The Dialogue

How this soul, growing in amorous heat, yearned to sweat blood ; and, accusing herself, made a particular prayer for the spiritual father of her soul.

THEN that soul, as if dumb and beside herself through the increasing fire of her holy desire, remained both blessed and sorrowful.

She was blessed through the union which she had with God, tasting joy and goodness, being wholly immersed in His mercy. And she was sorrowful, seeing such goodness offended ; and she rendered thanks to the Divine Majesty, knowing that God had manifested to her the defects of His creatures,' in order that she should be constrained to exert herself with greater desire and anxiety for their salvation, and this feeling for souls was so renewed in her, and this holy and amorous fire grew to such a pitch, that she desired that the sweat of water, cast out of her, by the violence done to her body by her soul, should be a sweat of blood. She thus sweated, through the force and heat of love, because the union which her soul had with God was more perfect than the union of her soul with her body ; but she despised it through the great desire which she had to see a

58 THE DIALOGUE OF ST. CATHERINE

sweat of blood issue from her body, saying to herself: " Oh, my soul ! thou hast lost all the time of thy life, and yet so many evils and troubles have come upon the world, and the Holy Church, both in general and in particular ; and I will, therefore, that thou bear remedy to these evils with a sweat of blood."

In truth this soul had well taken to heart the doctrine which the Truth had taught her, namely, ever to know her self and the goodness of God in her, and the remedy with which she should try and heal the whole world, and appease the wrath of God and His divine justice, that is, humble, continuous and holy prayer.

Then, this soul, cast prone by holy desire, arose, opening far wider the eye of the intellect, gazing on herself in the divine love, when she saw and tasted how we~are bound by love to seek the glory and the praise of God in the salvation of souls.

And she saw the servants of God to be called to this, and that the Eternal Truth particularly called and elected the spiritual father of her soul. This spiritual father she carried before the Divine Goodness, praying that It would shed on him a ray of grace, so that he might truly follow the Truth Itself.