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(Ep. Ephesians iii. 13-21)
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end. Jesus, knowing that the hour of His death was at hand, wished to leave men the greatest proof of His love by leaving us Himself in the Holy Eucharist. He loved them unto the end. That is "with an extreme affection," says St. John Chrysostom.
I.
Jesus, knowing that his hour was come ... having loved his own ... he loved them unto the end (Jo. xiii. 1). Let us consider the love of Jesus Christ in leaving us Himself in the Most Holy Eucharist: He loved them unto the end. That is, according to St. John Chrysostom, "with an extreme affection."
St. Bernardine of Sienna says that the tokens of love which are given at death make a more lasting impression on the mind, and are more highly esteemed. But, whilst others leave a ring, or a piece of money, as a mark of their affection, Jesus has left us His entire Self in this Sacrament of love.
And when did Jesus Christ institute this Sacrament? He instituted it, as the Apostle has remarked, on the night before His Passion. The Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke and said: Take ye and eat: this is my body (1 Cor. xi. 23-24). Thus, at the very time that men were preparing to put Him to death, our loving Redeemer resolved to bestow upon us this gift. Jesus Christ, then, was not content with giving His life for us on a Cross: He wished also, before His death, to pour out, as the Council of Trent says, all the riches of His love, by leaving Himself as our food in the Holy Communion. "He, as it were, poured out the riches of His love towards man." If Faith had not taught it, who could ever imagine that a God would become Man, and the food of His own creatures? When Jesus Christ revealed to His followers this Sacrament which He intended to leave us, St. John says that they could not bring themselves to believe it, and many departed from Him, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? ... This saying is hard, and who can hear it? (Jo. vi. 53-61). But what men could not imagine, the great love of Jesus Christ has invented and effected. Take ye and eat: this is my body (1 Cor. xi. 24). These words He addressed to His Apostles on the night before He suffered, and He now, after His death, addresses them to us.
II.
How highly honoured, says St. Francis de Sales, would that man feel to whom a prince sent from his table a portion of what he had on his own plate! But Jesus gives us not a portion of His own food but His entire Body and Blood in the Sacrament of the Altar. "He gave you all," says St. John Chrysostom, reproving our ingratitude: "He left nothing for Himself." And St. Thomas teaches that in the Eucharist God has given us all that He is and all that He has. Justly, then, has the same saint called the Eucharist "a Sacrament of love, a pledge of love." It is a Sacrament of love, because it was pure love that induced Jesus Christ to give us this gift and pledge of love; for He wished that, should a doubt of His having loved us ever enter into our minds, we should have in this Sacrament a pledge of His love. St. Bernard calls this Sacrament "Love of loves." By His Incarnation the Lord has given Himself to all men in general; but, in this Sacrament He has given Himself to each of us in particular, to make us understand the special love He entertains for each of us.
Oh, how ardently does Jesus Christ desire to come to our souls in the Holy Communion! This vehement desire He expressed at the time of the institution of this Sacrament, when He said to the Apostles: With desire I have desired to eat this Pasch with you (Luke xxii. 15). St. Laurence Justinian says that these words proceeded from the enamoured Heart of Jesus Christ, Who by such tender expressions, wished to show us the ardent love with which He loved us. "This is the voice of the most burning charity." And, to induce us to receive Him frequently in the Holy Communion, He promises eternal life -- that is, the kingdom of Heaven -- to those who eat His Flesh. He that eateth this bread shall live forever (Jo. vi. 59). On the other hand, He threatens to deprive us of His grace and Paradise if we neglect Communion. Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you (Jo. vi. 54). These promises and these threats all sprung from a burning desire to come to us in this Sacrament.
Spiritual Reading
"THE CHARITY OF CHRIST"
Why does Jesus so ardently desire that we should receive Him in the Holy Communion? It is because He takes delight in being united with each of us. By Holy Communion, Jesus is really united to our soul and to our body, and we are then united to Jesus. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me and I in him (Jo. vi. 57). Thus, after Communion, we are, says St. John Chrysostom, one body and one flesh with Jesus Christ. Hence St. Laurence Justinian exclaims " Oh, how wonderful is Thy love, O Lord Jesus, Who hast wished to incorporate us in such a manner with Thy Body that we should have one heart and one soul inseparably united with Thee!" Thus, to every soul that receives the Eucharist, the Lord says what He once said to His beloved servant Margaret of Ypres -- "Behold, my daughter, the close union made between me and Thee! Love Me, then, and let us remain forever united in love; let us nevermore be separated." This union between Jesus Christ and us is, according to St. John Chrysostom, the effect of the Charity of Christ towards us.
But, O Lord, such intimate union with man is not suited to Thy Divine majesty. But love seeks not reason; it goes not where it should, but where it is drawn. St. Bernardine of Sienna says that, in giving Himself for our food, Jesus Christ loved us to the last degree; because He united Himself entirely to us, as food is united to those who eat it. The same doctrine has been beautifully expressed by St. Francis de Sales: "No action of the Saviour can be more loving or more tender than the institution of the Holy Eucharist, in which Jesus, as it were, annihilates Himself, and takes the form of food, to unite Himself to the souls and bodies of His faithful servants."
Hence there is nothing from which we can draw so much fruit as the Holy Communion. St. Denis teaches that the Most Holy Sacrament has greater efficacy to sanctify souls than all other spiritual means. St. Vincent Ferrer says that a soul derives more profit from one Communion than from fasting for a week on bread and water. The Eucharist is, according to the holy Council of Trent, a medicine which delivers us from daily faults, and preserves us from mortal sins. Jesus Himself has said that they who eat His Flesh and drink His Blood, which is the Fountain of life, shall receive permanently the life of grace. He that eateth me, the same shall also live by me (Jo. vi. 58). Innocent III teaches that by the Passion Jesus Christ delivers us from the sins we have committed, and by the Eucharist saves us from committing others. According to St. John Chrysostom, the Holy Communion inflames us with the fire of Divine love, and makes us objects of terror to the devil. "The Eucharist is a fire which inflames us, so that, like lions breathing fire, we may retire from the altar, being made terrible to the devil." In explaining the words of the Spouse in the Canticles: He brought me into the cellar of wine; He set in order charity in me (Cant. ii. 4), St. Gregory says that the Communion is this cellar of wine in which the soul is so inebriated with Divine Charity that she forgets and loses sight of all earthly things.
Some will say: "I do not communicate often; because I am cold in Divine love." In answer to them Gerson asks: Will you, then, because you feel cold, remove from the fire? When you are tepid you should more frequently approach this Sacrament. St. Bonaventure says: "Trusting in the mercy of God, though you feel tepid, approach: let him who thinks himself unworthy reflect that the more infirm he feels himself, the more he requires a physician." And St. Francis de Sales writes: "Two sorts of persons ought to communicate often: the perfect, in order to persevere in holiness; and the imperfect, to arrive at perfection."
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
In resisting our enemies in our spiritual combats it is of the very greatest benefit to anticipate them in our meditations, by preparing ourselves to do violence to them to our utmost power, on all occasions when they may suddenly come upon us. Thus the Saints have been able to preserve the greatest mildness, or at least not to reply by a single word, and not to be disturbed, when they met with a great trial, a violent persecution, a severe pang in body or in mind, the loss of property of great value, the death of a much-loved relative. Such victories are ordinarily not acquired by anyone without the aid of long discipline, without frequenting Sacraments, and a continual exercise of Meditation, Spiritual Reading, and Prayer. Therefore these victories are with difficulty obtained by those who have not taken great heed to avoid dangerous occasions, or who are attached to the vanities or pleasures of the world, and practise very little mortification of the senses; by those, in a word, who live a soft and easy life. St. Augustine says that in the spiritual life, "first pleasures are to be conquered, then pains"; meaning that a person who is given to seeking the pleasures of the senses will scarcely resist a strong passion or a temptation which assails him; a man who loves the esteem of the world will scarcely endure a grave affront without losing the grace of God.
It is true that we must look for all our strength to live sinless lives, and to do good works, not from ourselves, but from the grace of Jesus Christ; but we must take great care not to make ourselves weaker than we are by nature, through our own fault. The defects of which we take no account will cause the Divine light to fail, and the devil will become stronger against us. For example, a desire to make a parade of our learning or our rank, or vanity in dress; the seeking of any superfluous pleasure; resentment at every inattentive word or action; a wish to please everyone though to our spiritual loss; neglect of works of piety through the fear of man; little acts of disobedience towards our Superiors; little murmurings; trifling but cherished aversions; trivial falsehoods; slight attacks upon our neighbour; loss of time in gossip; or the indulgence of curiosity -- in a word, every attachment to earthly things, and every act of inordinate self-love, can help our enemy to drag us over some precipice; or, at least deprive us of that abundance of Divine help without which we may find ourselves in utter spiritual ruin.
II.
We grieve when we find ourselves so dry in spirit and desolate in prayer, in our Communions, and in all our devout exercises; but how can God give us to enjoy His presence and loving visits while we are niggardly and inattentive to Him? He that sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly (2 Cor. ix. 6). If we cause Him so much displeasure, how can we expect to enjoy His heavenly consolations? If we do not detach ourselves from everything earthly, we shall never wholly belong to Jesus Christ, and where shall we look for protection? Jesus, by His humility, merited for us the grace of conquering pride; and by His poverty He merited strength for us to despise earthly goods; and by His patience, constancy in overcoming slights and injuries. "What pride," writes St. Augustine, "could have been healed, if not healed by the humility of the Son of God? What avarice, except by the poverty of Christ? What anger, except by the Saviour's patience?" But if we are cold in the love of Jesus Christ, and neglect to pray continually to Him to help us, and nourish in our hearts any earthly affection, with difficulty shall we persevere in a holy life. Let us pray. Let us pray always. With prayer we shall obtain everything.
O Saviour of the world, Thou art my only hope! By the merits of Thy Passion, deliver me from every impure desire which may hinder me from loving Thee as I ought. May I be stripped of all desires that savour of the world; grant that the only object of my desires may be Thyself, Who art the sovereign Good, and the only Good that is worthy of love. By Thy sacred Wounds heal my infirmities; give me grace to keep far from my heart every love which is not for Thee Who deservest all my love. O Jesus, my Love, Thou art my hope! O sweet words! sweet consolation -- Jesus, my Love! Thou art my hope!
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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Jesus Christ, Who gives Himself to us through pure love, should be received by us through love, says St. Francis de Sales. When you communicate, then, desire, as our Lord directed St. Matilda, all the love any soul ever had for Jesus, and He will accept it in proportion to the fervour with which you wish for it.
I.
Two things are necessary in order to draw great fruit from Communion -- Preparation for, and Thanksgiving after Communion. As to the Preparation, it is certain that the Saints derived great profit from their Communions only because they were careful to prepare themselves well for receiving the Holy Eucharist. It is easy, then, to understand why so many souls remain subject to the same imperfections after all their Communions. Cardinal Bona says that the defect is not in the food, but in the want of the proper dispositions. For frequent Communion two principal dispositions are required. The first is detachment from creatures, and disengagement of the heart from everything that is not God. The more the heart is occupied with earthly concerns, the less room there is in it for Divine Charity. Hence to give full possession of the whole heart to God it is necessary to purify it from worldly attachments. This is the preparation which Jesus Himself recommended to St. Gertrude: "I ask nothing more of thee," said He to her, "than that thou come to receive Me with a heart divested of thyself." Let us, then, withdraw our affections from creatures, and our hearts will belong entirely to the Creator.
The second disposition necessary to draw great fruit from Communion is a desire of receiving Jesus Christ in order to advance in His love. "He," says St. Francis de Sales, "Who gives Himself through pure love, ought to be received only through love." Thus the principal end of our Communions must be to advance in the love of Jesus Christ. He once said to St. Matilda: "When you communicate, desire all the love that any soul has ever had for me, and I will accept your love in proportion to the fervour with which you wished for it."
II.
Thanksgiving after Communion is also necessary. The prayer we make after Communion is the most acceptable to God, and the most profitable to us. After Communion the soul should be employed in affections and petitions. The affections ought to consist not only in acts of thanksgiving, but also in acts of humility, of love, and of oblation of ourselves to God. Let us, then, humble ourselves as much as possible at the sight of a God made our Food even after we had offended Him. A learned author says that, for a soul after Communion, the most appropriate sentiment is one of astonishment at the thought of receiving a God. She should exclaim: "What! God is come to me! A God is come to me!" Let us also make many acts of the love of Jesus Christ. He has come into our souls in order to be loved. Hence He is greatly pleased with those who, after Communion, say to Him: "My Jesus, I love Thee; I desire only Thee!" Let us also offer ourselves and all that we have to Jesus Christ that He may dispose of all as He pleases: and let us frequently say: "My Jesus, Thou art all mine; Thou hast given Thyself entirely to me; I give myself entirely to Thee."
After Communion we should not only make these affections, but we ought also to present to God with great confidence many petitions for His graces. The time after Communion is a time in which we can gain treasures of Divine graces. St. Teresa says that at that time Jesus Christ remains in the soul as on a throne, saying to her what He said to the blind man: What wilt thou that I should do to thee? (Mark x. 51). Now that you possess Me within you, ask Me for graces. Me you have not always (Jo. xii. 8). I have come down from Heaven on purpose to dispense them to you; ask whatever you wish, and you shall obtain it. Oh! what great graces are lost by those who spend but little time in prayer after Communion!
Let us also turn to the Eternal Father, and, bearing in mind the promise of Jesus Christ -- Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it you (Jo. xvi. 23) -- let us say to Him: O my God, for the love of this Thy Son, Whom I have within my heart, give me Thy love; make me all Thine. He who acts thus may become a Saint by a single Communion.
Spiritual Reading
I. HUMAN RESPECT
Oh, how many souls has not human respect -- that great enemy of our salvation -- sent to hell! We cannot avoid seeing bad example and scandal unless, as St. Paul says, we go out of this world (1 Cor. v. 10). But it is in our power to avoid familiarity with those who give scandal and bad example. Hence the Apostle adds: But now I have written to you not to keep company ... with such an one, not so much as to eat (1 Cor. v. 11). We should be beware of contracting intimacy with such sinners; for, should we be united with them in the bonds of friendship, we shall feel an unwillingness to oppose their bad practices and evil counsels. Thus through human respect and the fear of contradicting them, we shall imitate their example, and lose the friendship of God.
Such lovers of the world not only glory in their own iniquities -- They rejoice in most wicked things (Prov. ii. 14) -- but what is worse, they wish to have companions in wickedness, and ridicule all who endeavour to live like true Christians and to avoid the danger of offending God. This is very displeasing to God, and a sin He forbids in a particular manner: Despise not a man that turneth away from sin, nor reproach him therewith (Ecclus. viii. 6). Despise not those who keep at a distance from sin, and seek not to draw them to evil by your reproaches and your irregularities. The Lord declares that, for those who throw ridicule on virtuous people, chastisements are prepared in this and in the next life. Judgments are prepared for scorners, and striking hammers for the bodies of fools (Prov. xix. 29). They mock the servants of God, and He shall mock them in eternity. But the Lord shall laugh them to scorn. And they shall fall after this without honour, and be a reproach among the dead forever (Wis. iv. 18, 19). They endeavour to make the Saints contemptible in the eyes of the world, and God shall make themselves die unhonoured, and send them to hell to suffer eternal ignominy among the damned.
Not only to offend God, but even to endeavour to make others offend Him, is truly an enormous excess of wickedness. This execrable intention arises from a conviction that there are many weak and pusillanimous souls who, to escape derision and contempt, abandon the practice of virtue and give themselves up to a life of sin. After his conversion to God, St. Augustine wept for having associated with those agents of Lucifer, and confessed that formerly he felt ashamed not to be as wicked and as shameless as they were. How many, to avoid the scoffs of wicked friends, have been induced to imitate their wickedness. "Behold the Saint!" these impious scoffers will say; "get me a piece of his garment, I will preserve it as a relic. Why does he not become a monk?" How many also, when they receive an insult, resolve to take revenge, not so much through passion as to escape the reputation of being cowards? How many there are who, after having inadvertently given expression to a scandalous maxim, neglect to retract it (as they are bound to do), through fear of losing the esteem of others! How many, because they are afraid of forfeiting the favour of a friend, sell their souls to the devil! They imitate the conduct of Pilate, who, for fear of losing the friendship of Caesar, condemned Jesus Christ to death.
Brethren, if we wish to save our souls, we must overcome human respect and bear the little confusion which may arise from the scoffs of the enemies of the Cross of Jesus Christ. For there is a shame that bringeth sin, and there is a shame that bringeth glory and grace (Ecclus. iv. 25). If we do not suffer this confusion with patience, it will lead us into the pit of sin; but if we submit to it for God's sake, it will obtain for us Divine grace here, and great glory hereafter. "As bashfulness is praiseworthy in evil," says St. Gregory, "so it is reprehensible in good."
Some one will say: I wish to save my soul; why, then, should I be persecuted? But there is no remedy; it is impossible to serve God and not be persecuted. The wicked loathe them that are in the right way (Prov. xxix. 27). Sinners cannot bear the sight of the man who lives according to the Gospel, because his life is a continual censure of their own disorderly conduct; and therefore they say: Let us therefore lie in wait for the just; because he is not for our turn, and he is contrary to our doings, and upbraideth us with transgressions of the law (Wis. ii. 12). The proud man, who seeks revenge for every insult which he receives, would wish that all should avenge the offences that may be offered them. The avaricious, who grow rich by injustice, wish that all should imitate their fraudulent practices. The drunkard wishes to see others indulge like himself. The immoral, who boast of their impurities, and can scarcely utter a word which does not savour of obscenity, desire that all should act and speak as they do; and those who do not imitate their conduct, they regard as mean, clownish, and intractable -- as men without honour and education. They are of the world, therefore of the world they speak (1 Jo. iv. 5). Worldlings can speak no other language than that of the world. Oh, how great is their poverty and blindness! It has blinded them, and therefore they speak so profanely. These things they thought, and were deceived; for their own malice blinded them (Wis. ii. 21).
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
And therefore he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of his death ... they that are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance (Heb. ix. 15). Here St. Paul speaks of the New Testament not as a covenant, but as a promise, or testamentary disposition, by which Jesus Christ left us heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. And because a testament is not in force until the death of the testator, therefore it was necessary that Jesus Christ should die that we might become His heirs, and enter into the possession of Paradise. Wherefore the Apostle adds: For where there is a testament the death of the testator must of necessity come in. For a testament is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is as yet of no strength whilst the testator liveth (Heb. ix. 16-17). Through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Mediator, we have received grace in Baptism to become the sons of God; unlike the Jews, who, under the old covenant, though they were the elect, were yet all servants. Whence the Apostle writes: For there are two covenants, the one from Mount Sina engendering unto bondage (Gal. iv. 24). The first mediation was made with God by Moses on Mount Sina, when God, through Moses, promised to the Jews the abundance of temporal blessings if they observed the laws which He gave them; but this mediation, says St. Paul, only produced servants, unlike the mediation of Jesus Christ, which produces sons: We, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise (Gal. iv. 28). If, then, being Christians, we are the sons of God, by consequence, says the Apostle, we are also heirs; for a portion of the father's inheritance is given to all sons, and this is the inheritance of eternal glory in Paradise, which Jesus Christ has merited for us by His death.
II.
St. Paul writes: If we suffer with him that we may be also glorified with him (Rom. viii. 17). It is true that, by our sonship to God, which Jesus Christ has obtained for us by His death, we have acquired a right to Paradise; but this is on the supposition that we are faithful to correspond to the Divine grace by our good works, and especially by holy patience. Hence the Apostle says that in order to obtain eternal glory, as Jesus Christ has obtained it, we must suffer upon earth as Jesus Christ suffered. He goes before, as our Captain, with His Cross; under this standard we must follow Him, each bearing his own cross, as the same Lord admonishes us: He that will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me (Matt. xvi. 24).
St. Paul also exhorts us to suffer with courage, strengthened by the hope of Paradise, reminding us that the glory which will be given to us in the next life will be infinitely greater than all our sufferings, that is, if we suffer here with good will in order to fulfil the Divine pleasure: I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us (Rom. viii. 18). What beggar would be so foolish as not to give gladly all his rags for a great kingdom? We do not as yet enjoy this glory, because we are not yet saved, not having finished our life in the grace of God; but hope in the merits of Jesus Christ, says St. Paul, will save us: We are saved by hope (Rom. viii. 24). He will not fail to give us every help to save us, if we are faithful to Him, and continue to pray; and the promise of Jesus Christ assures us that He hears every one who prays: Every one that seeketh, receiveth (Luke xi. 10). Some one will say: I fear, not that God will refuse to hear me, if I pray to Him, but I fear for myself, that I should not know how to pray as I ought. No, says St. Paul, fear not this, for when we pray, God Himself aids our weakness, and makes us pray so as to be heard. The Spirit also helpeth our infirmity ... and asketh for us (Rom. viii. 26). He asks, explains St. Augustine, that is, He helps us to ask.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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On the night our Redeemer took leave of His disciples to go to His death, as they were weeping for grief at the coming separation from their beloved Master, Jesus comforted them, saying what He now says to us: "My children, I am going to die for you to show you the love I bear you, but even in death I will not leave you alone. As long as you remain on earth I will remain with you in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Come to me ... and I will refresh you!
I.
Come to me, all ye that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you (Matt. xi. 28). Our loving Saviour, being about to quit this world, after having completed the work of our Redemption by His death, would not leave us alone in this valley of tears. St. Peter of Alcantara says: "No tongue would suffice to describe the greatness of the love which Jesus bears to each soul; this loving Spouse being about to depart from this world, wishing that His absence should not make us forget Him, left us as a memorial the Most Holy Sacrament, in which He Himself remains; not willing that there should be any pledge between us but Himself to keep the memory of Him alive in our hearts." This great proof of the love of Jesus deserves, therefore, great love on our part; and for this reason He has been pleased, in recent times, to institute the festival in honour of His Most Sacred Heart, as He revealed to His holy servant, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, in order that, by our homage and love, we might offer some return for His loving dwelling upon our altars, and might thus, at the same time, atone for the contempt and insults which He has received, and still receives, in this Sacrament of love from heretics and bad Christians.
Jesus has left us Himself in the Most Holy Sacrament: first, that He might be found by all; secondly, that He may give audience to all; thirdly, that He may grant favours to all. And first, He is on so many different altars that He may be found by all who desire to find Him. On the night on which our Redeemer took leave of His disciples to go to His death, as they were weeping in grief, thinking of their separation from their beloved Master, He comforted them by saying what He now says to us: "My children, I am going to die for you, to show you the love I bear you: but even in death I will not leave you alone; as long as you remain on earth I will remain with you in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. I leave you My Body, My Soul, My Divinity, My whole Self: as long as you remain on earth I will not separate Myself from you." Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world (Matt. xxviii. 20). St. Peter of Alcantara writes that the Spouse would not leave His spouse solitary during His long absence; wherefore He has left us this Sacrament, in which He Himself remains -- the best companion He could leave us. The heathens imagined to themselves many gods; but they could not invent a god more loving than our God, or one who remains so near to us and helps us with so much love: Neither is there any other nation so great, that hath gods so nigh them, as our God is present to all our petitions (Deut. iv. 7). This passage the Church applies to our Lord in the Most Holy Sacrament.
Behold, then, Jesus Christ remaining on our altars, as if confined in so many prisons of love! The Priest takes Him from the tabernacle and places Him on the throne, or gives Him in Communion, and when he replaces Him and closes the tabernacle, Jesus is content to remain enclosed there night and day. But why, my dearest Redeemer, dost Thou stay there even at night, when people close the doors and leave Thee alone? It would be enough to be there in the daytime only; but no, He is pleased to remain also the whole night, awaiting the morning, that He may be immediately found by those who seek Him. The spouse in the Canticles went about seeking her Beloved, and asking those she met, Have you seen him whom my soul loveth? (Cant. iii. 3); and not finding Him, she raised her voice, saying, Show me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where Thou feedest, where thou liest in the midday (Cant. i. 6). The spouse could not find Him then, because the Most Holy Sacrament did not exist; but now if a soul wishes to find Jesus, she need only go to some parish-church or Monastery, and there she will find the Beloved One awaiting her. There is no village however poor, no Monastery of Religious, that has not the Blessed Sacrament; and in all these places the King of Heaven is content to dwell, enclosed in a case of wood or of stone, often quite alone, with hardly a lamp, and with no one to stand before Him. "O Lord," exclaims St. Bernard, "this does not become Thy majesty." "It matters not," replies Jesus; "if this be not befitting My majesty it befits My love."
I love Thee, O Jesus, my Supreme Good, Who above all other goods dost deserve our love. Grant that I may forget myself and all things to remember only Thy love, and to spend whatever life may remain to me solely in pleasing Thee. Grant that from this day forward I may find no greater delight than in remaining at Thy feet; there may I burn with love of Thee! Mary, my Mother, obtain for me a great love towards the Most Holy Sacrament; and if thou seest me negligent, remind me, I beseech thee, of the promise I now make of visiting Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament every day.
II.
What tender love do pilgrims feel in visiting the holy church of Loretto, or the Holy Places in the Holy Land -- the Stable of Bethlehem, Calvary, the Holy Sepulchre, -- where Jesus Christ was born, or lived, or died, or was buried! But how much more tender should our love be when we are in a church, in the presence of Jesus Himself, Who remains in the Most Holy Sacrament. The Blessed John Avila used to say that he could find no more devout or consoling sanctuary than a church in which Jesus is veiled in His Sacrament; and Father Balthazar Alvarez used to weep at seeing the palaces of princes full of people, and the churches, in which Jesus dwells, so empty and deserted. O God, if our Lord had left Himself to us in only one church in the world -- in that of St. Peter's at Rome, for example -- and there on only one day of the year, how many pilgrims, how many nobles and monarchs would make every effort to have the happiness of being there on that day, to pay their court to the King of Heaven come back to earth! What a splendid tabernacle of gold and gems would be there prepared for Him! With what illuminations would that visit of Jesus Christ be celebrated on that day! "But no," our dear Redeemer says, "I will not remain only in one Church, nor on one single day; nor will I require such riches, or such brilliant displays. I will be present continually every day, and in all places, wherever My faithful are to be found, that they may come to Me without difficulty and at any hour they wish."
If Jesus Christ had not Himself thought of this refinement of love, who could ever have thought of it? If when He was going up to Heaven some one had said to Him: "Lord, if Thou wilt show Thy love to us, remain on our altars, under the species of bread, that we may there find Thee whenever we choose," how daring would this request have seemed! But what no man could ever have thought of our Lord has both thought of and done. But alas, where is our gratitude for such favours? If a prince were to come from a distance to a country-place, that he might be visited by a peasant, how ungrateful would that peasant be if he would not go to him or went only for a passing visit!
O Jesus, my Redeemer, Beloved of my soul, how much it has cost Thee to remain with us in this Sacrament! Thou hadst first to suffer death, that Thou mightest remain on our altars; and then Thou hast had to suffer so many insults in this Sacrament, that Thou mightest help us by Thy presence. Yet how indolent, how negligent, we are in coming to visit Thee, though we know how much our visits please Thee, because Thou delightest to see us in Thy presence, that Thou mayest load us with gifts! Lord, forgive me, for I have been among these ungrateful ones. Henceforward, my Jesus, I will often visit Thee, and stay as long as I can in Thy presence, thanking Thee, and loving Thee, and seeking graces from Thee; since for this very purpose Thou dost remain hidden in our Tabernacles, and become our Prisoner of love. I love Thee, Infinite Goodness; I love Thee, O God of infinite love.
Spiritual Reading
II. HUMAN RESPECT
Yes, it is impossible to serve God and escape persecution of some kind. And I say again there is no remedy. All, as St. Paul says, who wish to live united with Jesus Christ must be persecuted by the world. And all that will live godly in Christ shall suffer persecution (2 Tim. iii. 12). All the Saints have been persecuted. You say: I do not injure anyone; why, then, am I not left in peace? Well, what evil have the Saints and the Martyrs done? They were full of charity; they loved all, and laboured to do good to all; and how were they treated by the world? They were flayed alive; tortured with red-hot plates of iron; and put to death in the most cruel manner. And whom did Jesus Christ -- the Saint of Saints -- injure? He consoled all: He healed all. Virtue went out from him, and healed all (Luke vi. 19). And how did the world treat Him? It persecuted Him, so as to make Him die through pain on an infamous gibbet.
This happens because the maxims of the world are diametrically opposed to the maxims of Jesus Christ. What the world esteems, Jesus Christ regards as folly. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God (1 Cor. iii. 19). And what is folly in the eyes of the world -- that is, crosses, sickness, contempt, and ignominy -- Jesus Christ holds in great estimation. For the word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness (1 Cor. i. 18). How can a man think himself to be a Christian, asks St. Cyprian, when he is afraid to be a Christian? If we are Christians, let us show that we are Christians in name and in truth; for, if we are ashamed of Jesus Christ, He will be ashamed of us, and cannot give us a place on His right hand on the Last Day. For he that shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him the Son of man shall be ashamed when he shall come in his majesty (Luke ix. 26). On the Day of Judgment God will say: You have been ashamed of Me on earth: I am now ashamed to see you with Me in Paradise. Depart, accursed souls; go into hell to meet your companions who have been ashamed of Me. But mark the words: he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words. St. Augustine says that some are ashamed to deny Jesus Christ, but do not blush to deny the maxims of Jesus Christ. But you may tell me that if you say you cannot do such an act, because it is contrary to the Gospel, your friends will turn you into ridicule and will call you a hypocrite. Then, says St. John Chrysostom, you will not suffer to be treated with derision by a companion, and you are not unwilling to be hated by God!
The Apostle, who gloried in being a follower of Christ, said: The world is crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal. vi. 14). As I am a person crucified to the world -- an object of its scoffs and ill-treatment -- so the world is to me an object of contempt and abomination. It is necessary to be convinced that if we do not trample on the world, the world will trample on our souls. But what is the world and all its goods? All that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 Jo. ii. 16). To what are all the goods of this earth reduced? To riches, which are but dung; to honours, which are only smoke; and to carnal pleasures. But what shall all these profit us if we lose our souls? What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? (Matt. xvi. 26).
He that loves God and wishes to save his soul must despise the world and all human respect; and to do this every one must offer violence to himself. St. Mary Magdalen had to do great violence to herself in order to overcome human respect and the comments and scoffs of the world, when, in the presence of so many, she cast herself at the feet of Jesus Christ to wash them with her tears. But she thus became a Saint, and merited from Jesus Christ pardon of her sins, and praise for her great love. Many sins are forgiven her because she hath loved much (Luke vii. 47). One day, as St. Francis Borgia carried to certain prisoners a vessel of broth under his cloak, he met his son mounted on a fine horse, and accompanied by noblemen. The Saint felt ashamed to show what he carried under his cloak. But in order to conquer human respect he took the vessel of broth and carried it on his head, and thus showed his contempt for the world. Jesus Christ, our Head and Master, when nailed to the Cross, was mocked by the soldiers: If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. He was mocked by the Jewish priests, saying: He saved others; himself he cannot save (Matt. xxvii. 40-42). But He remained on the Cross, and cheerfully died upon it, and thus conquered the world.
"I give thanks to God," says St. Jerome, "that I am worthy to be hated by the world." The Saint returns thanks to God for having made him worthy of the hatred of the world. Jesus Christ pronounced His disciples blessed when they should be hated by men: Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you (Luke vi. 22). Christians, let us rejoice; for if worldlings curse and upbraid us God praises and blesses us. They will curse, and thou wilt bless (Ps. cviii. 28). Is it not enough for us to be praised by God, to be praised by the Queen of Heaven, by all the Angels, by all the Saints, and by all just men? Let worldlings say what they wish; but let us continue to please God Who will give us in the next life a reward proportioned to the violence we shall have done to ourselves in despising the contradictions of men. Each should try to consider that there is no one in the world but himself and God. When the wicked treat us with contempt, let us recommend to God these blind and miserable men who run the road to perdition; and let us thank the Lord for giving to us the light which He refuses to them. Let us continue on our own way. To obtain all it is necessary to conquer all.
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
The Apostle wishes to increase our confidence when he says: We know that to them that love God all things work together unto good (Rom. viii. 28). By this he teaches us that shame, sickness, poverty, persecutions, are not evils, as men of the world account them; for God turns them all into blessings and glory for those who suffer with patience. Finally, he says: For whom he foreknew, he also predestinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son (Rom. viii. 29). With these words he would persuade us that, if we would be saved, we must resolve to suffer everything rather than lose Divine grace, for no one can be admitted to the glory of the Blessed, unless at the Day of Judgment his life be found conformed to the life of Jesus Christ.
O my God, it is true that in my ingratitude I have had the heart to cause Thee so much displeasure and sorrow! But what is past is past! At least for the rest of my life, O my Lord, I will love Thee with all my power; I will live only for Thee; I will be wholly Thine; wholly, wholly, wholly Thine. But Thou must accomplish this. Detach me from every earthly thing, and give me light and strength to seek Thee alone, my only Good, my Love, my All.
O Mary, hope of sinners, thou must help me with thy prayers. Pray, pray for me, and cease not to pray, until thou seest me belonging wholly to God.
II.
That sinners may not abandon themselves to despair on account of their guilt, St. Paul encourages them to hope for pardon, telling them that for this end the Eternal Father has not spared His own Son, Who was offered to satisfy for our sins, but gave Him up to death, that He might pardon us sinners; and still further to increase the hope of penitent sinners, he says: Who is he that shall condemn? Jesus Christ that died? (Rom. viii. 34), as though he had said: Sinners, you who detest your sins, why do you fear to be condemned to hell? Tell me who is your Judge? -- who is to condemn you? Is it not Jesus Christ? How, then, can you fear that you will be condemned to death by this loving Redeemer Who, that He might not condemn you, has been willing to condemn Himself to die as a malefactor upon the infamous gibbet of the Cross? He speaks, indeed of those sinners who, being contrite, have washed their souls in the Blood of the Lamb, according to the words of St. John: These are they who ... have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Apoc. vii. 14).
O my Jesus, if I look at my sins I am ashamed to ask for Paradise, after the many times that I have openly renounced Thee, for the sake of short and miserable pleasures; but looking to Thee upon this Cross, I cannot cease to hope for Paradise, knowing that Thou hast been willing to die upon this tree to atone for my sins, and to obtain for me the Paradise I had despised. O my sweet Redeemer, I hope, through the merits of Thy death, that Thou hast already pardoned me the sins I have committed against Thee, for which I repent, and now I would rather die of grief for them.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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As God is by nature infinite Goodness, He has a sovereign desire to communicate His happiness to us, and therefore His inclination is not to punish but to show mercy. And when He does punish it is in love, that we may be delivered from eternal punishment.
I.
Mercy exalteth itself above judgment (James ii. 13). Goodness is by nature diffusive -- that is, inclined to communicate itself to others. Now God, Who by nature is infinite Goodness, has a sovereign desire to communicate His happiness to us; and therefore His inclination is not to punish, but to show mercy to all. Punishment, says Isaias, is a work opposed to the inclination of God: He shall be angry ... that he may do his work, his strange work ... his work is strange to him (Is. xxviii. 21). And when the Lord chastises in this life, He chastises that He may show mercy in the next: Thou hast been angry, and hast had mercy on us (Ps. lix. 3). He appears angry in order that we may amend and detest sin: Thou hast shown thy people hard things; thou hast made us drink the wine of sorrow (Ps. lix. 5). And if He punishes, it is in love, that we may be delivered from eternal punishment: Thou hast given a warning to them that fear thee, that they may flee from before the bow, that thy beloved may be delivered (Ps. lix. 6). Who can ever sufficiently admire and praise the mercy of God towards sinners in waiting for them, in calling them, and in receiving them when they return! And in the first place, oh, how great is the patience of God in waiting for our repentance! My brother, when you offended God He might have struck you dead; but He waited for you, and, instead of chastising you, He conferred benefits on you, He preserved your life, He provided for you. He feigned not to see your sins, in order that you might return to His grace: Thou overlookest the sins of men for the sake of repentance (Wis. xi. 24). But how is it, O Lord, that Thou canst not endure a single sin, and yet beholdest so many in silence? Thou beholdest the unchaste, the vindictive, the blasphemer, each day increasing their offences against Thee, and Thou dost not punish them! And why so much patience? God waits for the sinner that he may amend: Therefore the Lord waiteth, that he may have mercy on you (Is. xxx. 18); and that He may thus pardon and save him.
Ah, my Lord, I well know that at this moment my portion ought to be in hell: Hell is my house. But at this moment, through Thy mercy, I am not in hell, but here at Thy feet; and I feel Thee within me, whispering to me the commandment that I should love Thee: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. Thou assurest me that Thou wilt pardon me if I repent of my offences against Thee. My God, since Thou desirest to be loved even by me, a wretched rebel against Thy Majesty, I love Thee with my whole heart; and I grieve for having offended Thee above any other evil that could have befallen me. Ah, enlighten me, O Infinite Goodness, and make me perceive the wrong I have done Thee. Never more will I resist Thy calls. Never more will I displease a God Who has so much loved me, and so often and so lovingly pardoned me. Ah, would that I had never offended Thee, O my Jesus!
II.
St. Thomas says that all creatures -- fire, earth, air, and water -- would, through their natural instinct, punish the sinner to avenge the injuries done to their Creator; but God withholds them in His mercy: "All creation, in its service to Thee the Creator, is enraged against the unjust." But, O Lord, Thou waitest for these impious men that they may enter into themselves; and seest Thou not that they ungratefully make use of Thy mercy only to offend Thee more? Thou hast been favourable to the nation, O Lord, thou hast been favourable to the nation: art thou glorified? (Is. xxvi. 15). And why so much patience? Because God desires not the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live: I desire not the death of the wicked, but that he turn from his way and live (Ezech. xxxiii. 11). O patience of God! St. Augustine goes so far as to say that if God were not God He would be unjust in respect of the excessive patience He shows to sinners: "O God, my God, pardon me if I say that, wert Thou not God, Thou wouldst be unjust." It appears an injustice to the Divine honour to wait for those who make use of patience only to become more insolent. "We sin," continues the Saint; "we are attached to sin." Some make peace with sin, and sleep in sin for months and years. "We rejoice in sin" (others go so far as to boast of their wickedness), "and Thou art appeased. We provoke Thee to anger, and Thou invitest us to mercy." It would seem as if we entered into a contest with God: we to provoke Him to chastise us, and He to invite us to pardon.
O my Jesus, pardon me and grant that from this day henceforth I may love Thee alone; that I may live only for Thee Who didst die for me; that I may suffer for Thy love, since Thou hast suffered so much for the love of me. Thou hast loved me from eternity; grant that in eternity I may burn with Thy love. I hope for all, my Saviour, through Thy merits. I confide also in thee, O Mary; it is for thee to save me by thy intercession.
Spiritual Reading
III. HUMAN RESPECT
THE MEANS OF OVERCOMING HUMAN RESPECT
In order to overcome human respect it is necessary to fix in our hearts the holy resolution of preferring the grace of God to all the goods and favours of the world, and to say with St. Paul: Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers ... nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God (Rom. viii. 38). Jesus Christ exhorts us not to fear those who can take away the life of the body; but to fear Him only Who can condemn the soul and body to hell. And fear ye not them that kill the body .. . but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body into hell (Matt. x. 28). We wish either to follow God or the world; if we wish to follow God we must give up the world. How long do you halt between two sides? said Elias to the people. If the Lord be God, follow him (3 Kings xviii. 21). You cannot serve God and the world. He that seeks to please men cannot please God. If, says the Apostle, I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ (Gal. i. 10).
The true servants of God rejoice at seeing themselves despised and maltreated for the sake of Jesus Christ. The holy Apostles went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the Name of Jesus (Acts v. 41). Moses could have prevented the anger of Pharaoh by not contradicting the current report that he was the son of Pharaoh's daughter. But he denied that he was her son, preferring, as St. Paul says, the opprobrium of Christ to all the riches of the world. Choosing rather to be afflicted with the people of God; ... esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure of the Egyptians (Heb. xi. 25-26).
Wicked friends come to you and say: What extravagances are these in which you indulge? Why do you not act like others? Say to them: My conduct is not opposed to that of all men; there are others who lead holy lives. They are indeed few; but I will try and follow their example; for the Gospel says: Many are called, but few are chosen (Matt. xx. 16). "If," says St. John Climacus, "you wish to be saved with the few, live like the few." But, they will say: Do you not see that all murmur against you, and condemn your manner of living? Let your answer be: It is enough for me that God does not censure my conduct. Is it not better to obey God than to obey men? Such was the answer of St. Peter and St. John to the Jewish priests: If it be just in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, judge ye (Acts iv. 19). If they ask you how can you bear an insult? or if you submit to it how you can appear among your equals? Answer them by saying that you are a Christian, and that it is enough for you to be right in the eyes of God. Such should be your answer to all those satellites of Satan; you must despise all their maxims and reproaches. And when it is necessary to reprove those who make little of God's law, you must take courage and correct them publicly. Them that sin, reprove before all (1 Tim. v. 20). And when there is question of the Divine honour, we should not be frightened by the dignity of the man who offends God; let us say to him openly: That is sinful; it cannot be done. Let us imitate St. John the Baptist who reproved King Herod for living with his brother's wife, and said to him: It is not lawful for thee to have her (Matt. xiv. 4). Men, indeed, will regard us as fools, and turn us into derision; but on the Day of Judgment they will acknowledge that they have been fools, and we shall have the glory of being numbered among the Saints. They shall say: These are they whom we had sometime in derision ... We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honour. Behold how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints (Wis. v. 3-5).
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
Suffering with Patience is a virtue not practised nor even understood by those who love the world. It is understood and practised only by souls who love God. "O Lord," said St. John of the Cross to Jesus Christ, "I ask nothing of Thee but to suffer and to be despised for Thy sake." St. Teresa frequently exclaimed: "O my Jesus, either to suffer or to die." St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi was wont to say: "To suffer and not to die." Thus speak the Saints who love God, because a soul can give no surer mark to God of love than voluntarily to suffer to please Him. This is the great proof which Jesus Christ has given of His love for us. As God He loved us in creating us; in providing us with so many blessings; in calling us to enjoy the same glory that He Himself enjoys; but in nothing else has He more fully shown how much He loves us than in becoming Man, and embracing a painful life, and a death full of pangs and ignominies, for love of us. And how shall we show our love for Jesus Christ? Is it by leading a life full of pleasures and earthly delights?
II.
Let us not think for a moment that God takes delight in our pains. The Lord is not of so cruel a nature as to delight to see us, His creatures, groan and suffer. He is a God of infinite goodness, Who desires to see us fully content and happy, so that He is full of sweetness, affability, and compassion to all who come to Him. But our unhappy condition, as sinners, and the gratitude we owe to the love of Jesus Christ, require that, for His, love, we should renounce the delights of this earth, and embrace with affection the cross He gives us to carry during this life, after Him Who goes before, bearing a Cross far heavier than ours; and all this in order to bring us, after our death, to a blessed life, which will never end. God, then, has no desire to see us suffer, but, being Himself infinite justice, He cannot leave our faults unpunished; so that, in order that they may be punished, and that we may one day attain eternal happiness, He would have us purge away our sins with patience, and thus deserve to be eternally blessed. What can be more beautiful and sweet than this rule of Divine Providence, where we see at once justice satisfied and ourselves saved and happy?
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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When Adam rebelled against the Lord and hid himself from His grace, behold the Lord goes in search of the lost Adam, and almost weeping calls him: Adam, where art thou? Ah, this good Lord goes all day in quest of sinners, saying to them: Ungrateful that you are, do not fly from me! Why will you die, O house of Israel?
I.
Consider the mercy of God in calling sinners to repentance. When Adam rebelled against the Lord, and afterwards hid himself from His face, behold God, having lost Adam, goes in search of him, and, almost weeping, calls him; Adam, where art thou? (Gen. iii. 9). "They are words of a father," observes Father Pereira, "who seeks his lost son." My brother, how often has God done the same for you? You fled from God, and God continued to call you: now by inspirations, now by remorse of conscience, now by sermons, now by tribulations, now by the death of your friends. Jesus Christ appears to say, speaking of you: I have laboured with crying: my jaws have become hoarse (Ps. lxviii. 4). My son, My voice is weary crying after thee. "Remember, O sinners," says St. Teresa, "that the same Lord Who cries to you now will one day be your Judge."
My brother, how many times have you been deaf to the voice of God Who called you! You have deserved that He should call you no more. But no, your God has not ceased to call you, because He desired to make peace with you and to save you. Who was it that called you? A God of infinite majesty. And you, who were you, but a miserable worm? And why did He call you but to restore to you that life of grace you had lost: Return ye and live (Ezech. xviii. 32). To obtain Divine grace it would be but little to live in a desert during a whole life; but God offered to you that you could receive His grace in a moment, if you chose it, by an act of contrition; and you refused it. And after all this God has not abandoned you; He has sought you, as it were, weeping, and saying: "My son, why wilt thou damn thyself?" Why will you die, O house of Israel? (Ezech. xviii. 31).
Behold, O Lord, at Thy feet an ungrateful sinner, imploring Thy pity! My Father, pardon me! I call Thee Father because Thou desirest I should so call Thee. I do not deserve compassion, for after Thou hast been good to me I have been the more ungrateful to Thee. Ah, by that goodness which has withheld Thee, my God, from abandoning me when I fled from Thee, by that same goodness receive me now that I return to Thee. Give me, my Jesus, a great sorrow for my offences against Thee, and bestow on me the kiss of peace.
II.
When a man commits a mortal sin he drives God from his soul: The wicked have said to God: Depart from us (Job xxi. 14). But what does God do? He stands at the door of the ungrateful heart: I stand at the door and knock (Apoc. iii. 20); and prays, as it were, the soul to admit Him: Open to me, my sister (Cant. v. 2); and He wearies Himself with entreaties: I am wearied of entreating thee (Jer. xv. 6). Yes, says St. Denis the Areopagite, God follows sinners like a despised lover, beseeching them not to lose their souls: "God lovingly follows even those who turn away from Him, and beseeches them not to perish." This precisely was signified by St. Paul when he wrote to his disciples: For Christ, we beseech you, be reconciled to God (2 Cor. v. 20). Commenting upon this passage St. John Chrysostom makes a beautiful reflection: "Christ Himself conjures you. And for what? To reconcile yourselves to God: since it is not He that is the enemy but you." By which the Saint means that, far from striving to move God to make peace with him, the sinner has only to resolve to make peace with God, since he, and not God, flies from peace.
Ah, this good Lord goes all day in quest of sinners, saying to them: "Ungrateful that you are, do not fly any more from Me; tell me why you fly from Me? I love your welfare, and only desire to make you happy; why will you lose your souls?" But, Lord, what art Thou about? Why so much patience and so much love for these rebels? What good canst Thou hope from them? It redounds but little to Thy honour to show such ardent love for miserable worms who leave Thee: What is man, that thou shouldst magnify him? Or why dost thou set thy heart upon him? (Job vii. 17).
O Lord, I grieve more for the injuries done to Thee than for any evil whatsoever; I detest them, I abhor them; and I unite this my abhorrence to that which Thou my Redeemer didst feel for them in the Garden of Gethsemane. Ah, pardon me through the merits of that Blood which Thou didst shed for me in that Garden. I firmly promise that I will never more depart from Thee, and that I will banish from my heart every affection that is not for Thee. My Jesus, my Love, I love Thee above all things; I will always love Thee, and love only Thee; but give me strength to do this; make me wholly Thine. O Mary, my hope, thou art the Mother of mercy; pray to God for me, and have pity on me.
Spiritual Reading
PRAYER: I. ITS NECESSITY
St. Paul writes: God will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. ii. 4). According to St. Peter, He does not wish any one to be lost. The Lord dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance (2 Pet. iii. 9). Hence St. Leo teaches that, as God wishes us to observe His commands, so He comes to our assistance, that we may fulfil them. And St. Thomas, in explaining the words of the Apostle: God, who will have all men to be saved, says: "Therefore, grace is wanting to no one; but God, on His part, communicates it to all." And in another place the holy Doctor writes: "To provide every man with the means necessary for his salvation, provided on his part he puts no obstacle to it, belongs to Divine Providence."
But, according to Gennadius, God grants the assistance of His grace only to those who pray for it. "We believe ... that no one works out his salvation but by God's assistance; and that only he who prays merits aid from God." And St. Augustine teaches that, except the first graces of vocation to the Faith and to repentance, all other graces, and particularly the grace of perseverance, are granted only to those who ask them. "It is evident that God gives some graces, such as the beginning of Faith, without prayer -- and that He has prepared other graces, such as perseverance to the end -- only for those who pray." And in another place he writes that "God wishes to bestow His favours; but He gives them only to those who ask."
Hence Theologians commonly teach, after St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, Clement of Alexandria, and others, that, for adults, prayer is necessary as a means of salvation; that is, without prayer it is impossible for them to be saved. This doctrine may be inferred from the following passages of Scripture: We ought always to pray (Luke xviii. 1). Ask, and you shall receive (Jo. xvi. 24). Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. v. 17). The words we ought, ask, pray, according to St. Thomas, and the generality of Theologians, imply a precept which obliges, under grievous sin, particularly in three cases: (1) When a man is in the state of sin; (2) When he is in danger of falling into sin; and (3) When he is in danger of death. Theologians teach, that he who, at other times neglects prayer for a month, or at most for two months, cannot be excused from mortal sin; because without prayer we cannot procure the helps necessary for the observance of the law of God. St. John Chrysostom teaches that as water is necessary to prevent trees from withering, so prayer is necessary to save us from perishing.
It was a mere groundless assertion of Jansenius that there are some commands, the fulfilment of which is impossible to us, and that we have not even grace to render their observance possible. For, the Council of Trent teaches, in the words of St. Augustine, that though man is not able, with the aid of the grace ordinarily given, to fulfil all the commandments, still he can, by prayer, obtain the additional helps necessary for their observance. "God does not command impossibilities; but, by His precepts, He admonishes you to do what you can, and to ask what you cannot do; and He assists you that you may be able to do it." To this may be added another celebrated passage of St. Augustine: "By our faith, which teaches that God does not command impossibilities, we are admonished what to do in things that are easy, and what to ask in things that are difficult."
But why does God Who knows our weakness, permit us to be assailed by enemies which we are not able to resist? The Lord, answers the holy Doctor, seeing the great advantages which we derive from the necessity of prayer, permits us to be attacked by enemies more powerful than we are, that we may ask His assistance. Hence they who are conquered cannot excuse themselves by saying that they had not strength to resist the assault of the enemy; for had they asked aid from God, He would have given it; and had they prayed, they would have been victorious. Therefore, if they are defeated, God will punish them. St. Bonaventure says that if a general lose a fortress in consequence of not having sought timely succour from his sovereign, he will be branded as a traitor. Thus God regards as a traitor the Christian who, when he finds himself assailed by temptations, neglects to seek Divine aid. Ask, says Jesus Christ, and you shall receive. Then, concludes St. Teresa, he that does not ask does not receive. This is conformable to the doctrine of St. James You have not, because you do not ask (James iv. 2). St. John Chrysostom says that prayer is a powerful weapon of defence against all enemies. "Truly prayer is a strong armour." St. Ephrem writes that he who fortifies himself beforehand by prayer, prevents the entrance of sin into the soul. "If you pray before you work the passage into the soul will not be open to sin." David said the same: Praising I will call upon the Lord, and I shall be saved from my enemies (Ps. xvii. 4).
If we wish to lead a good life, and to save our souls, we must learn to pray. "He," says St, Augustine, "knows how to live well who knows how to pray well." In order to obtain God's graces by prayer, certain conditions are necessary:
First, sin must be given up, for God does not hear obstinate sinners. For example: if a person entertains hatred towards another, and wishes to take revenge, God does not hear his prayer. I will not hear, says God, for your hands are full of blood (Is. i. 15). St. John Chrysostom says that he who prays while he cherishes a sinful affection does not pray but mocks God. But if he ask the Lord to take away hatred from his heart, the Lord will hear him.
Secondly, it is necessary to pray with attention. Some imagine that they pray by repeating many Our Fathers with such distraction that they do not know what they are saying. These speak, but do not pray. Of them the Lord says, by the Prophet Isaias: With their lips they glorify me, but their hearts are far from me (Is. xxix. 13).
Thirdly, it is necessary to take away the occasions which hinder our prayer. He who is occupied in a thousand affairs unprofitable to the soul, so places a cloud that his prayer is prevented from passing to the throne of grace. Thou hast set a cloud before thee, that our prayer may not pass through (Lam. iii. 44). Let us not forget the exhortation of St. Bernard to ask graces of God through the intercession of His Divine Mother. "Let us ask grace, and ask through Mary; for she is a Mother, and her prayer cannot be fruitless." St. Anselm says: "Many things are asked of God and are not obtained: what is asked of Mary is obtained, not because she is more powerful, but because God decreed thus to honour her, that men may know that she can obtain all things from God."
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
All our hopes, then, we must build upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and from Him we must hope for all aid to live holily, and save ourselves; and we cannot doubt that it is His desire to see us holy: This is the will of God, your sanctification (1 Thess. iv. 3). But true as this is, we must not neglect to do our part to satisfy God for the injuries we have done Him, and to attain by our good works to eternal life. This the Apostle expressed when he said: I fill up that which is wanting of the sufferings of Christ in my flesh (Col. i. 24). Was the Passion of Christ, then, not complete and not enough in itself to save us? It was most complete in its value, and more than sufficient to save all men; nevertheless, in order that the merits of the Passion may be applied to us, says St. Teresa, we must do our part, and suffer with patience the crosses God sends us that we may be like our Head, Jesus Christ, according to what the Apostle writes to the Romans: Whom he foreknew, them he also predestinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren (Rom. viii. 29).
II.
Still we must ever remember, as the Angelic Doctor warns us, that all the virtue of our good works, satisfactions, and penances, is communicated to them by the satisfaction of Jesus Christ: "The satisfaction of man has its efficacy from the satisfaction of Christ." And thus we reply to the heretics, who call our penances injurious to the Passion of Jesus Christ, as if it were not sufficient to satisfy for our sins.
But what we hold and say is, that in order to be partakers in the merits of Jesus Christ, it is necessary that we labour to fulfil the Divine precepts, even by doing violence to ourselves, so that we may not yield to the temptations of hell. And this is what our Lord meant when He said: The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away (Matt. xi. 12.) It is necessary, when occasions occur, that we do violence to ourselves by continence, by the mortification of our senses, that we may not be conquered by our enemies. And when we find ourselves guilty before God through the sins we have committed, we must do violence to God with our tears, says St. Ambrose, in order to obtain pardon. And then, to console us, the Saint adds: "O blessed violence which is not punished with the wrath of God, but is welcomed and rewarded with mercy!" The more violent a man is with Christ, the more religious is he accounted by Christ. For we must first rule over ourselves by conquering our passions, that we may one day seize upon Heaven, which our Saviour has merited for us. And therefore we must do violence to ourselves by suffering contradictions and persecutions, and by conquering the temptations and passions which, without violence, are never conquered.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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The princes of the earth disdain even to look upon those rebel subjects who come to ask their pardon; but God does not so act with us when we return to Him: Return to me, saith the Lord, and I will receive thee (Jer. iii. 1).
I.
The princes of the earth disdain even to look upon those rebel subjects who come to ask their pardon; but God does not act thus in our regard: He will not turn away his face from you if you return to him (2 Par. xxx. 9). God cannot turn His face from those who return to cast themselves at His feet: no, for He Himself invites them and promises to receive them as soon as they come: Return to me, saith the Lord, and I will receive thee (Jer. iii. 1). Turn to me, saith the Lord, and I will turn to you (Zach. i. 3). Oh, the love and tenderness with which God embraces the sinner who returns to Him! This is precisely what Jesus Christ would have us understand by the Parable of the lost sheep, which, when the shepherd had found, he laid it on his shoulders rejoicing (Luke xv. 5), and called his friends to rejoice with him: Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost (Luke xv. 6). And St. Luke adds: There shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance. This was more fully explained by the Redeemer in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, saying that He is that Father Who, when He beholds His lost son returning, runs to meet him, and before he can speak embraces and kisses him; and in embracing him almost swoons away through tenderness for the consolation He experiences: Returning to him, he fell upon his neck and kissed him (Luke xv. 20).
O my Jesus, hear me, and pardon me for the sake of the Blood Thou hast shed for me. We therefore beseech Thee, assist Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious Blood. O Mary, my Mother, look with pity upon me; turn thine eyes of mercy towards us, and draw us entirely to God.
II.
The Lord promises that if sinners repent He will even forget their sins, as if they had never offended Him. If the wicked do penance ... living he shall live ...I will not remember all his iniquities that he hath done (Ezech. xviii. 21). He even goes so far as to say: Come and accuse me, saith the Lord; if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow (Is. i. 18). As if He said: Sinners, come and accuse me! If I do not pardon you, reprove Me, upbraid Me with having been unfaithful to My promises! But no; God knows not how to despise an humble and contrite heart.
The Lord glories in showing mercy and granting pardon to sinners. And therefore shall he be exalted sparing you (Is. xxx. 18). And how long does He defer this granting pardon? Not an instant: He grants it immediately. Weeping, says the Prophet Isaias, thou shalt not weep; he will surely have pity on thee (Is. xxx. 19). Sinners, exclaims the Prophet, you have not long to weep; at the first tear the Lord will be moved to pity: At the voice of thy cry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer thee (Is. xxx. 19). God does not treat us as we treat Him. We are deaf to the calls of God, but as soon as he shall hear, he will answer thee. The very instant you repent and ask forgiveness, God answers and grants your pardon.
O my God, against whom have I rebelled? Against Thee, Who art so good, against Thee Who hast created me, and died for me. After so many acts of treason Thou hast borne with me. Ah! the thought of the patience Thou hast had with me ought to make me live always on fire with Thy love. And who would have borne so long as Thou hast the injuries which I have done Thee? Miserable, indeed, shall I be, if I ever again offend Thee, and condemn myself to hell! I already see that Thy mercy can bear with me no longer. I am sorry, O Sovereign Good, for having offended Thee. I love Thee with my whole heart: I am resolved to give Thee all the remainder of my life. Hear me, O Eternal Father, through the merits of Jesus Christ, and give me holy perseverance and Thy love.
Spiritual Reading
PRAYER: II. ITS EFFICACY AND VALUE
To understand the efficacy and value of Prayer, we need only consider the great promises God has made to everyone who prays. Call upon me, ... I will deliver thee (Ps. xlix. 15). Call upon Me, and I will save you from every danger. He shall cry to me, I will hear him (Jer. xxxiii. 3). Cry to me, and I will hear thee. You shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you (Jo. xv. 7). Ask whatsoever you wish and it shall be given to you. There are a thousand similar passages in the Old and New Testaments. By His nature God is, as St. Leo says, Goodness itself. Hence He desires, with a great desire, to make us partakers of His own good. St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi used to say that when any one prays to God for any grace, God feels in a certain manner under an obligation to him, and thanks him; because by prayer the soul opens to Him a way of satisfying His desire to dispense His graces to us. Hence, in the Holy Scriptures, the Lord appears to recommend and inculcate nothing more forcibly than to ask and pray. To show this, the words which we read in the Gospel of St. Matthew are sufficient. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you (Matt. vii. 7). St. Augustine teaches that by these promises God has bound Himself to grant all we ask in prayer. "By His promises God has made Himself a debtor." And the Saint says that if the Lord did not wish to bestow His graces upon us He would not exhort us so strenuously to ask them. "He would not exhort us to ask unless He wished to give." Hence we see that the Psalms of David and the Books of Solomon and of the Prophets are full of prayers.
Theodoret has written that prayer is so efficacious before God that, "though it be one, it can do all things." St. Bernard teaches that when we pray, the Lord, if He does not give us the grace we ask, will grant a more useful gift. "He will give either what we ask, or what He knows to be more profitable to us." And whom has God ever despised by not listening to his petition? Who hath called upon him, and he despised him? (Ecclus. ii. 12). The Scripture says that among the Gentile nations there is none that has its gods so willing to hear their prayers as our true God is to hear ours. Neither is there any other nation so great that hath gods so nigh to them as our God is present to all our petitions (Deut. iv. 7).
The princes of the earth, says St. John Chrysostom, give few audiences; but God grants audience to every one that wishes for it. David tells us that this goodness of God in hearing us at whatever time we pray to Him, shows us that He is our true God, Whose love for us surpasses the love of all others. In what day soever I shall call upon thee, behold I know thou art my God (Ps. lv. 10). He wishes and ardently desires to confer favours upon us; but He requires us to pray for them. Jesus Christ said one day to His disciples: Hitherto you have not asked anything in my name; ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full (Jo. xvi. 24). As if He said: You complain of Me for not making you perfectly content; but you ought to complain of yourselves for not having asked of Me all the gifts you stood in need of; ask, henceforth, whatsoever you want, and your prayer shall be heard. Many, says St. Bernard, complain that the Lord is wanting to them. But God complains with more justice that they are wanting to Him, by neglecting to ask Him for His graces.
The ancient Fathers, after having consulted together about the exercise most conducive to salvation, came to the conclusion that the best means of securing eternal life is to pray continually, saying: Lord, assist me; Lord, hasten to my assistance. "Incline unto my aid, O God; O Lord, make haste to help me." Hence the Holy Church commands these two petitions to be often repeated in the Canonical Hours by all the Clergy and by all Religious, who pray not only for themselves, but also for the whole Christian world. St. John Climacus says that our prayers as it were compel God by a holy violence to hear us. "Prayer does pious violence to God." Hence, when we pray to the Lord, He instantly answers by bestowing upon us the grace we ask. At the voice of thy cry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer thee (Is. xxx. 19). Hence St. Ambrose says that "he who asks of God receives while he asks." And He not only grants His graces instantly, but also abundantly, giving us more than we pray for. St. Paul tells us that God is rich -- that is, liberal of His graces to every one that prays to Him. Rich unto all that call upon him (Rom. x. 12). And St. James says: If any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraideth not (James i. 5). He upbraideth not. When we pray to God, He does not reproach us with our sins, but seems to forget all the insults we have offered Him, and to delight in enriching us with His graces.
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
God teaches us that in order not to lose our souls we must be prepared to suffer the agonies of death, and to die; but, at the same time, He says that for him who is thus prepared He Himself will fight, and will destroy his enemies. St. John saw before the throne of God a great multitude of Saints clothed in white garments (because into Heaven nothing defiled can enter), and he beheld that every one of them bore in his hand a palm branch, the token of Martyrdom. Are all the Saints, then, Martyrs? Yes, all grown up persons who are saved must either be Martyrs in blood, or Martyrs in patience, in conquering the assaults of hell and the inordinate desires of the flesh. Bodily pleasures send innumerable souls to hell, and, therefore, we must resolve with courage to despise them. Let us be assured that either the soul must tread the body under foot, or the body trample on the soul.
II.
We must, then, I repeat, do ourselves violence in order to be saved. But this violence is such (it will be said by some one) that I cannot do it of myself, if God does not give it me through His grace. To such a one St. Ambrose says: "If you look to yourself, you can do nothing; but if you trust in God, strength will be given you." But, in doing this, we must suffer, and it is impossible to avoid it. If we would enter into the glory of the Blessed, says the Scripture, we must suffer much tribulation. Thus St. John, beholding the glory of the Saints in Heaven, heard a voice saying; These are they who have come out of great tribulation, and have washed their garments, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. It is true that they all attained Heaven by being washed in the Blood of the Lamb, but they all went there after suffering great tribulation.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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Our Lady revealed to St. Bridget that in this world she never had a thought, a desire, or a joy but in God and for God. Mary did not so much repeat acts of the love of God like other Saints: her whole life was one continued act of Divine charity.
I.
Our Lady revealed to St. Bridget that in this world she never had a thought, a desire, or a joy, but in and for God: "I thought," she said, "of nothing but God, nothing pleased me but God"; so that her blessed soul, being in the almost continual contemplation of God whilst on earth, the acts of love which she formed were innumerable, as Father Suarez writes: "The acts of perfect charity formed by the Blessed Virgin in this life were without number; for nearly the whole of her life was spent in contemplation, and in that state she constantly repeated acts of love." But a remark of Bernardine de Bustis pleases me still more. He says that Mary did not so much repeat acts of love as other Saints do, but that her whole life was one continued act of love; for, by a special privilege, she always actually loved God. As a royal eagle, she always kept her eyes fixed on the Divine Sun of Justice: "so that," as St. Peter Damian says, "the duties of active life did not prevent her from loving, and love did not prevent her from attending to those duties." Therefore St. Germanus says that the Altar of Propitiation, on which the fire was never extinguished day or night, was a type of Mary.
Nor was sleep an obstacle to Mary's love for God; since, as St. Augustine asserts, "the dreams, when sleeping, of our first parents, in their state of innocence, were as happy as their lives when waking"; and if such a privilege was granted them, it certainly cannot be denied that it was also granted to the Divine Mother, as Suarez, the Abbot Rupert, and St. Bernardine fully admit. St. Ambrose is also of this opinion; for speaking of Mary, he says: "while her body rested, her soul watched," verifying in herself the words of the Wise Man: Her lamp shall not be put out in the night (Prov. xxxi. 18). Yes, for while her blessed body took its necessary repose in gentle sleep, "her soul," says St. Bernardine, "freely tended towards God; so much so that she was then wrapped in more perfect contemplation than any other person ever was when awake." Therefore could she well say with the Spouse in the Canticles: I sleep, and my heart watcheth (Cant. v. 2). "As happy in sleep as when awake," as Suarez says. In fine, St. Bernardine asserts that as long as Mary lived in this world she was continually loving God: "The mind of the Blessed Virgin was always wrapped in the ardour of love." The Saint, moreover adds that "she never did anything that the Divine Wisdom did not show her to be pleasing to Him; and that she loved God as much as she thought He was to be loved by her."
Indeed, according to Blessed Albert the Great, we can well say that Mary was filled with so great charity that greater was not possible in any pure creature on earth. Hence St. Thomas of Villanova affirms that by her ardent charity the Blessed Virgin became so beautiful and so enamoured of her God that, captivated as it were by her love, He descended into her womb and became Man. Wherefore St. Bernardine exclaims: "Behold the power of the Virgin Mother: she wounded and took captive the Heart of God."
II.
As Mary herself loved God so much there can be nothing she requires more of her clients than that they also should love Him to their utmost. This precisely she one day told Blessed Angela of Foligno after Communion, saying: "Angela, be thou blessed by my Son, and endeavour to love Him as much as thou canst." She also said to St. Bridget: "Daughter, if thou desirest to bind me to thee, love my Son." Mary desires nothing more than to see her Beloved, Who is God, loved. Novarinus asks why the Blessed Virgin, with the spouse in the Canticles, begged the Angels to make the great love she bore Him known to our Lord, saying: I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I languish with love (Cant. v. 8). Did not God know how much she loved Him? Why did she seek to show the wound to her Beloved, since He it was Who had inflicted it?" The same author answers that the Divine Mother thereby wished to make her love known to us, not to God; that as she was herself wounded, so might she also be enabled to wound us with Divine love. And "because Mary was all on fire with the love of God; all who love and approach her are inflamed by her with this same love; for she renders them like unto herself." For this reason St. Catharine of Sienna called Mary "the bearer of fire," the bearer of the flames of Divine love. If we also desire to burn with these blessed flames, let us endeavour always to draw nearer to our Mother by our prayers and the affections of our souls.
Ah, Mary, thou Queen of love, of all creatures the most amiable, the most beloved, and the most loving, as St. Francis de Sales called thee, -- my own sweet Mother, thou wast always and in all things inflamed with love towards God; deign, then, to bestow at least a spark of it on me. Thou didst pray thy Son for the spouses whose wine had failed: They have no wine (Jo. ii. 3). And wilt thou not pray for us, in whom the love of God, Whom we are under such obligations to love, is wanting? Say also: They have no love, and obtain us this love. This is the only grace for which we ask. O Mother, by the love thou bearest to Jesus, graciously hear us and pray for us. Amen.
Spiritual Reading
NOVENAS IN HONOUR OF OUR BLESSED LADY
The devout clients of Mary are all care and fervour in celebrating Novenas- or Nine Days' Prayer preceding her Festivals; and the Blessed Virgin is all love, in dispensing innumerable and most special graces to them. St. Gertrude one day saw under Mary's mantle a band of souls whom the great Lady was considering with the most tender affection; and she was given to understand that they were persons who, during the preceding days, had prepared themselves by various devotions for the Feast of the Assumption. The following devotions are some of those which may be used during the novenas:
1. We may make mental prayer in the morning and evening, and a Visit to the Blessed Sacrament, adding nine times the "Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father."
2. We may pay Mary three visits (visiting her statue or picture), and thank our Lord for the graces He granted His Blessed Mother, and each time ask the Blessed Virgin for some special grace.
3. We may make many acts of love towards Mary (at least fifty or a hundred), and also towards Jesus; for we can do nothing that pleases her more than to love her Son, as she said to St. Bridget: "If thou wishest to bind thyself to me, love my Son."
4. We may read every day of the Novena, for a quarter of an hour, some book that treats of her glories.
5. We may perform some external mortification, such as a fast, abstaining from fruit or some favourite dish, or at least a part of it, or chew some bitter herbs. On the Vigil of the Feast we may fast on bread and water: but none of these things should be done without the permission of one's confessor. Interior mortifications, however, are the best of all to practise during these Novenas, such as to avoid looking at or listening to things out of curiosity; to remain in retirement; observe silence; be obedient; not to give impatient answers; to bear contradictions, and such things; which can all be practised with less danger of vanity, with greater merit, and which do not need the confessor's permission. The most useful exercise is to propose, from the beginning of the Novena, to correct some fault into which we fall the most frequently. For this purpose it will be well, in the visits spoken of above, to ask pardon for past faults, to renew our resolutions not to commit them any more, and to implore Mary's help. The devotion most dear and pleasing to Mary is to endeavour to imitate her virtues; therefore it would be well always to propose to ourselves the imitation of some virtue that corresponds to the Festival; as, for example -- for the Feast of her Immaculate Conception, purity of intention; for her Nativity, renewal of fervour to throw off tepidity; for her Presentation, detachment from something to which we are most attached; for her Annunciation, humility in supporting contempt; for her Visitation, charity towards our neighbour, giving alms, or at least praying for sinners; for her Purification, obedience to Superiors; and finally, for the Feast of her Assumption, let us endeavour to detach ourselves from the world, do all to prepare ourselves for death, and regulate each day of our lives as if it was to be our last.
6. Besides going to Communion on the day of the Feast, it would be well to ask leave from our confessor to go more frequently during the Novena. Father Segneri used to say that we cannot honour Mary better than with Jesus. She herself revealed to a holy soul (as Father Crasset relates), that we can offer her nothing that is more pleasing to her than Holy Communion. For in that Sacrament it is that Jesus gathers the fruit of His Passion in our soul. Hence it appears that the Blessed Virgin desires nothing so much of her clients as Communion, saying: Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine which I have mingled for you (Prov. ix. 5).
7. Finally, on the day of the Feast, after Holy Communion, we must offer ourselves to the service of this Divine Mother, and ask of her the grace to practise the virtue we had proposed to ourselves during the Novena. It is well every year to choose, amongst the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin one for which we have the greatest and most tender devotion; and for this one to make a very special preparation by dedicating ourselves anew, and in a more particular manner, to her service, choosing her for our Sovereign Lady, Advocate, and Mother. Then we must ask her pardon for all our negligence in her service during the past year, and promise greater fidelity for the next; and conclude by begging her to accept us for her servants, and to obtain us a holy death.
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I.
Be assured, St. Paul wrote to his disciples, that God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able. God has promised to give us sufficient help to conquer every temptation, if only we ask Him. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find (Matt. vii. 7). He cannot, therefore, fail of His promise. It is a fatal error of the heretics to say that God commands things which it is impossible for us to observe. The Council of Trent teaches: God does not command impossible things; but when he commands, he bids us do what we can, and seek help for what we cannot do, and he will help us that we may be able. St. Ephrem writes: "If men do not put upon their beasts a greater burden than they can bear, much less does God lay greater trials upon men than they can endure."
Thomas a Kempis writes: "The cross everywhere awaits thee; it is needful for thee everywhere to preserve patience, if thou wouldst have peace. If thou willingly bearest the Cross, it will bear thee to thy desired end." In this world we all of us go about seeking peace, and would find it without suffering; but this is not possible in our present state; we must suffer; the cross awaits us wherever we turn.
II.
How, then, can we find peace in the midst of these crosses? By patience, by embracing the cross which presents itself to us. St. Teresa says that "he who drags the cross along feels its weight, however small it is; but he who willingly embraces it and carries it, however great it is, does not feel it."
The same Thomas a Kempis says: "Which of the Saints is without a cross? The whole life of Christ was a cross and a martyrdom, and dost thou seek for pleasure?" Jesus, so innocent, so holy, and the Son of God, was willing to suffer through His whole life, and shall we go in search of pleasures and comforts? To give us an example of patience He chose a life full of ignominies and pains within and without; and shall we wish to be saved without suffering, or shall we suffer without patience, which is a double suffering, and without fruit, which only increases our pain? How can we pretend to be lovers of Jesus Christ if we will not suffer for love of Him Who has suffered so much for love of us? How can he glory in being a follower of the Crucified who refuses or receives with the fruits of the cross, which are sufferings, contempt, poverty, pains, infirmities, and all things contrary to our self-love?
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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