Morning Meditation: THE ADVANTAGES OF TRIBULATIONS
What things soever were written were written for our learning, that through patience and the comfort of the scriptures we might have hope. – (Epistle of Sunday, Rom. xv., 4-13).
In tribulations God enriches His beloved souls with the greatest graces. It is in his chains that St. John comes to the knowledge of the works of Jesus Christ. Let us believe that these scourges of the Lord, with which we are chastised have happened for our amendment and not for our destruction. — (Judith, viii., 27).
Meditation I:
By tribulation we atone for the sins we have committed much better than by voluntary works of penance. “Be assured,” says St. Augustine, “that God is a physician, and that tribulation is a salutary medicine.” Oh, how great is the efficacy of tribulation in healing the wounds caused by our sins! Hence the same Saint rebukes the sinner who complains of God for sending him tribulations. “Why,” he says, “do you complain? What you suffer is a remedy, not a punishment.” Job called those men happy whom God corrects by tribulation; because He heals them with the very hands by which He strikes and wounds them. Blessed is the man whom God correcteth . . . For he woundeth and cureth. He striketh, and his hand shall heal. — (Job v., 17). Hence, St. Paul gloried in his tribulations: We glory also in tribulations. — (Rom. v., 3).
Tribulations enable us to acquire great merits before God, by giving us opportunities of exercising the virtues of humility, of patience, and of resignation to the divine will. The Blessed John of Avila used to say that one Blessed be God in adversity is worth more than a thousand in prosperity. “Take away,” says St. Ambrose, “the contests of the Martyrs, and you have taken away their crowns.” Oh, what a treasure of merit is acquired by patiently bearing insults, poverty, and sickness! Insults from men were the great object of the desires of the Saints, who sought to be despised for the love of Jesus Christ, and thus to be made like unto Him.
My Jesus, I have hitherto offended Thee grievously by resisting Thy holy Will. This gives me greater pain than if I had suffered every other evil. I repent of it and I am sorry for it with my whole heart. I deserve chastisement: I do not refuse it: I accept it. Preserve me only from the chastisement of being deprived of Thy love, and then do with me what Thou pleasest. I love Thee, my dear Redeemer! I love Thee, my God! And because I love Thee, I wish to do whatever Thou wishest. Amen.
Meditation II:
St. Francis de Sales used to say: “To suffer constantly for Jesus is the science of the Saints; we shall thus soon become Saints.” It is by sufferings that God proves His servants, and finds them worthy of Himself. God hath tried them and found them worthy of himself. — (Wis. iii., 5). Whom, says St. Paul, the Lord loveth he chastiseth; and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. — (Heb. xii., 6). Hence, Jesus Christ once said to St. Teresa: “Be assured that the souls dearest to My Father are those who suffer the greatest afflictions.” Hence Job said: If we have received good things at the hand of God, why should we not receive evil? — (Job ii., 10). If we have gladly received from God the goods of this earth, why should we not receive more cheerfully tribulations, which are far more useful to us than worldly prosperity? St. Gregory informs us that, as a flame fanned by the wind increases, so the soul is made perfect when she is oppressed by tribulations. In fine, the scourges of Heaven are sent, not for our injury, but for our good. Let us believe that these scourges of the Lord, with which, like servants, we are chastised, have happened for our amendment and not for our destruction. — (Judith, viii., 27). “God,” says St. Augustine, “is angry when He does not scourge the sinner.” When we see a sinner in tribulation in this life, we may infer that God wishes to have mercy on him in the next, and that he exchanges eternal for temporal chastisement. But miserable the sinner whom the Lord does not punish in this life! For those whom He does not chastise here, He treasures up His wrath, and for them He reserves eternal chastisement.
O Will of God, Thou art my love! O Blood of Jesus, Thou art my hope! I hope to be from this day forward always united to Thy Divine Will. It shall be my guide, my desire, my love, my hope. Thy Will be done! My Jesus, through Thy merits grant me the grace always to repeat: Thy Will be done! Thy Will be done!
Ah, my blessed Mother Mary, thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, obtain for me, by thy merits, sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of life which will always be light in comparison with my demerits for I have often deserved hell. Immaculate Virgin, from thee do I hope for help to bear all crosses with patience. Amen.
Spiritual Reading: THE POVERTY OF THE INFANT JESUS
Evening Meditation: GOD SENDS HIS SON TO DIE IN ORDER TO RESTORE US TO LIFE
Meditation I:
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his exceeding charity wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ. — (Eph. ii., 4, 5).
Consider that sin is the death of the soul, because this enemy of God deprives us of Divine grace, which is the life of the soul. We, therefore, miserable sinners, were already by our sins dead and condemned to hell. God, through the immense love which He bears to our souls, determined to restore us to life; and how did He do so? He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die, in order that by His death He might restore us to life. With reason therefore does the Apostle call this work of love exceeding charity; too much love; yes, indeed, for man could never have had hope to receive life in such a loving manner if God had not found this means of redeeming him: Having obtained eternal redemption. — (Heb. ix., 12). All men were therefore dead – there was no remedy for them. But the Son of God, through the bowels of His mercy has come down from Heaven, the Orient from on high, and has given us life. Justly, therefore, does the Apostle call Jesus Christ our Life: When Christ shall appear, who is your life. — (Col. iii., 4).
O my Jesus! if Thou hadst not accepted and suffered death for me, I should have remained dead in my sins, without hope of salvation and without the power of ever loving Thee. But though Thou hast obtained life for me by Thy death, I have again many times voluntarily forfeited it by returning to sin. Thou didst die to gain my heart to Thyself, and I by my rebellion have made it a slave of the devil. I lost all reverence for Thee, and I said that I would no longer have Thee for my Master. All this is true; but it is also true that Thou desirest not the death of the sinner, but that he should be converted and live; and therefore didst Thou die to give us life. I repent of having offended Thee, my dearest Redeemer; and do Thou pardon me through the merits of Thy Passion; give me Thy grace.
Meditation II:
Behold, our Redeemer clothed with flesh and become an Infant, says: I have come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly. — (John x., 10). For this end He accepted death, that He might give us life. It is but reasonable, therefore, that we should live only to God, Who has condescended to die for us: Christ died, that they who live may not live to themselves, but unto him who died for them. — (2 Cor. v., 15). It is reasonable that Jesus Christ should be the only Sovereign of our hearts since He has spent His blood and His life to gain them to Himself: To this end Christ died and rose again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. — (Rom. xiv., 9). O my God! who would be so ungrateful a wretch as to believe it an Article of Faith that God died to secure his love, and yet refuse to love Him, and, renouncing His friendship, choose voluntarily to make himself a slave of hell?
O Lord, give me that life which Thou hast purchased for me by Thy death, and henceforth mayst Thou have entire dominion over my heart. Never let the devil have possession of it again; he is not my God, he does not love me, and has not suffered anything for me. In past times he was not the true sovereign, but the robber of my soul; Thou alone, my Jesus, art my true Lord, Who hast created and redeemed me with Thy Blood; Thou alone hast loved me, and oh, how much! It is therefore only just that I should be Thine alone during the life that remains to me. Tell me what Thou wouldst have me to do; for I will do it all. Chastise me as Thou wilt; I accept everything Thou sendest me; only spare me the chastisement of living without Thy love; make me love Thee, and then dispose of me as Thou wilt. Most holy Mary, my refuge and consolation, recommend me to thy Son; His death and thy intercession are all my hope.
Morning Meditation: CONSIDERATIONS ON THE RELIGIOUS STATE – I
Consider that salvation is assured to souls who enter the Religious state.
God has placed us in the world and keeps us here in life, not to acquire the perishable goods of earth, but the eternal goods of Heaven. The end is life everlasting. — (Rom. vi., 22). But the misfortune is that in the world men think very little indeed, if at all, of eternal life, and only dream of acquiring honours and pleasures, and this is the reason why so many souls perish.
Meditation I:
To understand the importance of our eternal salvation it is enough to have Faith and to consider we have only one soul, and if that is lost, all is lost were a man even master of the whole world. What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul? — (Matt. xvi., 26). This great maxim of the Gospel has induced many youths to shut themselves up in cloisters, others to live in deserts, and others to give up their lives for Jesus Christ. For, said they, what does it profit us to possess the whole world, and all the goods of this world, in this present life, which must soon finish, and then be damned and be miserable in the life to come, which will never end? All those rich men, all those princes and emperors, who are now in hell – what have they now of all they enjoyed in this life but greater torment and a greater despair? Miserable beings! They lament now and say: All those things are passed away like a shadow. — (Wis. v., 9). For them all is passed like a shadow, like a dream, and that lamentation which is their lot has lasted already many years, and will last throughout all eternity. The fashion of this world passeth away. — (1 Cor. vii., 51). This world is a scene which lasts but a short time; happy he who plays in this scene that part which will afterwards make him happy in the life which will never end. When he shall then be contented, honoured, and a prince in Paradise, so long as God shall be God, little will he care for having been in this world – poor, despised and in tribulation. For this end alone God has placed us on this earth, and keeps us here in life, not to acquire transitory but eternal goods: The end is life everlasting.
O my God! How have I ever deserved this great mercy, that, having left so many others to live in the midst of the world, Thou hast willed to call me, who have offended Thee more than others, and deserved, more than they, to be deprived of Thy divine light, to enjoy the honour of living as a friend in Thy own house! O Lord, grant that I may understand this exceeding grace, which Thou hast bestowed on me, that I may always thank Thee for it, as I purpose and hope to do always during my life and throughout eternity, and do not permit me to be ungrateful for it. Since Thou hast been so liberal towards me, and hast in Thy love preferred me to others, it is but just that more than others I should serve and love Thee.
Meditation II:
With desolation is all the land made desolate, because there is none that considereth in the heart. — (Jer. xii., 11). How few are they who reflect on death, by which for us the scene is closed; on the eternity which awaits us; on what God has done for our sake! And hence it comes that these miserable beings live in blindness and carelessly, far from God, having their eyes, like the beasts, intent only on earthly things, without remembering God, without desiring His love, and without a thought of eternity. Therefore, they die afterwards an unhappy death, which will be the beginning of eternal death and endless misery. Then it is they will open their eyes; but it will be only to lament over their own foolishness.
This is the great means of salvation which is found in Religion, namely, continual meditation on the eternal truths. Remember thy last end and thou shalt never sin. — (Eccles, vii. 40). In well-regulated Religious houses this is done every day, and even several times a day. And therefore in the light of divine things, which there shines continually, it is morally impossible to live, at least for a long time, far from God, and without keeping one’s account ready for eternity.
O my Jesus! Thou wouldst have me to be wholly Thine, and to Thee I give myself entirely. Accept me, and henceforward keep me as Thy own, since I am no longer mine. Finish Thou the work which Thou hast begun. Thou hast called me to Thy house, because Thou wilt have me become a Saint. Make me then what Thou wilt have me. Do it, O Eternal Father! for the love of Jesus Christ, in Whom is all my confidence. I love Thee, my sovereign Good, I love Thee. O infinite Goodness! I love Thee alone, and will love Thee forever. O Mary, my hope, succour me, and obtain for me to be always faithful and thankful to my Lord.
Spiritual Reading: COUNSELS CONCERNING A RELIGIOUS VOCATION: I. – HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO FOLLOW A VOCATION TO THE RELIGIOUS LIFE
Evening Meditation: THE LOVE THAT THE SON OF GOD HAS SHOWN US IN THE REDEMPTION
Meditation I:
He hath loved us, and hath delivered himself for us. — (Eph. v., 2).
Consider that the Eternal Word is that God Who is so infinitely happy in Himself that His happiness cannot be greater than it is, nor could the salvation of all mankind have added anything to it; nor could the loss of souls have diminished it; and yet He has done and suffered so much to save us miserable worms that if His beatitude, as St. Thomas says, had depended on that of man; He could not have done or suffered more: “As if without him He could not be happy.” And, indeed, if Jesus Christ could not have been happy without redeeming us, how could He have humbled Himself more than He has done, in taking upon Himself our infirmities, the miseries of infancy, the troubles of human life, and a death so barbarous and ignominious?
None but God was capable of loving to so great an excess such wretched sinners as we are, and who are so unworthy of being loved. A devout author says: “If Jesus Christ had permitted us to ask of Him to give us the greatest proof of His love, who would have ventured to ask of Him that He should become a Child like unto us, that He should clothe Himself with all our miseries, and make Himself of all men the most poor, the most despised, and the most ill-treated, even to being put to death by the hands of executioners, and in the greatest torments upon an infamous gibbet, cursed and forsaken by all, even by His own Father, Who abandoned His Son that He might not abandon us in our ruin?”
But that which we should not have had the boldness even to think of, the Son of God has thought of and accomplished.
My Jesus, I should, indeed, do great injustice to Thy mercy and Thy love, if, after Thou hast given me so many proofs of the love Thou bearest me, and the desire Thou hast to save me, I should still distrust Thy mercy and Thy love. My beloved Redeemer, I am a poor sinner; but Thou hast said that Thou didst come to seek sinners: I am not come to call the just, but sinners. — (Matt, ix., 13). I am a poor infirm creature — Thou earnest to cure the infirm, and Thou didst say: They that are whole need not the physician, but they that are sick. — (Luke v., 31). I was lost through my sins, but Thou didst come to save the lost: The son of man is come to save that which was lost. — (Matt. xviii., 11). What, then, can I fear, if I am willing to amend my life and to become Thine? I have only myself and my own weakness to fear; but my own weakness and poverty ought to increase my confidence in Thee, Who hast declared Thyself to be the refuge of the destitute: The Lord is become a refuge for the poor. — (Ps. ix., 10).
Meditation II:
Even from His childhood He sacrificed Himself for us to sufferings, to opprobrium, and to death: He hath loved us, and hath delivered himself for us. — (Eph. v., 2). He loved us, and out of love He gave us Himself, in order that we, by offering Him as a Victim to the Father, in satisfaction for our debts, might through His merits obtain from the divine goodness all the graces that we desire; a Victim dearer to the Father than if we offered Him the lives of all men and of all the Angels. Let us therefore continually offer to God the merits of Jesus Christ, and through them let us seek and hope for every good.
I implore this favour of Thee, O my Jesus! Give me confidence in Thy merits, and grant that I may always recommend myself to God through Thy merits. Eternal Father, save me from hell, and first from sin, for the love of Jesus Christ; for the sake of the merits of this Thy Son enlighten my mind to obey Thy will; give me strength against temptations; grant me the gift of Thy holy love; and, above all, I beseech Thee to give me the grace to pray to Thee to help me, for the love of Jesus Christ, Who hast promised that Thou wilt grant to him who prays in His name whatever he asks of Thee. If I continue to pray to Thee in this way, I shall certainly be saved; but if I neglect it, I shall certainly be lost. Most holy Mary, obtain for me this great gift of prayer, and that I may persevere in recommending myself constantly to God, and also to thee, who dost obtain from God whatever thou willest.
Morning Meditation: CONSIDERATIONS ON THE RELIGIOUS STATE – II
Consider the happy death of a Religious.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. — (Apoc. xiv., 13). And who are those blessed dead who die in the Lord if not Religious, who, at the end of their lives are found already dead to the world, since they have by their Vows already detached themselves from the world and all its goods. I leave all and choose Thee alone for my Treasure, O most pure Lamb of God and my most ardent Lover!
Meditation I:
Consider, my brother, your contentment, if following your Vocation, it will be your good fortune to die in the House of God. The devil will certainly represent to you that if you retire into the House of God, you may perhaps afterwards repent of having left your own house and your own country, and deprived your parents of the advantages which they might have expected from you. But ask yourself: Shall I, at the point of death, be sorry, or shall I rejoice at having followed my resolution? I beseech you therefore to imagine yourself already at the point of death, about to appear before the Tribunal of Jesus Christ. Reflect what, when reduced to that state, you would wish to have done. Perhaps to have pleased your parents, to have worked for your own family and your country, and then to die surrounded by brothers, and nephews, and relatives in your own house with the title of Pastor, Parish Priest, Canon, bishop or a Minister of State, having done your own will? Or, on the other hand, to die in the House of God, assisted by your good brethren in Religion, who would encourage you in the passage to eternity, after having lived many years in Religion, humble, mortified, poor, far from parents, deprived of your own will and under obedience, and detached from everything in the world – all which render death sweet and agreeable? “He who has been accustomed to deprive himself of the delights of the world,” says St. Bernard, “will not regret having done so when he has to leave it.” Pope Honorius II, when dying, wished that he had remained in his monastery, occupied in washing the plates, and had not been Pope. Phillip II wished at his death that he had been a lay-brother in some Religious Order, intent on serving God, and had not been a king. Phillip III, also King of Spain, said when he was dying: “Oh, that I had been in a desert, there to serve God, and that I had never been a monarch! For, had such been the case, I should now appear with more confidence before the Tribunal of Jesus Christ.”
O my Lord Jesus Christ! Who, in order to obtain a happy death for me, hast chosen so bitter a death for Thyself – since Thou hast loved me to such an extent as to have chosen me to follow more closely Thy holy life, to have me thus more intimately united with Thy loving Heart, bind me, I beseech Thee, wholly to Thee with the sweet cords of Thy love, that I may no more separate myself from Thee. O my beloved Redeemer! I wish to be grateful to Thee, and to correspond with Thy grace, but I fear my weakness may render me unfaithful. O my Jesus! do not permit this. Let me die rather than abandon Thee, or forget the peculiar affection Thou hast shown me.
Meditation II:
When, then, hell tempts you about your Vocation, think of the hour of death, and set before your eyes that all-important moment upon which eternity depends. Thus you will overcome all temptations; you will be faithful to God; and certainly you will not repent of it at the point of death, but will give thanks to the Lord, and die contented. Gerard, brother of St. Bernard, died singing at the very thought of dying in the House of God. Father Suarez, of the Society of Jesus, felt at his death so great consolation and sweetness at dying in Religion that he said: “I never thought it would be so sweet to die.” Another good Religious, of the same Society, laughed when at the point of death; and being asked why he laughed, answered: “And why should I not laugh? Has not Jesus Christ Himself promised Paradise to him who leaves everything for His sake? Was it not He Who said: Everyone that has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife or children or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall possess life-everlasting? — (Matt, xix., 29). I have left all for God; God is faithful, He cannot fail in His promises; and so,” he said, “why should I not rejoice and laugh, seeing myself assured of Paradise?” A certain Lay-brother, who died some years ago, was asked at his death, what he desired most? He answered: “I desire nothing but to die and to be united with God.”
Father Januarius Sarnelli, a short time before his death, when conversing with God, was heard saying: “O Lord, Thou knowest that all I have done and all I have thought, has been for Thy glory; now I wish to go to see Thee face to face, if it please Thee so.” And then, desiring his departure, he said: “Courage, I wish to enter into a sweet agony.” He then began to converse affectionately with God, and shortly after placidly expired. There was a smile on his lips, and from his body came a sweet odour, which, as many attested, remained for several days in the room in which he had died.*
St. Bernard, speaking of the happy state of Religious, had good reason to exclaim: “O secure life, in which death is expected without fear – yea, sweetly desired and devoutly accepted!”
I love Thee, O my Saviour! Thou art and shalt always be the only Lord of my heart and of my soul. I leave all and choose Thee alone for my Treasure, O most pure Lamb of God. O my most ardent Lover! My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands. — (Cant. v., 10). Begone, ye creatures, my only Good is my God, He is my Love, my All. I love Thee, O my Jesus! and in loving Thee I will spend the remainder of my life, be it short, or be it long. I embrace Thee, I press Thee to my heart, and I wish to die united to Thee. I wish nothing else. Make me live always burning with Thy love, and when I shall have arrived at the end of my life, make me expire in an ardent act of love towards Thee.
Immaculate Virgin Mary, obtain this grace for me, I hope it from thee.
*The Ven. Father Januarius Sarneili, C.SS.R., was one of the first companions of St. Alphonsus. He died in the odour of sanctity in the year 1774, and the Cause of his Beatification has been introduced. — Editor
Spiritual Reading: COUNSELS CONCERNING A RELIGIOUS VOCATION:
II. – THE CALL OF GOD MUST BE OBEYED, AND OBEYED WITHOUT DELAY
Evening Meditation: JESUS, THE MAN OF SORROWS FROM THE WOMB OF HIS MOTHER
Meditation I:
A man of sorrows, acquainted with infirmity. — (Is. liii., 8).
Thus does the Prophet Isaias designate our Lord Jesus Christ – the man of sorrows. Yes, because this Man was created on purpose to suffer, and from His infancy began to endure the greatest sorrows that any man had ever suffered. The first man, Adam, enjoyed for some time upon this earth the delights of the earthly Paradise; but the second Adam, Jesus Christ, did not pass a moment of His life without sorrows and anguish; for even as a Child He was afflicted by the foresight of all the sufferings and ignominy that He would have to endure during His life, and especially at His death, when He was to close that life immersed in a tempest of sorrow and opprobrium, as David had predicted: I am come into the depth of the sea, and a tempest hath overwhelmed me. — (Ps. lxviii., 3).
My sweetest Redeemer, when shall I begin to be grateful to Thy infinite goodness? When shall I begin to acknowledge the love that Thou hast borne me, and the sorrows Thou hast endured for me? Hitherto, instead of love and gratitude, I have returned Thee offences and contempt; shall I then continue to live always ungrateful to Thee, my God, Who hast spared nothing to acquire my love? No, my Jesus, it shall not be so. During the days that may yet remain to me I will he grateful to Thee; and Thou wilt, I trust, help me to be so. If I have offended Thee, Thy sufferings and Thy death are my hope. Thou hast promised to forgive the penitent. I repent with my whole soul of having despised Thee. Fulfil, therefore, Thy promise, my Beloved, and forgive me. O dearest Infant, I behold Thee in the manger already nailed to Thy Cross, which is constantly present to Thee, and which Thou dost already accept for me. O my crucified Babe, I thank Thee for it, and I love Thee.
Meditation II:
Even from the womb of Mary, Jesus Christ accepted obediently the sacrifice which His Father had desired Him to make, even His Passion and Death: Becoming obedient unto death. — (Phil, ii., 8). So that even from the womb of Mary He foresaw the scourges and presented to them His flesh; He foresaw the thorns and presented to them His head; He foresaw the blows and presented to them His cheeks; He foresaw the nails and presented to them His hands and feet; He foresaw the Cross and offered His life. Hence it is true that even from His earliest infancy our Blessed Redeemer, every moment of His life, suffered a continual martyrdom; and He offered it every moment for us to His Eternal Father.
But what afflicted Him most was the sight of the sins which men would commit even after this painful Redemption. By His divine light He well knew the malice of every sin, and therefore did He come into the world to do away with all sins; but when He saw the immense number which would be committed, the sorrow that the Heart of Jesus felt was greater than all the sorrows that all men ever suffered or ever will suffer upon earth.
Stretched upon this straw, O my Jesus, suffering already for me, and preparing Thyself even now to die for the love of me, Thou dost command and invite me to love Thee: Love the Lord thy God. And I desire nothing more than to love Thee. Since, therefore, Thou wiliest that I should love Thee, give me all the love that Thou requirest of me; love for Thee is Thy gift, and the very greatest gift Thou canst make to a soul. Accept, O my Jesus! for Thy lover a sinner who has so greatly offended Thee. Thou didst come from Heaven to seek the lost sheep; do Thou, therefore, seek me, and I will seek none other but Thee. Thou desirest my soul, and my soul desires nothing but Thee. Thou lovest him that loves Thee, and sayest: I love those that love me. — (Prov. viii., 17). I love Thee, do Thou also love me: and if Thou lovest me, bind me to Thy love; but bind me so that I may never again be able to disengage myself from Thee. Mary, my Mother, do thou help me. Let it be thy glory also to see thy Son loved by a miserable sinner, who has hitherto so greatly offended Him.
Morning Meditation: CONSIDERATIONS ON THE RELIGIOUS STATE – III
Consider the account which he will have to render to Jesus Christ on the Day of Judgment who does not follow his Vocation.
The grace of Vocation is a very rare grace which God grants only to a few. But the greater the grace, the greater will be the indignation of the Lord against him who does not correspond with it. He is the Lord. When He calls He wishes to be obeyed, and obeyed promptly.
Meditation I:
The grace of Vocation to the Religious state is not an ordinary grace; it is a very rare one, which God grants only to a few. He hath not done so to every nation. — (Ps. cxlvii., 20). Oh, how much greater is this grace, to be called to a perfect life, and to become one of the household of God, than if one were called to be the king of any kingdom on this earth! For what comparison can there be between a temporal kingdom on this earth and the eternal kingdom of Heaven?
But the greater the grace, the greater will be the indignation of the Lord against him who has not corresponded with it, and the more rigorous will be His judgment on the day of account. If a king were to call a poor shepherd to his royal palace, to serve him among the noblemen of his court, what would not be the indignation of the king were he to refuse such a favour through unwillingness to leave his poor little hut and his little flock? God know well the value of His graces, and therefore He chastises with severity those who despise them. He is the Lord; when He calls He wishes to be obeyed, and obeyed promptly.
O Lord, Thou hast shown me such an excess of bounty as to choose me from among so many others, to serve Thee in Thy own House with Thy most beloved servants. I know how great is that grace, and how unworthy of it I have been. Behold, I am now willing to correspond to so great a love. I will obey Thee. Since Thou hast been so liberal towards me as to call me when I did not seek Thee, and when I was so ungrateful, permit not that I should offer Thee that greater excess of ingratitude as to embrace again my enemy, the world, in which heretofore I have so oftentimes forfeited Thy grace and my eternal salvation, and thus to forsake Thee, Who hast shed Thy Blood and given Thy life for my sake. Since Thou hast called me, give me also the strength to correspond to the call. Already have I promised to obey Thee. I promise it again, but without the grace of perseverance I cannot be faithful to Thee. This perseverance I ask from Thee, and through Thy own merits it is that I wish it and hope to obtain it.
Meditation II:
When, therefore, by His inspiration, God calls a soul to a perfect life, if it does not correspond He deprives it of His light, and abandons it to its own darkness. Oh, how many poor souls shall we see among the reprobate on the Day of Judgment for this very reason, that they were called and would not correspond!
Give thanks, then, to the Lord, Who has invited you to follow Him; but if you do not correspond, tremble! Since God calls you to serve near His Person, it is a sign that He wishes to save you. But He will have you to be saved in that path only which He indicates to you and has chosen for you. If you wish to save yourself on a road of your own choosing, there is great danger that you will not be saved at all; for if you remain in the world, when God wishes you to be a Religious, He will not give you those efficacious helps prepared for you had you lived in His House, and without those you will not save yourself. My sheep hear my voice. — (John x., 27). He who will not obey the voice of God shows that he is not, and will not be, one of His sheep, but in the Valley of Josaphat, he will be condemned with the goats.
Give me courage, O my Jesus, to vanquish the passions of the flesh, through which the devil seeks to induce me to betray Thee. I love Thee, O my Jesus! To Thee I consecrate myself entirely. I am already Thine, I will be always Thine. O Mary, my Mother and my hope, thou art the Mother of perseverance. This grace is only dispensed through thy hands; do thou obtain it for me. In thee do I confide.
Spiritual Reading: COUNSELS CONCERNING A RELIGIOUS VOCATION:
III. – THE MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR PRESERVING A RELIGIOUS VOCATION
Evening Meditation: GRANDEUR OF THE MYSTERY OF THE INCARNATION
Meditation I:
And the Word was made flesh. — (John i., 14).
Our Lord sent St. Augustine to write upon the heart of St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi the words, And the Word was made flesh. Oh, let us also pray the Lord to enlighten our minds, and to make us understand what an excess and what a miracle of love this is: that the Eternal Word, the Son of God, should have become Man for the love of us.
The Holy Church is struck with awe at the contemplation of this great Mystery: I considered thy works and was afraid. If God had created a thousand other worlds, a thousand times greater and more beautiful than the present, it is certain that this work would be infinitely less grand than the Incarnation of the Word: He hath showed might in his arm. — (Luke i., 51). To execute the great work of the Incarnation, it required all the omnipotence and infinite wisdom of God, in order to unite human nature to a Divine Person, and that a Divine Person should so humble Himself as to take upon Himself human nature. Thus God became Man, and Man became God; and hence, the Divinity of the Word being united to the soul and body of Jesus Christ, all the actions of this Man-God became divine: His prayers were divine, His sufferings divine, His infant cries divine, His tears divine, His steps divine, His members divine, His very Blood divine, which became, as it were, a fountain of health to wash out all our sins, and a Sacrifice of infinite value to appease the justice of the Father, Who was justly angered with men.
O Soul, O Body, O Blood of my Jesus! I adore you and thank you; you are my hope; you are the price paid to save me from hell, which I have so often merited. O my God! what a miserable and hopeless life would await me in eternity, if Thou, my Redeemer, hadst not thought of saving me by Thy sufferings and death! But how is it that souls, redeemed by Thee with so much love, knowing all this, can live without loving Thee, and can despise the grace which Thou hast acquired for them with so much suffering? And did not I also know all this? How, then, could I have offended Thee, and offend Thee so often? But, I repeat it, Thy Blood is my hope. I acknowledge, my Saviour, the great injuries that I have done Thee. Oh that I had rather died a thousand times! Oh, that I had always loved Thee!
Meditation II:
And who, then, are these men? Miserable, ungrateful, and rebellious creatures! And yet for these God becomes Man; subjects Himself to human miseries; suffers and dies to save these unworthy sinners; He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. — (Phil, ii., 8). O holy Faith! If Faith did not assure us of it, who would believe that a God of infinite majesty should abase Himself so far as to become a worm like us, in order to save us at the cost of so much suffering and disgrace, and of so cruel and shameful a death?
“O grace! O power of love!” cries out St. Bernard. O grace, which men could not even have imagined, if God Himself had not thought of granting it to us! O mercy! O infinite charity, worthy only of an infinite Bounty!
By Thy grace I now feel great sorrow for the offences I have committed against Thee; I feel within me an ardent desire of loving Thee; I feel fully resolved to lose everything rather than Thy friendship; I feel a love towards Thee that makes me abhor everything that displeases Thee. And this sorrow, this desire, this resolution, and this love, who is it that gives them to me? It is Thou, O Lord, in Thy great mercy. Therefore, my Jesus, this is a proof that Thou hast pardoned me; it is a proof that now Thou lovest me, and that Thou willest me at all costs to be saved; Thou wiliest that I should be saved, and I will save myself principally to give Thee pleasure. Thou lovest me, and I also love Thee; but my love is little indeed. Oh, give me more love; Thou deservest more love from me, for I have received from Thee more special favours than others: I pray Thee do Thou increase the flames of my love.
Most holy Mary, obtain for me that the love of Jesus may consume and destroy in me every affection that has not God for its object. Thou dost listen to the prayers of all that call on thee; listen to me also and obtain for me love and perseverance.
Morning Meditation: CONSIDERATIONS ON THE RELIGIOUS STATE – IV
Consider the torments of the soul of one in hell who lost his Vocation.
He will say: O fool that I was! I might have become a great Saint! And if I had obeyed the Call of God I should certainly have become a Saint, and now I am damned without remedy! Make your choice, for God leaves it in your own hands, to be a great king in Paradise, or a reprobate in hell.
Meditation I:
The remorse for having lost, by one’s own fault, some great good, or for having been the voluntary cause of some great evil to ourselves, is so great that even in this life it is an insupportable torment. But what torment will that youth, called by the singular favour of God to the Religious state, feel in hell when he perceives that if he had obeyed God he would have attained a high place in Paradise, and sees himself nevertheless confined in that prison of torments, without hope of remedy for this his eternal ruin! Their worm dieth not. — (Mark ix., 43).
This will be that worm, which, living always, will always gnaw his heart by continual remorse. Fool that I was! he will say, I might have become a great Saint. And if I had obeyed, I should certainly have become a Saint; and now I am damned without remedy.
Unfortunate man! For his greater torment, on the Day of Judgment, he will see and recognize at the right hand of God and crowned as Saints, those who followed their Vocation, and, leaving the world, retired to the House of God, to which he also had been called. He shall see himself separated from the company of the Blessed, and placed in the midst of that innumerable and miserable crew of the damned, for his disobedience to the voice of God.
No, my God, permit me not to disobey Thee and to be unfaithful. I see Thy goodness, and thank Thee, for instead of casting me away from Thy face, and banishing me to hell, as I have so often deserved, Thou callest me to become a Saint, and preparest for me a high place in Paradise. I see that I should deserve a double torment, should I not correspond with this grace – a grace not given to all. I will obey Thee. Behold, I am Thine, and always will be Thine. I embrace with joy all the pains and discomforts of the Religious life, to which Thou invitest me. And what are these pains in comparison with the eternal pains, which I have deserved? I was entirely lost through my sins; now I give myself entirely to Thee. Dispose of me and my life as Thou pleasest.
Meditation II:
We know well, as we have considered above, that to this most unhappy lot he exposes himself, who, in order to follow his own caprice, turns a deaf ear to the call of God. Therefore, my brother, you who have already been called to become a Saint in the House of God, consider that you will expose yourself to a great danger should you lose your Vocation through your own fault. Consider that this very Vocation which God in His Sovereign Bounty has given you, in order, as it were, to take you out from among the crowd, and place you among the chosen princes of His Paradise, will, through your own fault, should you be unfaithful to it, become a special hell for you. Make your own choice, then, for now God leaves it in your own hands, either to be a great king in Paradise, or a reprobate in hell, more full of despair than the rest.
Accept, O Lord, of one already at the gates of hell, as I have been, to serve Thee and love Thee in this life and in the next. I will love Thee as much as I have deserved to be doomed to hate Thee in hell, O God, worthy of an infinite love! O my Jesus! Thou hast broken those chains by which the world held me captive; Thou hast delivered me from the servitude of my enemies. I will love Thee much, then, O my Love! and for the love I bear thee, I will always serve Thee and obey Thee. I will always thank thee, O Mary, my advocate, who hast obtained this mercy for me. Help me, and suffer me not to be ungrateful to that God Who has loved me so much. Obtain for me that I may die rather than be unfaithful to so great a grace. This is my hope.
Spiritual Reading: COUNSELS CONCERNING A RELIGIOUS VOCATION:
IV. – THE MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED TO PRESERVE A RELIGIOUS VOCATION
Evening Meditation: JESUS SUFFERS DURING HIS WHOLE LIFE
Meditation I:
My sorrow is continually before me. — (Ps. xxxvii., 18).
Consider that all the sufferings and ignominy that Jesus endured in His life and death were present to Him from the first moment of His life: My sorrow is continually before me; and even from His childhood He began to offer them in satisfaction for our sins, beginning even then to fulfil His office as Redeemer. He revealed to one of His servants that from the commencement of His life even unto His death He suffered continually; and suffered so much for each of our sins that if He had had as many lives as there are men, He would as many times have died of sorrow, if God had not preserved His life that He might suffer more.
Oh, what a martyrdom did not the loving Heart of Jesus constantly endure in beholding all the sins of men! He beheld every single fault. Even whilst He was in the womb of Mary every particular sin passed in review before Jesus, and each sin afflicted Him immeasurably. St. Thomas says that this sorrow which Jesus Christ felt at the knowledge of the injury done to His Father, and of the evil that sin would occasion to the souls that He loved, surpassed the sorrows of all the contrite sinners that ever existed, even of those who died of pure sorrow; because no sinner ever loved God and his own soul as much as Jesus loved His Father and our souls.
Behold, my Jesus, at Thy feet, the ungrateful sinner, the persecutor who kept Thee in continual affliction during all Thy life. But I will say to Thee with Isaias: But thou hast delivered my soul that it should not perish; thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. — (Is. xxxviii., 17). I have offended Thee. I have wounded Thee by so many sins; but Thou hast not refused to take upon Thy shoulders all my offences. I have voluntarily cast my soul into the fire of hell every time that I have consented to offend Thee gravely; and Thou, at the cost of Thy own Blood, hast continually liberated me and prevented me from being entirely lost. My beloved Redeemer, I thank Thee.
Meditation II:
Wherefore that agony which our Redeemer suffered in the Garden at the sight of our sins was endured by Him even from His Mother’s womb: I am poor, and in labours from my youth. — (Ps. lxxxvii., 16). Thus through the mouth of David did our Saviour prophesy of Himself that all His life would be a continual suffering. From this St. John Chrysostom deduces that we ought not to afflict ourselves for anything but for sin alone; and that since Jesus was afflicted all His life long on account of our sins, so we who have committed them ought to feel a continual sorrow for them, remembering that we have offended God Who has loved us so much. St. Margaret of Cortona never ceased to shed tears for her sins. One day her confessor said to her: “Margaret, no more tears! It is enough — Our Lord has already forgiven thee.” “What!” answered the Saint, “how can my tears and my sorrows suffice for the sins for which my Jesus was afflicted all His life long!”
O my Jesus, I could wish to die of sorrow when I think how I have abused Thy infinite goodness; forgive me, my Love, and come and take entire possession of my heart. Thou hast said that Thou wouldst not disdain to enter into the abode of him that opens to Thee, and to remain in his company: If any man shall open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him. — (Apoc. iii., 20). If I have hitherto driven Thee away from me, I now love Thee and desire nothing but Thy favour. Behold, the door is open, enter Thou into my heart, but enter never to depart from it again. I am poor; but if Thou enter Thou wilt make me rich. I shall always be rich so long as I possess Thee, the Sovereign Good. O Queen of Heaven, sorrowful Mother of this suffering Son, I also have been a cause of sorrow to thee, because thou hast participated, in great measure, in the sufferings of Jesus. My Mother, do thou also forgive me, and obtain for me the grace to be faithful to thee, now that I hope my Jesus has returned into my soul.
Morning Meditation: CONSIDERATIONS ON THE RELIGIOUS STATE – V
Consider the immense glory that Religious will enjoy in Heaven.
He will render to everyone according to his works. — (Matt. xvi., 27).
From this you can judge how exceeding great will be the reward that God will give in Heaven to good Religious on account of the great merits they acquire every day. Going, they went and wept casting their seeds; but coming, they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves. — (Ps. cxxv., 6, 7).
Meditation I:
Consider, in the first place, what St. Bernard says: that it is difficult for Religious who die in the Religious state to be damned. “From the cell to heaven the way is easy. One scarcely ever descends from the cell into hell.” The reason the Saint adduces is: “because one scarcely ever perseveres in it until death unless he be predestinated.” For it is with difficulty a Religious perseveres until death, if he be not of the number of the Elect of Paradise. Therefore, St. Laurence Justinian called the Religious state the gate of Paradise: “Of that heavenly city this is the gate.” And he said that, therefore, “Religious have a great sign of predestination.”
Consider, moreover, that the reward of Heaven, as the Apostle says, is a crown of justice. — (2 Tim. iv., 8). Wherefore, God, though He rewards us for our works more abundantly than we deserve, rewards us nevertheless in proportion to the works we have done. He will render to everyone according to his works. From this you can judge how exceedingly great will be the reward which God will give in Heaven to good Religious, in consideration of the great merits they daily acquire.
The Religious gives to God all his earthly goods and is content to be entirely poor, without possessing anything. The Religious renounces all attachment to his parents, friends, and country, in order to unite himself more closely to God. The Religious continually mortifies himself in many things which he would enjoy in the world. The Religious, finally, gives to God his whole self, by giving Him his will through the Vow of Obedience.
The dearest thing that we have to give is our own will, and what God, of all other things, requires of us most is the heart, that is to say, the will. My son, give me thy heart. He who serves God in the world will give Him his possessions, but not himself; he will give Him a part and not the whole, for he will give Him indeed his goods by alms-deeds, his food by fasting, his blood by disciplines, etc. But he will always reserve for himself his own will, fasting when he pleasest, praying when he likes. But the Religious, giving Him his own will, gives himself and gives all; gives not only the fruits of the tree, but the whole tree itself. Whence he may then truly say to Him: O Lord! Having given Thee my will, I have nothing more to give Thee.
Is it possible, O my God and true Lover! that Thou so much desirest my good, and to be loved by me, and that I, miserable that I am, desire so little to love and to please Thee? For what end hast Thou favoured me with so many graces, and taken me out of the world? O my Jesus! I understand Thee. Thou lovest me much, Thou wilt have me love Thee much, and be all Thine, in this life and in the next. Thou wishest that my love should not be divided with creatures, but wilt have it be wholly for Thyself, the only Good, the only lovely One, and worthy of infinite love. Ah! my Lord, my Treasure, my Love, my All! Yes, I pant and truly desire to love Thee, and to love no other but Thee.
Meditation II:
And, therefore, in all that the Religious does through Obedience, he is sure to do the will of God perfectly, and merits by all he does, not only when he prays, when he hears confessions, when he preaches or fasts, or practices other mortifications, but also when he takes his food, when he sweeps his room, when he makes his bed, when he takes his rest, when he recreates himself; for, doing all this through Obedience, in all he does the will of God. St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi said that everything done through Obedience is a prayer. Hence, St. Anselm, speaking of those who love Obedience, asserted that all that Religious do is meritorious for them. St. Aloysius Gonzaga said that in Religion one travels, as it were, in a vessel in which even he who does not labour advances.
Oh, how much more will a Religious gain in one month by observing his Rule than a secular, with all his penance and prayers, in a year! Of that disciple of Dorotheus called Dositheus, it was revealed that for the five years he had lived under Obedience, there was given to him in Heaven the glory of St. Paul the Hermit, and of St. Anthony the Abbot, both of whom had, for so many years, lived in the desert. Religious, it is true, have to suffer the inconvenience of regular observance: Going, they went and wept. But when they are called to the other life they will go to Heaven, and . . . with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves. — (Ps. cxxv., 6, 7). Whence they will sing: The lines are fallen unto me in goodly places, for my inheritance is goodly to me. — (Ps. xv., 6). These bonds which have bound me to the Lord have become for me exceedingly precious, and the glory they have acquired for me is exceedingly great.
I thank Thee, Jesus, for this desire Thou hast given me; preserve it in me, always increase it in me, and grant that I may please Thee, and love Thee on this earth as Thou desirest, so that I may come hereafter to love Thee face to face, with all my strength in Paradise. Behold, this is all that I ask from Thee. Thee will I love, O my God! I will love Thee, and for Thy love I offer myself to suffer every pain. I will become a Saint, not that I may enjoy great delight in Heaven, but to please Thee much, O my beloved Lord! and to love Thee much forever. Graciously hear me, O Eternal Father! for the love of Jesus Christ.
My Mother Mary, for the love of this thy Son, help thou me. Thou art my hope; from thee I hope for every good.
Spiritual Reading: COUNSELS CONCERNING A RELIGIOUS VOCATION:
V. – THE MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR PRESERVING A RELIGIOUS VOCATION:
B. – PRAYER
Evening Meditation: JESUS WISHED TO SUFFER SO MUCH IN ORDER TO GAIN OUR HEARTS
Meditation I:
I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptised and how am I straitened until it be accomplished? — (Luke, xii., 50).
Consider how Jesus suffered even from the first moment of His life, and all for love of us. During the whole of His life He had no other interest, after the glory of God, than our salvation. He, as the Son of God, had no need to suffer in order to deserve Paradise; but whatever He suffered of pain, of poverty, of ignominy, He applied it all towards meriting for us eternal salvation. And even though He could have saved us without suffering, yet He chose to embrace a life of nothing but sufferings, poor, despised, and deprived of every comfort, with a death the most desolate and bitter that was ever endured by any Martyr or penitent, only to make us understand the greatness of the love He bore us, and to gain our affections.
He lived thirty-three years, and He lived sighing for the hour in which He was to sacrifice His life, which He desired to offer up to obtain for us divine grace and eternal glory, in order that He might have us with Him forever in Paradise.
My beloved Redeemer, I am also one of those ungrateful wretches who have repaid Thy immense love, Thy sorrows, and Thy death, with offences and contempt. O my dearest Jesus I how is it possible that, seeing as Thou didst the ingratitude that I should show Thee for all Thy mercies, Thou couldst yet love me so much, and resolve to endure so much contempt and suffering for me! But I will not despair. The evil is already done. Give me, therefore, O my Saviour, that sorrow which Thou hast merited for me by Thy tears; but let it be a sorrow equal to my iniquities. O loving Heart of my Saviour, once so afflicted and desolate for my sake, and now all burning with love for me, I beseech Thee change my heart, give me a heart that will make reparation for the offences I have committed against Thee – a love that will equal my ingratitude!
Meditation II:
It was this desire which made Jesus say: I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptised; and how am I straitened until it be accomplished? He desired to be baptised with His own Blood, not to wash out His own sins, since He was innocent and holy, but the sins of men whom He loved so much: He loved us, and washed us in his own blood. — (Apoc. i., 5). Oh, excess of the love of God, which all the men and Angels that ever existed will never succeed in understanding or praising as it deserves.
St. Bonaventure weeps at seeing the great ingratitude of men for so great a love: “It is a cause for wonder that the hearts of men do not break for love of Thee.” It is a marvel, says the Saint, to see a God endure such sufferings, shedding tears in a stable, poor in a workshop, languishing on a Cross; in short afflicted and tormented; the whole of His life for the love of men; and then to see these men, who not only do not burn with love towards such a loving God, but even have the boldness to despise His love and His grace. O Lord, how is it possible to conceive that a God should have given Himself up to so much suffering for men, and yet that there should be men who can offend, and not love this merciful God!
I give Thee thanks, my Saviour, because I see that Thy mercy has already changed my heart. I hate, above every evil, the insults I have offered Thee; I detest them, I abhor them. I now esteem Thy friendship above all the riches and kingdoms of the world. I desire to please Thee as much as it is possible for me; I love Thee, Who art infinitely amiable; but I see that my love is too feeble. Do Thou increase the flame, give me more love. Thy love for me ought to be responded to by a greater degreee of love in me, who have so much offended Thee, and who, instead of chastisement, have received so many special favours from Thee. O Sovereign Good, permit me not to be any longer ungrateful for all the favours Thou hast bestowed upon me. I will say with St. Francis: “May I die, Lord, for the love of Thy love, Who for the love of my love didst deign to die!” Mary, my hope, help me; pray to Jesus for me!
Morning Meditation: THE OFFERING MARY MADE OF HERSELF TO GOD WAS PROMPT AND WITHOUT DELAY
Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come! — (Cant. ii., 10). Mary well understood the voice of God calling her to devote herself to His love. And thus enlightened she at once offered herself to her Lord. Behold, O Mary, I this day present myself to thee, and in union with thee I renounce all creatures and devote myself entirely to the love of my Creator.
Meditation I:
Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear; and forget thy people and thy father’s house. — (Ps. xliv., 11). The holy Virgin obeyed this divine call with promptitude and with generosity. From the first moment that the heavenly child was sanctified in her mother’s womb, which was at the instant of her Immaculate Conception, she received the perfect use of reason and she began to merit. And immediately, as an Angel revealed to St. Bridget, our Queen determined to sacrifice her will to God, and to give Him all her love for the whole of her life.
Mary, hearing that her holy parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne, had consecrated her by Vow to God, requested them with earnestness to take her to the Temple, and accomplish their promise. At the age of three years, as St. Epiphanius tells us – an age at which children are the most desirous and stand in the greatest need of their parents’ care – Mary desired to consecrate herself to God.
Behold, then, Joachim and Anne, generously sacrificing to God the most precious treasure they possessed in the world, and the treasure dearest to their hearts. They set forth from Nazareth carrying their well-beloved little daughter in turn, for she could not otherwise have undertaken so long a journey as that from Nazareth to Jerusalem, a distance of eighty miles. They were accompanied by few relatives, but choirs of Angels escorted and served the Immaculate little Virgin, who was about to consecrate herself to the Divine Majesty. How beautiful are thy steps . . . O prince’s daughter. — (Cant. vii., 1). “O how beautiful,” must the Angels have sung, “how acceptable to God is thy every step taken on the way to present and offer thyself to Him, O noble daughter, most beloved of our common Lord!”
O beloved Mother of God, most amiable child, Mary, who didst present thyself in the Temple, and with promptitude and without reserve didst consecrate thyself to the glory and love of God; O that I could offer thee this day the first years of my life, to devote myself without reserve to thy service, my holy and most sweet Lady! But it is now too late to do this, for I have lost many years in the service of the world. Woe to that time in which I did not love thee! But it is better to begin now at last than not at all. O Mary, I this day present myself to thee, and in union with thee I renounce all creatures and devote myself entirely to the love of my Creator. Do thou help my weakness by thy powerful intercession.
Meditation II:
God Himself with the whole Heavenly Court made great rejoicings on the day that Mary presented herself to be His Spouse in the Temple. For He never saw a more holy creature, or one He so tenderly loved, come to offer herself to Him.
When the holy company reached the Temple the fair child turned to her parents and, on her knees, kissed their hands and asked their blessing; and then without turning back, she ascended the steps of the Temple. She bade farewell to the world, and renouncing all the pleasures it promises to its votaries, she offered and consecrated herself to her Creator.
At the time of the Deluge a raven sent out by Noe remained to feed on the dead bodies; but the dove, without resting her foot, quickly returned to him into the ark. — (Gen. vii., 9). Many who are sent by God into this world unfortunately remain to feed on earthly goods. It was not thus our heavenly dove, Mary, acted. She knew that God should be our only Good, our only Hope, our only Love; and she knew that the world is full of dangers, and that he who leaves it the soonest is most free from its snares. Hence she sought to do this from her tenderest years, and as soon as possible shut herself up in the sacred retirement of the Temple, where she could the better hear God’s voice, and honour and love Him more. Rejoice with me, all ye who love God, for when I was a little one I pleased the Most High. — (Off. B.V.M.).
O happy Virgin Mary, who didst begin so soon to serve God, and who didst always serve Him so faithfully! Ah, cast a look on me who have returned to Him with such tardiness, after so many years lost in the love of creatures. Obtain for me the grace to give God at least the remainder of my life, be it long or short. Teach me, O Lady, what I should now do to belong entirely to God, and thus to repair the time I have lost. Thou hast already done so much for me, finish the work of my salvation. Do not abandon me till thou seest me safe at thy feet in Paradise. Amen.
Spiritual Reading: COUNSELS CONCERNING A RELIGIOUS VOCATION:
VI. – DISPOSITIONS REQUIRED FOR ENTERING RELIGION
Evening Meditation: THE GREATEST SORROW OF JESUS
Meditation I:
What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption. — (Ps. xxix., 10).
Jesus Christ revealed to the Venerable Agatha of the Cross that whilst He was in His Mother’s womb, that which afflicted Him more than any other sorrow was the hardness of the hearts of men, who would, after His Redemption, despise the graces which He came into the world to diffuse. And He had expressed this sentiment before, by the mouth of David, in the words just quoted, which are generally thus understood by the holy Fathers: What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption? St. Isidore explains whilst I descend into corruption “whilst I descend to take the nature of man, so corrupted by vices and sins”; as if He had said: “O my Father, I am indeed going to clothe Myself with human flesh, in order to shed My Blood for men; but what profit is there in my blood? The greater part of the world will set no value on My Blood, and will go on offending Me, as if I had done nothing for the love of them.”
This sorrow was the bitter chalice which Jesus begged the Eternal Father to remove from Him, saying: Let this chalice pass from me. — (Matt, xxvi., 39). What chalice? The sight of the contempt with which His love was treated. This made Him exclaim again on the Cross: My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? — (Matt. xxvii., 46). Our Lord revealed to St. Catherine of Sienna that this was the abandonment of which He complained – the knowledge, namely, that His Father would have to permit that His Passion and His love should be despised by so many men for whom He died.
O my most amiable Jesus, how much have I, too, caused Thee to suffer during Thy lifetime! Thou hast shed Thy Blood for me with so much sorrow and love, and what fruit hast Thou hitherto drawn from me but contempt, offences, and insults? But, my Redeemer, I will no longer afflict Thee; I hope that in future Thy Passion will produce fruit in me by Thy grace, which I feel is already assisting me. I will love Thee above every other good; and to please Thee, I am ready to give my life a thousand times.
Meditation II:
And this same sorrow tormented the Infant Jesus in the womb of Mary, the foresight of such a prodigality of sorrows, of ignominy, of blood-shedding, and of so cruel and ignominious a death, and all to so little purpose. The holy Child saw, even there, what the Apostle says: that many, indeed the greater number, would trample under foot His Blood and despise His grace, which this Blood would obtain for them: Treading under foot the Son of God . . . and offering an affront to the Spirit of grace. — (Heb. x., 29). But if we have been of the number of those ungrateful men, let us not despair. Jesus, at His birth, came to offer peace to men of good-will, as He made the Angels sing: And on earth peace to men of good-will. — (Luke ii., 14). Let us, then, change our will, repent of our sins, and resolve to love this good God, and we shall find peace, that is, the Divine friendship.
Eternal Father, I should not have the boldness to appear before Thee to implore either pardon or grace, but Thy Son has told me, that whatever grace I ask of Thee in His Name Thou wilt grant it to me: If ye shall ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. — (John xvi., 23). I offer Thee, therefore, the merits of Jesus Christ, and in His Name I ask of Thee first a general pardon for all my sins; I ask holy perseverance even unto death; I ask of Thee, above all, the gift of Thy holy love, that it may make me always live according to Thy divine will. As to my own will, I am resolved to choose a thousand deaths sooner than offend Thee, and to love Thee with my whole heart, and to do everything that I possibly can to please Thee. But in order to do all this, I beg of Thee, and hope to receive from Thee, grace to execute what I propose. My Mother Mary, if Thou wilt pray for me I am safe. Oh, pray for me, pray; and cease not to pray until thou seest that I am changed, and made what God wishes me to be.
Morning Meditation: IT WAS BECOMING THAT THE ETERNAL FATHER SHOULD PRESERVE MARY FROM ORIGINAL SIN
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. — (Cant. ii., 2).
Great indeed was the injury entailed on Adam and on all his posterity by his accursed sin. But from this general misfortune God was pleased to exempt the Blessed Virgin, as the predestined Mother of His only begotten Son and the first-born of Grace. She was to crush the serpent’s head and to be the sinless Mediatress of peace between man and God. Hence the Eternal Father could well say of His beloved Daughter: As the lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters, always immaculate and always beloved.
Meditation I:
It was most becoming that God should preserve Mary from original sin for He destined her to crush the head of the infernal spirit which, by seducing our First Parents, brought death upon all men. This the Lord foretold: I will put emnities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head. — (Gen. iii., 15). But if Mary was that Valiant Woman brought into the world to conquer Lucifer, certainly it was not becoming that he should first conquer her and make her his slave. Reason would indeed demand that she should be preserved from all stain and even momentary subjection to her opponent. How then could God permit that she should first be the slave of the infernal serpent? Praised and ever blessed be God, Who, in His infinite goodness, pre-endowed Mary with such great grace that, remaining always free from guilt of sin, she was ever able to beat down and confound the serpent’s pride.
Besides this it was wholly becoming that the Eternal Father should create Mary, “the one and only daughter of life,” free from the stain of original sin and always possessed by His grace, destined as she was to be the repairer of a lost world, Mediatress of peace between men and God. “O Blessed Virgin,” says St. John Damascene, “thou wast born that thou mightest minister to the salvation of the whole world.” “Hail, reconciler of the whole world!” cries out St. Ephrem. “Hail, thou who art appointed umpire between God and man!” cries St. Basil of Silucia.
Now it certainly would not be becoming to choose an enemy to treat of peace with the offended person, and still less an accomplice in the crime itself. St. Gregory says that, “an enemy cannot undertake to appease his judge who is at the same time the injured party; for if he did, instead of appeasing him, he would provoke him to greater wrath.” And, therefore, as Mary was to be the Mediatress of peace between men and God, it was of the utmost importance that she should not herself appear as a sinner and an enemy of God, but that she should appear in all things as a friend, and free from every stain. Hence it was becoming that God should preserve her from sin, that she might not appear guilty of the same fault as the men for whom she was to intercede.
Ah, my Immaculate Lady, I rejoice with thee on seeing thee enriched with so great purity. I thank our common Creator for having preserved thee from every stain of sin. Thou art all fair and there is not a spot in thee! — (Cant. iv., 7). O most pure dove, all fair, all beautiful, always the friend of God! Ah, most sweet, most amiable, immaculate Mary, disdain not to cast thy compassionate eyes upon the wounds of my soul. Behold me, pity me, heal me! The happy day when I shall go to behold thy beauty in Paradise seems a thousand years off, so much do I long to praise and love thee more than I now do, my Mother, my Queen, my beloved, most sweet, most pure, immaculate Mary! Amen.
Meditation II:
But above all it was becoming that the Eternal Father should preserve this His daughter unspotted from Adam’s sin, because He predestined her to be the Mother of His only-begotten Son. As Jesus was the first-born of God, the first-born of every creature — (Col. i., 15), so was Mary, the destined Mother of God, always considered by Him as His first-born by adoption, and therefore He always possessed her by His grace. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways. — (Prov. viii., 22). For the honour, therefore, of His Son, it was becoming that the Father should preserve the Mother from every stain of sin. When David was planning the Temple of Jerusalem, on a scale of magnificence worthy of God, he said: For a house is being prepared not for man but for God. — (1 Par. xxix., 1). How much more reasonable, then, is it not, to suppose that the Sovereign Architect, Who destined Mary to be the Mother of His own Son, adorned her soul with all the most precious gifts that she might be a dwelling worthy of a God!
We know that a man’s highest honour is to be born of noble parents. And the glory of children are their fathers. — (Prov. xvii., 6). How, then, can we suppose that God Who could cause His Son to be born of a noble Mother by preserving her from sin, would, on the contrary, permit Him to be born of one infected by it, and thus leave it always in Lucifer’s power to reproach Him with the shame of having a mother who had once been his slave and the enemy of God. No, certainly, the Eternal Father did not permit this; but He well provided for the honour of His son by preserving His mother always immaculate, that she might be a Mother worthy of such a Son. And the Holy Church herself assures us of this: “O Almighty and Eternal God Who by the co-operation of the Holy Ghost, didst prepare the body and soul of the glorious Virgin Mother Mary, that she might become a worthy habitation for Thy Son.”
Ah, my most beautiful Lady, I rejoice in seeing thee, by thy purity and thy beauty, so dear to God. I thank God for having preserved thee from every stain. O thou, who from the first moment of thy life didst appear pure and beautiful before God, pity me, who not only was born in sin, but have again since Baptism stained my soul with crimes. What grace will God ever refuse thee? Immaculate Virgin, thou hast to save me. Amen.
Spiritual Reading: IT WAS BECOMING THAT THE SON SHOULD PRESERVE HIS MOTHER FROM ORIGINAL SIN
In the second place it was becoming that the Son should preserve Mary from sin, as being His Mother. No man can choose his mother; but should such a thing ever be granted to any one, who is there who, if able to choose a queen, would wish for a slave? Or if able to choose a friend of God, would wish for an enemy? If, then, the Son of God alone could choose a Mother according to His own Heart and His own liking, we must consider, as a matter of course, that He chose one worthy of God. St. Bernard says, “that the Creator of men becoming man, must have Himself selected a Mother who He knew would be worthy of Him.” As it was becoming that a most pure God should have a Mother pure from all sin, He created her spotless. Here we may apply the words of the Apostle to the Hebrews: For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest; holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners. — (Heb. vii., 26). A learned author observes that, according to St. Paul, it was fitting that our Blessed Redeemer should not only be separated from sin, but also from sinners; according to the explanation of St. Thomas, who says, “that it was necessary that He, Who came to take away sines, should be separated from sinners, as to the fault under which Adam lay.” But how could Jesus Christ be said to be separated from sinners, if He had a Mother who was a sinner?
St. Ambrose says, “that Christ chose this vessel into which He was about to descend not of earth, but from Heaven; and He consecrated it a temple of purity.” This agrees with that which St. John the Baptist revealed to St. Bridget, saying: “It was not becoming that the King of Glory should repose otherwise than in a chosen vessel exceeding all men and angels in purity.” And to this we may add that which the Eternal Father Himself said to the same Saint: “Mary was a clean, and an unclean vessel: clean, for she was all fair; but unclean because she was born of sinners, though she was conceived without sin, that My Son might be born of her without sin.” And remark these last words: “Mary was conceived without sin.” Not that Jesus Christ could have contracted sin; but that He might not be reproached with even having a Mother infected with it, who would consequently have been the slave of the devil.
The Holy Ghost says that the glory of a man is from the honour of his father, and a father without honour is the disgrace of the son. — (Ecclus. iii., 13). “Therefore it was,” says an ancient writer, “that Jesus preserved the body of Mary from corruption after death; for it would have been to His dishonour had that virginal flesh with which He had clothed Himself become the food of worms.” For, he adds, “Corruption is a disgrace of human nature; and as Jesus was not subject to it, Mary was also exempted; for the flesh of Jesus is the flesh of Mary.” But since corruption of her body would have been a disgrace for Jesus Christ, because He was born of her, how much greater would the disgrace have been, had He been born of a mother whose soul was once infected by the corruption of sin? For not only is it true that the flesh of Jesus is the same as that of Mary, “but,” adds the same author, “the flesh of our Saviour, even after His Resurrection, remained the same that He had taken from His Mother. The flesh of Christ is the flesh of Mary; and though it was glorified by the glory of His Resurrection, yet it remains the same that was taken from Mary.” And now if this is true, supposing that the Blessed Virgin had been conceived in sin, though the Son could not have contracted its stain, nevertheless His having united flesh to Himself which once had been infected with sin, a vessel of uncleanness and subject to Lucifer, would always have been a dishonour to Him.
Mary was not only the Mother, but the worthy Mother of our Saviour. She is called so by all the holy Fathers. St. Bernard says: “Thou alone wast found worthy to be chosen as the one in whose virginal womb the King of kings should have His first abode.” St. Thomas of Villanova says: “Before she conceived she was already worthy to be the Mother of God.” The Holy Church herself attests that Mary merited to be the Mother of Jesus Christ, saying: “The Blessed Virgin, who merited to bear in her womb Christ our Lord”; and St. Thomas Aquinas, explaining these words, says, that “the Blessed Virgin is said to have merited to bear the Lord of all; not that she merited His Incarnation, but that she merited, by the graces she had received, such a degree of purity and sanctity, that she could worthily be the Mother of God”; that is to say, Mary could not merit the Incarnation of the Eternal Word, but by divine grace she merited such a degree of perfection as to render her worthy to be the Mother of a God; according to what St. Augustine says: “Her singular sanctity, the effect of grace, merited that she alone should be judged worthy to receive a God.”
And now, supposing that Mary was worthy to be the Mother of God, “what excellence and what perfection was there that did not become her?” asks St. Thomas of Villanova. St. Thomas says: “that when God chooses any one for a particular dignity, He renders him fit for it”; hence he adds: “that God, having chosen Mary for His Mother, He also by His grace rendered her worthy of this highest of all dignities.” “The Blessed Virgin was divinely chosen to be the Mother of God, and therefore we cannot doubt that God had fitted her by His grace for this dignity; and we are assured of it by the Angel: For thou hast found grace with God; behold thou shalt conceive. — (Luke i., 50). And thence the Saint argues that “the Blessed Virgin never committed any actual sin, not even a venial one. Otherwise,” he says, “she would not have been a mother worthy of Jesus Christ; for the ignominy of the Mother would also have been that of the Son, for He would have had a sinner for His mother.” And now if Mary, on account of a single venial sin, which does not deprive a soul of divine grace, would not have been a mother worthy of God, how much more unworthy would she have been had she contracted the guilt of original sin, which would have made her an enemy of God and a slave of the devil? And this reflection it was that made St. Augustine utter those memorable words, that, when speaking of Mary for the honour of Our Lord, Whom she merited to have for her Son, he would not entertain even the question of sin in her; “for we know,” he says, “that through Him, Who it is evident was without sin, and Whom she merited to conceive and bring forth, she received grace to conquer all sin.”
It was no shame to Jesus Christ that He was contemptuously called by the Jews the Son of Mary, meaning that He was the Son of a poor woman: Is not his mother called Mary? — (Matt. xiii., 55). He came into this world to give us an example of humility and patience. But, on the other hand, it would undoubtedly have been a disgrace should He have heard the devil say: “Was not His mother a sinner? Was He not born of a wicked mother, who was once our slave?” It would even have been unbecoming had Jesus Christ been born of a woman whose body was deformed, or crippled, or possessed by devils; but how much more would it not have been so, had He been born of a woman whose soul had been once deformed by sin, and in the possession Lucifer!
Ah! indeed, God, Who is Wisdom itself, well knew how to prepare Himself a becoming dwelling, in which to reside on earth: Wisdom hath built herself a house. — (Prov. ix., 1). The Most High has sanctified his own tabernacle. God will help it in the morning early. — (Ps. xlv., 5, 6). David says our Lord sanctified this His dwelling in the morning early; that is to say, from the beginning of her life, to render her worthy of Himself; for it was not becoming that a Holy God should choose Himself a dwelling that was not holy: Holiness becometh thy house. — (Ps. xcii., 5). The Holy Church sings: “Thou, O Lord, hast not disdained to dwell in the Virgin’s Womb.” Yes, for He would have disdained to have taken flesh in the womb of an Agnes, a Gertrude, a Teresa, because these virgins, though holy, were nevertheless for a time stained with original sin; but He did not disdain to become Man in the womb of Mary, because this beloved Virgin was always pure and free from the lest shadow of sin, and was never possessed by the infernal serpent. And therefore, St. Augustine says: “the Son of God never made Himself a more worthy dwelling than Mary, who was never possessed by the enemy, nor despoiled of her ornaments.” On the other hand, St. Cyril of Alexandria asks: “Who ever heard of an architect who built himself a temple, and yielded up the first possession of it to his greatest enemy?”
Yes, says St. Methodius, speaking on the same subject, that Lord Who commanded us to honour our parents, would not do otherwise, when He became Man, than observe it, by giving His Mother every grace and honour: “He Who said, Honor thy father and thy mother, that He might observe His own decree, gave all grace and honour to His Mother.” Therefore we must certainly believe that Jesus Christ preserved the body of Mary from corruption after death; for if He had not done so, He would not have observed the law, which, at the same time that it commands us to honour our mother, forbids us to show her disrespect. But how little would Jesus have guarded His Mother’s honour, had He not preserved her from Adam’s sin! “Certainly that son would sin,” says the Augustinian Father Thomas of Strasburg, “who, having it in his power to preserve his mother from original sin did not do so.” “But that which would be a sin in us,” continues the same author, “would certainly have been considered unbecoming in the Son of God, Who, whilst He could make His Mother immaculate, did it not.” “Ah, no,” exclaims Gerson, “since Thou, the supreme Prince, choosest to have a Mother, certainly Thou owest her honour. But now if Thou didst permit her, who was to be the dwelling-place of the all-pure God, to be in the abomination of original sin, certainly it would appear that the law was not well fulfilled.”
“Moreover, we know,” says St. Bernardine of Sienna, “that the Divine Son came into the world to redeem Mary more than all other creatures.” There are two means by which a person may be redeemed, as St. Augustine teaches us: the one by raising him up after having fallen, and the other by preventing him from falling; and this last means is doubtless the more honourable. “He is more honourably redeemed,” says the learned Suarez, “who is prevented from falling, than he who, after falling, is raised up”; for thus the injury or stain, which the soul always contracts in falling, is avoided. This being the case, we ought certainly to believe that Mary was redeemed in the more honourable way, and the one more becoming to the Mother of God, as St. Bonaventure remarks, “for it is to be believed that the Holy Ghost, as a very special favor, redeemed and preserved her from original sin by a new kind of sanctification, and this in the very moment of her Conception; not that sin was in her, but that it might otherwise have been.” On the same subject Cardinal Cusano beautifully remarks, that “others had Jesus as a liberator, but to the most Blessed Virgin He was a pre-liberator”; meaning, that all others had a Redeemer Who delivered them from sin with which they were already defiles, but that the most Blessed Virgin had a Redeemer Who, because He was to become her Son, preserved her from ever being defiled by sin.
In fine, to conclude in the words of Hugo of St. Victor, the tree is known by its fruits. If the Lamb was always immaculate, the Mother must also have been always immaculate: “Such the Lamb, such the Mother of the Lamb; for the tree is known by its fruits.” Hence this same Doctor salutes Mary, saying: “O worthy Mother of a worthy Son”; meaning, that no other than Mary was worthy to be the Mother of such a Son, and no other than Jesus was a worthy Son of such a Mother; and then he adds these words: “O fair Mother of Beauty itself, O high Mother of the Most High, O Mother of God!” Let us then address this most Blessed Mother in the words of St. Ildephonsus: “Suckle, O Mary, thy Creator, give milk to Him Who made thee, and Who made thee such that He could be made of thee.” Amen.
Evening Meditation: IT WAS BECOMING THAT THE HOLY GHOST SHOULD PRESERVE MARY FROM ORIGINAL SIN
Meditation I:
My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up. — (Cant. iv., 12).
Since it was becoming that the Eternal Father should preserve Mary from sin as His daughter, and the Son as His Mother, it was also becoming that the Holy Ghost should preserve her as His Spouse. St. Augustine says that “Mary was that only one who merited to be called the Mother and Spouse of God.” For St. Anselm asserts that the Divine Spirit, the Love itself of the Father and the Son, came corporally into Mary, and enriching her with singular grace above all creatures, rested in her and made her the Queen of Heaven and earth. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee. — (Luke i., 35). And now, had an excellent artist the power to make his bride in reality such as he would represent her in his picture, what pains would he not take to render her as beautiful as possible! Who, then, can say that the Holy Ghost did otherwise with Mary, when He could make her, who was to be His Spouse, as beautiful as it was becoming that she should be? Ah no, the Holy Ghost acted as it became Him to act, for this same Lord declares: Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee. — (Cant. iv., 7).
The Holy Ghost signifies the same thing when He called this His Spouse an enclosed garden and a sealed fountain: My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up – a Spouse into whom no guile could enter, against whom no fraud of the enemy could prevail, and who was always holy in mind and body. “Thou art,” says St. Bernard, “an enclosed garden into which has never entered the hand of sinners to pluck its flowers.”
Ah, my immaculate Queen, fair dove, beloved of God, disdain not to cast thine eyes on the many stains and wounds of my soul. See me and pity me. God Who loves thee much, denies thee nothing, and thou knowest not how to refuse those who have recourse to thee. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Meditation II:
In Proverbs we read: Many daughters have gathered together riches, thou hast surpassed them all. — (Prov. xxxi., 29). If Mary has surpassed all others in the riches of grace, she must have had original justice as Adam and the Angels had it. In the Canticles we read: There are young maidens without number. One is my dove, my perfect one (in the Hebrew it is my entire, my immaculate one) is but one. She is the only one of her mother. — (Cant. vi., 7). All souls are daughters of divine grace, but amongst these Mary was the dove without the gall of sin, the perfect one without spot in her origin, the one conceived in grace.
Hence it is that the Angel, before she became the Mother of God, found her already full of grace, and saluted her: Hail, full of grace! — (Luke i., 28). Grace was given partially to other Saints, but to the Blessed Virgin all grace was given. So much so that St. Thomas says: “Grace rendered not only the soul but even the flesh of Mary holy, so that the Blessed Virgin might be able to clothe the Eternal Word with it.”
O immaculate and entirely pure Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Queen of the Universe, our own good Lady, thou art the advocate of sinners, the consolation of the world, the ransom of captives, the joy of the sick, the comfort of the afflicted, the refuge and salvation of the whole world. O most pure Virgin Mary, I venerate thy most holy heart which was the delight and resting-place of God, thy heart overflowing with humility, purity and divine love. Ah, my Mother, for the love of Jesus, take charge of my salvation. O Lady, deny not thy compassion to one to whom Jesus has not denied His Blood. O my Mother, abandon me not! Never, never cease to pray for me until thou seest me safe in Heaven at the feet, blessing and thanking thee for ever. Amen.
