MORNING SOLILOQUY.

Blessed indeed is he who understands what it is to love Jesus, and to despise himself for the sake of Jesus. For the love of Jesus makes a man trample upon himself. The soul that loves God feels nauseated by all things under God. It is necessary to exchange the beloved for the Beloved, because Jesus wants to be loved alone above all things. Do you see these vows, my little soul, how your lover jealously guards you? Your beloved is of such a nature that He does not want to admit another, but prefers to have your heart alone, and to sit like a King upon His own throne.

But, most tender suitor, O most wounded little lover, tell me, I pray, where You feed, most beautiful spouse, You who are born among the lilies, where You rise in the morning, where You rest at midday, where You are, most pleasant Jesus, who so court my soul? Let me kiss You once with the kiss of my mouth, that You may twist toward me the adamantine and magnetic rays of Your eyes, which make me fly away, so that, I say, I may find You now always alone, and reveal to You alone my whole heart, and pine for You, just as my soul hungers, and now let no one despise me, or any creature move or look at me, but You alone speak to me, and I to You, just as it is the custom for the beloved to speak to his beloved, and for a friend to feast with his co-friend. Truly, You are my beloved, chosen from all, in whom it has pleased my soul to store up its comfort for the remaining days of its life. Amen.