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Livre : Madame Cécile Bruyère, la vie spirituelle et l'oraison
L'amour du prochain est aussi la marque de la vraie vie :
L'amour du prochain est aussi la marque de la vraie vie :
Nos scimus quóniam transláti sumus de morte ad vitam, quóniam dilígimus fratres.
We know that we have passed from death to life, forasmuch as we love our brethren and sisters. (1Jn 3,14)
Qui díligit fratrem suum, in lúmine manet, et scándalum in eo non est.
He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for offence in him (1 Jn 2:10).
Saint Paul wants this charity to be exercised at the expense of oneself:
Alter altérius ónera portáte, et sic adimplébitis legem Christi.
Bear one another's burdens, and in this way thou shalt fulfill the law of Christ (Gal 6:2).
But what sheds more light on this whole doctrine is the Savior's own words:
Non pro eis autem rogo tantum, sed et pro eis qui creditúri sunt per verbum eórum in me : ut omnes unum sint, sicut tu Pater in me, et ego in te, ut et ipsi in nobis unum sint.
I pray not only for them, but also for those who are to believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as thou, Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they too may be one in us (Jn 17:20-21).
So how can he who breaks unity benefit from this prayer, the sole source of all sanctification?
Ceux qui marchent d'un pas plus rapide sont encore ceux qui se dépouillent volontiers et persévéramment de ce qu'ils ont ou de ce qu'ils sont. Ce que Notre-Seigneur exprime encore ainsi :
et ei, qui vult tecum judício conténdere, et túnicam tuam tóllere, dimítte ei et pállium
And if anyone wants to call thee into court to take away thy tunic, leave him thy cloak (Mt 5:40).
This ease with which we abandon what we possess marks the detachment essential to those who wish to soar on the wings of the spirit. It's also the law of the athlete:
Omnis autem qui in agóne conténdit, ab ómnibus se ábstinet.
But all who fight in the arena abstain from everything (1 Cor 9:25).
Enfin, ceux-là fournissent une course prompte, qui s'arment de courage et qui bravent l'obstacle :
Quis ergo nos separábit a caritáte Christi ? tribulátio ? an angústia ? an fames ? an núditas ? an perículum ? an persecútio ? an gládius ? Sed in his ómnibus superámus propter eum qui diléxit nos.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will it be tribulation, or anguish, or hunger, or nakedness, or peril, or persecution, or the sword? But in all these we remain victorious, through him who loved us. (Rom 8:35-37)
Ces violents emportent d'assaut le royaume des cieux ; à eux s'applique de droit cette parole :
Vincénti dabo manna abscónditum, et dabo illi cálculum cándidum : et in cálculo nomen novum scriptum, quod nemo scit, nisi qui áccipit.
Unto him who overcomes I will give hidden manna, and I will give him a white pebble (stone); on this pebble (stone) is written a new name, which no one knows except the one who receives it (Rev 2:17).
Is this mysterious food and unknown name not the great secret that God tells the soul when it reaches perfect charity and the consummation of its union with the heavenly Spouse?