In Book Two of the Adornment, Ruysbroek turns to the God-seeking man and his soul’s journey toward union with God. The point of departure is the story of the wise virgin awaiting the Bridegroom, Christ. The divine call to “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him,” represents illumination, virtuous action, and final union with God. Ruysbroek understands the soul as a threefold unity of 1) its essential connection to God, 2) the higher powers of memory, understanding, and will fostering spiritual life, and 3) the bodily powers sustaining physical life. Grace flows from the spirit’s unity with God, empowering the soul’s faculties, illuminating and freeing it from worldy distractions, and drawing it toward virtue, peace, and divine love. To arrive at an full understanding of this unity in the spirit, Ruysbroek proceeds by expanding the above quoted passage. The coming of the Bridegroom is marked by the threefold inward coming of Christ, the first of which is marked by four degrees. The final union is then meeting Him. The following is a summary of the entire work, followed by a chapter by chapter summary.
The first degree of Christ’s first inward coming into the soul is marked by a profound stirring of desire, drawing a person toward union with God. This divine influence works through the lower part of man, purging and transforming the heart and bodily powers while igniting a longing for virtue and spiritual perfection. Christ’s presence acts like the sun, enkindling and illuminating the heart and senses, fostering a fiery ardor that gathers all one’s powers into unity and inward peace. From this unity springs inwardness, allowing the soul to perceive its inner workings and God’s communications, leading to a deep, sensible love for God that prioritizes Him above all else. This love transforms into devotion, which moves the whole person to serve God and purifies body and soul. Devotion naturally leads to gratitude, expressed through desire, action, and service, and culminates in eternal praise. However, this inward journey also brings two forms of grief: one from a sense of inadequacy in thanking and serving God, and another from the struggle to grow in holiness. These griefs refine the soul and represent the highest effects of this degree of inward exercise. Through constant praise, humility, and the enduring fire of divine love, the soul produces spiritual fruits, just as sunlight draws forth growth in nature. This transformative process completes the first stage of the inward life, adorning the lowest part of man and preparing him for deeper union with Christ.
The second degree of Christ’s first inward coming is likened to the sun’s effect on ripening fruit, symbolizing Christ’s transformative influence on the heart. When the soul, having achieved the virtues of the first degree, fully offers its charity, pleasure, and peace back to God with thanksgiving, Christ enters anew with a profound influx of consolation and divine sweetness. This coming elevates the heart to a higher state, filling it with a joy and solace that surpass any earthly pleasure. The intensity of this divine embrace can overwhelm the heart, fostering an acute awareness of the misery of those who live apart from God’s love. This experience, often described as spiritual inebriation, brings an ecstatic delight that overflows the heart’s capacity, manifesting in spontaneous expressions of joy such as singing, weeping, or silent awe. The person responds to these gifts with humility, recognizing their unworthiness and the boundless goodness of God, which spurs growth into greater virtues. However, dangers accompany this state, represented by hoar-frost, symbolizing self-attachment and pride, and fog, representing complacency in spiritual sweetness. Both can obscure true understanding and hinder spiritual growth. To navigate these perils, the behavior of the bee serves as a guide. Just as a bee gathers resources from flowers without attachment, transforming them into honey and wax for the hive’s unity, the soul must approach spiritual gifts with discretion, integrating them into a unified devotion focused entirely on God. This ensures that fleeting sweetness does not distract from the eternal union with God, completing this second degree of inward working.
The third degree of Christ’s first inward coming is described as the soul’s intense longing and striving for unity with Christ, which transcends all earthly or spiritual consolations. At this stage, the soul no longer seeks any comfort other than Christ Himself. Christ draws the heart and soul towards Him, causing an open wound of love that, while painful, is also sweet. This love is transformative, drawing the soul ever closer to God, but it also brings restlessness, as the soul cannot yet fully attain the union it desires. The inner pain intensifies, as the soul is agitated by the fierce longing for God, with no earthly or heavenly consolation providing relief. The soul is exiled from the divine and may even long to escape the body and be united with Christ. Amid this fervor, the soul may experience ecstasies or divine revelations. These moments, whether through visions, raptures, or jubilant joy, are fleeting glimpses of the Divine that lift the soul beyond the senses. But such experiences should be measured against Scripture and spiritual truth to avoid deception. While some may be misled by false spiritual experiences, those grounded in faith will discern the difference and stay true to the path. However, this stage also carries dangers. The intensity of divine love can lead to spiritual and physical suffering, resembling the extreme heat of summer, which withers both the body and the soul’s peace. At times, the soul may experience brief moments of sweetness, but the overall intensity of love causes continued inner pain. There is also the risk of being deceived by false sweetness, similar to honey-dew that spoils fruit in the heat of summer. This deception can present itself as spiritual nourishment, but it corrupts the soul if not recognized for what it truly is. Those who are vigilant and well-grounded in spiritual practices will be able to resist such deception and maintain the integrity of their journey. The soul must persevere through this spiritual heat, much like the ant in the parable. The ant, diligent and patient, works through hardship, storing up provisions for the future. Similarly, the soul must endure, focusing on God’s glory and cultivating virtues. By staying steadfast and avoiding distractions, the soul will ultimately ascend towards the divine, just as the ant eventually takes flight.
The fourth degree of Christ’s first inward coming is symbolized by the transition of the sun into Virgo, which represents a time of unfruitfulness and spiritual desolation. As the soul experiences a withdrawal of God’s presence, it feels abandoned, losing the vibrant love and joy it once had. This stage may involve external hardships and temptations, testing the individual’s perseverance and faith as they endure spiritual poverty and isolation. In response, the soul must completely surrender to God’s will. It should accept both suffering and joy with equanimity, offering everything for God’s glory. This resignation, symbolized by the sun in Libra, leads to spiritual maturity, turning all experiences into spiritual fruits that endure eternally. However, a danger arises when spiritual fervor cools, as complacency and neglect of virtue can diminish the soul’s appetite for virtue and divine truth, leading to spiritual illness. Attachment to material possessions further obstructs spiritual growth, inflating desires that block God’s grace and vitality, like dropsy does to the body. If the soul can detach from these worldly concerns, it may overcome this hindrance and continue to grow. The soul is also in danger of four types of spiritual “fevers” that impede spiritual progress: the Quotidian Fever (restlessness), the Fever of Fickleness (inconsistency), the Quartan Fever (estrangement from God), and the Double Quartan Fever (indifference). These spiritual ailments arise from neglecting inner life and detaching from God, and overcoming them requires self-awareness, humility, and a focus on God to maintain spiritual health.
Christ’s life exemplifies these four degrees, serving as the perfect model for all who seek union with God. In the first degree, Christ embodies oneness and inwardness, uniting all virtues within Himself as the Father’s Only Begotten Son. The second degree is characterized by overflowing love and grace, as Christ’s heart overflows with mercy, gentleness, humility, and generosity, drawing all people toward Him. The third degree, inclination toward glory and beatitude, marks Christ’s natural and supernatural desire for the highest glory, though He willingly remained in exile until the appointed time. In the fourth degree, humility, suffering, and redemption, Christ humbles Himself, enduring extreme suffering and forsakenness to redeem humanity. His ultimate sacrifice leads to His exaltation and eternal glory at the right hand of the Father. Only when one aligns one’s heart and actions in this way, bears all difficulties with patience and offers gratitude to God in all circumstance, is one ready for divine illuminiation.
With his discussion of the first inward coming of Christ completed, Ruysbroek next turns to the second. This coming is marked by a profound spiritual transformation as the soul receives grace poured into its higher powers followed by their return to God. Ruysbroek uses the metaphor of a fountain pouring water into three rills like grace illuminating the soul’s three faculties. The first rill of grace purifies the soul’s memory and creates simplicity, allowing the soul to focus on divine unity. This grace raises the soul above multiplicity and distractions, freeing the memory from distractions and fickleness. Through this simplicity, the person is called to go out of themselves and is established in the unity of spirit where the memory becomes fixed on the “nudity” of divine unity, above all multiplicity and distractions of sensible images. This essential and supernatural unity of spirit becomes their dwelling place, eternal heritage, and a point of eternal loving union in the bond of the Holy Spirit, Father, and Son, together with all the saints.
The second rill of grace illuminates the intellect, helping the enlightened person discern virtues and mysteries of the faith. It arises from the unity of the spirit through God’s inward charity to illuminate the understanding. This illumination enables the soul to discern between virtues. This light, always within us but not under our control, is revealed or concealed by God according to His will. Enlightened individuals, operating in this light, do not rely on external revelations but perceive God’s will directly from within, even gaining insight into unknown or future events when divinely inspired. Christ calls such individuals to examine their lives and compare them to His, both in His human and divine natures. The soul contemplates the attributes of God: His Simplicity, Oneness, incomprehensible Dimensions, dark Silence, and the eternal Rest of the saints in the Unity. The enlightened man perceives the Trinity’s attributes distinctly: the Father as Omnipotent Creator and Origin of all; the Son as Wisdom, Truth, and Enlightenment; and the Holy Spirit as Love, Mercy, and the Flame uniting all things in God. These attributes, while distinct, are perceived in the simple nature of the Godhead and marvelously shared between God and creation. The soul, filled with wonder at God’s universal generosity and incomprehensible richness, finds profound joy, trust, and gladness.
The third rill enkindles the will with spiritual love and leads to every perfection. Flowing from the unity of spirit like a consuming fire, this rill enkindles the will, filling all the soul’s powers with effortless spiritual love. Christ now calls the soul to “go out” with love according to the gifts of his second coming: the first rill has elevated the memory above distractions and grounded it in spiritual unity; the second rill has enlightened the understanding and enabled the discernment of virtues and divine mysteries; and the third rill has enkindled the will with love and spiritual richness, leading to enlightenment. God’s grace, acting like a fountainhead in the unity of the spirit, flows out into the soul’s powers and virtues but demands a return to its Source, maintaining the cycle of divine outpouring and re-absorption.
Ruysbroeck outlines four ways the enlightened person “goes out” with love and generosity. The first going-out is towards God and the saints. Here, the enlightened man observes the continuous cycle of giving and receiving between God and His creatures. He realizes that while no finite spirit can love God according to His infinite worth, this recognition leads to a profound delight and unity in divine love. Enriched by God’s abundance, the man distributes glory and gifts to all angelic choirs and heavenly hierarchies. The second going-out is towards sinners. The enlightened man descends with compassion and intercedes for them through fervent prayer, aligning himself with God’s will and trusting in His goodness. This love extends universally to all humanity, including unbelievers, that God’s glory and joy might spread to the ends of the earth. The third going-out is towards souls in purgatory. Here, the enlightened man prays for these souls with deep compassion, pleading for God’s mercy on their behalf. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he sometimes feels an intense urge to pray for specific souls, experiencing a spiritual confirmation when his prayers are heard. The fourth going-out is towards himself and all good men. The enlightened man, recognizing his unity with others in love, prays for God’s customary gifts to confirm them in love and eternal worship. Acting as a mediator, he teaches, reproves, and serves others with humility and discretion. Turning inward, he rests in the unity of spirit, finding peace in God’s ultimate Unity, the resting place of all spirits.
However, there are those who fail in true charity and spiritual enlightenment. These can be identified by three signs: First, such individuals lack simplicity and stability, experiencing restlessness and complex thoughts instead of the inward unity that comes without images. Second, their teachings are barren, marked by spiritual pride and a focus on external matters, leading others astray. Third, they exhibit isolation and self-importance, craving admiration and neglecting justice, humility, and generosity. Rather, self-awareness and gentle correction over harsh judgment will preserve the heart’s openness to Divine truth. Christ is the ultimate model of a universal love that benefits all who seek salvation. Christ’s mission, while initially directed to the “lost sheep of Israel,” ultimately extends to all chosen souls. Christ’s life, death, ministry, and gifts were entirely for the benefit of others, reflecting His perfect loyalty to the Father and His infinite love for humanity. His glory and merits, shared in eternity, remain the ultimate redemption and salvation for all.
The third in inward coming of Christ is the most profound. It is a divine touch which occurs within the depths of the spirit, where God dwells and all powers are gathered in unity. It is likened to a duct feeding the fountain which then flows into the three rills which are the grace of God flowing into the higher faculties, inspiring virtue, and then returning to the unity of the spirit from which it originates. This grace springs from God’s infinite richness, manifesting in a perpetual outpouring of faithfulness and love. Within this unity, the soul is passive, transcending all virtues, as God alone acts in His goodness. This touch is a direct act of God, beyond reason’s comprehension, an influx of all graces proceeding from the incomprehensible brightness of the Trinity. Here, God reigns within the spirit, and the spirit abides within God.
Through this divine touch, Christ calls the soul to act in harmony with its experience, drawing it into the most profound practices possible in created light. The spirit, moved by love, ascends beyond all actions to the unity from which the touch originates. Here, understanding strives to know God in His brilliance, and love seeks to enjoy Him without intermediary. Yet reason falters before the overwhelming radiance of the Supernal Brightness, which blinds all created understanding. Despite this, the spirit is continuously beckoned to explore this mystery, but it ultimately concludes that it cannot grasp the divine touch, for it belongs entirely to God’s infinite nature. While reason halts at the threshold, love, blind and driven by yearning, presses onward, tasting the fulfillment that lies beyond understanding. This awakens an insatiable hunger in the spirit, a yearning for the Uncreated Good that can never be fully satisfied in a created vessel. The more the soul experiences God’s touch, the greater its longing becomes, a perpetual hunger that transcends reason and understanding. This eternal yearning reflects the boundless capacity of the spirit to grow in love and desire for God. In this dynamic relationship, God touches the soul, and the soul responds, creating a mutual yearning and a loving struggle. Each spirit demands all of the other, offering all of itself in return, until their love becomes one simple, overflowing fountain of divine communion. In this state, the soul forgets itself and even God, knowing only love and becoming entirely consumed in it.
This love, the root of all virtues, resides at the core of the soul’s being, uniting all creaturely actions in their origin and end. Touched by God’s incomprehensible brightness and boundless love, the spirit becomes fruitful in virtue. It enters a heavenly cycle: consumed by love, it empties itself entirely, only to rise again to fresh endeavors. This cycle of divine love, born of grace and love, surpasses all works, uniting charity and virtue in an eternal flow back to God. It is the highest spiritual exercise possible in created light, enduring in grace and culminating in the eternal union of love with God.
Ruysbroek closes this work in chapters 56 to 67 by revisiting the central themes of Christ’s call to attentiveness and His inward coming, which occurs in three distinct ways. The first of these has four degrees, each requiring specific practices in response to God’s movement. The ultimate goal is the final meeting and union with Christ, the Bridegroom, representing the culmination of all spiritual efforts. This union is a mutual encounter, where Christ descends to meet the soul, and the soul ascends to meet Christ. This essential meeting between the spirit and God occurs in the nakedness, without intermediaries and above all created gifts and above all likeness. In its essence, the spirit continuously receives Christ directly and reflects God’s eternal image. This union is sustained by God alone as the spirit rests in Him, and possesses and is possessed by the Holy Trinty. The soul loses itself in God’s being, finding eternal blessedness before returning through the eternal birth of the Son. The spirit is impressed by God’s archetype, like a flawless mirror, maintaining its connection with Him. The spirit’s union with is the source of the transformation of its higher powers and the foundation of its holiness and blessedness: Christ enters the soul through grace, while the soul responds through virtues, and this reciprocal dynamic elevates the spirit, deepens its union with God and transforms it into the divine likeness. Damned souls, on the other hand, lack grace, remain in darkness and are unable to unite with God, while the faithful are drawn ever closer to Him through this transformative process. But for the God-seeking man, God continually visits his spirit’s unity with constant renewals, as Christ desires the soul to dwell uninterrupted in this divine unity. The Holy Ghost bestows His gifts through the divine birth, Christ’s inward coming, and the soul responds by aligning its works and intentions with God. The soul directs all its effort with a single, pure intention to meet God. This intention unifies the scattered powers of the spirit and aligns every action with divine love. It embodies faith, hope, and charity, fostering inner peace and clarity of purpose. This simplicity of intention enhances virtues, cleanses sin, and prepares the soul for its ultimate rest in God.
Chapter 63 is an excursion into how the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit guide and perfect the virtues in a soul, leading to a deeper likeness to God and ultimate union with Him. Each gift contributes uniquely to this transformative journey: 1) Fear of the Lord instills reverence and obedience, aligning the soul with God’s will through simplicity of intention and faithfulness. This fosters rest in God beyond mere outward resemblance. 2) Piety encourages the soul to act with gentleness, mercy, and meekness, cultivating virtues that deepen likeness to God and enhance the soul’s rest and fulfillment in Him. 3) Knowledge provides discernment to recognize and avoid actions contrary to virtue. The gift brings clarity and anchors the soul in the likeness of the Holy Trinity, ensuring virtuous living free from error. 4) Strength moves the soul from external practices to the inner truth of God, freeing it from earthly attachments. It fosters steadfastness, inner recollection, and the ability to transcend all for the sake of God’s love. 5) Counsel awakens a restless yearning for God above all else, leading to self-abandonment and total submission to God’s will. This gift deepens freedom, love, and joyful surrender, even in suffering, aligning the soul perfectly with God’s purposes. 6) Understanding illuminates the spirit with divine truth, fostering simplicity, unity, and universal love. It enables the soul to perceive God’s attributes, the richness of creation, and the eternal realities, all while living in active charity and restful union with God. 7) Wisdom perfects the soul’s love and union with God, making it wholly united with Him in eternal fruitfulness. This gift allows the soul to live in harmony with the divine essence, sharing God’s simplicity, clarity, and universal love. This journey involves humility, reverence, gratitude, intercession, mercy, and generosity, mirroring the divine attributes. Through these gifts, the soul transitions from outward forms to inward truth, resting in God while actively loving all creation in His light. The closer the soul aligns with God’s essence of simplicity, clarity, and love, the deeper its union and fruitfulness.
Finally, Ruysbroek turns to the heights of the most interior spiritual life and the practices that lead to union with God, and he describes how the Immeasurable Splendour of God penetrates and transfigures the human spirit in a way beyond comprehension. The spirit immerses itself in the Uncomprehended Light, experiencing a fathomless fruitive rest that can only be known through direct experience. Any attempt to comprehend this state would impose limitations, disrupting the infinite nature of this rest. In a simple, loving immersion, the soul enters an abysmal love where the abyss of God calls to the abyss of the soul. This divine influx enfolds the spirit in such profound love that it becomes lost to itself, flowing into the infinite darkness of the Godhead. In this union, without intermediaries, the spirit eternally meets and possesses God, sharing in the joy of eternal bliss. This is experienced in three ways. The first way, often called the way of emptiness, involves a deep inward turning of the soul, transcending all actions and virtues to focus solely on love’s fruition. In this practice, the soul encounters God directly without intermediaries. The simple light of Divine Unity reveals profound mysteries: in darkness, the soul loses its way in the immensity of divine mystery; in nakedness, it is stripped of all discernment and penetrated by a simple, divine light; and in nothingness, all activity ceases as the soul is overwhelmed by God’s abysmal love. This experience lifts the soul above all activity and virtues, filling it with divine delights and riches. It brings a sense of immovable interior peace, free from distraction or interference. The second way is the way of longing, where the soul turns to God with ardent desire and active love. This longing is ignited by Savouring Wisdom, a divine gift that stirs an insatiable hunger for God. In this state, the soul empties itself completely in love, surrendering all its works and desires to God. Each touch of God renews and deepens the soul’s longing, causing it to die to itself and live anew in love. This way of longing is more fruitful than the first, as love is the source and sustainer of union with God. Without active love, divine rest cannot be attained or maintained, and attachment to anything other than God becomes a hindrance to this union. The third way combines the previous two, uniting action and fruition in a harmonious balance. In this state, the soul lives wholly in both work and rest, responding to God’s call to continually renew its virtues while remaining immersed in fruitive rest. The soul becomes like a double mirror, receiving God’s gifts while also engaging the world through love and virtue. Although human instability may lead to distractions or minor failings, these are consumed in divine love during moments of inward turning. This balance of work and rest represents the supreme summit of the inward life, where the soul progresses toward God in eternal activity while resting fruitively in His presence. In this union, the soul dwells fully in God, extending universal love and virtue to all creatures while sharing in the bliss of divine union.
In the last two chapters, Ruysbroek exposes those who appear righteous but live contrary to the virtues necessary for union with God. Lacking divine love and enlightenment, they turn inward, seeking rest in themselves and outward things, which leads to various errors. One such error is a false natural rest, where people empty themselves of activity but lack the inward touch of God. This deceptive state fosters spiritual pride and blindness, contrasting with supernatural rest found in divine union. Similarly, self-directed natural love leads to self-indulgence, as individuals seek consolation for personal gain rather than turning to God in charity. This love isolates the soul and perpetuates sins inherited from Adam’s fall, in contrast to the virtues exemplified by the Virgin Mary, who conquered pride, avarice, gluttony, and lust through humility and self-renunciation. Another error is the unrighteous life of bare vacancy, where people reject virtue and divine commandments, considering themselves above the Church and free from sin. They indulge bodily desires and live without charity or likeness to God. Similarly, “God-passive” individuals falsely attribute all their actions to God’s will, believing they cannot sin. This belief leads to grave deception, as true union with God requires active love, virtue, and cooperation, not passive idleness or self-deception. In contrast, Christ embodies the perfect life of union with God, balancing fruitive rest and active love. Through humility, virtue, and charity, the soul encounters God, flows outward in love, and returns inward in peace. This eternal union with God reflects the harmony of divine likeness, inviting us to live in righteousness and love. May God’s grace guide us to this blessed state. Amen.
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The following is a map of Book Two of The Adornment. Following the passage “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him,” Ruysbroek structures the work as follows:
The first point, “Behold,” is discussed in the prologue and chapters 1-4.
The second and third points are “The Bridegroom cometh, Go ye out.” This is the inward coming of Christ and it is discussed in chapters 5-55. This coming is three-fold: the first is covered in chapters 5 and 8-34, the second in chapters 6 and 35-50, and the third in chapters 7 and 51-55. The first ways has four degrees. These are discussed, respectively, in chapters 8-16, 17-21, 22-27 and 28-32. Ruysbroek counts Christ’s inward coming as two points because there is a statement “The Bridegroom cometh” and a command “Go ye out”, the former being God’s inflowing and and the latter is our outflowing.
The fourth point, “to meet Him,” is the last point and is covered in chapters 56-65.
The last two chapters, 66-67, are dedicated to exposing those who appear to be living righteously, but are false.
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In the Prologue, the wise virgin, representing the pure soul, has devoted herself to God by forsaking worldly things and living a virtuous life. She has filled the vessel of her heart with the oil of charity and godly deeds, guided by the light of an unsullied conscience. However, when Christ, the Bridegroom, delays in sending His consolations and renewing His gifts, the soul may become drowsy and inattentive. At an unexpected hour, a spiritual call arises within the soul: “Behold, the Bridegroom comes; go out to meet Him.”
In this call, we discern four essential teachings. First, Christ desires our understanding to be illuminated by supernatural light, as indicated by the word “Behold.” Second, He reveals what we are to perceive: the inward arrival of the Bridegroom, who is the Eternal Truth. Third, He instructs us to undertake inner exercises of righteousness, embodied in the command “Go ye out.” Finally, He highlights the ultimate goal: the meeting with our Bridegroom Christ in the unifying presence of the Godhead.
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Chapter 1 addresses the first point: Christ commands us to “Behold.” To achieve supernatural vision in our inward exercises, one must cultivate three essential elements:
The Light of Divine Grace: This light must be of a higher degree than what we experience in our external, active lives. It transcends the ordinary and requires profound inward diligence.
The Removal of Distractions: We must cleanse the heart of all distracting images and attachments. This process involves becoming free from external influences and emptying ourselves of all creaturely attachments.
The Turning of Our Will: We need to direct our will and gather all our bodily and spiritual powers, purging them of any disordered affections. This allows the will to merge with the unity of God and align with the divine mind, enabling us to experience the highest unity of God in a supernatural way.
God created everything, including heaven and earth, for this purpose. He became man, taught us, lived for our sake, and became the Way to unity. Through His death and ascension, He opened the path to this unity, offering us the potential for eternal bliss.
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Chapter 2 explores the threefold unity present in every person by nature and how it is enhanced through supernatural means.
Firstly, the highest unity is found in God, the essential source of all creation and life. This unity is fundamental and exists regardless of our actions but does not make us holy or blessed on its own. Without it, we cease being.
Secondly, there is the unity of the higher powers, the memory, understanding and will. This originates from the unity of mind or spirit and stands above our senses, from which emerge the higher powers. These differ in that the latter is active, whereas the former is essential. In this unity the soul is called spirit.
Thirdly, the unity in our bodily powers is rooted in the heart, which energizes all physical activities and senses. This unity sustains our physical life.
These three unities function as a single life and kingdom within us. In the lowest we are animal, in the middle we are spiritual, and in the highest we are essential. The first is supernaturally adorned by the moral virtues, by charity and outward works in the active life. The second is more gloriously adorned by the divine virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, by inward exercises and a spiritual life. And the third is most gloriously adorned by a contemplative life, beyond human comprehension.
The soul prepares for a deeper God-desiring life by directing all actions and intentions toward God’s glory, surrendering with humble patience and trust. In doing so, the soul becomes like a vessel ready to receive God’s grace, resting in Him beyond all intentions and desires.
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Chapter 3 discusses the inflow of God’s grace into our spirit.
From the unity where our spirit is united with God without intermediary, grace flows into us. Christ, the Eternal Light of the Father without whom there is no light, says “Behold”, and His speaking is the inrush of His light into us. This grace enters our higher powers and spirit, empowering them to become active in all virtue, and to return to God.
The unity of our spirit is the beginning and end of all natural and supernatural works performed by the creature’s own strength and by the grace poured by God into this unity. Above all, He gives His very self to this unity which is our dwelling-place, so that we live a life of simplicity in His peace and charity. Grace is an inward force of the Holy Spirit, and moves our spirit towards virtue. It works from within outwards, for God is more intimate to us than our own inner workings. In contrast, creatures work from without inwards by means of sensible images through the imagination.
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Chapter 4 explores how to establish an inward life based on three elements – divine grace, unity of spirit and freedom from images.
Christ says to the inward looking man, “Behold.” To experience this in one’s inward exercises, three key elements are necessary. First, there is the grace of God which, like a candle in a lantern, illuminates the righteous man. This becomes manifest to him if he is inwardly attentive, and through him to others as virtues. This grace is the swift movement which first brings him to inward sight. From this springs the second element, a gathering together of all inward and outward powers into the unity of the spirit. The third element is freedom from images. A person must be able to turn inward without hindrance from sensible images. This means being indifferent to joys and sorrows, gains and losses, or any strange cares, and remaining detached from any creature. These three elements form the foundation for a true inward life.
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Chapter 5 addresses the three-fold coming of Christ into the inward man.
Even with clear sight, a person needs a worthy and desirable object to make that sight meaningful. So, Christ reveals to those with enlightened understanding what they will behold: His inward coming. This coming occurs in three distinct ways, each enhancing the depth of the inward life.
The first way involves Christ urging the inward feeling. This divine influence pulls a man towards heaven and calls for union with God. It affects the heart and the unity of bodily powers, particularly the desire, and works in the lower part of man which must be wholly purged and adorned. The changes it brings causes hope and despair, happiness and sadness, and other contraries that are challenging to articulate.
This first coming operates through four distinct degrees, each progressively deeper, shaping and purifying the lower part of the person involved in the inward life.
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Chapter 6 describes the second way Christ comes inwardly, characterized by greater nobility and radiance. This coming involves the outpouring of Divine gifts into the higher powers of the soul, which strengthens, enlightens, and enriches the spirit. In this process, the soul receives abundant divine riches and is called to return these gifts to their Source. This exchange is marked by an intense and profound experience of divine wonders, which surpasses anything achievable by mere creatures. This second coming is more elevated and divine than the first, adorning the three higher powers of the soul (memory, will, intellect) with a more profound spiritual richness.
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Chapter 7 addresses the third and most profound way Christ comes inwardly. This coming involves a deep stirring or touch within the unity of the spirit, where the higher powers of the soul reside. Here, the soul flows forth and returns, remaining united with God in bonds of love. This represents the highest and most interior state of the inward life, adorning the unity of the spirit in numerous ways.
In each of these inward comings, Christ requires a corresponding going out of ourselves which accords with His coming, urging us to align our lives with the way His grace directs us. We must progress according to how the Spirit of God moves us, or else we risk losing the inward inspiration and the virtues that accompany it.
The chapter concludes by noting that understanding these three comings requires personal experience. Each coming will be explored in detail, and those unfamiliar with these experiences may find them challenging to grasp.
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Chapter 8 further elaborates on the first coming of Christ in the exercise of desire, which involves an inward urging from the Holy Ghost towards all virtues. This coming can be compared to the sun, which, from the moment it rises, illuminates, warms, and affects the world. Similarly, Christ, the eternal Sun, shines upon the lowest part of man-the fleshly heart and the senses-enlightening and enkindling them in an instant.
The effect of this coming is experienced differently depending on one’s spiritual elevation. Just as the sun has varying effects on different regions-bringing early summer and fruitful harvests to higher lands, while producing less impact in colder, lower regions-so does Christ’s influence vary. Those who dwell in higher, more spiritual realms, with a gathered and uplifted heart, experience the full warmth and illumination of Christ’s presence. Conversely, those focused on external virtues and moral work might see some fruits but less of the inward joy and consolation.
To fully experience this inward coming, one must cultivate a free and uplifted heart, detached from earthly joys and sorrows, allowing Christ to shine fully upon it. This first coming of Christ in the exercise of desire is characterized by its fiery ardor, which enkindles every heart that is ready and open.
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Chapter 9 focuses on the concept of unity of heart. This unity springs from the fiery ardor which transforms the person to be like it. It is an ardor without which we could never achieve true unity, and is experienced as a gathering together of all one’s powers in one’s heart. It is a bond which draws together body and soul, heart and senses, inner and outer powers, and results in inward peace and restfulness
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Chapter 10 explores the concept of inwardness, which emerges from unity of heart. Inwardness means the person is turned inwards to his heart so he can understand his inner workings and divine communications. It is a sensible fire of love ignited by the Spirit of God, which drives a person from within without knowing its origins or what has happened to him.
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Chapter 11 delves into the concept of sensible love, which arises from inwardness. Sensible love is a deep, yearning affection that fills the heart and the soul’s desire, allowing one to experience the delight of God as the ultimate good. The person forsakes all creatures regarding pleasure, but not regarding need. It is a strong inner movement driven by Eternal Love, causing the person to cherish and prioritize this divine love above all else, willingly renouncing other things to attain it.
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Chapter 12 discusses how devotion arises from sensible love for God. Devotion is sensible love directing its desire towards God. It moves a man both from within and without to serve God and it ennobles body and soul before God and man. Devotion is essential in all acts of service to God, and it purifies the soul and body by removing any hindrances to spiritual progress. Ultimately, devotion guides one to blessedness.
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Chapter 13 discusses how inward devotion leads to gratitude. The truly devout person, filled with inward love for God, is best equipped to thank and praise Him. Gratitude is due to God for creating us, for making heaven, earth, and angels to serve us, and for becoming man to save us from sin. God’s gifts to us include His teachings, His sacrifice, His promise of eternal life, and His continual presence through grace, sacraments, and the Eucharist. We should also thank Him for giving us nature and the scriptures as a mirror in which we can see ourselves and turn to virtue, for giving us health and even the occasional sickness for our edification, for establishing inward peace and happiness, and for giving us Christian parents and names.
We should express gratitude and praise through every aspect of our lives-desire, action, words, and service-both outwardly and inwardly. This praise of God, which begins on earth, will continue eternally as our ultimate joy and fulfillment.
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Chapter 14 explores two kinds of grief that arise from deep, inward gratitude and praise. The first type of grief emerges from a sense of inadequacy in our efforts to thank, praise, and serve God. This feeling of falling short in our devotion causes inner turmoil. The second grief stems from our recognition that we are not growing as much in charity, virtue, and faith as we would like. This lack of progress in personal holiness and perfect conduct leads to a deep sense of dissatisfaction.
These two forms of grief are fundamental to the development of inward virtues. They represent the the beginning and end of the spiritual journey. This grief is considered the highest effect of the first degree of inward exercise and signifies its complete perfection.
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Chapter 15 uses a similitude to illustrate how we should practice the first degree of inward exercise. Just as natural fire causes water or another liquid to bubble and stir continuously, the inward fire of the Holy Ghost works in the soul. This divine fire stirs and motivates the heart and all the soul’s powers, leading them to continually thank and praise God. Even after reaching a state of fervent praise, one must remain humble, continually seeking to do more while recognizing the smallness of one’s own efforts compared to the greatness of what is desired. Thus, the heart remains in constant, fervent praise and lowliness, driven by the ever-burning fire of divine love.
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Chapter 16 uses another similitude to describe the effects of the first degree of inward exercise. As summer and the sun draw moisture from the earth into trees, leading to foliage, flowers, and fruit, so does Christ, the Eternal Sun, bring about spiritual growth in the heart. When Christ’s light and heat rise within us, they draw the heart away from earthly distractions and foster unity and inwardness. This divine influence leads to the development of inward love, ardent devotion, and the fruits of thanksgiving and praise. These fruits, marked by humble grief over shortcomings, are meant to endure eternally.
This chapter concludes the first of the four key degrees of inward working that adorn the lowest part of man.
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Chapter 17 describes the second degree of inward exercise, likening it to the sun’s effect on ripening and increasing fruit. As the sun, when it rises high and enters the sign of Gemini, influences nature to draw moisture from the earth, leading to increased and multiplied fruits, so does Christ, the divine Sun, impact our hearts.
When Christ rises above all things in our hearts, when our bodily nature has been set in order, when we have achieved the virtues of the first degree, and when all our charity, pleasure and peace found in these virtues have been devoted back to God with thanksgiving, then there arises a new influx of inward consolation and divine sweetness, making the virtues double if we don’t hinder their growth. This is a new coming of Christ into the loving heart that lifts man to a yet higher state. Christ then says: Go ye out according to the way of this coming.
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Chapter 18 describes how the sweetness of divine consolation leads to a profound well-being in both the heart and bodily powers. This divine delight is more fulfilling than any earthly pleasure. It envelops the heart in a deep embrace of God’s love, causing an overflow of joy and solace. This experience makes one understand the misery of those who live outside of this divine love, as the intensity of this inward joy is so overwhelming that it can make the heart feel as though it cannot contain itself.
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Chapter 19 explores spiritual inebriation, a state of intense joy and delight that surpasses the heart’s capacity to contain or desire. This state can manifest in various outward behaviors: singing, weeping, restlessness, clapping one’s hands, dancing, crying out with joy or melting away in silence. Some feel that everyone can experience this joy, while others think that only they can. Yet others think that this state will never be lost, or wonder why not everyone would want to become God-desiring, or what nature these delights may be. This rapturous life is the most ecstatic experience our bodies can attain, and it leads to such an intense sense of joy that one feels as if their heart might break. For all these gifts, the person will thank the Lord with a humble heart, acknowledging his unworthiness and his need for God’s boundless goodness. Such humility leads him to yet higher virtues.
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Chapter 20 addresses the potential hindrances to spiritual inebriation. Even if this coming and this degree are granted to such men, and even if their conversion is complete and they are solely God’s, they may still be feeble and needy. Like new shoots of plants in spring, they are susceptible to dangers:
Hoar-Frost: This represents the danger of being attached to one’s self, believing that you earned these consolations and are worthy of them.
Fog: This symbolizes the temptation to rest complacently in the sweetness of spiritual experiences. Such a fixation can obscure true understanding, leading to a false sense of contentment and potentially guiding one astray with deceptive comforts offered by the devil.
These hindrances can weaken or destroy the virtues cultivated, and thus must be vigilantly avoided to maintain one’s spiritual journey.
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Chapter 21 uses the behavior of the bee to illustrate how one should handle spiritual inebriation and divine gifts wisely. Just as a bee lives in unity within the hive and gathers resources from various flowers without becoming attached to any single one, a person should approach spiritual gifts with attention, reason, and discretion. The bee does not rest on any flower but transforms what it collects into honey and wax, contributing to the hive’s unity and productivity. Similarly, one should not fixate on individual spiritual experiences but rather integrate them into a unified devotion, continually returning to God with gratitude and praise. This approach ensures that one maintains focus on the eternal union with God, rather than being distracted by the fleeting sweetness of specific gifts.
This analogy illustrates the second degree of inward working.
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Chapter 22 describes the third degree of the spiritual coming of Christ by drawing an analogy with the sun’s movement and its effects. Just as the sun, when it reaches the zenith and stands in the sign of Cancer, brings the fiercest heat of the year and causes the earth to dry and fruits to ripen, so too, when Christ, the Divine Sun, rises to the highest point in our hearts, surpassing all gifts and consolations, He draws all our powers and desires towards Himself. At this stage, the soul no longer seeks or is swayed by spiritual consolations but yearns directly for Christ.
The third degree of inward exercise arises when the heart would rather forgo all consolations and gifts that it may be united with Him Whom it loves. Christ initiates this by drawing the heart, the desires and all the soul’s powers towards unity with Him. He spiritually calls us: Go you out of yourselves. This inward drawing is more joyful than any other experience and it readies the heart to fulfill what is demanded by God and by His unity. The heart is opened so widely that it can never be completely closed again, causing a profound wound of love. This wound, while painful, is also sweet, as it is a sign of deep spiritual healing and renewal. Christ shines into the wound and open heart and calls it to oneness again.
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Chapter 23 delves into the profound pain and restlessness experienced in the third degree. This state arises when, despite the soul’s elevation and its complete offering of itself, it is unable to attain the unity with God that it desires. This inner wound of love, caused by an insatiable yearning and the inability to achieve the desired unity, leads to intense spiritual pain. As Christ, the Divine Sun, reaches the zenith of the heart, His rays penetrate the deepest desires, consuming the soul’s strength and causing perpetual pain.
In this state, both external and internal agitation ensue, as the soul cannot find solace in anything earthly or heavenly. The heart, fiercely illuminated by Christ’s divine light, suffers from a restlessness that no creature can alleviate. This inner tumult often inspires sublime thoughts and profound wisdom but also fuels an intense, almost irrational, impatience. This fury of love, more intense than any previous stage, consumes the soul and hastens the ripening of virtues.
In the natural world, this period is marked by the sun’s entry into the sign of Leo, symbolizing fierceness. Similarly, when Christ’s rays blaze with such intensity, the heart’s blood boils with fervent desire. This fierceness prevails over all ways and works, for it wills to be wayless and without manner. The soul might even experiences a yearning to be freed from the physical body to unite with Christ.
In this state, the soul glimpses the heavenly glory and longs deeply for what it lacks, often leading to outward tears and profound sorrow in his exile. These tears, while soothing, also reflect the soul’s intense longing and its struggle to endure in virtue despite its suffering.
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Chapter 24 explores the nature of ecstasies and divine revelations that can occur when individuals are consumed by intense ardor and impatience in their spiritual journey. Such fervor can lift individuals beyond their sensory experiences into a realm where divine truths are revealed. Bodily images are perceived through the imagination and may be delivered by an angel, while intellectual or spiritual revelations are received through the understanding, and can sometimes be articulated with difficulty. Sometimes, a man is drawn above himself into the Incomprehensible Good, where they experience and direct encounter with the Divine. This is a rapture in which one is carried away, and it is called Raptus. In this state, the traditional senses of seeing and hearing merge into a singular, undivided experience. These moments are sudden spiritual glimpse, like a flash of lightning, and are entirely the work of God.
Other instances God acts through means and an intense light enters the soul resulting in an overwhelming joy that bursts forth in jubilant cries. It is called Jubilus. This is a joy so profound that one cannot contain oneself but must go out with opened heart to meet this light. In contrast, those who remain in the state of outward multiplicity and have not been deeply touched by love, may experience dreams or inspirations, but without the intense inner tumult. These experiences can be natural or divinely inspired but should be measured against Holy Scripture and truth to avoid deception. Trust in such experiences should be cautious and grounded in the validation of spiritual and scriptural truth.
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Chapter 25 illustrates the challenges and dangers faced by those who are immersed in the fervor of divine love. This period, analogous to the unhealthy dog-days of summer when the sun is in the sign of the Lion, is marked by intense heat and its detrimental effects on the natural world, causing withering plants, dying fish, and illness in people. But this doesn’t depend on the sun only, but on the corruption of the land in which the sun’s rays land. Similarly, in the state of spiritual impatience, the intense divine rays and the inner fervor of love can become overwhelming. Just as the sun’s heat exacerbates natural decay, the fierce ardor of divine love can lead to deep distress and suffering.
In this state, the intensity of love’s fire can cause such impatience and suffering that, if the man becomes fixed on his wounded heart and on Him Whom he loves, his distress grows without ceasing, akin to a woman in labor who struggles to give birth, but can’t. He shrivels in his bodily nature even as a tree withers in a hot country. Such individuals may feel as though they are perishing from this excessive love, yet they might enter heaven without passing through purgatory due to the purifying nature of their suffering. As long as he bears good fruit, he should not be uprooted.
Sometimes, amidst this turmoil, the soul may experience moments of divine sweetness and bliss, similar to a fish swimming in water. Yet even in these moments of delight, the underlying intensity of love can cause continued inner suffering. While prolonged exposure to this fervor can weaken the body, those who can manage their state effectively may endure without succumbing to the physical and spiritual strain.
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Chapter 26 provides another caution about a particular danger that can arise during the spiritual fervor of love. Just as, during the intense summer heat, honey-dew can fall from the sky and spoil fruit with its false sweetness, so can individuals experience a deceptive spiritual sweetness. This false sweetness is often characterized by a devilish light that can overwhelm and entrap the senses, presenting a mix of true and false visions and messages.
When people are drawn to this false sweetness, mistaking honey-dew for true rain, they may find pleasure in it, mistakenly believing it to be true spiritual nourishment. This deception can lead them to error if they accept these false experiences as genuine, thus corrupting the fruits of their virtues. However, those who are well-grounded in the spiritual practices and insights described previously will be able to recognize and resist these deceptions, thereby protecting themselves from harm and preserving the integrity of their spiritual journey.
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Chapter 27 uses the parable of the ant to offer guidance to those enduring the tumultuous state of intense love. The ant, a small yet wise and resilient insect, serves as a model of perseverance. It lives among its peers in a harsh, dry environment, diligently working through the summer to store up provisions for the winter. The ant splits its grain to prevent spoilage, sticking to a consistent path, and patiently awaits the time when it can fly.
Similarly, those in the fervor of spiritual love should exhibit strength and wisdom, resisting the temptations and deceptions that may come their way. Their focus should be solely on God’s glory and the pursuit of new virtues, rather than desiring death. They should immerse themselves in the intense heat of their spiritual journey, diligently gathering the fruits of virtue for eternity. Like the ant, they must split their spiritual efforts into two parts: one dedicated to the highest fruition of Eternity, and the other to exercising reason and patience to preserve virtue. They should avoid following unconventional paths, remaining steadfast in love through all trials. By enduring and persevering, they will ultimately witness the divine Mystery and ascend towards it, like the ant taking flight.
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Chapter 28 delves into the fourth degree of the coming of Christ, which involves the deepening and perfecting of a person’s spiritual journey through inner exercises focused on the lower aspects of their being. This stage is symbolically aligned with the season when the sun begins its descent from the zenith to the nadir, entering the sign of Virgo-a time associated with unfruitfulness and the gathering of lasting fruits, similar to how the Virgin Mary ascended to heaven rich in virtues.
As Christ, the spiritual Sun, begins to withdraw His radiant presence from the soul, the intense heat of spiritual love diminishes. The individual experiences a sense of abandonment and loss as the once vibrant inner life of love and consolation fades into a spiritual autumn. This transition marks the beginning of a new phase where the soul feels impoverished and forsaken, akin to the unfruitful season of Virgo. The passionate love, inward joy, and spiritual gifts that once flourished now seem to disappear, leaving the person feeling desolate and as if all their spiritual efforts have been in vain.
In this state of spiritual poverty, the person may also face external hardships, such as the loss of earthly possessions, friends, and even their reputation. They might be misunderstood, rejected, and subjected to physical or spiritual temptations. This profound sense of loss and desolation can lead to a fear of falling into despair, and the soul teeters on the edge of hopelessness.
During this challenging time, the individual often seeks out the company of the devout, sharing their suffering and seeking the prayers and support of the Church and the just. This degree represents a critical moment in the spiritual journey, where perseverance is tested, and the soul must endure the seeming withdrawal of God’s presence while maintaining faith and striving towards spiritual maturity.
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Chapter 29 discusses the appropriate response for a person who feels forsaken by God and is enduring intense spiritual desolation. Such a person should humbly recognize their own misery and emulate the attitude of Job, acknowledging that everything, whether given or taken away, comes from God. The forsaken individual should completely surrender to God’s will, accepting poverty or wealth, suffering or joy, with equal willingness, in service to God’s glory. This resignation is not just a passive acceptance but should be embraced with inner joy, as it allows the person to feel a deep belonging to God.
The chapter uses the metaphor of the sun entering the sign of Libra, the Scales, symbolizing balance and equality. Just as the sun balances day and night, the spiritually resigned person should balance all experiences-whether sweet or bitter, light or dark-as equal in the eyes of God, except for sin, which is entirely rejected. Even in this state of apparent loss and abandonment, the person can still offer up their suffering to God, turning it into a harvest of spiritual fruits that will endure eternally.
The virtues practiced during earlier phases, especially those nurtured in the “fire of love,” should now be maintained with renewed diligence and offered to God, despite the absence of consolation. This period is likened to the harvest time when all the fruits of one’s spiritual labor are gathered and perfected. Through this process, the individual not only grows in virtue but also influences and improves those around them.
Ultimately, this chapter emphasizes that the path of resignation-renouncing one’s own will in favor of God’s-leads to a singular perfection, making it an essential practice for all who seek salvation. This complete surrender is portrayed as the foundation for spiritual growth and the means by which one becomes adorned and perfected in both the bodily and lower spiritual faculties.
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Chapter 30 uses a parable to illustrate the dangers and hindrances that may arise during the fourth degree of spiritual development, particularly when a person becomes lax or careless. The chapter draws an analogy between the change of seasons, specifically the cooling weather after the equinox, and the spiritual cooling that can occur in a person’s life.
As the weather cools, some individuals may become prone to “noxious humours” that lead to sickness, disease, and even death. These humours symbolize the spiritual maladies that can afflict those who were once on the path of perfection but have strayed from it. Just as physical illnesses can spoil appetite and taste for good food, spiritual illnesses can diminish one’s appetite for virtue and divine truth, leading to a decline in spiritual health.
The parable warns that when a person’s spiritual fervor cools, they may become sluggish in practicing virtues and good works, and may seek comfort and bodily ease without proper discernment. This craving for comfort can lead to overindulgence in bodily pleasures, which further hampers spiritual growth. Moreover, those who seek solace in created things rather than in God risk falling into greater spiritual harm.
In times of spiritual desolation, it is crucial for a person to exercise strength and follow the guidance previously provided to avoid being deceived by these temptations. The unwise man, who does not govern himself well, is particularly vulnerable to these spiritual maladies, which can ultimately lead to the loss of taste for virtuous living and enjoyment of divine things.
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Chapter 31 addresses another significant hindrance that can impede spiritual progress: the desire for and attachment to earthly possessions. He likens this attachment to dropsy, a condition where the body retains excessive fluids, causing swelling. Spiritually, this condition manifests as an insatiable thirst for material wealth and possessions. The more a person acquires, the more they desire, leading to a swelling of their appetites and lusts.
This condition causes the “face of conscience and discretion” to become “small and thin,” meaning that the person’s ability to discern right from wrong and to act wisely is diminished. This happens because their excessive desire for earthly things blocks the inflow of God’s grace. When the heart becomes submerged in these “waters” of earthly wealth and desires, the individual loses the capacity to engage in true acts of charity, as they lack the vital spirit and breath of God’s grace and love.
Those who allow their hearts to be overwhelmed by material possessions are at risk of spiritual death, as they become so entangled in worldly desires that they may choke and die an eternal death. However, there is hope for those who can keep their attachment to earthly riches in check. If a person maintains a proper distance between their heart and their possessions-meaning they do not let their desires control them and are willing to renounce their possessions when necessary-they may still suffer from these inclinations but can ultimately be cured.
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Chapter 32 discusses four types of spiritual “fevers” that can afflict individuals who are burdened with inordinate inclinations towards bodily comfort and external consolations. These fevers symbolize various spiritual ailments that can hinder a person on their path to spiritual perfection.
The Quotidian Fever: This daily fever represents the restlessness of the heart, where a person becomes overly concerned with knowing, discussing, and judging everything around them while neglecting their inner life. Such individuals are constantly troubled by various concerns and are easily disturbed by even the smallest things. Their thoughts are scattered, moving from one thing to another, making it difficult for them to maintain inner peace or focus on God. Although this condition may exist within a state of grace, it hinders deep spiritual practices and diminishes the experience of God and virtue, leading to a significant spiritual loss.
The Fever of Fickleness: This fever occurs on alternate days and manifests as a lack of consistency and stability in one’s spiritual life. It can arise from either excessive heat (enthusiasm) or coldness (lack of commitment). In the case of excessive heat, it affects good men who, after being touched by God and then feeling forsaken, become unstable in their spiritual practices. They oscillate between different spiritual paths and decisions, unable to maintain a steady course. This instability can hinder their understanding of spiritual truth and destroy their ability to cultivate inwardness. To overcome this, they must learn to rest in God above all virtues and external practices. In the case of excessive cold, individuals love God but are also attached to other things, leading to a lukewarm charity. Their spiritual life becomes unstable as they secretly seek their own interests in all that they do, often without realizing it. Such people are inconsistent in their choices and actions, and their virtues lack depth and sincerity. This fickleness can lead them dangerously close to spiritual ruin, as they are motivated by self-love and hidden pride.
The Quartan Fever: This fever represents estrangement from God, oneself, truth, and virtues. It leads to confusion and disorientation in the spiritual life, causing a person to lose their sense of direction and purpose. This condition is more dangerous than the previous fevers, as it signifies a deeper level of spiritual alienation.
The Double Quartan Fever: This represents indifference, where a person becomes so detached and indifferent to spiritual matters that they risk falling into sin and losing all sense of spiritual awareness. This fever is extremely perilous, as recovery from it is difficult. Indifference can lead a person to a state where they are spiritually dead, as if they never knew anything of God or the spiritual life.
Ruysbroeck emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, humility, and a steadfast focus on God to avoid falling into these spiritual fevers. He warns that those who govern themselves poorly, especially in times of spiritual abandonment, are at great risk of severe spiritual decline.
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Chapter 33 illustrates how Christ exemplifies the four degrees of inward spiritual exercise in their perfection, serving as a model for all who seek to follow His path. These degrees adorn and elevate a person’s bodily powers and lower nature, drawing them to divine union.
First Degree: Oneness and Inwardness. Christ embodies perfect oneness, where all virtues are gathered and united within Him. As the Father’s Only Begotten Son, He became one with human nature, bringing the divine fire that inflamed all saints and good men. With sensible love for His Father and loyalty to those who shall enjoy Him in eternity, Christ’s life was a continuous act of thanksgiving, praise, and glorification of the Father, expressed through His words, deeds, and inner devotion. This inwardness is the foundation of the first degree.
Second Degree: Overflowing Love and Grace. In Christ, we find the fullness of all graces and gifts. His heart overflowed with mercy, gentleness, humility, and generosity, making Him supremely gracious and lovable. His presence and actions attracted all people of goodwill. Christ constantly gave thanks and praise to the Father for all the gifts bestowed upon His humanity. He rested above all gifts in the most high Unity of God, from which all gifts originate. This resting in divine unity constitutes the second degree.
Third Degree: Inclination Towards Glory and Beatitude. Throughout His life, Christ’s bodily powers and senses were destined for the highest glory and beatitude, which He now enjoys. Despite His natural and supernatural inclination toward this glory, He chose to remain in exile until the appointed time, as ordained by the Father. This willingness to endure until the right moment marks the third degree.
Fourth Degree: Humility, Suffering, and Redemption. When the time had come that Christ should reap the fruits of His virtues and carry them into the Eternal Kindom, He humbled Himself, allowing His bodily life to be taken by His enemies. In His deepest suffering, He was forsaken by friends and stripped of all consolation, both inward and outward. Yet, in this state of extreme distress, Christ accomplished the greatest work of love by redeeming humanity and restoring their eternal heritage. His suffering, patience, and ultimate sacrifice adorned His noble manhood, earning Him the title of Saviour of the world. As a result, He is glorified, exalted, and set at the right hand of the Father, where all creation bows in eternal reverence to His name.
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Chapter 34 outlines the practices necessary for a person to be receptive to divine illumination.
A person must live in true obedience to God’s commandments, practicing moral virtues not only outwardly but also inwardly. This involves living justly in both word and deed, without seeking personal gain, whether in this life or the next. Beyond moral virtues, the person should be attentive to the inward virtues that arise from the guidance and stirring of the Holy Spirit. This includes a deep commitment to the inward life, where one’s heart and actions are aligned with divine will. The individual must bear all kinds of difficulties-darkness, heaviness, and miseries-with equanimity and patience. Gratitude towards God in all circumstances and a humble resignation of self to His will are essential. Such a man has received the first coming of Christ by inward exercise, gone out from himself to the inward life, and adorned with virtues his heart and lower powers (body and senses).
Then, when a person has undergone purification and found rest, gathering the lower powers into unity, they become ready for enlightenment. This prepares the person for the possibility of divine illumination, should God deem it the right time. Enlightenment may come to those who, from the beginning of their conversion, completely surrender to God’s will and renounce all forms of selfhood. Such individuals, even if enlightened early, must still progress through the spiritual degrees and practices previously outlined. However, their journey may be easier, as they possess more light and understanding compared to those who progress from the lower stages upward.
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In Chapter 35, Ruysbroek begins his discussion of the second coming of Christ. This is likened to a fountain with three rills which represents the flow of divine grace into the soul’s highest powers. The fountain-head is the fulness of Divine grace within the unity of our spirit where grace abides essentially and the three rills are the inflowing of grace into the memory, intellect, and will, wherein God works in many diverse ways.
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Chapter 36 describes the first rill of grace as a pure simplicity that flows from the fountain in the unity of spirit into all powers of the soul, both lower and higher. It raises them above any multiplicity and distractions, and produces simplicity, freeing the memory-understood here as the mind-from distractions and fickleness.
Christ calls the person to go out from themselves in conformity with this simplicity, and so he finds himself to be established in this unity of spirit. This results in the person being lifted to a new state, where the memory becomes fixed on the “Nudity” above all multiplicity and distractions of sensible images. This essential and supernatural unity of spirit is his dwelling-place, his personal eternal heritage. He will forever have a natural and supernatural tendency towards this unity, and this unity shall have an eternal loving tendency towards the most high Unity, in the bond of the Holy Spirit, Father and Son, united with all the sains.
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Chapter 37 delves into the second rill of divine grace, which, by God’s inward charity, arises from the unity of the spirit and illuminates the understanding to discern diverse things and distinguish between virtues. While this light is always within us, it is not under our control; rather, God reveals or conceals it according to His will. These men have no need of revelations since their being is in the spirit above the senses, and God shows them His will and what is needful for them or others. He can even deprive such men of their outward senses and show them from within unknown or future things.
Christ desires that the enlightened person walk in this light, examining his life and comparing it to Christ’s, both in His human and divine natures. The enlightened person uses this light to understand the nature of God and His fathomless attributes: His Simplicity, His Oneness, his incomprehensible Dimensions, His dark Silence, a Desert, the Rest of all saints in the Unity, and eternal Fruition of Himself together with His saints. Because of the limits of our senses we must use sensible similitudes to describe them, yet these things are perceived inwardly as an abysmal and unconditioned Good.
The enlightened man perceives the attributes of the Trinity. He sees the Father as Omnipotent, Creator, Mover, Preserver, and Origin and End of all creatures. He sees the Son, the Eternal word as Wisdom, Truth, and the Pattern for all creatures, Eternal Rule, Seeing and Seeing Through all things, Transillumination and Enlightenment of all saints. And he see The Holy Spirit as Incomprehensible Love, Generosity, Compassion, Mercy, Faithfulness, Benevolence, Greatness, outpouring Richness, limitless Goodness, a Flame which burns all things into Unity, a Fountain, the Preparation of saints for eternal bliss, an Embrace and Penetration of the Father, the Son, and all the saints. These attributes are perceived without differentiation in the simple nature of the Godhead, yet they abide abid as the Persons do, in manifold distinctions. For the Father begets distinction and eternally begets the Son, and the Father and the Son breathe forth the Spirit who is their common Love. And all the attributes and their works are common to all three Persons who work by virtue of their Onefold Nature.
The Divine Nature’s incomprehensible richness and loftiness fill the enlightened man with wonder. He marvels at God’s universal outpouring of generosity, the incomprehensible Essence of God shared between Him and all saints, the activity of the Divine Persons outpouring grace and glory into nature and above nature. He reflects on God’s universal workings in all places and times, influencing saints, men, heaven, earth, and all creatures. He recognizes that heaven, earth, celestial bodies, the elements, and the course of the heavens are created for the common good of all. He contemplates the soul’s indivisibility despite its divisions into spirit and powers. He sees God as wholly present and unique to each individual and marvels at the multiplicity of His gifts, yet shared universally by all creation. This leads to a profound joy, trust in God, and gladness that saturates the soul and spirit.
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Chapter 38 describes the third rill of divine grace which establishes the will and leads to every perfection. This rill is born of the gladness flowing from the same unity of spirit and, like a fire, it enkindles the will and consumes everything into unity. It fills and flows through all the soul’s powers and creates a effortless spiritual love in the will.
Now Christ calls the soul to act according to the gifts of this second coming: The first rill elevates the memory above the distractions of sensible images, grounding it in the unity of the spirit. The second rill enlightens the understanding and enables discernment of virtues and the mysteries of the Scriptures. The third rill enkindles the will with tranquil love and spiritual richness, leading to a state of spiritual enlightenment.
God’s grace acts like a fountainhead in the unity of his spirit and its rills flow out into the spirit’s powers and into the virtues. But this flowing-out necessarily demands a flowing-back into the same source from where the waters began.
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Chapter 39 outlines the four ways in which the person should now go out. The man established in love will dwell in the unity of spirit and will go out with enlightened reason and overflowing love. He will discern and distribute all things with generosity because of his richness in God.
He is then invited to go out, first towards God and all the saints, second toward sinners, third to purgatory and lastly to himself and all good men.
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Chapter 40 discusses the first going-out: towards God and all the saints.
The enlightened man will observe how God’s delights and His very self are generously poured out to all the saints according to their desires, and how the saints return all they have received to the same Oneness from which they came, in a continuous cycle of giving and receiving between God and His creatures. But God desires to be loved according to His infinite worth, which no spirit can do because they are finite, and so their love becomes wayless since they don’t know how to fulfill God’s desire. All blessed spirits gather together to form a burning flame of love to fulfill this task, but they realize they can’t. However, this is a great delight to the enlightened reason that realizes God so transcends created powers that can only be adequately loved by Himself.
The enlightened man, now enriched, will distribute gifts to all the angelic choirs and spirits according to their merits. He moves through all the heavenly hierarchies, bestowing fresh glory from the divine abundance of the Trinity and the Divine Nature.
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Chapter 41 discusses the second going-out: towards sinners.
The enlightened man descends towards sinners with deep compassion and mercy and intercedes for them with fervent prayer, reminding God of His goodness. Even though God never forgets, He wants us to align ourselves with His will and to urge Him on behalf of others. The enlightened man’s charity obtains what he asks for, but remains humble and not self-willed, trusting in God’s goodness and generosity and finding peace in this surrender. This man’s love is universal, extending to Pagans, Jews, and all unbelievers that God may be praised in heaven and our glory, joy and peace spread to all the ends of the earth.
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Chapter 42 discusses the third going-out: towards souls in purgatory:
The enlightened man will occasionally turn to his friends suffering in purgatory and pray to God for His pity. He will plead for their good will, their yearning for God’s goodness, and remind God that they died in love, resting all their hope in His passion and mercy. Sometimes this man is specifically urged by the Holy Spirit to pray for a particular sinner, soul, or spiritual benefit. In such moments, he recognizes that this intense urge is not from his own will but from the Holy Spirit.
When the prayer is particularly fervent, the man may experience a spiritual confirmation that his prayer has been heard. This confirmation often brings a sense of completion and reduces the intensity of the prayer.
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Chapter 43 discusses the fourth going-out: towards himself and all good men.
The enlightened man sees how he and all good men are united in love, and he prays God to bestow His customary gifts on them so that they may be confirmed in His love and eternal worship. He shall discreetly teach, reprove and serve others out of his love for them and thus act as a mediator between God and man. He turns inward with all the saints and possesses a peaceful unity of spirit, and therewith the most high Unity of God wherein all spirits rest.
This is the true spiritual life since all the virtues, both inward and outward, and all the highest powers of the soul are supernaturally adorned.
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Chapter 44 offers a way to recognize those who fail in true charity and spiritual enlightenment. It describes three signs that distinguish such individuals. By the first, you can recognize the fault in yourselve, and by the second and third, you can recognize it in others.
First Sign: Lack of Simplicity and Stability: The enlightened man experiences a simple, stable unity free from overthinking. In contrast, those lacking in charity are restless and filled with subtle reasonings and complex thoughts. They do not experience the inward unity or the satisfaction that comes without images. This self-awareness is crucial for them to recognize their condition.
Second Sign: Barren Doctrine and Spiritual Pride: While the enlightened person receives wisdom directly from God and can discern truth effortlessly, these individuals rely on their shrewd, imaginative ideas. Their teachings are complex and focus on external matters, often leading others astray rather than guiding them towards unity. They are stubborn in their opinions, spiritually proud, and lack commitment to virtues. This pride is evident in their behavior and doctrine, which do not bear fruitful results.
Third Sign: Isolation and Self-Importance: Unlike the loving, enlightened man who overflows with charity towards all, these individuals isolate themselves, considering themselves wiser and better than others. They crave admiration for their teachings and look down on those who do not follow them. They are indulgent in satisfying their bodily needs, disregard minor faults, and lack justice, humility, generosity, and fervor. This indicates a profound disconnection from true virtue and a lack of knowledge of God and self.
Ruysbroeck advises that these signs should be observed and corrected within oneself and in others, but without condemnation. Judging others harshly can harm one’s heart and obstruct the understanding of Divine truth. Instead, self-examination and gentle correction are encouraged.
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Chapter 45 portrays Christ as the ultimate model of a love common to all who seek salvation, in order that we may seek this state of being common to all above all others since it is the highest state. Christ was sent to earth for the benefit of every person who turns to Him. While He initially states that His mission is for the “lost sheep of the house of Israel,” Ruysbroeck explains that this includes not just the Jews but all who are destined to see God in eternity. This inclusivity shows that Christ’s love and mission extend to all chosen souls.
Christ gave Himself, in perfect loyalty through His inward prayer to His Father, to all who desired to be saved. His love, teachings, consolations, gifts and merciful forgiveness was common to all. His sould and body, His life and death, His ministry and sacraments and gifts, were lived for the sake of others. Christ’s actions, whether eating, drinking, living, or dying, were done with the intention of benefiting all those who would be saved. Christ owned nothing; everything was in common: His body and soul, mother and disciples, even his clothing. His personal sufferings were His alone, but their spiritual benefits became the redemption and salvation of all. The glory and merits of Christ’s actions will be shared by all in eternity.
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Chapter 46 addresses the misuse of spiritual goods by those in religious and ecclesiastical positions, contrasting their behavior with that of the early Church leaders. Christ left behind the seven sacraments and outward goods of the Church, which should be held in common. Therefore, those who live off these goods, particularly those in religious orders, should be devoted to the common good, especially in their prayers.
In the early Church, religious leaders like popes, bishops, and priests lived communal lives. They were united, rich in faith, and overflowing with love for God and humanity. Their commitment was evident as they converted people, established the Church, and even sealed their faith with their blood. But now, many contemporary religious leaders have become worldly, unstable, and in multiplicity. Their prayers are mere words, lacking the spiritual engagement that should accompany them. They are often preoccupied with physical comforts and, worse, might even be involved in fleshly sins! They shall never be enlightened living thus. They should examine themselves, and if they find they are living unsaintly lives, contrary to the common way of life, they should correct their ways. If they are living rightly, they should rejoice in a clear conscience and continue to serve God for His glory and the good of all.
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In Chapter 47, Ruysbroek shifts his focus from praising Christ’s gift of being in common to yet another treasure He left us through His Holy Church, the Sacrament of the Altar in which He gives His very self to all believers. During the Last Supper, knowing His time on earth was ending, Christ took bread and consecrated His sacred Body. He then consecrated His sacred Blood and gave it to His disciples and so left it to all good men for their eternal profit. This was the culmination of the old law and the beginning of the new covenant.
In the Eucharist, Christ gives Himself in three ways: First, He offers His flesh, blood and bodily life, glorified and full of joy. Remembering his precious bodily martyrdom in which He was pierced for our sake, the lower part of our human nature is nourished and adorned. Second, He imparts His Spirit, filled with glory, virtues, and divine gifts. His indwelling nourishes, adorns and enlightens us in the unity of our spirit and the higher powers of the soul. And third, He gives His personality which elevates and unites us with the Father who receives His adopted sons. Thus we enter into our inheritance of the Godhead in eternal bliss.
When a man worthily considers these things, then he goes out to meet Christ as Christ comes to meet him. He lifts himself up to receive Him with all his heart, desire, love, power, and joy, even as Christ receives him. This union is marked by a craving which can never be too great since we receive our very nature through it. It unites man with Christ’s glorified humanity, bringing profound joy and revealing the hidden riches of God. Reflecting on Christ’s sufferings can stir such deep compassion that the man longs to share in His martyrdom, pressing into His wounds and heart. Through this devotion, many blessings and divine revelations have been bestowed.
The sensible love, compassion, and imagination united with inward contemplation of Christ’s wounds can be so intense that a man feels them in his own body and makes him capable of receiving Christ’s stigmata. This satisfies Christ with regard to the lower part of His humanity. We also dwell in the unity of our spirit and flow forth in love and discernment, and so resemble Christ with regard to the spirit. And through Christ’s personality, we transcend ourselves and created being to rest in our inheritance, God’s eternal being. Christ desires to give us this grace when we prepare ourselves spiritually and sacramentally. Even without strong feelings, one may worthily approach the Eucharist if free from mortal sin, seeking God’s glory and growth in blessedness.
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Chapter 48 delves into the profound mystery of the Divine Unity within the Holy Trinity, exploring the nature of God as a unified being expressed in three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
The Unity of the Divine Nature is beyond human comprehension. It resides in a state of perfect and absolute stillness whose existence is beyond all created light and understanding. This Unity is not static but fruitful, for out of the Divine Unity, the Eternal Word (the Son) is eternally born of the Father. This eternal generation is the means by which the Father knows the Son, and in the Son, knows all things. Similarly, the Son knows the Father and all things in the Father, as they share a single, simple nature. From the mutual contemplation of the Father and the Son flows forth a fathomless love, which is the Holy Ghost. Through the Holy Ghost and Eternal Wisdom, God inclines Himself towards all creature, enkindling each with love according to its state. This divine inclination guides all good spirits, both in heaven and on earth, towards virtue and righteousness.
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Chapter 49 delves into how God interacts with the soul in both natural and supernatural ways, using an analogy of the cosmos to illustrate these concepts. It describes the highest heaven as a realm of pure, unchanging Radiance, encompassing all creation. This divine Radiance is immovable and constant, without time or space. Just below this divine Radiance is the sphere known as the First Movement. This is where all celestial movement begins, influencing the firmament and planets, and subsequently affecting all creatures. The chapter likens this First Movement to the essence of the soul, which is considered a divine kingdom filled with God’s Radiance. In this analogy, the unity of the soul’s spirit is compared to the First Movement. Just as the First Movement generates all celestial movement, so does God’s divine influence stir the soul both naturally and supernaturally. The soul’s essence is moved by God’s power, reflecting how celestial bodies are governed by divine order. God’s supernatural influence on the soul not only initiates virtues but also bestows the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, akin to the seven planets that illuminate and enrich the celestial world. These gifts are instrumental in shaping and guiding a person’s spiritual life.
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Chapter 50 summarizes how we attain the most profound inward exercise of the spirit by first cultivating the moral virtues of outward life and achieving a state of nobility and divine peace through internal practices. Such a person possesses a unity of spirit, illuminated by supernatural wisdom, and flows forth in generous love to both heaven and earth, raising himself through reverence and merits, and returning to the ground from which all things originate, the most high Unity of God.
God invites us into him, and we desire to enter into Him. The degree to which we receive His gift is the degree to which we ascend in love and tend inwardly into our origin, God.
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Chapter 51 treats the third coming of Christ which is an inward touch in the inmost part of our spirit. It occurs through our glowing love and through God’s loving inclination, working inwardly in the unity of our spirit where God dwells and where all our powers are gathered.
While the second coming was compared to a fountain pouring forth in three rills, the third coming can be likened to the duct that feeds the fountain. Just as there can be no stream without a fountain, and no fountain without a duct, the grace of God flows like rills into our higher faculties, inspiring all virtue. This grace springs up within the unity of our spirit and returns to the same unity from which it came, like a living spring flowing from the boundless richness of the Divine, where faithfulness and grace are ever-present.
The soul passively endures this inward touch for the higher faculties are united within the spirit’s unity, transcending the multiplicity of all virtues. Here, God alone acts in His pure goodness as the source of all virtues and blessedness. In this unity of the spirit, where the Divine duct flows, one is beyond activity and reason, yet not without reason for this Divine touch is felt, particularly through love. Reason cannot fully understand the means and nature of this touch, for it is an act of God, an inrusghin of all graces and gifts. It is the last mediator between God and man. Above this Divine touch, in the stillness of the spirit’s being, there broods an incomprehensible brightness – the highest Trinity, from which this touch proceeds. Here, God lives and reigns within the spirit, and the spirit within God.
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Chapter 52 discusses, how Christ speaks inwardly through this divine touch, urging the spirit to act in harmony with this experience. The spirit is drawn toward the most inward practices achievable by a creature in the created light. Here, the spirit, through the power of love, rises above all actions into the unity from which this life-giving touch springs forth. The touch invites the understanding to know God in His brightness and draws the power of love to enjoy God without any intermediary. The loving spirit longs for this experience, both naturally and supernaturally, above all else.
Guided by enlightened reason, the spirit ascends in inward contemplation, gazing into the depths where this touch resides. Here, all reason and created light reach their limits, for the Supernal Brightness that gives rise to this touch is so profound that it blinds any created sight, rendering all understanding akin to the eyes of a bat in the light of the sun. Yet, the spirit is constantly beckoned by God and by its own nature to explore the depths, to discern what stirs within, to understand the nature of God and this divine touch. But, even on the first day, the spirit finds itself as wise as it will ever be. Reason, baffled by this divine mystery, concludes: “I know not what it is,” for the Supernal Brightness, in its overwhelming clarity, strikes down all understanding whenever they meet.
God dwells in His brightness, surpassing all spirits in heaven or on earth, and those who journey through their innermost selves by means of virtues and inward practices, reach this source, the door to eternal life, and experience this touch. The Brightness of God shines so powerfully here that reason and all understanding are overwhelmed, unable to advance further, forced to yield before God’s incomprehensible radiance. However, even though reason and understanding falter before the Divine Brightness and must remain outside the door, the power of love yearns to move forward. Like the understanding, love has also been invited and urged forward. Love is blind and seeks fulfillment, a fulfillment that resides more in tasting and feeling than in understanding. Therefore, love presses onward, while understanding lingers behind.
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Chapter 53 delves into the eternal hunger that arises in the spirit, a yearning that will never be satisfied. The spirit, driven by God’s urgings and its longing for fruition, perpetually desires to reach a fulfillment that can never be reached because a created vessel cannot contain the Uncreated Good. Such are the poorest of all men. Even tasting the richness of God’s presence in every conceivable way, there is no satisfaction because what is lacking is God Himself, leaving the hunger ever renewed. The more God touches the spirit, the greater this desire grows, transcending reason and understanding, driven purely by the Divine love. In this state, the soul realizes that there can never be a separation from God. The divine touch, though experienced in a created way, continues to intensify as long as we live, reflecting the boundless capacity for growth in love and yearning for God.
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Chapter 54: In the profound depths of love, there unfolds a struggle between the Spirit of God and our own spirit. Through the Holy Ghost, God reaches out to us, touching us with His love. In response, our spirit, moved by God and the power of love, reaches out towards God, touching Him in return. From this mutual reaching and touching, a loving strife arises, where each spirit is deeply wounded by love.
Both spirits reflect each other, each showing its face to the other, and each yearning for the other in love. Each spirit demands all of the other and offers all of itself in return, making the two melt into one another. This is a communion where God’s love and ours flow back and forth, causing the fountain of love to overflow until God’s touch and our loving craving become one simple love.
In this state, the soul is so possessed by love that it forgets itself and God, and can only know love and do nothing but love. It is so consumed in love, and enters so deeply into the Divine touch, that it loses and becomes nothing in its own works, but empties itself completely. It moves beyond mere surrender to become love itself. This love is the root and origin of all virtues, residing in the very core of the soul’s created being, where all creaturely actions begin and end.
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In Chapter 55, the spirit, united with divine love, becomes fruitful in its virtues. Touched by God’s incomprehensible brightness and boundless love, the spirit cannot remain idle, but acts with a more sublime and inward desire than before. As the spirit engages in these higher works, it is quickly consumed and brought to nothing in love, only to go forth once more into fresh endeavors. This cycle is “heavenly love.” The spirit, driven by an insatiable hunger, yearns to fully consume God, but finds itself instead consumed by God’s touch, and its efforts ultimately fall short since its highest powers are unified in the spirit. Here, grace and love exist above all works, as the very source of charity and every virtue. There is an eternal outpouring from the source into charity and the virtues, and an eternal return to the spirit with a renewed hunger for God and the perpetual dwelling in pure love.
This cycle constitutes the most inward spiritual exercise possible for a creature in the created light, both in heaven and on earth. Above there is nothing but the God-seeing life in the Divine light. Here one cannot be deceived as this exercise begins in grace and last forever in eternal perfect union with God in love.
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Chapter 56 reminds us of what he has discussed so far in Book 2. The first point discussed is what Christ demands of us when He says “Behold”. The second and third points is what Christ desires when He says “The Bridegroom cometh, Go ye out.” This is the inward coming of Christ and there are three ways in which it happens. In particular, the first way has four degrees and we are to go out with practices responding to each of the degrees according to how God moves us.
The fourth point is the last point to be discussed, “to meet Him.” This is the final meeting and union with Christ, the Bridegroom, and it is the ultimate goal of all our spiritual efforts. Any meeting involves two parties coming together from different places. In this case, the meeting is between Christ, our Lord and generous Giver who descends from above to meet us, and us who come from below in need of everything. He comes to us from within outwards, and we go to Him from without inwards and we meet spiritually either by means or without means.
[Note: Here “with means” indicates that the encounter involves mediated experiences of God through gifts, symbols, forms, and conceptual images. These means guide us towards a deeper understanding and relationship with Christ. “Without means” indicates that the encounter is unmediated, occurring as a direct and intuitive experience in the unity of the spirit. There is nothing between the spirit and God.]
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Chapter 57 explores the essential meeting between the spirit and God that occurs in the nakedness of our nature, without any intermediary. The unity of our spirit comprises two aspects: essential and active. In its essence, the spirit receives Christ’s coming directly, without any means or interruption, for our very being in God, who is our Eternal image, is without means and indivisible. Our spirit continuously receives the impression of its Divine Archetype and dwells eternally in God’s presence, experiencing His perpetual comings and new illuminations of divine brightness. God is always present where He is, and He never leaves or changes, and the spirit, in its essence, holds God within itself, as God resides in the spirit. Thus, the spirit is able to receive divine brightness and fulfillment directly, without any intermediary. The spirit plunges and loses itself in God’s Being, finding eternal blessedness, and then flows forth again through the eternal birth of the Son to be placed in created being by the Holy Trinity, in the image of which it was made. In created being, it is continuously impressed by the image of its Eternal Archetype which it reflects like a flawless mirror. This essential union with God is not self-sustained but is maintained by God. It flows from God, depends on Him, and returns to Him as its Eternal Origin. This union, which transcends time and space, is incessantly active according to God’s will. While this essential union is present in every human being, whether good or evil, it does not alone confer holiness or blessedness. It is, however, the first cause of all holiness and blessedness. This union represents the deepest meeting between God and the spirit, occurring in the nakedness of our nature.
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Chapter 58 delves into the profound truth about how our spirit relates to God through grace and mortal sin. The spirit remains in its unity when acting, as it exists in its created and personal being. This unity is the source of all the soul’s higher powers and the beginning and end of all creaturely works, both natural and supernatural. However, this unity itself does not actively work; rather, all the soul’s powers draw their strength from it.
In this unity, the spirit is either like God through grace and virtue or unlike God through mortal sin. Being made in the likeness of God implies that we are created with a God-formed light that shines through us and makes us like God. Without this grace, we cannot achieve union with God even though we retain His image and our natural unity with Him. Losing this likeness, or grace, leads to damnation. So, whenever God finds in us the capacity to receive His grace, He freely infuses us with life and likeness to Himself. This transformation occurs when we fully turn our will to Him, at which point Christ comes to us with and without means-through virtues and beyond them. He imprints His image and likeness upon us, redeeming us from sin and making us like Himself. This process involves a union with God that transcends nature and means, representing our highest blessedness. Though God’s gifts are natural to Him, for us they are supernatural. Initially, we were separate and unlike God, but through grace, we become united with Him, reflecting His likeness and enjoying divine union.
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Chapter 59 explores how we possess God in union and rest above all likeness. This union with God, achieved without means, occurs in the essential intuition and remains hidden from our understanding except in a simplified manner. In this state, the spirit rests above all created gifts, natural or supernatural, and exists solely in union with God. We are possessed by the Holy Ghost, and in turn, we possess the Holy Ghost, the Father, and the Son-all of the Divine Nature, which remains ever undivided.
The fruitive tendency of the spirit, which seeks rest in God above all likeness, receives and possesses all that it has in its natural state in a supernatural way. Though this profound state is experienced by all good men, its full nature remains hidden unless one becomes inward and empty of all creatures. When a man turns away from sin, he is received by God in the essential unity of his being, at the highest point of their spirit, and find eternal rest in God. Grace and likeness to God are given at the source of one’s powers, allowing for continuous growth in virtues. This union and rest endure as long as the likeness endures through charity and virtues and can only be lost through mortal sin.
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Chapter 60 explains that we need God’s grace which makes us like Him and leads us to Him without means. All holiness and blessedness lies in our spirits being led upwards, through likeness and by means of grace to the essential unity. Here we enter into this naked essence in which God gives of Himself without means. Damned spirits dwell in darkness because they lack this grace, which should enlighten them and guide them to unity with God. Our essential being is so noble, that even the damned cannot will their annihilation, but are merely led into darkness preventing unity with God.
To overcome this darkness, grace is necessary to remove the sin that causes it, and make our lives fruitful. Christ enters us through means, that is through grace and various gifts, while we approach Him through means, that is through virtues and practices. As Christ gives us more profound gifts, our spirit’s workings become more inward and delightful in a continuous cycle growth into a higher life. This active meeting is completely through means, for God’s gifts and our virtues are means. These means are necessary for all men, because without the mediation of God’s grace and our loving response, no one can be saved.
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In Chapter 61, the focus is on how God and the spirit visit each other in the unity and likeness that God has made in us and through us. He sees this dwelling place and desires to continually visit it with a new coming of His noble birth. He wills to dwell blissfully in the loving spirit, bringing a new outpouring of His boundless love, enriching our spirit’s likeness to Him and enhancing our virtues with divine gifts.
Christ similarly desires that we also continuously dwell in the essential unity of our spirit, enriched by Him above all creaturely work. Our abiding in this unity should be without interruption in every work that we do. In each moment, God is born anew in us, and from this divine birth, the Holy Ghost bestows His gifts. So we should go forth to meet God’s gifts through the likeness, and hist most high birth through the unity.
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Chapter 62 turns to how we should go out to meet God through our works and intentions. To enhance our likeness to Him, we must direct every good work, no matter how small, towards Him with love and with a single, pure intention. As the end, beginning, and adornment of all virtues, this single intention unifies the scattered powers of the spirit and unites us to God. Its simplicity seeks only God in everything through their connection with God, cutting through all distractions and finding Him in the simple ground of its own being. It eliminates all hypocrisy and duplicity, keeping us focused on God, clear in understanding, diligent in virtue and fearless both now and in the Day of Doom. Singleness of intention gives light to man’s works and life, cleansing it of sin. It is the foundation of spirituality: it is the spirit’s inwardness, enlightenment and loving tendency. It embodies faith, hope, and charity, trusting in and remaining faithful to God. It fosters inner peace, drives away spiritual discontent, and maintains fullness of life in all the virtues.
In the unity of the spirit, in grace and likeness, we meet God through the means of virtues and offer Him our whole life with a simple intention. With every work we do, we increase our likeness to Him; and ultimately, we come to meet God without intermediaries, rest in Him in the abyss of simplicity, and possess our eternal heritage. All spiritual life and virtuous actions are rooted in divine likeness and simplicity of intention, and supreme rest lies in simplicity above likeness. Each spirit progresses in virtue and likeness according to its own nobility, and God provides for each according to their measure of love, both in this life and in eternity.
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Chapter 63 treats of the ordering of all the virtues through the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit by which we resemble God, and rest in Him in unity.
1. The Gift of Fear involves living in the reverence of God, demonstrating obedience to the Church and divine commandments, and having a willingness to do good with a simple intention. Through faithfulness and aligning one’s will with God’s will, a person resembles God and does what he should do and does not what he should not. He finds rest in Him above mere likeness through faithfulness and singleness of intention.
2. The Gift of Piety involves exerting oneself in what God has given, leading to the bestowal of the spirit of Piety and Mercy. This results in becoming gentle, meek, and merciful, which enhances one’s likeness to God, deepens one’s virtues, and increases one’s sense of rest and fulfillment in God. The more one resembles God, the greater the enjoyment of this likeness and rest.
3. The Gift of Knowledge is received when one exerts oneself with great zeal and single intention while fighting against what opposes virtues. This gift brings reason and discernment, enabling one to know what actions to take or avoid. Through simplicity of intention and godly love, one rests in God above oneself in the unity. He possesses himself in likeness and his works in delight, becoming obedient to the Father, gaining reason through the Son, and mercy through the Holy Ghost. Thus he resembles the Holy Trinity.
This is the whole of the active life: zealously pursuing virtue with discernment and humility before Christ, avoiding all that opposes virtue. In this way, he cannot error and will grow in likeness. However, those who focus more on outward practices, sacraments, and symbols than on the ground of the truth they signify, remain outwardly oriented. Such individuals will be saved by their good works and sincere intention, but will ever remain an outward man.
4. The Gift of Strength: To draw closer to God and elevate his practice and life, a man must move from external works and forms to their inner reason and truth, and thus come into the inward life. God then gives him the spirit of Strength which allows him to overcome joy and grief, profit and loss, hope and care in earthly things, and all hindrances and multiplicity. He becomes free from all creaturely images, masters himself, effortlessly becomes inward and recollected, and turns without hindrance to God with devotion, desire, thanksgiving, praise and singleness of intention. The whole of his life reaches fruition, both inwardly and outwardly, for he stands before the Holy Trinity, receives consolation from God and continually possesses inward peace through the singleness of his intention. By abiding steadfastly before God, the spirit of Strength within him is doubled, freeing him from attachment to bodily desires and longings for consolations, or even for rest and peace of heart. He will renounce all gifts to find Him who he loves. Thus he is strong in overcoming the unrest of the heart, and doubly strong in foregoing all consolations. He transcends all creatures to possess himself through the Gift of Strength.
5. The Gift of Council: When no creature can impede a man in his upward intention, and when through the Gift of Strength he is steadfast in seeking God above all His gifts, then God gives him the Gift of Counsel. The Father draws him inwardly, the Son invites him to follow to the Father, and the Holy Ghost ignites his heart with fiery love. This awakens a restless yearning of love in him which only God can satisfy. He abandons himself and all things to find Him in Whom he lives and in Whom all things are one. He should master his reason, renouncing self-will, and patiently awaiting the unity he seeks until its God’s pleasure to give it.
This Gift works in Him in two ways: 1) A man is great when he follows God’s precept and counsel by abandoning himself and all things, declaring with burning love, “Thy Kingdom come.” 2) A man is even greater when he overcomes and abandons his own self-will in love, submitting reverently to God and saying with insatiable burning love, “Thy Will be done in all things, not mine.” This is what Christ said to the Father when He approached his passion. These were to Him most happy, to us most wholesome, to the Father most lovable and to the devil most terrible, because by this renunciation of self-will, we were saved. Thus, for the loving and humble person, God’s will becomes their greatest joy and deepest desire, even if it were to lead to hell, which is impossible. Human nature is cast down and God exalted above all, and man becomes capable of receiving all of God’s gifts, having denied himself and given all for all. So, he asks for nothing but what God wills since this is his joy. He is the most free of all men since he has surrendered himself to God in love, and he lives without care for God cannot lose what is His.
Although God knows every heart, He often permits trials and temptations to test whether this man can truly renounce himself in freedom. This serves to enlighten the soul, allowing the person to live for God’s glory and his own salvation. This is why God sometimes lead such a man from joy to suffering, from heaven to hell, and from blessedness to great misery, so it seems that God and all creatures have forsaken him. If a man had previously renounced himself and his will out of love and joy for God’s pleasure, he will more easily do so in times of pain and misery, continuing to seek God’s glory rather than his own comfort. If he is willing to do good things, then he is willing to suffer great things, although the latter is nobler, more pleasing to God, and more satisfying to our spirits, since it is more contrary to our nature. Thus, in suffering our spirit is more exalted and our nature more cast down, than in a work with done with equal love. When a man remains steadfast in resignation, without any preference, then he possesses the spirit of Council in two ways: 1) He fulfills God’s will in his working and suffering by self-surrender and obedient submission. 2) His nature is gloriously adorned and capable of being enlightened.
6. The Gift of Understanding: God grants the sixth gift, the spirit of Understanding, which resembles the fountain with three rills: it anchors the spirit in unity, unveils Truth, and fosters general love. It is also like sunlight, which illuminates the sky with simple brightness, reveals all distinctions, and displays its power through warmth and nurtures fruitfulness. Its first ray instills simplicity within the spirit, like sunlight fills the sky with brilliance. God’s grace, the foundation of all gifts, is like a simple light in our potential understanding, and through this light, the spirit becomes stable, unified, and enlightened, resembling God in grace and love. However, since the spirit now loves God above all gifts, it cannot be satisfied by created likeness or brightness, and longs, both natural and supernatural, for the Abysmal Being from which it originated. The Unity of the Divine Being eternally draws all created likeness into itself. The spirit is enkindled with fruition and melts into God as its eternal rest. Just as sunshine is to the sun, so the grace of God is to God and the means to Him. This grace illuminates the spirit with simplicity, making it God-like. This likeness continually merges, dies, and unites with God, becoming one with Him through charity and causing it to dwell in the One. We retain the eternal likeness and maintain union with God beyond all activity even as we actively engage in charity and virtue. For, in the nakedness of spirit in the Divine light, we possess God in rest above virtues. Thus, charity in likeness is ever active while union in God is ever at rest, yet fruitive in love. This is the dynamic of love: it is simultaneously active and yet rests in its Beloved. Each strengthens the other and is inseparable: the higher the love, the deeper the rest, and the deeper the rest, the greater the love. Some devout men feel they neither love nor rest in God because their desire to love Him more makes their love seem insufficient. Yet, even in this striving, they both love and rest, although they don’t realize it. Only those who are resigned, emptied, and spiritually enlightened can comprehend how one can simultaneously labor in love and rest in fruition: they are one with God in rest and mirror God in acts of love, for they are like God Himself who eternally rests in His Essential Unity, and eternally works in the Trinity. To love God is to taste Him, and anyone satisfied with other things will not taste what God is. We must keep ourselves in simplicity, virtue and likeness, and God above ourselves in love, rest and unity. This is the first degree of enlightenment, in which a man common to all is made stable.
Just like when the sun illuminates the sky and the beauty of the world is revealed so our eyes can perceive its rich diversity; similarly, when we achieve inner simplicity and our understanding is enlightened by the Spirit of Understanding, we can perceive the sublime attributes of God which are the causes of all the works that flow from Him. Although some know God through His works, only the man who receives the Spirit of Understanding can grasp the divine attributes that ground these works. This gift allows him to recognize his nobility, discern virtues, and live without error in the eternal Truth. He can dwell in the spirit, and rightly understand all things in heaven and on earth by enlightened reason. He walks in heaven and perceives the nobility of his Beloved along with the saints – His abysmal height, depth, length and breadth, and the perfection of His wisdom, truth, generosity, and goodness. All these attributes are not separate from Him but are His very essence. The enlightened man lowers his gaze to himself and to all creation and sees clearly how God generously made all things in nature and offered Himself above nature to those who seek and desire Him. The richness of Gods blessings fills him with joy if he has died to self in God, lives in the spirit and tastes eternal realities. In addition to his naked state of being in unity with God in fruitive love and bearing likeness to Him in charity and virtuous work, the Gift of Understanding gives him an *awareness* of his state. It illuminates him so he walks with spiritual discernment and recognizes God in spiritual similitudes, including himself and all things according to the modes and measures of the divine illumination accroding to God’s will and the greater nobility of our understanding. This is the second degree of englightenment of a man common to all.
Proportionately, as the sun increases its heat, it brings all things to fruition. So too, as our understanding is increasinly enlightened and recognizes Divine Truth, our soul’s will, that is its power of love, intensifies towards all men in common, for the knowledge of Truth imparted by this Gift grounds us in a universal love. Those most simple in their being are the most peaceful, deeply immersed in God, richly enlightened in their understanding, most fruitful in good works, outflowing in love to all and hindered least because they are most like God. God is simplicity in His essence, clarity in His understanding, and outflowing universal love in His works. The closer we are to God in these three qualities, the deeper our union. Thus, we are called to remain simple in our innermost being, to perceive all things with enlightened reason, and to extend love universally. This is like the sun’s simplicity as it abides unchanged in the sky, and yet sends forth its rays to heat the whole world in common.
To live with enlightened reason in universal love, we must align our lives with the Divine attributes and purposes revealed in God. This involves several key dispositions and actions: 1) Humility and Awe: Recognize the Father as the Origin of the Godhead, both in Essence and Personality, and bow in humble reverence before His sublimity. This humility is the foundation of all virtues. 2) Adoration and Reverence: Honour the might of the Father, who creates and sustains all things from nothing. This adoration elevates the soul in a spiritual manner. 3) Gratitude and Service: Offer praise, thanks, and continual service to God’s faithfulness and love, who has redeemed us from sin and eternal death. Through this, we experience true spiritual freedom. 4) Intercession for Enlightenment: Present before God the blindness and ignorance of humanity, praying that all people may be enlightened and come to know the truth, so God is glorified and honoured. 5) Mercy for Sinners: Pray for the conversion and growth of sinners in virtue, that they may come to love God fervently and desire Him above all else. 6) Generosity: Share the riches of God’s gifts with those in need, helping them find fulfillment and guiding them to flow back to God, so that He may be possessed and glorified in all. 7) Offering of Christ’s Work: Present to the Father, in awe and reverence, all the works and loving service of Christ’s humanity, ensuring our prayers and efforts are heard and accepted. 8) Communion with Saints and Church: Unite with the devotion of angels, saints, and the faithful, offering their fervent love and the service of Holy Church, including the Holy Sacrifice, as a collective worship to the Father. 9) Union through Christ: Present the entire service of Holy Church, including the Holy Sacrifice, all our works, thoughts, and prayers in the name of Christ, striving to meet God through Him, becoming like Him in universal love, transcending likeness in simplicity, and uniting in the Essential Unity. 10) Continual Praise and Return: Abide in oneness with God, flow forth in universal love with Him and all saints, and return in perpetual thankfulness, immersing ourselves in fruitive love within the Eternal Rest. This is the richest life possible with the Gift of Understanding.
7. The Gift of Wisdom: We receive this Gift when we turn inward in contemplation with love and simplicity, encounter the fruitive unity of God as an unconditioned and incomprehensible darkness, and offer ourselves up to this fruition above the virtues. This Gift then saturates our simplicity wisdom and spiritual savor. It is a spiritual touch within the unity of our spirit, bringing all grace and virtue, which each experiences according to the intensity of the touch and of his love. This touch is the inmost mediator between God and ourselves, rest and activity, condition and unconditioned, eternity and time. God touches us before receiving any gifts, but we taste it last of all. Only after having sought God to the depts of our being, do we feel with certainty the inflow of all graces in the unity of our highest powers.
This touch is above reason but not contrary to reason because we can’t know its origin. The sun illuminates the sky so we can see, but if we follow its rays back to their origin, the sun itself is so bright that we would be blinded. Likewise, the reflection of the Incomprehensible Light in the unity of our higher powers is too intense for any creaturely activity. Here we can only passively endure God’s inner working. God can’t give himself to us more directly because our faculties are too small. So He pours His gifts into us according to our limits: the fruition of God abides above the unity of our powers and demands of us a likeness in love and virtue. So we are repeatedly touched and renewed, becoming ever more like Him. With each touch, the spirit’s desire increases and it craves to pass through the abyss of love to be satisfied. This is an eternally unsatisfied desire for all loving creatures desire God according to their nobleness and the intensity of the touch, yet God remains eternally incomprehensible. With all the saints, we are left with an eternal desirous introversion. His radiance is so limitless that all spirits fail in their ability, melt away in the sensible love in the unity of their spirits, and endure passively the working of God. In this state, our spirit, the Divine grace, and all virtues are one in a sensible love without outward activity. The spirit is simple, open to all gifts, and capable of all virtues. This ground of sensible love is where God works inwardly and causes us to move ever inward and flow outward in virtuous works.
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Chapter 64 discusses the highest degree of the most interior life. The Immeasurable Splendour of God, which is the cause of all gifts, transfigures and penetrates our fruitive spirit in a way that is wayless. The spirit immerses itself in the Uncomprehended Light in a fruitive rest which is wayless and fathomless, and cannot be know except by the experience of the rest itself. If we could comprehend it, then it would be limited by mode and measure, leading to eternal unrest. So, the simple, loving and immersed spirit is drawn into an abysmal love where the abyss of God calls to the abyss of those united with Him in love. This inward call is an influx of divine brightness, enfolding the spirit in a love so deep that it becomes lost to itself and flows into the wild darkness of the Godhead. United without any intermediary, the spirit becomes one with God’s Spirit, allowing it to meet and eternally possess God through God, sharing in eternal bliss.
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Chapter 65 deals with how the most inward life is practiced in three ways.
First, the inward man may engage in simple introspection, above all actions and virtues, through an inward gaze focused on the fruition of love. In this practice, he meets God without intermediaries. A simple light emanates from Divine Unity, revealing Darkness, Nakedness, and Nothingness. In Darkness, the soul becomes lost, unable to find its way; in Nakedness, it loses all discernment, and is penetrated by a simple light; in Nothingness, all activity ceases as the soul is overwhelmed by God’s abysmal love, ultimately uniting with Him in spirit. In this oneness, the soul experiences a fruitive tasting and possession of God, filled with divine delights and riches, which flow into the soul and the body, bringing a sense of inward immovability and a radiant, sensible well-being. This “way of emptiness” empties the soul of all things, lifting it above activity and virtues, leading to a profound perseverance in the most interior practices. However, any intermediaries or images impede this exercise, as it requires a going beyond all things into Emptiness.
Second, the inward man may turn to God with ardent desire and active love, seeking to glorify and honor God, annihilating all selfhood in the love of God. Here, God is met through an intermediary-the gift of Savouring Wisdom, the root of all virtues, which stirs and enkindles the soul with a desire that nothing but God Himself can satisfy. This desire leads the soul to surrender all its works and empty itself completely in love. And with each new touch by God, his desire is renewed and increased. Thus, “living he dies, and dying he lives again.” This “way of longing,” in which the sould longs to unite itself with God, is more profitable than the first, as it serves as its source, for no one can enter the rest except the man who has loved love. The soul’s longing for God precedes and follows the divine rest, and without active love, one cannot attain or retain God. Any attachment to God’s gifts or created things will hinder this exercise, as it is driven by a hunger that only God can satisfy.
Third, these two ways combine in the “inward life according to justice,” where God comes both with and without means, demanding both action and fruition. Here, the inward man lives wholly in both work and rest, responding to God’s call to continually renew both. He remains whole and undivided, united with God in fruition while actively loving in his deeds. Each divine illumination turns the spirit inward, renewing its virtues and immersing it deeper into fruitive rest. God gives Himself and His gifts, while the spirit offers itself and its works. This dual exercise leads the spirit into rest and keeps it active in love, striving for divine union. This just man is like a double mirror, receiving God’s gifts on one side and bodily images on the other, able to turn inward at will and practice justice without hindrance. However, human instability often leads him outward into unnecessary activity, resulting in venial sins, which are consumed like drops of water in a glowing furnace during loving introversion. This state, where both rest and work coexist in a single exercise, represents the supreme summit of the inward life. Those who do not achieve this balance have not yet attained true justice. In this union, the just man progresses towards God in eternal activity and rests in God with fruitive inclination, dwelling in God while extending universal love and virtue towards all creatures.
With this understanding, the discourse on the inward life is concluded.
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Chapter 66 explores how some individuals, despite appearing righteous, actually live contrary to the inward practices and virtues described in earlier chapters. These individuals fall into various forms of error because anyone lacking divine enlightenment and supernatural love is inclined to himselves and finds his rest in outward things. All creatures tend towards rest, both the good and the evil.
False Natural Rest: Some men achieve a natural rest by emptying themselves of all images and activity, which is opposed with the supernatural rest found in divine union. But the loving man cannot find stillness in this rest because it lacks the inward touch of God. This is a deceptive rest leading to spiritual blindness and self-indulgence rather than simple gaze into the Incomprehensible Brightness. Supernatural rest, which is sought by inward longing, is as far above natural rest as God is above creatures. Natural rest is not a sin per se, but if it is sought without virtue, he falls into spiritual pride. We see this with the angels: those who turned inwards towards God in love and fruition found beatitude, while those who sought rest in themselves found a short lived rest. They were separated from the eternal light, became blind and fell into darkness.
Self-Directed Natural Love: Others, desiring inward rest in idleness without God, are open to all sorts of errors for they are turned towards themselves, seek consolations in self-love and reject any self-renunciation. They engage in acts of penitence so that they might gain recognition on earth for their sanctity, and merit great rewards in heaven, because self-love desires honors and eternity. They ask for many favors and when they sometimes receive them through the devil, they ascribe it to their sanctity because they are proud. Even a small consolation may satisfy them because they don’t know what they lack, so attached are they to spiritual refreshment. This is spiritual lust since it is an inordinate attachment seeking its own profit in all things.
Such men, being proud and self-willed, are vehemently set on what they desire. So they are often deceived and might even become possessed. They live contrary to charity and inwardness whereby one offers oneself up to God, which alone can satisfy him. Charity moves us to renounce ourselves, draw up to God, and be united to Him; whereas, natural love turns us towards ourselves in eternal isolation. Outwardly their works look the same, but the inward intentions are different. The good man always seeks to glorify God, but a man in natural love always seeks his own profit. So, when natural love wins out, a man falls into four sins: spiritual pride, avarice, gluttony and lust. Thus was human nature corrupted when Adam fell: he scorned God’s commandment in pride, he avariciously desired knowledge, he gluttonously sought pleasant tastes and he was moved by lust. But Mary, the Mother of Love, found the grace Adam lost when she turned towards God in charity. She conceived Christ in humilty [vanquishing pride], she offered Him to the Father [vanquishing avarice], she never tasted consolation [vanquishing gluttony] and lived in purity [vanquishing lust]. Whoever follows her will similarly conquer all that is contrary to the virtues and enter the kingdom where she reigns with her Son.
The Unrighteous Life: When a man rests in bare vacancy and remains disobediently self-willed, he lives without charity and in unlikeness to God. This is third contrary way: the unrighteous life of error and perversity. These men think they are God-seeing men and believe themselves the holiest men alive, yet they are completely unlike God, His saints and all good men. Because of their natural rest, they think they are free and united to God without means, above all the Church’s customs, above all God’s commands, above the law and above every virtuous work. They believe their idleness is so great that it should not be troubled by work, and so remain in pure passivity, without work aimed above or below. According to them, any work they do would hinder God’s work and so they strive to remain empty of every virtue: they don’t praise or thank God. They have no knowledge, love, will, prayer, desire, for they think they already possess these and not even God can add or subtract anything. They maintain that they have surpassed all the virtues by this pure emptiness which is harder to obtain than any virtue and releases one from all the virtues. So they inwardly reject all authority, pope, bishop or parson, despite outwardly appearing to be submissive. For them, striving after virtue to fulfill God’s will is a sign of imperfection since such men lack knowledge of the spiritual emptiness. Rather, they fancy that they deserve a greater reward since their virtues have reached a maximum and they cannot sin anymore, for they say they live without will and are nothing and completely surrended to God in baren rest. They think they live in the state of innocence beyond law, and so no longer hinder any bodily desire. If the emptiness of their spirit is troubled by natural lust, they yield to it to assuage the desire. So they don’t keep Lent, or Ember-days, or commandments and live without conscience. Hopefully there aren’t too many such men, but they are most vile! Sometimes they are even diabolically possessed and beyond reasoning. Nonetheless, we know from scripture and our faith that they are deceived.
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In Chapter 67, Ruysbroeck describes another group of perverted men who, while distinct in some ways from those previously discussed, also believe themselves to be above all forms of human activity. They claim to be mere instruments of God’s will, existing in a state of passivity so complete that they attribute all actions, whether virtuous or sinful, to God working through them. They consider themselves “God-passive” men, believing their works to be more meritorious than any other human effort, as they view themselves to be empty vessels in whom God alone acts. These men are convinced that they cannot sin, as they believe that everything occurring within them is the will of God. These individuals appear humble and resigned, often displaying equanimity in all circumstances because they see themselves as mere instruments of God’s will. Outwardly, they may resemble good men, but their beliefs diverge significantly, as they assume that all their inner impulses-virtuous or otherwise-are from the Holy Spirit. However, this is a grave deception, for the Spirit of God never leads anyone to act against the teachings of Christ and the principles of true Christianity.
Such people are difficult to recognize because they often present themselves cleverly and can be very persuasive in their arguments. They are obstinate, holding their beliefs so rigidly that they would rather die than renounce even a single point of their misguided convictions. They consider themselves to be the holiest and most enlightened of all people.
These men differ from the previously described perverted individuals in that they claim they can still grow in merit, while the others believe they have reached a state of unity and emptiness from which no further progress is possible. Nonetheless, both groups are perverted and wicked, the latter even more so, as they claim a merit that surpasses others because they believe God alone acts through them. But God’s activity is eternal and unchangeable, with no potential for growth or merit for any creature. Without their own love for God and co-operation with Him, no created being can be blessed. The emptiness they claim is a deceit used to justify their own wickedness, presenting it falsely as superior to virtue. Such people, he says, are akin to the damned in hell, who also lack charity, praise, and adherence to God.
Rather, we should consider Christ who, while united with the Divine Essence, always lived in love, longing, and praise toward His Heavenly Father. His soul, like all who are blessed, continues in an eternal, loving striving, never reaching a state of idleness or complacency. This union with God, both fruitive and activie, constitutes the eternal bliss of Christ and His saints. It is a life of righteousness that never fades, calling us to adorn ourselves inwardly and outwardly with virtues and humble actions before God. Through these gifts, we encounter God, are touched by love, and filled with loyalty, enabling us to flow outward in charity and return inward in peace, achieving a Divine likeness. In this likeness, we are melted into unity, meeting God directly in fruitive rest while remaining in eternal flow, a perfect inward life of unity and love. May this grace come to pass in us through God’s help. Amen.