A treatise of the loue of God. Written in french by B. Francis de Sales Bishope and Prince of Geneua, translated into English by Miles Car priest of the English Colledge of Doway

Of the diuers degrees of the holy vnion which is made in Praier. CHAPTER. II.

1. SOmetimes the vnion is made without our cooperation, saue onely by a simple consent, permitting our selues to be vnited to the Diuine Goodnesse, without resistance, as a little child in loue with his mothers breastes, ād yet is so weake, that he cannot moue himselfe towards them, nor to cleeue to her being there; onely he is glad to be drawen into his mothers armes, and to be pressed, by her to her breasts.

2. Sometimes we cooperate, when being drawen, we willingly runne to second the force of Gods Goodnesse, which drawes vs, and lockes vs to him by loue.

3. Sometimes, we apprehend that we begin to vnite and ioyne our selues to God, before he ioyne himselfe to vs, for that we feele the action of the vnion of our part, without perceiuing that which God doth on his side, which yet doubtlesse doth alwaies preuent vs, though we doe not alwaies perceiue his preuention: for vnlesse he vnited him∣selfe to vs, we should neuer vnite our selues to him: he alwaies choseth, and laieth hold on vs, before we chose or laie hold one him. But when following his imperceptible touches we begin to vnite our selues vnto him, he doth often make the

progresse of our vnion, assisting our weackenesse, and ioyning him selfe sensibly vnto vs, in so much that we feele him enter: and penetrate our hearts with an incomprable delight. And sometimes also, as he drew vs insensibly to the vnion, he conti∣news insensibly to aide and assist vs. And we know not indeede how so great an vnion was made, yet know we well that our forces were not able to ef∣fect it, so that hence we make a cleare iudgment, that some secret power workes insensibly in vs. As Marriners loden with iron, perceiuing their shipe sale apace with a weake gale, doe discouer that they approch to the Adamant rockes, which drawes them imperceptibly; and see in this sort, a a sensible and perceptible aduancement, caused by an insensible and imperceptible meanes: for so when we see our soule still more and more vnited vnto God, as it were by the weake endeauours of our will, we doe easily discerne that we haue to soft a gale to saile fast, and that it must needes be that the Adamant of our soule drawes vs by the secret influence of his grace: which he keepes from our knowledge, to th'end it might be more admirable, and that without being occupied to discouer his draughts, we might with more puri∣tie, and simplicitie striue to be vnited to his good∣nesse.

4. Sometimes this vnion is made so insensi∣bly, that our soule neither perceiues the diuine o∣peration in her, nor yet her owne cooperation; but finds the onely vnion insensibly made, to the imitatiō of Iacob, who found himselfe married to Lia without thinking of it; or rather as another

Samson, but more happie, we finde our selues net∣ted and tied in the bands of holy vnion, without hauing euer perceiued it.

5. At other times we discerne the pressing, the vnion being made by sensible actions, as well of Gods side, as of ours.

6. Sometimes the vnion is made by the will onely, and sometimes the vnderstanding hath a part in it, because the will doth force it after her, and applies it to its obiect, making it take a spe∣ciall pleasure to be fixed to the cōsideration there∣of; as we see, loue doth endew our corporall eyes with a profound and peculiar attention, to staie them in the viewe of what we loue.

7. Sometimes this vnion is made by all the fa∣culties of the soule, who gather about the will, not to be vnited to God themselues, not being all ca∣pable of it, but to assist the will to make her v∣nion; for if euery of the other faculties, were ap∣plied in particular to their owne obiect, the soule working in them, could not so wholy giue her selfe, to the action, by which the vnion with God is made. Such is the varietie of vnions!

8. See S. MARCIALL (for he was, as they saie the blessed child mentioned in S. MARKE) our Sa∣uiour tooke him, lifted him vp, and held him for a good space in his armes. O pritie little Marciall, how happie thou art to be laied hold on, taken vp, caried, vnited, ioyned, and lock't to the heauenly bosome of a Sauiour, and kissed with his sacred mouth, without thy cooperation, saue onely that thou resisted not the receiuing of those diuine huggings! Contrariwise S. SIMEON

doth embrace, and claspe our Sauiour hard in his bosome, our Sauiour giuing no signe of coo∣perating to this vnion, though, as the holy Church singeth, the oldman bore the child, but the child gouerned the oldmā. S. BONAVENT: touched with a holy humilitie, did not onely not vnite hīselfe to our Sauiour, but withdrewe himselfe frō his reall presence, that is, from the holy Sacrament of the Altar, when vpon a day hearing Masse, our Sa∣uiour came to vnite himselfe vnto him, bringing the holy Sacrament vnto him. But this vnion being made, ah God, THEO: thinke with what feruour this holy soule closed vp his Sauiour in his heart! Cōtrariwise S. CATHARIN of Sienna ardētly desiring our Sauiour in the holy communion, pres∣sing and aduancing her soule and affection to∣wards him, he came and ioyned himselfe vnto her, entring into her mouth with a thousand benedi∣ctions, So that our Sauiour began the vnion with S. Bonauenture; but S. CATHARIN seemed to begin that, which she had with our Sauiour. The sacred Spouse in the Canticles, speakes, as though she had practised both the sortes of vnions; I am who∣ly my Beloued's, quoth she, and his returnes towards me, for it is as much, as though she had saied, I am vnited to my deare friend, and he like∣wise is nere me, to th'end that by vniting himselfe more and more vnto me, he may become wholly mine, my deare friend is to me a posie of Myrrhe, he shall remaine betwixt my breastes, and I will hold him close to my bosome, as a posie of delight. My soule, saieth Dauid, hath stucke to thee ô God and thy right hand hath caught and seised me.

But in another place she confesseth that she is pre∣uented, saying, my beloued is wholy mine, and I am wholy his, we make a holy vnion by which he is ioyned to me, and I to him. And yet to shew that all the vnion is made by Gods grace, which drawes vs vnto it, and by its allurements moues our selues, and giues life to the motion of our v∣nion towards him, she cries out as being wholy impotent, Drawe me: yet to testifie, that she will not permit herselfe to be drawen as a stone or a slaue, but that on her side she will concurre, and will mixe her feeble motiōs to her Louers power∣full drought. we rūne saieth she in the odours of thy perfumes. And to th'end one may knowe, that she is strōgly drawen by the will, all the powers of the soule will make towards the vnion, Drawe me saieth she and we will rūne; The Spouse drawes but one, and many runns towards the vnion. It is the will onely that God aimes at; but all the other powers runne after, to be vnited to God with her.

9. The diuine shepheard of soules prouo∣ked his deare Sunamite to this vnion: place me, saieth he, as a seale vpon thy heart, or as a signet vpon thy arme. To imprint a signet well vpon waxe, one doth not onely ioyne it, but euen presse it hard downe: so he desireth that we should be vnited vnto him in so strict and close an vnion, that we should keepe his markes imprinted vpon vs.

10. The holy loue of our Sauiour doth presse vs; ô God what an excellent exemple of vnion! He was vnited to our humane nature by grace, as

a vine to the Elme, to make it in some sort partici∣pat of his fruite; but seeing this vnion ouer∣throwen by Adams sinne, he made another more close and pressing vnion in the Incarnation, wher∣by humane nature remaines for euer ioyned in personall vnitie to the Diuinitie: and to th'end that not humane nature onely, but euen euery man might be closely vnited to his Goodnesse, he instituted the most holy Sacrament of the Altar, in which euery one might participate, and vnite his Sauiour to himselfe really, and by māner of foode. THEO: this Sacramentall vnion doth vrge, and aide vs towards the spirituall vnion, of which we speake.