examination of the heart 190 Turn back at last to the Lord your God (cf. Hos 14:2), who has never done anything to you to cause you to change from a loving child into someone, who while being so hostile and unfriendly toward him, delights in sins. 2. “He who is of God hears the words of God” (Jn 8:47). If whenever the most gracious Lord knocks at your heart with holy inspirations and encourages you to work hard at performing good deeds, if whenever He rouses you that you may awake from the sleep of sin and admonishes you to begin your journey according to the principles of virtue and to lead a wholly spiritual life; if, I say, on these occasions you pretend not to hear the Divine Word, not to perceive it, or not to understand God’s inspirations, or you do not take them into account, you must know that you are in a very bad state, very near to an unhappy end of life, and that you are soon to be drawn by the evil, infernal spirits to eternal damnation. Similarly pitiable is your state if you unwillingly listen or turn a deaf ear to those who admonish and exhort you to enter the true path of perfection, or if you actually accept their admonitions and listen to their words, but do nothing to put them into action either because of your pride, or because of the very great stubbornness of your will and the hardness of your heart (which [f.37v] is the surest sign that a man will be damned). Therefore, take action! Follow divine inspirations; be obedient to counsels, persuasions, and right guidance from others, lest it be found that the Blood of the most merciful Lord has been poured out for you in vain. Long for Him and implore that this present Holy Communion be salutary and beneficial for you. 3. “you are a Samaritan” (Jn 8:48). O admirable patience of the God-Man! He was said to be possessed by a devil and called a Samaritan,71 and yet He answers so 71 The adversaries of Jesus refer to him contemptuously as “the Samaritan.” To the Jews, Samaritans represented a heretical and schismatic group of spurious worshipers of the God of Israel, and were detested even more than pagans; cf. John L. McKenzie, Dictionary of the Bible, Collier-MacMillan, London-Dublin 1965 (s.v. Samaritans).
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