True it is that God gives part of this to beginners, and even to sinners to wean them from the milk of their earthly consolations; but much more abundantly He gives it to those who for His love have mortified themselves in depriving themselves of them.
v. The fifth manner of God's communicating Himself is by a spiritual touching; touching with his loving inspirations the recesses of the heart, and our Lord joining Himself to the soul with such gentleness and affection, as cannot be expressed but by those similitudes of which the Book of Canticles makes mention; [1] which I omit, lest our grossness should be dazzled with so much tenderness; but yet all rest in this saying of the Apostle St. Paul, that " he that is joined to the Lord is" become " one spirit" [2] with Him; for God interiorly embraces him with the arms of charity, and cherishes him, giving him inward testimonies of His presence, of the love that He bears him, and of the care that He has of him, with great tokens of peace and very familiar friendship. And whosoever perceives himself so favoured, embraces within him God Himself, with the arms of love, saying that of the Bride, "I held Him," and "I will not let Him go." [3] And here are exercised those tender colloquies, those petitions with groanings unspeakable, and those acts called anagogical, high elevated in matter of spirit, which our Lord grants of His singular grace to whom He pleases; but these are not to be ambitioned, but received when they shall be given, as already has been said.
5. These are the extraordinary manners of our Lord's communicating Himself by the interior senses of the soul. It belongs to our account only, by God's grace to mortify very well the five corporal senses, that God may open to
