¹ In the Church of God, my brothers, we hold the highest place through God’s mercy; therefore, we must take the greatest care to steadfastly maintain what we have once resolved and diligently carry out, through good works, what we outwardly profess. To achieve this, it is necessary that we remove foolish and worthless thoughts from our hearts and, according to the rule of the life of perfection, enter upon the path of God. Forgetting what is behind—namely, temporal things—we must, with the Apostle, press forward to what lies ahead, saying to our Creator: “Draw me after you; we will run in the fragrance of your ointments”.

² By ourselves, we cannot reach the way of truth or advance in it; therefore, we must seek the grace that goes before us, saying, “Draw me after you,” so that we may run to you. It is fitting that “Draw me after you” is said first and “we will run” follows, because without the grace of God going before us, we cannot begin a good work, nor without that same grace following us, can we complete it. Thus, it is said in that prayer: “May your grace, O Lord, go before us and follow after us” [Collect from the Roman Missal].

³ It is also fitting that it says “we will run,” for in the way of God, we must not advance at a slow pace but run with great joy and eagerness. The Apostle warns: “So run that you may obtain it”. One runs when he advances toward God with all his strength; one runs when he does not grow weary in doing good, just as the Prophet says of Christ: “He rejoiced as a giant to run his course”. Christ, indeed, ran the way of God because “he did not stand in the way of sinners”, meaning he was never held back by the weight of sin.

⁴ We must run—but how should we run? Listen and learn. We must run, I say, “in the fragrance of your ointments”. What are these ointments in whose fragrance we run after Christ? They are the examples of the saints who have gone before us. Ointments are made from a mixture of various flowers and spices. The different spices represent the various virtues of the saints, which, like fragrant aromas, are gathered through the virtue of charity and carefully prepared for our benefit.

⁵ Of such an ointment, it is said: “Dead flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment”. The dead flies are vain thoughts that invade our hearts, and we must drive them away—like using a fan—through the practice of prayer, in case they rob us of the sweetness of the ointment. For indeed, the dead flies destroy the fragrance of the ointment when vain thoughts take away the joy of virtue and the observances of divine service that we have received from the ancient fathers.

⁶ Therefore, let us carefully contemplate the examples of the saints who have gone before us and hasten to enter into that rest. Let us run and not falter in our efforts so that we may say with the Apostle: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race,” and thus “henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the just Judge, will give me on that day”, Christ who is blessed above all things, forever and ever. Amen.