Lest You Remain

14 Stand before God as mute, blind and seduced by the evil spirit. Mute, when you consider how frigid and dry you are in your prayer, even more, how much you lack devotion. Blind, when you think how awfully you wander, following your own will, guided by reason with the demonic mentality. How much you lack a true spir- it of God, because you devote yourself so willingly to external matters, because you do not have the spirit of self-denial and service to God, because you trespass against God’s commandments, virtues and rules of the Order; and finally, because you do not take up any task of the Religious, or even of a Christian, but rather, you allow the evil spirit to seduce you so easily, and once cheated, you fall even more fre- quently and seriously. Thus, ask the Lord for three things: light, to thread the path of real religious perfection; speech, while filled with zealous devotion, to devote yourself to con- stant prayer, free from distractions; and finally, for liberation from any cruel attacks of the evil spirit, so that you could resist them in any unconquerable temptation, and in any religious activity which opposes a holy life. (Inspectio Cordis) 15 “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Get rid of and shake off the conviction, that you are somebody, that you can do something, that you do some- thing. You, poor thing, who are you without Christ? What can you do without Christ? What would you do without Christ? Feel ashamed now that sometimes you took pride in your deeds, as if you could do anything by yourself, except for sin. In the future, do not usurp and attribute to yourself, somebody’s fame. Do not usurp for yourself, the glory owed to God, who is the author of all goodness for you. Like a crow, do not use somebody else’s feathers and do not show off in them! It is clear to your nature, to the world, to heavens, that you are nothing, that you do not have any power, and will not do any good by yourself. Just try to grasp this, and be certain that it is so. Desire the glory not for yourself, but for the Name of God for all goodness. ( Inspectio Cordis ) L EST Y OU R EMAIN W ITHOUT W ORK IN THE V INEYARD OF THE L ORD 112