CONFERENCE XI.
Of Rejoicing Spirituality in the Lord.
ALWAYS, my beloved Brethren, have a holy joy in God, both interior and exterior. If the servant of God endeavours to have and to keep spiritual joy, which springs from a pure heart, and is acquired by devout prayer, then the devils cannot harm him; they are forced to say: 'Since this servant of God rejoices alike in tribulation and prosperity, we cannot find an entrance into his heart, and are unable to injure him.' But the devils rejoice exceedingly if they can extinguish or even lessen this joy and devotion, which come from prayer and good works. For if the devil can once succeed in getting anything of his own into the heart of a servant of God, unless it be at once wisely and carefully destroyed and rooted out (as it soon may be) by the virtue of holy prayer, contrition, confession, and satisfaction, then in a short time of one hair he makes a rope, by constantly adding something to it. Therefore, my beloved Brethren, as this holy joy comes from cleanness of heart, and the purity of continual prayer, we must principally endeavour to acquire these two virtues, that thus we may have this joy both exterior and interior, which I desire so greatly, and love so much to see and feel, both for myself and you, to the edification of our neighbour, and the confusion of the enemy. Sadness belongs to the devil and his children, but to us perpetual joy and jubilation in the Lord.
[1] A Religious Of The Order, Translator. Works Of The Seraphic Father St. Francis Of Assisi. By Saint Francis of Assisi, St. Pius X Press, 2017. Pages.114-5. ISBN 9781468130591.
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