Morning Meditation: “COME YE BLESSED OF MY FATHER”
Come ye blessed of my Father! Such will be the glorious sentence which in the day of triumph God will pronounce in favour of those who have loved Him. O faithful souls, who love God, be not troubled if you are despised and humiliated in this world. Your sorrow shall be turned into joy!
Meditation I:
Come ye blessed of my Father! (Matt. xxv. 34). Such will be the glorious sentence which in the day of triumph God will pronounce in favour of those who have loved Him. St. Francis of Assisi having had it revealed to him that he was one of the predestinate, almost died of the consolation which such a revelation afforded him. What, then, will be the joy of the elect when they hear Jesus Christ inviting them: Come, ye blessed children, come and possess the inheritance of your Divine Father! Come and reign with Him forever in Heaven!
How often, O God, have I, through my own fault, forfeited Thy blessed kingdom! But, O Jesus, Thy precious merits encourage me to hope that I shall regain it. My dear Redeemer, I trust in Thee and love Thee.
Oh, how will the Blessed congratulate one another when they behold themselves placed upon thrones and united in the enjoyment of God for all eternity, without the least fear of ever being again separated from Him! What joy and glory will be theirs to enter on that day crowned into Heaven, singing together songs of gladness and the sweet praises of God! Happy souls, that are destined to such a blessed lot!
O God of my soul, bind me to Thee with the sweet bonds of Thy holy love, so that I may enter into Thy kingdom and praise and love Thee forever. The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever. — (Ps. lxxxviii. 2).
Meditation II:
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Spiritual Reading: LOVE OF SOLITUDE
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Evening Meditation: CHRIST, THE KING OF LOVE
(FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING. LAST SUNDAY OF OCTOBER.)
Meditation I:
Through fear of losing his kingdom the wicked Herod sought the life of the Divine Child. St. Fulgentius contemplating little Jesus flying into Egypt, tenderly exclaims: “Why art thou troubled, O Herod? The King Who is just now born comes not to overthrow other kings by force of arms, but to subjugate them by dying for them.” As though he had said: The King of Heaven is not come to conquer us by war, but by love; He is not come to put us to death, but to rescue us from death by dying for us. Hence it is that Jesus may indeed be styled the King of Love.
Oh that I had always loved Thee, O Jesus, my sovereign King, and that I had never offended Thee! Thou didst spend thirty-three years in pain and labour to save me, and I have wilfully renounced Thee, my sovereign Good, for the sake of momentary pleasures! Father of mercy, forgive me, and embrace me with the kiss of peace.
Ungrateful Jews! why did you refuse to acknowledge for your King One so lovely and so loving towards you? Why did you exclaim: We have no king but Caesar? — (John xix. 15). Caesar did not love you, nor desire to die for you; while your true King Jesus descended from Heaven upon the earth to die for the love of you.
O sweet Saviour Christ, if others will not receive Thee as their King, I will have no other King but Thee: “Jesus, Thou art my King.” I know that Thou alone lovest me; Thou alone hast redeemed me with Thy Blood; where then shall I find one who has loved me as Thou hast loved me? I am grieved for having hitherto rejected Thee as my King by rebelling against Thee! Pardon me, O Jesus, my King! for Thou hast died to purchase pardon for me.
Meditation II:
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Morning Meditation: THE FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IN THE TEMPLE
(November 21st)
Mary offered herself to God promptly and entirely, for she well understood the voice of God calling her to devote herself as a perpetual victim in His honour. Arise! Make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one and come! — (Cant. ii. 10). Let us this day present ourselves to Mary without delay and without reserve, and let us entreat her who was the delight of her God to offer us to her Divine Son, Jesus Christ.
Meditation I:
Let us consider how prompt Mary was in offering herself to God. In her infancy, having scarcely attained the age of three years, knowing that her parents had made a vow to consecrate her to God, she was the first to request them to accomplish their promise by assuring them that the time had already come. She also it was who obtained from God the strength for her parents to fulfil such a promise; for certainly very great was the violence that the holy parents had to do to themselves to deprive themselves so soon of a daughter whom they had so much desired to have, and who from the tenderest age had charmed them so much by her amiability.
Behold now Joachim and Anne generously sacrificing to the Lord that which was dearest to their hearts, setting out from Nazareth, accompanied by few relatives, indeed, but by choirs of Angels. They had to carry their well-beloved little daughter by turns, on account of the length of journey – from Nazareth to Jerusalem.
Having reached Jerusalem they brought their cherished little daughter to the Temple. The holy child immediately ascended to the first step, and turning to her parents, on her knees kissed their hands and asked them to bless her and to recommend her to God. After having received the blessing, and being strengthened by the love with which she was going to serve her God, Who had deigned to call her to His house, she ascended all the steps of the Temple, and did so with so much haste and zeal that she turned back no more, not even to look on her parents who remained there deeply afflicted, and at the same time filled with wonder at the sight of so much strength and courage in so young a child.
Ah! holy child, it is thou who art the happy daughter of the prince of the earth praised by Holy Scripture: How beautiful are thy steps, O prince’s daughter. — (Cant. vii. 1). Indeed, very dear and very pleasing in the eyes of thy Lord and thy God have been the generous steps that thou didst take in the tenderest years of thy life, leaving thy parents, thy house, and thy relatives to go to consecrate thyself entirely to God’s honour and service. Go thou, O Sovereign Lady, will I say with St. Germanus, go with joy into the house of God, to prepare thyself for the coming of the Holy Spirit, Who is to come to make thee the Mother of God Himself. O happy Virgin, who didst begin so soon to serve God, and who didst always serve Him so faithfully, cast a look on me, returning to Him with such tardiness after so many years lost in the love of creatures, and obtain for me the grace to give God at least the remainder of my life, be it long or short. I know that I have very many times deserved to die in sin; I know that it is thou who didst obtain for me the time to do penance – a grace that has not been granted to so many others. Ah, my most amiable Queen, may my life, so unlike to thine, excite in thee not the disgust that it deserves, but rather thy compassion. Since 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.
Meditation II:
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Spiritual Reading: THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IN THE TEMPLE
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Evening Meditation: THE PROGRESS OF THE HOLY CHILD MARY IN VIRTUE
Meditation I:
Let us consider how holy and pleasing to God was the life of Mary in the Temple. She progressed without intermission in the perfection of every virtue, as the morning rising. — (Cant. vi. 9). Who can describe how from day to day all her virtues appeared more beautiful – especially her modesty, silence, mortification, humility, sweetness? St. Anselm says she was accustomed to speak little, was affable, charitable towards every one, and most obliging. In fact, as was revealed to St. Bridget, the virtues she practised most in the Temple were humility, charity, and obedience.
She did not walk, she flew, in the way of the Lord. St. Jerome says that her blessed soul was the abode of every virtue. She spent a certain time as it is related, in doing some work that had been assigned to her. But the greatest part of the day and of the night she consecrated to prayer and to close communion with God in solitude; for this was the most cherished and most desired occupation of her heart that was burning with love; it was her sweetest delight. Oh, how well did Mary in the Temple know how to treat with God of the great work of the Redemption of the world! Seeing clearly the miserable condition of the world, in which so many souls were lost, in which so few knew the true God, and among this number so few who loved Him – ah! how much better than Patriarchs and Prophets did she pray: Come, O Lord, do not delay! Show us Thy mercy, and send us the Lamb that is to rule the world. Ye heavens, let your rain descend and send down the Just, that the earth may bring forth the Saviour.
Meditation II:
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Morning Meditation: THE PRESENCE OF GOD PRESERVES FROM SIN
The Practice of the presence of God is justly called the foundation of the spiritual life. The spiritual life consists of three things: the avoidance of evil, the practice of virtue, and union with God. The practice of the presence of God preserves the soul from sin, leads it to virtue and unites it to God in holy love.
Meditation I:
The Practice of the presence of God preserves the soul from sin. Indeed, there is no more efficacious means of subduing the passions, of resisting temptations, and consequently of avoiding sin, than the remembrance of God’s presence. The angelic Doctor says: “If we thought that God was looking at us, and saw all, we would never, or scarcely ever, commit a sin.” And St. Jerome has written that the remembrance of God’s presence closes the door against all sins. “The remembrance of God,” says the holy Doctor, “shuts out all sins.” And if men will not dare in their presence to transgress the commands of princes, parents, or superiors, how could they ever violate the laws of God if they thought that He was looking at them? St. Ambrose relates that a page of Alexander the Great, who held in his hand a lighted torch whilst Alexander was offering sacrifice in the temple, suffered his hand to be burnt sooner than be guilty of irreverence by allowing the torch to fall. The Saint adds, that if reverence to his sovereign could conquer nature in a boy, how much more will the thought of the Divine presence make a faithful soul overcome every temptation, and suffer every pain rather than insult the Lord before His face!
All the sins of men flow from their losing sight of the Divine presence. “Every evil,” says St. Teresa, “happens to us because we do not reflect that God is present, but imagine that He is afar off.” And David said the same: God is not before his eyes; his ways are filthy at all times. — (Ps. x. 26). Sinners forget that God sees them, and therefore they offend Him at all times. The Abbot Diocles went so far as to say that “he who puts away the remembrance of the presence of God becomes either a beast or a devil.” And justly; for he shall be instantly assailed by carnal or diabolical desires which he will not have strength to resist.
Meditation II:
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Spiritual Reading: THE PRESENCE OF GOD LEADS THE SOUL TO VIRTUE AND UNITES IT TO GOD IN HOLY LOVE
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Evening Meditation: THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
Meditation I:
The exercise of the presence of God consists partly in the operation of the intellect and partly in the operation of the will. The intellect represents God as present, and the will unites the soul to God by acts of adoration, of love, of humility and the like. In regard to the intellect, the presence of God may be practised in various ways.
We can imagine that Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, is present; that He is in our company, and that He sees us in whatsoever place we may be. We can at one time represent Him in one Mystery, and again in another: for example, now an Infant lying in the Manger of Bethlehem, and again a Pilgrim flying into Egypt; now a Boy working in the shop of Nazareth, and again suffering as a criminal in His Passion in Jerusalem, scourged, or crowned with thorns, or nailed to a Cross. St. Teresa praises this method of practising the presence of God. But it is necessary to remark, that though this method is good, it is not the best, nor is it always profitable. Hence, should you wish to practise it, you must do it sweetly, only when you find it useful, and without labouring to represent in the mind the peculiar features of our Saviour, His countenance, His stature, or colour. It is enough to represent Him in a general manner, and as beholding all we do.
The second method, which is more secure and more excellent, is founded on the truth of Faith, and consists in beholding with eyes of Faith God present with us in every place, in considering that He encompasses us, that He sees and observes whatever we do. We indeed do not see Him with the eyes of the flesh. Nor do we see the air, yet we know for certain that it surrounds us on every side, that we live in it; for without it we could neither breathe nor live. We do not see God, but our holy Faith teaches that He is always present with us. Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord? — (Jer. xxiii. 24). And as a sponge in the midst of the ocean is encompassed and saturated with water, so, says the Apostle, in God we live and move and are. — (Acts xvii. 28). And our God, says St. Augustine, observes every action, every word, every thought of each, as if He forgot all His other creatures, and had to attend only to us. Hence, observing all we do, and say, and think, He marks and registers all, in order to demand an account on the day of Judgment, and to give us then the reward or the chastisement we have deserved.
This second way of practising the Divine presence does not fatigue the mind; for the exercise of it we need only enliven our Faith with an affectionate act of the will, saying: My God, I believe firmly that Thou art here present. To this act we can easily add the acts of love, or of resignation, or of purity of intention, and the like.
Meditation II:
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Morning Meditation: THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
The most perfect way of living in the Divine Presence is to consider God present within us. We need not ascend to Heaven to find God. We shall find Him within ourselves. Know ye not that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? St. Teresa writes: “For myself, I confess I never knew what it was to pray with satisfaction till our Lord taught me this way, and I have always found great advantages from this custom of recollection and entering within myself.”
Meditation I:
The most perfect way of living in the Divine presence is to consider God present within us. We need not ascend to Heaven to find God. We shall find Him within ourselves. Know ye not that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? St. Teresa writes: “For myself I confess I never knew what it was to pray with satisfaction till our Lord taught me this way, and I have always found great advantages from this custom of recollection and entering within myself.” We must know of course that God is present in us, in a manner different from that in which He is present in other creatures; in us God is present as in His own temple and His own house. Know you not, says the Apostle, that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? — (1 Cor. iii. 16). Hence our Saviour says, that into a soul that loves God, He comes with the Father and Holy Ghost, not to remain there for a short time, but to dwell in it forever, and there to establish an everlasting habitation. If any one love me …. my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him. — (John xiv. 23).
The kings of the earth, though they have their great palaces, have, notwithstanding, their particular apartments in which they generally live. God is in all places; His presence fills Heaven and earth; but He dwells in a particular manner in our souls, and there, as He Himself tells us by the mouth of the Apostle, He delights to remain as in so many gardens of pleasure. I will dwell in them, and walk among them, and I will be their God. — (2 Cor. vi. 16). There He wishes us to love Him and to pray to Him: for He remains in us full of love and mercy, to hear our supplications, to receive our affections, to enlighten us, to govern us, to bestow on us His gifts, and to assist us in all that can contribute to our eternal salvation.
Meditation II:
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Spiritual Reading: APPLICATION OF THE WILL TO THE HOLY EXERCISE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
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Evening Meditation: PRAYER
ITS NECESSITY AND ITS EFFICACY
Meditation I:
We must all be persuaded that we cannot perform any good action without the actual graces of God. But the Lord declares that these graces He gives only to those who ask them of Him: Ask and it shall be given you. — (Matt. vii. 7). He, then, says St. Teresa, who does not ask, will not receive.
For adults, prayer is necessary, as a matter of strict precept. We ought, says Jesus Christ, always to pray. — (Luke xviii. 1). Pray that you enter not into temptation. — (Mark xiv. 38). Ask, and you shall receive. — (John xvi. 24). The words, we ought, pray, ask, according to St. Thomas, and the generality of Theologians, imply a strict precept that binds under pain of grievous sin. “Every man,” says the angelic Doctor, “is bound to pray, because he is bound to procure spiritual goods, which cannot be obtained unless they are asked.” A person is obliged to pray, particularly in three cases: when he finds himself in the state of sin; when he is in danger of death; when he is assailed by any violent temptation.
Prayer is necessary, not only as a matter of strict precept, but, according to St. Basil, St. Augustine, and others, it is also necessary as a means of salvation, without which it is absolutely impossible for us to preserve ourselves in the grace of God, and to be saved. “It is simply impossible,” says St. John Chrysostom, “without the aid of prayer, to lead a virtuous life.”
The angelic Doctor teaches that “after Baptism continual prayer is necessary for a man, in order to enter Heaven.” Because, adds the Saint, though sins are cancelled by Baptism, we still have temptations to conquer, which we shall not have strength to overcome without prayer. Hence he says in another place: “After a person is justified by grace, he requires to ask of God the gift of perseverance, that he may be preserved from evil to the end of life.”
To understand the reason of this doctrine, it is necessary to know, first, that without special aid from God we cannot continue for a long time in His grace without falling into mortal sin. For we have so many enemies that continually combat against us, and we are at the same time so weak, that if God does not assist us with special helps, or if He gives us only the common graces given to all, we shall not have strength to resist. This is even a Dogma of Faith defined by the Council of Trent in the following words: “If any one shall say that a person who has been justified can, without special aid from God, persevere in the justice which he has received, or cannot persevere with such aid, let him be anathema.” It is necessary to know also, that this special aid to persevere in grace is given, at least ordinarily speaking, only to those who ask it. “It is evident,” says St. Augustine, “that God gives, even to those who do not pray, some gifts, such as the beginning of Faith; and that He prepares other graces, such as perseverance to the end, only for those who ask them.”
From all that has been said we must conclude that prayer is strictly necessary for the attainment of salvation. All the reprobate have been damned in consequence of their neglect of prayer; had they prayed they would not have been lost; and the Saints have become Saints by prayer; had they neglected prayer they would not have become Saints, and could not have been saved. We must be persuaded, as St. John Chrysostom says, that to neglect prayer, and to lose the life of the soul or the grace of God, are one and the same thing. Lord assist me, and hasten to my aid, for if Thou delay Thy assistance, I shall fall, and lose Thy grace. If we pray, then, we shall be certainly saved; if we neglect to pray, we shall be certainly lost.
Meditation II:
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Morning Meditation: “ENTER THOU INTO THE JOY OF THY LORD”
It will be the very Paradise of the Blessed to rejoice in the joy of the Lord. Thus he who in this life rejoices in the blessedness that God enjoys, and will enjoy for all eternity, can say that even here below on earth, he enters into the joy of the Lord and begins to share in the bliss of Paradise.
Meditation I:
Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord! — (Matt. xxv. 21). When the soul enters the Kingdom of the Blessed, and the barrier which hinders its sight is taken away, it will see openly and without a veil the infinite beauty of God; and this will be the joy of the Blessed. Every object that the soul will then see in God Himself will overwhelm it with delight. It will see the rectitude of His judgments, the harmony of His regulations for every soul, all ordained to His Divine glory, and the soul’s own good.
The soul will especially perceive, in respect to itself, the boundless love God has entertained towards it in becoming Man, and sacrificing His life upon the Cross through love of it. Then will it know what an excess of goodness is comprehended in the Mystery of the Cross; in the sight of a God become a servant, and dying condemned upon an infamous tree; and in the Mystery of the Eucharist, God beneath the species of bread, and made the food of His creatures!
In particular the soul will perceive all the graces and favours shown to it, which, until then, had been hidden from it. It will see all the mercies God bestowed on it, in waiting for it, and pardoning its ingratitude. It will see the many calls, and lights, and aids that had been granted to it in abundance. It will see that those tribulations, those infirmities, those losses of property or of kindred, which it counted punishments, were not really punishments, but loving arrangements of God for drawing it to His perfect love.
In a word, all these things will make the soul know the infinite goodness of its God, and the boundless love He deserves. Wherefore, as soon as it has reached Heaven, it will have no other desire but to behold Him in His blessedness and content; and, at the same time, comprehending that the happiness of God is supreme, infinite, and eternal, it will experience a joy that is not infinite only because a creature is not capable of anything that is infinite. It will enjoy, nevertheless, a pleasure extreme and full, which inundates it with delight, and with that kind of delight that belongs to God Himself; and thus will be fulfilled in it the words: Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.
Meditation II:
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Spiritual Reading: PRAYER: THE CONDITIONS
HUMILITY – CONFIDENCE – PERSEVERANCE
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Evening Meditation: “THE PRINCE OF PEACE”
Meditation I:
St. Thomas of Villanova gives us excellent encouragement, saying: “What art thou afraid of, O sinner? …. How shall He reject thee if thou desirest to retain Him Who came down from Heaven to seek thee?” Let not the sinner, then, be afraid, provided he will be no more a sinner, but will love Jesus Christ; let him not be dismayed, but have full trust; if he abhor and hate sin, and seek God, let him not be sad, but full of joy: Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. — (Ps. civ. 3). The Lord has sworn to forget all injuries done to Him, if the sinner is sorry for them: If the wicked do penance …. I will not remember all his iniquities. — (Ezech. xviii. 21). And that we might have every motive for confidence, our Saviour became an Infant: “Who is afraid to approach a Child?” asks the same St. Thomas of Villanova.
“Children do not inspire terror or aversion, but attachment and love,” says St. Peter Chrysologus. It seems that children know not how to be angry; and if perchance at odd times they should be irritated, they are easily soothed; one has only to give them a fruit, a flower, or bestow on them a caress, or utter a kind word to them, and they have already forgiven and forgotten every offence.
A tear of repentance, one act of heart-felt contrition, is enough to appease the Infant Jesus. “You know the tempers of children,” St. Thomas of Villanova goes on to say, “a single tear pacifies them, the offence is forgotten. Approach, then, to Him, while He is a little One, while He would seem to have forgotten His majesty.” He has put off His Divine majesty, and appears as a Child to inspire us with more courage to approach His feet.
“He is born as an Infant,” says St. Bonaventure, “that neither His justice nor His power might intimidate you.” In order to relieve us from every feeling of distrust, which the idea of His power and of His justice might cause in us, He comes before us as a little Babe, full of sweetness and mercy. “O God!” says Gerson, “Thou hast hidden Thy wisdom under a Child’s years, that it might not accuse us.” O God of mercy, lest Thy Divine wisdom might reproach us with our offences against Thee, Thou hast hidden it under an Infant’s form. “Thy justice under humility, lest it should condemn.” Thou hast concealed Thy justice under the most profound abasement, that it might not condemn us. “Thy power under weakness lest it should punish.” Thou hast disguised Thy power in feebleness, that it might not visit us with chastisement.
Meditation II:
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Morning Meditation: JESUS CRUCIFIED!
Jesus Crucified! Oh, what a spectacle to the Angels in Heaven to behold a God Crucified! And we? What sentiments should we conceive when we behold the King of Heaven hanging on a gibbet, covered with wounds, agonising, dying of pure unmitigated pain! O death of Jesus! O love of Jesus, take possession of all my thoughts and affections!
Meditation I:
Jesus Crucified! Oh, what a spectacle to the Angels in Heaven to behold a God Crucified! And we? What sentiments should we not conceive when we behold the King of Heaven hanging on a gibbet, covered with wounds, agonizing and dying of pure, unmitigated pain!
O God, why does this Divine Saviour, this innocent and Saintly One, suffer such torments? Ah, He suffers them to expiate the sins of men. And who has ever seen such an example? The Lord suffering for His slaves! The Shepherd dying for His sheep! The Creator immolated and offered as a holocaust for His creatures!
Jesus on the Cross! Behold the Man of Sorrows foretold by Isaias. Behold Him on that infamous tree, full of exterior and interior sorrows. In His body He is torn with scourges, thorns, and nails: blood flows from every wound, and each member suffers its own torment. In His soul He is afflicted with sadness and desolation; He is abandoned by all, even by His very Father. But what tormented Him most severely was the horrid sight of all the sins that the very men, redeemed by His blood, would commit after His death.
Ah, my Redeemer, among these ungrateful ones Thou didst see me, and all my sins. Then I too had a great part in all Thy afflictions on the Cross, when Thou wast dying for me. Oh that I had died, and had never offended Thee!
Meditation II:
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Spiritual Reading: PRAYERS TO JESUS
TO HEAR US BY THE MERITS OF EACH PARTICULAR PAIN HE SUFFERED IN HIS PASSION
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Evening Meditation: JESUS DEAD UPON THE CROSS
Meditation I:
O Christian, lift, up your eyes, and behold your Jesus dead on the gibbet of the Cross. Look at His body full of wounds and streams of blood flowing. Faith teaches you that He is your Creator, your Saviour, your Life, your Deliverer; and that He, Whose love for you exceeds the love of all others, is the only Being that can make you happy.
Yes, my Jesus, I believe it; Thou hast loved me from eternity, without any merit of mine; and even with the foreknowledge of my constant ingratitude, Thou hast, through Thine own goodness, given me existence. Thou art my Saviour, Who, by Thy death, hast delivered me from hell, which I have so often deserved. Thou art my Life, by the grace Thou hast given me, without which I should have remained dead in hell. Thou art my Father, and a loving Father, Who hast pardoned me with so much mercy the many insults I have offered Thee. Thou art my Treasure, enriching me with so many lights and favours, instead of chastising me as I deserved. Thou art my Hope, for I can hope for no good from any one but from Thee. Thou art my true and only Lover; it is enough to say that Thou hast even died for me. In fine, Thou art my God, my sovereign Good, my All.
Meditation II:
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Morning Meditation: MARY LEADS HER CLIENTS TO HEAVEN
Oh, what an evident sign of predestination have the servants of Mary! St. Bonaventure says the gates of Heaven open to all who confide in Mary’s protection. St. Ambrose prays: “Open to us, O Mary, the gate of Paradise, for thou hast its keys!” And Holy Church prays to Mary: “Gate of Heaven, pray for us!”
Meditation I:
Oh, what an evident sign of predestination have the servants of the Blessed Virgin! The holy Church, for the consolation of Mary’s clients, puts the words of Ecclesiasticus on her lips: In all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord. — (Ecclus. xxiv. 11). Cardinal Hugo explains these words, and says: “Blessed is he in whose house the most holy Virgin finds repose.” Mary, out of the love she bears to all, endeavours to excite in all devotion towards herself; yet many either do not admit it into their souls, or do not preserve it. But blessed is he that receives and preserves it, He shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord. Devotion towards the Blessed Virgin reigns in all who are the inheritance of our Lord; that is to say, in all who will praise God eternally in Heaven. Mary continues, speaking in the words of Ecclesiasticus: He that made me rested in my tabernacle, and he said to me: Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy inheritance in Israel, and take root in my elect. —– (Ecclus. xxiv. 12, 13). My Creator has condescended to come and repose in my bosom, and His will is, that I should dwell in the hearts of all the elect, and that devotion and confidence in me should take root in all the predestined.
O, how many blessed souls are there now in Heaven who would never have been there had not Mary, by her powerful intercession, led them thither: I made that in the heavens there should rise light that never faileth. — (Ecclus. xxiv. 6). Cardinal Hugo, in his commentary on the above text of Ecclesiasticus speaks in the name of Mary: “I have caused as many lights to shine eternally in Heaven as I have clients”; and then he adds, “There are many Saints in Heaven through Mary’s intercession, who would never have been there but through her.”
Meditation II:
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Spiritual Reading: “THEY THAT WORK BY ME SHALL NOT SIN”
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Evening Meditation: HOLY MARY IS OUR SALVATION
Meditation I:
The servants of Mary are protected by her, and their names are written in the Book of Life. St. John Damascene says that God gives the grace of devotion to His Mother only to those whom He will save. This is also clearly expressed by our Lord in St. John: He that shall overcome …. I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God. — (Apoc. iii. 12). And who but Mary is this city of God? observes St. Gregory on the words of David: Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God. — (Ps. lxxxvi. 3).
Correctly, then, can we here say with St. Paul: Having this seal, the Lord knoweth who are his. — (2 Tim. ii. 19). That is to say, whoever carries with him the mark of devotion to Mary is recognized by God as His own. Hence St. Bernard writes that devotion to the Mother of God is a most certain mark of eternal salvation. Blessed Alan, speaking of the “Hail Mary,” also says, that “whoever often honours our Blessed Lady with this Angelical Salutation has a very great mark of predestination.” He says the same thing of perseverance in the daily recital of the Rosary — “that those who do so have a very great assurance of salvation.” Father Nieremberg says that “the servants of the Mother of God are not only privileged and favoured in this world, but even in Heaven they are more particularly honoured.” He then adds: “in Heaven they will be recognized as servants of its Queen, and as belonging to her court, by a distinguishing and richer garment,” according to the words of the Proverbs: All her domestics are clothed with double garments. — (Prov. xxxi. 21).
Ah, my most beloved Mother, never allow a servant of thine to become the enemy of God Whom thou lovest so much! Alas, there was a time when I offended God. But then, O Lady, I loved thee but little! O my Mother, pray to Jesus for me. Nothing else is needed. Thou hast to save me. Thou art my hope. I will sing for ever: O Mary, thou hast to save me!
Meditation II:
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