When the faithful and prudent disciple Simon Peter questioned the Lord Jesus concerning the reward which himself and his companions would receive,1 our Lord answered, amongst other things, that they who had forsaken all to follow Him, should receive an hundred-fold in this life, and in the world to come, eternal life. Mark well this reward, and rejoice greatly and give thanks and praise to the Lord with your whole heart, for that He hath called you to such an enterprise in which you can gain an hundred, as it were, for every pound, and beyond that, eternal life. But this hundred-fold is of spiritual goods, not material ; namely, of interior consolations and virtues, which we know by our own experience, not by instruction. For when the soul delights in the perfume of poverty, the pure charm of chastity, of patience and other graces, and has a relish for them, does it not seem to you to receive an hundred-fold ? And if we ascend higher, and know what it is to receive a visit from the Spouse, and to exult in His presence, do we not then gain a thousand-fold for all, whatever it may have been, and however disposed of, which had been renounced for Him? You see how true, then, is that which the Truth speaks, and that He fails not to render a hundred fold in this life, not only once but many times, to the soul which is devoted to Him ; so that not only what has been actually forsaken, but even the whole world is counted as dung, by the soul which seeks to win the Spouse. But that you may be still more fully instructed concerning the hundred-fold, hear S. Bernard upon it : “If perchance some person of the world should say, 4 Show me this hundredfold which you promise, and I will willingly give up all/ But what have I to show him ? For faith hath no worth, when it rests only on the proof of human reason. Will you, then, believe a man showing, rather than the Truth promising ? You err by trying to examine that which is too deep for scrutiny. Unless you believe, you will not understand/ The manna is hidden, which, in the Book of the Revelation of S. John, is promised to him that overcometh ; a 4 new name which no man knoweth but he who receives it2” 1 Then, again, he continues, 44 Does he not possess all things, to whom all things work together for good ? Hath he not the hundredfold of all, who is filled with the Holy Spirit, who hath Christ in his heart? Hath he not much more than an hundred-fold, who hath the visitation of the Spirit, the Comforter, and the presence of Christ ? O Lord, how great is the multitude of Thy sweetness which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee, and which Thou hast wrought for them that hope in Thee !3 See, how the holy soul breaks forth with the remembrance of the abundant sweetness, and labours to express it by multiplying words. ‘How great/ he says, 4 is the multitude ! ’ This 4 hundred-fold/ then, is the adoption of sons, the freedom and firstfruits of the spirit of a delicious charity, the glory of conscience, the kingdom of God which is within us. Not, indeed, ‘meat and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost’4 Joy, truly, not only in the hope of future glory, but also amid present trial. This is the fire which Christ willed that it should be vehemently kindled.5 This is the virtue which made an Andrew embrace the Cross, a Lawrence despise his executioners, a Stephen, at his death, pray for those who stoned him. This is that peace which Christ left to his own, when He gave it as His peace ; for * grace and mercy is to His saints’6 — the peace, indeed, of the Father, and the pledge of future glory. This peace passeth all understanding ; and whatever there is of pleasure under the sun, whatever to be desired in this world, can bear no comparison to it. This is the grace of devotion, and the unction which knoweth all things, which whoso experienceth, knoweth ; and whoso hath not experienced, knoweth not : which none can know, except he hath received it” Thus far S. Bernard. Rejoice, then, and be glad, as I have said, and give thanks, in that you are called to receive this “hundred-fold,” and often to enter this paradise, which you may make your own by living a life of prayer.
← Chapter 38 · Contents · Chapter 40 →