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The whole life of the Saints has been one of meditation and prayer; and all the graces by means of which they have become Saints have been received by them in answer to prayer. If therefore we are to be saved and become Saints, we should ever stand at the gates of Divine mercy and beg and pray, as for an alms, all that we stand in need of. Ask and you shall receive.
I.
Ask and you shall receive. We are poor in all things; but if we pray we are rich in all things; for God has promised to grant the prayer of him who prays to Him. He says: Ask and you shall receive. What greater love can one friend show towards another than to say to him: Ask of me what you will and I will give it to you? This is what the Lord says to each one of us. God is Lord of all things. He promises to give us as much as we ask Him for; if, then, we are poor, the fault is our own, because we do not ask Him for the graces of which we stand in need. And it is on this account that mental prayer is morally necessary for all, inasmuch as when it is laid aside, while we are involved in this world’s cares, we pay but little attention to the soul; but when we practise it we discover the wants of the soul, and then we pray for the corresponding graces and obtain them.
The whole life of the Saints has been one of meditation and prayer; and all the graces by means of which they have become Saints have been received by them in answer to prayer. If, therefore, we would be saved and become saints, we should ever stand at the gates of Divine Mercy to beg and pray, as for an alms, all that we stand in need of. We need humility: let us ask for it and we shall be humble. We need patience under tribulations: let us ask for it and we shall be patient. The Divine love is what we desire: let us ask for it, and we shall obtain it. Ask and it shall be given you-(Matt. vii. 7} is God’s promise, which cannot fail. And Jesus Christ, in order to inspire us with the greater confidence in our prayers, has promised us that whatever be the graces we shall ask of the Father in His Name, for the sake of His love or His merits, the Father will give us them all: Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in my name he will give it to you (John xvi. 23). And in another place He says that if we ask of Him anything in His own Name and through His merits, He will grant it: If you ask me anything in my name, that will I do-(John xiv. 14}. Yes; because it is of Faith that whatever God can do can also be done by Jesus Christ, Who is His Son.
II.
The Council of Trent teaches, in the words of St. Augustine, that, though man is not able with the aid of the grace ordinarily given to fulfil all the Commandments, still he can, by prayer, obtain the additional helps necessary for their observance. “God does not command impossibilities,” says St. Augustine, “but by His precepts He admonishes you to do what you can, and to ask what you cannot do; and He assists you that you may be able to do it.” To this may be added another celebrated passage of St. Augustine: “By our Faith, which teaches that God does not command impossibilities, we are admonished what to do in things that are easy, and what to ask in things that are difficult.”
But why does God, Who knows our weakness, permit us to be assailed by enemies which we are not able to resist? The Lord, answers the holy Doctor, seeing the great advantages which we derive from the very fact that we have of necessity to pray to Him, permits us to be attacked by enemies more powerful than we are, that we may ask His assistance. Hence they who are conquered cannot excuse themselves by saying that they had not strength to resist the assault of the enemy; for had they asked aid from God He would have given it; and had they prayed, they would have been victorious. Therefore, if they are defeated, God will punish them. St. Bonaventure says that if a general lose a fortress in consequence of not having sought timely succour from his sovereign, he shall be branded as a traitor. Thus, God regards as a traitor the Christian who, when he finds; himself assailed by temptations, neglects to seek the Divine aid. Ask, says Jesus Christ, and you shall receive. Then, concludes St. Teresa, he that does not ask does not receive. This is conformable to the doctrine of St. James: You have not, because you ask not -(James iv. 2). St. John Chrysostom says that prayer is a powerful weapon of defence against all enemies. “Truly prayer is a great armour.” St. Ephrem writes that he who fortifies himself beforehand by prayer prevents the entrance of sin into the soul. “If you pray before you work, the passage into the soul will not be open to sin.” David said the same: Praising I will call upon the Lord, and I shall be saved from my enemies. -(Ps. xvii. 4). If we wish to lead a good life, and to save our souls, we must learn to pray. “He,” says St. Augustine, “knows how to live well who knows how to pray well.”
Spiritual Reading
VITA, DULCEDO! HAIL, OUR LIFE, OUR SWEETNESS!
XXVII.-MARY IS OUR SWEETNESS; SHE RENDERS DEATH SWEET TO HER CLIENTS
Such also will be your death if you are faithful to Mary. Though you may have hitherto offended God, she will procure you a sweet and happy death. And if by chance at that moment you are greatly alarmed and lose confidence at the sight of your sins, she will come and encourage you, as she did Adolphus, Count of Alsace, who abandoned the world and entered the Order of St. Francis. In the Chronicles of the Order we are told that he had a tender devotion to the Mother of God, and that when he was at the point of death his former life and the rigours of Divine justice presented themselves before his mind, and caused him to tremble at the thought of death, and fear for his eternal salvation. Scarcely had these thoughts entered his mind, when Mary, who is always active when her servants are in pain, accompanied by many Saints, presented herself before the dying man, and encouraged him with words of the greatest tenderness, saying: “My own beloved Adolph, thou art mine, thou hast given thyself to me, and now why dost thou fear death so much?” On hearing these words the servant of Mary was instantly relieved, fear was banished from his soul, and he expired in the midst of the greatest peace and joy.
Let us, then, be of good heart, though we be sinners, and feel certain that Mary will come and assist us at death, and comfort and console us with her presence, provided only that we serve her with love during the remainder of the time that we have to be in this world. Our Queen, one day addressing St. Matilda, promised that she would assist all her clients at death, who, during their lives had faithfully served her. “I as a most tender Mother, will faithfully be present at the death of all who piously serve me, and will console and protect them.” O God, what a consolation will it be at that last moment of our lives when our eternal lot has so soon to be decided, to see the Queen of Heaven assisting and consoling us with the assurance of her protection.
Besides the cases already given in which we have seen Mary assisting her dying servants, there are innumerable others recorded in different works. This favour was granted to St. Clare; to St. Felix, of the Order of Capuchins; to St. Clare of Montefalco; to St. Teresa; to St. Peter of Alcantara. But, for our common consolation, I will relate the following: Father Crasset tells us that Mary of Oignies saw the Blessed Virgin at the pillow of a devout widow of Willembroc, who was ill with a violent fever. Mary stood by her side, consoling her, and cooling her with a fan. Of St. John of God, who was tenderly devoted to Mary, it is related that he fully expected that she would visit him on his death-bed; but not seeing her arrive he was afflicted, and perhaps even complained. But when his last hour had come the divine Mother appeared, and, gently reproving him for his little confidence, addressed him in the following tender words, which may well encourage all servants of Mary: “John, it is not in me to forsake my clients at such a moment.” As though she had said: “John, of what wast thou thinking? Didst thou imagine that I had abandoned thee? And dost thou not know that I never abandon my clients at the hour of death? If I did not come sooner, it was because thy time was not come; but now that it is come, behold me here to take thee; let us go to Heaven.” Shortly afterwards the Saint expired and fled to that blessed kingdom, there to thank his most loving Queen for all eternity.
Evening Meditation
THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
XXXIII.-“CHARITY ENVIETH NOT “-HE THAT LOVES JESUS DOES NOT ENVY THE GREAT ONES OF THE WORLD, BUT ONLY THOSE WHO ARE GREATER LOVERS OF JESUS CHRIST.
I.
The following are the signs which indicate whether we work solely for God in any spiritual undertaking.
1.-If we are not disturbed at the failure of our plans, because when we see it is not God’s will, neither is it any longer our will.
2.-If we rejoice at the good done by others as heartily as if we ourselves had done it.
3.-If we have no preference for one charge more than another, but willingly accept that which obedience to superiors enjoins on us.
4.-If after our actions we do not seek the thanks or approbation of others, nor are in any way affected, if we be found fault with or scolded, being satisfied in having pleased God.
And if when the world applauds us we are not puffed up, but meet the vainglory, which might make itself felt, with the reply of the Blessed John of Avila: “Begone! Thou comest too late, for all has been already given to God.” This is to enter into the joy of the Lord; that is, to enjoy the enjoyment of God, as is promised to His faithful servants: Well done, thou good and faithful servant; because thou hast been faithful over a few things .. enter thou into the joy of thy Lord-(Matt. xxv. 23).
And if it falls to our lot to do something pleasing to God, what more, asks St. John Chrysostom, can we desire? “If thou art found worthy to perform something that pleases God, dost thou seek other recompense than this?” The greatest reward, the brightest fortune that can befall a creature is to give pleasure to his Creator.
II.
And this is what Jesus Christ looks for from a soul that loves Him: Put me, He says, as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm-(Cant. viii. 6). He desires us to place Him as a seal on our heart and on our arm : on our heart, in order that whatever we intend doing we may intend solely for the love of God; on our arm, in order that, whatever we do, all may be done to please God; so that God may be always the sole end of all our thoughts and of all our actions. St. Teresa said that he who would become a Saint must live free from every other desire than that of pleasing God; and her first daughter, the Venerable Beatrice of the Incarnation, said: “Nothing whatever could repay the slightest thing done for God.” And with reason; for all things done to please God are acts of Charity which unite us with God, and obtain for us everlasting rewards.
"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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All things whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe you shall receive, and they shall come unto you-(Mark xi. 24). Many pray, but they do not obtain what they pray for, because they do not pray as they ought. You ask, says St. James, and receive not, because you ask amiss -(James iv. 3). To be heard by God we must ask with humility, confidence, and perseverance. And what prayers, O my God, wilt Thou ever hear, if Thou hearest not those which are made as Thou wishest them to be made?
I.
Let us consider the conditions of prayer. Many pray, but do not obtain the object of their prayers, because they do not pray as they ought. You ask, says St. James, and receive not, because you ask amiss-(James iv. 3). To pray well it is necessary, in the first place, to pray with humility. God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble-(James iv. 6). God rejects the petitions of the proud, but does not allow the humble to depart without hearing all their prayers. The prayer of him that humbleth himself shall pierce the clouds . . . and he will not depart till the Most High behold-(Ecclus. xxxv. 21). This holds, even though they have been hitherto sinners. A contrite and humble heart, O God, thou wilt not despise-(Ps. 1. 19). Secondly, it is necessary to pray with confidence. No one hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded-(Ecclus. ii. 11). Jesus Christ has taught us to call God, in our petitions for His graces, by no other name than that of Father, in order to make us pray with the same confidence with which a child has recourse to a parent. He, then, who prays with confidence, obtains every grace. All things whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe that you shall receive, and they shall come unto you-(Mark Xi. -24). And who, says St. Augustine, can fear that the promises of God, Who is Truth itself, will be violated. God, says the Scripture, is not like men, who promise -but do not perform, either because they intend to deceive, or because they change their minds. God is not as man that he should lie, nor as the son of man that he should be changed. Hath he told then, and will he not do? (Num. xxiii. 19). And why, adds the same St. Augustine, should the Lord so earnestly exhort us to ask His graces, if He did not wish to bestow them upon us? By His promises He has bound Himself to grant us the graces we ask of Him. “By promising,” says St. Augustine, “He has made Himself a debtor.”
But some will say: I am a sinner, and therefore I do not deserve to be heard. In answer St. Thomas says that the efficacy of prayer to obtain grace depends, not on our merits, but on the Divine mercy. Everyone, says Jesus Christ, that asketh receiveth-(Matt. vii. 8); that is, everyone whether he be a just man or a sinner. But the Redeemer Himself takes away all fear when He says: Amen, amen, I say to you: If you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you-(John xvi. 23). As if He said: Sinners, if you are without merits, I have merits before My Father. Ask, then, in My Name, and I promise that you will receive whatsoever you ask. But it is necessary to know that this promise does not extend to temporal favours, such as health, goods of fortune, and the like; for God often justly refuses these graces, because He sees that they would be injurious to our salvation. “The physician,” says St. Augustine, ” knows better than the patient what is useful.” The holy Doctor adds that God refuses to some through mercy what He gives to others because He is angry. Hence we should ask temporal blessings only on condition that they will be profitable to the soul. But spiritual graces, such as pardon of sins, perseverance, Divine love, and the like, should be asked absolutely, and with a firm confidence of obtaining them. If, says Jesus Christ, you being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him!-(Luke xi. 13).
Without Thy help, O my beloved Redeemer, I can do nothing. But Thou hast promised to grant all that we ask of Thee. Confiding, therefore, in Thy promises, my dear Jesus, I ask for the pardon of all my sins: I ask for holy perseverance; but above all, I ask for the gift of Thy holy love.
II.
Above all, perseverance in prayer is necessary. In his commentary on Chapter XI. of St. Luke’s Gospel, Cornelius a Lapide says that the Lord “wishes us to persevere in prayer even to importunity.” This may be inferred from the following passages of Scripture: We ought always to pray-(Luke xviii. 1). Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times-(Luke xxi. 36). Pray without ceasing-(l Thess. v. 17). It may be also inferred from our Lord’s repeated exhortations to prayer. Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you-(Luke xi. 9). It might be sufficient to have said: Ask; but no; the Lord wishes us to understand that we ought to imitate beggars, who do not cease to ask, to entreat, and to knock at the door, until they receive an alms. But final perseverance, in particular, is a grace which is not obtained without continual prayer. We cannot merit this grace of perseverance; but, according to St. Augustine, it may be merited in a certain manner. “This gift,” says the holy Doctor, “can be suppliantly merited; that is, it may be obtained by supplication.” Let us, then, if we wish to be saved, pray always, and never cease to pray. And let all confessors and teachers, if they desire the salvation of souls, never cease to exhort their penitents or hearers to prayer. And, in conformity with the advice of St. Bernard, let us always have recourse to the intercession of Mary. “Let us ask for grace, and let us ask it through Mary: for what she asks she obtains, and her prayer cannot be fruitless.”
O my God, I hope Thou hast already pardoned me; but my enemies will not cease to fight against me till death. Unless Thou dost assist me, I shall lose Thee again. Ah! through the merits of Jesus Christ, I ask holy perseverance. Do not permit me to be separated from Thee. And I ask the same grace for all who are at present in the state of grace. I put all confidence in Thy promise, that Thou wilt give me perseverance if I continue to ask it from Thee. But I fear that in my temptations I shall neglect to have recourse to Thee, and thus relapse into sin. I therefore ask of Thee the grace never more to neglect prayer. Grant that in the occasions in which I shall be in danger of relapsing, I may recommend myself to Thee, and may invoke the aid of the most Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. O my God, this I purpose, and this I hope to do with the assistance of Thy grace. Hear me for the sake of Jesus Christ. O Mary, my Mother, obtain for me the grace that in all dangers of losing God, I may have recourse to thee and to thy Son.
Spiritual Reading
SPES NOSTRA, SALVE-HAIL, OUR HOPE!
XXVIII.-MARY IS THE HOPE OF ALL.
Modern heretics cannot endure that we should salute and call Mary our hope: “Hail, our Hope!” They say that God alone is our hope, and that He curses those who put their trust in creatures in these words of the Prophet Jeremias: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man-(Jer. xvii. 5). Mary, they exclaim, is a creature; and how can a creature be our hope? This is what the heretics say: but in spite of this the holy Church obliges all Ecclesiastics and Religious each day to raise their voices; and in the name of all the faithful to invoke and call Mary by the sweet name of “our Hope”-the hope of all.
The angelical Doctor St. Thomas, says that we can place our hope in a person in two ways: as a principal cause, and as a mediate one. Those who hope for a favour from a king, hope it from him as lord; they hope for it from his minister or favourite as an intercessor. If the favour is granted, it comes primarily from the king, but it comes through the instrumentality of the favourite; and in this case he who seeks the favour is right in calling his intercessor his hope. The King of Heaven, being Infinite Goodness, desires in the highest degree to enrich us with His graces; but because confidence is requisite on our part, and in order to increase it in us, He has given us His own Mother to be our Mother and Advocate, and to her He has given all power to help us; and therefore He wills that we should repose our hope of salvation and of every blessing in her. Those who place their hopes in creatures alone, independently of God, as sinners do, and in order to obtain the friendship and favour of a man, fear not to outrage His Divine Majesty, are most certainly cursed by God, as the Prophet Jeremias says. But those who hope in Mary, as Mother of God, who is able to obtain graces and eternal life for them, are truly blessed and acceptable to the Heart of God, Who desires to see that greatest of His creatures honoured; for she loved and honoured Him in this world more than all men and Angels put together. And therefore we justly and reasonably call the Blessed Virgin “our Hope,” trusting, as Cardinal Bellarmine says,” that we shall obtain through her intercession, that which we should not obtain by our own unaided prayers.” “We pray to her,” says the learned Suarez, “in order that the dignity of the intercessor may supply for our own unworthiness; so that,” he continues, “to implore the Blessed Virgin in such a spirit is not diffidence in the mercy of God, but fear of our own unworthiness.”
It is, then, not without reason that the holy Church, in the words of Ecclesiasticus, calls Mary the mother of holy hope-(Ecclus. xxiv. 24). She is the Mother who gives birth to holy hope in our hearts; not to the hope of the vain and transitory goods of this life, but of the immense and eternal goods of Heaven.
“Hail, then, O hope of my soul!” exclaims St. Ephrem, addressing this Divine Mother; “hail, O certain salvation of Christians; hail, O helper of sinners; hail, fortress of the faithful and salvation of the world!” Other Saints remind us that, after God, our only hope is Mary; and therefore they call her, “after God, their only Hope.”
Evening Meditation
THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
XXXIV.-“CHARITY ENVIETH NOT”-HE THAT LOVES JESUS DOES NOT ENVY THE GREAT ONES OF THE WORLD, BUT ONLY THOSE WHO ARE GREATER LOVERS OF JESUS CHRIST.
I.
Purity of intention is called the heavenly alchemy by which iron is turned into gold; that is to say, the most trivial actions, such as to work, to take one’s meals, to take recreation or repose, when done for God, become the gold of holy love. Wherefore St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi believes for certain that those who do all with a pure intention go straight to Paradise, without passing through Purgatory. It is related in the Spiritual Treasury that it was the custom of a pious hermit, before setting about any work, to pause a little, and lift his eyes to Heaven; on being questioned why he did so he replied: “I am taking my aim.” By which he meant that, as the archer before shooting his arrow takes his aim that he may not miss the mark, so, before each action, he made God his aim, in order that it might be sure of pleasing Him. We should do the same; and even during the performance of our actions it is very good for us from time to time to renew our good intention.
II.
Those who have nothing else in view in their undertakings than the Divine will, enjoy that holy liberty of spirit which belongs to the children of God; and this enables them to embrace everything that pleases Jesus Christ, however repugnant it may be to their own self love or human respect. The love of Jesus Christ establishes His lovers in a state of total indifference; so that all is the same to them, be it sweet or bitter; they desire nothing for their own pleasure, but all for the pleasure of God. With the same feelings of peace they address themselves to small and great works; to the pleasant and the unpleasant: it is enough for them if they please God.
"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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We can expect to obtain only those graces that we ask in the Name and through the merits of Jesus Christ. “But,” says St. Augustine, “if we ask anything hurtful to our salvation it cannot be said to be asked in the Name of the Saviour.” When we see that God does not give us temporal gifts, let us be assured that He refuses them only because He loves us, and because He sees that the things we ask would only injure our spiritual well-being.
I.
Consider that our Lord’s promise to hear our prayers does not apply to our petitions for temporal goods, but only to those for spiritual graces necessary, or at any rate useful, for the salvation of the soul. We can only expect to obtain the graces that we ask in the Name and through the merits of Jesus Christ. “But,” as St. Augustine says, “if we ask anything hurtful to our salvation, it cannot be said to be asked in the Name of the Saviour.” That which is injurious to salvation cannot be expected from the Saviour; God does not and cannot grant it; and why? Because He loves us. A physician who has regard for a sick man will not permit him to have food Which he knows will injure him, And how many people would be prevented from committing the sins they do commit if they were poor or sick! Many people ask for health or riches, but God does not give them, because He sees they would be an occasion of sinning, or at least of growing lukewarm in His service. So, when we ask these temporal gifts, we ought always to add this condition -if they are profitable for our souls. And when we see that God does not give them, let us rest assured that He refuses them only because He loves us, and because He sees that the things we ask would only injure our spiritual well-being.
And often we pray God to deliver us from some troublesome temptation which seeks to induce us to forfeit His grace; but God does not deliver us, in order that our soul may be more closely united in love with Him. It is not temptations or bad thoughts that hurt us, and separate us from God, but consent to evil. When the soul, through the assistance of God’s grace, resists a temptation, it makes a great advance in the way of perfection. St. Paul tells us that he was very much troubled with temptations to impurity, and that he prayed God thrice to deliver him from them: There was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan to buffet me; for which thing thrice I besought the Lord that it might depart from me. And what did the Lord answer? He told him: It is enough to have My grace: My grace is sufficient for thee-(2 Cor. xii. 7-9). Thus should we, in the temptations which assault us, pray God to deliver us from them, or at least to help us to resist them. And when we thus pray, we should be quite certain that God is already helping us to resist them: Thou didst call upon me in affliction, and I delivered thee. I heard thee in the secret place of tempest-(Ps. lxxx. 8). God often leaves us in the storm for our greater good; but still He hears us in secret, and gives us His grace to strengthen us to resist and to be resigned.
II.
All temporal gifts which are not necessary for salvation ought to be asked conditionally; and if we see that God does not give them, we must feel sure that He refuses them for our greater good. But with regard to spiritual graces, we must be certain that God gives them to us when we ask Him. St. Teresa says that God loves us more than we love ourselves. And St. Augustine has declared that God has a greater desire to give us His grace than we have to receive it: “He is more willing to bestow His favours upon. you than you are desirous of receiving them.” And after him, St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi has said that God feels a kind of obligation to the soul that prays, and, as it were, says to it: “Soul, I thank thee that thou askest Me for grace.” For then the soul gives God an opportunity of doing good to it, and of thus satisfying His desire of giving His grace to all. And how can it ever happen that God will not hear a soul that asks for the things which He most delights to give? When the soul says: “Lord, I ask Thee not for riches, honours, the goods of this world, but I only beg for Thy grace. Deliver me from sin; give me a good death; give me Paradise; give me Thy love,” which is the grace that, as St. Francis de Sales says, we ought to pray for above all others, “give me resignation to Thy will”-when the soul prays thus, how is it possible that God should refuse to hear it? And what prayers, O my God, wilt Thou ever hear, asks St. Augustine, if Thou hearest not those that are made as Thou wishest them to be made: “If Thou hearest not these, what dost thou hear?” And St. Bernard says that when we ask for spiritual graces of this kind, the desire of obtaining them can only come to us from God Himself; so the Saint turns to God, and says to Him: “Wherefore hast Thou given the desire unless Thou art willing to satisfy it?” But above all, the words of Jesus Christ should revive our confidence, when we are praying for spiritual graces: If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him?-(Luke xi. 13). If you, who are full of evil and of self love, are unable to refuse your children the good things which they ask, how much more will your heavenly Father, who loves you more than any earthly father can love his family, grant you His spiritual gifts, when you ask Him for them?
Let us pray, then, and be ever praying, if we wish to be saved. Let prayer be our most delightful occupation; let prayer be the exercise of our whole life. And when we are praying for particular graces, let us never forget to ask for the grace to continue to pray; because if we ever leave off praying we shall be lost. There is nothing easier than prayer. It costs us little to say: Lord, stand by me! Lord, assist me! Lord, give me Thy love! and the like. What can be easier than this? But if we do not do so we cannot be saved. Let us pray, then, and let us always shelter ourselves under the intercession of Mary: “Let us seek for grace, and let us seek it through Mary,” says St. Bernard. And when we recommend ourselves to Mary, let us be sure that she hears us and obtains for us whatever we want. The same Saint says: “Neither the means nor the will can be wanting to her.” And St. Augustine thus addresses her: “Remember, O most pious Lady, that it has never been heard that anyone who fled to thy protection was forsaken.” Ah, no, says St. Bonaventure, he who invokes Mary, finds salvation; and therefore he calls her “the salvation of those who invoke her.” Let us, then, in our prayers always invoke Jesus and Mary; and let us never neglect to pray.
Eternal Father, I humbly adore Thee, and thank Thee for having created me, and for having redeemed me through Jesus Christ. I thank Thee most sincerely for having made me a Christian, by giving me the true Faith, and by adopting me as Thy child in the Sacrament of Baptism. I thank Thee for having, after the numberless sins I had committed, waited for my repentance, and for having pardoned, as I humbly hope, all the offences I have offered to Thee, and for which I am now sincerely sorry, because They have been displeasing to Thee, Who art infinite goodness. I thank Thee for having preserved me from so many relapses, of which I would have been guilty if Thou hadst not protected me. But my enemies still continue, and will continue till death, to combat against me, and to endeavor to make me their slave. If Thou dost not constantly guard and succour me with Thy aid, I, a miserable creature, shall return to sin, and shall certainly lose Thy grace. I beseech Thee, then, for the love of Jesus Christ, to grant me holy perseverance unto death. Jesus, Thy Son has promised that Thou wilt grant whatsoever we ask in His Name. Through the merits, then, of Jesus Christ, I beg, for myself and for all the just, the grace never again to be separated from Thy love, but to love Thee forever, in time and eternity. Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me.
Spiritual Reading
SPES NOSTRA, SALVE-HAIL, OUR HOPE!
XXIX.-MARY IS THE HOPE OF ALL
St. Ephrem, reflecting on the present order of Providence, by which God wills that all who are saved should be saved by the means of Mary, thus addresses her: “O Lady, cease not to watch over us; preserve and guard us under the wings of thy compassion and mercy, for, after God, we have no hope but in thee.” St. Thomas of Villanova repeats the same thing, calling her: “our only refuge, help, and asylum.” St. Bernard seems to give the reason for this when he says: “See, O man, the designs of God-designs by which He is able to dispense His mercy more abundantly to us; for, desiring to redeem the whole human race, He has placed the whole price of redemption in the hands of Mary, that she may dispense it at will.”
In the book of Exodus we read that God commanded Moses to make a mercy-seat of purest gold, becanse it was thence that He would speak to him: Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold … Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee-(Exod. xxv. 17,22). St. Andrew of Crete says that “the whole world embraces Mary as being this propitiatory.” And, commenting on his words, a pious author exclaims: “Thou, O Mary, art the propitiatory of the whole world. From thee does our most compassionate Lord speak to our hearts; from thee He speaks words of pardon and mercy; from thee He bestows His gifts; from thee all good flows to us.” And therefore, before the Divine Word took flesh in the womb of Mary, God sent an Archangel to ask her consent: because He willed that the world should receive the Incarnate Word through her, and that she should be the source of every good. Hence St. Ireneus remarks that as Eve was seduced by a fallen angel to flee from God, so Mary was led to receive God into her womb, obeying a good Angel; and thus by her obedience repaired Eve’s disobedience, and became her advocate, and that of the whole human race. “If Eve disobeyed God, yet Mary was persuaded to obey God, that the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of the virgin Eve. And as the human race was bound to death through a virgin, it is saved through a Virgin.” And Blessed Raymond Jordano also says that “every good, every help, every grace that men have received and will receive from God until the end of time came, and will come to them by the intercession and through the hands of Mary.”
The devout Blosius, then, might well exclaim: “O Mary, thou who art so loving and gracious towards all who love thee, tell me, who can be so infatuated and unfortunate as not to love thee? Thou, in the midst of their doubts and difficulties, enlightenest the minds of all who, in their afflictions, have recourse to thee. Thou encouragest those who fly to thee in time of danger; thou succourest those who call upon thee; thou, after thy Divine Son, art the certain salvation of thy faithful servants. Hail, then, O hope of those who are in despair; O succour of those who are abandoned. O Mary, thou art all-powerful, for thy Divine Son, to honour thee, complies instantly with all thy desires.”
Evening Meditation
THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
XXXV.- “CHARITY ENVIETH NOT”-HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST DOES NOT ENVY THE GREAT ONES OF THE WORLD, BUT ONLY THOSE WHO ARE GREATER LOVERS OF JESUS CHRIST.
I.
Many, on the other hand, are willing to serve God, but it must be in such an employment, in such a place, with such companions, or under such circumstances, or else they either quit the work or do it with a bad grace. Such persons have not freedom of spirit, but are slaves of self-love; and on that account gain very little merit by what they do: they lead a troubled life, because the yoke of Jesus Christ becomes a burden to them. The true lovers of Jesus Christ care only to do what pleases Him; and for the reason that it pleases Him, when He wills, and where He wills, and in the manner He wills, and whether He wishes to employ them in a state of life honoured by the world or in a life of obscurity and insignificance. This is what is meant by loving Jesus with a pure love; and in this we ought to exercise ourselves, battling against the craving of our self-love, which would urge us to seek important and honourable functions, and such as suit our inclinations.
I love Thee, my Jesus; I love Thee with all my soul; I love Thee more than myself, O true and only Lover of my soul; for what friend but Thee has ever sacrificed his life for me? I weep to think that I have been so ungrateful to Thee. Unhappy that I am! I was already lost; but I trust that by Thy grace Thou hast restored me to life. And this shall be my life, to love Thee always, my Sovereign Good. Make me love Thee, O infinite love, and I ask Thee for nothing more! O Mary, my Mother, accept me for thy servant, and gain acceptance for me with Jesus thy Son.
II.
We must, moreover, be detached from all exercises, even spiritual ones, when the Lord wishes us to be occupied in other works of His good pleasure. One day, Father Alvarez, finding himself surrounded with business, was anxious to get rid of it in order to go and pray, because it seemed to him that during that time he was not with God, but our Lord then said to him: “Though I do not keep thee with Me, let it suffice thee that I make use of thee.” This is a profitable lesson for those who are sometimes disturbed at being obliged, by obedience or by charity, to leave their accustomed devotions; let them be assured that such disturbances on these and like occasions do not come from God, but either from the devil or from self-love. “Give pleasure to God, and die.” This is the grand maxim of the Saints.
O my Eternal God, I offer Thee my whole heart; but what sort of heart, O God, is it I offer Thee? A heart created, indeed, to love Thee; but which, instead of loving Thee, has so many times rebelled against Thee. But behold, my Jesus, if there was a time when my heart rebelled against Thee, now it is deeply grieved and penitent for the displeasure it has given Thee. Yes, my dear Redeemer, I am sorry for having despised Thee; and I am determined to do all to obey Thee, and to love Thee at every cost. Oh, draw me wholly to Thy love; do this for the sake of the love which made Thee die for me on the Cross.
"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 world teaches its followers that happiness consists in the possession of riches, pleasures, and honours; but this deceitful world was condemned by the Son of God when He became Man. Now is the judgment of the world-(John xii. 31). This condemnation began in the Stable of Bethlehem. Jesus Christ wished to be born there in poverty, that through His poverty we might become rich, and from His Divine example pluck out of our hearts all affections for earthly possessions.
I.
It was ordained by God that at the time when His Son was born on this earth the decree of the Emperor should be promulgated obliging everyone to go and enroll himself in the place of his birth. And thus it happened that Joseph had to go with his spouse to Bethlehem to enroll himself according to the decree of Caesar. And now, the time of her delivery having arrived, Mary having been driven from the other houses, and even from the common asylum of the poor, was obliged to remain that night in a cave, and there brought forth the King of Heaven. It is true that, if Jesus had been born at Nazareth, He would equally have been born in a state of poverty; but then He would at least have had a dry room, a little fire, warm clothes, and a more comfortable cradle. But no, He chose to be born in this cold cavern without a fire to warm Him; He chose to have a manger for a cradle, and a little prickly straw for a bed, in order that He might suffer more.
Let us, then, enter into the cave of Bethlehem; but let us enter there with Faith. If we go there without Faith we shall see nothing but a poor infant who moves us to compassion at beholding one so beautiful, shivering and crying with cold and with the pricking of the straw on which he lies. But if we enter it with Faith, and consider that this Child is the Son of God, Who for the love of us has come down to this earth and suffered so much to pay the penalty of our sins, how can it be possible not to thank Him and love Him?
O my sweet Infant, how is it possible that, knowing how much Thou hast suffered for me, I can have been so ungrateful to Thee, and have offended Thee so often! But these tears which Thou sheddest, this poverty Thou hast chosen for the love of me, make me hope for the pardon of all the offences I have committed against Thee. I repent, my Jesus, of having so often turned my back upon Thee; and I love Thee above all things, my God and my All! My God, from this day forth Thou shalt be my only Treasure and my only Good. I will say to Thee, with St. Ignatius of Loyola, “Give me Thy love, give me Thy grace, and I am rich enough.” I wish for, and desire nothing else. Thou alone art sufficient for me, my Jesus, my Life, my Love.
II.
After the example of our Saviour the Saints sought to despoil themselves of everything, and in poverty to follow Jesus Christ Who was Himself poor. St. Bernard says: “The poverty of Christ is richer than all the world’s treasures.” It animates us in acquiring the riches of Heaven and in despising those of the world. St. Paul wrote: I count all things but as dung, that I may gain Christ-(Phil. iii. 8). Compared with the grace of Jesus Christ the Apostle considered everything else as mere dung and filth. St. Francis Borgia abandons all his wealth for a life of poverty in the Society of Jesus. St. Francis of Assisi gave back even his very shirt to his father that he might live all his life like a poor beggar. He who covets possessions, said St. Philip Neri, will never become a Saint. And so it is; for the heart that is full of this world has no room for Divine love. Dost thou bring an empty heart? was a question the monks of old asked of those who came to join them. They meant to say: If thou dost not bring an empty heart thou canst never belong entirely to God. For where thy treasure is there is thy heart also-(Matt. vi. 21). Each one’s treasure is what he loves and prizes. Once when a certain rich man died St. Anthony of Padua published his damnation from the pulpit; and as a sign of the truth of what he said he told the people to go to the place where he had kept his money, and that there they would find the wretched man’s heart. They did go, and they actually found his heart, still warm, in the midst of his money.
Happy is the man who can say with St. Paulinus: “Let the rich enjoy their riches and kings their kingdoms; Christ is my possession, my kingdom, and my glory.” “Give me Thy love together with Thy grace and I am rich enough,” said St. Ignatius. Let us never fail to have recourse to Mary, the Divine Mother, and love her after God above all things. She enriches with graces all who love her. With me are riches … that I may enrich them that love me-(Prov. viii. 18, 21).
O my infant God, I see Thee trembling with cold on the straw, crying and weeping for my sake–oh, how can I live without loving Thee? 0 my God, how could I have offended Thee so much, knowing, as I did by Faith how much Thou hast suffered for me. But this straw that torments Thee, this vile manger in which Thou art lying, those loving tears Thou shedest, those tender cries Thou dost utter all make me firmly hope for pardon and for the grace to love Thee for the rest of my life. I love Thee, O Divine Child! I give myself all to Thee. O Mary, great Mother of this great Son, and most beloved by Him, pray to Him for me.
Spiritual Reading
SPES NOSTRA, SALVE-HAIL, OUR HOPE!
XXX.-MARY IS THE HOPE OF ALL
St. Germanus, recognising in Mary the source of all our good, and that she delivers us from every evil, thus invokes her: “O, my sovereign Lady, thou alone art the one whom God has appointed to be my solace here below; thou art the guide of my pilgrimage, the strength of my weakness, the riches of my poverty, remedy for the healing of my wounds, the relief of my pains, the end of my captivity, the hope of my salvation! Hear my prayers, have pity on my tears, I conjure thee, O thou who art my Queen, my refuge, my love, my help, my hope and my strength.”
We need not, then, be surprised that St. Antoninus applies the following verse of the Book of Wisdom to Mary: Now all good things came to me together with her-(Wisd. vii. 11). For as this Blessed Virgin is the Mother and dispenser of all good things, the whole world, and more particularly each individual who Iives in it as a devout client of this great Queen, may say with truth that, with devotion to Mary, both he and the world have obtained everything good and perfect. The Saint thus expresses his thought: “She is the Mother of all good things; and the world can truly say that, with her, it has received all good things” And hence the Blessed Abbot of Celles expressly declares that “when we find Mary, we find all good.” Whoever finds Mary finds every good thing, obtains all graces and all virtues; for by her powerful intercession she obtains all that is necessary to enrich him with Divine grace. In the Book of Proverbs Mary herself tells us that she possesses all the riches of God, that is to say, His mercies, that she may dispense them in favour of her lovers: With me are riches . .and glorious riches .. that I may enrich them that love me-(Prov. viii. 18,21). And therefore St. Bonaventure says that “We ought all to keep our eyes constantly fixed on Mary’s hands, that through them we may receive the graces we desire.”
Oh, how many who were once proud have become humble by devotion to Mary! How many who were passionate have become meek! How many in the midst of darkness have found light! How many who were in despair have found confidence! How many who were lost have found salvation by the same powerful means! And this she clearly foretold in the house of Elizabeth, in her own sublime canticle: Behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed-(Luke i. 4-8). And St. Bernard, interpreting her words says: “All generations call thee blessed, because thou hast given life and glory to all nations; for in thee sinners find pardon, and the just perseverance in the grace of God.”
Evening Meditation
THE HAPPY DEATH OF GOD’S SERVANTS
I.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints-(Ps. cxv. 15). St. Bernard says that the death of the just is called precious, because it is the end of labour and the gate of life. To the Saints death is a reward, because it is the end of sufferings, pains, struggles, and the fear of losing God.
That word Depart, which is such a terror to worldlings, alarms not the just; because to them it is not painful to leave all worldly goods, for God has been their only riches: nor honours, for they have despised them: nor relatives, for they have loved them only in God. Hence, as they frequently repeated in life, so now with redoubled joy do they exclaim in death: My God and my All!
Nor do the pains of death afflict them; they rejoice in offering to God the last moments of life in testimony of their love for Him, uniting the sacrifice of their lives to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ offered on the Cross, for the love of them.
Oh, what a consolation for the Saints is the thought that now the time is over when they might have offended God, and were in constant danger of losing Him! Oh, what joy to be able then to embrace the Crucifix, and to say: In peace, in the self same, I will sleep and I will rest!-(Ps. iv. 9). The devil will endeavour at that time to disquiet us by the sight of our sins; but if we have bewailed them, and have loved Jesus Christ with our whole heart, Jesus will console us. God is more desirous of our salvation than the devil is for our perdition.
Moreover, death is the gate of life. God is faithful, and will indeed at that time console those who have loved Him. Even in the sorrows of death He will bestow upon them a foretaste of Heaven, Their acts of confidence, of love of God, of desire soon to behold Him, will be the beginning for them of that peace which they will enjoy throughout eternity. What joy, in particular, will the holy Viaticum afford to those who can say, with St. Philip Neri: Behold my Love! Behold my Love!
II.
We should therefore fear, not death, but sin, which alone makes death so terrible. A great servant of God, Father Colombiere, said: “It is morally impossible for one who in life has been faithful to God to die an unhappy death.”
He who loves God is desirous of death, which will unite him eternally to God. It is a sign of but little love for God, not to desire soon to behold Him.
Let us be resigned to the hour of death and the loss of all worldly possessions. We may do this now meritoriously, but then it must be done forcibly and with danger of being lost. Let us live as though every day were to be the last of our lives. Oh, how well does he live who lives always with the remembrance of death present to his mind!
O my God, when will the day arrive in which I shall see Thee and love Thee face to face? I do not deserve it; but Thy Wounds, O my Redeemer, are my hope. I will say to Thee with St. Bernard: Thy Wounds are my merits. And hence I will take confidence, and will also says to Thee with St. Augustine: May I die, O Lord, that I may behold Thee! O Mary, my Mother, in the Blood of Jesus Christ, and in thy holy intercession, do I hope to be saved, and to come to praise thee, thank thee, and love thee forever in Heaven.
"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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In the Ascension of our Blessed Lord we contemplate how, forty days after His Resurrection, He ascended into Heaven in triumph, surrounded by great glory, in the sight of His holy Mother and His disciples. Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates; and the King of glory shall enter in-(Ps. xxiii. 7). O Paradise! O Paradise! When, O Lord, shall I see Thee face to face, and embrace Thee, without fear of ever losing Thee?I.
The rightful home of the risen Saviour was Heaven, the home of the Blessed, but Jesus wished to remain still on earth for forty days, appearing again and again to His disciples before He ascended into Heaven, in order to strengthen their Faith in His Resurrection and to give them consolation and hope. Meanwhile the Angels ardently desired to have their King in their heavenly country, and hence they were continually supplicating Him in the words of David: Arise, O Lord, into thy resting-place-(Ps. cxxxi. 8). Come, O Lord, come quickly, now that Thou hast redeemed men: come to Thy kingdom and dwell with us.
Behold now the solemn hour has arrived and our Blessed Saviour ascends Mount Olivet with His Apostles and disciples to about the number of one hundred and twenty. Then, raising His hands to Heaven, Jesus blesses them and ascends into the skies in triumph, surrounded by great glory. When a monarch makes his solemn entry into his kingdom, he does not pass through the gates of his capital city, for they are removed to make way for him on the occasion. Hence, when Jesus Christ now enters Paradise, the Angels cry out: Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates, and the King of Glory shall enter in-(Ps. xxiii. 7).
O Paradise! O Paradise! When, O Lord, shall I see Thee face to face, and embrace Thee, without fear of ever losing Thee?
II.
Before Jesus Christ died for us, Paradise was closed; but today Thou dost mount the skies, O Lord, leading a glorious number of captives, all the multitude of blessed souls who have come forth from Limbo, and ascend to Heaven with Thee. Thou hast ascended on high; thou hast led captivity captive-(Ps. lxvii. 19), By His death and glorious ascension to-day into Heaven our Saviour has opened Paradise for all who love Him.
Ah, how lamentable, that after all Jesus has suffered to win the Kingdom of Heaven for men, so many foolish sinners should renounce it for worthless pleasures, for a mere nothing, and exchange the bliss of Heaven for the torments of hell!
Through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Mediator, we have received in Baptism grace to become the sons of God, and if sons, heirs also, heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ: but St. Paul adds: yet so if we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him (Rom. viii. 17). The Apostle then exhorts us all to suffer with courage, strengthened by the hope of Paradise: For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come which shall be revealed in us-(Rom. viii. 18). No beggar is so foolish as not gladly to exchange his rags for a great kingdom.
O my Jesus, when I look upon my sins I am ashamed to seek for Paradise, but when I look on Thee upon the Cross I cannot cease to hope for Heaven, knowing, as I do, that Thou didst die to atone for my sins and obtain Paradise for me. Ah, my Jesus, when will the day arrive that shall free me from all danger of losing Thee? O Mary, Queen of Heaven, thy intercession is all-powerful with God. In thee I put my trust.
Spiritual Reading
SPES NOSTRA, SALVE – HAIL, OUR HOPE!
XXXI.-MARY IS THE HOPE OF ALL
The devout Lanspergius makes our Lord thus address the world: “Men, poor children of Adam, who live surrounded by so many enemies and in the midst of so many trials, endeavour to honour My Mother and yours in a special manner: for I have given Mary to the world that she may be your model, and that from her you may learn to lead good lives; and also that she may be a refuge to which you can fly in all your afflictions and trials. I have made this, My Daughter, such that no one need fear or have the least repugnance to have recourse to her; and for this purpose I have created her of so benign and compassionate a disposition that she knows not how to despise anyone who takes refuge with her, nor can she deny her favour to anyone who seeks it. The mantle of her mercy is open to all, and she allows no one to leave her feet without consoling him.” May the immense goodness of our God be ever praised and blessed for having given us this so great, so tender, so loving a Mother and Advocate.
O God, how tender are the sentiments of confidence expressed by the enamoured St. Bonaventure towards Jesus our most loving Redeemer, and Mary our most loving Advocate! He says: “Whatever God foresees to be my lot, I know that He cannot refuse Himself to anyone who loves Him and seeks for Him with his whole heart. I will embrace Him with my love; and if He does not bless me, I will still cling to Him so closely that He will be unable to go without me. If I can do nothing else, at least I will hide myself in His Wounds, and, taking up my dwelling there, it will be in Himself alone that He will find me.” And the Saint concludes: “If my Redeemer rejects me on account of my sins, and drives me from His sacred feet, I will cast myself at those of His beloved Mother Mary, and there I will remain prostrate until she has obtained my forgiveness; for this Mother of mercy knows not, and has never known, how to do otherwise than compassionate the miserable, and comply with the desires of the most destitute who fly to her for succour; and therefore, if not by duty, at least by compassion, she will engage her Son to pardon me.”
“Look down upon us, then,” let us exclaim, in the words of Euthymius, “look down upon us, O most compassionate Mother; cast thine eyes of mercy on us, for we are thy servants, and in thee we have placed all our confidence. ”
Evening Meditation
THE JOY OF THE BLESSED IN HEAVEN IS TO SEE AND LOVE GOD
I.
Let us consider what it is in Heaven that makes its holy citizens completely happy. The soul in Heaven sees God face to face, and knowing His infinite beauty and all the perfections that render Him worthy of infinite love, cannot but love Him with all its powers, and love Him far more than itself. Nay, as it were forgetting itself, the soul thinks of nothing but to see Him happy who is its Beloved and its God; and seeing that God, the only object of its affections, enjoys infinite happiness, this happiness of God constitutes all its Paradise. If a soul were capable of anything infinite, its own joy would also be infinite in seeing that its Beloved is infinitely happy, but as a creature is not capable of infinite joy, it is at least so satiated with joy that it desires nothing more. And this is that satisfaction that David sighed for when he said: l shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear-(Ps. xvi. 15).
Thus also is fulfilled what God says to the soul when He admits it into Paradise: Enter into the joy of thy Lord-(Matt. xxv. 21). He does not bid the joy enter into the soul, because this, His joy, being infinite, cannot be contained in the creature; but He bids the soul enter into His joy, that it may receive a portion of it, and such a portion as will satisfy it and fill it with delight.
Therefore, in our prayer, among all acts of love towards God, there is none more perfect than the taking delight in the infinite happiness God enjoys. This is certainly the continual exercise of the Blessed in Heaven; so that he who often rejoices in the joy of God begins in this life to do that which he hopes to do in Heaven through all eternity.
The love of God with which the Saints in Paradise burn is such, that if ever a fear of losing it were to enter their thoughts, or they were to think that they should not love Him with all their powers, as now they love Him, this fear would cause them to experience the anguish of hell. But no; for they are as sure, as they are sure of God, that they will ever love Him with all their powers, and that they will be ever loved by God, and this mutual love will never change throughout eternity. O my God, make me worthy of this, through the merits of Jesus Christ.
II.
This happiness, which constitutes Paradise, will be further increased by the splendour of that delightful city of God, the beauty of its inhabitants, and by their companionship, especially by that of the Queen of all, Mary, who will appear fairer than all, and by that of Jesus Christ, Whose beauty again will infinitely surpass that of Mary.
The joy of the Blessed will be increased by the knowledge of the many dangers to salvation which they all passed through in this life. What, then, will be the thanksgivings offered to God by those who, through their own sins, deserved hell, and now find themselves there on high, when they see so many sinners condemned to hell for less sins than their own, while they are saved, and sure of not losing God, and destined to enjoy eternally those boundless delights of Heaven, of which they will never grow weary. In this life, however great and continual be our joys, with time they always weary us; but as for the delights of Paradise, the more they are enjoyed the more they are desired; and thus the Blessed are ever satisfied and filled with these delights, and ever desire them; they ever desire them, and ever obtain them. Wherefore that sweet song with which the Saints praise God and thank Him for the happiness He has given them, is called a new song: Sing to the Lord a new song -(Ps. xcvii. I). It is called new, because the rejoicings of Heaven seem ever new, as though they were experienced for the first time; and thus they ever rejoice in them, and ever long for them; and, while they ever long for them, they ever enjoy them. Thus, as the damned are called “vessels of wrath”-vasa irae-the Blessed are called “vessels of divine love”- vasa charitatis.
Justly, then, does St. Augustine say that to obtain this eternal blessedness there ought to be eternal labour. Hence it was little the anchorites did with all their penitential works and prayers to gain Heaven: it was little for the Saints to leave their riches and kingdoms to gain Paradise; little that so many Martyrs suffered, enduring racks and burning irons and cruel deaths to win Paradise.
Let us at least suffer joyfully the crosses God sends, for they will procure for us everlasting bliss. When pains, infirmities, or other adversities afflict us, let us lift our eyes to Heaven and say: One day all these sorrows will end and I hope after that to enjoy God for ever! Let us endure everything; let us despise all created things. Jesus awaits us, and stands with the crown in His hands to make us kings in Heaven.
But, O my Jesus, how can I aspire to so great a good -I who have so often, for the miserable pleasures of earth, renounced Paradise and trodden Thy grace under foot? Yet, Thy Blood gives me courage to hope for Paradise though I have so often deserved hell. I hope for it because Thou hast died upon the Cross in order to bestow Paradise upon those who have not deserved it.
O my Redeemer and my God, I resolve never more to lose Thee. Thy Kingdom come! Through the merits of Thy Blood grant me to enter Thy Kingdom one day, and meantime enable me perfectly to fulfil Thy will, which is the greatest good and a Paradise on earth for all who love Thee.
O ye who love God, while we live in this valley of tears, let us sigh for Paradise-
To there behold and love our God!
When will that wished-for dawn arise?
While now I cry, ‘twixt smiles and tears, Ah, when? ah, when shall end my fears?
O Paradise! O Paradise!
In honour of Our Blessed Lady
![[Image: Help-of-Christians.jpg]](https://sensusfidelium.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Help-of-Christians.jpg)
Most holy Immaculate Virgin and my Mother Mary, to thee, who art the Mother of my Lord, and Queen of the world, the advocate, the hope, the refuge of sinners, I have recourse today I, who am the most miserable of all. Render thee my most humble homage, O great Queen, and I thank thee for all the graces thou hast conferred on me until now, particularly for having delivered me from hell, which I have so often deserved. I love thee, O most amiable Lady; and for the love which I bear thee, I promise to serve thee always, and to do all in my power to make others love thee also. I place in thee all my hopes; confide my salvation to thy care. Accept me for thy servant, and receive me under thy mantle, O Mother of Mercy. And since thou art so powerful with God, deliver me from all temptations, or rather obtain me the strength to triumph over them until death. Of thee I ask a perfect love for Jesus Christ. From thee I hope to die a good death. O my Mother, by the love which thou bearest to God, I beseech thee to help me all times, but especially at the last moment of my life. Leave me not, I beseech thee, until thou seest me safe in Heaven, blessing thee, and singing thy mercies for all eternity. Amen. So I hope. So may it be.
"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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Friday After Ascension
Morning Meditation
DIVINE LOVE IS A FIRE THAT INFLAMES THE HEART
“Tui amoris in eis ignem accende.”
We know from our Faith that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son through their mutual love for each other, and therefore that the gift of love which the Lord infuses into our souls, and which is the greatest of all gifts, is particularly attributed to the Holy Ghost. The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given to us-(Rom. v. 5). Hence in this Novena we should especially consider the great excellence and value of Divine love that we may desire it, and labour to obtain it by devout exercises, but particularly by fervent prayer, for Jesus has said: Your Father from heaven will give the good Spirit to them that ask him-(Luke xi. 13).
I.
God ordained in the Old Law that fire should be kept continually burning upon His altar: The fire on the altar shall always burn-(Lev. vi. 12). St. Gregory says that our hearts are the altars of God on which He desires that the fire of His love should always be burning. And hence the Eternal Father, not satisfied with having given us His Son Jesus Christ, to save us by His death, would also give us the Holy Ghost, to dwell in our hearts, and keep them continually inflamed with His love. And Jesus Himself declared that it was in order to influence our hearts with this holy love that He came into the world, and that He desired nothing more than to see it kindled: I am Come to send fire upon the earth; and what will I but that it be kindled?-(Luke xii. 49), Hence, forgetting the injuries and ingratitude He received from men in this world, when He had ascended into Heaven, He sent down upon us the Holy Ghost. O most loving Redeemer, dost Thou, then, love us not only in Thy sufferings and ignominies, but also in Thy Heavenly glory?
Hitherto, O my God, I have done nothing for Thee Who hast done such great things for me! Alas, my luke-warmness may deserve that Thou shouldst vomit me out of Thy mouth! O Holy Spirit, warm what is cold, deliver me from my tepidity, and enkindle within me a great desire of pleasing Thee.
II.
Hence it was that the Holy Ghost chose to appear in the form of fiery tongues. And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire-(Acts ii. 3). Wherefore the Church instructs us to pray: “May the Holy Ghost, we beseech Thee, O Lord, inflame us with that fire which our Lord Jesus came to cast upon the earth, and which He ardently desired to be enkindled.” This was the holy Fire which has inspired the Saints to do such great things for God, to love their enemies, to desire contempt, to renounce all worldly goods, and to embrace with cheerfulness, even torments and death. Love cannot remain idle, and never says: It is enough. The soul that loves God, the more she does for her Beloved, the more she desires to do for Him, in order to please Him, and to draw down His love the more. This holy love is enkindled in mental prayer: In my meditation a fire shall flame out-(Ps. xxxviii. 4). If, therefore, we desire to be on fire with the love of God, we must delight in prayer; this is the blessed furnace in which this Divine ardour is enkindled.
O Lord, I now renounce all self-gratification, and would rather die than displease Thee. Thou didst appear in the shape of fiery tongues: I consecrate my tongue to Thee, that I may never use It to offend Thee. Thou gave me my tongue, O God, to praise Thee, and I have made use of it to offend Thee, and to draw others into offences against Thee! I am sorry for these things with my whole soul. Oh, for the love of Jesus Christ, Who in His mortal life honoured Thee so much with His tongue, grant that I also from this day forward may honour Thee, by always proclaiming Thy praises, by frequently invoking Thy assistance, and by speaking of Thy goodness and of the infinite love which Thou deservest! I love Thee, my sovereign Good; I love Thee, O God of love! O Mary, most dear spouse of the Holy Ghost, obtain for me this holy fire.
Spiritual Reading
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
For every high-priest taken from among men is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins-(Heb. v. 1). The priest, then, is placed by God in the Church in order to offer sacrifice. This office is peculiar to the priests of the Law of grace, to whom has been given the power of offering the great Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Son of God-a Sacrifice sublime and perfect in comparison with the ancient sacrifices, the entire perfection of which consisted in being the shadow and figure of our Sacrifice. They were sacrifices of calves and oxen, but the Sacrifice of the Mass is the Sacrifice of the eternal Word made Man. Of themselves they had no efficacy, and were therefore called by St. Paul weak and needy elements (Gal. iv. 9). But the Mass has power to obtain the remission of temporal penalties due to sins, and to procure an increase of grace, and more abundant helps for those in whose behalf it is offered.
Jesus Christ performed no action on earth greater than the celebration of Mass. In a word, of all actions that can be performed, the Mass is the most holy and dear to God, as well on account of the oblation presented to God, that is, Jesus Christ, a Victim of infinite dignity, as on account of the first Offerer, Jesus Christ, Who offers Himself on the altar by the hands of the priest. “The same now making the offering,” says the Council of Trent, “by the ministry of priests, who then offered Himself on the Cross.” St. John Chrysostom said: “When you see a priest offering, do not believe that this is done by the hand of a priest; the offering is made rather by the hand of God invisibly stretched out.”
All the honours that the Angels by their homage, and men by their virtues, penances, and martyrdoms, and other holy work, have ever given to God, could not give Him as much glory as a single Mass. For all the honours of creatures are finite honours, but the honour given to God in the Sacrifice of the altar, because it proceeds from a Divine Person, is an infinite honour. Hence we must confess that of all actions the Mass, as the Council of Trent says, is the most holy and divine: “We must needs confess that no other work can be performed by the faithful so holy and divine as this tremendous Mystery itself.” It is, then, as we have seen, an action the most holy and dear to God-an action that appeases most efficaciously the anger of God against sinners, that beats down most effectually the powers of hell, that brings to men, on earth the greatest benefits, and that affords to the souls in Purgatory the greatest relief. It is, in fine, an action in which, as St. Udo, Abbot of Cluny, has written, consists the entire salvation of the world: “Of all the favours granted to me, this is the greatest: it is truly by the most generous ardour of His love that God instituted this mystery, without which there would be no salvation in this world.” And, speaking of the Mass, Timothy of Jerusalem said that by it the world is preserved. But for the Mass the earth should have long since perished on account of the sins of men.
Evening Meditation
THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
“Charity dealeth not perversely.”
I.-HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST AVOIDS LUKEWARMNESS, AND SEEKS PERFECTION”.
I.
St. Gregory, in his explanation of these words, “dealeth not perversely,” says that Charity, giving herself up more and more to the love of God, ignores whatever is not right and holy. The Apostle had already written to the same effect, when he called Charity a bond that unites the most perfect virtues together in the soul. Have charity, which is the bond of perfection-(Col. iii. 14). And whereas Charity delights in, perfection, she consequently abhors that lukewarmness with which some persons serve God, to the great risk of losing charity, divine grace, their very souls and their all.
At the same time it must be observed that there are two kinds of tepidity or lukewarmness; the one unavoidable, the other avoidable. From that which is unavoidable, the Saints themselves are not exempt; and this comprises all the failings which are committed by us without full consent, but merely from our natural frailty. Such are, for example, distractions at prayers, interior disquietudes, useless words, vain curiosity, the wish to appear, tastes in eating and drinking, the movements of concupiscence not instantly repressed, and such like. We ought to avoid these defects as much as we possibly can; but, owing to the weakness of our nature, caused by the infection of sin, it is impossible to avoid them altogether. We ought, indeed, to detest them after committing them, because they are displeasing to God; but as we have already remarked, we ought to beware of making them a subject of alarm or disquietude. St. Francis of Sales wrote as follows: “All such thoughts as create disquietude are not from God, Who is the Prince of Peace; but they proceed always from the devil, or from self-love, or from the good opinion we have of ourselves.”
II.
Such thoughts, therefore, as disturb us, must be straightway rejected, and made no account of. It was said also by the same Saint Francis regarding indeliberate faults, that, as they were involuntarily committed, so are they cancelled involuntarily. An act of sorrow, an act of love, is sufficient to cancel them. The venerable Sister Mary Crucified, a Benedictine nun, saw once a globe of fire, on which a number of straws were cast, and were all forthwith reduced to ashes. She was given to understand by this figure, that one act of Divine love, made with fervour, destroys all the defects we may have in our soul. The same effect is produced by the Holy Communion, according to what we find in the Council of Trent, where the Eucharist is called “an antidote by which we are freed from daily faults.” Thus the like faults, though they are indeed faults, do not hinder perfection; that is, attains our advancing to perfection; because no one of the perfection before he arrives at the kingdom Blessed.
"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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O Lux beatissima! The Holy Ghost, who is called most blessed Light, is He Who not only inflames our hearts to love Him, but also dispels all darkness and reveals to us the vanity of earthly things. O Holy Spirit, visit me by Thy grace, and grant me the gift of understanding, that by the contemplation of Heavenly things I may detach my thoughts and affections from all the vanities of this miserable world.
I.
One of the worst effects of Adam’s sin in us, was its blinding our reason by means of the passions which darkened the mind. Oh, how miserable is the soul that allows itself to be ruled by any of the passions! Passion is a vapour, a veil, which will not suffer us to see the truth. How can he fly from evil who knows not what is evil? This obscurity increases in proportion as our sins increase. But the Holy Ghost, Who is called Light most blessed, with His Divine rays, not only inflames our hearts to love Him, but also dispels our darkness, and reveals to us the vanity of all worldly things, the worth of eternal goods, the importance of salvation, the value of grace, the goodness of God, the infinite love He deserves from us, and the immense love He has shown to us.
O Holy Spirit, Divine Consoler, I adore Thee as my true God, as I adore God the Father and God the Son. I beseech Thee to visit me by Thy grace and Thy love, and to grant me the gift of understanding in order that I may be able to understand the Divine Mysteries, and, by the contemplation of Heavenly things, may detach my thoughts and affections from all the vanities of this miserable world.
II.
The sensual man perceiveth not those things that are of the spirit of God-(l Cor. ii. 14}. Man, absorbed in the pleasures of the earth, knows but little of these truths, and hence he unhappily loves that which he should hate, and hates that which he should love. St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi exclaimed: “O love not known, O love not loved!” And hence St. Teresa said, that God is not loved because He is not known. Wherefore the Saints ever sought light from God: Send forth thy light; illumine my darkness; open thou my eyes. Yes, because without light, precipices cannot be avoided, nor God be found.
O Holy and Divine Spirit, I believe that Thou art truly God, and one God with the Father and with the Son. I adore and acknowledge Thee as the Giver of those lights by which Thou hast discovered to me the evil I have done by offending Thee, and the obligation I am under of loving Thee. I thank Thee for them, and am exceedingly sorry for having offended Thee. I have deserved to be abandoned by Thee in my darkness, but I am sensible Thou hast not yet abandoned me. Continue, O Eternal Spirit, to enlighten me, and make me know still more and more Thy infinite goodness, and give me strength to love Thee for the future with my whole heart. Add grace upon grace, that so I may be sweetly overcome, and constrained to love no other but Thee. I thank Thee through the merits of Jesus Christ. I love Thee, my sovereign Good; I love Thee more than myself. I desire to be all Thine; accept of me, and suffer me not to depart from Thee any more. O Mary, my Mother, assist me always by thy holy intercession.
Spiritual Reading
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
St. Bonaventure says that in each Mass God bestows on the world a benefit not inferior to that which He conferred by His Incarnation. This is conformable to the celebrated words of St. Augustine: “O venerable dignity of the priests, in whose hands, as in the womb of the Virgin, the Son of God becomes incarnate!” Moreover, St. Thomas teaches that since the Sacrifice of the altar is nothing else than the application and renewal of the Sacrifice of the Cross, a single Mass brings to men the same benefits and salvation that were produced by the Sacrifice of the Cross. St. John Chrysostom says: “The celebration of a Mass has the same value as the death of Christ on the Cross.” And of this we are still more assured by the holy Church in the Collect for the Sunday after Pentecost: “As many times as this commemorative Sacrifice is celebrated, so often is the work of our Redemption performed.” The same Redeemer Who once offered Himself on the Cross is immolated on the altar by the ministry of His priests. “For the Victim is one and the same,” says the Council of Trent: “the same now offering by the ministry of priests, Who then offered Himself on the Cross, the manner alone of offering being different. ”
In a word, the Mass is, according to the prediction ot the Prophet, ” the good and the beautiful thing” of the Church: For what is the good thing of him, and what is his beautiful thing, but the corn of the elect and wine springing forth virgins-(Zach. ix. 17). In the Mass, Jesus Christ gives Himself to us by means of the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar, which is the end and object of all the other Sacraments, says the angelic Doctor. Justly, then, has St. Bonaventure called a Mass a compendium of all God’s love and of all His benefits to men. Hence the devil has always sought to deprive the world of the Mass by means of the heretics, constituting them precursors of Antichrist, whose first efforts will be to abolish the holy Sacrifice of the altar, and, according to the Prophet Daniel, in punishment of the sins of men, his efforts shall be successful: And strength was given him against the continual sacrifice on account of sins-(Dan. viii. 12).
Most justly, then, does the holy Council of Trent require of priests to be most careful to celebrate Mass with the greatest possible devotion and purity of conscience: “It is sufficiently clear that all industry and diligence is to be applied to this end, that it (the Mystery) be performed with the greatest possible inward cleanness and purity of heart.” And in the same place the Council justly remarks, that on, priests who celebrate this great Sacrifice negligently, and without devotion, shall fall the malediction, threatened by the Prophet Jeremias: Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord negligently-(Jer. xlviii. 10). A servant of God used to say that the life of a priest should be nothing else than preparation, and thanksgiving for Mass.
Evening Meditation
THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
II.-HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST AVOIDS LUKEWARMNESS AND SEEKS PERFECTION
I.
The tepidity, then, that does hinder perfection, is that tepidity which is avoidable when a person, commits deliberate venial faults; because all these faults committed with open eyes can effectually be avoided by Divine grace if we have the desire. Wherefore St. Teresa said: “May God deliver you from deliberate sin, however small it may be.” Such, for example, are wilful untruths, little detractions, imprecations, expressions of anger, derisions of one’s neighbour, cutting words, words of self-esteem, animosities nourished in the heart, inordinate attachments to persons of a different sex. “These are a sort of worm,” wrote the same Saint, “which is not detected before it has eaten into the virtues.” Hence, in another place, she gave this admonition: “By means of small things the devil goes about making holes for great things to enter.” We should, therefore, tremble at such deliberate faults; since they cause God to close His hands from bestowing upon us His clearer lights and stronger helps, and deprive us of spiritual sweetnesses; and the result of such is to make the soul perform all spiritual exercises with great weariness and pain; and so, in the course of time, she begins to leave off Prayer, Communions, Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and Novenas; and, in the end, she will probably leave off all piety, as has not infrequently been the case with many unhappy souls.
II.
This is the meaning of that threat which our Lord makes to the tepid: Thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot; but because thou art lukewarm . .. I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth-(Apoc. iii. 15, 16). How wonderful! He says, I would thou wert cold! What! And is it better to be cold, that is, deprived of grace, than to be tepid? Yes, in a certain sense it is better to be cold; because a person who is cold may more easily change his life, being stung by the reproaches of conscience; whereas a tepid person contracts the habit of slumbering on in his faults, without bestowing a thought, or taking any trouble to correct himself; and thus he makes his cure, as it were, desperate: St. Gregory says, “Tepidity, which has cooled down from fervour, is a hopeless state.” The Venerable Father Lewis da Ponte said that he had committed many defects in the course of his life; but that he had never made a truce with his faults. Some there are who make friends with their faults, and from that springs their ruin; especially when the fault is accompanied with some passionate attachment, of self-esteem, of ambition, of liking to be seen, of heaping up money, of resentment against a neighbour, or of inordinate affection for a person of a different sex. In such cases there is great danger of those threads, as it were, becoming chains, as St. Francis of Assisi said, which will drag down the soul to hell. At all events, such a soul will never become a saint, and will forfeit that beautiful crown, which God had prepared for her, had she faithfully corresponded to grace. The bird no sooner feels herself loosed from the snare, than she immediately flies; the soul, as soon as she is loosed from earthly attachments, immediately flies to God; but while she is bound, though it be but by the slightest thread, it is enough to prevent her flying to God. Oh, how many spiritual persons there are who do not become saints, because they will not do themselves the violence to break away from certain little attachments.
"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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