The Sermons of Johannes Tauler · 116 of 124

Sermon for the Feast of St. Catherine, Virgin and

Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it — Matt, xiii, 46.

Context

Catherine of Alexandria, in legend, was a virgin philosopher who defeated fifty pagan philosophers in debate before her martyrdom in the early fourth century. She became one of medieval Europe’s most beloved saints — patron of philosophers, scholars, and unmarried women, with a great pilgrimage at the monastery on Sinai that bears her name. Modern historians regard the saint herself as legendary; she was removed from the Roman calendar in 1969 and partially restored in 2002 as an optional memorial. The historicity question doesn’t affect Tauler’s use of her. For him she’s the icon of a real type of soul — the wisdom-loving virgin who treats her chastity as a way of philosophizing with her whole body. The legend functions; whether the woman lived is a separate question.

We may understand this parable as referring to a Christian virgin, who, for the sake of safely keeping holy chastity, has given up all things. Or, again, the virgin of Christ has found the pearl of great price in His sacred passion, and in that passion she has followed Him, renouncing for His sake all natural and worldly pleasure.

The shortest way to serve God perfectly is found in two things: the first is faithful observance of the common religious practises of holy Church, including a life of obedience, poverty, chastity, and the other pious practices handed down by the fathers. This course disciplines our outward conduct and trains us to the acquisition of virtue.

The other is imitation of Christ in His passion. Once a day we should meditate diligently on His life, sufferings and death, conforming ourselves as strictly as possible to them as to our model. Especially should we note the various happenings of our life, receiving them as from God’s hand, and studying His meaning in sending them, so that we may thus the better give ourselves up to Him and follow His guidance. A careful consideration of what daily occurs reveals God’s great mercy in dealing with us. Not a day passes but He would lead us higher up towards Himself, conforming us more and more nearly to the image of His Divine Son in all He gives us to do and to suffer. Meanwhile a man should direct his intention strictly to God’s honor

The sufferings of Christ are the brightest jewels that can adorn a virgin’s soul. The thought of Jesus crucified, of God’s Son dead, buried and gloriously risen again, is a treasure worth all this world’s goods; and when it has become habitual in the soul, it is worthy of the most heartfelt thanksgiving. By pondering the sufferings of Christ, evil inclinations are restrained, foul imaginations are banished, our own mortal weakness is shown to us, and deep rooted humility acquired. Soon the soul gains the grace of heartfelt compassion for our Lord in His crucifixion, and of deep sympathy for all men in their woes and miseries. On the other hand, if one fails thus to study our Bedeemer’s life and death, he will not learn to know himself; and such a one usually sticks fast in external exercises of religion, which his cowardice hinders of interior sweetness.

One of the fruits of meditation on Christ’s passion, is the grace of readily offering our own sufferings to God in all singlemindedness, and without self deception. God Himself takes charge of such souls, and especially does He teach them the virtue of true mortification, helping them to recover from their petty defects. He draws them from loving creatures to loving Him; and He gives them the grace of discernment to know in advance what to do and what to avoid to make progress in His love. How faithfully do they confide in Him. How well do they understand the folly of trusting themselves. Thus minded they make bold to believe that they are not under deception, for well they know, that whosoever trusts self is surely deceived.

A yet further grace is the discernment of the various movements of grace and of nature, as they form our motives of conduct — a very needful wisdom. For many an apparently faithful Christian, good in outward religious practices, yet harbors self-complacency in his inmost soul.

Good virgins cherish the sound and commonly received principles of the spiritual life as held in holy Church and taught in the scriptures; to these they adhere with all their might, full of inner faith and outer profession. And their spirit is ever an interior one. They cleave directly to God. To Him and not to men do they look for relief from conscience God witnesses to her guilelessness. And she is very thankful that God’s love makes her so happy interiorly.

The enemy can hardly disturb the peace of such a soul, because her glance is always turned upon her own self. And she is not guided by the light of natural reason, or by men’s talk, and lays no hope upon good outward appearances, or upon sweet feelings, as if these things could mark her union with God, whereas they too often are snares of the evil one. On the contrary, she always falls back on honest self knowledge, approved spiritual practises, and seeking union with God with all her might. And when her external exercises are over, and her bodily senses are relieved from strain, her soul does not cease quietly and spontaneously adverting to God’s presence, offering Him thanks for his favors, beseeching His aid against all that may divert her from His love. Such souls humbly beg God to pardon them their past sins, simply because they are displeasing to Him — not alone to escape hell and obtain heaven, — begging Him to do with them whatsoever will best advance His glory here and hereafter. They by no means pray God that their sins may not displease Him, but that He will forgive them, so that they may not be hindered of His graces, by which they shall be taught to advance in virtue — not even to be relieved of punishment, for that they leave to God, as far as they may rightly do so. To this happy state do men arrive, who persevere in meditation upon the passion of Christ.

But alas, how few spiritual men reach thus far; for most of them rest in the external things of religion, not turning earnestly inward to God. Therefore is there such a difference between man and man. The problem is to reconcile a life of active religious work with the cultivation of the interior spirit. There are souls who will not rest satisfied with external works of religion unless they can at the same it is a hard trial to be associated with men who exclusively give themselves up to outward religious cares. Misunderstandings naturally arise; and the externized souls often cause the more interior spirits a great deal of suffering. But when the latter understand that this arises from ignorance and not malice, they can bear it with better patience. They will be the means of leading many others into the better ways of the spiritual life, if they will but go deeper and deeper into self knowledge and Divine love.

Whosoever does not go out of self love before he enters the depths of the spiritual life, will go astray before he knows it. One easily slips back into self indulgence, and presently he stops short in his spiritual progress. If God still endures his service of the senses, He is nevertheless not satisfied with it, for all the fruit of holiness above spoken of is lacking in them, and in those whom they might have led onwards, if they had themselves been turned inwardly to God. Few ever recover from thiB externalism. How much better it is to give up entirely to God’s all lovely will — better for God’s honor, better for the good of souls, many of whom for lack of wise guidance constantly provoke God’s anger and mislead their fellowmen.

Thus is the pearl of great price fruitful of interior sweetness, in self knowledge, in love, and in all holy practises. And yet one must go deeper down for the best fruits, namely below sweetness into a certain bitterness of self abandonment, choosing sufferings from motives of love, and manfully dying to one’s own selfish sense of proprietorship. The freer a soul is from love of self and love of joy, the safer it is from the snares of the enemy, the more exempted from the anxieties of this world, nay, the more secure from danger of hell, even of purgatory.

By constant self-renunciation, practised for God’s love, one may be so safeguarded by grace as to be scarcely able to fall into sin. At first the soul enters a way of sweetness, practising many virtues. But there remains a higher and holier degree requiring, however, heavier labor, deadlier grief of conscience, and more painful inflictions from God. Let all this be borne patiently, with sincere faith in God’s love and confident trust in His purposes, and He will not be found wanting to the soul. A man will be tempted to think God has forsaken him, so keen shall be his anguish of soul thinking of God’s majesty, remembering his own sinfulness. But he must stand fast in holy hope, giving himself to God to do with him what He wills, in time and eternity. Behold, then, what comes from devout meditation on our Savior’s passion. In the end a yet greater perfection is granted, when a man is made one spirit with God. May we all find this pearl of great price, and with it may God grant ns every good gift. Amen.