Among the other great virtues one reads about concerning the virgin Saint Cecilia is this: that she always carried the gospel of Christ Jesus hidden in her breast. And you should consider this to mean that she had written out for herself some of the most moving passages from the life of Lord Jesus Christ, and she meditated on these day and night with all her heart and with all her intention and fervor. And once she had finished these meditations, she started again from the beginning, dwelling on them again and savoring their sweetness. And she took them into her heart, keeping and treasuring them carefully there so that they would not let any vain thought enter. And so I invite you to do the same, because of all spiritual exercises this is the most necessary and the most useful and can lead others [f. 1v] to a higher level. For you will never find any place where you can learn better to fend off the seductive pomps of the devil and other foes than in the life of Jesus Christ, which was so completely perfect and without any flaw. And so, when the soul learns to meditate on the life of Lord Jesus Christ with loving attention and desire, practicing this with humility, she enters into a state of familiar ease and trust and love with Lord Jesus Christ, so much so that other things come to seem worthless and unimportant.

And also by meditating on the life of Lord Jesus Christ you can learn what to do and how to gain strength for what you must guard against. I tell you first of all, then, that holy meditation on the life of Lord Jesus Christ comforts the mind and makes it stable against the vanity and malice of the world, as is clear from the life of Saint Cecilia, whose heart was so filled with the life of Lord Jesus that no vain thing could enter it. [f. 2r] So when she was in the midst of the great pomp of the wedding, surrounded by such vanity and by the singing of organs and other pleasing and beautiful instruments, she stayed stable and firm in her heart and sang only to God, saying, ?My Lord Jesus Christ, make my heart and my body immaculate, so that no sin may cause me to falter.? And the life of Lord Jesus Christ also strengthens one against tribulation and adversity, as one can see through the holy martyrs. And concerning this, Saint Bernard says that the martyr?s ability to endure suffering comes from this: that by immersing himself again and again in the wounds of Lord Jesus Christ, meditating on them with love and reflecting on them often, he learns to dwell in them through grace. In this way the martyr remains completely joyful, even when his whole body is lacerated. Now where, then, is the soul of the holy martyr when he suffers martyrdom? It is, without doubt, in the wounds of his Master, Christ Jesus.

And you need not be amazed by this, [f. 2v] because they are wide enough to enter by way of meditation on his Passion. And you should know that if the soul were to remain in the body of the martyr when he was tortured, he could not possibly bear the torments; but when the soul rests in the wounds of Lord Jesus Christ through love, the martyr remains constant and steadfast through all the sufferings. And the same is true for the holy confessors and many other saints who rejoice in tribulation and adversity. And why is this, if not because they are constantly thinking and meditating on the life and Passion of their Lord and they remain focused solely on this? Here, too, you can learn to withstand trials, so that you cannot be deceived or fall into the hands of the devil and of the vices. For the perfection of all the virtues is found here; and here you will find the model and doctrine of the most excellent charity, and of extreme poverty, and of profound humility, and of wisdom and prayer and meekness [f. 3r] and obedience and patience and of all the other virtues. And so Saint Bernard says, ?Vainly and without fruit is he who strives to acquire virtue by any means other than from the Lord of Virtues, whose teaching is the seed of prudence, whose mercy is the work of justice, whose life is the mirror of temperance, whose death is the sign of fortitude.

? So whoever follows him cannot go astray and cannot be deceived, for following him and acquiring his virtues is the summit of perfection. And by doing this one can enter into a state in which the heart is enflamed by the fervor of charity and enlightened by divine virtue, so much so that one becomes clothed in virtue, with the power to discern the true from the false. And in this way many who are simple and unlettered have gained knowledge of the lofty and profound things of God. (excerpted from prologue).