St. Alphonsus Liguori: Daily Meditations for Fifth Week after Easter

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Saturday – Fifth Week After Easter

Morning Meditation

AVE, MARIA, GRATIA PLENA! HAIL, MARY, FULL OF GRACE!

This Angelical Salutation is most pleasing to the ever blessed Virgin for whenever she hears it, it would seem as if the joy she experienced when St. Gabriel announced to her that she was the chosen Mother of God was renewed in her. For this reason we should often salute her: Ave Maria, gratia plena-Hail Mary, full of Grace!

I.

This Angelical Salutation is most pleasing to the ever blessed Virgin; for, whenever she hears it, it would seem as if the joy she experienced when St. Gabriel announced to her that she was the chosen Mother of God, was renewed in her; and with this object in view we should often salute her with the “Hail Mary.” “Frequently salute her,” says Thomas a Kempis, “with the angelical salutation; for she indeed hears this sound with pleasure.” The Divine Mother herself told St. Matilda that no one could salute her in a manner more agreeable to her than with the “Hail Mary.”

He who salutes Mary will also be saluted by her. St. Bernard once heard the Blessed Virgin salute him, saying: Ave, Bernarde!-Hail, Bernard! Mary’s salutation, says St. Bonaventure, will always be some grace corresponding to the wants of him who salutes her: “She willingly salutes us with grace if we willingly salute her with a ‘Hail Mary.’ Richard of St. Laurence adds that “if we address the Mother of our Lord, saying, ‘Hail Mary,’ she cannot refuse the grace which we ask.” Mary herself promised St. Gertrude as many graces at death as she should have said “Hail Marys.” Blessed Alan says that “as all Heaven rejoices when the ‘Hail Mary’ is said, so also the devils tremble and take to flight.” This Thomas a Kempis affirms on his own experience; for he says that once the devil appeared to him, and instantly fled on hearing the “Hail Mary.”

We can every morning and evening on rising and going to bed say three “Hail Marys” prostrate, or at least kneeling; and add to each “Hail Mary” this short prayer: O Mary, by thy pure and immaculate conception, make my body pure and my soul holy. We should then, as St. Stanislaus always did, ask Mary’s blessing as our Mother; place ourselves under the mantle of her protection, beseeching her to guard us during the coming day or night from sin. For this purpose it is advisable to have a beautiful picture or image of the Blessed Virgin. We can say the Angelus with the usual three “Hail Marys” in the morning, at mid-day, and in the evening. Pope John XXII was the first to grant an indulgence for this devotion; it was on the following occasion, as Father Crasset relates. A criminal was condemned to be burned alive on the Vigil of the Annunciation of the Mother of God; he saluted her with a “Hail Mary,” and in the midst of the flames he, and even his clothes, remained uninjured. In 1724 Benedict XIII granted a hundred days’ indulgence to all who recite it, and a plenary indulgence once a month to those who, during that time, have recited it daily as above, on condition of their going to Confession and receiving Holy Communion, and praying for the usual intentions. Formerly, at the sound of the bell, all knelt down to say the Angelus, but in the present day there are some who are ashamed to do so. St. Charles Borromeo was not ashamed to leave his carriage or get off his horse to say the Angelus in the street, and even sometimes in the mud.

O Immaculate and holy Virgin! O creature the most humble and the most exalted before God! Thou wast so lowly in thine own eyes, but so great in the eyes of thy Lord that He exalted thee to such a degree as to choose thee for His Mother, and make thee Queen of Heaven and earth. I therefore thank God Who so greatly exalted thee, and rejoice in seeing thee so closely united with Him that a greater gift cannot be granted to a pure creature. Before thee, who art so lowly, though endowed with so precious gifts, I am ashamed to appear, I who am so proud in the midst of so many sins. But, miserable as I am, I will also salute thee, Hail, Mary, full of grace! Thou art already full of grace; impart a portion of it to me. The Lord is with thee. That Lord Who was always with thee from the first moment of thy creation has now united Himself more closely to thee by becoming thy Son. Blessed art thou amongst women. O Lady, blessed amongst all women, obtain the Divine blessing for us also. And blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Oh, blessed plant which hath given to the world so noble and holy a fruit!


II.

We can salute the Mother of God with a “Hail Mary” every time we hear the clock strike. St. Alphonsus Rodriguez saluted her every hour; and at night Angels awoke him that he might not omit his devotion.

In going out and returning to the house we can salute the Blessed Virgin with a “Hail Mary,” that both at home and abroad she may guard us from all sin; and we should each time kiss her feet, as the Carthusian Fathers always do. We should reverence every image of Mary which we pass with a “Hail Mary.” For this purpose those who can do so would do well to place a beautiful image of the Blessed Virgin on the wall of their houses, that it may be venerated by those who pass. In Naples, and still more in Rome, there are most beautiful images of our Blessed Lady placed along the wayside by her devout clients.

By command of the holy Church all the canonical hours are preceded by a “Hail Mary,” and concluded with it; we therefore do well to begin and end all our actions with a “Hail Mary.” I say all our actions, whether spiritual, such as Prayer, Confession, and Communion, Spiritual Reading, hearing sermons, and the like; or temporal, such as study, giving advice, working, going to table, to bed, etc. Happy are those actions that are enclosed between two “Hail Marys.” So also should we do on waking in the morning, on closing our eyes to sleep, in every temptation, in every danger, in every inclination to anger, and the like; on these occasions we should always say a “Hail Mary.” Do this, and you will see the immense advantage that you will derive from it. Remember also that for every “Hail Mary” there is an Indulgence of thirty days. Father Auriemma relates that Blessed Virgin promised St. Matilda a happy death if she every day recited three “Hail Marys” in honour of her power, wisdom, and goodness, Moreover, she herself told St. Jane Frances de Chantal that the “Hail Mary” was most acceptable to her, and especially when recited ten times in honour of her ten virtues.

Holy Mary, Mother of God! O Mary, I acknowledge that thou art the true Mother of God, and in defense of this truth I am ready to give my life a thousand times. Pray for us sinners. But if thou art the Mother of God, thou art also the Mother of our salvation, and Mother of us poor sinners; since God became Man to save sinners, and made thee His Mother that thy prayers might have the power to save any sinner. Hasten, then, O Mary, and pray for us, now, and at the hour of our death. Pray always: pray now that we live in the midst of so many temptations and dangers of losing God; but still more, pray for us at the hour of our death, when we are on the point of leaving this world and being presented before God’s tribunal, that, being saved by the merits of Jesus Christ and by thy intercession, we may come one day, without further danger of being lost, to salute thee and praise thee with thy Son in Heaven for all eternity, Amen.

Spiritual Reading

VITA., DULCEDO! HAIL, OUR LIFE, OUR SWEETNESS!

XXVI.-MARY IS OUR SWEETNESS; SHE RENDERS DEATH SWEET TO HER CLIENTS.

As St. Jerome says, writing to the virgin Eustochia: “What a day of joy will that be for thee when Mary, the Mother of our Lord, accompanied by choirs and virgins, will go to meet thee!” The Blessed Virgin assured St. Bridget of this; for, speaking of her devout clients at the point of death, she said: “Then will I, their dear Lady and Mother, fly to them, that they may have consolation and refreshment.” St. Vincent Ferrer says that not only does the most Blessed Virgin console and refresh them, but that she receives the souls of the dying. This loving Queen takes them under her mantle and thus presents them to the Judge, her Son, and most certainly obtains their salvation. This really happened to Charles, the son of St. Bridget, who died in the army far from his mother. She feared much for his salvation on account of the dangers to which young men are exposed in a military career; but the Blessed Virgin revealed to her that he was saved on account of his love for her and that, in consequence, she herself had assisted him at death and had suggested to him the acts that should be made at that terrible moment. At the same time the Saint saw Jesus on His throne and the devil bringing two accusations against the most Blessed Virgin: the first was that Mary had prevented him from tempting Charles at the moment of death; and the second was that this Blessed Virgin had herself presented his soul to the Judge, and so saved it without even giving him the opportunity of exposing the grounds on which he claimed it. She then saw the Judge drive the devil away, and Charles’ soul carried to Heaven.

Ecclesiasticus says that her bands are a healthful binding-(Ecclus. vi. 31), and that in the latter end thou shalt find rest in her-(Ecclus. vi. 29). Oh, you are indeed fortunate if at death you are bound with the sweet chains of the love of the Mother of God! These chains are chains of salvation; they are chains that will insure your eternal salvation, and will make you enjoy in death that blessed peace which will be the beginning of your eternal peace and rest. Father Binetti, in his book on the Perfection of Our Blessed Lord, says that, having attended at the death-bed of a great lover of Mary, he heard him, before expiring, utter these words: “O my Father; would that you could know the happiness that I now enjoy from having served the most holy Mother of God; I cannot tell you the joy that I now experience.” Father Suarez (in consequence of his devotion to Mary which was such that he used to say that he would willingly exchange all his learning for the merit of a single “Hail Mary”) died with such peace and joy that in that moment he said: “I could not have thought that death was so sweet”; meaning that he could never have imagined that it was possible, if he had not then experienced it, that he could have found such sweetness in death. You will, without doubt, experience the same joy and contentment in death if you can then remember that you have loved this good Mother who cannot be otherwise than faithful to her children who have been faithful in serving and honouring her by their Visits, Rosaries, and Fasts, and still more by frequently thanking and praising her, and often recommending themselves to her powerful protection. Nor will this consolation be withheld even if you have been for a time a sinner provided that, from this day, you are careful to live well and to serve this most gracious and benign Lady. In your pains and in the temptations to despair which the devil will send you, she will console you, and even come herself to assist you in your last moments. St. Peter Damian relates that his brother Martin had one day offended God grievously. Martin went before an altar of Mary to dedicate himself to her as her slave; and for this purpose, and as a mark of servitude, put his girdle round his neck, and thus addressed her: “My sovereign Lady, mirror of that purity which I, miserable sinner that I am, have violated, thereby outraging my God and thee, I know no better remedy for my crime than to offer myself to thee for thy slave. Behold me then: to thee do I this day dedicate myself, that I may be thy servant; accept me, though a rebel, and reject me not.” He then left a sum of money on the step of the altar and promised to pay a like sum each year as a tribute which he owed as a slave of Mary. After a certain time Martin fell dangerously ill; but one morning, before expiring, he was heard to exclaim: “Rise, rise, pay homage to my Queen!” and then he added: “And whence is this favour, O Queen of Heaven, that thou shouldst condescend to visit thy poor servant? Bless me, O Lady, and permit me not to be lost after having honoured me with thy presence.” At this moment. his brother Peter entered and to him he related the visit of Mary, and added that she had blessed him, but at the same time he complained that those who were present had remained seated in the presence of this great Queen: and shortly afterwards he sweetly expired in our Lord.

Evening Meditation

THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST

XXXII.-” 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.

And here we must remark that we must not only perform good works, but we must perform them well. In order that our works may be good and perfect, they must be done with the sole end of pleasing God. This was the admirable praise bestowed on Jesus Christ: He hath done all things well-(Mark vii. 37). Many actions may in themselves be praiseworthy, but from being performed for some purpose other than for the glory of God, they are of little or no value in His sight. St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi said: “God rewards our actions by the weight of pure intention.” As much as to say that according as our intention is pure, so does the Lord accept of and reward our actions. But, O God, how difficult it is to find an action done solely for Thee! I remember a holy old man, a Religious, who had laboured much in the service of God, and died with the reputation of sanctity -how one day, as he cast a glance back at his past life, he said to me in a tone of sadness and fear: ” Woe is me! When I consider all the actions of my past life, I do not find one done entirely for God.” Oh, this accursed self-love that makes us lose all the greater part of the fruit of our good actions! How many in their most holy employments, as of preaching, hearing confessions, giving missions, labour and exert themselves very much, and gain little or nothing, because they do not regard God alone, but worldly honour, or self-interest, or the vanity of making an appearance, or at least their own inclination!


II.

Our Lord has said: Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven -(Matt. vi. I). He that works for his own gratification already receives his wages: Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward-(Matt. vi. 5). But a reward indeed which dwindles into a little smoke, or the pleasure of a day that quickly vanishes, and confers no benefit on the soul. The Prophet Aggeus says that whoever labours for anything else but to please God puts his reward in a bag full of holes, which, when he comes to open, he finds entirely empty: And he that hath earned wages, put them into a bag with holes-(Agg. i. 6). And hence it is that such persons, in the event of their not gaining the object for which they entered on some underaking, are thrown into great trouble. This is a sign that they had not in view the glory of God alone: he that undertakes a thing solely for the glory of God is not troubled at all, though his undertakings may not be successful, for, by working with a pure intention, he has already gained his object, which was to please Almighty God.