Introduction to the Devout Life

Some people, especially women, fall into the great mistake of imagining that when we offer a dry, distasteful service to God, devoid of all sentiment and emotion, it is unacceptable to His 339 Divine Majesty; whereas, on the contrary, our actions are like roses, which, though they may be more beautiful when fresh, have a sweeter and stronger scent when they are dried. Good works, done with pleasurable interest, are pleasanter to us who think of nothing save our own satisfaction, but when they are done amid dryness and deadness they are more precious in God’s Sight.

Yes indeed, my daughter, for in seasons of dryness our will forcibly carries us on in God’s Service, and so it is stronger and more vigorous than at a softer time. There is not much to boast of in serving our Prince in the comfort of a time of peace, but to serve Him amid the toils and hardness of war, amid trial and persecution, is a real proof of faithfulness and perseverance. The blessed Angela di Foligni said, that the most acceptable prayer to God is what is made forcibly and in spite of ourselves; that is to say, prayer made not to please ourselves or our own taste, but solely to please God;—carried on, as it were, in spite of inclination, the will triumphing over all our drynesses and repugnances.

And so of all good works;—the more contradictions, exterior or interior, against which we contend in their fulfilment, the more precious they are in God’s Sight; the less of self-pleasing in striving after any virtue, the more Divine Love shines forth in all its purity. 340 A child is easily moved to fondle its mother when she gives it sweet things, but if he kisses her in return for wormwood or camomile it is a proof of very real affection on his part.