They shall be inebriated with the plenty of Your house (Psalm 35:9).All that is in You, all that can be ascribed to You, O Lord, should be ascribed to You in the full extent of its perfection, excellence, and infinite pre-eminence.
As then You possess all wealth and bounty, we know that Your riches are inexhaustible, and that Your desire to impart them in Your generosity is without limit and immeasurable. If You reward, it is a liberality beyond our imagination; if You give, it is with unlimited bounty. Your rewards are always far greater than our merits. For a passing virtue You bestow a happiness which will never pass away. For a very slight service rendered You, You give so great a recompense that Your servants will be perfectly satisfied, and all their desires will be fully realised. You give so amply that the greatness and depth of Your rewards will be equal to their duration. Hence the hearts of Your elect -- those human hearts which out of You cannot find their rest -- will become, in Heaven, like unto Your Heart. There they will enjoy an unchangeable and endless security. They will repose in You.
O Lord Almighty, You are truly the infinitely loving and amiable guest of the virtuous soul, which, after having served You faithfully and generously during the long exile, the painful journey, the hard bondage of this life, returns to You, the Father, the King and the Judge of the living and the dead. Oh how lovingly and kindly, with what readiness and fatherly goodness You receive the souls who, notwithstanding temptations, trials and persecutions, have always served You faithfully and have persevered to the end in Your service! Then You pour into their bosom the measure of which the Gospel speaks, ‘good measure and pressed down and shaken together and running over’ (Saint Luke 6:38). They have esteemed and loved You above all things; and in return You give Yourself to them, You reveal Yourself clearly, You shot them Your great beauty and all the riches of Your glory; You bring them to Your Heart, and cast them into the centre thereof, into the Bosom of Your love, into the unfathomable depth of Your mercy. There, in Your Heart, You make known clearly how tenderly You have loved them from all eternity, and how great has been Your mercy in choosing them to enjoy unspeakable blessedness, in having predestined them to see, to praise, and to love You forever.
~ Denys the Carthusian ~
