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Section III
Meditation 16. The Reign of Jesus Christ
Commentary — In the First Section we have meditated on the things that separate us from our End, and they are sins. Thus we (presumably) have repented of them and have confessed them.
In the Second Section we had more deeply renewed and confirmed our repentance and our firm purpose of not sinning again.
In the Third Section, which is the present one, the retreatant is taken as cleansed of all sin and as having a firm purpose of sinning no more, and we are to see how to advance on the road of virtue and perfection and how to love God with all our heart and with all our strength in order to gain thereby our Last End.
We have become almost blind precisely because of the sin of our first parents and our own sins; and thus we are to turn to Jesus Christ that He may enable us to see, as He enabled the blind man on the way to Jericho to see. We are to beg Him to enlighten us with His Divine Grace — He Who is the true Light that enlighteneth every man who cometh into this world (John 1:9). Lastly, we are to follow Him and imitate Him; indeed, for this reason the Eternal Father gave Him to us, and Jesus Christ Himself tells us, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6). The meditations, then, of this Third Section will be on the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, on the imitation of His example and the practice of His virtues. In order that these meditations may produce happier results, one will keep a rigorous silence. He will speak only with Jesus, about steps he considers taking, or with Mary most Holy, or other persons connected with the mystery.
During the meditations of the Third Section, in free time one will read the holy Gospel or Thomas a Kempis, or the lives of the saints that relate to one's state in life, or Granada, or whatever the director will propose.
Preparatory Prayer as on page x
Composition of Place — Place before your mind the synagogues, villages and towns where Christ Our Lord preached.
Prayer of Petition — I beg Thee, my Lord, for the grace I need to not be deaf to Thy sacred calls and to promptly perform and carefully follow Thy most Holy Will.
Words of Saint Ignatius — "The first point is to put before my mind a human king, chosen by God Our Lord Himself, to Whom all princes and all Christians pay reverence and obedience.
"Secondly, I will consider how this king speaks to all his subjects, saying, 'It is my will to conquer all infidel lands. Therefore, whoever wishes to come with me must be content to eat as I eat, drink as I drink, dress as I dress, etc. He must also be willing to work with me by day and watch with me by night. Thus he will share my victory as he has shared my toils.'
"Thirdly, I will consider what the reply of worthy subjects should be to this generous and noble king, and will reflect how anyone, if he would refuse the request of this king, would deserve to be despised by all and considered an unworthy knight."
The second part of this exercise is the application of the example of this earthly king to Christ the Lord, and conforms to the three previously mentioned points.
Regarding the first point, if we respond to such a call of an earthly king to his subjects, how much more worthy of consideration is a call from Christ Our Lord, Whom we see as the Eternal King, when we see before Him all mankind, to whom, and to each man in particular, Christ calls and says, 'My Will is to conquer the whole world and all My enemies and thus enter into My Father's glory. Whoever wishes to come with Me must labor with Me, so that by following Me in suffering, he may follow Me also in glory.'
In reference to the second point, I will consider that everyone who has judgment and reason will offer themselves completely for this work.
Concerning the third point, persons wanting to show the greatest affection and distinguish themselves in every service rendered their Eternal King and Universal Lord, will not only offer themselves completely for the work, but by laboring against their own sensuality and carnal and worldly affection, will make offerings of greater value and importance, saying:
"O Eternal Lord of all, I make this offering with Thy Grace and aid in the presence of Thy Infinite Goodness, and in the presence of Thy glorious Mother and all the saints of Thy Heavenly court: namely, it is my will and desire and my deliberate choice — provided only that it be for Thy greater service and praise — to imitate Thee in bearing all injuries, all evils, and all poverty, both physical and spiritual, if Thy Sacred Majesty should will to choose me for such a life and state."
First Point
Explanation — The following of Jesus Christ is something very just and it is something we owe Him. There are two reasons that show clearly how the following of Christ is called for from us. Apply yourself, O my soul, to consider them well.
The first reason is the end for which Jesus Christ came into the world. Ah! What a misfortune it would have been if Jesus had not come! Our first parents had fallen and had been deprived not only for themselves, but for us, of the right to glory. Of the thousands of millions of men who have been born from the beginning of the world and who will be born until the end of the world, none would have been able to enter Heaven nor enjoy God for all eternity. Can you imagine a state of affairs more deplorable for the human race? Likewise, just as none of these thousands of millions of men would ever have been able to enter Heaven nor enjoy God, none of them would be able to forever praise Him. Oh! How much less would be the honor paid to God!
But now that Christ has come into the world, we can all enter paradise. Its gates are not shut to us, provided we are willing to follow Christ. In Heaven there are whole choirs of saints who praise and bless the Holy name of God for all eternity. Tell me, what more noble, what more sublime end, could there ever be than the eternal glory of God and the eternal blessedness of man?
The second reason is the conditions with which Christ invites us to follow Him. Kings of the earth, when they are to start some undertaking of great toil or some hazardous venture, do not generally go in person, but send lowly servants in their place. Jesus Christ does the opposite. "I do not ask," He says, "that they who follow Me, clothe or feed themselves more poorly than I, nor in their eating and drinking do they have to observe greater poverty than My poverty. Nor do I want them to weary themselves more, nor be the first to set about the task; because I will go before them. Truly, the only thing I want from them is that they follow Me."
This is something very noteworthy. Jesus is innocent; I am loaded with sin. Jesus is Supreme Lord; I am a heap of dirt. Heaven belongs to Jesus; whereas hell is the more suitable place for me. Yet He does not ask of me that I weary myself nor labor more than He, but simply that I follow Him.
Affective Acts
(1) Thanksgiving — O my Jesus, if Thou had no other end in inviting me to follow Thee except the glory of Thy Heavenly Father, I would be obliged to obey Thee. He is the Supreme Good and my Supreme Master and Lord; on Whom I totally depend. For this reason I have always been bound to even shed my blood for His Glory. But Thou hast not considered only the honor and glory of Thy Eternal Father, but have considered also my salvation and the eternal happiness of my soul. Thou hast invited me to follow Thee in order to make me share together with Thee, the same joys and delights, the same blessedness, that belongs to Thee. Ah! What praise, blessing and thanksgiving do I not owe Thee!
(2) Resolution — Because, O my Jesus, on this following of Thee depends the glory of Thy Most Holy Name and the salvation of my soul, I resolve to follow Thee unreservedly and with as much perfection as possible — let nature resist as much as it will, cost what it may to conquer myself; I am a creature loaded with sins, a creature whom you drew out of nothing, a creature who has deserved hell. How will I be able to be excused from doing and suffering what Thou hast done and suffered, Who are by nature innocence and holiness, Supreme Lord of Heaven and earth, my God, my Creator, my Redeemer? No, my Jesus, I will never do this: Thy life henceforth is to be the rule for mine, observing Thy footsteps, I will follow Thee; the way that Thou didst walk, I will walk, with Thy help.
Second Point
The following of Jesus Christ is something easy and light — Two facts make it easy to follow Jesus Christ. Let us consider them with attention. The first is the interior peace, joy and satisfaction with which Jesus, even in this world, rewards those who follow Him. The life of Christ in this world indeed had its delights. At His birth men obliged Him to occupy a stable, but angels came down from Heaven to announce His Glory to the world. In the desert He was tried by the demon; but angels refreshed Him. At the time of His preaching He was blasphemed and outraged; but He was transfigured on Mount Tabor.
If Christ's life had its delights, yours will too; for He places this express condition: "I am not willing that they suffer more than I." Yes, indeed, my soul, the greater the perfection with which you follow Jesus Christ, the greater will be the consolations which the Heavenly Father will heap upon you.
Listen to His own words, which cannot fail: "My yoke is sweet and My burden light." To be near Jesus brings sweetness even in the midst of troubles. To be far from Jesus always is something bitter, even in the midst of pleasure. Be certain that if no more than one drop of the consolations of Heaven were to fall to earth, it would fall on the heart that faithfully follows Jesus Christ.
The second fact that makes it easy to follow Jesus is the infinite glory and blessedness with which Jesus Christ rewards in the next world those who have followed Him. Ah! A few years from now and I will be in paradise! What a consoling thought! Oh how this joyful thought lightens our troubles!
O my soul, imagine that the Divine Redeemer appears to you with a heavy cross on His shoulders and that He attentively gazes at you with kind and fond eyes, and that at the same time Heaven opens and you are allowed to see a high throne, placed above many millions of souls in Heaven — a throne of such extraordinary beauty that its like has never been seen. Suppose that then, turning to you, Jesus Christ says: "Do you see? This throne is yours and you will possess it forever, if you follow Me for a few years."
Ah! My soul, would you not resolve to follow Jesus Christ joyfully? And would not this promise of Jesus Christ provide a special tonic in all your fatigues and troubles? Now why can faith not do for you what this vision would do? Faith teaches that if you follow Jesus Christ, a heavenly kingdom awaits you, an eternal kingdom, a kingdom of infinite joy.
Affective Acts
(1) Hope — My Jesus, I believe this, and I see that one must admit that Thy yoke is sweet and Thy burden light. Thy lips have pronounced these words, Thy lips which cannot deceive. All it can cost me to follow Thee, is to give up my self-love and my cowardice. If in a short time I would learn to conquer myself and follow Thy footsteps, I would quickly understand well by experience how true are Thy words.
Oh, how miserable have the lives not seemed of those people of both sexes of all states and conditions, who in times past lived buried in deserts or in dark caves in the mountains! Yet it was these persons into whose hearts Heaven shed streams of delight.
How depressing in appearance has been the lives of those persons who ended their days undergoing persecution and oppression amid insults and disgrace, with crosses and trials. Yet they have been the ones with whom the Divine Redeemer has shared the closest familiarity and whom He has enriched with the best graces!
Will I be the only one whom Jesus will abandon in the midst of pain if I follow Him? The only one whom He will not let share any consolation? Will I be the only one to whom He will never give any relief? Will He fail to let me, alone, experience His sweetness? Ah, no! Thou will not act thus, my Jesus. I await this blessing and I promise it to myself on Thy Mercy.
This is something that will make it sweet to follow Thee. With this confidence I earnestly turn to Thee and promise to follow Thee in everything and through everything that may come.
Third Point
To follow Jesus Christ is something necessary — I am persuaded, my soul, that you have a firm resolve to be perfect. If we assume this, it is absolutely necessary that you follow Jesus Christ in everything as much as you can. "If thou wilt be perfect," said the Divine Redeemer to the young man, "come and follow Me." Do you realize that all this is true? Ah! It is not that there is lack of knowledge. But what frightens me is that I see Jesus trodding such a rough road.
But this is the way it must be; because, first, Jesus Christ is Infinite Wisdom and Goodness. He came down from Heaven to earth in order to show you, my soul, the way that leads to Holiness. Is this not so? Then if there were another smoother, surer way than the one He showed us, we would have to say either that He is not Infinite Wisdom on account of His ignorance of that way, or that He is not Infinite Truth, since He has not taught it to us. But who could think such a thing without blasphemy?
Second, Jesus Christ is Infinite Love and Kindness. He is not fond of making us suffer without a reason, and He takes no pleasure in such things. What follows from this? It follows that if He had known that a smooth, pleasant way were available to lead us to Holiness and to our last End just the same as a rough, painful way, then the love that He bears us would not permit Him to lay it upon us to take the rough way. Ah, how well this God saw that by taking the smooth way of pleasure, we could not expect anything but eternal damnation. Therefore He set before us the bitter way in preference to the pleasant way, and He Himself chose to walk that way. And now He invites us to follow Him on it.
Pause here a moment, my soul, and ponder within yourself. In this world there are two ends that we can reach. One is infinite unhappiness, which is hell. The other is infinitely happy, which is Heaven. Two roads, no more, lead to these ends. The broad, pleasant way along which such a great number of men go, leads to hell. The narrow, rough way which Jesus Christ takes with His small following of worthy souls, leads to Heaven.
Oh, what a supremely important truth! Only the road along which Jesus Christ walks, leads to Heaven! This is a truth pronounced by Jesus Christ Himself: "No one comes to the Father but by Me." It is as though He said: No one reaches the Father, no one arrives at Heaven, unless he walks the way that I have walked. What, then, am I to do? Which of the two roads will I choose?
Affective Acts
(1) Repentance — O my Jesus! I do not find anything that can truly console me if I reflect on my past life. I have adored Thee until now as my God and Redeemer, but I have not followed Thee as my Captain and Guide. The virtues that Thou callest a yoke that is sweet and a burden that is light — these are some things I have always regarded as a very heavy load, one not suited to my powers.
I have not considered that this somehow was a blasphemy against Thy Wisdom, as though that Wisdom knew not how to measure my powers; or a blasphemy against Thy Goodness, as though Thou wanted to overburden me. O my God and Redeemer, my Master and Guide! I confess my error, my blameworthiness, and I regret it with all my heart. Oh, how fortunate I would be now if I had always lived according to Thy spirit and had always walked along the way Thou didst walk!
(2) Consecration — How long will I remain in this error? Thou art the Way, the Truth and the Life, O my Jesus! I dedicate myself to Thee at this moment with all my heart and without reserve. I choose to follow Thy footsteps and take the same way that Thou took.
Go before me, my Jesus, and be my Captain. Let me suffer humiliation or insult, expose me to persecution and slander; I will follow Thee. Afflict me with pain and misfortune; I will yet walk after Thee. Place me in humble subjection to others where I must completely give up my own wishes; and I will continue to follow Thee. Where Thou art, O Jesus, my life, I wish to be also. What Thou sufferest, I want to suffer. One thing only I beg, and I know Thou will not refuse it. It is Thy help, Thy assistance, Thy powerful Grace, O my Jesus.
Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.
Meditation 16. The Reign of Jesus Christ
Commentary — In the First Section we have meditated on the things that separate us from our End, and they are sins. Thus we (presumably) have repented of them and have confessed them.
In the Second Section we had more deeply renewed and confirmed our repentance and our firm purpose of not sinning again.
In the Third Section, which is the present one, the retreatant is taken as cleansed of all sin and as having a firm purpose of sinning no more, and we are to see how to advance on the road of virtue and perfection and how to love God with all our heart and with all our strength in order to gain thereby our Last End.
We have become almost blind precisely because of the sin of our first parents and our own sins; and thus we are to turn to Jesus Christ that He may enable us to see, as He enabled the blind man on the way to Jericho to see. We are to beg Him to enlighten us with His Divine Grace — He Who is the true Light that enlighteneth every man who cometh into this world (John 1:9). Lastly, we are to follow Him and imitate Him; indeed, for this reason the Eternal Father gave Him to us, and Jesus Christ Himself tells us, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6). The meditations, then, of this Third Section will be on the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, on the imitation of His example and the practice of His virtues. In order that these meditations may produce happier results, one will keep a rigorous silence. He will speak only with Jesus, about steps he considers taking, or with Mary most Holy, or other persons connected with the mystery.
During the meditations of the Third Section, in free time one will read the holy Gospel or Thomas a Kempis, or the lives of the saints that relate to one's state in life, or Granada, or whatever the director will propose.
Preparatory Prayer as on page x
Composition of Place — Place before your mind the synagogues, villages and towns where Christ Our Lord preached.
Prayer of Petition — I beg Thee, my Lord, for the grace I need to not be deaf to Thy sacred calls and to promptly perform and carefully follow Thy most Holy Will.
Words of Saint Ignatius — "The first point is to put before my mind a human king, chosen by God Our Lord Himself, to Whom all princes and all Christians pay reverence and obedience.
"Secondly, I will consider how this king speaks to all his subjects, saying, 'It is my will to conquer all infidel lands. Therefore, whoever wishes to come with me must be content to eat as I eat, drink as I drink, dress as I dress, etc. He must also be willing to work with me by day and watch with me by night. Thus he will share my victory as he has shared my toils.'
"Thirdly, I will consider what the reply of worthy subjects should be to this generous and noble king, and will reflect how anyone, if he would refuse the request of this king, would deserve to be despised by all and considered an unworthy knight."
The second part of this exercise is the application of the example of this earthly king to Christ the Lord, and conforms to the three previously mentioned points.
Regarding the first point, if we respond to such a call of an earthly king to his subjects, how much more worthy of consideration is a call from Christ Our Lord, Whom we see as the Eternal King, when we see before Him all mankind, to whom, and to each man in particular, Christ calls and says, 'My Will is to conquer the whole world and all My enemies and thus enter into My Father's glory. Whoever wishes to come with Me must labor with Me, so that by following Me in suffering, he may follow Me also in glory.'
In reference to the second point, I will consider that everyone who has judgment and reason will offer themselves completely for this work.
Concerning the third point, persons wanting to show the greatest affection and distinguish themselves in every service rendered their Eternal King and Universal Lord, will not only offer themselves completely for the work, but by laboring against their own sensuality and carnal and worldly affection, will make offerings of greater value and importance, saying:
"O Eternal Lord of all, I make this offering with Thy Grace and aid in the presence of Thy Infinite Goodness, and in the presence of Thy glorious Mother and all the saints of Thy Heavenly court: namely, it is my will and desire and my deliberate choice — provided only that it be for Thy greater service and praise — to imitate Thee in bearing all injuries, all evils, and all poverty, both physical and spiritual, if Thy Sacred Majesty should will to choose me for such a life and state."
First Point
Explanation — The following of Jesus Christ is something very just and it is something we owe Him. There are two reasons that show clearly how the following of Christ is called for from us. Apply yourself, O my soul, to consider them well.
The first reason is the end for which Jesus Christ came into the world. Ah! What a misfortune it would have been if Jesus had not come! Our first parents had fallen and had been deprived not only for themselves, but for us, of the right to glory. Of the thousands of millions of men who have been born from the beginning of the world and who will be born until the end of the world, none would have been able to enter Heaven nor enjoy God for all eternity. Can you imagine a state of affairs more deplorable for the human race? Likewise, just as none of these thousands of millions of men would ever have been able to enter Heaven nor enjoy God, none of them would be able to forever praise Him. Oh! How much less would be the honor paid to God!
But now that Christ has come into the world, we can all enter paradise. Its gates are not shut to us, provided we are willing to follow Christ. In Heaven there are whole choirs of saints who praise and bless the Holy name of God for all eternity. Tell me, what more noble, what more sublime end, could there ever be than the eternal glory of God and the eternal blessedness of man?
The second reason is the conditions with which Christ invites us to follow Him. Kings of the earth, when they are to start some undertaking of great toil or some hazardous venture, do not generally go in person, but send lowly servants in their place. Jesus Christ does the opposite. "I do not ask," He says, "that they who follow Me, clothe or feed themselves more poorly than I, nor in their eating and drinking do they have to observe greater poverty than My poverty. Nor do I want them to weary themselves more, nor be the first to set about the task; because I will go before them. Truly, the only thing I want from them is that they follow Me."
This is something very noteworthy. Jesus is innocent; I am loaded with sin. Jesus is Supreme Lord; I am a heap of dirt. Heaven belongs to Jesus; whereas hell is the more suitable place for me. Yet He does not ask of me that I weary myself nor labor more than He, but simply that I follow Him.
Affective Acts
(1) Thanksgiving — O my Jesus, if Thou had no other end in inviting me to follow Thee except the glory of Thy Heavenly Father, I would be obliged to obey Thee. He is the Supreme Good and my Supreme Master and Lord; on Whom I totally depend. For this reason I have always been bound to even shed my blood for His Glory. But Thou hast not considered only the honor and glory of Thy Eternal Father, but have considered also my salvation and the eternal happiness of my soul. Thou hast invited me to follow Thee in order to make me share together with Thee, the same joys and delights, the same blessedness, that belongs to Thee. Ah! What praise, blessing and thanksgiving do I not owe Thee!
(2) Resolution — Because, O my Jesus, on this following of Thee depends the glory of Thy Most Holy Name and the salvation of my soul, I resolve to follow Thee unreservedly and with as much perfection as possible — let nature resist as much as it will, cost what it may to conquer myself; I am a creature loaded with sins, a creature whom you drew out of nothing, a creature who has deserved hell. How will I be able to be excused from doing and suffering what Thou hast done and suffered, Who are by nature innocence and holiness, Supreme Lord of Heaven and earth, my God, my Creator, my Redeemer? No, my Jesus, I will never do this: Thy life henceforth is to be the rule for mine, observing Thy footsteps, I will follow Thee; the way that Thou didst walk, I will walk, with Thy help.
Second Point
The following of Jesus Christ is something easy and light — Two facts make it easy to follow Jesus Christ. Let us consider them with attention. The first is the interior peace, joy and satisfaction with which Jesus, even in this world, rewards those who follow Him. The life of Christ in this world indeed had its delights. At His birth men obliged Him to occupy a stable, but angels came down from Heaven to announce His Glory to the world. In the desert He was tried by the demon; but angels refreshed Him. At the time of His preaching He was blasphemed and outraged; but He was transfigured on Mount Tabor.
If Christ's life had its delights, yours will too; for He places this express condition: "I am not willing that they suffer more than I." Yes, indeed, my soul, the greater the perfection with which you follow Jesus Christ, the greater will be the consolations which the Heavenly Father will heap upon you.
Listen to His own words, which cannot fail: "My yoke is sweet and My burden light." To be near Jesus brings sweetness even in the midst of troubles. To be far from Jesus always is something bitter, even in the midst of pleasure. Be certain that if no more than one drop of the consolations of Heaven were to fall to earth, it would fall on the heart that faithfully follows Jesus Christ.
The second fact that makes it easy to follow Jesus is the infinite glory and blessedness with which Jesus Christ rewards in the next world those who have followed Him. Ah! A few years from now and I will be in paradise! What a consoling thought! Oh how this joyful thought lightens our troubles!
O my soul, imagine that the Divine Redeemer appears to you with a heavy cross on His shoulders and that He attentively gazes at you with kind and fond eyes, and that at the same time Heaven opens and you are allowed to see a high throne, placed above many millions of souls in Heaven — a throne of such extraordinary beauty that its like has never been seen. Suppose that then, turning to you, Jesus Christ says: "Do you see? This throne is yours and you will possess it forever, if you follow Me for a few years."
Ah! My soul, would you not resolve to follow Jesus Christ joyfully? And would not this promise of Jesus Christ provide a special tonic in all your fatigues and troubles? Now why can faith not do for you what this vision would do? Faith teaches that if you follow Jesus Christ, a heavenly kingdom awaits you, an eternal kingdom, a kingdom of infinite joy.
Affective Acts
(1) Hope — My Jesus, I believe this, and I see that one must admit that Thy yoke is sweet and Thy burden light. Thy lips have pronounced these words, Thy lips which cannot deceive. All it can cost me to follow Thee, is to give up my self-love and my cowardice. If in a short time I would learn to conquer myself and follow Thy footsteps, I would quickly understand well by experience how true are Thy words.
Oh, how miserable have the lives not seemed of those people of both sexes of all states and conditions, who in times past lived buried in deserts or in dark caves in the mountains! Yet it was these persons into whose hearts Heaven shed streams of delight.
How depressing in appearance has been the lives of those persons who ended their days undergoing persecution and oppression amid insults and disgrace, with crosses and trials. Yet they have been the ones with whom the Divine Redeemer has shared the closest familiarity and whom He has enriched with the best graces!
Will I be the only one whom Jesus will abandon in the midst of pain if I follow Him? The only one whom He will not let share any consolation? Will I be the only one to whom He will never give any relief? Will He fail to let me, alone, experience His sweetness? Ah, no! Thou will not act thus, my Jesus. I await this blessing and I promise it to myself on Thy Mercy.
This is something that will make it sweet to follow Thee. With this confidence I earnestly turn to Thee and promise to follow Thee in everything and through everything that may come.
Third Point
To follow Jesus Christ is something necessary — I am persuaded, my soul, that you have a firm resolve to be perfect. If we assume this, it is absolutely necessary that you follow Jesus Christ in everything as much as you can. "If thou wilt be perfect," said the Divine Redeemer to the young man, "come and follow Me." Do you realize that all this is true? Ah! It is not that there is lack of knowledge. But what frightens me is that I see Jesus trodding such a rough road.
But this is the way it must be; because, first, Jesus Christ is Infinite Wisdom and Goodness. He came down from Heaven to earth in order to show you, my soul, the way that leads to Holiness. Is this not so? Then if there were another smoother, surer way than the one He showed us, we would have to say either that He is not Infinite Wisdom on account of His ignorance of that way, or that He is not Infinite Truth, since He has not taught it to us. But who could think such a thing without blasphemy?
Second, Jesus Christ is Infinite Love and Kindness. He is not fond of making us suffer without a reason, and He takes no pleasure in such things. What follows from this? It follows that if He had known that a smooth, pleasant way were available to lead us to Holiness and to our last End just the same as a rough, painful way, then the love that He bears us would not permit Him to lay it upon us to take the rough way. Ah, how well this God saw that by taking the smooth way of pleasure, we could not expect anything but eternal damnation. Therefore He set before us the bitter way in preference to the pleasant way, and He Himself chose to walk that way. And now He invites us to follow Him on it.
Pause here a moment, my soul, and ponder within yourself. In this world there are two ends that we can reach. One is infinite unhappiness, which is hell. The other is infinitely happy, which is Heaven. Two roads, no more, lead to these ends. The broad, pleasant way along which such a great number of men go, leads to hell. The narrow, rough way which Jesus Christ takes with His small following of worthy souls, leads to Heaven.
Oh, what a supremely important truth! Only the road along which Jesus Christ walks, leads to Heaven! This is a truth pronounced by Jesus Christ Himself: "No one comes to the Father but by Me." It is as though He said: No one reaches the Father, no one arrives at Heaven, unless he walks the way that I have walked. What, then, am I to do? Which of the two roads will I choose?
Affective Acts
(1) Repentance — O my Jesus! I do not find anything that can truly console me if I reflect on my past life. I have adored Thee until now as my God and Redeemer, but I have not followed Thee as my Captain and Guide. The virtues that Thou callest a yoke that is sweet and a burden that is light — these are some things I have always regarded as a very heavy load, one not suited to my powers.
I have not considered that this somehow was a blasphemy against Thy Wisdom, as though that Wisdom knew not how to measure my powers; or a blasphemy against Thy Goodness, as though Thou wanted to overburden me. O my God and Redeemer, my Master and Guide! I confess my error, my blameworthiness, and I regret it with all my heart. Oh, how fortunate I would be now if I had always lived according to Thy spirit and had always walked along the way Thou didst walk!
(2) Consecration — How long will I remain in this error? Thou art the Way, the Truth and the Life, O my Jesus! I dedicate myself to Thee at this moment with all my heart and without reserve. I choose to follow Thy footsteps and take the same way that Thou took.
Go before me, my Jesus, and be my Captain. Let me suffer humiliation or insult, expose me to persecution and slander; I will follow Thee. Afflict me with pain and misfortune; I will yet walk after Thee. Place me in humble subjection to others where I must completely give up my own wishes; and I will continue to follow Thee. Where Thou art, O Jesus, my life, I wish to be also. What Thou sufferest, I want to suffer. One thing only I beg, and I know Thou will not refuse it. It is Thy help, Thy assistance, Thy powerful Grace, O my Jesus.
Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.
"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