St. Alphonsus Liguori: Daily Meditations for Seventeenth Week after Pentecost

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Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Morning Meditation



THE FOLLY OF POOR SINNERS.

The Blessed John of Avila would have wished to divide the world into two great prisons -- one for those who do not believe and the other for those who do believe and yet live in sin! The prison for these last he would call the prison for fools.


I.

The Blessed John of Avila would have wished to divide the world into two prisons: one for those who do not believe, and the other for those who believe and yet live in sin at a distance from God -- the prison for these last he would call the prison for fools. But the great misery and misfortune of these unhappy men is that they imagine themselves wise and prudent, whereas they are the most foolish and the most stupid people in the world; and the worst is, that they are innumerable: The number of fools is infinite (Eccles. i. 15). Some are mad for the honours of this world, some for its pleasures, some for the filthy things of this earth. And such as these presume to designate as mad the Saints who despise the goods of this world to gain eternal salvation and the only true Good, which is God. They call it madness to embrace contempt, and to pardon injuries; madness to deprive themselves of sensual pleasures and to embrace mortifications: madness to renounce honours and riches and to love solitude and a humble and hidden life. But they do not reflect that their wisdom is called folly by the Lord: The wisdom of the world is foolishness with God (1 Cor. iii. 19).

Ah, my Jesus, I am not worthy to be called Thy child because I have so often insulted Thee to Thy face: Father, I am not worthy to be called thy son: I have sinned against heaven and before thee. But I know that Thou goest in search of the lost sheep, and Thy consolation is to embrace Thy lost children. My beloved Father, I grieve for having offended Thee; I cast myself at Thy feet and embrace Thee; I will not depart until Thou dost pardon and bless me: I will not let thee go except thou bless me. Bless me, O my Father, and may Thy blessing give me a great sorrow for my sins, and a great love for Thee. I love Thee, O my Father; I love Thee with all my heart. Do not permit me again to separate myself from Thee. Deprive me of all; but deprive me not of Thy love. O Mary, if God is my Father, thou art my Mother. Do thou likewise bless me. I do not deserve to be thy child; accept me for thy servant; but grant that I may be a servant who always tenderly loves thee, and always confides in thy protection.


II.

Sinners will surely one day confess their folly -- but when? When there will be no remedy, and they will say in despair: We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honour (Wis. v. 4). Ah, fools that we have been, we regarded the lives of the Saints as folly; but now we know that we ourselves have been the fools: Behold, how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the Saints (Wis. v. 5). Behold, how they are already placed amongst the happy number of the children of God, and have secured their lot with the Saints -- an eternal lot, which will render them happy for ever; and we remain among the number of the slaves of the devil, condemned to burn in this pit of torments for all eternity: Therefore we have erred (thus will they conclude their lamentation) from the way of truth, and the light of justice hath not shined unto us (Wis. v. 6). We have erred, and have chosen to shut our eyes against the Divine light; and that which will render us most miserable is that our error will be without remedy as long as God shall be God.

What madness, then, for a vile interest, for a passing vapour, for a brief pleasure, to lose the grace of God! What does a subject not do to obtain the favour of his prince! O God, for a wretched gratification to lose the Sovereign Good, which is God! To lose Heaven! To lose even peace in this life, giving entrance into the soul to sin, which by its remorse will unceasingly torment it, and voluntarily to condemn oneself to everlasting misery!

Would you indulge in that forbidden pleasure if for it you were afterwards to have your hand burnt, or to be shut up for a year in a tomb? Would you commit that sin if after it you were to lose a hundred crowns? And yet you believe and know that by sinning you lose Heaven and God, and are for ever condemned to the fire of hell -- and yet you sin!

O God of my soul, what would have been my lot at this moment if Thou hadst not shown so many mercies to me! I should have been in hell, in that abode of fools like myself. I thank Thee, O Lord; and I beseech Thee not to abandon me to my blindness. I deserved to be deprived of Thy light; but I perceive that Thy grace has not yet forsaken me. I feel that it tenderly calls me, and invites me to ask pardon of Thee, and to hope for great things from Thee, notwithstanding my grievous offences against Thee. Yes, my Saviour, I hope to be accepted by Thee as a child.

Spiritual Reading

THE DANGER TO WHICH TEPIDITY EXPOSES THE SOUL

Jesus Christ enlightens all men -- the true light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world (Jo. i. 9) -- but there are some He cannot enlighten, because they voluntarily close their eyes to the light, and walk in darkness. They are those who lead tepid lives in the service of God.

A tepid soul is not one that lives in enmity with God, nor one that sometimes commits venial sins through mere human frailty. On account of the corruption of nature by original sin, no man can be exempt from some venial faults. This corruption of nature renders it impossible for us, without a most special grace, which has been given only to the Mother of God, to avoid all venial sins during our whole lives. Hence St. John has said: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 Jo. i. 8). God permits defects of this kind, even in the Saints, to keep them humble, and to make them feel that, as they commit such faults in spite of all their good purposes and promises, so also, were they not supported by His Divine hand, they would fall into mortal sin. Hence, when we find that we have committed these light faults, we must humble ourselves, and acknowledging our own weakness, we must be careful to recommend ourselves to God, and implore of Him to preserve us, by His Almighty hand, from more grievous transgressions, and to deliver us from those we have committed.

What, then, are we to understand by a tepid soul? A tepid soul is one that frequently falls into fully deliberate venial sins -- such as deliberate lies, deliberate acts of impatience, deliberate imprecations, and the like. These faults may be easily avoided by those who are resolved to suffer death rather than commit a deliberate venial offence against God. St. Teresa used to say that one venial sin does us more harm than all the devils. Hence she would say to her nuns: "My children, from deliberate sin, however venial it may be, may the Lord deliver you." Some complain of being left in aridity and dryness and without any spiritual sweetness. But how can we expect that God will be liberal with His favours to us, when we are ungenerous to Him? We know that such a lie, such an imprecation, such an injury to our neighbour, and such detraction, though not mortal sins, are displeasing to God, and still we do not abstain from them. Why, then, should we expect that God will give us His Divine consolations?

But some of you will say: Venial sins, however great they may be, do not deprive the soul of the grace of God: even though I commit them I shall be saved; and for me it is enough to obtain eternal life. You say that for you it is enough to be saved. But remember St. Augustine says that "where you have said, 'It is enough,' there you have perished." To understand correctly the meaning of these words of St. Augustine, and to see the danger to which the state of tepidity exposes those who commit habitual and deliberate venial sins, without feeling remorse for them, and without endeavouring to avoid them, it is necessary to know that the habit of light faults leads the soul insensibly to mortal sins. For example: the habit of venial acts of aversion leads to mortal hatred; the habit of small thefts leads to grievous rapine; the habit of venial attachments leads to affections which are mortally sinful. "The soul," says St. Gregory, "never lies where it falls." No; it continues to sink deeper and deeper. Just as mortal diseases do not generally proceed from serious indisposition, but from many slight and continued infirmities, so likewise the fall of many souls into mortal sin follows from habitual venial sins; for these render the soul so weak that when a strong temptation assails her she has not strength to resist it and she falls.

Many are unwilling to be separated from God by mortal sins. They wish to follow Him but, at a distance, and they disregard venial sins. But to them shall probably happen what befell St. Peter. When Jesus Christ was seized in the Garden, St. Peter was unwilling to abandon the Lord, but followed him afar off (Matt. xxvi. 58). After entering the house of Caiphas he was charged with being a disciple of Jesus Christ. He was instantly seized with fear, and thrice denied his Master. The Holy Ghost says: He that contemneth small things shall fall by little and little (Ecclus. xix. 1). They who despise small falls will probably one day fall into an abyss; for, being in the habit of committing light offences against God, they will feel but little repugnance to offer to Him some grievous insult.

The Lord says: Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vines (Cant. ii. 15). He does not tell us to catch the lions or the bears, but the little foxes. Lions and bears strike terror, and therefore all are careful to keep at a distance through fear of being devoured by them; but the little foxes, though they do not excite dismay, destroy the vines. Mortal sin terrifies the timorous soul; but if it accustom itself to the commission of many venial sins with full deliberation, and without endeavouring to correct them, they, like the little foxes, shall destroy the roots -- that is, the remorse of conscience, the fear of offending God, and the holy desires of advancing in Divine love; and thus, being in a state of tepidity, and impelled to sin by some passion, the soul will easily abandon God and lose Divine grace.

Moreover, deliberate and habitual venial sins not only deprive us of strength to resist temptations, but also of the special helps without which we fall into grievous sins. This is a point of great importance that requires very serious attention. It is certain that of ourselves we have not sufficient strength to resist the temptations of the devil, of the flesh, and of the world. It is God that prevents our enemies from assailing us with temptations by which we would be conquered. Hence Jesus Christ has taught us the following prayer: And lead us not into temptation. He teaches us to pray that God may deliver us from the temptations to which we would yield, and thus lose His grace. Now, venial sins, when they are deliberate and habitual, deprive us of the special helps of God which are necessary for perseverance in His grace. I say necessary, because the Council of Trent anathematizes those who assert that we can persevere in grace without a special help from God. "If any one saith that the justified either is able to persevere, without the special help of God, in the justice received; or that, with that help, he is not able, let him be anathema." Thus, with the ordinary assistance of God, we cannot avoid falling into some mortal sin: a special aid is necessary. But this special aid God will justly withhold from tepid souls who are regardless of committing many and fully deliberate venial sins. Thus these unhappy souls shall not persevere in grace.

Evening Meditation

CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST

I.

Let us not lose courage but keep our eyes ever fixed on the Crucified One, because from Him we shall draw strength to endure the evils of this life not only with patience, but even with joy and gladness, as the Saints have done: Ye shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour's fountains (Is. xii. 3); that is, says St. Bonaventure, from the Wounds of Jesus Christ. Therefore the Saint exhorts us ever to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus dying upon the Cross, if we would live always united to God. "Devotion," says St. Thomas, "consists in being ready to accomplish in ourselves whatever God demands of us."

Observe the excellent advice St. Paul gives us, that we may live ever united with God, and may patiently endure the troubles of this present life: Think diligently upon him that endured such opposition from sinners against himself, that you be not wearied, fainting in your minds (Heb. xii. 3). He says think diligently; for in order to suffer with resignation and peace present troubles, it is not enough to give a hasty glance, a few times in the year, at the Passion of Jesus Christ; we must often meditate on it, and every day turn our eyes to the pain the Lord suffered for love of us. And what were the pains He suffered? The Apostle says: He endured such contradiction. The contradiction Jesus Christ endured from His enemies was such as to make Him, as it had been foretold by the Prophet, the vilest of men, and the man of sorrows, until He died of agony, overwhelmed with insults, upon a gibbet fit only for the most reprobate. And why did Jesus Christ embrace this burden of pain and insult? That ye might not be wearied fainting in your minds; that, seeing how much a God has been willing to endure, in order to give us an example of patience, we might be patient, and endure all to be delivered from our sins.


II.

The Apostle, St. Paul, encourages us, saying: Ye have not resisted unto blood, striving against sin (Heb. xii. 4). Remember therefore, that Christ poured forth for you all His Blood in His Passion through torments, and that the holy Martyrs, after the example of Him, their King, have courageously endured hot plates, and iron nails which have torn open their very bowels; but you have not shed a single drop of blood for Jesus Christ, while we ought to be ready to give our life rather than offend God, and to say with St. Edmund: I would rather leap into a flaming furnace than commit a sin against my God." And thus St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, said: "Had I to endure all the bodily pains of hell or commit a sin, rather than commit it, I would choose hell."

The infernal lion ceases not through all our life to go about seeking to devour us; therefore St. Peter tells us that, by thinking of the Passion of Christ, we ought to arm ourselves against his attacks. St. Thomas says that the mere recollection of the Passion is a great defence against all the temptations of hell. And St. Ambrose says: "If there had been any better way of salvation for men than the way of suffering, Christ would have shown it to us both by word and example; but now, going before us with the Cross upon His shoulders, He has shown us that there is no better way of obtaining salvation than suffering with patience and resignation, and He Himself has given us the example in His own Person."

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Monday--Seventeenth Week after Pentecost

Morning Meditation

"AH, THAT THEY WOULD BE WISE!"

Poor sinners! They labour, they spare not themselves in order to acquire worldly knowledge, and the art of gaining the good things of this life which is so soon to end! And these very men neglect the riches of the life that never ends! Oh, that they would be wise!


I.

Poor sinners! They labour, they spare not themselves in order to acquire worldly knowledge and the art of gaining the good things of this life which is so soon to end! And these very men neglect the riches of the life which never ends. They lose their reason to such a manner that they become not only madmen but brute beasts; for, living as such, they do not consider what is good and what is evil, but follow only the brutal instincts of sense, embracing that which at the moment is pleasing to the flesh, without reflecting upon what they lose, and the eternal ruin they draw down upon themselves. And thus they act, not as men but as brute beasts. St. John Chrysostom says: "We call him a man who preserves intact the image of man; but what is this image of man? To be rational." To be man is to be rational, that is, to act according to reason; not according to the sensual appetite. If God were to give to a beast the use of reason, and it were to act according to reason, we should say that it acted like a man; so, on the contrary, when a man acts according to the senses, and contrary to reason, we must say that the man acts like a beast.

Ah, my God, Thou hast given me understanding, Thou hast given me the light of Faith; and I have hitherto acted like a brute beast, losing Thy grace for the wretched pleasures of sense, which have passed away as a breath of air; and now nothing remains of them but remorse of conscience, and a long account to render to Thy Divine justice. Ah, Lord, do not judge me according to my deserts, but according to Thy mercy! Give me light, give me sorrow for my offences against Thee, and pardon me. I am the lost sheep; and if Thou seekest me not I shall be for ever lost. Have pity on me for the sake of that Blood which Thou hast shed for the love of me.


II.

Oh, that they would be wise, and would understand, and would provide for their last end! (Deut. xxxii. 29). He who acts with prudence, and according to reason, looks to the future, that is, to what must happen to him at the end of life; to Death, Judgment, and after that, Hell or Heaven. Oh, how much more wise is the peasant who saves his soul than the monarch who loses it! Better is a child that is poor and wise, than a king that is old and foolish, who knoweth not to foresee for hereafter (Eccles. iv. 13). O my God, would not that man be universally considered mad, who, to gain a small sum at the present moment, should risk the loss of all his possessions! And shall we not consider him as such, who, for a momentary gratification imperils his soul and incurs the risk of losing it forever? The ruin of so many souls who are now lost was their caring only for present goods and ills, and not thinking upon those that are eternal.

God most certainly has not placed us in this world to become rich, to acquire honours, or to gratify our senses, but to gain eternal life: And the end life everlasting (Rom. vi. 22); and to attain this end is all we ought to care for: One thing is necessary (Luke x. 42). But this end is just what sinners most despise; they think only of the present; they hasten forward to death; they approach the entrance to eternity, and they know not where they go! What would you think of a pilot, says St. Augustine, who, when asked where he was going, should answer that he did not know? Is he not bringing his ship to destruction? Such are those wise ones of the world, who know how to acquire wealth, to amuse themselves, to obtain high places; but know not how to save their souls. The glutton in the Gospel was well versed in the art of becoming rich; but he died and was buried in hell. Alexander the Great knew well how to conquer numerous kingdoms; but in a few years he died and all was lost to him. Henry VIII knew how to maintain his throne by rebelling against the Church; but in the end he himself, seeing that his soul was lost, confessed: "We have lost all!" How many wretches now weep and cry out in hell: What hath pride profited us, or what advantage hath the boasting of riches brought us? All those things have passed away like a shadow (Wis. v. 8). Behold, for us all the goods of the world have passed as a shadow, and nothing remains of them but tears and eternal suffering.

Before man is life and death; ... that which he shall choose shall be given him (Ecclus. xv. 18). My brother, life and death are placed before you in this world: that is, to deprive yourself of forbidden pleasures, and gain eternal life; or to accept them, and with them eternal death. What say you? Which do you prefer? Choose as a man, and not as a beast. Choose as a Christian who has Faith, and says: What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?

O my sovereign Good, I repent of having left Thee, and of having voluntarily renounced Thy grace. I wish I could die of grief; but do Thou give me greater sorrow. Grant that I may gain Heaven, and there sing Thy mercies. O Mary, my Mother, thou art my refuge; pray to Jesus for me; pray that He may pardon me, and may give me holy perseverance.

Spiritual Reading

THE DANGER TO WHICH TEPIDITY EXPOSES THE SOUL

He who soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly (2 Cor. ix. 6). They who are ungenerous with God well deserve that God should not be liberal with them. To such souls the Lord will give graces common to all, but will probably withhold His special assistance; and without this, as we have seen, they cannot persevere in the state of grace. God Himself revealed to Blessed Henry Suso that, for tepid souls who are content with leading a life exempt from mortal sin, and continue to commit many deliberate venial sins, it is very difficult to preserve themselves from mortal sins. The Venerable Louis da Ponte used to say: "I commit many defects, but I never make peace with them." Woe to him who is at peace with his faults! St. Bernard teaches that, as long as a person who is guilty of defects detests his faults, there is reason to hope that he will one day correct them and amend his life: but when he commits faults without endeavouring to amend, he will continually go from bad to worse, till he loses God's grace. St. Augustine says that, like a certain disease of the skin which makes the body an object of disgust, habitual faults, when committed without any effort of amendment, render the soul so disgusting to God that He deprives it of His embraces. Hence the soul finding no more nourishment and consolation in its devout exercises, in its prayers, Communions, or Visits to the Blessed Sacrament will soon neglect them, and thus neglecting the means of eternal salvation, it will be in great danger of being lost.

This danger will be still greater for those who commit many venial sins through attachment to any passion, such as pride, ambition, aversion to a neighbour, or an inordinate affection for any person. St. Francis of Assisi says that, in endeavouring to draw to sin any one that is afraid of being at enmity with God, the devil does not seek in the beginning to bind him with the chain of a slave, by tempting him to commit mortal sin, because he would have a horror of yielding to mortal sin, and would guard himself against it. He first endeavours to bind him by a single hair; then by a slender thread; next by a cord; afterwards by a rope; and in the end by a chain of hell -- that is, by mortal sin; and thus he makes him his slave. For example: A person cherishes an affection for a woman through a motive of courtesy or of gratitude, or from an esteem for her good qualities. This affection is followed by mutual presents; to these succeed words of tenderness; and after the first violent assault of the devil, the miserable man shall find that he has fallen into mortal sin. He meets with the fate of gamblers, who, after frequently losing large sums of money, yield to an impulse of passion, risk their all, and, in the end, lose their whole property.

Miserable the soul that allows itself to be the slave of any passion. Behold, how small a fire what a great wood it kindleth (James iii. 5). A small spark, if it be not extinguished, will set an entire forest on fire. An unmortified passion shall bring the soul to ruin. Passion blinds us; and the blind often fall into an abyss when they least expect it. According to St. Ambrose, the devil is constantly endeavouring to find out the passion which rules in our heart, and the pleasures which have the greatest attraction for us. When he discovers them, he presents occasions of indulging them: he then excites concupiscence, and prepares a chain to make us the slaves of hell.

St. John Chrysostom asserts that he himself knew many persons who were gifted with great virtues, and who, because they disregarded light faults, fell into an abyss of crime. When the devil cannot gain much from us he is in the beginning content with very little; by many trifling victories he will make a great conquest. No one, says St. Bernard, suddenly falls from the state of grace into the abyss of wickedness. They who rush into the most grievous irregularities, he says, begin by committing light faults. It is necessary also to understand that, when any one that has been favoured by God with special lights and graces consents to mortal sin, his fall will not be a simple fall, from which he will easily rise again, but it will be a precipitous one, from which he will find it very difficult ever to return to God.

Addressing a person in the state of tepidity, our Lord said: I would that thou wert cold or hot; but because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth (Apoc. iii. 15). I would thou wert cold -- that is, it would be better for thee to be deprived of My grace, because there would then be greater hopes of thy amendment; but, because thou livest in tepidity, without any desire of improvement, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. By these words God means that He will begin to abandon the soul.

A certain author says that tepidity is a hectic fever, which does not excite alarm because it is not perceived; but it is, at the same time, so malignant that it is rarely cured. The comparison is very just; for tepidity makes the soul insensible to remorse of conscience; and, as she is accustomed to feel no remorse for venial faults, she will by degrees become insensible to the stings of remorse which arise from mortal sins.

Let us come to the remedy. The amendment of a tepid soul is difficult; but there are remedies for those who wish to adopt them.

1. The tepid must sincerely desire to be delivered from a state which, as we have seen, is so miserable and dangerous; for, without this desire, they will not take pains to employ the proper means.

2. They must resolve to remove the occasions of their faults; otherwise they will always relapse into the same defects.

3. They must earnestly beg of the Lord to raise them from so wretched a state. By their own strength they can do nothing; but they can do all things with the assistance of God Who has promised to hear the prayers of all. Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find (Luke xi. 9). We must pray and continue to pray without interruption. If we cease to pray we shall be defeated; but if we persevere in prayer we shall conquer.

Evening Meditation

CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST

I.

St. Bernard says that when we look upon the afflictions of our Lord, we shall find our own lighter to bear. And in another place he says: "What can be other than sweet to thee when thou takest to thyself all the bitterness of the Lord." St. Eleazar, being one day asked by his good wife, Delphina, how he bore so many injuries with a calm mind, replied: "When I see myself injured I think on the injuries of my crucified Saviour, and cease not to think of them until I am calmed." "Sweet is the ignominy of the Cross to him who is not ungrateful to the Crucified," says St. Bernard.

To souls that wish to be grateful to Jesus Christ the contempt they receive is welcome. Who will not gladly embrace opprobrium and ill-treatment when he thinks of the ill-treatment Jesus endured in the commencement of His Passion, when, in the house of Caiphas, He was on that night struck with blows and stripes, spit upon in the face, and, with a cloth covering His eyes, derided as a false prophet?

And how did it ever happen that the Martyrs endured with such patience the torments of executioners? They were torn with irons, they were burned upon hot gratings. Were they not made of flesh and blood, or had they lost all sense? No; when the Martyr sees his blood, he thinks not of his own wounds but of those of his Redeemer; he does not feel pain -- not that there is none, but for Jesus Christ's sake it is despised. There is nothing so bitter, even in death, that it is not sweetened by the death of Christ.


II.

The Apostle writes that through the merits of Jesus Christ we are all made rich. But Jesus Christ desires that in order to obtain the graces we need, we should ever have recourse to God in prayer, and beseech Him to hear us through the merits of His Son; and Jesus Himself promises that whatever we ask the Father in His Name He will give it to us. Thus did the Martyrs act; for when the pain of their torments was too sharp and bitter they went to God, and God gave them patience to endure. The Martyr St. Theodore, in the midst of all the cruelties inflicted on him, feeling at one time a most terrible torture from the balls of hot chalk the tyrant had put upon his wounds, besought Jesus Christ to give him strength to suffer, and thus remained conqueror, ending his life in torments.

We need not fear the attacks we have to endure from the world and from hell; if we take heed to have constant recourse to Jesus Christ with prayer, He will grant us every blessing and give us patience in all our labours, perseverance to the end, and a good death.

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Tuesday--Seventeenth Week after Pentecost

Morning Meditation

TRUE WISDOM

We see that the truly wise are those who know how to acquire Divine grace and Heaven. Let us pray the Lord to give us the wisdom of the Saints which He bestows on those who ask it of Him. She gave him the knowledge of holy things.


I.

We see that the truly wise are those who know how to acquire Divine grace and Heaven. Let us pray the Lord to give us the wisdom of the Saints which He bestows on those who ask it of Him. She gave him the knowledge of holy things (Wis. x. 10). Oh, it is a noble science, to know how to love God, and to save our souls, which consists in knowing how to choose the way of eternal salvation and the means of obtaining it. The affair of salvation is, of all affairs, the most necessary. If we should know all things, and not know how to save our souls, it would avail us nothing, and we should be eternally miserable; but, on the other hand, we shall be for ever happy if we know how to love God, even though we should be ignorant of all other things: "Blessed is he who knows Thee, though he be ignorant of all besides," said St. Augustine. One day Brother Giles said to St. Bonaventure: "Happy art thou, Father Bonaventure, who knowest so many things; and I, poor ignorant man, know nothing; thou canst become more holy than I can." "Attend to me," replied the Saint, "if a poor ignorant old woman were to know how to love God more than I do, she would be more holy than I am." Upon which Brother Giles began to cry aloud: "O poor old woman, poor old woman, listen! listen! If you love God, you can become more holy than Father Bonaventure!"

St. Augustine says: "The ignorant rise up and bear away the Kingdom of Heaven." How many rude peasants are there who know not how to read, but know how to love God and so save their souls; and how many of the learned ones of this world lose their souls! The former, then, and not the latter, are truly wise. Oh, how truly wise was a St. Paschal, a St. Felix the Capuchin, a St. John of God, although ignorant of all human sciences! How truly wise have those been who, leaving the world, have shut themselves up in cloisters or lived in the desert, like a St. Benedict, a St. Francis of Assisi, or a St. Louis of Toulouse who renounced his throne. How truly wise so many Martyrs and so many Virgins, who renounced the nuptials of the great ones of this world to go and die for Jesus Christ. Even worldlings recognise this truth, and hesitate not to say of such a one who has given himself to God: Blessed is he who is thus truly wise, and saves his soul! In fine, those who leave the good things of this world to give themselves to God are said to be undeceived. What, then, ought those to be called who leave God for worldly goods, but deluded men? My brother, to which of these two classes do you wish to belong?

O Father of Mercies, look upon my misery, and have pity on me! Give me light, and make me sensible of my past folly, in order that I may weep over it, and know Thy infinite goodness, that I may love it. My Jesus, deliver not up to beasts the souls that confess to thee (Ps. lxxiii. 19). Thou hast shed Thy Blood for my sake; do not permit me any longer to be a slave of devils, as I have hitherto been. I repent, O Sovereign Good, of having abandoned Thee. I curse all those moments in which I willingly consented to sin; and I embrace Thy holy will, which desires my good alone. Eternal Father, through the merits of Jesus Christ, give me strength to do all that is pleasing to Thee.


II.

In order that you may make the right choice, St. John Chrysostom advises you, saying: "Let us go to the tombs of the dead!" They are excellent schools for learning the vanity of this world's perishable riches and the Science of the Saints. Tell me, says Chrysostom, canst thou distinguish them -- who has been a prince, who a noble, who a man of letters? "For my part," the Saint declares, "I see only rottenness, bones, and worms! All is fable, a dream, a shadow!" All the things of this world will ere long come to an end, and vanish like a comedy, a dream, a shadow. But, dear Christian, if you wish to be wise, it is not enough to know the importance of your end; you must adopt the means for obtaining eternal happiness. All men would wish to save their souls and to become saints; but because they do not employ suitable means, they do not become saints, and they lose their souls. We must fly the occasions of sin, frequent the Sacraments, pray, and above all, establish in our hearts these maxims of the Gospel: What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world? (Matt. xvi. 26). He that loveth his life shall lose it (Jo. xii. 25); that is to say, we must even sacrifice life itself to save our souls. If any man will come after me, let him deny himself (Matt. xvi. 24). In order to follow Jesus Christ, we must deny our self-love the gratifications it seeks. Our salvation depends upon doing the Divine will: Life is in his will (Ps. xxix. 6). These and similar maxims must be graven on our hearts.

Let me die, O Lord, rather than any more oppose Thy will. Assist me with Thy grace to place all my love in Thee alone, and to detach my heart from all such affections as do not tend to Thee. I love Thee, O God of my soul, I love Thee above all things; and from Thee I hope for all my good, for pardon, for perseverance in Thy love, and for Paradise, that I may there love Thee in eternity. O Mary, ask these graces for me. Thy Son denies thee nothing. My hope, in thee I confide.

Spiritual Reading

CONFORMITY TO THE HOLY WILL OF GOD

In order to acquire a facility in doing, on all occasions, the holy will of God, we must beforehand offer ourselves continually to embrace in peace whatever God ordains or wills. Such was the practice of holy David. He would say: My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready (Ps. cvii. 2). And he continually besought the Lord to teach him to do the Divine will. Teach me to do thy will (Ps. cxlii. 10). He thus deserved to be called a man according to God's own heart. I have found David the son of Jesse, a man according to my own heart, who shall do all my wills (Acts xiii. 22). And why? Because the holy king was always ready to do whatever God wished him to do.

St. Teresa offered herself to God fifty times in the day, that He might dispose of her as He pleased; and she declared her readiness to embrace either prosperity or adversity. The perfection of our oblation consists in our offering ourselves to God without reserve. All are prepared to unite themselves to the Divine will when things are prosperous, but perfection consists in conforming to it even in adversity. To thank God in all things that are agreeable to us, is acceptable to Him; but to accept with cheerfulness what is repugnant to our inclinations is still more pleasing to Him. Blessed John of Avila used to say: "A single Blessed be God! in adversity, is better than six thousand thanksgivings in prosperity."

We should conform to the Divine will, not only in misfortunes which come directly from God -- such as sickness, loss of property, privation of friends and relatives -- but also in crosses which come to us from men, but indirectly from God -- such as acts of injustice, defamations, calumnies, injuries, and all other sorts of persecutions. But, you may ask, does God will that others commit sin, by injuring us in our property or in our reputation? No; God wills not their sin; but He does will that we should bear with such a loss and with such a humiliation; and to conform ourselves on all such occasions to His Divine will.

Good things and evil ... are from God (Ecclus. xi. 14). All blessings -- such as riches and honours -- and all misfortunes -- such as sickness and persecutions -- come from God. But mark that the Scriptures call them evils, only because we, through the want of conformity to the will of God, regard them as evils or misfortunes. For in reality, if we accepted them from the hands of God with Christian resignation, they would be blessings and not evils. The jewels which give the greatest splendour to the crown of the Saints in Heaven are the tribulations they bore with patience, as coming from the hands of the Lord. On hearing that the Sabeans had taken away all his oxen and asses, holy Job said: The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away (Job i. 21). He did not say that the Lord gave, and that the Sabeans had taken away; but that the Lord gave, and that the Lord had taken away: and therefore he blessed the Lord, believing that all had happened through the Divine will. As it has pleased the Lord, so it is done; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job i. 21). Being tormented with iron hooks and burning torches, the holy Martyrs Epictetus and Atone said: "Lord, Thy will be done in us." And their last words were: "May Thou be blessed, O Eternal God, for having given us the grace to accomplish Thy will."

Whatsoever shall befall the just man, it shall not make him sad (Prov. xii. 21). A soul that loves God is not disturbed by any misfortune that may happen to her. Cesarius relates that a certain monk who did not perform greater austerities than his companions wrought many miracles. Being astonished at this, the Abbot asked him one day what were the works of piety he practised. He answered, that he was more imperfect than the other monks; but that his sole concern was to conform himself to the Divine will. Were you displeased, said the Abbot, with the person who injured us so grievously a few days ago? No, Father, replied the monk; I on the contrary, thanked God for it; because I know that He does or permits all things for our good. From this answer the Abbot perceived the sanctity of the good Religious. We should act in a similar manner under all the crosses that come upon us. Let us always say: Yea, Father; for so hath it seemed good in thy sight (Matt. xi. 26). Lord, this is pleasing to Thee, let it be done.

He that acts in this manner enjoys that peace which the Angels announced at the Birth of Jesus Christ to men of good will -- that is, to those whose wills are united to the will of God. These, as the Apostle says, enjoy that peace which exceeds all earthly delights. The peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding (Phil. iv. 7). A great and solid peace, which is not liable to change. A holy man continueth in wisdom like the sun; but a fool is changed like the moon (Ecclus. xxvii. 12). Fools -- that is, sinners -- are changed like the moon, which increases today and wanes tomorrow; today they are seen to laugh through folly, tomorrow to weep through despair; today they are humble and meek; tomorrow proud and furious. In a word, sinners change with prosperity and adversity; but the just are like the sun, always the same, always serene in whatever happens to them. In the inferior part of the soul they cannot but feel some pain at the misfortunes which befall them; but, as long as the will remains united to the will of God, nothing can deprive them of that spiritual joy which is not subject to the vicissitudes of this life. Your joy no man shall take from you (Jo. xvi. 22).

Evening Meditation

CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST

I.

The bitterness we shall have to endure at the hour of death will be very great. Only Jesus Christ can give us constancy to suffer with patience and merit. Especially great then are the temptations of hell, which will strive with might and main to destroy us, seeing us near our end. Rinaldus relates that St. Eleazar, at the point of death, endured horrible attacks from the devils, after leading a most holy life, so that he said: "Great are the temptations of hell at this moment, but Jesus Christ, by the merits of His Passion, destroys all their power." St. Francis directed that at the hour of his death the Passion should be read to him. In like manner, St. Charles Borromeo, seeing himself near death, had the representations of the instruments of the Passion brought to him, that in sight of these he might breathe out his blessed soul.

St. Paul writes that Jesus Christ chose to endure death, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who, through fear of death, were through their whole life subject to bondage. And he adds: Wherefore it behoved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren that he might become a merciful high-priest before God ... For in that wherein he himself hath suffered and been tempted, he is able to succour them also that are tempted (Heb. ii. 17-18). Christ chose to take on Him all the circumstances and passions of human nature (except ignorance, concupiscence, and sin); and wherefore? That He might be merciful, and by taking on Himself our miseries, He might be more compassionate to us, because misery is much better known by experience than by reflection; and thus He became more ready to help us when we are tempted during life, and especially at the hour of death. To this the saying of St. Augustine refers: "If you are disturbed at the time of death, do not think yourself a castaway, nor give yourself up to despair; for Christ Himself was thus disturbed at the prospect of His own death."


II.

At the hour of our death hell will put forth all its strength to make us distrust the Divine mercy, by placing before our eyes all the sins of our life; but the thought of the death of Jesus Christ will give us courage to trust in His merits, and not to fear death. St. Thomas on St. Paul's words says: "Christ, by death, took away the fear of death, for when a man reflects that the Son of God chose to die, he does not fear death." To the Gentiles death was an object of the greatest terror, because they thought that with death every blessing ceased; but the death of Jesus Christ gives us a firm hope that, dying in the grace of God, we shall pass from death to eternal life. Of this hope St. Paul gives us a sure confidence, saying that the Eternal Father did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all; and how hath he not with him given us all things? (Rom. viii. 32). For in giving us Jesus Christ He gives us pardon, final perseverance, His love, a good death, eternal life, and every blessing.

[Stone]

Wednesday--Seventeenth Week after Pentecost

Morning Meditation

CONFORMITY TO THE HOLY WILL OF GOD

I. ITS EXCELLENCE

Life in his good will (Ps xxix. 6). Our entire salvation and perfection consists in loving God. Have charity which is the bond of perfection, says the Apostle, but the perfection of Charity consists in conformity to the Divine Will.


I.

Our entire salvation and perfection consists in loving God. He that loveth not abideth in death (1 Jo. iii. 14). Above all these things have Charity which is the bond of perfection (Col. iii. 14). But the perfection of love consists in conformity to the Divine will; for, as St. Denis the Areopagite says, the principal effect of love is to unite the wills of those who love, so that they may have but one heart and one will. Hence our actions, our works of penance, our Communions and alms-deeds, please God only inasmuch as they are conformable to the Divine will; for, if they are not conformable to the will of God, they are not good works, but are defective, and deserving of chastisement. Our Saviour came down from Heaven principally to teach us by example to conform ourselves to the will of God. Behold what He said at His entrance into this world: Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldst not: but a body thou hast fitted to me ... Then, said I: Behold, I come ... that I should do thy will, O God (Heb. x. 5). O My Father, Thou hast refused the victims offered by men; Thou wishest that, by My death, I should sacrifice this Body which Thou hast given Me; behold Me ready to do Thy will. This Jesus frequently declared, saying that He came on earth only to do the will of His Father. I came down from Heaven, not to do my will, but the will of him that sent me (Jo. vi. 38). And by going to die through obedience to the will of His Father, Jesus wished to make known to us His great love for His Father. That the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I. Arise; let us go hence (Jo. xiv. 31). Wherefore He has said that He acknowledges for His disciples only those who fulfil the Divine will. Whosoever shall do the will of my Father that is in Heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother (Matt. xii. 50). The accomplishment of the Divine will has been the only object and desire of the Saints in all their works. Blessed Henry Suso used to say: "I would rather be the vilest worm on earth in conformity to the will of God, than be a seraph by my own will." And St. Teresa: "All he who practises prayer should seek is to conform his will to the Divine will; and let him be assured that in this consists the highest perfection. He who practises it best will receive the greatest gifts from God, and will make the greatest progress in spiritual life." The Blessed in Heaven love God perfectly, because they are in all things conformed to the Divine will. Hence Jesus Christ has taught us to do the will of God on earth as the Saints do it in Heaven. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. He who does the will of God, will, like King David, become a man according to God's own heart. I have found a man according to my own heart, who shall do all my wills (Acts xiii. 22). And why? Because David was always prepared to do whatever God wished. My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready (Ps. cvii. 2). He asked nothing else from the Lord than to teach him to do God's will.

I love Thee, O infinite Goodness, and through the love which I bear Thee, I offer myself entirely to Thee. Dispose of me and of all I possess as Thou pleasest: I resign myself entirely to Thy holy will. Preserve me from the misfortune of doing anything against Thy holy will, and then treat me as Thou mayest wish. Eternal Father, hear me for the love of Jesus Christ. My Jesus, hear me through the merits of Thy Passion. Most Holy Mary, assist me; obtain for me the grace to fulfill the Divine will, in the accomplishment of which my salvation entirely consists: obtain this grace for me, and I ask nothing more.


II.

Oh! how great is the value of an act of perfect resignation to the will of God. It is sufficient to make a Saint! While St. Paul was persecuting the Church, Jesus appeared to him, enlightened, and converted him. The Saint only offered himself to do the Divine will. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? (Acts ix. 6). And behold, Jesus Christ instantly declared him a vessel of election and Apostle of the Gentiles: This man is to me a vessel of election to carry my name before the Gentiles (Acts ix. 15). He who fasts, gives alms, or mortifies himself for God's sake, gives a part of himself to God; but the man who gives his will to God gives himself entirely to God. All that God asks of us is our heart -- that is, our will. My son, give me thy heart. In a word, the accomplishment of the Divine will must be the object of all our desires, of our devotions, meditations, Communions, etc. The object of all our prayers must be to obtain from God the grace to do His will. And for this purpose we must implore the intercession of our holy advocates, and particularly of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that they may procure for us light and strength to conform ourselves to the will of God in all things, but particularly in embracing what is opposed to self-love. The Blessed John of Avila used to say: "A single Blessed be God! in adversity is better than six thousand acts of thanksgiving in prosperity."

Ah, my God, all the evils of my past life have arisen from a want of conformity to Thy will. O God of my soul, I detest and curse a thousand times the days and moments in which I have, in order to do my own will, contradicted Thy holy will. I now give my whole will to Thee. Accept it, O my Lord, and bind it so firmly to Thy love that it may never more be able to rebel against Thee.

Spiritual Reading

CONFORMITY TO THE HOLY WILL OF GOD

II. MAN'S SOLE HAPPINESS ON EARTH

He that reposes in the Divine will is like a man placed above the clouds: he sees the lightning, and hears the rolling of the thunder, and the raging of the tempest below, but he is not injured or disturbed. And how can he ever be disturbed when he always desires whatever happens? He that desires only what pleases God always obtains whatsoever he wishes, because all that happens to him, happens through the will of God. Salvian says that Christians who are resigned, if they be in a low condition of life, wish to be in that state; if they be poor they desire poverty; because they wish whatever God wills, and therefore they are always content. If cold, or heat, or rain, or wind come, he that is united to the will of God says: I wish for this cold, this heat, this rain, and this wind, because God wills them. If loss of property, persecution, sickness, or even death come upon him, he says: I wish for this loss, this persecution, this sickness; I even wish for death, when it comes, because God wills it. And how can a person who seeks to please God enjoy greater happiness than that which arises from cheerfully embracing the cross which God sends him, and from the conviction that, in embracing it, he pleases God in the highest degree? So great was the joy which St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi used to feel at the bare mention of the will of God, that she would fall into an ecstasy.

But how great the folly of those who resist the Divine will, and, instead of receiving tribulations with patience, get angry, and accuse God of treating them with injustice and cruelty! Perhaps they expect that in consequence of their opposition what God wills shall not happen. Who resisteth his will? (Rom. ix. 19). Miserable men! instead of lightening the cross which God sends them, they make it more heavy and painful. Who hath resisted him and hath peace? (Job ix. 4).

Let us be resigned to the Divine will, and we shall thus render our crosses light, and shall gain great treasures of merits for eternal life. In sending us tribulations, God intends to make us Saints. This is the will of God, your sanctification (1 Thess. iv. 3). He sends us crosses, not because He wishes evil to us, but because He desires our welfare, and because He knows that they are conducive to our salvation. All things work together unto good (Rom. viii. 28). Even the chastisements which come from the Lord are not for our destruction, but for our good and for the correction of our faults. Let us believe that these scourges of the Lord ... have happened for our amendment, and not for our destruction (Judith viii. 27). God loves us so tenderly that He not only desires but is solicitous about our welfare. The Lord is careful for me, says David (Ps. xxxix. 18).

Let us, then, always throw ourselves into the arms of God Who so ardently desires and so anxiously watches over our eternal salvation. Casting all your care upon him; for he hath care of you (1 Pet. v. 7). He who, during life, casts himself into the arms of God, will lead a happy life and die a holy death. He who dies resigned to the Divine will, dies a Saint; but they who shall not have been united to the Divine will during life, will not conform to it at death, and will not be saved. The accomplishment of the Divine will should be the sole object of all our thoughts during the remainder of our days. To this end we should direct all our devotions, our Meditations, Communions, Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and all our prayers. We should constantly beg of God to teach and help us to do His will. Teach me to do thy will (Ps. cxlii. 10). Let us, at the same time, offer ourselves to accept without reserve whatever God ordains, saying, with the Apostle: Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? (Acts. ix. 6). Lord, tell me what Thou dost wish me to do; I desire to do Thy will. And in all things, whether they be pleasing or painful, let us always have in our mouths that petition of the Our Father -- Thy will be done. Let us frequently repeat it in the day with all the affection of our hearts. Happy we if we live and die saying: Thy will be done! -- Fiat voluntas Tua!

Evening Meditation

CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST

I.

When the devil attempts to frighten us during life or at death by representing to us the sins of our youth, let us answer him with St. Bernard: "What is wanting to me of myself, I take to myself from the bowels of my Lord." St. Paul writes: Who is he that shall condemn? Christ Jesus that died, yea, that is risen also again, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us (Rom. viii. 34). These words of the Apostle are of great comfort to us sinners; it is God who justifies us sinners, and pardons us with His grace; and if God renders us guiltless, who can condemn us as guilty? Will Jesus Christ, Who died for us, and gave Himself for our sins, that He might redeem us from the present evil world?

He burdened Himself with our sins and gave Himself up to death to deliver us from this wicked world, and to bring us with Himself to His Kingdom, where as St. Paul goes on to say, He performs the office of our Advocate, and intercedes for us with the Father. St. Thomas explains this, saying that Jesus Christ intercedes for us in Heaven by presenting to His Father His Wounds which He endured for love of us.


II.

St. Gregory does not hesitate to assert (in opposition to what some say) that the Redeemer, as man, ever since His death, prays for the Church militant, that we may be faithful to Him: "Christ daily prays for His Church." And St. Gregory Nazianzen before has said: "He intercedes, that is, He prays for us by way of mediation." And St. Augustine, on the thirty-ninth Psalm, says that Jesus prays for us in Heaven, not that He may now obtain for us any fresh grace, for during His life He obtained all He could obtain; but He prays, inasmuch as He begs of the Father, through His merits, the salvation already obtained and promised to us. And though to Christ all power is committed by the Father, yet, as Man, He only possesses this power as depending upon God. The Church, however, is not accustomed to ask Him to intercede for us, because she regards that which is most exalted in Him, that is, His Divinity; and therefore she prays to Him as God to grant what she asks.

[Stone]

Thursday--Seventeenth Week after Pentecost

Morning Meditation

THE MEEKNESS AND HUMILITY OF THE INFANT JESUS

Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart (Matt; xi. 29). Pride was the chief cause of the fall of our First Parents. Unwilling to submit to obedience and obey the commands of God, they brought ruin on themselves and on the whole human race. But to repair the universal ruin God in His mercy decreed that His only-begotten Son should humble Himself, take upon Him our flesh, and by the example of His life induce men to love humility and detest pride.


I.

Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart. Pride was the chief cause of the fall of our First Parents. Unwilling to submit to obedience and obey the commands of God they brought ruin on themselves and on the whole human race. But to repair the universal ruin God in His mercy decreed that His only-begotten Son should humble Himself, take upon Him our flesh, and by the example of His life induce men to love humility and detest pride. St. Bernard invites us to visit the Cave of Bethlehem, saying: "Let us go over to Bethlehem and there we shall find what to admire, what to love and what to imitate."

Yes, in the Cave we have what to admire, what to wonder at. A God in a stable! A God on straw! That same God Who sits on the highest throne of majesty in Heaven! I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated (Is. vi. 1), says the Prophet Isaias. And where do we find Him now? In a manger, unknown, abandoned, with none in attendance save a few poor shepherds and two animals. Again, we have here what to love. We find One in Whom to place our affection, seeing here a God Who is infinite Good, and has chosen to abase Himself by appearing to men as a poor Infant, that thereby He might make Himself more endearing and pleasing in our eyes. But, as St. Bernard says: "the more lowly He appears to me the dearer He is to me." And we find in the Cave what to imitate. We find the Supreme Being, the King of Heaven, become an humble little Child, desirous from His very Birth to teach us by example what He was afterwards to tell us by word of mouth: Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart!

O my despised Jesus, Thou hast by Thy example done only too much to render reproaches and contempt sweet in the eyes of those who love Thee! But how is it, then, that instead of embracing them, as Thou hast done, when I receive some little contempt from men, I behave with so much pride, and take occasion from it to offend Thy infinite Majesty, sinner and proud that I am? Ah, Lord, I see why it is; I do not know how to bear an affront patiently, because I do not know how to love Thee. Did I love Thee truly, it would be sweet and pleasing to me. But since Thou dost promise pardon to him who repents, I repent with all my heart of all the excesses of my life -- a life so unlike Thine. But I desire to amend; and therefore I promise Thee to suffer with patience from this day forward all the contempt to which I shall be subject, for Thy love, O my Jesus, Who wast so much despised for the love of me. I understand that humiliations are precious mines from which Thou dost enrich souls with eternal treasures. I deserve far other humiliations and other reproaches for having despised Thy grace; I deserve to be trampled on by the devils. But Thy merits are my hope. I will change my life, and will no longer displease Thee; henceforth I will seek for nothing but Thy Divine pleasure. I have deserved many times to be sent to burn in hell-fire; Thou hast waited for me till now, and, as I hope, hast pardoned me; grant therefore that instead of burning in those terrible flames, I may be inflamed with the blessed fire of Thy holy love.


II.

Who does not know that God is the first and the highest in nobility, and the source whence all nobility proceeds? He is infinite greatness. He is independent; for He has not received His greatness from any other, but has always possessed it in Himself. He is the Lord of all, Whom all creatures obey: The winds and the sea obey (Matt. viii. 27). Truly, therefore, does the Apostle say that to God alone belong honour and glory: To the only God be honour and glory (1 Tim. i. 17).

But the Eternal Word, to provide a remedy for man's disgrace, which was brought about by his own pride, having made Himself an example of poverty in order to detach man from worldly goods, desired to make Himself also an example of humility in order to free us from the vice of pride.

And in doing this the first and greatest example of humility the Son of God gave was to become a man, and clothe himself with our miseries: In habit found as a man (Phil. ii. 7). Cassian says that any one who puts on the dress of another hides himself under it; in like manner God hid His Divine Nature under the lowly dress of human flesh. And St. Bernard: "The Divine Majesty became little in order that It might be united to our earthly nature; and that God and clay, majesty and weakness, the most extreme abasement and the highest majesty, might be united in one Person." A God to unite Himself to dust! Greatness to misery! Sublime majesty to wretchedness! But that which must make us wonder still more is that not only did God choose to appear as a creature, but as a sinful creature, putting on sinful flesh: God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom. viii. 3).

O my Jesus, pardon me the pride of my past life and give me love in its place. I love Thee, my despised Saviour. I will no longer live without loving Thee. Help me, and let me not live any more ungrateful to Thee, as I have hitherto done. For the future I will love Thee only; I desire that my heart may belong to Thee alone. Ah, take possession of it and keep it forever, that I may be always Thine and Thou mayest be always mine; that I may love Thee; and Thou mayest love me. Yes, that is my hope, O my God, that I shall always love Thee, and that Thou wilt always love me. I believe in Thee, O infinite Goodness! I hope in Thee, O infinite Goodness, I love Thee, O infinite Goodness! I love Thee, and I will say it always: I love Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee; and because I love Thee I will do all I can to please Thee. Dispose of me as Thou wilt. All I ask is that Thou wouldst give me grace to love Thee, and then do with me as Thou pleasest. Thy love is, and always shall be, my only treasure, my only desire, my only good, my only love. Mary, my hope, Mother of beautiful love, do thou help me in loving the God of love with all my heart and forever.

Spiritual Reading

"A SIGN WHICH SHALL BE CONTRADICTED"

The Son of God was not content to appear as a man, or even as a sinful man. He desired further to choose the most lowly and humble life among men; so that Isaias called Him the last, the most humble of men: Despised and the most abject of men (Is. liii. 3). Jeremias said: He shall be filled with reproaches (Lam. iii. 30. And David, that He should be: The reproach of men, and the outcast of the people (Ps. xxi. 7). And for this did Jesus Christ wish to be born in the most abject state that could be imagined. What ignominy for a man, even though he be poor, to be born in a stable! Who is there so poor as to be born in a stable? The poor are born in their huts, at least on beds of straw. Stables are fit only for beasts and worms; and the Son of God chose to be born on this earth like a worm: I am a worm, and no man (Ps. xxi. 7). Yes, says St. Augustine, in such humility did the King of the Universe choose to be born, in order to show us His majesty and power in His very humility, so that He might through His example make those men, who are born full of pride, love humility.

An Angel announced to the shepherds the birth of the Messias; and the signs he gave them by which they might find Him and recognize Him were all signs of humility. When you shall find a child, said he, in a stable, wrapped up in rags, and lying in a manger on the straw, know that it is your Saviour: And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and laid in a manger (Luke ii. 12). In such a state is it that we find a God Who is coming to this earth to destroy pride.

The life Jesus Christ led in exile in Egypt was in conformity with His birth. During those years He lived as a stranger, unknown, and in poverty, in the midst of pagans. Who knew Him there? Who made any account of Him?

He returned to Judea, and continued to live the same sort of a life. He lived for thirty years in a workshop, supposed by all to be the son of a common workman, doing the work of a serving-boy, poor, unnoticed, despised. In that Holy Family there were no servants. "Joseph and Mary," writes St. Peter Chrysologus, "have neither servant nor servant-maid: they themselves are at once master and servant." There was but one servant in that family, and He was the Son of God, Who wished to become the Son of Man, that is, of Mary, that He might be an humble Servant, and obey a man and a woman as their servant: And he was subject to them (Luke ii. 51).

After thirty years of hidden life, the time came that our Saviour was to appear in public to preach the heavenly doctrines He had come from Heaven to teach us; and therefore it was necessary that he should make Himself known as the true Son of God. But, O my God! how many were there that acknowledged and honoured Him as He deserved? Besides the few disciples who followed Him, all the rest, instead of honouring Him, despised Him as a vile man and an impostor. Ah, then was verified in the fullest manner the prophecy of Simeon: This child is set ... for a sign which shall be contradicted (Luke ii. 34). Jesus Christ was contradicted and despised by all: He was despised in His doctrine; for when He declared that He was the only-begotten Son of God, He was called a blasphemer, and as such was condemned to death. He hath blasphemed! He is guilty of death (Matt. xxvi. 65-66). His wisdom was despised, for He was esteemed a fool without sense: He is mad: why hear you him? (Jo. x. 20). His morals were reproached as being scandalous -- they called Him a glutton, a drunkard, and the friend of wicked people: Behold a man that is a glutton, and a drinker of wine, a friend of publicans and sinners (Luke vii. 34). He was accused of being a sorcerer, and of having commerce with devils: By the prince of devils, he casteth out devils (Matt. ix. 34). He was called a heretic, and one possessed by the devil: Do we not say well, that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? (Jo. viii. 48). A deceiver: For that seducer said, etc. (Matt. xxvii. 63). In fine, Jesus Christ was considered by all the people so wicked a man that there was no need of a tribunal to condemn Him to be crucified: If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up to thee (Jo. xviii. 30).

At last the Saviour came to the end of His life and to His Passion; and, O God, what contempt and ill-treatment did He not then receive! He was betrayed and sold by one of His own disciples for thirty pieces of money, a less price than would be given for a beast. By another disciple He was denied. He was dragged through the streets of Jerusalem bound like a thief, abandoned by all, even by His few remaining disciples. He was treated shamefully as a slave, when He was scourged. He was struck on the face in public. He was treated as a fool, when Herod had a white garment put on Him, that He might be thought a foolish person without any sense: "He despised Him as ignorant," says St. Bonaventure, "because He did not answer a word; as foolish, because He did not defend Himself." He was treated as a mock king when they put into His hand a reed, instead of a sceptre, a tattered red garment upon His shoulders instead of the purple, and a wreath of thorns on His head for a crown. After thus deriding Him, they saluted Him: Hail, King of the Jews! and then they covered Him with spitting and blows: and spitting upon him (Matt. xxvii. 30); and they gave him blows (Jo. xix. 3).

Finally, Jesus Christ willed to die; but by what a death! By the most ignominious death, the death of the Cross: He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross (Phil. ii. 8). Any one who suffered the death of the Cross at that time was considered the vilest and most wicked of criminals: Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree (Gal. iii. 13). Therefore, the names of those who were crucified were always held as cursed and infamous; so that the Apostle wrote: Christ is made a curse for us (Gal. iii. 13). St. Athanasius, commenting on this passage, says: "He is called a curse, because He bore the curse for us." Jesus took upon Himself this curse that He might save us from eternal malediction. But where, Lord, exclaims St. Thomas of Villanova, where is Thy beauty, where is Thy majesty in the midst of so much ignominy? And he answers: "Ask not; God has gone out of Himself." And the Saint's meaning was this: that we should not seek for glory and majesty in Jesus Christ, since He had come to give us an example of humility, and manifest the love that He bears towards men; and that this love had made Him, as it were, go out of Himself.

Evening Meditation

CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST

I.

Let us return to speak for a little on the confidence we should have in Jesus Christ that He will grant us salvation. St. Augustine encourages us, saying that this Lord, Who has delivered us from death by shedding all His Blood, desires not that we should perish; and that if our sins separate us from God, and make us deserving of being rejected, our Saviour, on the other hand, cannot reject the price of the Blood He shed for us. Let us, then, boldly follow the counsel of St. Paul who says: Let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us; looking on Jesus the author and finisher of faith, who having joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame (Heb. xii. 1). Let us run with patience the race before us, because it profits little to begin if we do not struggle on to the end; while patience in enduring labour will obtain for us the victory, and the crown that is promised to him who conquers.

This patience will be the shield which will defend us from the swords of our foes; but how shall we obtain it? "By looking," says the Apostle, "to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of Faith," Who, says St. Augustine, despised all earthly goods that He might show that they are to be despised; Who endured all earthly evils which He taught us have to be endured, that in these we might neither seek the joys of the world, nor fear its persecution. Then with His glorious Resurrection Jesus Christ animated us not to fear death; because, if we are faithful to Him even until death, we shall obtain eternal life, be free from all evil, and enjoy every good. This is signified by the Apostle's words: Jesus, the author and finisher of Faith; for Jesus Christ is the Author of the Faith, in teaching us what to believe, and giving us grace to believe it; and so also He is the Finisher of Faith, by promising we shall one day enjoy that blessed life in which He teaches us to believe. And that we may be sure of the love this Saviour bears to us, and of the will He has that we should be saved, St. Paul adds: Who having joy set before him endured the cross; on which words St. John Chrysostom remarks that Jesus might have saved us by leading a life of joy upon earth; but that to make us more certain of the love He bore us, He chose a life of pain, and a death of shame, dying as a malefactor upon the Cross.


II.

O souls that love the Crucified, let us give ourselves to love this loving Redeemer, so worthy of love, and let us love Him to the utmost of our power. Let us also suffer for Him, because He has been willing to suffer for love of us; and let us not cease to ask Him continually to grant us the gift of His holy love. Happy are we if we attain to a great love for Jesus Christ! The Venerable Father Vincent Carafa, an eminent servant of God, in a letter to some studious and devout young men, wrote as follows: "To reform ourselves and our whole life, we must give all our study to the exercise of Divine love. The love of God alone, when it enters a heart, and obtains possession of it, purifies it from all inordinate love, and makes it at once obedient and pure." St. Augustine says a pure heart is a heart emptied of every desire; and St. Bernard says that he who loves, loves, and desires nothing more; meaning that he who loves God desires nothing but to love Him, and banishes from his heart everything that is not God. And thus it is that, from being empty the heart becomes full, that is, full of God, Who with Himself brings every good thing; and then earthly pleasures, finding no place in such a heart, have no power over it. What power can earthly pleasures have over us if we enjoy Divine consolations? What power is there in ambition for vain honours, and the desire of earthly riches, if we have the honour of being loved by God, and begin to possess a share in the riches of Paradise? To measure, therefore, the advance we have made in the ways of God, let us observe what advance we have made in loving Him; whether we often during the day make acts of love towards God; often speak of the love of God; whether we take pains to inflame in others God's love; whether we perform our devotions solely to please God; whether we suffer with full resignation all adversities, infirmities, pains, poverty, slights, and persecutions in order to please God. The Saints say that love is as necessary for the life of a soul that truly loves God as breathing is for the life of the body, since the soul's very life both in time and eternity consists in the love of our sovereign Good, which is God.

[Stone]

Friday--Seventeenth Week after Pentecost

Morning Meditation

"LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU WHICH WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS."

It is of Faith that Jesus Christ the true Son of God, for the love of men, humbled Himself so as to be born in a stable, and to lead a despised life, and in the end, to die by the hands of executioners on an infamous gibbet. Now, after all God has done and suffered for the love of man, will man refuse to humble himself for the love of God?


I.

It is of Faith that Jesus Christ the true Son of God, for the love of men, humbled Himself so as to be born in a stable, and to lead a despised life, and in the end, to die by the hands of executioners on an infamous gibbet. "O grace! O power of love!" exclaims St. Bernard, "didst Thou, O Most High, become the lowest of all!" O power of Divine love! The Greatest of all has made Himself the lowest of all! "Who did this?" asks the Saint. "It was love, regardless of dignity. Love triumphs over God." Love does not consider dignity when there is question of winning for itself the person it loves. God, who can never be conquered by any one, has been conquered by love; for it was love that compelled Him to make Himself man, and to sacrifice Himself for the love of man in an ocean of sorrows and contempt. "He emptied Himself," concludes St. Bernard, "that thou mayest know that it was through love that the Highest made Himself equal to thee." The Divine Word, Who is Majesty itself, humbled Himself so far as to annihilate Himself, that mankind might know how much God loved men.

St. Bernard goes on to say, the more our God abased Himself, so much the more did He show forth His goodness and love: "The lower He showed Himself to be in His humanity, the greater did He declare Himself in goodness."


II.

Now, after a God has done and suffered so much for the love of man, will man have a repugnance to humble himself for the love of God? Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Phil. ii. 5). He who is not humble, and who does not seek to imitate the humility of Jesus Christ, is not worthy of the name of Christian; for Jesus Christ, as St. Augustine says, came into the world in an humble way to put down pride. The pride of man was the disease which drew from Heaven this Divine Physician, loaded Him with ignominies, and caused Him to die on the Cross. Let the proud man be ashamed then at least when he sees that a God so humbled Himself in order to cure him of pride: "Because of this very vice of pride, God came in humility. This disease drew Him down from Heaven, humbled Him even to the form of a servant, overwhelmed with calumnies, nailed Him upon the Cross. Blush, then, O man, to be proud, for whom God has become humble." And St. Peter Damian writes: "To raise us He lowered Himself." God chose to abase Himself that He might raise us out of the mire of our sins, and place us in the company of the Angels in Heaven: Lifting up the poor out of the dunghill, that he may place him with princes, the princes of his people (Ps. cxii. 7). His abasement in our exaltation! Oh, the greatness of Divine love! exclaims St. Augustine. For the sake of man a God takes upon Himself contempt, that He may share His honour with man. He makes Himself familiar with grief and pain, that man may have salvation: He even suffers death, to obtain life for man. "O wondrous condescension! He comes to receive contempt that He may confer honours; He comes to be satiated with grief that He may give salvation; He comes to undergo death, that He may bestow life."

By choosing for Himself so humble a birth, so lowly a life, and so ignominious a death, Jesus Christ ennobled and took away all bitterness from contempt and opprobrium. This is why the Saints were always so fond and even desirous of being despised. They seemed not to be able to desire or seek anything in this world but to be despised and trodden underfoot for the love of Jesus Christ. When the Divine Word came upon this earth, that Prophecy of Isaias was truly fulfilled: In the dens where dragons dwelt before, shall rise up the verdure of the reed and the bulrush (Is. xxxv. 7) -- that where the demons, the spirits of pride, dwelt, there, at the sight of the humility of Jesus Christ, should arise the spirit of humility. The reed signifies humility, says St. Ugo, commenting on this passage; the humble man is empty in his own eyes; the humble are not full of themselves, as the proud are, but empty of self, considering what is only the truth: that all they have is the gift of God.

From this we may well understand that an humble soul is as dear to God as the proud heart is odious in His eyes. But is it possible, says St. Bernard, for people to be proud after seeing the life of Jesus Christ? "Where the Divine Majesty annihilates itself a worm swells with pride!" Is it possible that a mere worm, loaded with sins, should be proud, when the God of infinite majesty and purity humbles himself so much to teach us to be humble!

Proud people are not acceptable with God. St. Augustine warns us: "Lift yourself up and God departs from you; humble yourself and God comes to you." The Lord flies from the proud, but, on the contrary, He cannot despise a heart that humbles itself, even though it should be a sinful one: A contrite and humble heart, O God, thou wilt not despise (Ps. 1. 19). God has promised to hear all who pray to Him: Ask, and it shall be given you ... For every one that asketh receiveth (Matt. vii. 7). But He has declared that He will not listen to the proud, as St. James tells us: God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble (James iv. 6). He resists the prayers of the proud, and does not listen to them; but He cannot deny any grace to the humble, whatever they ask. In fact, St. Teresa says that the greatest graces she ever received were those which were granted her when she humbled herself most in the presence of God. The prayer of the humble penetrates into Heaven by its own efficacy, without needing any one to present it; and it does not depart without obtaining from God what it desires: The prayer of him that humbleth himself shall pierce the clouds ... and he will not depart till the Most High behold (Ecclus. xxxv. 21).

Spiritual Reading

"ENTER THOU INTO THE JOY OF THY LORD."

As soon as the soul shall have entered into the bliss of God, there will be nothing to afflict her more: God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow, shall be any more: for the former things are passed away. And he who sat on the throne said: Behold I make all things new (Apoc. xxi. 4, 5). In Heaven there is no more sickness, nor poverty, nor trouble: there are no more successions of day and night, nor of cold or heat. There is a perpetual day, always calm; a continual spring, ever teeming with delights. There are no more persecutions or jealousies: in that kingdom of love all love each other tenderly, and each rejoices in the happiness of the other as if it were his own. There are no more fears, because the soul confirmed in grace can no more sin and lose her God: Behold, I make all things new. Everything is new, and every thing consoles and satisfies: There is every thing that can please. The sight shall be satisfied in gazing at that city of perfect beauty (Lam. ii. 15). What delight would it be to behold a city, the streets of which were paved with crystal; the palaces of silver, with ceilings of gold, and all adorned with festoons of flowers! Oh, how much more beautiful will be the city of Paradise! What will it be to behold those citizens of Heaven all clad in royal robes! There, as St. Augustine says, all are kings: "As many citizens, so many kings." What to see Mary, who will appear more beautiful than the whole of Paradise! What to see the Divine Lamb, Jesus the Spouse! St. Teresa had once but a passing glimpse of the hand of Jesus Christ; and so great was its beauty that she remained, as it were, entranced. The sense of smelling shall be gratified by the odours of Paradise; the hearing with heavenly harmonies. St. Francis once heard from an Angel a single stroke of his viola, and he thought to die of pleasure. What will it be to hear all the Saints and Angels singing in choir the glories of God! They shall praise thee for ever and ever (Ps. lxxxiii. 5). What to hear Mary praising God! The voice of Mary in Heaven, says St. Francis de Sale's, shall be like that of a nightingale in the grove, which surpasses the song of every other bird. In a word, there will be found every delight that can possibly be desired.

But these delights which we have as yet considered are but amongst the least of Paradise. The Good which constitutes Heaven is the Sovereign Good, God Himself: "All that we look for is contained in one word, God," says St. Augustine. The reward which the Lord promises us is not only the beauties, the harmonies, and the other joys of that blessed city; the principal reward is God Himself, that is to see and love God face to face: I am thy reward exceeding great (Gen. xv. 1). St. Augustine says that if God were to show His face to the damned, "hell would straightway be changed into a lovely Paradise." And he adds that if a soul which had departed this life were allowed to choose between seeing God and enduring the pains of hell or of not seeing Him and to be delivered from hell, "it would choose rather to see the Lord and to suffer the pains of hell."

In this life we cannot comprehend the joy of seeing and loving God face to face; but we may form some idea of it from knowing, in the first place, that Divine love is so sweet that even in this life it has lifted from earth, not only the souls, but even the bodies of the Saints. St. Philip Neri was once lifted up into the air, together with the bench which he had grasped. St. Peter of Alcantara was also raised from the earth clinging to a tree, which was torn up by the roots. Moreover, we know that the holy Martyrs, through the sweetness of Divine love, rejoiced in the midst of their very torments. St. Vincent, while he was tortured, spoke in such a way, says St. Augustine, "that it seemed as if one Vincent suffered and another spoke." St. Lawrence, whilst on the gridiron, mocked at the tyrant and said: "Turn me, and eat." Yes, says St. Augustine, because Lawrence, inflamed with this fire of Divine love, did not feel the burning. Besides, what sweetness does a sinner experience, even in this world, in weeping over his sins! Whence St. Bernard says: "If it be so sweet to weep for Thee, what will it be to rejoice because of Thee!" What sweetness, too, does a soul feel to whom the goodness of God and the mercies bestowed on her by Jesus Christ, and the love He has borne and still bears her, are disclosed by a ray of light in the time of prayer! The soul then feels as if she were dissolved, and fainting away through love. And yet on this earth we do not see God as He really is, we see Him but obscurely: We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face (1 Cor. xiii. 12). At present we have, as it were, a bandage before the eyes: God is hidden under the veil of Faith, and does not disclose Himself to us. What will it be when the veil is taken away from our eyes and we behold God face to face! Then we shall see how beautiful is God, how great, how just, how perfect, how amiable, how loving!

Evening Meditation

CONFIDENCE IN JESUS CHRIST AND LOVE OF HIM

I.

Let us be persuaded we shall never attain to a great love for God, except through Jesus Christ, and unless we have a special devotion to His Passion, by which He procured Divine grace for us. The Apostle writes: Through him we have access ...to the Father (Eph. ii. 18). The way to grace would be closed to us sinners were it not for Jesus Christ. He opens the gate to us; He introduces us to the Father, and by the merits of His Passion obtains for us from the Father pardon for our sins, and all the graces we receive from God. Miserable we should be if we did not possess Jesus Christ. And who can ever sufficiently praise and thank the love and goodness this merciful Redeemer has shown to us poor sinners, in being willing to die to deliver us from eternal death? Scarcely, says the Apostle, will any die for a just man, but for a good man perhaps some would dare to die; but when we were sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. v. 7-10).

Wherefore the Apostle teaches us that if we are resolved at all costs to seek the love of Jesus Christ we ought to expect from Him every help and favour; and he thus reasons: For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. He thus warns those who love Jesus Christ that they do injustice to the love which this our merciful Saviour bears us, if they fear He will deny them any of the graces necessary for salvation and sanctification. And that our sins may not cause us to fail in trusting Him, St. Paul goes on to say: For not as the offence so also the gift. For if by the offence of one many died; much more the grace of God and the gift, by the grace of one man Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many (Rom. v. 15). He here gives us to understand that the gift of grace obtained by the Redeemer through His Passion brings us blessings far greater than the loss we sustained by the sin of Adam; for the merits of Christ have a greater power to cause us to be loved by God than the sin of Adam had to make Him hate us. "We obtained," says St. Leo, "greater things by the unspeakable grace of Christ than we lost by the malice of the devil."


II.

Let us, then, conclude, O devout souls -- let us love Jesus Christ! Let us love this Redeemer Who is so worthy of being loved, and has so loved us that it seems as if He could have done no more to gain our love. It is enough for us to know that, for love of us, He has been willing to die, consumed by grief upon a Cross; and, not satisfied with this, has left us Himself in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, where He gives us for food the very same Body He sacrificed for us, and gives us to drink the very same Blood He poured forth for us in His Passion. Most ungrateful shall we be to Him, then, not only if we offend Him, but if we love Him little, and do not consecrate to Him our entire love.

O my Jesus, may I be all consumed with love for Thee, as Thou wast all consumed for me! And since Thou hast so much loved me, and bound me to love Thee, help me now not to be ungrateful to Thee. Most ungrateful should I be if I loved anything apart from Thee. Thou hast loved me without reserve; without reserve I also wish to love Thee. I leave all, I renounce all, to give myself wholly to Thee, and to have in my heart no love but Thine. In pity, accept my love, without taking account of the offences that I have committed against Thee in the past. Behold, I am one of those sheep for whom Thou hast shed Thy Blood; we therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants, whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious Blood. Forget, O my dear Saviour, the many offences I have committed against Thee. Chastise me as Thou wilt; deliver me only from the punishment of not being able to love Thee, and then do with me whatever Thou wilt. Deprive me of everything, O my Jesus, but deprive me not of Thyself, my only Good. Teach me to know what Thou wilt have from me, that, by Thy grace, I may fulfil all Thy will. Make me forget everything that I may remember Thee alone, and all the pains Thou hast suffered for me. Grant that I may think of nothing but of pleasing Thee, and loving Thee. Look upon me with that love with which Thou didst look upon me on Calvary, when dying for me upon the Cross, and hear me. In Thee I place all my hopes, O my Jesus, my God, and my all.

O holy Virgin Mary, my Mother and my Hope, recommend me to thy Son, and obtain that I may be faithful to His love till the hour of my death. Amen.

[Stone]

Saturday--Seventeenth Week after Pentecost

Morning Meditation

"THE NAME OF MARY A TOWER OF STRENGTH"

The invocation of the Sacred Names of Jesus and Mary, says Thomas a Kempis, is a short prayer, as sweet to the mind and as powerful to protect those who use it as it is easy to remember. Let us therefore take advantage of the beautiful advice given by St. Bernard: "In dangers, in perplexities, in doubtful cases, think of Mary, call on Mary; let her not leave thy lips; let her not depart from thy heart!"


I.

The Blessed Henry Suso, speaking of the sweetness of Mary's name, says that when he named Mary he felt himself so excited to confidence and inflamed with such love and joy, that between the tears and joy with which he pronounced the beloved name, he desired that his heart might leave his breast; for he declared that this most sweet name was like a honeycomb dissolving in the inmost recess of the soul; and then he would exclaim: "O most sweet name! O Mary, what must thou thyself be, since thy name alone is thus amiable and gracious!"

The enamoured St. Bernard, raising his heart to his good Mother, exclaims with tenderness: "O great! O pious! O thou who art worthy of all praise! O most holy Virgin Mary! Thy name is so sweet and amiable that it cannot be pronounced without inflaming those who do so with love for thee and for God. Thy name only need occur to the mind of thy lovers to move them to love thee more and to console them." "Thou canst not be named without inflaming; thou canst not be thought of by those who love thee without filling their minds with joy." "And if riches comfort the poor, because they relieve them in their distress," says Richard of St. Laurence, "oh, how much more does thy name, O Mary, comfort us than any earthly riches! It comforts us in all the hardships of this life." "Thy name, O Mary, is far better than riches, because it can better relieve poverty."

In fine, "thy name, O Mother of God, is filled with Divine graces and blessings," as St. Methodius says. So much so, that St. Bonaventure declares that "thy name, O Mary, cannot be pronounced without bringing some grace to him who does so devoutly." The Blessed Raymond Jordano says that "however hardened and diffident a heart may be, the name of this most Blessed Virgin has such efficacy, that if it is only pronounced, that heart will be wonderfully softened." I shall, however, give his own words: "The power of thy most holy name, O ever-blessed Virgin Mary, is such that it softens the hardness of the human heart in a wonderful manner." He tells us that it is Mary who leads sinners to the hope of pardon and grace. By thee does the sinner recover the hope of forgiveness and of grace."

Thy most sweet name, O Mary, according to St. Ambrose, "is a precious ointment, which breathes forth the odour of Divine grace." The Saint then prays to the Divine Mother, saying; "Let this ointment of salvation enter the inmost recesses of our souls." That is, grant, O Lady, that we may often remember to name thee with love and confidence; for this practice either tells of the possession of Divine grace, or else is a pledge that we shall soon recover it. "And truly it is so, O Mary; for the remembrance of thy name comforts the afflicted, recalls to the way of salvation those who have erred, and encourages sinners, that they may not abandon themselves to despair." (Ludolph of Saxony).


II.

Father Pelbart says that "as Jesus Christ by His five Wounds gave a remedy for the evils of the world, so also does Mary, by her most holy name, which is composed of five letters, daily bring pardon to sinners."

For this reason is the holy name of Mary likened in the Sacred Canticles to oil: Thy name is as oil poured out (Cant. i. 2). On these words Blessed Alan says that her glorious name is compared to oil poured out, because oil heals the sick, sends out a sweet odour, and nourishes flames. Thus also does the name of Mary heal sinners, rejoice hearts, and inflame them with Divine love. Hence Richard of St. Laurence encourages sinners to have recourse to this great name because it alone will suffice to cure them of all their evils; and there is no disorder, however malignant, that does not immediately yield to the power of the name of Mary.

On the other hand Thomas a Kempis affirms that the devils fear the Queen of Heaven to such a degree that only on hearing her great name pronounced they fly from him who does so as from a burning fire. The Blessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Bridget that there is not on earth a sinner, however devoid he may be of the love of God, from whom the devil is not obliged immediately to fly, if he invokes her holy name with a determination to repent. On another occasion she repeated the same thing to the Saint, saying that "all the devils venerate and fear this name to such a degree that on hearing it they immediately loosen the claws with which they hold the soul captive." Our Blessed Lady also told St. Bridget that in the same way as the rebel angels fly from sinners who invoke the name of Mary, so also do the good Angels approach nearer to just souls who pronounce her name with devotion.

St. Germanus declares that as breathing is a sign of life, so also is the frequent pronunciation of the name of Mary a sign either of the life of Divine grace, or that it will soon return; for this powerful name has it in the virtue of obtaining help and life for him who invokes it devoutly. Addressing the Blessed Virgin, he says: "As breathing is a sign of life in the body, so is the frequent repetition of thy most holy name, O Virgin, by thy servants, not only a sign of life and of strength, but also it procures and nourishes both."

Spiritual Reading

CONFRATERNITIES OF OUR BLESSED LADY

The Sovereign Pontiffs have approved and highly commended Confraternities and also enriched them with many Indulgences. St. Francis de Sales, with great earnestness, exhorts all seculars to join them. What pains, moreover did not St. Charles Borromeo take to establish and multiply these Confraternities. In his Synods, he particularly recommends confessors to engage their penitents to join them. And with good reason; for these Sodalities, especially those of our Blessed Lady, are so many Noe's arks, in which poor seculars find a refuge from the deluge of temptations and sins which inundates the world. We, from the experience of our Missions, well know the utility of these Confraternities. As a rule, a man who does not attend the meetings of a Confraternity commits more sins that twenty men who do attend them. A Confraternity can well be called a tower of David; a thousand bucklers hang upon it -- all the armour of valiant men (Cant. iv. 4). The reason that Confraternities do so much good is that in them the members acquire many weapons of defence against hell, and put in practice the requisite means of preservation in Divine grace, which are seldom made use of by seculars who are not members of these Confraternities.

1. In the first place, one means of salvation is, to meditate on the eternal truths: Remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin (Ecclus. vii. 40). How many are lost because they neglect to do this! With desolation is all the land made desolate; because there is none that considereth in his heart (Jer. xii. 11). But those who frequent the meetings of their Confraternities are led to think of these truths by the many meditations, lectures, and sermons they there hear: My sheep hear my voice (Jo. x. 27).

2. To save one's soul prayer is necessary: Ask, and you shall receive (Jo. xvi. 24); this the members of the Confraternities do constantly. God also hears their prayers the more readily; for He has Himself said that He grants graces more willingly to prayers offered up in common: If two of you shall consent upon earth concerning anything whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father (Matt. xviii. 19): on which St. Ambrose says that "many who are weak, when united become strong; and it is impossible that the prayers of so many should not be heard."

3. In Confraternities the Sacraments are most likely to be frequented, both on account of the rules and the example given by the other members. And thus perseverance in grace is more easily obtained, the sacred Council of Trent having declared that Holy Communion is "an antidote whereby we may be freed from daily faults, and be preserved from mortal sins."

4. Besides the frequentation of the Sacraments in these Confraternities, many acts of mortification, humility, and charity towards the sick brethren and the poor, are performed. Well would it be if this holy custom of assisting the sick-poor of the place were introduced into all Confraternities.

5. We have already said how profitable it is for our salvation to serve the Mother of God; and what else do the members do in the Confraternity but serve her? How much is she not praised there! How many prayers are not there offered to her! From the very beginning, the members are consecrated to her service; they choose her in an especial manner for their sovereign Lady and Mother; they are inscribed in the Register of Mary's children; hence, as they are her servants and children in an especial manner, in an especial manner are they treated by her, and she protects them in life and in death. So that a member of a Confraternity of Mary can say, Now all good things came to me together with her (Wis. vii. 11).

Each member should therefore pay attention to two things: First of all, the object that he should have in view should be no other than to serve God and his Mother Mary and save his soul; secondly, not to allow worldly affairs to prevent his attendance at the meeting on the appointed days; for he has there to attend to the most important business that he has in the world, which is his eternal salvation. He should also endeavour to draw as many others as he can to join the Confraternity, and especially to bring back those members who have left it.

Oh, with what terrible chastisements has our Lord punished those who have abandoned the Confraternity of our Blessed Lady! There was a brother who did so in Naples; and when he was exhorted to return, he answered: "I will do so when my legs are broken and my head is cut off." He prophesied; for, a short time afterwards, some enemies of his broke his legs and cut off his head.

On the other hand, the members who persevere have both their temporal and spiritual wants provided for by Mary. All her domestics are clothed with double garments (Prov. xxxi. 21). Father Auriemma relates how many special graces Mary grants to members of the Confraternity, both in life and in death, but more particularly in death. Father Crasset gives an account of a young man, who, in the year 1586, was dying. He fell asleep; but afterwards waking he said to his confessor: O Father, I have been in great danger of damnation, but our Blessed Lady rescued me. The devils presented my sins before our Lord's tribunal, and they were already preparing to drag me to hell; but the Blessed Virgin came and said to them: "Whither are you taking this young man? What business have you with a servant of mine, who has served me so long in my Confraternity? The devils fled and thus was I delivered from their hands." The same author also relates that another brother had also, at the point of death, a great battle with hell; but at length, having conquered, filled with joy, he exclaimed: "Oh, what a blessing it is to serve the Holy Mother in her Confraternity!" and thus filled with consolation he expired. He then adds that in Naples, when the Duke of Popoli was dying, he said to his son: "Son, know that the little good that I have done in this life I attribute to my Confraternity. Hence I have no greater treasure to leave thee than the Confraternity of Mary. I now value more having been one of its members, than being Duke of Popoli."

Evening Meditation

"THOU SHALT BE CROWNED."

I.

Your sorrow shall be turned into joy (Jo. xvi. 20).

Let us during life animate ourselves by the hope of Heaven, to bear patiently the afflictions of this life, and to offer them to God in return for the sufferings Jesus Christ endured for the love of us. All these afflictions, sorrows, persecutions and tears, will one day have an end and will, if we save our souls, become to us sources of happiness and joy in the Kingdom of bliss. This is the ground of courage and hope which the Saviour holds out to us. Your sorrow shall be turned into joy (Jo. xvi. 20). The most enlightened of the Saints knew not how to give us an idea of the happiness God has prepared for His faithful servants. David could only break forth in joy, exclaiming: How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts (Ps. lxxxiii. 2). But, my beloved St. Paul, do you at least, who had the happiness of being rapt up into Heaven, declare to us some of the things you have seen. No, exclaims the Apostle, for what I have seen is impossible to describe. The delights of Heaven are secret words, which it is not granted to man to utter (2 Cor. xii. 4). They are so great that they only who enjoy them are able to comprehend them. All that I can say, says the Apostle, is: It is written, 'That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him' (1 Cor. ii. 9).

At present it is impossible for us to comprehend the happiness of Heaven, because we have no idea but of earthly enjoyments. Were a horse capable of reasoning he would, if he expected a rich feast from his master, imagine it to consist in excellent hay and oats; for these are the only species of food of which he has any idea. It is thus we form our notions of the happiness of Heaven. It is beautiful in the summer to behold at night the glory of the starry heavens; delightful to pass through a garden full of fruits and flowers, flowing fountains, and the singing of birds. In such a scene one is tempted to exclaim: Oh! what a Paradise! What a Paradise! But far different are the delights of Heaven. To form some imperfect idea of them, reflect that in Heaven is an All-Powerful God Who has pledged Himself to make the soul that loves Him happy. Do you wish, says St. Bernard, to know what is in Heaven? "There is nothing there that gives displeasure; there is everything that delights."

O Jesus, my sweet Saviour, do not abandon me! My soul is immortal: I must then either love Thee or hate Thee for all eternity. Ah! it is my wish to love Thee for eternity, and I wish to love Thee without reserve here, that I may love Thee without reserve hereafter. Dispose of me as Thou pleasest; chastise me as Thou wishest; do not deprive me of Thy love, and then do with me what Thou wilt. My Jesus, Thy merits are my hope. O Mary, I place great confidence in thy intercession. Thou didst deliver me from hell when I was in sin; now that I wish to give myself to God, obtain for me the grace to save my soul, and to become a Saint.


II.

O God, what will be the sentiments of the soul on its entrance into that happy Kingdom? Let us represent to our minds a young virgin, who, after consecrating herself to the love of Jesus Christ, dies and quits this world. The soul is presented for Judgment: the Judge embraces her, and pronounces the sentence of her salvation. Her Angel-Guardian meets and congratulates her; she thanks him for his assistance, and the Angel then says: "Rejoice, O happy soul! Thy salvation is now secure; come and behold the face of thy Lord." Behold, the soul now passes beyond the clouds, the spheres, the stars, and enters into Heaven. O God! what will be the feelings of that bride of Christ on first setting foot in this happy country, and beholding for the first time this city of delights! The Angels and the Saints will come to meet her, and will receive her with a joyous welcome. What shall be her consolation in rejoining there her relatives or friends who have been already admitted into Heaven, and in meeting her holy advocates!

The soul will wish to bend her knees to venerate these Saints, but they will say: See thou do it not, for we are thy fellow-servants. She will thence be carried to kiss the feet of Mary, the Queen of Heaven. What tenderness will not the soul experience in first beholding the Divine Mother who gave her so much assistance in the work of her salvation; for then the soul will see all the graces she obtained through the intercession of Mary, who will embrace her with love and tenderness. The Queen of Heaven will then conduct the soul to Jesus Who will receive her as His spouse, and say: Come from Libanus, my spouse ... thou shalt be crowned (Cant. iv. 8). My spouse, rejoice: there is now an end to tears, to sufferings and to fears; receive the eternal crown I have purchased for thee by My Blood. Jesus Himself will then present her to receive the benediction of His Divine Father Who will embrace and bless her, saying: Enter thou into the joy of thy lord (Matt. xxv. 21), and will bestow upon her the same happiness He Himself enjoys.

Behold, O my God, at Thy feet an ungrateful sinner, whom thou hast created for Heaven, but who has so often, for the sake of a wretched pleasure, renounced Thee to Thy face, and has consented to be condemned to hell. But I hope Thou hast already pardoned me all the injuries I have done Thee, for which I am always sorry and will be sorry as long as I live. Of these injuries I desire to receive from Thee new pardon. But, O God, although my sins have been already forgiven, it will still be always true that I have dared to afflict Thee, my Redeemer, Who hast given Thy life to bring me to Thy Kingdom. But may Thy mercy be forever praised and blessed, my Jesus, for having borne me with so much patience, and for having bestowed upon me multiplied graces instead of chastising me as I deserved. I see, my dear Saviour, that Thou ardently desirest my salvation, and that Thou wishest to bring me to Thy Kingdom that I may love Thee for ever; but it is Thy wish that I should first love Thee here on earth. Yes; I wish to love Thee. Though there were no Heaven, I would wish to love Thee while I live, with my whole soul and with all my strength. It is enough for me to know that Thou, my God, desirest to be loved by me. My Jesus assist me by Thy grace.