JOHANN TAULER
(1300 - 1361)
As the iron is drawn by the magnet, so our Lord draws after him all hearts that have ever been touched by him. When iron is moved by the power of the magnet, it rises above its own nature and moves toward the magnet, although this is foreign to its natural propensity. It cannot rest in itself but must rise above itself. This is just what happens when the depths of people's souls have been touched by this magnet, which is Christ. Neither joy nor sorrow can hold them back. They must rise above themselves to him. They forget their own natures now and they follow him; and their following of him is purer, truer, more complete and effortless according as they have been more especially touched….
People [who make a good beginning but then abandon it] remind one of useless hounds in the chase. The game is good, but they have not caught its scent; the leaders which they follow are good, and if they were to stay in the hunt they would be sure of being in at the kill…. They let the others run ahead while they lag behind….
There are some who say in their blindness: "God does not touch or inspire me as he does other persons." God touches and moves, warns and desires all people equally, and he wants one quite as much as another. The inequality lies in the way in which his touch, his warnings, and his gifts are received. Often it happens that when God comes to us with his touches and his gifts, he finds the soul occupied. Other guests are there, and he has to turn away. 