carefully guard the faith

See, then, how carefully thou oughtest to preserve this faith. Doubtless, thou must also watch over other virtues, over charity, patience, prudence, temperance, just as thou dost over the other members of the body, which do their part also in giving life to it; but thou art bound in an especial manner to watch over faith, because it may be described as the heart of the soul: " With all watchfulness keep thy heart, because life issueth out from it."4 Oh, how carefully shouldst thou drive away every little temptation against faith ! I know that when any temptations which disturb thee are involuntary, thou needest not be greatly concerned about them. Every day renew thy promises to God; invoke Him, embrace Him, adore Him : tell Him that thou swearest allegiance to Him in spite of all His enemies, and then do not trouble thyself about anything to the contrary which may be suggested by thy thoughts. But thou must be careful never to give admission to these dangerous thoughts. Thou must have a horror of associating with those who now and then make use of free, not to say rash, expressions in matters of faith. Avoid them, flee from them. Do not allow thy mind to become entangled in those difficult questions which thou mayest indeed be clever enough to take in to a certain point, but which thou art certainly too ignorant to explain. Bow thy head reverently in the obedience of faith, and acknowledge that the vision of many saints of eminent learning, of a St. Jerome, an Ambrose, an Augustine, a Thomas, penetrated where thine cannot: "They that go down to the sea in ships (not in a little boat like thine) doing business in the great waters, these have seen the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep."1

The Manna of the Soul