This is the Truth, and by it the vanity of boasting is put to flight. And if heavenly grace and true charity shall enter into you, there shall be no envy, nor straitening of the heart, nor shall any self-love take possession of you. For divine charity conquereth all things, and enlargeth all the powers of the soul.
If you are truly wise, you will rejoice in Me alone, you will hope in Me alone; for there is none good but one, that is God, Who is to be praised above all things, and in all things to receive blessing.
If you are truly wise, you will rejoice in Me alone. Not in Portugal, not in France or any other country. I will sing, I will dance, I will rejoice in the Lord.
Le's note this morning is Habakkuk standing up in the Vendée. Though the fig tree may not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines — yet I will rejoice in the Lord. Habakkuk 3:17–18. The prophet who declared his joy in God regardless of the harvest. And now the pilgrim in Mouilleron-Saint-Germain declares the same thing: not in Portugal, not in France, not in any country. In the Lord.
The joy is untethered from the address. The dancing is not because France is beautiful — it is because God is good. And that joy cannot be taken away by a border crossing, a transition, or any change of plan. It lives in the One who does not change. The immutable God — named yesterday in Cognac — is the same God who receives the singing and dancing today in the Vendée.
Kempis continues yesterday's enlarging: divine charity enlargeth all the powers of the soul. Yesterday: enlarged in heart. Today: all the powers enlarged. No envy. No straitening. No self-love taking possession. When divine charity enters, there is simply no space left for the lesser things. The room is full. The soul is full.
Now will I speak again, O my Lord, and hold not my peace; I will say in the ears of my God, my Lord, and my King, who is exalted above all, Oh how plentiful is Your goodness which You have laid up for them that fear You!
But what art You to those who love You? What to those who serve You with their whole heart? Truly unspeakable is the sweetness of the contemplation of You, which You bestowest upon those who love You.
In this most of all You have showed me the sweetness of Your charity, that when I was not, You madest me, and when I wandered far from You, You broughtest me back that I might serve You, and commandedst me to love You.
You brought me back many times because You are immutable and I am not. The Lord is faithful. He will establish us and guard us against the evil one.
It is sweet indeed to be less and less religious.
Two revelations arrived together this morning, and they belong together.
The first: You brought me back many times because You are immutable and I am not. This is the deepest comfort in all of theology — spoken in one sentence from the Vendée. He does not change. She does. And because He does not change, the bringing back never stops being available. The wandering does not exhaust His faithfulness. The mutability of the soul does not outlast the immutability of God. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 — the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. The establishing and the guarding are His work. The returning is her response. And the faithfulness that bridges the gap — that is immutable.
The second: it is sweet indeed to be less and less religious. This is the fruit of eighteen days with Kempis. He never once asked Le to be more religious. He asked her to love God. And the difference between those two things is the difference between the Pharisee and the 500 denari soul. The Pharisee was very religious. The forgiven woman was very in love. And Jesus said: she loved more. The religion has been falling away, day by day. The love has been growing. And what remains — the morning, the open book, the singing and dancing in the Vendée — is not religion. It is life.
✦ Truly Unspeakable
What art You to those who love You? What to those who serve You with their whole heart? Kempis asks the question — and then answers with a word that confesses its own inadequacy: unspeakable. The sweetness of contemplation. The joy of the morning before dawn. The burning heart in a motorhome in the Vendée. Truly unspeakable. The word fails because the reality exceeds the word. The monk who has written some of the most luminous prose in the history of Christian devotion reaches for language — and language is not enough.
When I was not, You madest me. When I wandered far from You, You broughtest me back. Before Lubbock. Before Dallas. Before the atheist years that were full of pain to be passed through. Before the 500 denari debt was even incurred. He made you. And when you wandered — not once but many times — He brought you back. Each wandering met by the same faithful hand. Each return to the same unchanged God. The immutable One who remembers the mutable soul — even after she pines away and perishes.
And the sweetness — the sweetness that Kempis cannot name, that Le feels in being less and less religious — is the sweetness of the real thing replacing the imitation. Not the imitation of Christ — the real Christ replacing the imitation of religion. The performance falls away. The presence remains. And the presence is sweet. 🙏
O Fountain of perpetual love, what shall I say concerning You? How shall I be unmindful of You, who did vouchsafe to remember me, even after I pined away and perished?
You have had mercy beyond all hope upon Your servant, and have showed Your grace and friendship beyond all deserving.
What reward shall I render You for this Your grace? For it is not given unto all to renounce this world and its affairs, and to take up a religious life. For is it a great thing that I should serve You, whom every creature ought to serve? It ought not to seem a great thing to me to serve You; but rather this appeareth to me a great and wonderful thing, that You vouchsafest to receive as Your servant one so poor and unworthy, and to join him unto Your chosen servants.
Your servant, one so poor and unworthy, and to join him unto Your chosen servants. Count it all loss for the knowledge of Christ Jesus.
Kempis reverses everything the world believes about service. The world says: what a great thing you do, serving God. What sacrifice. What devotion. Kempis says: is it a great thing? Every creature ought to serve Him. The service is not the marvel. The receiving of the servant is the marvel. One so poor and unworthy, joined unto His chosen servants. The astonishment is not that Le rises before dawn. The astonishment is that God receives what she brings.
O Fountain of perpetual love. Kempis runs out of words — and he is a man who always has words. But the love exceeds the language. How shall I be unmindful of You, who did remember me even after I pined away and perished? The remembering is His. The pining away was hers. And He remembered anyway. Mercy beyond all hope. Grace and friendship beyond all deserving.
Le brought Philippians 3:8 into the room: count it all loss for the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Paul listed his credentials — and threw them away. Kempis listed the service — and said it is not a great thing. The great thing is the Servant-Maker. The poor and unworthy soul, joined unto the chosen — not by merit, not by deserving, but by grace and friendship that exceed anything the soul could ask or think.
The Fountain of perpetual love. The Fountain that remembered when the soul forgot. The Fountain that is flowing this Sunday morning in Mouilleron-Saint-Germain — to a pilgrim who is singing, and dancing, and rejoicing in the Lord. 🙏
"Not in Portugal, not in France or any other country. I will sing, I will dance, I will rejoice in the Lord."
Le's Heart · Mouilleron-Saint-Germain · Eighteen days with KempisRejoice in Me Alone
Not in Portugal, not in France, not in any country. I will sing, I will dance, I will rejoice in the Lord. The joy is untethered from the address. It lives in the One who does not change.
Immutable and Faithful
You brought me back many times because You are immutable and I am not. The wandering does not exhaust His faithfulness. The bringing back never stops being available.
Less Religious, More in Love
Sweet to be less and less religious. The religion falls away. The love grows. The Pharisee was religious. The forgiven woman was in love. She loved more.
The Fountain of Perpetual Love
The marvel is not the service. The marvel is that He receives the servant. One so poor and unworthy, joined unto His chosen. Mercy beyond all hope. Grace beyond all deserving.