Lest You Remain

In fact, there is no better good and gift of God, among those bestowed upon peo- ple, than the gift and benefit of contemplation, since all the happiness of the saints comes from gazing upon God. Thus, those who with a shrewd and very careful mind, contemplate God, themselves and God’s creation, in a way, access this happiness, receive a foretaste of it and become its participants. Holy contemplation is the eye of the soul: look for it with all your heart, demand it with all your strength, and ask for it in ceaseless prayer. And when you receive it, guard it, so that you would not lose it. Pay attention not to forfeit it in a multitude of things to accomplish. Remember to guard it as carefully as ordinary people tend to guard their physical eyes. ( Inspectio Cordis ) 10 So stay close to this holy and fruitful practice of prayer. Know also that if at any time, you neglect it, you will move a step closer to condemnation. Whoever abandons prayer, approaches hell: each step he takes towards it, is a result of the numerous times that he neglected prayer. On the contrary, the more zealous and fre- quent your prayer, the more often, you will experience communion with God. There is no better way to multiply vices and to breed imperfections, than to neglect prayer. If you examine yourself, you will realize that you always commit- ted many transgressions, when, due to laziness, you neglected some of the regular prayers. And, on the contrary, what can more effectively, quickly and beautifully cultivate, weed and set new plants of graces in the garden of your soul, than the undertaking and repeated exercise of prayer. ( Inspectio Cordis ) P ENANCE 1 Contemplate God’s mercy! Today’s tax collector so deeply participates in this mercy that, as the Son of God alone testifies: “He went home from the temple jus- tified” (Lk 18:14). Fr. Founder’s Selected Thoughts on the Religious Life 169