Vigils Reading

A reading from

JOHN TAULER

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Our Lord said to his disciples: “You shall be witnesses unto me in

Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the

earth.” Jerusalem was a city of peace, but also of tribulation, for there it was that

Christ underwent such infinite suffering and a bitter death. Children, we are to

be his witnesses in this city, not by mere words but in truth, by our life and by

following him according to our strength.

There are plenty of persons who would gladly be Christ’s witnesses in

peace, when everything goes along just as they would wish. They would like to

be holy, provided that their pious exercises and work never become irksome;

they would be glad enough to enjoy, desire, or know the things of God, if there

were no bitterness, labor, or tedium involved. But once they are assailed by

strong temptations and spiritual darkness, as soon as they no longer feel or

enjoy the nearness of God, and are left destitute inwardly and outwardly, they

fall away and are not true witnesses at all.

Peace is what all are striving for; they seek after it in every direction, in

every occupation, and in all their ways of life. Oh, if we could only shake

ourselves free from this tendency, and learn to seek peace in tribulation. Only

there is true peace born, peace which will last and really endure. To seek

elsewhere is to go astray inevitably. You will always find that this is true. If only

we could seek joy in sadness, peace in trouble, simplicity in multiplicity, comfort

in bitterness! This is the way to become true witnesses to God.

Before his death our Lord always promised his disciples peace, and also

after his resurrection he promised them all peace. Yet they never obtained peace

externally. Nonetheless, they found peace in tribulation and love in suffering. In

death they found life; to be cross-examined, judged, and condemned was for

them a joyous victory. These were true witnesses.

There are many who have been inundated with consolation in body and

soul. I have known some who were filled with such sweetness in every fiber of

their being. And yet, when suffering and darkness came upon them, when they

were forsaken inwardly and outwardly, they did not know which way to turn.

They stopped short, and it all came to nothing.

When terrible storms break upon us, buffeting us with desolations and

temptations, then it is, if only we can break through and weather the storm, that

we shall find essential peace, a peace that no one can take from us.