The Secret of Advancing Much in the Spiritual Life in a Short Time

Tauler relates that when a certain holy lady was asked about the means by which she had arrived at such [spiritual] perfection, she humbly replied:

First, whenever I saw that I was seeking myself in anything, I immediately checked myself; secondly, I never defended myself against anything that was falsely said of me, but I made certain that I myself always spoke the truth; thirdly, I was always scrupulous in observing poverty and I denied myself all creature consolation; fourthly, I always fled from honors, but when any abuse came to me, I stood firm; fifthly, there never came to me any sufferings, sorrows, or trials but I desired greater ones, even when I judged myself undeserving of them; sixthly, I never disputed any light or truth infused in me by God, but I resigned myself to it and I never took complacence in the gifts themselves but only in the Giver of all things; seventhly, I continually impelled myself with great love toward that supreme Good which is God; eighthly, whenever I saw anyone do or say anything contrary to the truth, and saw the damage which was caused, I corrected and reproved these defects with pure love; ninthly, after having entered on the way of salvation, I never turned any eyes back to look at changeable creatures; tenthly, both within and without myself I have most strenuously practiced every virtue. I have lived both beneath heaven and in heaven, amid the angels and saints, like an upright man in his own family. As often as I recollect myself, I find within me the image of the sovereign Trinity and I realize that we are one with God. [...]

[Tauler continues:]

The principal reason why so few arrive at this happy state is that they do not persevere in seeking it. The majority of them spend much time and effort with but little fruit.

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Source: John G. Arintero, The Mystical Evolution, trans. Jordan Aumann (Rockford, IL: TAN Books, 1978), 2:46-48.