Primary source material
Primary source material The Quietism of Molinos: inward mortification and complete resignation are necessary to acquire inner peace.
Never disquiet yourself for any accident. Disquiet is the door by which the enemy gets into the soul to rob it of its peace. Resign yourself and deny yourself entirely; for though true self-denial is bitter at the beginning, it is easy in the middle, and becomes very sweet in the end. You will find yourself far from perfection if you do not find God in everything.
Understand this: pure, perfect, and essential love consists in the cross, in self-denial and resignation, in perfect humility, in poverty of spirit, and in a low opinion of yourself… There are many who, however much they have been dedicated to prayer, still have no relish for God, because at the end of their prayers, they are not mortified, nor do they attend upon God once they have stopped praying. In order to obtain a peaceful and continual attending upon God, you have to get a great purity of mind and heart, great peace of soul, and a resignation in all things.
To the pure-hearted and the mortified, the recreation of the senses is a sort of death: they never go to it, unless compelled by necessity and edification of their neighbours.
The depth of our soul, you will know, is the place of our happiness. There the Lord shows us wonders. There we engulf and lose ourselves in the immense ocean of His infinite goodness, in which we keep ourselves fixed and immoveable. There resides the incomparable fruitfulness of our soul, and its supreme and sweet rest. A humble and resigned soul, which has come to this depth, seeks no more than simply to please God; and the Holy
Spirit of Love teaches it everything with His sweet and enlivening anointing.
Among the saints, there are some giants, who continually and patiently suffer indispositions of body; God takes great care of them. But what high and sovereign gift belongs to those who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, suffer both internal and external crosses with contentment and resignation.
This is the sort of holiness that is rare, and therefore so much more precious in the sight of God. The spiritual ones who walk this way are rare, because there are few in the world who totally deny themselves, in order to follow
Christ crucified, with simplicity and poverty of spirit, through the lonely and thorny ways of the cross, without thinking about themselves.
A life of self-denial is above all miracles of the saints; and it does not know whether it is alive or dead, lost or gained, whether it agrees or resists.
This is the true resigned life. But although it may be a long time before you come to this state, and you think you have not made a step towards it, do not disquiet yourself at this, for God often bestows upon a soul that blessing in one moment which was denied it for many years before…
Tribulation is a great treasure, with which God honours those who are His in this life. Therefore evil persons are necessary for those who are good; and so are the devils themselves, which, by afflicting us, try to ruin us. But instead of doing us harm, they do us the greatest good imaginable.
There must be tribulation to make a person's life acceptable to God; without tribulation, it is like the body without the soul, the soul without grace, the earth without the sun. With the wind of tribulation God separates, in the floor of the soul, the chaff from the wheat…
Those saints are to be pitied who cannot find it in their hearts to believe that tribulation and suffering are their greatest blessing. Those who are spiritually mature ought always to be desirous of dying and suffering, of being always in a state of death and suffering. How empty is the person who does not suffer! Humans are born to toil and suffer: much more so the friends and elect of God.
Miguel de Molinos Spiritual Guide, Book 2, Chapter 7 Fénelon: a holy life is possible anywhere and everywhere, even in the royal court of France Our salvation should engage our energies every single day and hour. There is no time better for it than the time God in His mercy gives us right now. Today is ours; but we do not know what tomorrow may bring forth. Nor shall we accomplish salvation by merely wishing for it; we have to seek after it vigorously. Life's uncertainty should make us realize that we have to pursue this purpose with all our powers, and that all other pursuits are empty of value, since they do not bring us closer to God. He is the proper goal of everything we do—the God of our salvation, as David continually calls Him in the Psalms. Why do we think carefully about how to make progress towards the perfecting of our souls?
Because we believe it to be necessary to our salvation. Why, then, do we
delay carrying out our resolutions, when it is just as necessary to seek salvation now, as it will be ten years from now? Yes, right now, in the royal court, as afterwards in a more retired life!
Wisdom surely dictates that we should always take the safest course in everything to do with our salvation; for this is a thing in which we lose everything or gain everything. The position in life to which God has called us is safe for us, as long as we fulfil all its obligations. If God foresaw that it was impossible for us to be saved in the royal court, He would have forbidden us to live there. This, however, is not so. God has appointed kings and their courts; God gives people that birth and position which puts them in those courts. So we may be sure it is God's will that souls in the royal court should be saved, and find the narrow way to heaven, the way of truth, that way which Jesus Christ has said will make us free: the way, that is, which will guide us out of all the perils which the world rains down on us.
The more you meet these perils in your present position, the more you must keep watch over yourself, so that you do not give way beneath them.
Keeping watch over self means listening to God; it means always abiding in His presence, always being calm and collected, never plunging into wilful dissipation or distraction amid the things of this world. It means devoting ourselves to solitude, prayer, and reading good books, as far as we can; it means what David calls "pouring out your heart before God", feeling His inner presence, seeking Him heartily, loving Him supremely, shunning everything that is displeasing to Him.
This godliness, Madame, is suitable for every position in life. It will be most useful to anyone living in the royal court. Indeed, I do not know anything more effective for teaching you to be in the world without being of the world. Adopt this method. Make every effort to remember at all times that you are with God, and God is with you, so that you may keep on serving Him faithfully. Build into your life the habit of often adoring His holy will, by submitting humbly to whatever His good providence ordains.
Ask Him to hold you up, in case you fall. Beg Him to perfect His work in you, so that after infusing the desire for salvation into your heart in your present position in life, you may actually work out your salvation just where you are.
God does not require you to do great things in order to make triumphant progress. Our Lord Himself said, "The Kingdom of God is within you." We can find His kingdom there whenever we choose. Let us just do whatever
we know He requires from us. The moment we see His will in anything, let there be no reluctance—only complete fidelity. Such fidelity need not lead us to do great things for His service and for our salvation; but it will surely lead us to do whatever lies close at hand, whatever is relevant to our position in life. If we could be saved only through great deeds, how few could ever hope for salvation! But salvation actually depends on fulfilling
God's will. When God requires them from us, the littlest things become great. They are only little in themselves; they become instantly great when we do them for Him, when they us lead to Him, and when they help unite with Him eternally. Remember what He said: "Whoever is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and he that is unrighteous in the least is unrighteous also in much!" In my view, a soul that honestly longs for God never thinks about whether a thing is little or great. It is enough to know that the One for whom we do it is infinitely great, and that it is His right to see all creation devoted to His glory alone: and this can be the case only when we fulfil His Will.
Archbishop Fénelon Spiritual Letters to Women, Letter 17 Madame Guyon: the soul that loves God finds Him everywhere
O Thou, by long experience tried, Near whom no grief can long abide; My Love! how full of sweet content I pass my years of banishment!
All scenes alike engaging prove To souls impressed with sacred love!
Where'er they dwell, they dwell in Thee; In heaven, in earth, or on the sea.
To me remains nor place nor time; My country is in every clime; I can be calm and free from care On any shore, since God is there.
While place we seek, or place we shun, The soul finds happiness in none; But with a God to guide our way, 'Tis equal joy to go or stay.
Could I be cast where Thou art not, That were indeed a dreadful lot; But regions none remote I call,
Secure of finding God in all.
My country, Lord, art Thou alone; Nor other can I claim or own; The point where all my wishes meet; My Law, my Love, life's only Sweet!
I hold by nothing here below; Appoint my journey and I go; Though pierced by scorn, oppressed by pride,
I feel Thee good—feel nought beside.
No frowns of men can hurtful prove To souls on fire with heavenly Love; Though men and devils both condemn, No gloomy days arise for them.
Ah then! to His embrace repair; My soul, thou art no stranger there; There Love divine shall be thy guard, And peace and safety thy reward.
Madame Guyon translated by William Cowper (1731–1800) 1 From the Latin word for "French", Gallus. The old Roman name for France was Gaul.
2 The Sorbonne was initially a university college for students training for the doctor of theology degree. In 1554, it became the meeting place of Paris University's theology faculty.
3 For the conciliar movement, which sought to make the papacy accountable to the wider Church, see Volume Two: The Middle Ages, Chapter 10, section 3.
4 The Council of Trent formulated the Roman Catholic response to the Reformation in the mid16th century. See Volume Three: Renaissance and Reformation, Chapter 8, section 3.
5 For the Council of Constance, see Volume Two: The Middle Ages, Chapter 10, section 3.
6 Not to be confused with his compatriot Luis de Molina: see Chapter 6, section 4.2 for Molina.
7 See Volume Three: Renaissance and Reformation, Chapter 8, section 6, for Teresa and John.
8 In fact Louis XIV's successor would not be the duke of Burgundy but Louis' great-grandson,
Louis XV.
9 See Chapter 6, section 3.5 for a full account of Bossuet.
10 See Chapter 1, section 4.4, for Tersteegen.
11 For Francke, see Chapter 1, section 4.3.
12 The name Camisard seems to come from the French camise, a peasant's smock.
13 This is Latin for "propagation" and has little to do with propaganda in the modern political sense.
14 By the middle of the 18th century, when this chapter concludes, France's overseas empire included parts of Canada, North America, the Caribbean, South America, West Africa, and India.
15 Brahmins are the highest order in the traditional Indian Hindu caste system: the educated
"scholar" caste providing Hinduism with its priests.
16 Goa was the capital of Portuguese India.
17 Not to be confused with the medieval scholastic theologian Peter Lombard. See Volume Two:
The Middle Ages, Chapter 7, section 3.
18 See Volume Three: Renaissance and Reformation, Chapter 8, section 7.
19 Macao was handed over to the Chinese government by Portugal as late as 1999.
20 Sinology: the study of Chinese culture and history by Western scholars.
21 Peking and Beijing derive from different Chinese pronunciations of the city's name, depending on dialect.