St. Alphonsus Liguori: Daily Meditations for the Sixth Week after Easter

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Feast of the Ascension



Morning Meditation

“ARISE, O LORD, INTO THY RESTING PLACE.”

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

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.