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Oh, would to God that men kept Death always before their eyes! If they did they certainly would not lead such sinful lives. Poor sinners! They put away the thought of Death whenever it presents itself, and think only of living for pleasure and amusement, as if they were never to die. But one day the end will come for all.
I.
During their lives the constant thought of the Saints was to please God and sanctify themselves. Hence when death approaches, they go with confidence to meet it, for death will deliver them from the miseries and dangers of the present life, and unite them perfectly with God. But the man who has thought only of his pleasures and his own ease, and has neglected to recommend himself to God, or to reflect on the account which he must one day render, cannot meet death with confidence. Poor sinners! They banish the thought of death whenever it presents itself to them, and think only of living for pleasure and amusement, as if they never were to die. But for each of them the end must one day come. The end is come; the end is come (Ezech. vii. 2). And when this end comes every one must gather the fruit he has sown during his life. For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap (Gal. vi. 8). If he has sown deeds of holiness, he shall receive rewards of eternal life; but if he has sown evil deeds he shall reap chastisements and eternal death.
The scenes of his past life are the first things that will rush on the mind of the dying man, when the news of death is announced to him. He will then see things in a light far different from that in which he viewed them during life. The acts of revenge which appeared to him lawful, the scandals he thought so little of, speaking obscenely, injuring the character of his neighbour, the pleasures which were regarded as innocent, the acts of injustice he held to be allowable -- all these things will then appear what they really were -- grievous sins and offences against God, each of which merited hell. Alas! Those blind sinners who voluntarily blind themselves during life by shutting their eyes to the light shall, at death, involuntarily see all the evil they have done. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened (Is. xxxv. 5).
II.
By the light of the candle which lights him to death the wicked shall see and shall be angry (Ps.cxi. 10).
He shall see all the irregularities of his past life -- his frequent abuse of the Sacraments; Confessions made without sorrow or purpose of amendment; contracts entered into and completed with an uneasy conscience; injury done to the property and reputation of others; immodest jests, rancours, and vindictive thoughts.
He shall then see the bad example he gave to the young who feared God, and whom he treated with contempt and turned into derision by calling them pious hypocrites and other reproachful names.
He shall see so many lights and calls received from God, so many admonitions of confessors, and so many resolutions and promises made but afterwards neglected.
He shall see particularly the bad maxims by which he regulated his conduct during life. "It is necessary to seek the esteem of the world, and to preserve one's honour." But is it necessary for a man to preserve his honour by trampling on the honour due to God? "We must have our amusements as often as we can." As if he could indulge in amusements that insult God! "Of what use to the world is a man who has no money?" "If we do not make money we cannot appear among our equals." Such are the maxims of the worldling during life; but at death he will change his language. He will then see the truth of that maxim of Christ: What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul? (Matt. xvi. 26). Unhappy me, the worldling will exclaim on the bed of death, I have had so much time to settle my conscience, and behold I am now at the point of death, and I find my soul burdened with many sins! How little it would have cost me to have broken off such a friendship; to have gone to Confession every week; to have avoided certain occasions of sin! Ah! very little, but even should it have cost me a great deal of pain and labour, I should have submitted to every inconvenience in order to save my soul. Salvation is of greater importance to me than the dominion of the entire world. But, alas! the sentiments of negligent Christians at death are as fruitless as the sorrows of the damned, who mourn in hell over their sins as the cause of their perdition, but mourn in vain.
At death they will derive no consolation from their past amusements or pomps, from their exalted dignities, or from the humiliation of their rivals. On the contrary these things, like so many swords, shall pierce their hearts. Evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction (Ps. cxxxix. 12). At present the lovers of the world seek after banquets, dances, gambling, and scenes of laughter and joy; but, at death this laughter and joy, as St. James says, shall be turned into mourning and affliction. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into sorrow (James iv. 9). Of this we see frequent examples. A young man who entertains his companions by sallies of wit, and by immodest jests, is seized with a severe illness. His friends come to see him, and find him overwhelmed with grief and melancholy. He indulges no more in jests, or laughter, or conversation. If he speaks at all, his words are words of terror or despair. His friends ask why he speaks so despondently -- why he is so melancholy. Have courage, they say, your illness is not dangerous. They endeavour to inspire hope and cheerfulness, but he is silent. And how can he be cheerful when he feels his conscience is burdened with so many sins, and sees he must soon appear before Jesus Christ to give an account of his entire life, and that he has much reason to fear he shall receive the sentence of eternal death? He will then say: O fool that I have been! Oh, that I had loved God! Had I loved Him, I should not now find myself in these straits, in this anguish! Oh, that I had time to settle the troubles of my conscience!
Spiritual Reading
THE MISERY OF RELAPSING INTO SIN
Let us tremble at the thought of relapsing into sin, and let us take care not to avail ourselves of the mercy of God to continue to offend Him. "He," says St. Augustine, "Who has promised pardon to those who repent, has promised repentance to no one." God has indeed promised pardon to all who repent of their sins, but He has not promised to any one the grace to repent of the faults he has committed. Sorrow for sin is a pure gift of God; if He withholds it, how will you repent? And without repentance, how can you obtain pardon? Ah! the Lord will not allow Himself to be mocked. Be not deceived, says St. Paul, God is not mocked (Gal. vi. 7). St. Isidore tells us that the man who repeats the sin which he before detested is not a penitent, but a scoffer of God's majesty. And Tertullian teaches that where there is no amendment repentance is not sincere.
Repent, therefore, said Saint Peter, in a discourse to the Jews, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out (Acts. iii. 19). Many repent, but are not converted. They feel a certain sorrow for the irregularities of their lives, but do not sincerely return to God. They go to Confession, strike their breast, and promise to amend; but they do not make a firm resolution to change their lives. They who resolve firmly on a change of life, persevere, or at least preserve themselves for a considerable time in the grace of God. But they who relapse into sin soon after Confession show, indeed, that they repent but that they are not converted; and such persons shall in the end die an unhappy death. "Oftentimes," says St. Gregory, "that happens to the wicked in their compunction, which happens to the just in their temptations to sin." As the just have frequent temptations to sin, but yield not to them, because their will abhors sin, so sinners feel certain impulses to virtue; but these are not sufficient to produce a true conversion. The Wise Man tells us that mercy shall be shown to him who confesses his sins and abandons them, but he does not say mercy is for those who merely confess them. He that shall confess (his sins) and forsake them, shall obtain mercy (Prov. xxviii. 13). He, then, who does not give up, but returns to sin after Confession, shall not obtain mercy from God, but shall die a victim of Divine justice. He may expect to die the death of a certain young man, who, as is related in the history of England, was in the habit of relapsing into sins against purity. He always fell back into the same sins after Confession. At the hour of death he confessed his sins, and died in a manner which gave reason to hope for his salvation. But, while a holy priest was celebrating or preparing to celebrate Mass for his departed soul, the miserable young man appeared to him and said that he was damned. He added that, at the point of death, being tempted to indulge a bad thought, he felt himself, as it were, forced to consent, and, as he was accustomed to do, he yielded to the temptation, and thus was lost.
Is there, then, no means of salvation for relapsing sinners? I do not say this; but I adopt the maxim of physicians: "In malignant diseases powerful remedies are necessary." To return to the way of salvation, the relapsing sinner must do great violence to himself. The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away (Matt. xi. 12). In the beginning of a new life the relapsing sinner must do violence to himself in order to root out the bad habits he has contracted, and to acquire habits of virtue; for when he has acquired habits of virtue, the observance of the Divine commands will become easy and even sweet. The Lord once said to St. Bridget, that, for those who bear with fortitude the first punctures of the thorns which they experience in the attacks of the senses, in, avoiding occasions of sin, and in withdrawing from dangerous conversations, these thorns are by degrees changed into roses.
But to use the necessary violence, and to lead a life of regularity, you must adopt the proper means; otherwise you will do nothing. These are the means:
1. After rising in the morning you must make acts of thanksgiving, of the love of God, and an offering of the actions of the day. You must also renew your resolution never to offend God, and beg of Jesus Christ and His holy Mother to preserve you from sin during the day. Afterwards make your Meditation and hear Mass.
2. During the day make a Spiritual Reading and a Visit to the Most Holy Sacrament.
3. In the evening say the Rosary and make an examination of conscience.
4. Receive Holy Communion at least once a week, or more frequently if your directors advise you. Be careful to choose a Confessor to whom you will regularly go to Confession.
5. It is also very useful to make a Spiritual Retreat every year in some Religious house.
6. Honour the Mother of God every day by some particular devotion, and by fasting every Saturday.
She is the Mother of perseverance, and promises to obtain it for all who serve her. They that work by me shall not sin (Ecclus. xxiv. 30). Above all, it is necessary to ask of God every morning the gift of perseverance, and to beg of the Blessed Virgin to obtain it for you, and particularly in the time of temptation, by invoking the Names of Jesus and Mary as long as the temptation lasts. Happy the man who will continue to act in this manner, and shall be found so doing when Jesus Christ shall come to judge him. Blessed is that servant, whom, when his lord shall come, he shall find so doing (Matt. xxiv. 46).
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
Jesus Christ, then, died for each one of us, in order that each one of us might live only to his Redeemer, Who died for love of us. Christ died for all, that they also who live may not now live to themselves, but unto him who died for them and rose again (2 Cor. v. 15). He that lives for himself directs all his desires, fears, and pains, and places all his happiness in himself. But he that lives to Jesus Christ places all his desires in loving and pleasing Jesus Christ; all his joys in gratifying Him; all his fears lest he should displease Him. He is only afflicted when he sees Jesus despised, and he rejoices only in seeing Him loved by others. This it is to live to Jesus Christ, and this He justly claims from us all. To win this from us He has offered all the pains He suffered for love of us.
Does He ask too much in this? No, says St. Gregory, He cannot ask too much when He has given such tokens of His love that He seems to have become a fool for our sake. Without reserve He has given Himself wholly for us; He has, therefore, a right to require that we should give ourselves wholly to Him, and fix all our love upon Him; and if we take from Him any portion of it, by loving anything either apart from Him or not for His sake, He has reason to complain of us; for then we do not love Him as we should.
II.
If we love not Jesus Christ, we must love creatures. And, in comparison with Jesus Christ, what are creatures but worms of the earth, dust, smoke, and vanity? To St. Clement, Pope, was offered a heap of silver, gold, and gems, if he would renounce Jesus Christ; the Saint, however, gave only a sigh, and then exclaimed: "O my Jesus, Thou infinite Good! How dost Thou endure to be esteemed by men as less than the rubbish of this earth?" "No," says St. Bernard, "it was not rashness which made the Martyrs encounter hot irons, nails, and the most cruel deaths; it was love for Jesus Christ, when they saw Him dead upon the Cross." Behold the example of St. Mark and St. Marcellian who, when they were fastened with nails through their hands and feet, and were rebuked by the tyrants as fools for suffering so cruel a torment rather than renounce Jesus Christ, replied that they had never known greater delights than they then experienced when transfixed with these nails. And all Saints, in order to give pleasure to Jesus Christ Who was thus tormented and despised for our sake, gladly embrace poverty, persecutions, contempt, infirmities, pains and death. Souls betrothed to Jesus Christ upon the Cross know nothing more glorious to them than to bear the signs of the Crucified, which are His sufferings.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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One of the greatest causes of distress and anguish to the careless Christian at the hour of death is the remembrance of the bad use he made of the time he should have employed to acquire merits for Heaven, but which he used, alas, only to heap up punishment for himself in hell. Oh, that I had time to repair the past! Time shall be no longer!
I.
Oh, that I had time to repair the past! Thus will the careless Christian speak. But when? When the oil in the lamp is consumed: when he is on the point of entering into eternity. One of the greatest causes of the distress and anguish of the careless Christian at the hour of death is the remembrance of the bad use he has made of the time he ought to have used to acquire merits for Heaven, but which he has used to damn his soul. Oh, that I had time! Do you seek for time? You have lost so many nights in gambling, and so many years in indulging the senses, without ever thinking of your soul, and now you seek for time! But now time shall be no longer (Apoc. x. 6). Were you not already admonished by preachers to be prepared for death? Were you not told that it would come upon you when you least expected it? Be you ready, says Jesus Christ, for at what hour you think not the Son of man will come (Luke xii. 40). You have despised My admonitions, and voluntarily squandered the time My goodness bestowed upon you in spite of your demerits; but now time is at an end! Listen to the words in which the priest that assists you will tell you to depart from this world: Go forth, Christian soul, from this world. And where will you go? To eternity! To eternity! Death respects neither subjects nor monarchs; when it comes, it does not wait even for a moment. Thou hast appointed his bounds, which cannot be passed (Job xiv. 5).
Oh, what terror will the dying man feel at hearing the assisting priest tell him to depart from this world! What dismay will he experience in saying to himself: "This morning I am living, and this evening I shall be dead! Today I am in this house; tomorrow I shall be in the grave; and where will my soul be found?" His terror will be increased when he sees the death-candle lighted, and when he hears the confessor order the relatives to withdraw from his chamber, and to return to it no more. It shall be still more increased when the confessor gives him the Crucifix, and tells him to embrace it, saying: "Take Jesus Christ to your heart, and think no more of this world." He takes the Crucifix, and kisses it; but, in kissing it, he trembles at the remembrance of the many injuries he has offered to Jesus Christ. He would now wish to repent sincerely of all his injuries to his Saviour, but he sees that his repentance is forced by the necessity of his approaching death. "He," says St. Augustine "who is abandoned by sin before he abandons it, gives it up not freely, but through necessity."
II.
The common delusion of worldlings is that earthly things are great, and that the things of Heaven, as being distant and uncertain, appear to be of little value. They regard tribulations as insupportable, and grievous sins as unimportant. The miserable beings are as if they were shut up in a room filled with smoke, which hinders them from seeing the objects before their eyes. But at the hour of death this darkness will vanish, and the soul will begin to see things in their real colours. At that hour all temporal things appear to be what they really are -- vanity, lies, deception; and the things of eternity will assume their true value. Oh! How important will Judgment, Hell, and Eternity, so much disregarded during life, appear at the time of death! According as they will begin to appear in their true colours, the fears of the dying man will increase. "The nearer the sentence of the Judge approaches, the more sensible the fear of condemnation becomes," says St. Gregory. Hence the sick man will say: "Oh, in what anguish do I die! Unhappy me! Oh, that I knew that so unhappy a death awaited me!" You did not know it, but you should have foreseen it; for you knew that a good death should not be expected after a wicked life.
Spiritual Reading
THE PREDOMINANT PASSION.
Our passions are not of themselves bad or hurtful. When regulated according to the dictates of reason and prudence, they do us no injury, but are, on the contrary, profitable to the soul; but, when disorderly, they are productive of irreparable mischief to those who obey them; for, when any passion takes possession of the heart, it obscures the truth, and makes the soul incapable of distinguishing between good and evil. Ecclesiasticus implored the Lord to deliver him from a mind under the sway of passion. Give me not over to a shameless and foolish mind (Ecclus. xxiii. 6). Let us, then, be careful not to allow any bad passion to rule over us.
Only this have I found, said Solomon, that God made man right, and he hath entangled himself with an infinity of questions (Eccles. vii. 30). God made man right -- that is, in the state of justice; but, by giving ear to the serpent, man exposed himself to temptation, and was conquered. He rebelled against God, and his passions rebelled against himself. These are the passions which, according to St. Paul, cause a continual war between the flesh and the spirit. For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh (Gal. v. 17). However, with the aid of Divine grace, it is in man's power to resist these passions, and not allow them to rule over him. It is, as the Lord told Cain, even in the power of man to rule over them, and to bring them into subjection to reason. But the lust thereof shall be under thee, and thou shalt have dominion over it (Gen, iv. 7). Let the assaults of the flesh and of the devil, to make us abandon the way of God, be ever so violent, Jesus Christ has said: Lo! the kingdom of God is within you (Luke xvii. 21). Within us God has established a kingdom, in which the will is the queen that ought to rule over all the senses and passions. And what greater honour or glory can a man have than to be the master of his passions?
The proper regulation of the motions of the mind constitutes the interior mortification so much recommended by spiritual masters, and secures the salvation of the soul. The health of the body depends on the regulation of the humours -- if one of them predominate to excess, it causes death. But the health of the soul consists in the proper control of the passions by reason. But, when any passion rules over reason, it first enslaves, and then kills the soul.
Many pay great attention to their external conduct; they endeavour to appear modest and respectful; but, at the same time, they cherish in their hearts sinful affections against justice, charity, humility, or chastity. For them is prepared the chastisement with which the Saviour threatened the Scribes and Pharisees, who were careful to have their cups and dishes clean, but nourished within unjust and unclean thoughts. Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees -- hypocrites; because you make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish; but, within you are full of rapine and uncleanness (Matt. xxiii. 25). The Royal Prophet says that all the beauty of a soul that is the true daughter of God consists in an interior good will. All the glory of the king's daughter is within (Ps. xliv. 14). Of what use is it, says St. Jerome, to abstain from food, and at the same time to allow the mind to swell with pride? or to abstain from wine, and to be intoxicated with anger? Christians who act in this manner do not lay aside their vices; they only cover them with the mantle of devotion. A man, then, must divest himself of all bad passions; otherwise he will not be the king over but the slave of his passions, and in opposition to the command of the Apostle sin shall reign in his heart. Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body, so as to obey the lusts thereof (Rom. vi. 12). Man, then, is, as St. Thomas says, the king of himself when he regulates his body and his carnal affections according to reason. But, according to St. Jerome, "when the soul serves vice she loses the honour of a throne." She loses the honour of a queen, and becomes, as our Lord says, the slave of sin. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin (Jo. viii. 34).
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
St. Augustine says to us: "It is not permitted to you to love a little: let Him Who was wholly fixed upon the Cross for you be wholly fixed in your hearts." Let us, therefore, unite ourselves wholly with St. Paul, and say with him: I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me... I live in the faith of the Son of God who loved me and delivered himself for me (Gal. ii. 20). On this St. Bernard remarks: "It is as if he had said, -- To all other things I am dead and for them I have no feeling or regard; but the things which are of Christ, these find me a living man, and prepared to act. Therefore St. Paul says: To me to live is Christ (Phil. i. 21), meaning by these brief words, "Jesus Christ is my life, for He is all my mind, all my hope, all my desire, because He is all my love." It is a sure promise; if we are dead with Him we shall also live with Him; if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us." The kings of the earth, after a victory over their enemies, confer a part of all they have gained upon those who have fought on their side. This Jesus Christ does on the Day of Judgment; He gives a share of the blessings of Heaven to all who have toiled and suffered for His glory. O my Jesus, infinitely lovely, grant that I may no longer live ungrateful to so great a good! For the past I have lived in forgetfulness of Thy love, and of all Thou hast suffered for me; but henceforth I will think of nothing but loving Thee. O Wounds of Jesus, Wounds of love! O Blood of Jesus, inebriating with love! O death of Jesus, cause me to die to every love which is not love for Him. O Jesus, I love Thee above everything. I love Thee with all my soul; I love Thee more than myself. I love Thee, and because I love Thee, I wish to die of grief because I have so often turned my back upon Thee, and have despised Thy grace. By Thy merits, O my crucified Saviour, give me Thy love, and make me all Thine own.
O Mary, my hope, make me love Jesus Christ, and I ask for nothing more.
II.
The Apostle says: If we be dead with him, we shall live also with him (2 Tim. ii. 11). To die with Christ means the denial of ourselves, that is, of our own inclinations, which, if we deny not, we shall come to deny Jesus Christ, Who will justly deny us on the day of account. And here we must remark that we not only deny Jesus Christ when we deny the Faith, but also when we refuse to obey Him in anything He desires of us; as, for example, when, for love of Him, we will not forgive an injury we have received, when we give way to the love of vain honour, when we will not break through a friendship which imperils the friendship of Jesus Christ, or we yield to the fear of being counted ungrateful, while our first gratitude is due to Jesus Christ, Who has given His Blood and Life for us, which no creature whatever has done.
O Divine Love! how is it that Thou art despised by men? O man, look at this Cross of the Son of God, Who as an innocent Lamb, sacrifices Himself to pay for thy sins, and thus to gain thy love! Look at Him! Look at Him! And love Him!
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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A dying man may appear to have true and sincere sorrow for the wickedness of his past life. But is his sorrow true sorrow? The wailings of many careless Christians on their death bed do not proceed from sorrow but from fear. As St. Augustine says; They are not afraid of sin but of burning.
I.
The time a careless Christian will have when death comes will not be fitted for settling troubles of conscience. First of all the time itself will be very short; for at the commencement, and for some days during the progress of the disease, the sick man thinks only of physicians, of remedies, and of making his last will. During that time his relatives, friends, and even the physicians deceive him by holding out hopes of recovery. Hence, deluded by these hopes, he will not be able for some time to persuade himself that his death is near at hand. When will he begin to persuade himself that death is near? Only when he will be at the very point of death. This is another reason why that time is unfit for repairing the evils of the soul. At that time the dying man is sick in mind as well as in body. He will be assailed by pains in the chest, debility, spasms, and delirium. These will render him unable to make any effort to excite true detestation of his past sins, or to apply to the disorders of his past life a remedy which will calm the terrors of his conscience. The news of his approaching death will astound him to such a degree that he will scarcely be alive at all.
A person labouring under a severe headache, which deprives him of sleep for two or three nights, will not even attempt to dictate a letter. And at death, when he feels but little, understands but little, and sees only a medley of things which fills him with terror, the careless Christian begins to settle a conscience burdened with the sins of thirty or forty years. Then are verified the words of the Gospel: The night cometh when no man can work (Jo. ix. 4). Then his conscience will say to him: Now thou canst be steward no longer (Luke xvi. 2). There is no more time for negotiation; what is done, is done! When distress cometh upon them they will seek for peace, and there shall be none. Trouble shall come upon trouble (Ezech. vii. 25, 26).
We often hear it said that some person who led a bad life afterwards died a good death; that by his sighs and tears he gave proof of his sincere repentance. The wailings of such persons proceed not from sorrow for their sins but from the fear of imminent death, says St. Augustine. He was not afraid of sinning, says the holy Doctor, but of burning. Till that moment the dying man loved sinful objects: will he then detest them? Perhaps he will then love them with more tenderness; for the objects of our affections become more dear to us when we are afraid of losing them. The celebrated master of St. Bruno died with signs of repentance; but from his coffin he spoke and said he was damned. If at the hour of death, even the Saints lament that on account of the state of the head they can think but little of God, or make but little effort to excite good acts, how can the negligent Christian make these acts at death, when he was not in the habit of making them during life? It may be said that he appeared to have a sincere sorrow for the wickedness of his past life. But, was his sorrow true sorrow? The devil persuades him that the wish to have sorrow is true sorrow; but he deceives him. The dying man will say: "I am sorry from the bottom of my heart," but these words shall come from a heart of stone. From the midst of the rocks they shall give forth their voices (Ps. viii. 12). But he has been frequently at Confession, and has received all the Sacraments; he has died in perfect resignation. Ah! the criminal who goes to be executed appears to be perfectly resigned: but why? Because he cannot escape from the officers of justice, who bring him in chains to the place of execution.
II.
O moment on which Eternity depends! This moment made the Saints tremble at the hour of death, and made them exclaim: "O God, where shall I be in a few hours?" "Sometimes," says St. Gregory, "the soul even of the just man is disturbed by the terror of vengeance." What, then, shall the careless Christian, who has disregarded God, feel when he sees the scaffold prepared on which he must die? His eyes shall see his own destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty (Job xxi. 20). He shall see with his own eyes death prepared for his soul, and shall from that moment begin to feel the anger of the Lord. The Viaticum which he must receive, the Extreme Unction which will be administered to him, the Crucifix placed in his hands, the recommendation of the soul which is read by the assisting priest, the lighting of the blessed candle -- all these shall form, as it were, the scaffold of Divine justice. The poor sick man perceives that he is already in a cold sweat, that he can no longer move or speak, that his breathing has begun to fail: in a word, he sees that the moment of death is at hand; his soul defiled with sins; the Judge waiting for him; hell opening under his feet; and in this confusion of darkness and terror he shall enter into Eternity.
Oh, that they would be wise, and would understand, and would provide for their last end (Deut. xxxii. 29). Behold, how the Holy Ghost exhorts us to provide now for the terrible straits and distress by which we shall be encompassed at death, and to adjust at once the accounts we must render to God; for it will be then impossible to settle these accounts so as to save our souls.
My crucified Jesus, I will not wait till death to embrace Thee; I embrace Thee at this moment. I love Thee above all things; and because I love Thee I repent with my whole heart of all the offences and insults I have offered to Thee, Who art infinite goodness; and I purpose and hope, with Thy grace, to love Thee always and never more offend Thee. Through the merits of Thy Passion I ask Thee to assist me.
Spiritual Reading
THE PREDOMINANT PASSION
St. James exhorts us to treat the body and its lusts as we would treat a horse. We put a bridle in the mouth of a horse, and we bring him wherever we please. We put bits in the mouths of horses, that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body (James iii. 3). Hence, as soon as we feel the cravings of any bad passion, we must restrain it with the bridle of reason; for, if we yield to its demands, it will bring us down to the level of brute animals that obey not the dictates of reason but the impulse of their appetites. And man, when he was in honour, did not understand: he is compared to senseless beasts, and is become like to them (Ps. xlviii. 13). "It is worse," says St. John Chrysostom, "to become like a senseless beast than to be born one, for, to be naturally without reason is tolerable." The Saint says that to want reason by nature is not disgraceful; but, to be born with the gift of reason and afterwards to live like a beast, obeying the lusts of the flesh, is degrading to man, and makes him worse than a senseless brute. What would you say if you saw a man who would of his own accord live in a stable with horses, feed with them on the same food, and sleep on the same bedding? The man who submits to the tyranny of a passion does what is far worse in the eyes of God.
It was thus the Gentiles lived, who, because the darkness of their understanding prevented them from discerning between good and evil, went wherever their sensual appetite led them. That you walk not, says St. Paul, as also the Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having their understanding darkened (Ephes. iv. 17, 18). Hence they were abandoned to their vices -- impurity and avarice, and blindly obeyed the commands of their passions. Who, despairing, have given themselves up to lasciviousness, unto the working of all uncleanness, unto covetousness (Ephes. iv. 19). To this miserable state are all Christians reduced who, despising reason and God, follow the dictates of passion. In punishment of their sins God abandons them, as He abandoned the Gentiles, to their own wicked desires. Wherefore God gave them up to the desires of their own heart (Rom. i. 24). This is the greatest of all chastisements.
St. Augustine writes that two cities may be built up in the heart of a Christian: one by the love of God, the other by self-love. Thus, if the love of God reign within us, we shall despise ourselves: if self-love reign, we shall despise God. But, in conquering self-love consists the victory to which will be given a crown of eternal glory. This was the great maxim St. Francis Xavier always inculcated upon his disciples: "Conquer yourself! Conquer yourself!" All the thoughts and feelings of a man, says the Scripture, are inclined to evil from his youth. The imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil from his youth (Gen. viii. 21). Hence we must, during our whole life, zealously combat and conquer the evil inclinations which continually rise within us, as noxious weeds spring up in our gardens. Some will ask how they can free themselves from bad passions, and how prevent them from springing up within them. St. Gregory gives the answer: It is one thing to look at these beasts in the fields and another to lodge them within the heart. It is one thing, says the Saint, to look at these beasts, or bad passions, when they are outside, and another to harbour them in the heart. As long as they are outside they can do us no harm; but if we admit them into the soul they devour us.
All bad passions spring from self-love. This is, as Jesus Christ teaches all who wish to follow Him, the principal enemy we have to contend with; and this enemy we must conquer by self-denial. If any one shall come after me, let him deny himself (Matt. xvi. 24). "Unless we banish self-love from the heart the love of God cannot enter," says Thomas a Kempis. Blessed Angela of Foligno used to say that she was more afraid of self-love than of the devil, because self-love has greater power than the devil to draw us into sin. St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi used to say the same, as we read in her Life: "Self-love is the greatest traitor we have to guard against. Like Judas, it betrays us with a kiss. He who conquers it conquers all enemies; he who does not conquer it is lost." The, Saint then adds: "If you cannot kill it with a single stroke, give it poison." She meant that, since we are not able to destroy this accursed enemy, which, according to St. Francis de Sales, dies only with our latest breath, we must at least labour to weaken it as much as possible; for if it grow strong, it kills us. Death, says St. Basil, is the reward which self-love gives its followers. The wages of self-love is death; it is the beginning of every evil. Self-love seeks not what is just and honourable, but what is agreeable to the senses. Hence Jesus Christ has said: He that loveth his life -- that is, his sensual appetite or self-will -- shall lose it (Jo. xii. 25). He who truly loves himself, and wishes to save his soul, should refuse to the senses whatever God has forbidden; otherwise he shall lose his God and himself.
There are two principal passions which reign within us: -- the concupiscible and irascible appetites -- that is, love and hatred. I have said two principal passions; for each of them, when vicious, draws in its train many other bad passions. The concupiscible appetite brings with it temerity, ambition, greediness, avarice, jealousy, scandal. The irascible brings with it revenge, injustice, slander, envy. St. Augustine advises us, in our combat with the passions, not to endeavour to beat them all down in a single conflict. We must trample on the passion which we have cast to the ground, so that it may be no longer able to contend with us, and then we must endeavour to subdue the other passions which resist our efforts.
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
Neither is there salvation in any other (Acts iv. 12) St. Peter says that our whole salvation is in Jesus Christ, Who, by means of the Cross, where He sacrificed His life for us, opened to us a way for hoping for every blessing from God, if we would be faithful to His commands.
Let us hear what St. John Chrysostom says of the Cross. He says: "The Cross is the hope of Christians, the staff of the lame, the comfort of the poor, the destruction of all pride, the victory over devils, the guide of youth, the pilot of mariners, the refuge of those who are in danger, the counsellor of the just, the rest of the afflicted, the physician of the sick, the glory of Martyrs." The Cross, that is, Jesus crucified, is --
The hope of the faithful, because if we had not Jesus Christ we should have no hope of salvation.
It is the staff of the lame, because we are all lame in our present state of corruption and weakness. We have in truth no strength to walk in the way of salvation except that which is communicated to us by the grace of Jesus Christ.
It is the comfort of the poor, and we all are poor, for all we have we have received from Jesus Christ.
It is the destruction of all pride, for the followers of the Crucified cannot be proud, seeing Him dead as a malefactor upon the Cross.
It is victory over the devils, for the very Sign of the Cross is sufficient to put them to flight.
It is the instructor of the young, for admirable is the teaching which they who are beginning to walk in the ways of God learn from the Cross.
It is the pilot of mariners, and guides us through the storms of this present life.
It is the haven in peril, for they who are in peril of perishing, through temptations of strong passions, find a secure harbour by flying to the Cross.
It is the counsellor of the just, for how many Saints learn wisdom from the Cross, that is, from the troubles of this life.
It is the rest of the afflicted, for where can they find greater relief than in contemplating the Cross, on which a God suffers for love of them?
It is the physician of the sick, for when they embrace it, they are healed of the wounds of the soul.
It is the glory of Martyrs, for to be made like Jesus Christ, the King of Martyrs, is the greatest glory they could possess.
II.
In a word, all our hope is placed in the merits of Jesus Christ. The Apostle says: I know both how to be brought low and I know how to abound ... both to be full and to be hungry; both to abound and to suffer need (Philipp. iv. 12). Thus St. Paul, instructed by the Lord, says: I know how I ought to conduct myself; when God humbles me I resign myself to His will; when He exalts me, to Him I give all the honour; when He gives me abundance, I thank Him; when He makes me endure poverty, still I bless Him; and I do all this not by my own strength, but by the strength of the grace God gives me. For he that trusts in Jesus Christ is strengthened with invincible power.
The Lord, says St. Bernard, makes those who hope in Him all powerful. The Saint also adds that a soul which does not presume upon its own strength, but is strengthened by the Word, can govern itself so that no evil shall have power over it; and no force, no fraud, can cast it down.
The Apostle prayed thrice to God that the impure temptations which troubled him might be driven away, and he was answered: My grace is sufficient for thee, for power is made perfect in infirmity (2 Cor. xii. 9). How is this that the virtue of perfection consists in weakness? St. Thomas, with St. Chrysostom, explains it, that the greater our weakness and inclination to evil, the greater is the strength given us by God. Therefore St. Paul himself says: Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may dwell in me. For which cause I please myself in my infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ. For when I am weak then am I powerful (2 Cor. xii. 9-10).
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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I. PREPARE AT ONCE.
Would not that general be thought mad who did not begin to lay in stores of provisions and arms till the city was besieged by the enemy? And the captain of the ship insane who neglected to provide anchors and cables till overtaken by the storm? Such, precisely, is the folly of the Christian who waits till the hour of death to settle the affairs of his conscience.
I.
All admit that they must die, and die only once, and that nothing is of greater importance than to die well, because on death depends whether we shall be forever in bliss or forever in despair. All know that our eternal happiness or our eternal unhappiness depends on leading a good or a bad life. How then does it happen that the greater part of Christians live as if they were never to die, or as if to die well or ill were of little moment! They live in sin because they do not think of death. In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin (Ecclus. vii. 40). We must be persuaded that the hour of death is not fit for settling the accounts of the soul, and securing the great affair of eternal salvation. In worldly matters prudent men take measures in due time to secure temporal gain -- to obtain a position of emolument. To preserve or restore bodily health the necessary remedies are not deferred a single moment. What would you say of the man who should put off his preparation for a trial on which his life depended till the day of trial arrived? Would you not stigmatize as a fool the general who should not begin to lay in a supply of provisions and arms till the city is besieged? Would it not be folly in a pilot to neglect till the time of the tempest to provide the vessel with an anchor and a helm? Such precisely is the folly of the Christian who neglects to settle his conscience till death is at hand.
When sudden calamity shall fall on you, and destruction, as a tempest ... then shall they call upon me, and I will not hear ... Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way (Prov. i. 27-31). The time of death is a time of storm and confusion. At that awful hour sinners call on God for assistance; but they invoke His aid through the fear of hell, which they see at hand, and not with true contrition of heart. Hence it is that God is deaf to their cry; and hence also will they then taste the fruit of their wicked life. What they have sown they shall reap. Ah! it will not then be enough to receive the Sacraments; it is necessary at death to hate sin, and to love God above all things. But how can he hate forbidden pleasures who has loved them till that moment? How can he love God above all things who has till then loved creatures more than he has loved God?
O my Jesus, by the merits of that Blood Thou hast shed for my sake, do not permit me ever more to offend Thee. Give me holy perseverance, give me Thy love. I love Thee, and I will never cease to love Thee till death. My God, have mercy on me for the love of Jesus Christ. O Mary, my hope, do thou too have pity on me; recommend me to God: thy recommendations are never rejected by that God Who loves thee so tenderly.
II.
The Lord called those virgins foolish who wished to prepare their lamps when the bridegroom was nigh. All have a horror of a sudden death, because there is no time to settle the accounts of conscience. All confess that the Saints have been truly wise, because they prepared for death during life. And what are we doing? Shall we expose ourselves to the danger of having little time to prepare for death? We ought to do at present what we shall then wish to have done. Oh! what pain will then arise from the remembrance of time lost, and still more from the remembrance of time spent in sin: time given by God to merit eternal life; but now past, and never to return! What anguish will the sinner feel when he shall be told: Thou canst be steward no longer! (Luke xvi. 2). There is no more time for doing penance, for frequenting the Sacraments, for hearing sermons, for visiting Jesus Christ in the Holy Sacrament, or for prayer. What is done is done. To make a good confession, to remove several grievous scruples, and thus tranquillize the conscience, would require a better state of mind and time more free from confusion and agitation. But time shall be no more (Apoc. x. 6).
Ah, my God, had I died on one of the nights known to Thee, where should I be at present? I thank Thee for having waited for me; I thank Thee for giving me the time I should have spent in hell from the first moment that I offended Thee. Ah! give me light, and make me sensible of the great evil I have done Thee in voluntarily losing Thy grace, which Thou didst merit for me by the sacrifice of Thy life on the Cross. Ah, my Jesus, pardon me! I am sorry from the bottom of my heart, and above all things, for having despised Thee Who art infinite goodness. Assist me, O my Saviour, that I may never lose Thee again. Alas, my Lord, if I return again to sin, after the many lights and graces Thou hast bestowed upon me, should I not deserve a hell for myself?
Spiritual Reading
THE PREDOMINANT PASSION
We must endeavour, above all, to find out what is our predominant passion. He who conquers it conquers all his passions; he who allows himself to be overcome by it is lost. God commanded Saul to destroy all the Amalecites, along with all their animals and all their property. He destroyed everything that was vile or cheap, but spared the life of King Agag, and preserved all that was valuable and beautiful. And Saul and the people spared Agag and the rest of the flocks of sheep ... and all that was beautiful, and would not destroy them; but everything that was vile and good for nothing, that they destroyed (1 Kings xv. 9). In this Saul was afterwards imitated by the Scribes and Pharisees, to whom our Lord said: Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, because you tithe mint, and anise, and cummin, and have left the weightier things of the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith (Matt. xxiii. 23). They were careful to pay the tithe of things of least value, and neglected the more important things of the Law, such as justice, charity to their neighbour, and faith in God. Some persons act in a similar manner; they abstain from certain defects of minor importance, and, at the same time, allow themselves to be ruled by their predominant passion; but if they do not destroy this passion they never shall gain the victory of salvation. The King of Syria commanded the captains of his cavalry to kill the King of Israel only, and not to mind the others. Fight ye not with small or great, but with the King of Israel only (2 Par. xviii. 30). They obeyed the order, slew King Achab, and gained the victory.
We must imitate the captains of Syria: unless we kill the king -- that is, the predominant passion -- we shall never be able to obtain salvation. The passion which brings man under its sway first blinds him and prevents him from seeing his danger. Now, how can a blind man, led by a blind guide, such as passion, which follows not reason, but sensuality, possibly avoid falling into some abyss? If the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit (Matt. xv. 14). St. Gregory says that it is a common artifice of the devil to inflame daily more and more our predominant passion, and thus he brings us into many horrible excesses. Through passion for a kingdom Herod spilled the blood of so many innocent babes at Bethlehem; through love for a woman Henry the Eighth of England was the cause of so many frightful spiritual evils, put to death several most worthy individuals, and in the end lost the Faith. No wonder: for he who is under the domination of any passion no longer sees what he does. Therefore he disregards corrections, excommunications, and even his own damnation: he seeks only his own pleasures, and says: "Come what will, I will satisfy this passion." And, as eminent virtue is accompanied by other virtues, so an enormous vice brings in its train other vices, says St. Laurence Justinian.
It is necessary, then, as soon as we perceive any passion beginning to reign within us, to beat it down instantly before it acquires strength. "Let not cupidity gain strength," says St. Augustine; "strike it down while it is weak." St. Ephrem gives the same advice: "Unless you quickly destroy passions, they cause an ulcer." A wound, if it be not closed up, will soon become an incurable ulcer. To illustrate this by an example: a certain monk, as St. Dorotheus relates, commanded one of his disciples to pluck up a small cypress. The disciple obeyed, and drew it up with a slight effort. The monk then ordered him to pull up another tree which was somewhat larger. He succeeded in the task, but not without a good deal of labour. The disciple was then told to pluck up a tree which had taken deep root; but all his efforts were ineffectual. The monk then said to him: Thus it is, my son, with our passions; when they have taken deep root in the heart we shall not be able to extirpate them. Let us keep always before our eyes this maxim: that either the spirit must trample on the flesh or the flesh shall trample on the spirit.
Cassian has laid down an excellent rule for conquering our passions. Let us endeavour, he says, to change the object of our passions; and thus from being vicious they shall become holy. Some are prone to anger against all who treat them with disrespect. Such persons ought to change the object of their passions and turn their indignation into a hatred of sin, which is more injurious to them than all the devils in hell. Others are inclined to love every one who possesses amiable qualities: they should fix all their affections on God, Who is infinitely amiable. But to recommend ourselves to God, and to beg of Him to deliver us from our passions is the best remedy against them. And when any passion becomes very violent, we must multiply prayers. Reasoning and reflections are then of little use; for passion obscures our faculties; and the more we reflect the more delightful the object of passion appears. Hence there is no other remedy than to have recourse to Jesus and to most holy Mary, saying with tears and sighs: Lord, save us, or we perish! Do not permit us to be ever separated from thee! We fly to thy protection, O holy Mother of God! O souls created to love God, let us raise ourselves above the earth; let us cease to fix our thought and affections on the miserable things of this world; let us cease to love dross and smoke and mire. Let us endeavour with all our strength to love the Supreme Infinite Good, our most amiable God, Who has made us for Himself, and expects us in Heaven to make us happy, and to give us the very glory which He Himself enjoys for eternity.
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
For the word of the Cross, to them that perish, is foolishness; but to them that are saved, that is to us, it is the power of God (1 Cor. i. 18). Thus St. Paul warns us not to follow after worldly men, who place their trust in riches, in their relatives and friends in the world, and account the Saints fools for despising those earthly goods; but to place all our hopes in the love of the Cross -- that is, of Jesus crucified, Who gives every blessing to those who trust in Him. We must further remark that the power and strength of the world is altogether different from that of God; it is exercised in worldly riches and honours, but the latter in humility and endurance. Wherefore St. Augustine says that our strength lies in knowing that we are weak, and in humbly confessing what we are. And St. Jerome says that this one thing constitutes the perfection of the present life, that we should know that we are imperfect. For then we distrust our own strength, and abandon ourselves to God Who protects and saves those who trust in Him. He is the protector of all who trust in him, says David. Who savest those who trust in thee (Ps. xvii. 31; xvi. 7). They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Sion (Ps. cxxiv. 1). Therefore St. Augustine reminds us that, when we are tempted, we must hasten to abandon ourselves to Jesus Christ. Who will not suffer us to fall, but will embrace and hold us up, and thus remedy our weakness.
When Jesus Christ took upon Himself the weaknesses of humanity, He merited for us a strength which conquers our weakness: For in that he himself hath suffered and been tempted, he is powerful to help those who are tempted (Heb. ii. 18). How is this that the Saviour in being Himself tempted, was able to strengthen us in our temptations? It is meant that Jesus Christ, by being afflicted by temptations, became more ready to feel for us and help us when we are tempted. To this corresponds that other text of the same Apostle, We have not a High Priest who cannot feel compassion for our infirmities; but was in all things tempted like us, though without sin. Therefore let us go with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in the help we need (Heb. iv. 15, 16).
Jesus Himself endured fears, weariness, and sorrows, as the Evangelists bear witness, speaking especially of the afflictions He endured in the garden of Gethsemane the night before He suffered, and thereby merited for us courage to resist the threats of those who would corrupt us, strength to overcome the weariness we experience in prayer, in mortifications, and other devout exercises, and the power of enduring with peace of mind that sadness which afflicts us in adversity.
II.
Jesus, at the sight of all the pains and the desolate death He was about to endure, chose to suffer this human weakness. The spirit indeed is ready, but the flesh is weak (Matt. xxvi. 41); and He prayed to His Divine Father that, if it were possible, the chalice might pass from Him. But immediately He added: Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt (Matt. xxvi. 39). And for the whole time that He continued praying in the Garden He repeated the same prayer: Thy will be done! and for the third time he prayed, saying the same thing (Matt. xxvi. 42-44). With those words, Thy will be done! Jesus Christ merited and obtained for us resignation in all adversity, and gained for His Martyrs and Confessors strength to resist all the persecutions and torments of tyrants. "This word," says St. Leo, "inflamed all the Confessors, it crowned all the Martyrs."
Thus also, by the horror He experienced at our sins, which caused Him to fall into a bitter agony in the Garden, Jesus merited for us contrition for our sins. His abandonment by the Father on the Cross merited for us strength to retain our courage in all desolations and darknesses of spirit. By bowing His head in death on the Cross, in obedience to the will of the Father, He merited for us all the victories we gain over passions and temptations; and patience in the pains of life, and especially in the bitternesses and straits we endure in death. In a word, St. Leo writes that Jesus Christ came to take our infirmities and distresses, in order to communicate to us His strength and constancy.
St. Paul says that though Jesus Christ was the Son of God, He learned obedience by the things He suffered; from which we are to understand not that Jesus in His Passion learned the virtue of obedience not known previously, but, as St. Anselm says, He learned not only by the knowledge He had before, but by actual experience in the grievous death He endured in order to obey His Father. And at the same time He experienced how great is the merit of obedience, for by this He obtained for Himself the utmost height of glory, a throne at His Father's right hand, and eternal salvation for us. Therefore the Apostle adds: And being consummated, he became to all that obey him the cause of eternal salvation (Heb. v. 9). He says, being consummated, because, having completely fulfilled all obedience, by suffering patiently what He endured in His Passion, Jesus Christ became the cause of eternal life to all those who obediently suffer with patience the troubles of this present life.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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II. WE MUST DETACH OURSELVES FROM THE WORLD.
St. Ambrose says that they die well who, at the hour of death, are found dead to the world. Unless we detach ourselves from everything in this world, and do so voluntarily, we shall have to do it of necessity at death, but then with great sorrow and at peril to our eternal salvation.
I.
In order to die a happy death it is necessary to endeavour to be at all times such as we desire to be found at the hour of death. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord (Apoc. xiv. 13). St. Ambrose says that they die well who, at the hour of death, are found dead to the world; that is, detached from the goods from which death will separate us by force. We ought then, from this moment, to accept the spoliation of our goods, and the separation from relatives and from everything in this world. Unless we do it voluntarily during life, we shall have to do it through necessity at death, but with extreme pain and great danger of eternal perdition. Hence St. Augustine says that to settle during life all temporal matters and dispose by will of all the goods we shall have to bequeath, contributes greatly to a tranquil death; because when all worldly affairs are already adjusted, the soul can be entirely occupied in uniting itself to God. At that hour we should think and speak only of God and of Paradise. Those last moments are too precious to be squandered in earthly thoughts. At death is completed the crown of the elect; for it is then, perhaps that they reap the greatest harvest of merits, by embracing, with resignation and love, death and all its pains.
But the Christian who has not been in the habit of exciting these sentiments during life, will not have them at the hour of death. Hence some devout souls, with great spiritual profit to themselves, are accustomed to renew every month, after being at Confession and Communion, the Protestation for Death* along with the Christian acts, imagining themselves at the point of death, and to be near their departure from this world. Unless you do this during life you will find it very difficult to do it at death. In her last illness, that great servant of God, Sister Catherine of St. Albert, of the Order of St. Teresa, sent forth a sigh, and said, "Sisters, I do not sigh through fear of death, for I have lived for twenty-five years in expectation of it; but I sigh at the sight of so many deluded Christians, who spend their life in sin and reduce themselves to the necessity of making peace with God at death, when I can scarcely pronounce the Name of Jesus."
O my Redeemer, Thy death is my hope. To Thy wounded hands I recommend my soul. Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of Truth (Ps. xxx. 6). O my Jesus, Thou hast given Thy Blood for my salvation: do not suffer me to be separated from Thee. I love Thee, O eternal God, and hope to love Thee for eternity. Mary, my Mother, assist me at the awful moment of death. To thee I now consign my soul; I recommend myself to thee. Deliver me from hell.
*See Prayers and Devotional Exercises of St. Alphonsus, Saturday after Septuagesima; Spiritual Reading or Volume I, Part II, pages 377-385.
II.
Examine, then, if you are now attached to anything on this earth, to any person, to any honour, to your house, to your money, to conversations or amusements; and reflect that you are not immortal. You must one day, and perhaps very soon, take leave of them all. Why, then, do you cherish any attachment to them, and thus expose yourself to the risk of an unhappy death? Offer from this moment all to God: tell Him you are ready to give up all things whenever He pleases to deprive you of them. If you wish to die with resignation you must from this moment resign yourself to all the contradictions and adversities which may happen to you, and must divest yourself of all affections to earthly things. Imagine yourself to be on the bed of death, and you will despise all things in this world. "He," says St. Jerome, "who always thinks that he is one day to die readily despises all things."
If you have not yet chosen a state of life, make choice of that state of life which at death you will wish to have selected, and which will make you die with greater peace. If you have already made your choice of a state of life, do now what at death you will wish to have done in that state. Spend every day as if it were the last of your life; and perform every action, every exercise of prayer; make every Confession and Communion as if they were the last of your life. Imagine yourself every hour at the point of death, stretched on a bed, and that you hear that Proficiscere de hoc mundo which announces your departure from this world. Oh! how powerfully will this thought assist you to walk in the way of God, and to detach your heart from this earth! Blessed is that servant whom, when his Lord shall come, he shall find him so doing (Matt. xxiv. 46). He who expects death every hour will die well, though death should come suddenly upon him.
Every Christian should be prepared to say at the moment the news of death is announced to him: Then, my God, only a few hours remain; during the short remainder of the present life, I wish to love Thee to the utmost of my power, that I may love Thee more perfectly in Heaven. But little remains for me to offer to Thee. I offer Thee these pains, and the sacrifice of my life in union with the sacrifice which Jesus Christ offered for me on the Cross. Lord, the pains which I suffer are few and light compared with what I have deserved; such as they are, I embrace them as a mark of the love which I bear Thee. Provided I am to love Thee for eternity, I resign myself to all the punishments Thou wishest to send me in this or the next life. Chastise me as much as Thou pleasest, but do not deprive me of Thy love. I know that, on account of having so often despised Thy love, I deserved never more to love Thee; but Thou canst not reject a penitent soul. I am sorry, O Sovereign Good, for having offended Thee. I love Thee with my whole heart, and place all my trust in Thee.
Spiritual Reading
AVOIDING THE OCCASIONS OF SIN.
We read in the Gospel that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and also that Lazarus rose. Christ rose to die no more -- Christ rising from the dead dieth now no more (Rom. vi. 9). Lazarus, too, rose, but died again. The Abbot Guerric remarks that Christ arose free and unbound, but Lazarus came forth bound feet and hands (Jo. xi. 44). Miserable the man, adds this author, who rises from sin, yet linked to any dangerous occasion: he will die again by losing the Divine grace. He, then, who wishes to save his soul, must not only abandon sin, but also the occasions of sin; that is, he must renounce such an intimacy, such a house; he must renounce those wicked companions, and all similar occasions that incite him to sin.
In consequence of original sin we all have an inclination to do what is forbidden. Hence St. Paul complained that he experienced in himself a law opposed to reason: But I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin (Rom. vii. 23). Now, when a dangerous occasion is present, it violently excites our corrupt desires, so that it is then very difficult to resist them: because God withholds efficacious helps from those who voluntarily expose themselves by going into or remaining in the occasion of sin. He that loveth danger shall perish in it (Ecclus. iii. 27). "When," says St. Thomas, "we expose ourselves to danger, God abandons us in it." St. Bernardine of Sienna teaches that the counsel of avoiding the occasions of sin is the best of all counsels, and, as it were, the foundation of religion.
St. Peter says that the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. v. 8). He is constantly going about seeking our souls, and endeavouring to enter and take possession of them. Hence he seeks to place before us the occasions of sin, by which he enters the soul, says St. Cyprian. When the soul yields to the suggestions of the devil, and exposes itself to the occasions of sin, he easily enters and devours it. The ruin of our First Parents arose from their not flying from the occasion of sin. We read that in answer to the wicked serpent tempting her Eve said: God hath commanded us that we should not eat, and that we should not touch it (Gen. 3). But she saw, took, and ate the forbidden fruit: she first looked at it, she then took it into her hands, and afterwards ate it. This is what ordinarily happens to all who expose themselves to the occasions of sin. Hence, being once compelled by exorcisms to tell what sermon displeased him the most, the devil confessed that it was the sermon on avoiding the occasions of sin. As long as we expose ourselves to the occasions of sin, the devil laughs at all our good purposes and all our promises made to God. The greatest care of the enemy is to induce us not to abandon evil occasions; for these occasions, like a veil placed before the eyes, prevent us from seeing either the lights received from God, or the Eternal Truths, or the resolutions we have made: in a word, they make us forget all, and as it were force us into sin.
Know it to be a communication with death; for thou art going in the midst of snares (Ecclus. ix. 20). Every one born in this world enters into the midst of snares. Hence the Wise Man advises those who wish to guard themselves securely against the snares of the world to withdraw from them, for he that is aware of the snares shall be secure (Prov. xi. 15). But if, instead of withdrawing from them, a Christian goes near to them; how can he avoid being caught by them? Hence, after having with so much loss learned the danger of exposing himself to the danger of sin, David said that to continue faithful to God he kept at a distance from every occasion which could lead him to relapse. I have restrained my feet from every evil way that I may keep thy words (Ps. cxviii. 101). He does not say from every sin, but from every evil way which conducts to sin.
The devil is careful to find pretexts to make us believe that certain occasions to which we expose ourselves are not voluntary but necessary. When the occasion in which we are placed is really necessary, the Lord always helps us to avoid sin; but we sometimes imagine certain necessities which are not sufficient to excuse us. "A treasure is never safe," says St. Cyprian, "as long as a robber is harboured within; nor is a lamb secure while it dwells in the same den with a wolf." The Saint speaks against those who do not wish to remove themselves from the occasions of sin, and say: "I am not afraid I shall fall." As no one can be secure of his treasure if he keeps a thief in his house, and as a lamb cannot be sure of its life if it remains in the den of a wolf, so likewise no one can be secure of the treasure of Divine grace if he is resolved to continue in the occasion of sin. St. James teaches that every man has within himself a powerful enemy, that is, his own evil inclinations, which tempt him to sin. Every man is tempted by his own concupiscence, drawn away and allured (James i. 14). If, then, we do not fly from the external occasions, how can we resist temptations and avoid sin? Let us, therefore, place before our eyes the general remedy which Jesus has prescribed for conquering temptations and saving our souls. If thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee (Matt. v. 29). if you find that your right eye is to you a cause of damnation, you must pull it out and cast it far from you; which means that when there is danger of losing your soul you must fly from all evil occasions, cost what it may.
St. Francis of Assisi used to say that the devil does not seek, in the beginning, to bind timorous souls with the chain of mortal sin; because they would be alarmed at the thought of committing mortal sin, and would fly from it with horror. He endeavours to bind them by a single thread which does not excite much fear; for by this means he will succeed more easily in strengthening their bonds and by degrees make them his slaves. Hence he who wishes to be free from the danger of being the slave of hell must break all the threads by which the enemy attempts to bind him; that is, he must avoid all occasions of sin, such as certain salutations, letters, little presents, and words of affection. With regard to those who have had a habit of impurity, it will not be sufficient to avoid proximate occasions; if they do not fly from remote occasions they will very easily relapse into their former sins.
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST.
I.
By the patience of Jesus Christ the holy Martyrs were animated and strengthened to embrace with patience the most cruel torments the cruelty of tyrants could devise; and not only with patience, but with joy and a desire to suffer for the love of Jesus Christ. In the celebrated letter which St. Ignatius the Martyr wrote to the Romans after he had been condemned to be thrown to the wild beasts, and was on his way to the place of his Martyrdom, we read: "Suffer me, my children, to be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may become corn for my Redeemer. I seek only Him Who died for me. He Who is the only object of my love was crucified for me, and the love I bear to Him makes me desire to be crucified for Him." St. Leo writes of St. Laurence the Martyr that when he lay upon the grid-iron the flames which burned him without were less hot than the fire that burned within him. Eusebius and Palladius relate of St. Potamena, a virgin of Alexandria, that when she was condemned to be thrown into a cauldron of boiling pitch that she might suffer the more for the love of her crucified Spouse, she prayed the tyrant to have her thrust in little by little, that her death might become more torturing; and she had her desire, for they began by thrusting her feet into the pitch, so that she was for three hours in this torment, and did not die till the pitch reached her neck. Such was the patience, such the fortitude which the Martyrs gained from the Passion of Jesus Christ.
II.
It was the courage and fortitude which Jesus crucified infuses into those who love Him that made St. Paul say: Who, then, shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or nakedness or danger, or persecution, or the sword? (Rom. viii. 35). And at the same time he says: In all these things we overcome because of him that hath loved us (Rom. viii. 37). The love of the Martyrs for Jesus Christ was unconquerable, because it gained its strength from Him Who is unconquerable, Who strengthened them to suffer. And let us not imagine that the torments of the Martyrs were miraculously deprived of their power of torturing, or that their heavenly consolations dulled the pains of the torments; this perhaps may sometimes have happened, but ordinarily they truly felt all their pains, and many through weakness yielded to the pangs; so that in the case of those who were constant in suffering, their patience was entirely the gift of God Who gave them their strength.
The first object of our hope is eternal blessedness, that is, the blessedness of God -- the fruition of God, as St. Thomas teaches. And all the means which are necessary for obtaining salvation, which consists in the enjoyment of God -- such as the pardon of our sins, final perseverance in Divine grace, and a good death -- we must hope for, not from our own strength, nor our good resolutions, but solely from the merits and grace of Jesus Christ. That our confidence, therefore, may be firm, let us believe with infallible certainty that we must look for the accomplishment of all these means of salvation only to the merits of Jesus Christ.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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The soul goes forth and leaves the body. The priest recites the prayers of the Church: Come to his assistance all ye Saints of God! Meet him all ye Angels of God, receive his soul and present it before the Lord. But of what avail will it be to call upon the Saints and Angels to assist, if the soul has already departed as an enemy of God and the sentence has already been passed?
I.
Consider that your soul will no sooner have departed from the body than it will appear before the Tribunal of God to be judged. This Judge is the Almighty Whose wrath is provoked by your sins. Your accuser will be your mortal enemy, the devil. The matter of your trial will be your sins. Your sentence will be without appeal; and if found guilty, your punishment will be hell. You will not have the power of calling your parents, friends, and companions to your aid: all must be concluded between God and your soul. You will then see the deformity of your crimes, and will not be able, as at present, to excuse them. You will be examined upon all your sins, of thought, of word, of action, of omission, of scandal; you will be weighed in the awful scales of Divine justice, and, if found wanting in a single point, you will be lost.
Consider that, at the end of the world, our bodies will rise again to participate in the reward or punishment of the soul according to our works, when all the nations of the earth will be assembled in the Valley of Josaphat to be judged. If you are condemned you will resume your body as an eternal prison for your unfortunate soul. At this sorrowful reunion the soul will curse the body and the body the soul, so that, although at present they mutually consent to pursue unlawful pleasures, after death they will become each other's tormentors. On the other hand, if you are saved, your body will arise beautiful, impassible, and glorious, and thus, both in body and soul, you will be judged worthy of eternal happiness. Thus will close the scene of this world: thus will terminate all the greatness, all the pleasures, and all the pomps of the earth. Yes, all will be at an end; nothing will remain but two Eternities, one of glory the other of pain; one of joy, the other of torments: the just will dwell in Heaven, the wicked in hell. Woe, then, to him who has loved the world! Woe to him who for the vain and fleeting pleasures of the earth has lost his soul, his body, Heaven, and God!
O my Jesus, pardon me before Thou comest to judge me!
II.
Consider the Eternal Sentence Jesus Christ will pass upon the reprobate and the Elect. This sovereign Judge, turning towards the reprobate, will say: "Behold, ye ungrateful wretches, the result of your crimes! My hour is come -- the hour of truth, of justice, of vengeance, and of wrath. Criminal souls, you have chosen My curse; let it fall upon you: be ye cursed for all eternity. Depart from Me, despoiled of every good and laden with all evil, into eternal fire." Then turning towards the Elect Jesus will thus address them: "Come, ye blessed children of My heavenly Father, come and take possession of the Kingdom of Heaven which is prepared for you. Come, no longer to carry your cross after Me, but to wear a crown. Come to inherit My riches, and to be the companions of My glory. Come from the land of exile to your true country; come from sufferings to glory, from tears to joy." O my Jesus, I hope to be one of those whom Thou wilt then bless. I love Thee above all things. Bless me at this moment. O my Mother Mary, do thou also bless me.
Spiritual Reading
AVOIDING THE OCCASIONS OF SIN
Impurity is a vice which makes war on all men, says St. Augustine, and which only the few conquer. The fight is constant, the victory rare. Oh, how many miserable souls have exposed themselves in a battle with this vice, and have been defeated! To induce you to expose yourselves to occasions of this sin, the devil will tell you not to be afraid of being overcome by the temptation. "I do not wish," says St. Jerome, "to risk a fight for the joy of the victory lest I should sometimes lose the victory." I will not expose myself to the combat with the hope of conquering, because, by voluntarily engaging in the fight, I may lose my soul and my God. To escape defeat in this struggle a great grace of God is necessary; and to render ourselves worthy of this grace we must, on our part, avoid the occasions of sin. To practise the virtue of chastity it is necessary to recommend ourselves continually to God; we have not strength to preserve it; that strength must be the gift of God. And as I knew, says the Wise Man, that I could not otherwise be continent except God gave it ... I went to the Lord, and besought him (Wis. viii. 21). But if we expose ourselves to the occasions of sin, we ourselves shall provide our rebellious flesh with arms to make war against our soul. Neither, says the Apostle, yield ye your members as instruments of sin unto iniquity (Rom. vi. 13). In explaining this passage, St. Cyril of Alexandria says: "You stimulate the flesh; you arm it, and make it powerful against the spirit." St. Philip Neri used to say that in the war against the vice of impurity, the victory is gained by cowards -- that is, by those who fly from the occasions of this sin. But the man who exposes himself to it arms the flesh and renders it so powerful that it will be morally impossible for him to resist its attacks.
The Lord said to Isaias the Prophet: Cry: all flesh is grass (Is. xl. 6). Now, says St. John Chrysostom, if all flesh is grass, it is as foolish for a man who exposes himself to the occasion of sin to hope to preserve the virtue of purity as to expect that dry grass, into which a torch has been thrown, will not take fire. "Put a torch into hay and then dare to deny that the hay will burn." No, says St. Cyprian; it is impossible to stand in the midst of flames, and not to burn. Can a man, says the Holy Ghost, hide fire in his bosom and his garments not burn? or can he walk upon hot coals and his feet not be burnt? (Prov. vi. 27). Not to be burnt in such circumstances would be a miracle. St. Bernard teaches that to preserve chastity and at the same time to expose one's self to the proximate occasion of sin, "is a greater miracle than to raise a dead man to life."
In explaining the Fifth Psalm, St. Augustine says that "he who is unwilling to fly from danger wishes to perish in it." Hence, in another place, he exhorts those who wish to conquer, and not to perish, to avoid dangerous occasions. "In the danger of falling into sin; take flight if you desire to gain the victory." Some foolishly trust in their own strength, and do not see that their strength is like that of tow placed in the fire. And your strength shall be as the ashes of tow (Is. i. 31). Others, trusting in the change which has taken place in their life, in their Confessions, and in the promises they have made to God, say: Through the grace of the Lord I have now no bad motive in seeking the company of such a person; her presence is not even an occasion of temptations. There are bears that go in quest of monkeys and feed upon them: as soon as a bear appears the monkeys run up the trees and thus save themselves. But what does the bear do? He stretches himself on the ground as if dead, and waits till they descend from the trees. The moment they have descended the bear springs up and devours them. It is thus the devil acts: he makes the temptation appear to be dead; but when a soul descends and exposes itself to the occasion of sin, he stirs up temptation and devours it.
Oh, how many miserable souls, devoted to spiritual things, to mental prayer, to frequent Communion, and to a life of holiness, have, by exposing themselves to the occasion of sin, become the slaves of the devil! We find in Ecclesiastical History that a holy woman who employed herself in the pious office of burying the Martyrs once found among them one who was not as yet dead. She brought him into her own house and procured a physician till he recovered. But what happened? These two saints -- as they might be called (one of them on the point of being a Martyr, the other devoting her time to works of mercy with so much risk of being persecuted by the tyrants) first fell into sin and lost the grace of God, and, becoming weaker by sin, afterwards denied the Faith. St. Macarius relates a similar fact regarding an old man who suffered to be half-burned in defence of the Faith, but being brought back into prison, he, unfortunately for himself, formed an intimacy with a devout woman who served the Martyrs, and fell into sin.
The Holy Ghost tells us that we must fly from sin as from a serpent. Flee from sins as from the face of a serpent (Ecclus. xxi. 2). Hence, as we not only avoid the bite of a serpent, but are careful neither to touch nor approach it, so we must fly not only from sin but also from the occasion of sin -- that is, from the house, the conversation, the person that would lead us to sin. St. Isidore says that he who wishes to remain near a serpent will not remain long unhurt. Hence, if any person is likely to prove an occasion of your ruin, the admonition of the Wise Man is: Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the doors of her house (Prov. v. 8). He not only tells you not to enter the house which has been to you a road to hell -- Her house is the way to hell (Prov. vii. 27) -- but he also cautions you not to approach it, and even to keep at a distance from it: Remove thy way far from her.
But, you will say, if I abandon that house my temporal affairs will suffer. It is better that you should suffer a temporal loss than that you should lose your soul and your God. You must be persuaded that, in whatever regards chastity, there cannot be too great caution. If we wish to save our souls from sin and hell we must always fear and tremble. With fear and trembling work out your salvation (Phil. ii. 12). He who is not fearful, but exposes himself to occasions of sin, shall scarcely be saved. Hence in our prayers we ought to say every day, and several times in the day, that petition of the Our Father -- "and lead us not into temptation." Lord, do not permit me to be attacked by those temptations which would deprive me of Thy grace. We cannot merit the grace of perseverance; but, according to St. Augustine, God grants it to every one that asks it, because He has promised to hear all who pray to Him. Hence the holy Doctor says that the Lord "by His promises has made Himself a debtor."
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
In speaking of the pardon of our sins we should ever remember that it was for this very end that our Redeemer came upon earth -- to pardon sinners: The Son of Man is come to save that which was lost (Matt. xviii. 11). Therefore the Baptist, when he showed to the Jews that the Messias was already come, said: Behold the Lamb of God ... that taketh away the sin of the world (Jo. i. 29). As it was foretold by Isaias: As a lamb before his shearers, he shall be dumb (Is. liii. 7); and also by Jeremias: I am as a meek lamb that is carried to be a victim (Jer. xi. 19). And first, He was foreshadowed by Moses in the Paschal Lamb, and by the sacrifice of a lamb to God under the Law every morning, and by other evening sacrifices. All these lambs, however, could not take away a single sin; they served only to represent the sacrifice of the Divine Lamb Jesus Christ, Who with His Blood would wash our souls, and thus free them both from the stain of sin and from the eternal punishment of sin, for this is implied by the words take away; taking upon Himself the duty of satisfying the Divine justice for us by His death, according to what Isaias wrote: The Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all (Is. liii. 6). Wherefore St. Cyril writes; "One is slain for all and the whole human race is restored to God the Father." By dying, Jesus desired to regain for God all mankind that was lost.
Oh, how great is the debt we owe to Jesus Christ! If a criminal condemned to death were already standing at the gibbet with the rope around his neck, and a friend were to come and take the rope and bind it around himself and die in place of the guilty man, how great would be that man's obligation to love him! This is what Jesus Christ has done; He has been willing to die on the Cross to deliver us from eternal death.
II.
Jesus Christ, as St. Peter says, bore our sins in his body upon the tree that we being dead to sin should live to justice, by whose stripes you are healed (1 Pet. ii. 24). "What can be more wonderful," says St. Bonaventure, "than that wounds should heal, and death give life?" St. Paul says that God has graced us in his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which hath superabounded in us (Eph. i. 6). And this resulted from the covenant made by Jesus Christ with His Divine Father, that He would pardon us our offences, and receive us into His favour for the sake of the Passion and Death of His Son. As in the Old Law, by the blood of the victims the outward defilement of sins was taken away, and the temporal punishment due to them was remitted; so, in the New Law, the Blood of Jesus Christ washes away the inward stain of sin, according to St. John's words: He loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood (Apoc. i. 5).
St. Paul thus explains the whole truth in his Epistle to the Hebrews: Christ being come an High Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, neither by the blood of goats ... but by his own blood, entered once into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption (Heb. ix. 11-12). The high-priest entered into the Holy of Holies, and, by the sprinkling of the blood of animals, purged sinners from their outward defilement and from temporal punishment; for in order to obtain the pardon of sin, and for their liberation from eternal punishment, Contrition, Faith, and Hope in the coming of the Messias, Who was about to die to obtain pardon for them, were absolutely necessary for the Jews. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, by means of His own body (which was the greater and more perfect tabernacle spoken of by the Apostle), which was sacrificed on the Cross, entered into the Holy of Holies of Heaven, which was closed to us, and opened it to us by means of this Redemption.
Therefore St. Paul, in order to encourage us to hope for the pardon of all our sins, by trusting in the Blood of Jesus Christ, goes on to say: If the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkled, sanctify to the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, by the Holy Spirit, offered himself without stain to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb. ix. 13, 14).
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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If, says St. Bernard, thou canst not imitate the virginity, imitate the humility of this humble Virgin. She detests the proud and invites only the humble to come to her: Whoever is a little one let him come to me.
I.
There can be no doubt, as St. Gregory of Nyssa says, that of all virtues there is, perhaps none the practice of which is more difficult to our nature, corrupted as it is by sin, than that of humility. But there is no escape; we can never be true children of Mary if we are not humble. "If," says St. Bernard, thou canst not imitate the virginity of this humble Virgin, imitate her humility." She detests the proud, and invites only the humble to come to her: Whosoever is a little one, let him come to me (Prov. ix. 4). "Mary," says Richard of St. Laurence, "protects us under the mantle of humility." The Mother of God herself explained to St. Bridget what her mantle was, saying, "Come, my daughter, and hide thyself under my mantle; this mantle is my humility." She then added that the consideration of her humility was a good mantle with which we could warm ourselves; but that as a mantle only renders this service to those who wear it, not in thought but in deed, "so also would her humility be of no avail except to those who endeavoured to imitate it." She then concluded in these words: "Therefore, my daughter, clothe thyself with this humility."
II.
"Oh, how dear to Mary are humble souls!" says St. Bernard. This Blessed Virgin, he says, recognizes and loves those who love her, and is near to all who call upon her; and especially to those whom she sees like unto herself in chastity and humility. Hence the Saint exhorts all who love Mary to be humble: "Emulate this virtue of Mary if thou lovest her." Marinus, or Martin d'Alberto, of the Society of Jesus, used to sweep the house and collect the refuse through love for this Blessed Virgin. The Divine Mother one day appeared to him, as Father Nieremberg relates in his Life, and, thanking him, said: "Oh, how pleasing to me is this humble action done for my love!"
Then, O my Queen, I can never be really thy child unless I am humble; but dost thou not see that my sins, after having rendered me ungrateful to my Lord, have also made me proud? O my Mother, do thou supply a remedy. By the merit of thy humility obtain that I may be truly humble, and thus become thy child. Amen.
Spiritual Reading
TO THEE DO WE SIGH, MOURNING AND WEEPING IN THIS VALLEY OF TEARS.
As we have access to the Eternal Father, says St. Bernard, only through Jesus Christ, so have we access to Jesus Christ only through Mary: "By thee we have access to the Son, O blessed finder of grace, bearer of life, and Mother of Salvation, that we may receive Him by thee, Who through thee was given to us." This is the reason given by the Saint why our Lord has determined that all men shall be saved by the intercession of Mary; and therefore he calls her the Mother of Grace and of our Salvation.
"Then," asks St. Germanus, "what will become of us? What hope can we have of salvation, if thou dost abandon us, O Mary, who art the life of Christians?"
"But," says a modern critic already quoted, "if all graces come through Mary, when we implore the intercession of the other Saints, they must have recourse to the mediation of Mary. But that," he says, "no one believes or ever dreamed of."
As to believing it, I reply that in that there can be no error or difficulty. What difficulty can there be in saying that God, in order to honour His Mother, and having made her Queen of Saints, and willing that all graces shall be dispensed by her hands, should also will that the Saints should address themselves to her to obtain favours for their clients?
And as to saying that no one ever dreamed of such a thing, I find that St. Bernard, St. Anselm, St. Bonaventure, Suarez, and others, expressly declare it to be the case. "In vain," says St. Bernard, "would a person ask other Saints for a favour if Mary did not interpose to obtain it." Another author, explaining the words of the Psalm: All the rich among the people shall entreat thy countenance (Ps. xliv. 13), says "that the Saints are the rich of that great people of God, who, when they wish to obtain a favour from God for their clients, recommend themselves to Mary, and she immediately obtains it." And Father Suarez correctly remarks that "we beg the Saints to be our intercessors with Mary, because she is their Queen and sovereign Lady." "Amongst the Saints," he says, "we do not make use of one to intercede with the other, as all are of the same order; but we do ask them to intercede with Mary, because she is their Sovereign and Queen." And this is precisely what St. Benedict promised to St. Frances of Rome, as we read in Father Marchese; for he appeared to her, and taking her under his protection, he promised that he would be her advocate with the Divine Mother.
In confirmation of this, St. Anselm addresses our Blessed Lady and says: "O Lady, whatever all the Saints, united with thee, can obtain, thou canst obtain alone." "And why is this?" asks the Saint; "why is it that thou alone hast such great power? Ah, it is because thou alone art the Mother of our common Redeemer; thou art the Spouse of God; thou art the universal Queen of Heaven and earth. If thou dost not speak for us, no Saint will pray for or help us. But if thou beginnest to pray for us, then will all the Saints do the same and succour us."
So that Father Segneri, in his Devout Client of Mary, applying with the Catholic Church the words of Ecclesiasticus to her: I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven (Ecclus. xxiv. 8), says that "as the first sphere by its motion sets all the others in motion, so it is when Mary prays for a soul; immediately the whole heavenly court begins to pray with her." "Nay, more," says St. Bonaventure, "whenever the most sacred Virgin goes to God to intercede for us, she, as Queen, commands all the Angels and Saints to accompany her, and unite their prayers to hers."
And thus, finally, do we understand why the Holy Church requires that we should salute and invoke the Divine Mother under the glorious title of "our hope." Spes nostra, salve! The impious Luther said that he "could not endure that the Roman Church should call Mary, who is only a creature, 'our hope'"; "for," said he, "God alone, and Jesus Christ as our Mediator, are our Hope: and God curses those who place their hope in a creature, according to the Prophet Jeremias Cursed be the man that trusteth in man" (Jer. xvii. 5). But the Church teaches us to invoke Mary on all occasions, and to call her "Our Hope" -- Hail, our hope! Whoever places his confidence in a creature independently of God, certainly is cursed by God; for God is the only source and dispenser of every good, and the creature without God is nothing, and can give nothing. But if our Lord has so disposed it, as we have already proved that He has done, that all graces should pass through Mary as by a channel of mercy, we not only can but ought to assert that she, by whose means we receive the Divine graces, is truly our hope.
Therefore St. Bernard says that "she is his greatest confidence and the whole foundation of his hope." St. John Damascene says the same thing, for he thus addresses the most Blessed Virgin: "O Lady, in thee have I placed all my hope; and with my eyes fixed on thee, from thee do I expect salvation." St. Thomas says that "Mary is the whole hope of our salvation," and St. Ephrem, addressing her, says: "O most holy Virgin, receive us under thy protection, if thou wilt see us saved, for we have no hope of salvation but through thy means."
Let us, then, in the words of St. Bernard, "endeavour to venerate this Divine Mother with the whole affection of our hearts; for such is the will of God, Who is pleased that we should receive every good thing from her hand." And therefore the Saint exhorts us, whenever we desire or ask for any grace, to recommend ourselves to Mary, and to be assured that we shall receive it by her means; for he says that if thou dost not deserve the favour from God, Mary, who will ask it for thee, will deserve to receive it. "Because thou wast unworthy of the gift, it was bestowed on Mary, that through her thou mightest receive all that thou hast." The Saint then advises us to recommend all that we offer to God to the care of Mary, be they good works or prayers, if we wish our Lord to accept them. "Whatever thou mayest offer to God, be sure to recommend it to Mary, in order not to meet with a repulse."
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
To obtain perseverance in well-doing we must not trust in our resolutions and in the promises we have made to God; if we trust in our own strength we are lost. All our hope of preserving the grace of God must be placed in the merits of Jesus Christ, and thus, trusting in His help, we shall persevere till death, though we be attacked by all our enemies in earth and in hell. Sometimes we find ourselves so cast down in mind and so assaulted by temptations, that we seem to be almost lost; let us not then lose courage, nor abandon ourselves to despair; let us go to the Crucified, and He will sustain us.
The Lord permits His Saints sometimes to find themselves in tempests and fears. St. Paul says that the afflictions and terrors he suffered in Asia were so overpowering that he became weary of life; meaning that he was so, as far as he depended on his own strength. This is to teach us that God, from time to time, leaves us in desolations, in order that we may know our misery, and, distrusting ourselves, may humbly have recourse to His goodness, and obtain from Him strength not to fall. More clearly he expresses the same in another place: We are cast down, but we perish not (2 Cor. iv. 9). We find ourselves oppressed with sadness and passions, but do not abandon ourselves to despair; we are tossed about on the water, but do not sink, because the Lord, by His grace, gives us strength against our enemies. But the Apostle exhorts us ever to keep before our eyes that we are weak, and prone to lose the treasure of Divine grace, and that all our strength for preserving it comes not from ourselves but from God: We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency may be of the power of God and not of us (2 Cor. iv.
II.
Let us be firmly persuaded that in this life we must ever beware of placing any confidence in our own works. Our strongest armour with which we shall ever win the victory over the assaults of hell is prayer. This is the armour of God of which St. Paul speaks: Put on the armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore, take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one; and take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit (which is the word of God), by all prayer and supplication, praying at all times in the Spirit (Eph. vi. 11-18).
Wherefore the Apostle continues: By all prayer and supplication, praying at all times in the spirit; and in the same watching with all instance and supplication for all the saints (Eph. vi. 18). Thus, prayer is the most powerful of all the arms with which God gives us victory over our evil passions and the temptations of hell; but this prayer must be made in the spirit; that is, not with the lips only, but with the heart. Moreover, it must last through our life -- at all times; for as the struggle is constant, so must our prayer be. It must be urgent and repeated; if the temptation does not yield at the first prayer, we must repeat it a second, third, or fourth time; and if it still continues, we must add sighs, tears, importunity, vehemence, as if we would do violence to God, that He may give us the grace of victory. This is what the Apostle's words, with all instance and supplication, mean. The Apostle adds, for all the saints, which means that we are not to pray for ourselves alone, but for the perseverance of all the faithful who are in the grace of God, and especially of priests, that they may labour for the conversion of unbelievers and all sinners, repeating in our prayers the words of Zachary: To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death (Luke i. 79).
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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