Journal Notes St Paul of the Cross #31
By Amy Knight
Never cease staying in the Holy of Holies of the Heart of Jesus; love Him with His own Heart. Allow yourself to be penetrated with lively sorrow for the outrages of others done him in the most adorable Sacrament and make reparation with humiliations, adoration, affections, praise, and thanksgiving. Make yourself always smaller with knowledge of your nothingness and then allow yourself to be carried by that loving breeze wherever it pleases His Divine Majesty. Whoever will be the most humble will be the greatest; whoever will be the most annihilated will be the most exalted and enriched and have the most secure entry into that great room, in that great wine cellar, in that winery, in that royal salon, from which one passes into the deepest chamber, where the bride treats all alone with her Divine Spouse. The gentle heart of Jesus is all this and infinitely more. In that Heart the soul is transformed and divinized and loses self completely in this abyss of infinite perfections. And there, all roasted, incinerated, melted, liquefied in that flame of immense love, sing the mercies, the triumphs, the magnificence, the marvels of the Immaculate Lamb. Jesus enrich you with the fullness of his blessings. Letter #285
Song of Songs 1:12-14 While the king is at his table, my spikenard sends forth its fragrance. A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, that lies all night between my breasts. My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms in the vineyards of En Gedi.
2 Corinthians 4:10 …always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
Myrrh is the ointment of burial and signifies suffering. This Song of Songs passage referring to a bundle of myrrh between the breasts of the Bride, is speaking of carrying the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ in the deepest center of our heart and adoring this Suffering Servant Jesus who endured unimaginable hostility for our sake. The Apostle Paul speaks of “…always carrying in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus..” and the Bride in the Song of Songs is pictured as one love-struck by this King to the extent that she carries deep in her heart His suffering and holds His pain so dearly and tenderly that a fragrance of the most beautiful odor ascends up from her heart. This Bridegroom smells this sweet incense of love and He is captivated beyond words unable to take His eyes off of His Beloved Bride.
To be joined to Christ in His suffering produces the greatest level of intimacy and union with Him. As St. Paul of the Cross describes, “whoever will be the most annihilated will be the most exalted and enriched and have the most secure entry into that great room, in that great wine cellar, in that winery, in that royal salon, from which one passes into the deepest chamber, where the bride treats all alone with her Divine Spouse.” The wine cellar of His love is the place of transformation and union with Him. Drinking the cup is none other than the cup that He drank in the Garden of Gethsemane, that of total surrender to God declaring, “…not as I will, but as You will….”[i] This is the cup of wine St Paul of the Cross describes: “In that Heart the soul is transformed and divinized and loses self completely in this abyss of infinite perfections.”
Infinite Love engulfs, immerses, and transforms all sorrows and turns them into a burning flame of unquenchable love that continually burns for this One Who is the Lover of all Lovers; indeed, the King of Love. The soul must have courage to enter into this garden and drink the cup of wine of total surrender.
Prayer: Beloved Bridegroom Jesus, may I carry about in my heart Your suffering with such tenderness and thankfulness so that this fragrance of loving sorrow would ascend up to You and captivate You eternally. Amen
[i] Matthew 26:39