{"id":11274,"date":"2025-11-10T13:10:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T13:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/?page_id=11274"},"modified":"2025-11-14T19:42:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T19:42:05","slug":"daily-meditations-twenty-first-week-after-pentecost","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/daily-meditations-twenty-first-week-after-pentecost\/","title":{"rendered":"DAILY MEDITATIONS: TWENTY-FIRST WEEK AFTER PENTECOST"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVOLUME IV - PART II, pp. 155-206<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 GOD WILL PUNISH SINNERS \u201cIN THE FULNESS OF THEIR SINS\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0When God, at length, sees that we will not respond to benefits, nor threats, nor admonitions, nor amend our lives, He is forced by our own very selves to punish us. God will then chastise us because we ourselves force Him to chastise us.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When God, at length, sees that we will not respond to benefits, nor threats, nor admonitions, nor amend our lives, He is forced by our own very selves to chastise us, but while punishing us, He will place before our eyes the great mercies He has extended to us: Thou thoughtest unjustly that I shall be like to thee; but I will reprove thee, and set before thy face. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. xlix. 20). \u00a0He will then say to the sinner: Think you, O sinner, that I had forgotten, as you had done, the outrages you put upon Me, and the graces I dispensed to you? \u00a0St. Augustine says that God does not hate but loves us, and that He only hates our sins. \u00a0He is not wroth with men, says St. Jerome, but with their sins. \u00a0The Saint says, that by His nature God is inclined to benefit us, and that it is we ourselves who oblige Him to chastise us, and assume the appearance of severity, which He has not of Himself.\u00a0 St. Jerome, reflecting on those words which Jesus Christ on the day of the General Judgment will address to the reprobate: Depart from me, you cursed, into ever lasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels \u2014 <\/em>(Matt. xxv. 41), inquires, who has prepared this fire for sinners? \u00a0God, perhaps? \u00a0No, because God never created souls for hell, as the impious Luther taught: this fire was kindled for sinners by their own sins. He who sows in sin, shall reap chastisement. He that soweth iniquity shall reap evils. \u2014 <\/em>(Prov. xxii. 8). \u00a0When the soul commits sin, it voluntarily obliges itself to pay the penalty thereof, and thus condemns itself to the pains of hell. \u00a0For you have said; we have entered into a league with death, and we have made a covenant with hell. <\/em>\u2014 (Is. xxviii. 15). \u00a0Hence, St. Ambrose well says, that God has not condemned any one, but that each one is the author of his own punishment. \u00a0And the Holy Ghost says, that the sinner shall be consumed by the hatred which he bears himself: with the rod of his anger he shall be consumed. <\/em>\u2014 (Prov. xxii. 8). \u00a0He, says Salvian, who offends God has no more cruel enemy than him self, since he himself has caused the torments which he suffers. \u00a0God, he continues, does not wish to see us in affliction, but it is we who draw down sufferings upon ourselves, and by our sins enkindle the flames in which we are to burn. \u00a0God punishes us, because we oblige Him to punish us.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong><\/p>

Spiritual Reading:\u00a0 II. MORTIFICATION OF THE EYES<\/em><\/b><\/strong><\/p>

.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0\u00a0CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

XI.\u00a0 SPECIAL PRACTICES OF THIS VIRTUE<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We may at times have to suffer the loss of persons who, in either a temporal or spiritual point of view, happen to be of service to us. \u00a0This is a matter in regard to which devout people are often very faulty, through their want of resignation to the Divine dispensations. \u00a0Our sanctification must come, not from spiritual directors, but from God. \u00a0It is, indeed, His will that we should avail ourselves of directors as spiritual guides, when He gives them to us; but when He takes them away, He wills that we should rest content, and increase our confidence in His goodness, saying at such times: Lord, it is Thou Who hast given me this assistance; now Thou hast taken it from me; may Thy will be ever done; but I pray Thee now to supply my wants Thyself, and to teach me what I ought to do to serve Thee. \u00a0And in the same way ought we to receive all other crosses from the hands of God. But so many troubles, you say, are chastisements. \u00a0But, I ask in reply, are not the chastisements God sends us in this life acts of kindness and benefits? \u00a0If we have offended Him, we have to satisfy Divine justice in some way or other, either in this life or in the next. \u00a0Therefore we ought all of us to say with St. Augustine, \u201cHere burn, here cut, here do not spare; that so Thou mayest spare in eternity;\u201d and again, with holy Job: And that this may be my comfort, that, afflicting me with sorrow, he spare not <\/em>\u2014 (Job vi. 10). \u00a0It should, too, be a consolation to one who has deserved hell to see that God is punishing him in this world; because this will give him good hopes that it may be God\u2019s will to deliver him from punishment eternal. \u00a0Let us, then, say when suffering the chastisements of God what was said by Heli the high priest: It is the Lord; let him do what<\/em> is good in his sight. <\/em>\u2014 (1 Kings, iii. 18).<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMONDAY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK AFTER PENTECOST<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 \u201cBEHOLD YOUR HOUSE SHALL BE LEFT TO YOU DESOLATE\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When the Lord wishes to punish He is able to do so.\u00a0 The daughter of Sion shall be left …. as a city that is laid waste. \u00a0How<\/em> many cities have been destroyed and levelled to the ground because of the sins of the inhabitants whom God could not bear with any longer I How often, says God, have I called you and you would not listen? You have been deaf to My call. \u00a0Behold your house shall be left to you desolate.<\/em><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When the Lord wishes to punish He is able to do so.\u00a0 The daughter of Sion shall be left …. as a city that is laid waste. \u2014 <\/em>(Is. i. 8). \u00a0How many cities have been destroyed and levelled with the ground because of the sins of the inhabitants whom God could no longer bear with. \u00a0One day as Jesus Christ beheld the city of Jerusalem, He thought of the ruin her crimes were to draw down upon her, and full of compassion for her miseries, He began to weep: Seeing the city he wept over it, saying …. They shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation. \u2014 <\/em>(Luke xix. 41, 44). \u00a0Unfortunate city, there shall not be left in thee a stone upon a stone, because thou hast not been willing to know the grace which I gave thee in visiting thee with so many benefits, and bestowing upon thee so many tokens of My love. \u00a0Thou hast ungratefully despised Me, and driven Me away.\u00a0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem …. how often would I have gathered thy children …. and thou wouldst not, behold your house shall be left to you desolate. \u2014 <\/em>(Luke xiii. 34, 35). \u00a0Who knows whether God does not at this moment look upon your soul and weep? \u00a0Perhaps He sees that you will not turn to account this visit which He now pays you, this grace which He gives you to change your life.\u00a0 How often, says the Lord, have I wished to draw you to Me by the lights I have given you? \u00a0How often have I called you and you would not hear Me? \u00a0You have been deaf to Me and fled from Me. \u00a0Behold your house shall be left to you desolate.<\/em> \u00a0Behold I am already on the point of abandoning you, and if I abandon you, your ruin will be inevitable and irreparable.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We would have cured Babylon, but she is not healed; let us forsake her. <\/em>\u2014(Jer. li. 9). \u00a0The physician when he sees that the patient will not adopt his remedies, which he himself carries to him with so much kindness, and which the patient flings away \u2014 what does he do at length? \u00a0He turns his back upon him and abandons him. \u00a0But by how many remedies, by how many inspirations, by how many calls, has not God endeavoured to avert damnation from you? \u00a0What more can He do?\u00a0 If you lose your soul, can you complain of God Who has called you in so many different ways? \u00a0Because called and you refused …. and have neglected my reprehensions, I will also laugh in your destruction and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared. \u2014 <\/em>(Prov. i. 24). \u00a0<\/em>You, says God, have laughed at My words, My threats, and My chastisements, your last chastisement shall come, and then I will laugh at your destruction. \u00a0The rod was turned into a serpent. \u2014 (Exod. iv. 3). \u00a0St. Bruno says the rod of correction is turned into a serpent when sinners will not amend. \u00a0The eternal will succeed the temporal punishment.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p>

Spiritual Reading:\u00a0 <\/b><\/strong>III.\u00a0 MORTIFICATION OF THE EYES<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 <\/strong>CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

XII. SPECIAL PRACTICES OF THIS VIRTUE<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The lives of the Saints have been ordinarily full of dryness and not of sensible consolations. \u00a0These are favours the Lord does not bestow, excepting on rare occasions, and to perhaps the weaker sort of spirits, in order to prevent their coming to a standstill in their spiritual course. \u00a0The joys He proposes to us as reward, He prepares in Paradise. \u00a0This world is the place for meriting, where we merit by suffering; Heaven is the place for recompense and enjoyment. \u00a0Wherefore, what the Saints have desired and sought for in this world has been, not a sensible fervour with rejoicing, but a spiritual fervour with suffering. \u00a0The Blessed John of Avila used to say, \u201cOh, how much better is it to be in dryness; and temptation by the will of God, than in contemplation without it!\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But, you will say: If I could only know that this (desolation came from God, I should be content; but what afflicts and disquiets me so is the fear that it may have come by my own fault, and as a punishment for my tepidity. \u00a0Well, then, put away your tepidity and employ greater diligence. \u00a0But will you, because you are under a cloud \u2014 will you therefore disquiet yourself land leave off prayer, and thus double the evil of which you complain? \u00a0Let it be, as you say, that the dryness has come upon you as a chastisement. \u00a0Then accept it as a chastisement on one who so much deserves to be chastised, and unite yourself to the Divine will. \u00a0Do you not say that you deserve hell? \u00a0And why, then, are you complaining? \u00a0Is it because you deserve that God should give you consolations? \u00a0Ah, go and be content with the manner in which God is dealing with you; persevere in prayer, and in the way on which you have entered; and henceforth let it be your fear that your complaints may arise rather from your little humility and your want of conformity to the will of God. \u00a0When a soul applies itself to prayer, it can derive no greater benefit from it than the union of itself with the Divine will. \u00a0Therefore, make an act of resignation, and say: Lord, I accept this pain from Thy hands, and I accept it for as long as may please Thee. \u00a0If it be Thy will that I should be thus afflicted for all eternity, I am content. \u00a0And in this way your prayer, painful though it may be, will be a greater help to you than any spiritual consolations however sweet.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTUESDAY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK AFTER PENTECOST<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 WE ARE CHASTISED BY THE LORD THAT WE MAY NOT BE CONDEMNED WITH THIS WORLD\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 God is as clement and kind when He chastises as when He bestows favours. \u00a0His chastisements are the effects of His love. \u00a0They are most certainly punishments, but punishments which ward off eternal penalties, and bring us to eternal happiness. \u00a0We are chastised by the Lord that we may not be condemned with this world.<\/em><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We have not been created for this earth: We have been created for the blessed kingdom of Paradise. \u00a0For this reason it is, says St. Augustine, that God mingles so much bitterness with the delights of the world in order that we may not forget Him and eternal life. \u00a0If, living as we do amid so many thorns in this life, we are strongly attached to it, and long so little for Paradise, how little should we not value Paradise if God were not to embitter continually the pleasures of this earth?\u00a0 If we have offended God, we must needs be punished for it either in this world or in the next. \u00a0St. Ambrose says that God is merciful as well when He punishes as when He does not punish.\u00a0 The chastisements of God are the effect of His love; they are, to be sure, punishments, but only temporal punishments which ward off from us eternal punishment, and bring us to everlasting happiness. \u00a0But whilst we are judged, we are chastised by the Lord, that we be not condemned with this world. <\/em>\u2014 (1 Cor. xi. 32). \u00a0And Judith reminded the Hebrews of the same truth when they were under the scourge of the Lord: 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. \u2014 <\/em>(Judith viii. 27). \u00a0Sara, the wife of Tobias, says the same: But this every one is sure of that worshippeth thee …. if his life be under correction, it shall be allowed to come to thy mercy, for thou art not delighted in our being lost. \u2014 <\/em>(Tob. iii. 21, 22).\u00a0 Lord, she said, Thou chastisest us here in order that Thou mayest spare us in the other life, for Thou dost not desire our destruction.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p>

Spiritual Reading:\u00a0 <\/b><\/strong>HOLY HUMILITY<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

I.\u00a0 THE ADVANTAGES OF HUMILITY<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:<\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 <\/strong>CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

XIII. SPECIAL PRACTICES OF THIS VIRTUE<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We must above all be conformed to the will of God in regard to our death, as to the time and manner of it. \u00a0St. Gertrude one day, when climbing a hill, slipped and fell into a ravine. \u00a0Her companions asked her afterwards whether she would not have been afraid to die without the Sacraments? \u00a0The Saint answered that it was her great desire to die fortified by the Sacraments, but she considered that the will of God was better, because the best dispositions one can have when dying would be one\u2019s submission to all that God should will; consequently, she desired whatever death the Lord would be pleased to allot to her. \u00a0It is related by St. Gregory, in his Dialogues,<\/em> that the Vandals having condemned to death a certain priest named Santolo, they granted him the choice of the kind of death he would prefer; but the holy man refused to make a selection, saying: \u201cI am in the hands of God, and will suffer the death He permits you to make me suffer; nor do I wish for any other.\u201d \u00a0This act was so pleasing to God that, when these barbarous men had resolved on having his head cut off, He held back the executioner\u2019s arm; whereupon they acknowledged the great miracle, and spared his life. \u00a0As to the manner, then, we should esteem that death the best for us which God may have determined to be ours. \u00a0Save us, Lord (let us ever say, when thinking of our death); and then let us die in whatever manner seemeth good unto Thee.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then, again, we ought to unite our will to God\u2019s will as to the time of our death. \u00a0What is this world but a prison in which we have to suffer, and every moment run the risk of losing God?\u00a0 It was this that caused David to exclaim: Bring my soul out of prison. <\/em>\u2014 (Ps. cxli. 8). \u00a0It was this fear that made St. Teresa sigh for death. \u00a0On hearing the clock strike, she felt the utmost consolation in the thought that an hour of her life had passed, an hour in which she was in danger of losing God.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWEDNESDAY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK AFTER PENTECOST<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina: \u201cTHE ENEMIES OF THE LORD SHALL VANISH LIKE SMOKE\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Holy Job enquires why the wicked are allowed to live, and why are they advanced and strengthened in prosperity? And why instead of dying in poverty and tribulation they continue to enjoy health and honours and riches? \u00a0The holy man himself gives the answer: They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment they go down to hell.<\/em><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 St. Jerome says that there cannot be a greater punishment for a sinner than that he should not be punished in this life. \u00a0And St. Isidore of Pelusium says that sinners who are punished in this life do not deserve pity, but those only who die without having been punished. \u00a0It is not so bad, continues the Saint, to be simply sick as to have no one to cure you. \u00a0St. Augustine says, in another part, that when God does not chastise the sinner in this world, He chastises him most severely; whence he concludes that there is no greater misfortune than impunity for a sinner. \u00a0After England had rebelled against the Church, God did not visit her with temporal scourges: her riches have been increasing from that time; but her chastisement is all the greater on that account, as she is left to perish in her sin. \u00a0The absence of punishment is the greatest punishment, says the same holy Doctor. \u00a0Not to receive chastisement for sin in this life is a great punishment, but prosperity in sin is a still greater punishment.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Why then,<\/em> Job inquires, do the wicked live, are they advanced and strengthened with riches?<\/em> \u00a0How comes it, O Lord, that sinners, instead of being taken out of this life in poverty and tribulation, enjoy health, and honours, and riches? \u00a0The holy man answers: They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment they go down to hell. \u2014 <\/em>(Job xxi. 7, 13). \u00a0Wretched men! they enjoy their riches for a few days, and when the hour of chastisement comes, when they least expect it, they are condemned to burn forever in that place of torments.\u00a0 Jeremias makes the same inquiry: Why doth the way of the wicked prosper?<\/em> and then adds, Gather them together as sheep for a sacrifice. \u2014 <\/em>(Jer. xii. 1-3). \u00a0Animals destined for sacrifice are kept from all labour, and fattened for slaughter. \u00a0Thus does God act towards the obstinate: He abandons them, and suffers them to fatten on the pleasures of this life in order to sacrifice them in the other to His eternal justice; for these, says Minutius Felix, are fed like victims for the slaughter.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p>

Spiritual Reading:\u00a0 <\/b><\/strong>HOLY HUMILITY<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

II.\u00a0 ITS ADVANTAGES<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 <\/strong>CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

XIV. SPECIAL PRACTICES OF THIS VIRTUE<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We must bring our will into conformity to the Divine Will even as regards our degree of grace and of glory.\u00a0 Highly as we ought to esteem the glory of God, we ought to esteem His will yet more. \u00a0It would be good to desire to love God more than the very Seraphim, but it would not be right to desire to ascend to a higher degree of love than what the Lord has determined for us. \u00a0Blessed John of Avila says: \u201cI do not think there ever was a Saint who succeeded in becoming as holy as he had wished to be. \u00a0But that never disturbed a Saint, because Saints wish to become holy only to please God, and not for their own satisfaction. \u00a0Therefore, they were satisfied with that degree of holiness to which God\u2019s grace raised them, even though it was not as high as what they aimed at. \u00a0They believed that there was more true love in being content with what God gave than in wishing for more.\u201d
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0All this means, as Father Rodriguez explains it, that we should be diligent in trying to reach the highest perfection possible so as not to turn our own lukewarmness and laziness into an excuse, as those do who say that God must make them a present of holiness if He wants them to be holy, since they themselves can do little or nothing. \u00a0Nevertheless, when we fail in our efforts we must not lose our peace of mind, nor our conformity to God\u2019s will, nor our courage. \u00a0God\u2019s will permits our fall. \u00a0What we have to do is to rise at once, to humble ourselves by repentance, and with greater earnest than ever in prayer pursue the way of perfection.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It would, moreover, be but too evident a fault to desire to possess gifts of supernatural prayer \u2013 such, especially, as ecstasies, visions, and revelations; whereas, on the contrary, spiritual writers say that those souls on whom God bestows such graces ought to pray to Him to deprive them of them, in order that they may love Him by the way of pure Faith, which is the safest way of all. \u00a0There are many who have attained perfection without these supernatural favours. \u00a0Chief amongst the virtues that raise the soul to highest sanctity stands conformity to the will of God. \u00a0If God does not choose to raise us to a high degree of perfection and of glory, let us conform ourselves in all respects to His holy will, praying that He would at least save us through His mercy.\u00a0 And if we act in this manner, the reward will not be small which, of His goodness, our good Lord will give us, for above everything He loves those souls that are resigned.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTHURSDAY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK AFTER PENTECOST<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 \u201cTHOSE WHOM I LOVE I REBUKE AND CHASTISE\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The greatest punishment God can inflict on a sinner is to let him sleep on in his sins, buried in the sleep of death. \u00a0I will make them drunk that they may …. sleep an everlasting sleep and awake no more, saith the Lord.<\/em> \u00a0On the contrary, it is a sign of mercy for the sinner when God chastises him here below. \u00a0When the surgeon uses the knife it is not to kill but to cure.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The greatest punishment God can inflict on a sinner is to let him sleep on in his sins \u2014 buried in that sleep of death. \u00a0I will make them drunk, that they may …. sleep an everlasting sleep and awake no more, saith the Lord. \u2014 <\/em>(Jer. li. 39). \u00a0After murdering his brother, Cain was afraid that he should be killed by everyone he met.\u00a0 Every one therefore that findeth me shall kill me. \u2014 <\/em>(Gen. iv. 14). \u00a0But the Lord assured him that he should live, and that no one should kill him; and this very assurance of a long life, according to St. Ambrose, was Cain\u2019s greatest punishment. \u00a0The Saint says, that God treats the obstinate sinner mercifully, when He gives him an early death, because He thus saves him from as many hells as he should have committed sins during a longer life. \u00a0Let sinners then live on according to the desires of their hearts, let them enjoy their pleasures in peace; there will at length come a time when they shall be caught as fish upon the hook. \u00a0As fishes are taken with the hook …. so men are taken in the evil time. \u2014 <\/em>(Eccles, ix. 12). \u00a0Whence St. Augustine says: \u201cDo not rejoice like the fish who is delighted with the bait, for the fisherman has not: yet pulled the hook.\u201d \u00a0If you were to see a condemned man making merry at a banquet with the halter round his neck, and every moment awaiting the order for execution, would you envy or pity him? \u00a0Neither should you envy the sinner who is happy in his vices. \u00a0That wretched sinner is already on the hook, he is already in the infernal net; when the time of chastisement shall have arrived, then the wretch will know and deplore: his damnation, but all to no purpose.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 <\/strong>HOLY HUMILITY<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

III.\u00a0 ADVANTAGES OF HUMILITY<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 INTERIOR TRIALS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 All the anxiety of scrupulous souls arises from a fear lest in what they do, they should be acting, not with a mere scruple but with a real doubt, and therefore be committing sin. \u00a0But the chief thing they are to remember is this: that he who acts in obedience to a learned and pious confessor, acts not only with no doubt, but with the greatest security that can be had upon earth, a security that rests on the Divine words of Jesus Christ, that he who obeys His ministers is as though he obeyed God Himself: He that heareth you heareth me<\/em>. \u2014 (Luke x. 16). \u00a0Hence St. Bernard says: \u201cWhatever man, in the place of God enjoins, provided it be not certainly displeasing to God, is absolutely to be received as though enjoined by God.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As to the personal direction of conscience, it is certain the confessor is the lawful superior, as St. Francis de Sales, with all spiritual instructors, declares: while Father Pinamonti, in his Spiritual Director, says: \u201cIt is well to make the scrupulous perceive, that submitting their will to the ministers of the Lord gives them the greatest security in all that is not manifestly sin. \u00a0Let them read the Lives of the Saints, and they will find that they knew no safer road than obedience. \u00a0The Saints plainly relied more on the voice of their confessor than on the immediate voice of God, and yet the scrupulous would lean more on their own judgment than on the Gospel, which assures them: He that heareth you, heareth me<\/em>.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFRIDAY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK AFTER PENTECOST<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

(COMMEMORATION OF THE MOST HOLY REDEEMER, OCTOBER 23rd)<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 THE GREAT OBLIGATIONS WE ARE UNDER TO LOVE THE MOST HOLY REDEEMER<\/strong><\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Forget not the kindness of thy Surety for he hath given his life for thee.<\/em> \u00a0By this Surety we understand Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, Who, seeing that we were unable to satisfy Divine Justice, offered Himself to die for us.\u00a0 Se le ofreci\u00f3 porque era su propia voluntad.<\/em> \u00a0He offered to make satisfaction for us, and actually paid our debts in His Blood, and by giving up His life. \u00a0He hath given his life for thee.<\/em><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Forget not the kindness of thy Surety for he hath given his life for thee. \u2014 <\/em>(Ecclus. xxix. 19). \u00a0By this Surety we understand Jesus Christ, Who, seeing that we were unable to atone to the Divine justice, offered Himself because it was his own will. <\/em>\u2014 (Is. liii. 7). \u00a0He offered to make satisfaction for us, and actually paid our debts by His Blood and by His Death. \u00a0He hath given his life for thee.
<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To repair the insults which we offered to the Divine majesty, the sacrifice of the life of all men was not sufficient; God alone could atone for an injury done to God; and this Jesus Christ has accomplished. \u00a0By so much,<\/em> says St. Paul, is Jesus made a surety of a better testament. \u2014 <\/em>(Heb. vii. 22). \u00a0By making satisfaction on behalf of man, our Redeemer, man\u2019s surety, says the Apostle, obtained by His merits a new compact \u2014 that if man should observe the law, God would grant him grace and eternal life. \u00a0This is precisely what Jesus Christ Himself expressed in the institution of the Eucharist when He said, This chalice is the new testament in my blood. <\/em>\u2014 (1 Cor. xi. 25). \u00a0By these words Jesus meant, that the chalice of His Blood was the instrument or written security by which was established the new covenant between God and Jesus Christ, that to men who were faithful to Him should be given the gift of grace and of eternal life.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hence, by suffering the penalties due to us, the Redeemer, through the love which He bore us, made on our behalf a rigorous atonement to the Divine Justice.\u00a0 Surely,<\/em> says the Prophet, he hath borne our infirmities, and carried our sorrows. \u2014 <\/em>(Is. liii. 4). \u00a0And all this was the fruit of His love. \u00a0Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered himself for us. \u2014 <\/em>(Eph. v. 2). \u00a0St. Bernard says that to pardon us, Jesus Christ did not pardon Himself. \u00a0\u201cTo redeem a slave He spared not Himself.\u201d\u00a0 O miserable Jews, why do you still wait for the Messias promised by the Prophets? \u00a0He has already come: you have murdered Him; but, in spite of your guilt, your Redeemer is ready to pardon you; for He has come to save the lost sheep of the house of Israel: The Son of Man is come to save that which was lost. <\/em>\u2014 (Matt, xviii. 11).<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p>

Spiritual Reading:\u00a0 <\/b><\/strong>HOLY HUMILITY<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

IV.\u00a0 HUMILITY OF THE INTELLECT OR JUDGMENT<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cA MAN OF SORROWS AND ACQUAINTED WITH INFIRMITIES\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Prophet Isaias called our Redeemer a man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmities. \u2014 <\/em>(Is. liii. 3).\u00a0 Contemplating the sorrows of Jesus Christ, Salvian exclaimed, \u201cO Love, I know not whether to call Thee sweet or severe: Thou dost appear to be both.\u201d \u00a0O Love of my Jesus, I know not what to call Thee. \u00a0Thou hast indeed been sweet towards us in loving us after so much ingratitude; but to Thyself Thou hast been cruel to excess, in choosing a life so full of pains, and in suffering a death so full of bitterness, in order to atone for our sins.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 St. Thomas, the Angelic Doctor, writes that to save us from hell, Jesus Christ assumed the most extreme pain and the most extreme ignominy. \u00a0To satisfy the Divine justice, it would be enough for Him to have suffered any pain; but no, He wishes to submit to the most galling insults and to the sharpest pains, in order to make us comprehend the malice of our sins, and the love with which His Heart was inflamed for us.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The God-man assumed the most extreme pain; hence, as we read in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews.\u00a0 He said: A body thou hast fitted to me. <\/em>\u2014 (Heb. x. 5).\u00a0 The body which God gave to Jesus Christ was made on purpose for suffering, and therefore His flesh was most sensitive and delicate. \u00a0Sensitive,<\/em> or capable of feeling pain most acutely: delicate, or<\/em> so tender that every stroke which it received left a wound; in a word, His sacred body was made on purpose for suffering.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Besides, all the sorrows that Jesus Christ suffered till He expired on the Cross were always present to His mind from the first moment of His Incarnation. \u00a0He saw them all, and cheerfully embraced them, in order to accomplish the will of His Father, Who wished that He should be offered in sacrifice for our salvation. \u00a0Then, said I, Behold, I come: in the head of the book it is written of me that I should do thy will, O God. \u2014 <\/em>(Heb. x. 7). \u00a0This, according to the Apostle, was the oblation which obtained for us Divine grace. \u00a0In the which will, we are sanctified by the oblation of the body of Jesus Christ once. \u2014 <\/em>(Heb. x. 10).<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSATURDAY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK AFTER PENTECOST<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 \u201cMARY\u2019S ONLY THOUGHT, TO SUCCOUR THE MISERABLE\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 From the hour Mary came into the world her only thought, after the glory of God, was to succour the miserable. \u00a0And in order to succour the miserable she enjoys the privilege of obtaining whatever she asks.\u00a0 She has only to speak and her Son immediately grants her her request.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 From the hour Mary came into the world her only thought, after the glory of God, was to succour the miserable. \u00a0And in order to succour the miserable she enjoys the privilege of obtaining whatever she asks.\u00a0 This we know from what occurred at the marriage feast of Cana in Galilee. \u00a0When the wine failed, the most Blessed Virgin, being moved to compassion at the sight of the affliction and shame of the bride and bridegroom, asked her Son to relieve them by a miracle, telling Him that they had no wine.<\/em> \u00a0Jesus answered: Woman, what is that to thee and me? \u00a0My hour is not yet come. \u2014 <\/em>(John ii. 4). \u00a0Although our Lord seemed to refuse His Mother the favour she asked, yet, as if the favour had already been granted, Mary desired those in attendance to fill the jars with water, for they would be immediately satisfied. \u00a0And so it was. \u00a0To content His mother, Jesus changed the water into the best wine. \u00a0But how was this? \u00a0As the time for working miracles was that of the public life of our Lord, how could it be that, contrary to the Divine decrees, this miracle was worked? No, in this there was nothing contrary to the decrees of God; for though, generally speaking, the time for miracles was not come, yet from all eternity God had determined by another decree that nothing that she asked should ever be refused to the Divine Mother. \u00a0And, therefore, Mary, who well knew her privilege, although her Son seemed to have refused her the favour, yet told them to fill the jars with water, as if her request had already been granted. \u00a0That is the sense in which St. John Chrysostom understood it; for, explaining these words of our Lord, Woman, what is it to thee and me?<\/em> he says, that \u201cthough Jesus answered thus, yet in honour of His Mother He obeyed her wish.\u201d \u00a0This is confirmed by St. Thomas, who says that by the words, My hour is not yet come, <\/em>Jesus Christ intended to show, that had the request come from any other, He would not then have complied with it; but because it was addressed to Him by His Mother, He could not refuse it. \u00a0St. Cyril and St. Jerome, quoted by Barrada, say the same thing. \u00a0Also Gandavensis, on the foregoing passage of St. John, says, that \u201cto honour His Mother, our Lord anticipated the time for working miracles.\u201d<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p>

Spiritual Reading:\u00a0 \u201cWHAT GOD CAN DO BY HIS POWER, HIS MOTHER CAN DO BY HER PRAYERS\u201d<\/em><\/b><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0\u00a0 MARY, OUR ADVOCATE, DEFENDS THE CAUSE OF EVEN THE MOST MISERABLE<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mary is so tender an advocate that she does not refuse to defend the cause of even the most miserable. \u00a0So many are the reasons we have for loving this our most loving Queen, that if Mary was praised throughout the world; if in every sermon Mary alone was spoken of; if all men gave their lives for Mary; still all would be little in comparison with the homage and gratitude we owe her in return for the tender love she bears to men, and even to the most miserable sinners who preserve the slightest spark of devotion for her.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Blessed Haymond Jordano, who, out of humility, called himself Idiota, used to say that \u201cMary knows not how to do otherwise than love those who love her; and that even she does not disdain to serve those who serve her; and in favour of such a one, should he be a sinner, she uses all her power in order to obtain his forgiveness from her Blessed Son.\u201d \u00a0And he adds that her benignity and mercy are so great, that no one, however enormous his sins may be, should fear to cast himself at her feet; for she never can reject any one who has recourse to her.\u201d \u00a0Mary, as our most loving advocate, herself offers the prayers of her servants to God, and especially those which are placed in her hands; for as the Son intercedes for us with the Father, so does she intercede with the Son, and does not cease to make interest with both for the great affair of our salvation, and to obtain for us the graces we ask.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 With good reason, then, does Denis the Carthusian call the Blessed Virgin the special refuge of the lost, the life of the miserable, the advocate of all sinners who have recourse to her.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O great Mother of my Lord, I see full well that my ingratitude towards God and thee, and this too for so many years, has merited for me that thou shouldst justly abandon me, and no longer have a care of me, for an ungrateful soul is no longer worthy of favours. \u00a0But I, O Lady, have a high idea of thy great goodness; I believe it to be far greater than my ingratitude.\u00a0 Continue, then, O Refuge of sinners, and cease not to help a miserable sinner who confides in thee. \u00a0O Mother of mercy, deign to extend a helping hand to a poor fallen wretch who asks thee for pity. \u00a0O Mary, either defend me thyself, or tell me to whom I can have recourse, and who is better able to defend me than thou, and where I can find with God a more clement and powerful advocate than thou, who art His Mother. \u00a0Thou, in becoming the Mother of our Saviour, wast thereby made the fitting instrument to save sinners, and wast given me for my salvation. \u00a0O Mary, save him who has recourse to thee.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\u21d1 \u00a0<\/a>CONTENIDO<\/a>
<\/em>\u21d0 TWENTIETH WEEK AFTER <\/em>PEN<\/em>TECOST<\/em><\/a>
\u21d2 TWENTY-SECOND WEEK AFTER <\/em>PENTECOST\u00c9S<\/em><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VOLUME IV – PART II, pp. 155-206 TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST Morning Meditation:\u00a0 GOD WILL PUNISH SINNERS \u201cIN THE FULNESS OF THEIR SINS\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0When God, at length, sees that we will not respond to benefits, nor threats, nor … Seguir leyendo <\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4884,"parent":0,"menu_order":107,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11274","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11274"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11450,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11274\/revisions\/11450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}