Which continues to direct the spirit to interior recollection
with reference to what has been said.
THE reason, then, why some spiritual persons never enter
perfectly into the true joys of the spirit is that they never
succeed in raising their desire for rejoicing above these things
that are outward and visible. Let such take note that, although
the visible oratory and temple is a decent place set apart for
prayer, and an image is a motive to prayer, the sweetness and
delight of the soul must not be set upon the motive or the visible
temple, lest the soul should forget to pray in the living temple,
which is the interior recollection of the soul. The Apostle, to
remind us of this, said: 'See that your bodies are living temples
of the Holy Spirit, Who dwelleth in you.'[672] And this thought is
suggested by the words of Christ which we have quoted, namely that
they who truly adore God must needs adore Him in spirit and in
truth.[673] For God takes little heed of your oratories and your
places set apart for prayer if your desire and pleasure are bound
to them, and thus you have little interior detachment, which is
spiritual poverty and renunciation of all things that you may
possess.
2. In order, then, to purge the will from vain desire and
rejoicing in this matter, and to lead it to God in your prayer,
you must see only to this, that your conscience is pure, and your
will perfect with God, and your spirit truly set upon Him. Then,
as I have said, you should choose the place that is the farthest
withdraw and the most solitary that you can find, and devote all
the rejoicing of the will to calling upon God and glorifying Him;
and you should take no account of those whims about outward
things, but rather strive to renounce them. For, if the soul be
attached to the delight of sensible devotion, it will never
succeed in passing onward to the power of spiritual delight, which
is found in spiritual detachment coming through interior
recollection.
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