Morning Meditation: JESUS OUR SAVIOUR
Consider that the Infant Jesus, eight days after His Birth, showed Himself even then to be our Saviour, by shedding His divine Blood for us in the Circumcision, and taking the Name of Saviour. O most merciful Infant God, I give Thee thanks, and I beseech Thee by the pain which Thou didst feel, and by the Blood which Thou didst shed in Thy Circumcision, to grant me the grace and the power to tear out of my heart all earthly affections.
Meditation I:
Behold how the Eternal Father, having sent His Son to suffer and die for us, wills that on this day He should be circumcised, and should begin to shed His Divine Blood, which He has to shed for the last time on the day of His death upon the Cross in a sea of contumely and sorrow. And wherefore? In order that this innocent Son should thus pay the penalties which we have deserved. The Holy Church exclaims: “O admirable condescension of divine pity towards us! O inestimable love of charity! To redeem the slave Thou hast delivered Thy Son to death!”
O Eternal God, who could ever have bestowed upon us this infinite gift but Thou Who art infinite goodness and infinite love. O my God, if in giving me Thy Son, Thou hast given me the dearest treasure Thou hast, it is right that I should give myself entirely to Thee. Yes, my God, I give Thee my whole self; do Thou accept of me, and permit me not to leave Thee again.
Meditation II:
Spiritual Reading: THE NAME OF JESUS CONSOLES
Evening Meditation: HIS NAME WAS CALLED JESUS – (Gospel, Luke ii., 21)
Meditation I:
Meditation II:
Morning Meditation: THE NAME OF JESUS A NAME OF GLADNESS
The Name of Jesus was given to the Incarnate Word, not by men, but by God Himself. And thou shalt call his name Jesus. It is the Name of our Saviour, a Name of Gladness, a Name of Hope, a Name of Love. Thy Name, then, O Jesus, will always be my defence, my comfort, a fire to keep me always burning with Thy love.
Meditation I:
Consider that the Holy Name of Jesus is not a Name invented by man, but it comes from God, Who wished it to be made known by the Archangel Gabriel, as St. Luke testifies: His name was called Jesus . . . by the angel. — (Luke ii., 21). St. Bernard also says that this Name is not a simple figure of things, or a shadow without reality. Jesus is a Name that expresses perfectly the hypostatic union of the Divine nature and the human nature. The world could not have been saved by God, for God could not suffer, nor by a mere man, because man is limited and finite. This is the reason why the Holy Name Jesus, which signifies the same as Savior, as the Angel declares, has been given to the Son of God, made Man through Mary, to show that it was both as God and Man He accomplished the redemption of mankind by delivering men from the slavery of sin. In short, Jesus is a Name that comprises Infinity, Eternity, Immensity, Wisdom, Justice, Mercy, and all the adorable Perfections of God. What happiness for us to be reconciled with the Eternal Father through the merits of this divine Mediator Who of His infinite goodness paid our debt in His precious Blood! Adorable Jesus! if Thou hadst sacrificed Thyself to deliver Thy people from the hands of their enemies in order to acquire an eternal Name, it would be but fair that this Name should surpass and eclipse every other name, even that of the Seraphim, as St. Paul says: Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. — (Heb. i., 4). And if the Eternal Father has wished that this Name should be that of His Son, mayest Thou grant that, having experienced on earth its happy effects, we may arrive at the complete happiness of Heaven to praise Thee and to bless Thee for all eternity.
Meditation II:
Spiritual Reading: THE NAME OF JESUS OUR DEFENCE
Evening Meditation: THE NAME OF OUR SAVIOUR A NAME OF GREAT POWER
Meditation I:
Meditation II:
Morning Meditation: THE VALUE OF TIME
Son, observe the time. — (Ecclus. iv., 23).
Time is a treasure of inestimable value because in every moment of time we can gain an increase of grace and eternal glory. If the Blessed in Heaven could grieve they would do so for having lost so much time; and in hell the lost souls are tormented with the thought that there is now no more time for them. Son, observe the time.
Meditation I:
Son, says the Holy Ghost, be careful to observe the time, the greatest and most precious gift which God can bestow upon you in this life. The very Pagans knew the value of time. Seneca said that “no price is an equivalent for it.” But the Saints have understood its value still better.* According to St. Bernardine of Sienna, a moment of time is of as much value as God; because in each moment a man can, by acts of contrition or of love, acquire the grace of God and eternal glory.
Time is a treasure which can be found only in this life: it is not to be found in the next, in hell or in Heaven. In hell the damned exclaim with tears: O that an hour were given to us! They would pay any price for an hour of time in which they might repair their ruin, but this hour they will never have! In Heaven there is no weeping; but were the Saints capable of weeping, all their tears would arise from the thought of having lost the time in which they could have acquired greater glory, and from the conviction that this time will never again be given to them. A Benedictine nun appeared after death in glory to a certain person and said she was perfectly happy, but that if she could desire anything it would be to return to life and to suffer pains and privations in order to merit an increase of glory. She added that for the glory which corresponds to a single Ave Maria, she would be content to endure till the Day of Judgment the painful illness that caused her death.
O my God, I thank Thee for the time which Thou givest me to repair the disorders of my past life. Were I to die at this moment the remembrance of the time I have lost would be one of my greatest torments. Ah, my Lord, Thou hast given me time to love Thee and I have spent it in offending Thee! I deserved to be sent to hell from the first moment in which I turned my back upon Thee, but Thou hast called me to repentance and hast pardoned me. I promised to offend Thee no more and how often have I returned to sin! How often hast Thou pardoned me my ungrateful relapses! Blessed for ever be Thy Mercy! Ah, how sorry I feel for having offended so good a God!
* The holy writer himself, St. Alphonsus, made a vow, "never to lose a moment of time."
Meditation II:
Spiritual Reading: THE NAME OF JESUS INFLAMES WITH HOLY LOVE
Evening Meditation: THE OCCUPATIONS OF THE INFANT JESUS IN THE STABLE OF BETHLEHEM
Meditation I:
Meditation II:
Morning Meditation: THE HEART OF JESUS FULL OF SUFFERINGS EVEN FROM HIS INFANCY
My sorrow is continually before me. — (Ps. xxvii., 18).
We have been accustomed to hear of the Creation, the Incarnation, the Redemption; of Jesus born in a stable, of Jesus dead upon the Cross. O my God, if we knew that another man had conferred on us any of these benefits we could not help loving him. O adorable Heart of my Jesus, Heart inflamed with the love of men, Heart created on purpose to love them, how is it possible that Thou canst be despised, and Thy love so ill corresponded with!
Meditation I:
Consider that in the moment that the soul of Jesus Christ was created and united to His little body in the womb of Mary, the Eternal Father intimated to His Son His will that He should die for the Redemption of the world; and in this same moment He presented to His view the entire dreadful scene of the sufferings He would have to endure, even unto death, in order to redeem mankind. Our Divine Redeemer saw in that moment all the labours, contempt, and poverty He would have to suffer during His whole life, in Bethlehem as in Egypt and in Nazareth; all the sufferings and ignominy of His Passion, the scourges, the thorns, the nails, and the Cross; all the weariness, the sadness, the agonies, and the abandonment in which He was to end His life upon Calvary.
When Abraham was leading his son to death, he would not inform him of it to his affliction beforehand, even during the short time that was necessary for them to arrive at the Mount. But the Eternal Father chose that His Incarnate Son, Whom He had destined to be the Victim of His justice in atonement for our sins, should from the beginning, suffer all the pains to which He was to be subject during His life and at His death.
O sweet, O amiable, O loving Heart of Jesus! even from Thy infancy Thou wert full of bitterness, and Thou didst suffer agonies in the womb of Mary without consolation, and without any one to look upon Thee and to console Thee. All this Thou didst suffer, O my Jesus, in order to satisfy for the eternal sorrow and agony which I deserved to endure in hell for my sins. Thou didst suffer deprived of all relief, to save me who have had the boldness to forsake God, and to turn my back upon Him, in order to satisfy my miserable inclinations. I thank Thee, O afflicted and loving Heart of my Lord! I thank Thee and I sympathise with Thee, especially when I see that whilst Thou dost suffer so much for men, these very men do not even pity Thee. O love of God, O ingratitude of man! O men, O men, behold this little innocent Lamb Who is in agony for you, to satisfy the divine justice for the injuries you have committed against Him. See how He prays and intercedes for you with His Eternal Father; behold Him and love Him.
Meditation II:
Spiritual Reading: “THE GRACE OF GOD OUR SAVIOUR HATH APPEARED.”
Evening Meditation: THE KINDNESS OF JESUS OUR GOD
Meditation I:
Meditation II:
Morning Meditation: MARY’S PRAYERS FOR US ARE ALWAYS HEARD
St. Bernard exhorts us to seek grace and to seek it through Mary, for, he says, she is a Mother to whom nothing can be denied. If, then, we wish to be saved, let us recommend ourselves to Mary for her prayers will always be heard.
Meditation I:
Jesus is the Mediator of Justice; Mary, the Mediatrix of Grace. For, as St. Bernard, St. Bonaventure, St. Bernardine of Sienna, St. Germanus, St. Antoninus and others say it is the will of God to dispense through the hands of Mary whatever graces He is pleased to bestow upon us. With God, the prayers of the Saints are the prayers of His friends, but the prayers of Mary are the prayers of His Mother! The most pleasing devotion to the Blessed Virgin is ever to have recourse to her and to say: O Mary, intercede for me with thy Son Jesus.
Jesus is omnipotent by nature; Mary is omnipotent by grace; she obtains whatever she asks. It is impossible, says St. Antoninus, that this Mother should ask any favour of her Son for those who are devout to her and the Son not grant her request. Jesus delights to honour His Mother by granting whatever she asks of Him. Hence St. Bernard exhorts us to seek for grace and to seek it through Mary; because she is a Mother to whom nothing can be denied. If, then, we would be saved, let us recommend ourselves to Mary, that she may intercede for us, because her prayers are always heard. O Mother of Mercy, have pity on me. Thou art styled the advocate of sinners; assist me, therefore, a sinner who places his confidence in thee.
Meditation II:
Spiritual Reading: OUR ETERNAL SALVATION IS IN PRAYER
Evening Meditation: THE SOLITUDE OF JESUS IN THE STABLE
Meditation I:
Meditation II:
