according to David, God surrounds us with his good-will, in order to save us from all the assaults of our enemies. Lord, thou hast crowned us with a shield of thy good will.[1] Why, then, do we not abandon ourselves entirely into the hands of this good Father? Would it not be folly in a blind man, placed in the midst of precipices, to reject the guidance of a father who loves him, and to follow the way suggested by his own caprice?
Happy the soul that permits itself to be conducted in the way in which God leads it. Father St. Jure relates that a certain young man, desirous of entering the Society of Jesus, was rejected because he had only one eye. Who would not have said that the defect was a great misfortune to the poor young man? But that defect was the occasion of the happiest end that he could meet; for on account of it he was received into the Society only on the condition that he would consent to go on the Indian mission. He went to India, and had the happiness of dying for the faith. The Venerable Balthazar Alvarez used to say that "the kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of the lame, the tempted, and the abject." Let us then, as if blind, permit ourselves to be guided by God, through whatever level or steep road by which he may be pleased to conduct us, secure of finding in it eternal salvation. St. Teresa used to say, "Our Lord never sends a cross without rewarding it with some favor, when we accept it with resignation."
Oh, how great the peace of the soul whose will is in all things conformed to the will of God! Because she wishes only what he wills, she always obtains whatsoever she desires; for all that happens in the world, happens by the will of God. Panormitano relates that King Alphonsus, called the Great, being asked whom he
- ↑ Ps. v. 13.
