The Day of Eternity and the Distresses of This Life
The Disciple
O MOST happy mansion of the city above! O most bright day of eternity, which night does not
darken, but which the highest truth ever enlightens! O day, ever joyful and ever secure, which never
changes its state to the opposite! Oh, that this day shine forth, that all these temporal things come
to an end! It envelops the saints all resplendent with heavenly brightness, but it appears far off as
through a glass to us wanderers on the earth. The citizens of heaven know how joyful that day is,
but the exiled sons of Eve mourn that this one is bitter and tedious.
The days of this life are short and evil, full of grief and distress. Here man is defiled by many
sins, ensnared in many passions, enslaved by many fears, and burdened with many cares. He is
distracted by many curiosities and entangled in many vanities, surrounded by many errors and worn
by many labors, oppressed by temptations, weakened by pleasures, and tortured by want.
Oh, when will these evils end? When shall I be freed from the miserable slavery of vice? When,
Lord, shall I think of You alone? When shall I fully rejoice in You? When shall I be without
hindrance, in true liberty, free from every grievance of mind and body? When will there be solid
peace, undisturbed and secure, inward peace and outward peace, peace secured on every side? O
good Jesus, when shall I stand to gaze upon You? When shall I contemplate the glory of Your
kingdom? When will You be all in all to me? Oh, when shall I be with You in that kingdom of
Yours, which You have prepared for Your beloved from all eternity?
I am left poor and exiled in a hostile land, where every day sees wars and very great misfortunes.
Console my banishment, assuage my sorrow. My whole desire is for You. Whatever solace this
world offers is a burden to me. I desire to enjoy You intimately, but I cannot attain to it. I wish to
cling fast to heavenly things, but temporal affairs and unmortified passions bear me down. I wish
in mind to be above all things, but I am forced by the flesh to be unwillingly subject to them. Thus,
I fight with myself, unhappy that I am, and am become a burden to myself, while my spirit seeks
to rise upward and my flesh to sink downward. Oh, what inward suffering I undergo when I consider
heavenly things; when I pray, a multitude of carnal thoughts rush upon me!
O my God, do not remove Yourself far from me, and depart not in anger from Your servant.
Dart forth Your lightning and disperse them; send forth Your arrows and let the phantoms of the
enemy be put to flight. Draw my senses toward You and make me forget all worldly things. Grant
me the grace to cast away quickly all vicious imaginings and to scorn them. Aid me, O heavenly
Truth, that no vanity may move me. Come, heavenly Sweetness, and let all impurity fly from before
Your face.
Pardon me also, and deal mercifully with me, as often as I think of anything besides You in
prayer. For I confess truly that I am accustomed to be very much distracted. Very often I am not
where bodily I stand or sit; rather, I am where my thoughts carry me. Where my thoughts are, there
am I; and frequently my thoughts are where my love is. That which naturally delights, or is by habit
pleasing, comes to me quickly. Hence You Who are Truth itself, have plainly said: “For where
your treasure is, there is your heart also.” If I love heaven, I think willingly of heavenly things. If
I love the world, I rejoice at the happiness of the world and grieve at its troubles. If I love the flesh,
I often imagine things that are carnal. If I love the spirit, I delight in thinking of spiritual matters.
For whatever I love, I am willing to speak and hear about.
Blessed is the man who for Your sake, O Lord, dismisses all creatures, does violence to nature,
crucifies the desires of the flesh in fervor of spirit, so that with serene conscience he can offer You
a pure prayer and, having excluded all earthly things inwardly and outwardly, becomes worthy to
enter into the heavenly choirs.