were there! When will the wished-for hour come when I shall ascend thither? “My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord.”
And to despise everything on earth, that we may one day ascend into heaven. Farewell, O earth! Thou hast nothing which can satisfy me; my desires are centred in heaven! Eyes, why should you stare any more at the creatures of this nether world? What you behold here is only vanity. Mortify yourselves now, and put a slight check on your curiosity; there, in the country to which we are travelling, you shall have more beautiful and pleasant things to admire. O my God! let me only arrive there; let me not be excluded from that dwelling; anything else, no matter bow hard and difficult it may be, I readily submit to, if at the end I can only be an inhabitant of Thy house and heavenly palace! Let me be poor for a time; it does not matter. Rich ladies and gentlemen of the world! I do not envy you; if I only get to heaven I shall be wealthy enough! Let me be for a time the lowliest and most despicable of men; what matters it? I do not grudge others the honors they enjoy, provided only I get to heaven. Let me be troubled and oppressed here for a time; O worldlings! I do not envy you your pleasures; it is all nothing to me if I only get to heaven. Let me be sick and suffering for a time; it matters not if I only get to heaven. Let all those in whom I have hitherto placed my affections die prematurely, it matters not; I congratulate you, dear children and friends, who have been taken from me by death, if you are with God in heaven, and if I can see you there one day! For once for all I have resolved that I will go to heaven; I will be with that blessed company which is one day to ascend body and soul in triumph into paradise, and therefore I will serve my God truly, constantly, and with all my strength. Meanwhile before that happy time comes, and as long as I am in this vale of tears, I shall rejoice in the remembrance of thee, O blissful city of God! and with St. Augustine I will say to thee: O heaven! with pleasure do I speak of thee, hear about thee, write and read about thee! Thou art my comfort in sorrow, an alleviation to my pains, an encouragement in difficulties, strength in temptations to sin, hope in sadness, the reward of my labor, the end and object of all my desires. For thee alone do I sigh, thee alone do I desire, in thee alone do I find joy, until my wish shall be fulfilled and I see thee with my own eyes and in thee the God of my love, and rejoice with all the elect forever. Amen.
