the mystical temple of god 670 rather than describe them. May the most blessed Trinity have us reach the end for which we were created, redeemed and called to by faith. May it safeguard us from being thrust down from this most wretched exile into another everlasting one on account of our sins. May it safeguard us in this most perilous and stormy ocean of our present lives so that we do not suffer the shipwreck of our eternal lives, but reach the port of the most longed for blessedness with Christ as captain, Mary as guiding star, the Angels as oarsmen, and the saints’ intercession as the winds. In the meantime among the unceasing waves may we, with St. Bernard, be permitted to console our dejected spirit with the following devout outcry, and encourage it to successfully continue our voyage as we sigh again and again: “O heavenly city, secure dwelling, fruitful and spacious fatherland, containing all that delights, a people without grumble, peaceful inhabitants, men suffering no want! What glorious things are said of you, city of God! All who rejoice dwell in you. Also all rejoice in joy and exultation, all take delight in God, whose appearance is beautiful, countenance graceful, and speech pleasant. He is delightful to see, pleasant to hold, and sweet to enjoy: He is pleasing by Himself, and of Himself sufficient to gain merit and reward; nothing outside Him is required, because whatever is desired, all this is found in Him. In Him the intellect is clarified, and our feelings purified for knowing and loving the truth. And this is the entire good of man, namely to know and love his Creator! “What madness is it then that drives us to thirst for the wormwood of vices, to pursue the shipwreck of this world, to suffer misfortune of life that is going astray and bear the rule of a godless tyranny and not to rather fly to the happy association of the saints, to the company of the Angels, to the celebration of heavenly joy, and the delightfulness of a contemplative life, so that we would be able to enter into the powers of God, and to see those superabundant riches of His goodness?” (Med. Ch. 4).230 230 Bernard, Meditations, Ch. IV, nn. 1-2, in: AMS, pp. 327-328.
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