The Dialogue

How this devout soul, praising and thanking GOD, made a prayer for the Holy Church.

THEN this soul, as if inebriated, tormented, and on fire with love, her heart wounded with great bitterness, turned herself to the Supreme and Eternal Goodness, saying: "Oh! Eternal God! oh! Light above every other light, from whom issues all light ! Oh ! Fire above every fire, because Thou art the only Fire who burnest without consuming, and consumest all sin and self-love found in the soul, not afflicting her, but fattening her with insa tiable love, and though the soul is filled she is not sated, but ever desires Thee, and the more of Thee she has, the more she seeks — and the more she desires, the more she finds and tastes of Thee — Supreme and Eternal Fire, Abyss of Charity. Oh ! Supreme and Eternal Good, who has moved Thee, Infinite God, to illuminate me, Thy finite creature with the light of Thy Truth ? Thou, the same Fire of Love art the cause, because it is always love which constrained and constrains Thee to create us in Thine image and similitude, and to do us mercy, giving immea surable and infinite graces to Thy rational creatures. Oh ! Goodness above all goodness ! Thou alone art He who is Supremely Good, and nevertheless Thou gavest the Word, Thy only-begotten Son, to converse with us filthy ones and filled with darkness. What was the cause of this ? Love. Because Thou lovedst us before we were. Oh! Good! oh! Eternal Greatness! Thou madest Thyself low and small to make man great. On which ever side I turn I find nothing but the abyss and fire of Thy charity. And can a wretch like me pay back to Thee the graces and the burning charity that Thou hast shown and showest with so much burning love in particular to me beyond common charity, and the love that Thou showest to all Thy creatures ? No, but Thou alone, most sweet and amorous Father, art He who will be thankful and grateful for me,

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that is, that the affection of Thy charity itself will render Thee thanks, because I am she who is not, and if I spoke as being anything of myself, I should be lying by my own head, and should be a lying daughter of the Devil, who is the father of lies, because Thou alone art He who is. And my being and every further grace that Thou hast bestowed upon me, I have from Thee, who givest them to me through love, and not as my due.

" Oh ! sweetest Father, when the human race lay sick through the sin of Adam, Thou didst send it a Physician, the sweet and amorous Word — Thy Son ; and now, when I was lying infirm with the sickness of negligence and much ignorance, Thou, most soothing and sweet Physician, Eternal God, hast given a soothing, sweet, and bitter medicine, that I may be cured and rise from my infirmity. Thou hast soothed me because with Thy love and gentle ness Thou hast manifested Thyself to me, Sweet above all sweetness, and hast illuminated the eye of my intellect with the light of most holy faith, with which light, according as it has pleased Thee to manifest it to me, I have known the excellence of grace which Thou hast given to the human race, administering to it the entire God-Man in the mystic body of the holy Church. And I have known the dignity of Thy ministers whom Thou hast appointed to administer Thee to us. I desired that Thou wouldest fulfil the promise that Thou madest to me, and Thou gavest much more, more even than I knew how to ask for. Wherefore I know in truth that the heart of man knows not how to ask or desire as much as thou canst give, and thus I see that Thou art He Who is the Supreme and Eternal Good, and that we are they who are not. And because Thou art infinite, and we are finite, Thou givest that which Thy rational creature cannot desire enough ; for she cannot desire it in itself, nor in the way in which Thou canst and wilt satisfy the soul, filling her with things for which she does not ask Thee. Moreover, I have received light from Thy Great ness and Charity, through the love which Thou hast for the whole human race, and in particular for Thy anointed ones, who ought to be earthly angels in this life. Thou hast

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shown me the virtue and beatitude of these Thy anointed ones who have lived like burning lamps, shining with the Pearl of Justice in the holy Church. And by comparison with these I have better understood the sins of those who live wretchedly. Wherefore I have conceived a very great sorrow at Thy offence and the harm done to the whole world, for they do harm to the world, being mirrors of sin when they ought to be mirrors of virtue. And because Thou hast manifested and grieved over their iniquities to me — a wretch who am the cause and instrument of many sins — I am plunged in intolerable grief.

" Thou, oh ! inestimable love, hast manifested this to me, giving me a sweet and bitter medicine that I might wholly arise out of the infirmity of my ignorance and negligence, and have recourse to Thee with anxious and solicitous desire, knowing myself and Thy goodness and the offences which are committed against Thee by all sorts of people, so that I might shed a river of tears, drawn from the know ledge of Thy infinite goodness, over my wretched self and over those who are dead in that they live miserably. Wherefore I do not wish, oh ! eternal Father, ineffable Fire of Love, that my heart should ever grow weary, or my eyes fail through tears, in desiring Thy honour and the salvation of souls, but I beg of Thee, by Thy grace, that they may be as two streams of water issuing from Thee, the Sea Pacific. Thanks, thanks to Thee, oh ! Father, for having granted me that which I asked Thee and that which I neither knew nor asked, for by Thus giving me matter for grief Thou hast invited me to offer before Thee sweet, loving, and yearning desires, with humble and continual prayer. Now I beg of Thee that Thou wilt do mercy to the world and to the holy Church. I pray Thee to fulfil that which Thou didst cause me to ask Thee. Alas ! what a wretched and sorrowful soul is mine, the cause of all these evils. Do not put off any longer Thy merciful designs towards the world, but descend and fulfil the desire of Thy servants.

" Ah me ! Thou causest them to cry in order to hear their voices ! Thy truth told us to cry out, and we should be

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answered ; to knock, and it would be opened to us ; to beg, and it would be given to us. Oh ! eternal Father, Thy servants do cry out to Thy mercy ; do Thou then reply.

" I know well that mercy is Thine own attribute, where fore Thou canst not destroy it or refuse it to him who asks for it. Thy servants knock at the door of Thy truth, because in the truth of Thy only-begotten Son they know the ineffable love which Thou hast for man, wherefore the fire of Thy love ought not and cannot refrain from opening to him who knocks with perseverance. Wherefore open, unlock, and break the hardened hearts of Thy creatures, not for their sakes who do not knock, but on account of Thy infinite goodness, and through love of Thy servants who knock at Thee for their sakes. Grant the prayer of those, Eternal Father, who, as Thou seest, stand at the door of Thy truth and pray. For what do they pray ? For with the Blood of this door— Thy truth — hast Thou washed our iniquities and destroyed the stain of Adam's sin. The Blood is ours, for Thou hast made it our bath, wherefore Thou canst not deny it to any one who truly asks for it. Give, then, the fruit of Thy Blood to Thy creatures. Place in the balance the price of the blood of Thy Son, so that the infernal devils may not carry off Thy lambs. Thou art the Good Shepherd who, to fulfil Thy obedience, laid down His life for Thy lambs, and made for us a bath of His Blood.

"That Blood is what Thy hungry servants beg of Thee at this door, begging Thee through it to do mercy to the world, and to cause Thy holy Church to bloom with the fragrant flowers of good and holy pastors, who by their sweet odour shall extinguish the stench of the putrid flowers of sin. Thou hast said, eternal Father, that through the love which Thou hast for Thy rational creatures, and the prayers and the many virtues and labours of Thy servants, Thou wouldest do mercy to the world, and reform the Church, and thus give us refreshment ; wherefore do not delay, but turn the eye of Thy mercy towards us, for Thou must first reply to us before we can cry out with the voice of Thy mercy. Open the door of Thy inestimable love which Thou

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hast given us through the door of Thy Word. I know indeed that Thou openest before even we can knock, for it is with the affection of love which Thou hast given to Thy servants, that they knock and cry to Thee, seeking Thy honour and the salvation of souls. Give them then the bread of life, that is to say, the fruit of the Blood of Thy only begotten Son, which they ask of Thee for the praise and glory of My name and the salvation of souls. For more glory and praise will be Thine in saving so many creatures, than in leaving them obstinate in their hardness of heart. To Thee, Eternal Father, everything is possible, and even though Thou hast created us without our own help, Thou wilt not save us without it. I beg of Thee toforce their wills, and dispose them to wish for that for which they do not wish ; and this I ask Thee through Thy infinite mercy. Thou hast created us from nothing, now, therefore, that we are in existence, do mercy to us, and remake the vessels which Thou hast created to Thy image and likeness. Re-create them to Grace in Thy mercy and the Blood of Thy Son sweet Christ Jesus."