Innocent XI, Decrees condemned by Decree of the Holy Office, November 20, 1687

Innocent XI, Propositiones damnatae in Decr. S. Officii,

August 28, and in the (Apostolic) Constitution, Caelestis Pastor, November 20, 1687

28 août, et in Const. ‘Caelestis Pastor’, 20 novembre 1687

1. It is necessary that man reduce his own powers to nothingness, and this is the interior way.

1. oportet (hominem suas) potentias annihilare, et haec est via interna.

2. To wish to operate actively is to offend God, who wishes to be Himself the sole agent; and therefore it is necessary to abandon oneself wholly in God and thereafter to continue in existence as an inanimate body.

2. Velle operari active, est Deum offendere, qui vult esse (ipse) solus agens : et ideo opus est, seipsum in Deo totum (et) totaliter derelinquere et postea permanere velut corpus exanime.

3. Vows about doing something are impediments to perfection.

3. Vota de aliquo faciendo sunt perfectionis impeditiva.

4. Natural activity is the enemy of grace, and impedes the operations of God and true perfection, because God wishes to operate in us without us.

4. Activitas naturalis est gratiae inimica, impeditque Dei operationes et veram perfectionem; quia Deus operari vult in nobis sine nobis.

5. By doing nothing the soul annihilates itself and returns to its beginning and to its origin, which is the essence of God, in which it remains transformed and divinized, and God then remains in Himself, because then the two things are no more united, but are one alone, and in this manner God lives and reigns in us, and the soul annihilates itself in operative being.

5. Nihil operando anima se annihilat et ad suum principium redit et ad suam originem, quae est essentia Dei, in qua transformata remanet ac divinizata, et Deus tunc in se ipso remanet; quia tunc non sunt amplius duae res unitae, sed una tantum, et hac ratione Deus vivit et regnat in nobis, et anima seipsam annihilat in esse operativo.

6. The interior way is that in which neither light, nor love, nor resignation is recognized, and it is not necessary to understand God, and in this way one makes progress correctly.

6. Via interna est illa, in qua non cognoscitur nec lumen, nec amor, resignatio; et non oportet Deum cognoscere, et hoc modo recte proceditur.

7. A soul ought to consider neither the reward, nor punishment, nor paradise, nor hell, nor death, nor eternity.

7. Non debet anima cogitare nec de praemio, nec de punitione, nec de paradiso, nec de inferno, nec de morte, nec de aeternitate.

8. He ought not to wish to know whether he is progressing with the will of God, or whether or not with the same resigned will he stands still; nor is it necessary that he wish to know his own state or his own nothingness; but he ought to remain as an inanimate body.

8. Non debet velle scire, an gradiatur cum voluntate Dei, an cum eadem voluntate resignata maneat necne; nec opus est, ut velit cognoscere suum statum nec proprium nihil; sed debet ut corpus exanime manere.

9. The soul ought not to remember either itself, or God, or anything whatsoever, and in the interior life all reflection is harmful, even reflection upon its human actions and upon its own defects.

9. Non debet anima reminisci nec sui, nec Dei, nec cuiuscumque rei, et in via interna omnis reflexio est nociva, etiam reflexio ad suas actiones humanas et ad proprios defectus.

10. If one scandalizes others by one’s own defects, it is not necessary to reflect, as long as the will to scandalize is not present, and not to be able to reflect upon one’s own defects, is a grace of God.

10. Si propriis defectibus alios scandalizet, non est necessarium reflectere, dummodo non adsit voluntas scandalizandi: et ad proprios defectus non posse reflectere, gratia Dei est.

11. It is not necessary to reflect upon doubts whether one is proceeding rightly or not.

11. Ad dubia quae occurrunt, an recte procedatur necne, non opus est reflectere.

12. He who gives his own free will to God should care about nothing, neither about hell, nor about heaven; neither ought he to have a desire for his own perfection, nor for virtues, nor his own sanctity, nor his own salvation, the hope of which he ought to remove.

12. Qui suum liberum arbitrium Deo donavit, de nulla re debet curam habere, nec de inferno, nec de paradiso; nec debet desiderium habere propriae perfectionis, nec virtutum, nec propriae sanctitatis, nec propriae salutis, cuius spem expurgare debet.

13. After our free will has been resigned to God, reflection and care about everything of our own must be left to that same God, and we ought to leave it to Him, so that He may work His divine will in us without us.

13. Resignato Deo libero arbitrio, eidem Deo relinquenda est cogitatio et cura de omni re nostra, et relinquere, ut faciat in nobis, sine nobis, solam divinam voluntatem.

14. It is not seemly that he who is resigned to the divine will, ask anything of God; because asking is an imperfection, since the act is of one’s own will and election, and this is wishing that the divine will be conformed to ours, and not that ours be conformed to the divine; and this from the Gospel: “Seek you shall find” (Jn 16,24), was not said by Christ for interior souls who do not wish to have free will; nay indeed, souls of this kind reach this state, that they cannot seek anything from God.

14. Qui divinae voluntati resignatus est, non convenit, ut a Deo rem aliquam petat; quia petere est imperfectio, cum sit actus propriae voluntatis et electionis, et est velle, quod divina voluntas nostrae conformetur, et non quod nostra divinae: et illud Evangelii: ‘Petite et accipietis’ (Jo 16, 24), non est dictum a Christo pro animabus internis, quae nolunt habere voluntatem; immo huiusmodi animae eo perveniunt, ut non possint a Deo rem aliquam petere.

15. Just as they ought not ask anything from God, so should they not give thanks to Him for anything, because either is an act of their own will.

15. Sicut non debent a Deo rem aliquam petere, ita nec illi ob rem aliquam gratias agere debent; quia utrumque est actus propriae voluntatis.

16. It is not proper to seek indulgences for punishment due to one’s own sins, because it is better to satisfy divine justice than to seek divine mercy, since the latter proceeds from pure love of God, and the former from an interested love of ourselves, and that is not a thing pleasing to God and meritorious, because it is a desire to shun the cross.

16. Non convenit indulgentias quaerere pro poena propriis peccatis debita; quia melius est divinae iustitiae satisfacere, quam divinam misericordiam quaerere: quoniam illud ex puro Dei amore procedit, et istud ab amore nostri interessato, nec est res Deo grata nec meritoria, quia est velle crucem fugere.

17. When free will has been surrendered to God, and the care and thought of our soul left to the same God, no consideration of temptations need any longer be of concern; neither should any but a negative resistence be made to them, with the application of no energy, and if nature is aroused, one must let it be aroused, because it is nature.

17. Tradito Deo libero arbitrio, et eidem relicta cura et cogitatione animae nostrae, non est amplius habenda ratio tentationum; nec eis alia resistentia fieri debet nisi negativa, nulla adhibita industria; et si natura commovetur, oportet sinere ut commoveatur, quia est natura.

18. He who in his prayer uses images, figures, pretension, and his own conceptions, does not adore God “in spirit and in truth” (Jn 4,23).

18. Qui in oratione utitur imaginibus, figuris, speciebus et propriis conceptibus, non adorat Deum in spiritu et veritate (Jo 4, 23).

19. He who loves God in the way which reason points out or the intellect comprehends, does not love the true God.

19. Qui amat Deum eo modo, quo ratio argumentatur aut intellectus comprehendit, non amat verum Deum.

20. To assert that in prayer it is necessary to help oneself by discourse and by reflections, when God does not speak to the soul, is ignorance. God never speaks; His way of speaking is operation, and He always operates in the soul, when this soul does not impede Him by its discourses, reflections, and operations.

20. Asserere, quod in oratione opus est sibi per discursum auxilium ferre et per cogitationes, quando Deus animam non alloquitur, ignorantia est. Deus numquam loquitur, eius locutio est operatio, et semper in anima operatur, quando haec suis discursibus, cogitationibus et operationibus eum non impedit.

21. In prayer it is necessary to remain m obscure and universal faith, with quiet and forgetfulness of any particular and distinct thought of the attributes of God and the Trinity, and thus to remain in the presence of God for adoring and loving Him and serving Him, but without producing acts, because God has no pleasure in these.

21. In oratione opus est manere in fide obscura et universali, cum quiete et oblivione cuiuscumque cogitationis particularis ac distinctae attributorum Dei ac Trinitatis, et sic in Dei praesentia manere ad illum adorandum et amandum eique inserviendum; sed absque productione actuum, quia Deus in his sibi non complacet.

22. This knowledge through faith is not an act produced by a creature, but it is a knowledge given by God to the creature, which the creature neither recognizes that he has, and neither later knows that he had it; and the same is said of love.

22. Cognitio haec per fidem non est actus a creatura productus, sed est cognitio a Deo creaturae tradita, quam creatura se habere non cognoscit, nec postea cognoscit illam se habuisse; et idem dicitur de amore.

23. The mystics with Saint Bernard in the Scala Claustralium (The Ladder of the Cloistered) distinguished four steps: reading, meditation, prayer, and infused contemplation. He who always remains in the first, never passes over to the second. He who always persists in the second, never arrives at the third, which is our acquired contemplation, in which one must persist throughout all life, provided that God does not draw the soul (without the soul expecting it) to infused contemplation; and if this ceases, the soul should turn back to the third step and remain in that, without returning again to the second or first.

23. Mystici cum S. Bernardo vel auctore, ‘Scalae claustralis’, sub nomine ejusdem Bernardi (in ‘Scala Claustralium’) distinguunt quattuor gradus: lectionem, meditationem, orationem, et contemplationem infusam. Qui semper in primo sistit, numquam ad secundum pertransit. Qui semper in secundo persistit, numquam ad tertium pervenit, qui est nostra contemplatio acquisita, in qua per totam vitam persistendum est, dummodo Deus animam non trahat (absque eo, quod ipsa id exspectet) ad contemplationem infusam; et hac cessante, anima regredi debet ad tertium gradum et in ipso permanere, absque eo, quod amplius redeat ad secundum aut primum.

24. Whatever thoughts occur in prayer, even impure, or against God, the saints, faith, and the sacraments, if they are not voluntarily nourished, nor voluntarily expelled, but tolerated with indifference and resignation, do not impede the prayer of faith, indeed make it more perfect, because the soul then remains more resigned to the divine will.

24. Qualescumque cogitationes in oratione occurrant, etiam impurae, etiam contra Deum, Sanctos, fidem et sacramenta, si voluntarie non nutriantur nec voluntarie expellantur, sed cum indifferentia et resignatione tolerentur; non impediunt orationem fidei, immo eam perfectiorem efficiunt, quia anima tunc magis divinae voluntati resignata remanet.

25. Even if one becomes sleepy and falls asleep, nevertheless there is prayer and actual contemplation, because prayer and resignation, resignation and prayer are the same, and while resignation endures, prayer also endures.

25. Etiamsi superveniat somnus et dormiatur, nihilominus fit oratio et contemplatio actualis; quia oratio et resignatio, resignatio et oratio idem sunt, et dum resignatio perdurat, perdurat et oratio.

26. The three ways: the purgative, illuminative, and unitive, are the greatest absurdity ever spoken about in mystical (theology), since there is only one way, namely, the interior way.

26. Tres illae viae: purgativa, illuminativa et unitiva, sunt absurdum maximum, quod dictum fuerit in mystica, cum non sit nisi unica via, scilicet via interna.

27. He who desires and embraces sensible devotion, does not desire nor seek God, but himself; and anyone who walks by the interior way, in holy places as well as on feast days, acts badly, when he desires it and tries to possess it.

27. Qui desiderat et amplectitur devotionem sensibilem, non desiderat nec quaerit Deum, sed seipsum; et male agit, cum eam desiderat et eam habere conatur, qui per viam internam incedit, tam in locis sacris quam in diebus solemnibus.

28. Weariness for spiritual matters is good, if indeed by it one’s own love is purified

28. Taedium rerum spiritualium bonum est, siquidem per illud purgatur amor proprius.

29. As long as the interior soul disdains discourses about God, and disdains the virtues, and remains cold, feeling no fervor in himself, it is a good sign.

29. Dum anima interna fastidit discursus de Deo et virtutes et frigida remanet, nullum in se ipsa sentiens fervorem, bonum signum est.

30. Everything sensible which we experience in the spiritual life, is abominable, base, and unclean.

30. Totum sensibile, quod experimur in vita spirituali, est abominabile, spurcum et immundum.

31. No meditative person exercises true interior virtues; these should not be recognized by the senses. It is necessary to abandon the virtues.

31. Nullus meditativus veras virtutes exercet internas; quae non debent a sensibus cognosci. Opus est amittere virtutes.

32. Neither before nor after communion is any other preparation or act of thanksgiving required for these interior souls than continuance in a customary passive resignation, because in a more perfect way it supplies all acts of virtues, which can be practiced and are practiced in the ordinary way. And, if on this occasion of communion there arise emotions of humility, of petition, or of thanksgiving, they are to be repressed, as often as it is not discerned that they are from a special impulse of God; otherwise they are impulses of nature not yet dead.

32. Nec ante nec post communionem alia requiritur praeparatio aut gratiarum actio (pro istis animabus internis), quam permanentia in solita resignatione passiva, quia supplet modo perfectiore omnes actus virtutum, qui fieri possunt et fiunt in via ordinaria. Et si hac occasione communionis insurgunt motus humiliationis, petitionis aut gratiarum actionis, reprimendi sunt, quoties non dignoscatur, eos esse ex impulsu speciali Dei: alias sunt impulsus naturae nondum mortuae.

33. That soul acts badly which proceeds by this interior way, if it wishes on feast days by any particular effort to excite some sensible devotion in itself, since for an interior soul all days are equal, all festal. And the same is said of holy places, because to souls of this kind all places are alike.

33. Male agit anima, quae procedit per hanc viam internam, si in diebus solemnibus vult aliquo conatu particulari excitare in se devotum aliquem sensum, quoniam animae internae omnes dies sunt aequales, omnes festivi. Et idem dicitur de locis sacris, quia huiusmodi animabus omnia loca sunt aequalia.

34. To give thanks to God by words and by speech is not for interior souls which ought to remain in silence, placing no obstacle before God, because He operates in them; and the more they resign themselves to God, they discover that they cannot recite the Lord’s prayer, i.e., the Our Father.

34. Verbis et lingua gratias agere Deo, non est pro animabus internis, quae in silentio manere debent, nullum Deo impedimentum opponendo (apponendo), quod operetur in illis; et quo magis Deo se resignant, experiuntur, se non posse orationem dominicam seu Pater noster recitare.

35. It is not fitting for souls of this interior life to perform works even virtuous ones, by their own choice and activity; otherwise they would not be dead. Neither should they elicit acts of love for the Blessed Virgin, saints, or the humanity of Christ, because since they are sensible objects, so, too, is their love toward them.

35. Non convenit animabus hujus viae internae, quod faciant operationes, etiam virtuosas, ex propria electione et activitate: alias non essent mortuae. Nec debent elicere actus amoris erga beatam Virginem, Sanctos aut humanitatem Christi: quia, cum ista objecta sensibilia sint, talis est amor erga illa.

36. No creature, neither the Blessed Virgin, nor the saints ought to abide in our heart, because God alone wishes to occupy and possess it.

36. Nulla creatura, nec beata Virgo, nec Sancti sedere debent in nostro corde: quia solus Deus vult illud occupare et possidere.

37. On occasion of temptations, even violent ones, the soul ought not to elicit explicit acts of opposite virtues, but should persevere in the above mentioned love and resignation.

37. In occasione tentationum, etiam furiosarum, non debet anima elicere actus explicitos virtutum oppositarum, sed debet in supradicto amore et resignatione permanere.

38. The voluntary cross of mortifications is a heavy weight and fruitless, and therefore to be dismissed.

38. Crux voluntaria mortificationum pondus grave est et infructuosum, ideoque dimittenda.

39. The more holy works and penances, which the saints performed, are not enough to remove from the soul even a single tie.

39. Sanctiora opera et paenitentiae, quas peregerunt Sancti, non sufficiunt ad removendam ab anima vel unicam adhaesionem.

40. The Blessed Virgin never performed any exterior work, and nevertheless was holier than all the saints. Therefore, one can arrive at sanctity without exterior work.

40. Beata Virgo nullum umquam opus exterius peregit, et tamen fuit Sanctis omnibus sanctior. Igitur ad sanctitatem perveniri potest absque opere exteriore.

41. God permits and wishes to humiliate us and to conduct us to a true transformation, because in some perfect souls, even though not inspired, the demon inflicts violence on their bodies, and makes them commit carnal acts, even in wakefulness and without the bewilderment of the mind, by physically moving their hands and other members against their wills. And the same is said as far as concerns other actions sinful in themselves, in which case they are not sins, but in them (Viva: quia his, because with these) the consent is not present.

41. Deus permittit et vult ad nos humiliandos et ad veram transformationem perducendos, quod in aliquibus animabus perfectis, etiam non arreptitiis, daemon violentiam inferat earum corporibus, easque actus carnales committere faciat, etiam in vigilia et sine mentis offuscatione, movendo physice earum (illarum) manus et alia membra contra earum voluntatem. Et idem dicitur quoad alios actus per se peccaminosos: in quo casu non sunt peccata, quia in his non adest consensus.

42. A case may be given, that things of this kind contrary to the will result in carnal acts at the same time on the part of two persons, for example man and woman, and on the part of both an act follows.

42. Potest dari casus, quod huiusmodi violentiae ad actus carnales contingant eodem tempore ex parte duarum personarum, scilicet maris et feminae, et ex parte utriusque sequatur actus.

43. God in past ages has created saints through the ministry of tyrants; now in truth He produces saints through the ministry of demons, who, by causing the aforesaid things contrary to the will, brings it about that they despise themselves the more and annihilate and resign themselves to God.

43. Deus praeteritis saeculis sanctos efficiebat tyrannorum ministerio; nunc vero eos efficit sanctos ministerio daemonum, qui causando in eis praedictas violentias facit, ut illi seipsos magis despiciant atque annihilent et se Deo resignent.

44. Job blasphemed, and yet he did not sin with his lips because it was the result of the violence of the devil.

44 Iob blasphemavit, et tamen non peccavit labiis suis; quod (quia) fuit ex daemonis violentia.

45. Saint Paul suffered such violences of the devil in his body; thus he has written: “For the good that I will I do not do; but the evil which I will not, that I do” (Rm 7,19).

45. Sanctus Paulus huiusmodi daemonis violentias in suo corpore passus est; unde scripsit: Non quod volo bonum, hoc ago; sed, quod nolo malum, hoc facio (Rom 7, 19).

46. Things of this kind contrary to the will are the more proportionate medium for annihilating the soul, and for leading [Viva: et eam] it to true transformation and union, nor is there any other way; and this is the easier and safer way.

46. Huiusmodi violentiae sunt medium magis proportionatum ad annihilandam animam, et ad eam ad veram transformationem et unionem perducendam, nec alia superest via: et haec est via facilior et tutior.

47. When things of this kind contrary to the will occur, it is proper to allow Satan to operate, by applying no effort and making no real attempt, but man should persist in his own nothingness;

and even if pollutions follow and obscene acts by one’s own hands, and even worse, there is no need to disquiet oneself [Viva: inquietari],

but scruples must be banished, as well as doubts and fears, because the mind becomes more enlightened, more confirmed, and more candid, and holy liberty is acquired.

And above all there is no need to confess these matters, and one acts in a most saintly way by not confessing, because the devil is overcome by this agreement, and the treasure of peace is acquired.

 et prae omnibus non opus est haec confiteri (, et sanctissime fit non confitendo,) quia hoc pacto superatur daemon, et acquiritur thesaurus pacis.

48. Satan, who produces violences of this kind contrary to the will, afterwards persuades that they are grave sins, so that the mind disturbs itself, lest it progress further in the interior way; hence for weakening his powers it is better not to confess them, because they are not sins, not even venial.

48. Satanas, qui huiusmodi violentias causat (infert), suadet deinde, gravia esse delicta, ut anima se inquietet, ne in via interna ulterius progrediatur: unde ad eius vires enervandas melius est ea non confiteri, quia non sunt peccata, nec etiam venialia.

49. Job from the violence of the devil polluted himself with his own hands at the same time as “he offered pure prayer to God” (thus interpreting the passage from chapter 16. Job) (cf. ).

49. Iob ex violentia daemonis se propriis manibus polluebat eodem tempore, quo mundas habebat ad Deum preces, sic interpretando locum ex capite XVI Iob (cf. Jb 16,18).

50. David, Jeremias, and many of the holy Prophets suffered violence of this kind, of these impure external operations contrary to the will.

50. David, Jeremias et multi ex sanctis Prophetis huiusmodi violentias patiebantur harum impurarum operationum externarum.

51. In Sacred Scripture there are many examples of violence to the will unto external sinful acts, as that of Samson, who by violence killed himself with the Philistines (Jg 16,29 f.), entered a marriage with a foreigner (Jg 14,1 ff.), and committed fornication with the harlot Dalila (Jg 16,4 ff.), which in other times were prohibited and would have been sins; that of Judith, who had lied to Holofernes, (Jdt 2,4 ff.); that of Elisaeus, who cursed children (2Ki 2,24); that of Elias, who burned the leaders with the troops of King Achab (cf. 2Ki 1,10 ff.). But whether violence was immediately executed by God, or by the minister of the demons, as it happens in some souls, is left in doubt.

51. In sacra Scriptura multa sunt exempla violentiarum ad actus externos peccaminosos; uti illud de Samsone, qui per violentiam seipsum occidit cum Philistaeis (Jg 16,29 s), coniugium iniit cum alienigena (Jg 14,1 ss), et cum Dalila meretrice fornicatus est (Jg 16,4 ss), quae alias erant prohibita et peccata fuissent; de Iuditha, quae Holoferni mentita fuit (Jdt 11,4 ss); de Elisaeo, qui pueris maledixit (2R 2,24); de Elia, qui combussit duos (-! ) duces cum turmis regis Achab (cf. 2R 1,10 ss). An vero fuerit violentia immediate a Deo peracta vel daemonum ministerio, ut in aliis animabus contingit, in dubio relinquitur.

52. When such things contrary to the will, even impure, happen without confusion of the mind, then the soul can be united to God, and de factois always the more united.

52. Cum huiusmodi violentiae, etiam impurae, absque mentis offuscatione accidunt, tunc anima Deo potest uniri, et de facto semper magis unitur.

53. To recognize in practice, whether an operation has been violence in some persons, the rule which I have for this is not the protestations of those souls which protest that they have not consented to the said violences or cannot swear that they have consented, and cannot see that they are the souls who make progress in the interior life, but I would adopt a rule from a certain light which is superior to actual human and theological cognition, that makes me recognize for certain, with internal certitude, that such operation is violence; and I am certain that this light proceeds from God, because it comes to me joined with certitude that it comes forth from God, and it leaves in me no shadow of doubt to the contrary, in that way by which it sometimes happens that God in revealing something reassures the soul at the same time that it is He who reveals it, and the soul cannot doubt to the contrary.

53. Ad cognoscendum in praxi, an aliqua operatio in aliis personis fuerit violenta (violentia) regula, quam de hoc habeo, nedum sunt protestationes animarum illarum, quae protestantur, se dictis violentiis non consensisse aut iurare non posse, quod in iis consenserint, et videre quod sint animae, quae proficiunt in via interna; sed regulam sumerem a lumine quodam, actuali cognitione humana ac theologica superiori, quod me certo cognoscere facit cum interna securitate (certitudine), quod talis operatio est violenta: et certus sum, quod hoc lumen a Deo procedit, quia ad me pervenit (provenit) coniunctum cum certitudine, quod a Deo proveniat, et mihi nec umbram dubii relinquit in contrarium: eo modo, quo interdum contingit, quod Deus aliquid revelando eodem tempore animam certam reddit, quod ipse sit, qui revelat, et anima in contrarium non potest dubitare.

54. Persons who lead ordinary spiritual lives, in the hour of death will find themselves deluded and confused with all the passions to be purged in the other world.

54. Spirituales vitae ordinariae in hora mortis se delusos invenient et confusos (et) cum omnibus passionibus in alio mundo purgandis.

55. Through this interior life one reaches the point, although with much suffering, of purging and extinguishing all passions, so that he feels nothing more, nothing, nothing; nor is any disquietude felt, just as if the body were dead, nor does the soul permit itself to be moved any more.

55. Per hanc viam internam pervenitur, etsi multa cum sufferentia, ad purgandas et exstinguendas omnes passiones, ita quod nihil amplius sentitur, nihil, nihil: nec ulla sentitur inquietudo, sicut corpus mortuum, nec anima se amplius commoveri sinit.

56. Two laws and two desires (the one of the soul, the other of self-love) endure as long as self-love endures; wherefore, when this is purged and dead, as happens through the interior way, those two laws and two desires are no longer present; nor, is any lapse incurred further, nor, is anything felt more, not even venial sin.

56. Duae leges et duae cupiditates (animae una, et amoris proprii altera) tamdiu perdurant, quamdiu perdurat amor proprius: unde quando hic purgatus est et mortuus, uti fit per viam internam, non adsunt amplius illae duae leges et duae cupiditates, nec ulterius lapsus aliquis incurritur, nec aliquid sentitur amplius, ne quidem veniale peccatum.

57. Through acquired contemplation one comes to the state of not committing any more sins, neither mortal nor venial.

57. Per contemplationem acquisitam pervenitur ad statum non faciendi amplius peccata, nec mortalia nec venialia.

58. One arrives at such a state by no longer reflecting on his own actions, because defects arise from reflection.

58. Ad huiusmodi statum pervenitur non reflectendo amplius ad proprias operationes; quia defectus ex reflexione oriuntur.

59. The interior way is separated from confession, from those who confess, and from cases of conscience, from theology and from philosophy.

59. Via interna seiuncta est a confessione, a confessariis et a casibus conscientiae, a theologia et philosophia.

60. For advanced souls, who begin to die from reflections, and who even arrive at the point that they are dead, God sometimes makes confession impossible, and He Himself supplies it with such great preserving grace as they receive in the sacrament; and therefore for such souls it is not good in such a case to approach the sacrament of penance, because it is impossible for them.

60. Animabus provectis, quae reflexionibus mori incipiunt, et eo etiam perveniunt, ut sint mortuae, Deus confessionem aliquando efficit impossibilem et supplet ipse tanta gratia praeservante, quantam in sacramento reciperent: et ideo huiusmodi animabus non est bonum in tali casu ad sacramentum paenitentiae accedere, quia id est (in) illis impossibile.

61. When the soul arrives at mystical death, it cannot wish for anything more than what God desires, because it does no longer have a will, since God has taken it away from it.

61. Anima, cum ad mortem mysticam pervenit, non potest amplius aliud velle, quam quod Deus vult, quia non habet amplius voluntatem, et Deus illi eam abstulit.

62. By the interior way it arrives at a continuous, immobile state in an imperturbable peace.

62. Per viam internam pervenitur ad continuum statum immobilem in pace imperturbabili.

63. By the internal way one even arrives at the death of the senses; moreover, it is a sign that one remains in a state of nothingness, that is, of mystical death, if the exterior senses no longer represent sensible things (from which they are) as if they did not exist, because they do not succeed in making the intellect apply itself to them.

63. Per viam internam pervenitur etiam ad mortem sensuum: quin immo signum, quod quis in statu nihilitatis maneat, id est mortis mysticae, est, si sensus exteriores non repraesentent amplius res sensibiles, unde sint ac si non essent, quia non perveniunt ad faciendum, quod intellectus ad eas se applicet.

64. A theologian is less disposed than an ignorant man for the contemplative state; in the first place, because he does not have such pure faith; secondly, because he is not so humble; thirdly, because he does not care so much for his own salvation; fourthly, because he has a head full of phantasms, images, opinions, and speculations, and cannot enter into that true light.

64. Theologus minorem dispositionem habet quam homo rudis ad statum contemplativi: primo, quia non habet fidem adeo puram, secundo, quia non est adeo humilis; tertio, quia non adeo curat propriam salutem; quarto, quia caput refertum habet phantasmatibus, speciebus, opinionibus et speculationibus, et non potest in illum ingredi verum lumen.

65. One must obey directors in the exterior life, and the latitude of the vow of obedience of religious extends only to the external. In the interior life the matter is different, because only God and the director enter.

65. Praepositis oboediendum est in exteriore, et latitudo voti oboedientiae religiosorum tantummodo ad exterius pertingit. In interiore vero aliter res se habet, ubi (quo) solus Deus et director intrant.

66. A certain new doctrine in the Church of God is worthy of ridicule, that the soul should be governed as far as its interior is concerned by a bishop; but if the bishop is not capable, the soul should go to him with his director. I speak a new doctrine; because neither Sacred Scripture, nor councils, nor bulls, nor saints, nor authors have ever transmitted it, nor can transmit it, because the Church does not judge about hidden matters, and the soul has its faculty of choosing whatsoever shall seem good to it [Viva: anima ins habet eligendi quaecumque sibi bene visums].

66. Risu digna est nova quaedam doctrina in Ecclesia Dei, quod anima quoad internum gubernari debeat ab episcopo: quod si episcopus non sit capax, anima ipsum cum suo directore adeat. Novam dico doctrinam; quia nec sacra Scriptura, nec concilia, nec canones, nec bullae, nec Sancti, nec auctores eam umquam tradiderunt nec tradere possunt: quia Ecclesia non iudicat de occultis, et anima ius habet et facultatem eligendi quemcumque sibi visum fuerit.

67. To say that the interior must be manifested to the exterior tribunal of directors, and that it is a sin not to do so, is a manifest deception, because the Church does not pass judgment on hidden matters, and they prejudge their own souls by these deceptions and hypocrisies.

67. Dicere, quod internum manifestandum est exteriori tribunali praepositorum, et quod peccatum sit id non facere, est manifesta deceptio: quia Ecclesia non iudicat de occultis, et propriis animabus praeiudicant his deceptionibus et simulationibus.

68. In the world there is neither faculty nor jurisdiction for commanding that the letters of a director, as far as the interior direction of a soul is concerned, should be made manifest; therefore, it is necessary to assert that it is an insult of Satan, etc.

68. In mundo non est facultas nec iurisdictio ad praecipiendum, ut manifestentur epistolae directoris quoad internum animae: et ideo opus est animadvertere, quod hoc est insultus satanae, etc.

Condemned as heretical, suspect, erroneous, scandalous, blasphemous, offensive to pious ears, rash, of relaxed Christian discipline, subversive, and seditious respectively.