XVI. I am already being instructed in another life in God and the loving Mother, not in some delightful, experiential, perceptible, and sensory way, as I said above, but it is a life that relies on the firmness of faith, on the poverty of spirit, completely strong, brave, and steadfast in the practice of all perfect virtues, without needing to be constantly supported and maintained by the pleasant infusion of sensory graces, tender love, etc.
It is as if I were told: dear friend, rise above sense, above sensory experience, above sensations, and above all imaginations, for God is above all imaginations; soar above it all without perceivable preceding graces and strive to attain the substantial life in God and in the loveable Mother. Now, it seems, I understand and recognize that everything else is just childish play, after which the spirit would not want to look back. For having been taught by this spiritual light about what is better, it has grown wise to the point where it seems to die of love for the poor, naked, abandoned, and solitary life and feels so generous, noble, strong, and brave that it would gladly renounce all sweetness and all sensory graces, like a child who willingly lets go of the breast to become accustomed to more solid food. It remains in supreme indifference and perfect surrender to everything that pleases the Beloved and the loveable Mother, without any picking and choosing and thus better preserves itself in complete peace, calm and unmoving in God.
