"Set free from
human judgment, we should count as true only what God sees in us, what he
knows, and what he judges. God does not judge as man does. Man sees only the
countenance, only the exterior. God penetrates to the depths of our hearts. God
does not change as man does. His judgment is in no way inconstant. He is the
only one upon whom we should rely. How happy we are then, and how peaceful! We
are no longer dazzled by appearances, or stirred up by opinions; we are united
to the truth and depend upon it alone. I am praised, blamed, treated with
indifference, disdained, ignored, or forgotten; none of this can touch me. I
will be no less than I am. Men and women want to play at being a creator. They
want to give me existence in their opinion, but this existence that they want
to give me is nothingness. It is an illusion, a shadow, an appearance, that is,
at bottom, nothingness. What is this shadow, always following me, behind me, at
my side? Is it me, or something that belongs to me? No. Yet does not this shadow
seem to move with me? No matter: it is not me. So it is with the judgements of
men: they would follow me everywhere, paint me, sketch me, make me move
according to their whim, and, in the end, give me some sort of existence ...
but I am disabused of this error. I am content with a hidden life. How peaceful
it is! Whether I truly live this Christian life of which St. Paul speaks, I do
not know, nor can I know with certainty. But I hope that I do, and I trust in
God's goodness to help me."
— Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, Meditations
for Lent, p. 99-101
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