Then wilt thou gain an unshaken constancy, which will strengthen thee to endure all that may befall thee.
Thus was it with the martyrs, the Fathers, the elect, and all the blessed. They despised all and thought only of possessing in God eternal security for their souls.
Thus armed within and united to God by a good will, they despised all that is of this world, as though their soul had already departed from the body.
Learn from them how great is the power of a good will united to God.
By that union of the soul with God it becomes, as it were, cut off from the flesh by a spiritual separation, and regards the outward man from afar as something alien to it.
Then, whatever may happen inwardly or in the body will be as little regarded as though it had befallen another person or a creature without reason.
He who is united to God is but one mind with Him.
Out of regard, therefore, for His sovereign honour, never be so bold as to think or imagine in His presence what thou wouldst blush to hear or see before men.
Thou oughtest, moreover, to raise all thy thoughts to God alone, and set Him before thine inward gaze, as though He alone existed. So wilt thou experience the sweetness of Divine union and even now make a true beginning of the life to come.