“To Me be the glory, not to thee, worm of the earth.

“Ask thy confessor, when My own words are to thee occasion of evil, vanity, or curiosity.”

—­I see in me depths of pride, curiosity, and lust.  There is no relation between me and God, nor Jesus Christ the Righteous.  But He has been made sin for me; all Thy scourges are fallen upon Him.  He is more abominable than I, and, far from abhorring me, He holds Himself honoured that I go to Him and succour Him.

But He has healed Himself, and still more so will He heal me.

I must add my wounds to His, and join myself to Him; and He will save me in saving Himself.  But this must not be postponed to the future.

Eritis sicut dii scientes bonum et malum.[205] Each one creates his god, when judging, “This is good or bad”; and men mourn or rejoice too much at events.

Do little things as though they were great, because of the majesty of Jesus Christ who does them in us, and who lives our life; and do the greatest things as though they were little and easy, because of His omnipotence.

553

It seems to me that Jesus Christ only allowed His wounds to be touched after His resurrection:  Noli me tangere.[206] We must unite ourselves only to His sufferings.

At the Last Supper He gave Himself in communion as about to die; to the disciples at Emmaus as risen from the dead; to the whole Church as ascended into heaven.

554

“Compare not thyself with others, but with Me.  If thou dost not find Me in those with whom thou comparest thyself, thou comparest thyself to one who is abominable.  If thou findest Me in them, compare thyself to Me.  But whom wilt thou compare?  Thyself, or Me in thee?  If it is thyself, it is one who is abominable.  If it is I, thou comparest Me to Myself.  Now I am God in all.

“I speak to thee, and often counsel thee, because thy director cannot speak to thee, for I do not want thee to lack a guide.

“And perhaps I do so at his prayers, and thus he leads thee without thy seeing it.  Thou wouldst not seek Me, if thou didst not possess Me.

“Be not therefore troubled.”

SECTION VIII

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

555

...  Men blaspheme what they do not know.  The Christian religion consists in two points.  It is of equal concern to men to know them, and it is equally dangerous to be ignorant to them.  And it is equally of God’s mercy that He has given indications of both.

And yet they take occasion to conclude that one of these points does not exist, from that which should have caused them to infer the other.  The sages who have said there is only one God have been persecuted, the Jews were hated, and still more the Christians.  They have seen by the light of nature that if there be a true religion on earth, the course of all things must tend to it as to a centre.