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A Man of Authentic Spirituality

St. Alphonsus Liguori, in A.D. 1755's Uniformity With God's Will, tells the brief tale of a beggar...




The devout Father John Tauler relates this personal experience: For years he had prayed God to send him someone who would teach him the real spiritual life. One day, at prayer, he heard a voice saying: “Go to such and such a church and you will have the answer to your prayers.” He went and at the door of the church he found a beggar, barefooted and in rags. He greeted the mendicant saying: “Good day, my friend.”


“Thank you, sir, for your kind wishes, but I do not recall ever having had a ‘bad’ day.”


“Then God has certainly given you a very happy life.”


“That is very true, sir. I have never been unhappy. In saying this I am not making any rash statement either. This is the reason: When I have nothing to eat, I give thanks to God; when it rains or snows, I bless God’s providence; when someone insults me, drives me away, or otherwise mistreats me, I give glory to God. I said I’ve never had an unhappy day, and it’s the truth, because I am accustomed to will unreservedly what God wills. Whatever happens to me, sweet or bitter, I gladly receive from his hands as what is best for me. Hence my unvarying happiness.”


“Where did you find God?”


“I found him where I left creatures.”


“Who are you anyway?”


“I am a king.”


“And where is your kingdom?”


“In my soul, where everything is in good order; where the passions obey reason, and reason obeys God.”


“How have you come to such a state of perfection?”


“By silence. I practice silence towards men, while I cultivate the habit of speaking with God. Conversing with God is the way I found and maintain my peace of soul.”


Union with God brought this poor beggar to the very heights of perfection. In his poverty he was richer than the mightiest monarch; in his sufferings, he was vastly happier than worldlings amid their worldly delights.

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