Page:Thecompleteascet01grimuoft.djvu/505

 But it  is  necessary  to  remark,  that  though  this  method is good,  it  is  not  the  best,  nor  is  it  always  profitable: first, because  it  is  not  conformable  to  truth;  for  Jesus Christ, as  God  and  man  together,  is  present  with  us only  after  Communion,  or  when  we  are  before  the Blessed Sacrament. Besides, this  mode  is  liable  to  illusion, or  may  at  least  injure  the  head  by  the  efforts  of the  imagination. Hence, should  you  wish  to  practise it, you  must  do  it  sweetly,  only  when  you  find  it  useful, and  without  laboring  to  represent  in  the  mind  the peculiar features  of  our  Saviour,  his  countenance,  his stature, or  color. It is  enough  to  represent  him  in  a confused  manner,  as  if  he  were  observing  all  we  do.

2. The  second  method,  which  is  more  secure  and  more excellent, is  founded  on  the  truth  of  faith,  and  consists in beholding  with  eyes  of  faith  God  present  with  us in  every  place,  in  considering  that  he  encompasses  us, that he  sees  and  observes  whatever  we  do. We indeed do not  see  him  with  the  eyes  of  the  flesh. Nor do  we see  the  air,  yet  we  know  for  certain  that  it  surrounds  us on  every  side,  that  we  live  in  it;  for  without  it  we  could neither breathe  nor  live. We do  not  see  God,  but  our holy faith  teaches  that  he  is  always  present  with  us. Do not  I  fill  heaven  and  earth,  saith  the  Lord?  Is  it  not  true, says God,  that  I  fill  heaven  and  earth  by  my  presence? And as  a  sponge  in  the  midst  of  the  ocean  is  encompassed and  saturated  with  water,  so,  says  the  Apostle, we live  in  God,  we  move  in  God,  and  have  our  being  in God.  And  our  God,  says  St.  Augustine,  observes  every action, every  word,  every  thought  of  each  of  us,  as  if  he forgot  all  his  other  creatures,  and  had  to  attend  only  to us. Hence, observing  all  we  do,  say,  and  think,  he marks  and  registers  all,  in  order  to  demand  an  account