’s own will.
6. “Suppose that willing this good they could do miracles and receive martyrdom each day… and still… there would be no comparison since will remains.”
No matter how heroic one’s deeds may be-daily martyrdom or miraculous power-if they arise from one’s own will (even if aimed toward God), they are lesser than the total surrender of self-will. The soul who wills nothing surpasses all such acts by her simple, passive union with God.
7. “They could even be raptured into heaven each day to see the Trinity… as was Saint Paul the Apostle!”
Even the loftiest mystical experiences do not compare with the soul’s nobility who wills nothing. This is not a dismissal of visions or raptures, but a profound theological claim: that the height of sanctity lies not in what is seen, but in what is surrendered-the soul’s own will.
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1. What does it mean that the soul “no longer has will,” and why is this considered noble?
It means the soul has surrendered all personal desire, including even the desire for spiritual rewards like heaven or the avoidance of hell. She desires only that God’s will be done, entirely apart from her own advantage or perception. This radical detachment and surrender to God’s will is considered noble because it reflects the purest form of love-one that is free, selfless, and unencumbered by any personal claim.
2. Why does the soul not desire “hell, or paradise, or any created thing”?
Because she is utterly detached from all self-interest, even spiritual self-interest. Her only concern is that God be God, and His will be fulfilled. She does not cling to fear of punishment or hope of reward, but rests in God’s freedom entirely.
3. Why does Love say that this will-less state seems “strange” to others?
Because many people, even devout ones, still attach value to acts of devotion, experiences, and efforts-what Love calls “multiplicities of love.” To them, the idea of willing nothing seems passive or unambitious. They do not understand that in God’s eyes, the pure abandonment of will is far more noble than any multiplicity of religious action.
4. According to the Soul, what causes people to misjudge the greatness of willing nothing?
Blindness. People who are still bound by their own will, even in spiritual matters, misjudge the greatness of such detachment. A truly great spiritual reality-willing nothing-seems “little” to them because they evaluate sanctity by effort and emotional intensity rather than surrender.
5. How is “willing nothing in God” more worthy than “willing good for God’s sake”?
Willing good for God’s sake still involves a personal movement of the will-it still centers around what I do for God. In contrast, willing nothing in God is a total renunciation of self-direction. It is not about doing for God but about being entirely at rest in Him, allowing Him to act freely. This is more worthy because it reflects a deeper union with God’s own freedom and sovereignty.
6. Why are even miracles, martyrdom, and mystical raptures considered lesser than this state?
Because they still involve the soul’s will-even if aimed at God. These acts may be heroic and holy, but as long as the will remains active and claims some initiative or identity, there is still selfhood. The soul that has no will and simply rests in God has gone beyond such self-referential holiness into pure union.
7. What is the ultimate spiritual principle affirmed by this chapter?
That the noblest soul is the one who has surrendered her will entirely to God-not to gain something from Him, but because she desires nothing but His will. This total detachment is more precious than any act or experience, because it reflects the soul’s complete poverty of spirit and union with divine freedom.
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Chapter 50 teaches that the soul, in the highest state of union, becomes entirely conformed to God, as wax takes the shape of a seal-bearing His divine imprint through the love that unites them. This transformation is not symbolic but actual, as the soul receives its identity directly from God in the union of Love. The soul recognizes that God’s acts of mercy, including the Incarnation and Passion, were never contrary to His divine nature but perfectly consistent with His eternal Wisdom and Goodness. Even when the soul momentarily stumbles in theological speculation, Love and the Father gently affirm her belonging and her insight into divine mysteries. Ultimately, the chapter reveals the nobility of a soul so united to God that she is called His “first-born daughter” and “heir-apparent,” sharing in the intimate life of the Trinity through the Spirit’s gift of Love.
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1. “This Soul is engraved in God, and has her true imprint maintained through the union of Love. And in the manner that wax takes the form of the seal, so has this Soul taken the imprint of this true exemplar.”
This striking image conveys the soul’s total conformity to God through love. Just as soft wax takes on the exact imprint of a seal, the soul, fully surrendered and united in divine love, becomes a perfect expression of the divine likeness. Her form is no longer her own, but bears the shape of God’s will, truth, and character. It is not imitation but transformation.
2. “For even if God loves us… He did not love us in contradiction to Himself.”
Here the soul reflects on divine love not as something arbitrary or sentimental but rooted in God’s own truth and consistency. God’s acts-especially the Incarnation and Passion-are not contradictions of His divine nature, but expressions of His goodness. The soul recognizes that divine love is not opposed to justice or wisdom, but fulfills them.
3. “All that the Trinity had created in His wisdom would have to have been condemned eternally if Jesus Christ the Son of God had not been taken away from Truth in order to save us all.”
This is a moment of theological reflection bordering on error, but the soul catches herself, realizing that God cannot act contrary to truth. The idea of the Son being “taken away from Truth” is immediately rejected as impossible. This moment dramatizes the soul’s wrestling with the mystery of salvation and justice, leading to deeper humility and trust.
4. “Yes, sweet beloved, says Love, my friends know it well that this cannot be.”
Love corrects the soul gently, affirming the orthodoxy of God’s nature. True friends of God know that He never contradicts Himself. This moment of correction affirms that the soul, while daring in her expression, remains within the bounds of divine truth due to her intimacy with Love.
5. “But I have said it to you, you who are my dear love, says the Person of God the Father, because such must be my first-born daughter who is heir-apparent to my realm…”
This final divine affirmation lifts the soul to a position of highest intimacy with God. She is called the Father’s “first-born daughter” and “heir-apparent,” sharing the secrets of the Son through the Holy Spirit. This exalted language indicates the mystical union she enjoys-her soul now participates in the inner life of the Trinity through love, not by merit, but by grace freely given.
Overall Insight:
This chapter portrays the soul’s final conformity to God through the mystical imprint of love. Her will, nature, and understanding have been so transformed that she bears the very form of divine wisdom, becoming a living seal of God’s will. Though her thoughts briefly stumble in trying to comprehend the mystery of salvation, divine Love and the Father Himself affirm her identity and correct her gently, showing her exalted place within the life of God.
—
1. What does it mean that the soul is “engraved in God” like wax from a seal?
It means that the soul has been fully conformed to God’s will and nature through the union of Love. Just as wax takes the exact shape of a seal, this soul bears the perfect imprint of God, not by imitation but by transformation, having lost all personal will and identity apart from Him.
2. How does the soul describe God’s love in relation to His nature?
The soul emphasizes that God’s love is never in contradiction to Himself. Even the Incarnation and Passion were consistent with divine Truth and Wisdom. God’s mercy operates within, not against, His divine justice and nature.
3. Why does the soul momentarily question the logic of divine salvation?
She wonders aloud if salvation required God the Son to be “taken away from Truth,” which would suggest a contradiction in God. But she quickly realizes the impossibility of this and affirms that divine acts of love never violate divine truth, showing her ongoing purification and deepening understanding.
4. How does Love respond to the soul’s momentary confusion?
Love gently reassures her, affirming that “my friends know it well that this cannot be.” Love corrects the soul’s theological misstep without condemnation, affirming her closeness to God and her participation in divine truth.
5. What final affirmation does God the Father give to this soul?
God the Father calls her His “dear love,” His “first-born daughter,” and “heir-apparent to [His] realm.” This declaration confirms the soul’s exalted mystical union with the Trinity, wherein she shares in divine secrets through the Holy Spirit’s love.
6. What does this chapter reveal about the nature of mystical union?
It reveals that true mystical union is not about emotional experiences or spiritual accomplishments, but about a complete transformation into the likeness of God. The soul becomes the very image of divine Love, receiving divine knowledge and participating in the Trinitarian life through pure, will-less receptivity.
7. How does this chapter balance theological daring with orthodoxy?
While the soul explores a risky theological idea (that Christ had to be removed from Truth to save humanity), she immediately recognizes its impossibility. This tension shows the depth and honesty of mystical questioning, while Love and the Father affirm the truth, keeping the soul anchored in divine orthodoxy.