Mystery of the Cross

whose consequences are most consoling. I shall tell you nothing specific regarding either the one or the other; you will have learned of the external Referring to the "external cross"—the public trials or visible hardships mentioned on the previous page. through other people, who will have passed judgment on it, each according to their own perspectives, whether narrow or broad, lowly or elevated. For there are very few who truly penetrate the designs and dealings of God with mankind. As for what concerns the Inner Cross The "Inner Cross" (Croix du dedans) is a central concept in 17th-century French spirituality, referring to internal, psychological, and spiritual suffering intended to purify the soul., you will see quite vivid descriptions of it in several places in this little sketch.

III.

To come to the point, I have experienced the difference that exists between beautiful speculative thoughts and the real and actual—yet always passive—practice of the Cross In this context, "passive" refers to the mystical state of "passivity," where the soul ceases its own self-directed efforts to let God work within it, often through the medium of suffering.. That which one forms through mental images merely brushes the intellect and lightly touches the heart; but that which is felt in the innermost depths of the soul is a sword of