Meditación matutina: “ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE” (Gospel of Sunday. John xvi., 23-30)
The whole life of the Saints has been one of meditation and prayer; and all the graces by means of which they have become Saints have been received by them in answer to prayer. If therefore we are to be saved and become Saints, we should ever stand at the gates of Divine mercy and beg and pray, as for an alms, all that we stand in need of. Ask and you shall receive.
Meditación I:
Ask and you shall receive. We are poor in all things; but if we pray we are rich in all things; for God has promised to grant the prayer of him who prays to Him. He says: Ask and you shall receive. What greater love can one friend show towards another than to say to him: Ask of me what you will and I will give it to you? This is what the Lord says to each one of us. God is Lord of all things. He promises to give us as much as we ask Him for; if, then, we are poor, the fault is our own, because we do not ask Him for the graces of which we stand in need. And it is on this account that mental prayer is morally necessary for all, inasmuch as when it is laid aside, while we are involved in the world’s cares, we pay but little attention to the soul; but when we practise it we discover the wants of the soul, and then we pray for the corresponding graces and obtain them.
The whole life of the Saints has been one of meditation and prayer; and all the graces by means of which they have become Saints have been received by them in answer to prayer. If, therefore, we would be saved and become saints, we should ever stand at the gates of Divine Mercy to beg and pray, as for an alms, all that we stand in need of. We need humility: let us ask for it and we shall be humble. We need patience under tribulations: let us ask for it and we shall be patient. The Divine love is what we desire: let us ask for it, and we shall obtain it. Ask and it shall be given you — (Matt. vii., 7) is God’s promise, which cannot fail. And Jesus Christ, in order to inspire us with the greater confidence in our prayers, has promised us that whatever be the graces we shall ask of the Father in His Name, for the sake of His love or His merits, the Father will give us them all: Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in my name he will give it to you. — (John xvi., 23). And in another place He says that if we ask of Him anything in His own Name and through His merits, He will grant it: If you ask me anything in my name, that will I do. — (John xiv., 14). Yes; because it is of Faith that whatever God can do can also be done by Jesus Christ, Who is His Son.
Meditación II:
Lectura espiritual: VITA, DULCEDO! HAIL, OUR LIFE, OUR SWEETNESS!
XXVII. MARY IS OUR SWEETNESS; SHE RENDERS DEATH SWEET TO HER CLIENTS
Such also will be your death if you are faithful to Mary. Though you may have thitherto offended God, she will procure you a sweet and happy death. And if by chance at that moment you are greatly alarmed and lose confidence at the sight of your sins, she will come and encourage you, as she did Adolphus, Count of Alsace, who abandoned the world and entered the Order of St. Francis. In the Chronicles of the Order we are told that he had a tender devotion to the Mother of God, and that when he was at the point of death his former life and the rigours of Divine justice presented themselves before his mind, and caused him to tremble at the thought of death, and fear for his eternal salvation. Scarcely had these thoughts entered his mind, when Mary, who is always active when her servants are in pain, accompanied by many Saints, presented herself before the dying man, and encouraged him with words of the greatest tenderness, saying: “My own beloved Adolph, thou art mine, thou hast given thyself to me, and now why dost thou fear death so much?” On hearing these words the servant of Mary was instantly relieved, fear was banished from his soul, and he expired in the midst of the greatest peace and joy.
Let us, then, be of good heart, though we be sinners, and feel certain that Mary will come and assist us at death, and comfort and console us with her presence, provided only that we serve her with love during the remainder of the time that we have to be in this world. Our Queen, one day addressing St. Matilda, promised that she would assist all her clients at death, who, during their lives had faithfully served her. “I as a most tender Mother, will faithfully be present at the death of all who piously serve me, and will console and protect them.” O God, what a consolation will it be at that last moment of our lives when our eternal lot has so soon to be decided, to see the Queen of Heaven assisting and consoling us with the assurance of her protection.
Besides the cases already given in which we have seen Mary assisting her dying servants, there are innumerable others recorded in different works. This favour was granted to St. Clare; to St. Felix, of the Order of Capuchins; to St. Clare of Montefalco; to St. Teresa; to St. Peter of Alcantara. But, for our common consolation, I will relate the following: Father Crasset tells us that Mary of Oignies saw the Blessed Virgin at the pillow of a devout widow of Willembroc, who was ill with a violent fever. Mary stood by her side, consoling her, and cooling her with a fan. Of St. john of God, who was tenderly devoted to Mary, it is related that he fully expected that she would visit him on his death-bed; but not seeing her arrive he was afflicted, and perhaps even complained. But when his last hour had come the divine Mother appeared, and gently reproving him for his little confidence, addressed him in the following tender words, which may well encourage all servants of Mary: “John, it is not in me to forsake my clients at such a moment.” As though she had said: “John, of what wast thou thinking? Didst thou imagine that I had abandoned thee? And dost thou not know that I never abandon my clients at the hour of death? If I did not come sooner, it was because thy time was not come; but now that it is come, behold me here to take thee; let us go to Heaven.” Shortly afterwards the Saint expired and fled to that blessed kingdom, there to thank his most loving Queen for all eternity.
Meditación vespertina: LA PRÁCTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO
XXXIII. “CHARITY ENVIETH NOT.” – HE THAT LOVES JESUS DOES NOT ENVY THE GREAT ONES OF THE WORLD, BUT ONLY THOSE WHO ARE GREATER LOVERS OF JESUS CHRIST
Meditación I:
The following are the signs which indicate whether we work solely for God in any spiritual undertaking. 1.— If we are not disturbed at the failure of our plans, because when we see it is not God’s will, neither is it any longer our will. 2.— If we rejoice at the good done by others as heartily as if we ourselves had done it. 3.— If we have no preference for one charge more than another, but willingly accept that which obedience to superiors enjoins on us. 4.— If after our actions we do not seek the thanks or approbation of others, nor are in any way affected if we be found fault with or scolded, being satisfied in having pleased God. And if when the world applauds us we are not puffed up, but meet the vainglory, which might make itself felt, with the reply of the Blessed John of Avila: “Begone! Thou camest too late, for all has been already given to God.”
This is to enter into the joy of the Lord; that is, to enjoy the enjoyment of God, as is promised to His faithful servants: Well done, thou good and faithful servant; because thou hast been faithful over a few things . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. — (Matt. xxv., 23). And if it falls to our lot to do something pleasing to God, what more, asks St. John Chrysostom, can we desire? “If thou art found worthy to perform something that pleases God, dost thou seek other recompense than this?” The greatest reward, the brightest fortune that can befall a creature is to give pleasure to his Creator.
Meditación II:
Meditación matutina: CONDITIONS OF PRAYER
All things whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe you shall receive, and they shall come unto you. — (Mark xi., 24). Many pray, but they do not obtain what they pray for, because they do not pray as they ought. You ask, says St. James, and receive not, because you ask amiss. — (James iv., 3). To be heard by God we must ask with humility, confidence, and perseverance. And what prayers, O my God, wilt Thou ever hear, if Thou hearest not those which are made as Thou wishest them to be made?
Meditación I:
Let us consider the conditions of prayer. Many pray, but do not obtain the object of their prayers, because they do not pray as they ought. You ask, says St. James, and receive not, because you ask amiss. — (James iv., 3). To pray well it is necessary, in the first place, to pray with humility. God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. — (James iv., 6). God rejects the petitions of the proud, but does not allow the humble to depart without hearing all their prayers. The prayer of him that humbleth himself shall pierce the clouds . . . and he will not depart till the Most high behold. — (Ecclus. xxxv., 21). This holds, even though they have been hitherto sinners. Un corazón contrito y humillado, oh Dios, no despreciarás. — (Ps. l., 19). Secondly, it is necessary to pray with confidence. No one hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded. — (Ecclus. ii., 11). Jesus Christ has taught us to call God, in our petitions for His graces, by no other name than that of Father, in order to make us pray with the same confidence with which a child has recourse to a parent. He, then, who prays with confidence, obtains every grace. All things whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe that you shall receive, and they shall come unto you. — (Mark xi., 24). And who, says St. Augustine, can fear that the promises of God, Who is Truth itself, will be violated. God, says the Scripture, is not like men, who promise but do not perform, either because they intend to deceive, or because they change their minds. God is not as man that he should lie, nor as the son of man that he should be changed. Hath he told then, and will he not do? — (Num. xxiii., 19). And why, adds the same St. Augustine, should the Lord so earnestly exhort us to ask His graces, if He did not wish to bestow them upon us? By His promises He has bound Himself to grant us the graces we ask of Him. “By promising,” says St. Augustine, “He has made Himself a debtor.”
But some will say: I am a sinner, and therefore I do not deserve to be heard. In answer St. Thomas says that the efficacy of prayer to obtain grace depends, not on our merits, but on the Divine mercy. Every one, says Jesus Christ, that asketh receiveth — (Matt. vii., 8); that is, every one whether he be a just man or a sinner. But the Redeemer Himself takes away all fear when He says: Amen, amen, I say to you: If you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you. — (John xvi., 23). As if He said: Sinners, if you are without merits, I have merits before My Father. Ask, then, in My Name, and I promise that you will receive whatsoever you ask. But it is necessary to know that this promise does not extend to temporal favours, such as health, goods of fortune, and the like; for God often justly refuses these graces, because He sees that they would be injurious to our salvation. “The physician,” says St. Augustine, “knows better than the patient what is useful.” The holy Doctor adds that God refuses to some through mercy what He gives to others because He is angry. Hence we should ask temporal blessings only on condition that they will be profitable to the soul. But spiritual graces, such as pardon of sins, perseverance, Divine love, and the like, should be asked absolutely, and with a firm confidence of obtaining them. If, says Jesus Christ, you being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him! — (Luke xi., 13).
Without Thy help, O my beloved Redeemer, I can do nothing. But Thou hast promised to grant all that we ask of Thee. Confiding, therefore, in Thy promises, my dear Jesus, I ask for the pardon of all my sins: I ask for holy perseverance; but above all, I ask for the gift of Thy holy love.
Meditación II:
Lectura espiritual: SPES NOSTRA, SALVE – HAIL, OUR HOPE!
XXVIII. MARY IS THE HOPE OF ALL
Modern heretics cannot endure that we should salute and call Mary our hope: “Hail, our Hope!” They say that God alone is our hope, and that He curses those who put their trust in creatures in these words of the Prophet Jeremias: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man. — (Jer xvii., 5). Mary, they exclaim, is a creature; and how can a creature be our hope? This is what the heretics say: but in spite of this the holy Church obliges all Ecclesiastics and Religious each day to raise their voices, and in the name of all the faithful to invoke and call Mary by the sweet name of “our Hope” – the hope of all.
The angelical Doctor St. Thomas, says that we can place our hope in a person in two ways: as a principal cause, and as a mediate one. Those who hope for a favour from a king, hope it from him as lord; they hope for it from his minister or favourite as an intercessor. If the favour is granted, it comes primarily from the king, but it comes through the instrumentality of the favourite; and in this case he who seeks the favour is right in calling his intercessor his hope. The King of Heaven, being Infinite Goodness, desires in the highest degree to enrich us with His graces; but because confidence is requisite on our part, and in order to increase it in us, He has given us His own Mother to be our Mother and Advocate, and to her He has given all power to help us; and therefore He wills that we should repose our hope of salvation and of every blessing in her. Those who place their hopes in creatures alone, independently of God, as sinners do, and in order to obtain the friendship and favour of a man, fear not to outrage His Divine Majesty, are most certainly cursed by God, as the Prophet Jeremias says. But those who hope in Mary, as Mother of God, who is able to obtain graces and eternal life for them, are truly blessed and acceptable to the Heart of God, Who desires to see that greatest of His creatures honoured; for she loved and honoured Him in this world more than all men and Angels put together. And therefore we justly and reasonably call the Blessed Virgin “our Hope,” trusting, as Cardinal Bellarmine says, “that we shall obtain through her intercession, that which we should not obtain by our own unaided prayers.” “We pray to her,” says the learned Suarez, “in order that the dignity of the intercessor may supply for our own unworthiness; so that,” he continues, “to implore the Blessed Virgin in such a spirit is not diffidence in the mercy of God, but fear of our own unworthiness.”
It is, then, not without reason that the holy Church, in the words of Ecclesiasticus, calls Mary the mother of holy hope. — (Ecclus. xxiv., 24). She is the Mother who gives birth to holy hope in our hearts; not to the hope of the vain and transitory goods of this life, but of the immense and eternal goods of Heaven.
“Hail, then, O hope of my soul!” exclaims St. Ephrem, addressing this Divine Mother; “hail, O certain salvation of Christians; hail, O helper of sinners; hail, fortress of the faithful and salvation of the world!” Other Saints remind us that, after God, our only Hope is Mary; and therefore they call her, “after God, their only Hope.”
Meditación vespertina: LA PRÁCTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO
XXXIV. “CHARITY ENVIETH NOT” – HE THAT LOVES JESUS DOES NOT ENVY THE GREAT ONES OF THE WORLD, BUT ONLY THOSE WHO ARE GREATER LOVERS OF JESUS CHRIST
Meditación I:
Purity of intention is called the heavenly alchemy by which iron is turned into gold; that is to say, the most trivial actions, such as to work, to take one’s meals, to take recreation or repose, when done for God, become the gold of holy love. Wherefore St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi believes for certain that those who do all with a pure intention go straight to Paradise, without passing through Purgatory. It is related in the Spiritual Treasury that is was the custom of a pious hermit, before setting about any work, to pause a little, and lift his eyes to Heaven; on being questioned why he did so he replied: “I am taking my aim.” By which he meant that, as the archer before shooting his arrow takes his aim that he may not miss the mark, so, before each action, he made God his aim, in order that it might be sure of pleasing Him. We should do the same; and even during the performance of our actions it is very good for us from time to time to renew our good intention.
Meditación II:
Meditación matutina: GOD HAS PLEDGED HIMSELF TO GRANT US SPIRITUAL, NOT TEMPORAL, GOODS
We can expect to obtain only those graces that we ask in the Name and through the merits of Jesus Christ. “But,” says St. Augustine, “if we ask anything hurtful to our salvation it cannot be said to be asked in the Name of the Saviour.” When we see that God does not give us temporal gifts, let us be assured that He refuses them only because He loves us, and because He sees that the things we ask would only injure our spiritual well-being.
Meditación I:
Consider that our Lord’s promise to hear our prayers does not apply to our petitions for temporal goods, but only to those for spiritual graces necessary, or at any rate useful, for the salvation of the soul. We can only expect to obtain the graces that we ask in the Name and through the merits of Jesus Christ. “But,” as St. Augustine says, “if we ask anything hurtful to our salvation, it cannot be said to be asked in the Name of the Saviour.” That which is injurious to salvation cannot be expected from the Saviour; God does not and cannot rant it; and why? Because He loves us. A physician who has regard for a sick man will not permit him to have food which he knows will injure him. And how many people would be prevented from committing the sins they do commit if they were poor or sick! Many people ask for health or riches, but God does not give them, because He sees they would be an occasion of sinning, or at least of growing lukewarm in His service. So, when we ask these temporal gifts, we ought always to add this condition – if they are profitable for our souls. And when we see that God does not give them, let us rest assured that He refuses them only because He loves us, and because He sees that the things we ask would only injure our spiritual well-being.
And often we pray God to deliver us from some troublesome temptation which seeks to induce us to forfeit His grace; but God does not deliver us, in order that our soul may be more closely united in love with Him. It is not temptations or bad thoughts that hurt us, and separate us from God, but consent to evil. When the soul, through the assistance of God’s grace, resists a temptation, it makes a great advance in the way of perfection. St. Paul tells us that he was very much troubled with temptations to impurity, and that he prayed God thrice to deliver him from them: There was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan to buffet me; for which thing thrice I besought the Lord that it might depart from me. And what did the Lord answer? He told him: It is enough to have My grace: My grace is sufficient for thee. — (2 Cor. xii., 7-9). Thus should we, in the temptations which assault us, pray God to deliver us from them, or at least to help us to resist them. And when we thus pray, we should be quite certain that God is already helping us to resist them: Thou didst call upon me in affliction, and I delivered thee. I heard thee in the secret place of tempest. — (Ps. lxxx., 8). God often leaves us in the storm for our greater good; but still He hears us in secret, and gives us His grace to strengthen us to resist and to be resigned.
Meditación II:
Lectura espiritual: SPES NOSTRA, SALVE – HAIL, OUR HOPE!
XXIX. MARY IS THE HOPE OF ALL
St. Ephrem, reflecting on the present order of Providence, by which God wills that all who are saved should be saved by the means of Mary, thus addresses her: “O Lady, cease not to watch over us; preserve and guard us under the wings of thy compassion and mercy, for, after God, we have no hope but in thee.” St. Thomas of Villanova repeats the same thing, calling her: “our only refuge, help, and asylum.” St. Bernard seems to give the reason for this when he says: “See, O man, the designs of God – designs by which He is able to dispense His mercy more abundantly to us; for, desiring to redeem the whole human race, He has placed the whole price of redemption in the hands of Mary, that she may dispense it at will.”
In the book of Exodus we read that God commanded Moses to make a mercy-seat of purest gold, because it was thence that He would speak to him: Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold . . . Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee. — (Exod. xxv., 17,22). St. Andrew of Crete says that “the whole world embraces Mary as being this propitiatory.” And, commenting on his words, a pious author exclaims: “Thou, O Mary, art the propitiatory of the whole world. From thee does our most compassionate Lord speak to our hearts; from thee He speaks words of pardon and mercy; from thee He bestows His gifts; from thee all good flows to us.” And therefore, before the Divine Word took flesh in the womb of Mary, God sent an Archangel to ask her consent: because He willed that the world should receive the Incarnate Word through her, and that she should be the source of every good. Hence St. Irenaeus remarks that as Eve was seduced by a fallen angel to flee from God, so Mary was led to receive God into her womb, obeying a good Angel; and thus by her obedience repaired Eve’s disobedience, and became her advocate, and that of the whole human race. “If Eve disobeyed God, yet Mary was persuaded to obey God, that the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of the virgin Eve. And as the human race was bound to death through a virgin, it is saved through a Virgin.” And Blessed Raymond Jordano also says that “every good, every help, every grace that men have received and will receive from God until the end of time came, and will come to them by the intercession and through the hands of Mary.”
The devout Blosius, then, might well exclaim: “O Mary, thou who art so loving and gracious towards all who love thee, tell me, who can be so infatuated and unfortunate as not to love thee? Thou, in the midst of their doubts and difficulties, enlightenest the minds of all who, in their afflictions, have recourse to thee. Thou encouragest those who fly to thee in time of danger; thou succourest those who call upon thee; thou, after thy Divine Son, art the certain salvation of thy faithful servants. Hail, then, O hope of those who are in despair; O succour of those who are abandoned. O Mary, thou art all-powerful, for thy Divine Son, to honour thee, complies instantly with all thy desires.”
Meditación vespertina: LA PRÁCTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO
XXXV. “CHARITY ENVIETH NOT.” – HE THAT LOVES JESUS DOES NOT ENVY THE GREAT ONES OF THE WORLD, BUT ONLY THOSE WHO ARE GREATER LOVERS OF JESUS CHRIST
Meditación I:
Many, on the other hand, are willing to serve God, but it must be in such an employment, in such a place, with such companions, or under such circumstances, or else they either quit the work or do it with a bad grace. Such persons have not freedom of spirit, but are slaves of self-love; and on that account gain very little merit by what they do: they lead a troubled life, because the yoke of Jesus Christ becomes a burden to them. The true lovers of Jesus Christ care only to do what pleases Him; and for the reason that it pleases Him, when He wills, and where He wills, and in the manner He wills, and whether He wishes to employ them in a state of life honoured by the world or in a life of obscurity and insignificance. This is what is meant by loving Jesus with a pure love; and in this we ought to exercise ourselves, battling against the craving of our self-love, which would urge us to seek important and honourable functions, and such as suit our inclinations.
I love Thee, my Jesus; I love Thee with all my soul; I love Thee more than myself, O true and only Lover of my soul; for what friend but Thee has ever sacrificed his life for me? I weep to think that I have been so ungrateful to Thee. Unhappy that I am! I was already lost; but I trust that by Thy grace Thou hast restored me to life. And this shall be my life, to love Thee always, my Sovereign Good. Make me love Thee, O infinite love, and I ask Thee for nothing more! O Mary, my Mother, accept me for thy servant, and gain acceptance for me with Jesus thy Son.
Meditación II:
(25th May)
Meditación matutina: THE LIFE OF POVERTY JESUS LED UPON EARTH
The world teaches its followers that happiness consists in the possession of riches, pleasures, and honours; but this deceitful world was condemned by the Son of God when He became Man. Now is the judgment of the world. — (John xii., 31). This condemnation began in the Stable of Bethlehem. Jesus Christ wished to be born there in poverty, that through His poverty we might become rich, and from His Divine example pluck out of our hearts all affections for earthly possessions.
Meditación I:
It was ordained by God that at the time when His Son was born on this earth the decree of the Emperor should be promulgated obliging everyone to go and enroll himself in the place of his birth. And thus it happened that Joseph had to go with his spouse to Bethlehem to enroll himself according to the decree of Caesar. And now, the time of her delivery having arrived, Mary having been driven from the other houses, and even from the common asylum of the poor, was obliged to remain that night in a cave, and there brought forth the King of Heaven. It is true that, if Jesus had been born at Nazareth, He would equally have been born in a state of poverty; but then He would at least have had a dry room, a little fire, warm clothes, and a more comfortable cradle. But no, He chose to be born in this cold cavern without a fire to warm Him; He chose to have a manger for a cradle, and a little prickly straw for a bed, in order that He might suffer more.
Let us, then, enter into the cave of Bethlehem; but let us enter there with Faith. If we go there without Faith we shall see nothing but a poor infant who moves us to compassion at beholding one so beautiful, shivering and crying with cold and with the pricking of the straw on which he lies. But if we enter it with Faith, and consider that this Child is the Son of God, Who for the love of us has come down to this earth and suffered so much to pay the penalty of our sins, how can it be possible not to thank Him and love Him?
O my sweet Infant, how is it possible that, knowing how much Thou hast suffered for me, I can have been so ungrateful to Thee, and have offended Thee so often! But these tears which Thou sheddest, this poverty Thou hast chosen for the love of me, make me hope for the pardon of all the offences I have committed against Thee. I repent, my Jesus, of having so often turned my back upon Thee; and I love Thee above all things, my God and my All! My God, from this day forth Thou shalt be my only Treasure and my only Good. I will say to Thee, with St. Ignatius of Loyola, “Give me Thy love, give me Thy grace, and I am rich enough.” I wish for, and desire nothing else. Thou alone art sufficient for me, my Jesus, my Life, my Love.
Meditación II:
Lectura espiritual: SPES NOSTRA, SALVE – HAIL, OUR HOPE!
XXX. MARY IS THE HOPE OF ALL
St. Germanus, recognising in Mary the source of all our good, and that she delivers us from every evil, thus invokes her: “O, my sovereign Lady, thou alone art the one whom God has appointed to be my solace here below; thou art the guide of my pilgrimage, the strength of my weakness, the riches of my poverty, remedy for the healing of my wounds, the relief of my pains, the end of my captivity, the hope of my salvation! Hear my prayers, have pity on my tears, I conjure thee, O thou who art my Queen, my refuge, my love, my help, my hope and my strength.”
We need not, then, be surprised that St. Antoninus applies the following verse of the Book of Wisdom to Mary: Now all good things came to me together with her. — (Wisd. vii., 11). For as this Blessed Virgin is the Mother and dispenser of all good things, the whole world, and more particularly each individual who lives in it as a devout client of this great Queen, may say with truth that, with devotion to Mary, both he and the world have obtained everything good and perfect. The Saint thus expresses his thought: “She is the Mother of all good things; and the world can truly say that, with her, it has received all good things.” And hence the Blessed Abbot of Celles expressly declares that “when we find Mary, we find all good.” Whoever finds Mary finds every good thing, obtains all graces and all virtues; for by her powerful intercession she obtains all virtues; for by her powerful intercession she obtains all that is necessary to enrich him with Divine grace. In the Book of Proverbs Mary herself tells us that she possesses all the riches of God, that is to say, His mercies, that she may dispense them in favour of her lovers: With me are riches . . . and glorious riches . . . that I may enrich them that love me. — (Prov. viii., 18, 21). And therefore St. Bonaventure says that “We ought all to keep our eyes constantly fixed on Mary’s hands, that through them we may receive the graces we desire.”
Oh, how many who were once proud have become humble by devotion to Mary! How many in the midst of darkness have found light! How many who were in despair have found confidence! How many who were lost have found salvation by the same powerful means! And this she clearly foretold in the house of Elizabeth, in her own sublime canticle: Behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. — (Luke i., 48). And St. Bernard, interpreting her words, says: “All generations call thee blessed, because thou hast given life and glory to all nations; for in thee sinners find pardon, and the just perseverance in the grace of God.”
Meditación vespertina: THE HAPPY DEATH OF GOD’S SERVANTS
Meditación I:
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. — (Ps. cxv., 15). St. Bernard says that the death of the just is called precious, because it is the end of labour and the gate of life. To the Saints death is a reward, because it is the end of sufferings, pains, struggles, and the fear of losing God.
That word Depart, which is such a terror to worldlings, alarms not the just; because to them it is not painful to leave all worldly goods, for God has been their only riches: nor honours, for they have despised them: nor relatives, for they have loved them only in God. Hence, as they frequently repeated in life, so now with redoubled joy do they exclaim in death: My God and my All!
Nor do the pains of death afflict them; they rejoice in offering to God the last moments of life in testimony of their love for Him, uniting the sacrifice of their lives to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ offered on the Cross, for the love of them.
Oh, what a consolation for the Saints is the thought that now the time is over when they might have offended God, and were in constant danger of losing Him! Oh, what joy to be able then to embrace the Crucifix, and to say: In peace, in the self same, I will sleep and I will rest! — (Ps. iv., 9). The devil will endeavour at that time to disquiet us by the sight of our sins; but if we have bewailed them, and have loved Jesus Christ with our whole heart, Jesus will console us. God is more desirous of our salvation than the devil is for our perdition.
Moreover, death is the gate of life. God is faithful, and will indeed at that time console those who have loved Him. Even in the sorrows of death He will bestow upon them a foretaste of Heaven. Their acts of confidence, of love of God, of desire soon to behold Him, will be the beginning for them of that peace which they will enjoy through eternity. What joy, in particular, will the holy Viaticum afford to those who can say, with St. Philip Neri: Behold my Love! Behold my Love!
Meditación II:
Meditación matutina: “ARISE, O LORD, INTO THY RESTING PLACE”
In the Ascension of our Blessed Lord we contemplate how, forty days after His Resurrection, He ascended into Heaven in triumph, surrounded by great glory, in the sight of His holy Mother and His disciples. Lift up your gate, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates; and the King of glory shall enter in. — (Ps. xxiii., 7). O Paradise! O Paradise! When, O Lord, shall I see Thee face to face, and embrace Thee, without fear of ever losing Thee?
Meditación I:
The rightful home of the risen Saviour was Heaven, the home of the Blessed, but Jesus wished to remain still on earth for forty days, appearing again and again to His disciples before He ascended into Heaven, in order to strengthen their Faith in His Resurrection and to give them consolation and hope. Meanwhile the Angels ardently desired to have their King in their heavenly country, and hence they were continually supplicating Him in the words of David: Arise, O Lord, into thy resting-place. — (Ps. cxxxi., 8). Come, O Lord, come quickly, now that Thou hast redeemed men: come to Thy kingdom and dwell with us.
Behold now the solemn hour has arrived and our Blessed Saviour ascends Mount Olivet with His Apostles and disciples to about the number of one hundred and twenty. Then, raising His hands to Heaven, Jesus blesses them and ascends into the skies in triumph, surrounded by great glory. When a monarch makes his solemn entry into his kingdom, he does not pass through the gates of his capital city, for they are removed to make way for him on the occasion. Hence, when Jesus Christ now enters Paradise, the Angels cry out: Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates, and the King of Glory shall enter in. — (Ps. xxiii., 7).
O Paradise! O Paradise! When, O Lord, shall I see Thee face to face, and embrace Thee, without fear of ever losing Thee?
Meditación II:
Lectura espiritual: SPES NOSTRA, SALVE – HAIL, OUR HOPE!
XXXI. MARY IS THE HOPE OF ALL
The devout Lanspergius makes our Lord thus address the world: “Men, poor children of Adam, who live surrounded by so many enemies and in the midst of so many trials, endeavour to honour My Mother and yours in a special manner: for I have given Mary to the world that she may be your model, and that from her you may learn to lead good lives; and also that she may be a refuge to which you can fly in all your afflictions and trials. I have made this, My Daughter, such that no one need fear or have the least repugnance to have recourse to her; and for this purpose I have created her of so benign and compassionate a disposition that she knows not how to despise any one who takes refuge with her, nor can she deny her favour to anyone who seeks it. The mantle of her mercy is open to all, and she allows no one to leave her feet without consoling him.” May the immense goodness of our God be ever praised and blessed for having given us this so great, so tender, so loving a Mother and Advocate.
O God, how tender are the sentiments of confidence expressed by the enamoured St. Bonaventure towards Jesus our most loving Redeemer, and Mary our most loving Advocate! He says: “Whatever God foresees to be my lot, I know that He cannot refuse Himself to anyone who loves Him and seeks for Him with his whole heart. I will embrace Him with my love; and if He does not bless me, I will still cling to him so closely that He will be unable to go without me. If I can do nothing else, at least I will hide myself in His Wounds, and, taking up my dwelling there, it will be in Himself alone that He will find me.” And the Saint concludes: “If my Redeemer rejects me on account of my sins, and drives me from His sacred feet, I will cast myself at those of His beloved Mother Mary, and there I will remain prostrate until she has obtained my forgiveness; for this Mother of mercy knows not, and has never known, how to do otherwise than compassionate the miserable, and comply with the desires of the most destitute who fly to her for succour; and therefore, if not by duty, at least by compassion, she will engage her Son to pardon me.”
“Look down upon us, then,” let us exclaim, in the words of Euthymius, “look down upon us, O most compassionate Mother; cast thine eyes of mercy on us, for we are thy servants, and in thee we have placed all our confidence.”
Meditación vespertina: THE JOY OF THE BLESSED IN HEAVEN IS TO SEE AND LOVE GOD
Meditación I:
Let us consider what it is in Heaven that makes its holy citizens completely happy. The soul in Heaven sees God face to face, and knowing His infinite beauty and all the perfections that render Him worthy of infinite love, cannot but love Him with all its powers, and love Him far more than itself. Nay, as it were forgetting itself, the soul thinks of nothing but to see Him happy Who is its Beloved and its God; and seeing that God, the only object of its affections, enjoys infinite happiness, this happiness of God constitutes all its Paradise. If a soul were capable of anything infinite, its own joy would also be infinite in seeing that its Beloved is infinitely happy, but as a creature is not capable of infinite joy, it is at least so satiated with joy that it desires nothing more. And this is that satisfaction that David sighed for when he said: I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear. — (Ps. xvi., 15).
Thus also is fulfilled what God says to the soul when He admits it into Paradise: Enter into the joy of thy Lord. — (Matt. xxv., 21). He does not bid the joy enter into the soul, because this, His joy, being infinite, cannot be contained in the creature; but He bids the soul enter into His joy, that it may receive a portion of it, and such a portion as will satisfy it and fill it with delight.
Therefore, in our prayer, among all acts of love towards God, there is none more perfect than the taking delight in the infinite happiness God enjoys. This is certainly the continual exercise of the Blessed in Heaven; so that he who often rejoices in the joy of God begins in this life to do that which he hopes to do in Heaven through all eternity.
The love of God with which the Saints in Paradise burn is such, that if ever a fear of losing it were to enter their thoughts, or they were to think that they should not love Him with all their powers, as now they love Him, this fear would cause them to experience the anguish of hell. But no; for they are as sure, as they are sure of God, that they will ever love Him with all their powers, and that they will be ever loved by God, and this mutual love will never change throughout eternity. O my God, make me worthy of this, through the merits of Jesus Christ.
Meditación II:
