The Dialogue

A brief repetition of the above-mentioned things ; with an addition concerning the reprehension of the neighbour.

" I HAVE now told thee, dearest daughter, and explained to thee, in satisfaction of thy desire, that which thou didst ask Me — in what way, namely, thou shouldst judge thy neighbour, so as not to be deluded by the Devil, or by thy own low point of view ; and I have told thee that thou shouldst reprove in general, and not in particular, unless thou shouldst have had an express revelation from

224 THE DIALOGUE OF ST. CATHERINE

Me ; and that, in that case, thou shouldest, with humility blame thyself and thy neighbour at the same time. I have also told thee, and I repeat it, that, in no case whatever, is it lawful for thee to judge any creature, either in general, or in the particular case of one of My servants, as to whether he be well or badly disposed. And I have given the reason why thou canst not judge, and why, if thou didst do so, thou wouldst be deceived in thy judgment. I have also told thee, that you should all have compassion on each other and leave judgment to Me; and I have given thee the doctrine, and the principal foundation for thee to give to those who should come to thee for counsel, and who should wish to come out of the darkness of mortal sin, and follow the path of virtue, and knowledge of them selves and of My Goodness to them, and the destruction and extinction of their own will, so that it may rebel in nothing against Me. And I have told thee to give them penance as a means and not as an end, and not to each one equally, but according to their capacity and con dition ; to one less, to another more, shalt thou give these external means. But, because I said to thee that it was not lawful for thee to reprove another, except in general (which is the truth), I do not wish thee to think that, when thou actually seest an open sin, thou canst not privately correct the sinner ; this thou canst do, and if he is so obstinate that he will not correct himself, thou canst manifest his sin to two or three others ; and if this does not succeed, thou mayest manifest it to the mystical body of the holy Church. What I have said to thee is— that thou canst not lawfully make to thyself any judgment in thy mind, what ever thou mayest appear to see with thine eyes, nor change thy opinions quickly, for, unless thou seest the truth of the matter by My express revelation, thou shouldest not make use of the truth, except in the way I have shown thee. This is the surer way of preventing the Devil deluding thee under the cloak of neighbourly love. I have now, dearest daughter, completed My explanations on this matter, which thou must preserve, and so increase the perfection of thy soul."

A TREATISE OF PRAYER 225