“For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Rev 3:17)
This is very strange that tepid people believe that they are richer in graces than others and believe they have prospered spiritually. They do not seem to need anyone, and they believe that everyone needs them. They would even force everyone to take their advice. The other good pastor mentioned before this one was poor in appearance, but infinitely rich. Yet this latter pastor thought himself rich and yet was poor in God and his graces. He is wretched because he only loves himself and can never be truly happy. The most essential elements of pure love, which include abandon to God, perfect surrender, submission to the will of God, and possession by God are missing. He is miserable because although he appears happy in his exterior, he is under cruel tyranny in his interior by the love of glory and the desire to be esteemed by others, although he is nothing. This is true that when people such as this pastor are shown the slightest contempt or have the slightest affliction, they are absolutely overwhelmed. They are poor and naked, entirely corrupted because not being clothed by Jesus Christ or animated by his Spirit, they are very poor and naked. They are blind, because being in the most wretched state possible, they believe they are doing well.
“Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.” (Rev 3:18)
O Love, only you can communicate perfect love, which is the gold refined by the fire. Only you can put into our soul the spirit of faith, which is a very pure gold. Only you can place in us God’s principle for his creatures, which produces perfect works of love, which no fire can damage. Therefore, it is to you that we go to buy this gold. But what do you want us to give you for the price, since we are as poor and naked as this pastor? Come, he says, to me with or without money and without any price (Isaiah 55:1). He only asks that we give ourselves to him, that we abandon to him without reserving anything, so that he makes works full of value. It is he who gives us white robes of innocence and simplicity. He reveals this to the souls of his servants when he leads them to adoption as children. This dress of innocence repairs us and covers the shameful nudity of human nature, stripped of the original justice. Before the fall reduced the human being to this shameful nudity, people were clothed in the habit of innocence. With the fall, they knew they were naked. Therefore, we must go to Jesus Christ to be healed, so that he clothes us with himself. Without doubt, he repairs our simplicity and innocence which gives us advantages over even the first state before the fall. The grace of redemption surpasses the grace of creation, and repaired innocence must be more abundant than original innocence. If it were not, the church would not sing, Felix Culpa O happy sin! More can be read about this in Romans 5.
Furthermore, Jesus Christ invites us to go to him, so to speak, under the signs of wine and milk, of love and innocence. For love, he communicates advantages to us that Adam never had. We have complete innocence having washed our robe in his blood. We have been given the first whiteness with a new luster, as in Isaiah he had promised, Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). Love is now incomparably more abundant. According to the thinking of the church, the apostles in receiving the Holy Spirit were confirmed in grace. This is not the same as Adam’s innocent state since he was sinning. Jesus Christ invites everyone to love and innocence.
He adds that he will put a salve for our eyes so we see clearly. This salve is no other than the Spirit of faith, which will infallibly deliver us from the blindness of our own reasoning and self-concern. We know then that we are poor when we had thought we were rich. We know then that we are nude when we thought we were clothed.
“I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. 20 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” (Rev 3:19–20)
The greatest sign of God’s love for us is that God warns us of our faults. God reproves and disciplines us. As for those whom God does not love, he keeps their punishment for the day of his wrath. But for those whom he loves, he notes their slightest mistakes and reproves them. This is the advantage of prayer. An interior person has within herself a director who relates incessantly, a Master who reproves and chastises continually. It seems that God has no other point in situations than to correct the soul. This is the greatest sign of his love. We must then be earnest toward ourselves, to let God punish us with his strength. We remain with him while he punishes us.
“Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” (Rev 3:20)
So if we hear him approach the door of our heart, we open to him and give ourselves to him without reserve. We consecrate ourselves to him. Jesus Christ enters us. But what is the way to hear his voice if we do not listen to him? O Love, you speak to the heart and you hear us because you are attentive to the voice of your creatures. Yet creatures are not attentive to you and do not discern your voice. They do not listen to you. But if creatures energetically remain attentive and listen to your voice, they will hear infallibly. The creature will hear that you will come to her which will surprise her because she did not expect such a singular grace.
But what do you say? Jesus Christ is not satisfied with only this. He admits those who listen to his banquet. He shares his feast and his caresses with her. She will be nourished and taste a food forever delicious. O Christians, who are born for such a great good, it is up to you to have this. Will you not be rigorously punished with justice, if you deprive yourself of this by your fault? We falsely believe that this is a grace reserved for very few people and that is it almost impossible to obtain. Yet eternal truth assures us that nothing is easier. What could be easier than to open to a person who stands incessantly at your door and knocks continually? To hear and listen to the One who always speaks? There is nothing easier. He asks nothing of us except to open and listen to him, so that he come in us, to be forever present and admit us to his feast, to eat with us, that is to say, to share our sorrows. We also eat with him that is to say, he shares his divine will with us. O the blindness of creatures is immense, that we may have such a great good and yet we refuse and use as an excuse that this is difficult! O, all we must do is reach out our hand! The blindness is great today. What has been the joy, praise, and glory of past centuries and will be in the future, is the shame, confusion, and ignominy of this century.
“To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” (Revelation 3:21–22)
The throne of Jesus Christ is the heart of his Father, who has already given him the Word and will give this to him throughout eternity. Through Jesus Christ’s death and victory over hell and nature, humanity