{"id":5494,"date":"2024-12-18T00:24:37","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T00:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/?page_id=5494"},"modified":"2026-01-11T15:46:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T15:46:25","slug":"daily-meditations-third-week-of-advent","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/daily-meditations-third-week-of-advent\/","title":{"rendered":"MEDITACIONES DIARIAS: TERCERA SEMANA DE ADVIENTO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\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 ONE - PART I, pp. 110-168<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 LA ALEGR\u00cdA DE LA VENIDA DE JES\u00daS<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Alegraos en el Se\u00f1or siempre: otra vez digo: alegraos. El Se\u00f1or est\u00e1 cerca.<\/em> - (Ep\u00edstola del domingo, Felipe. iv., 4, 7).
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Consolaos, consolaos, oh hombres, dice Jehov\u00e1 por boca de Isa\u00edas:\u00a0Consolaos, consolaos, pueblo m\u00edo, dice vuestro Dios. Hablad al coraz\u00f3n de Jerusal\u00e9n y llamadla; porque su mal ha llegado a su fin; su iniquidad ha sido perdonada<\/em>. - (Is. xl. 1). Dios ha descubierto una manera de salvar al hombre, mientras que al mismo tiempo Su Justicia y Su Misericordia ser\u00e1n satisfechas.\u00a0 Justicia y Paz se han besado<\/em>. - (Sal. lxxxiv., 11).<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:<\/b>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Hablando de la venida del Redentor, Isa\u00edas hizo esta predicci\u00f3n:\u00a0La tierra desolada e intransitable se alegrar\u00e1, y el desierto se regocijar\u00e1 y florecer\u00e1 como el lirio.<\/em> \u2014 (Is. xxxv., 1).\u00a0 The Prophet had been speaking of the pagans (among whom were our own unfortunate ancestors) who were living in heathendom, as in a desert land void of a single man that knew or worshipped the true God, but peopled only with those who were slaves of the devil \u2013 a land desolado e intransitable<\/em>porque no exist\u00eda ning\u00fan camino de salvaci\u00f3n conocido por aquellas desdichadas gentes. Predijo que el mundo, aunque tan miserable entonces, se regocijar\u00eda con la venida del Mes\u00edas, y se ver\u00eda lleno de seguidores del Dios verdadero, fortalecidos por su gracia contra todos los enemigos de su salvaci\u00f3n; y que toda la tierra florecer\u00eda como el lirio por la pureza de las costumbres y el dulce olor de todas las virtudes. Por lo cual Isa\u00edas procede a decir: Di a los d\u00e9biles de coraz\u00f3n: \u00a1\u00c1nimo y no tem\u00e1is! Dios mismo vendr\u00e1 y os salvar\u00e1.<\/em> - (Ibid. 4).
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Este mismo acontecimiento, predicho por Isa\u00edas, ya ha sucedido. Aclamad, pues, con alegr\u00eda: \u00a1Adelante con alegr\u00eda, oh hijos de Ad\u00e1n! \u00a1Sigan adelante con alegr\u00eda! \u00a1No se\u00e1is m\u00e1s pusil\u00e1nimes! Aunque os ve\u00e1is d\u00e9biles e incapaces de hacer frente a tantos enemigos, Fear not!\u00a0 God Himself will come and save you!<\/em>\u00a0 Dios mismo ha venido a la tierra, y nos ha redimido, imparti\u00e9ndonos fuerza suficiente para combatir y vencer a todo enemigo de nuestra salvaci\u00f3n.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh, feliz de m\u00ed, si de hoy en adelante podr\u00e9 decir siempre con el Sagrado Esposo:\u00a0\u00a1Mi amado para m\u00ed y yo para \u00e9l!<\/em> \u2014 (Cant. ii., 16).\u00a0 My God, my Beloved has given Himself all to me.\u00a0 It is but reasonable for me to give myself all to my God, and to say: \u00a1Qu\u00e9 tengo en el cielo y adem\u00e1s de ti qu\u00e9 deseo en la tierra!<\/em> - (Sal. lxxii., 25). Oh, mi amado Ni\u00f1o, mi querido Redentor, ya que has bajado del Cielo para entregarte a m\u00ed, \u00bfqu\u00e9 otra cosa puedo desear o buscar en el Cielo o en la tierra aparte de Ti, que eres mi Bien Soberano, mi \u00fanico Tesoro, el Para\u00edso de las almas? S\u00e9 T\u00fa, pues, el \u00fanico Se\u00f1or de mi coraz\u00f3n y haz que lo poseas por entero. Que mi coraz\u00f3n s\u00f3lo Te obedezca a Ti. Que mi alma s\u00f3lo Te ame a Ti y que s\u00f3lo T\u00fa seas su porci\u00f3n. Am\u00e9n.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You have no grounds for being sad any more, says St. Leo, on account of the sentence of death fulminated against you, now that Life itself is born for you; \u201cnor is there any lawful room for sadness when it is the Birthday of Life.\u201d \u00a0And St. Augustine exclaims: \u201cO sweet day for penitents! \u00a0To-day sin is taken away and shall the sinner despair!\u201d \u00a0Speed on then with gladness, O ye souls that love God and hope in God, speed on your way with gladness! \u00a0What if Adam\u2019s sin and still more our own sins, have wrought sad ruin on us? \u00a0Let us understand that Jesus Christ, by the Redemption, has infinitely more than repaired our ruin. \u00a0Where sin abounded, grace did more abound. \u2014 <\/em>(Rom. v., 20).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Lord said: I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly. \u2014 <\/em>(John x., 10). \u00a0I am come to give life to men and a more abundant measure than that which they had lost by sin. \u00a0Not as the offence, so also the gift. \u2014 <\/em>(Rom. v., 15). \u00a0Great has been man\u2019s sin; but greater, says the Apostle, has been the gift of Redemption. \u00a0And with him plentiful redemption. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. cxxix.; 7). \u00a0For this reason the Church styles the fault of Adam a happy fault<\/em>: \u201cO happy fault which deserved to have such and so great a Redeemer!\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, how much more are we bound to thank God for having brought us into life after the coming of the Messias! \u00a0How did the Prophets and the Patriarchs of the Old Testament long to see the Redeemer born! \u00a0But they saw Him not! \u00a0Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just! <\/em>\u2014 (Is. xlv., 8), was their incessant exclamation. \u00a0Send forth, O Lord, the Lamb, the Ruler of the earth!<\/em> \u00a0Such were the longing exclamations of the Saints! \u00a0But for all that, during the space of four thousand years they had not the happy lot to see the Messias born. \u00a0We, however, have had this happiness! \u00a0But what are we doing? \u00a0Do we know how to love this amiable Redeemer? \u00a0Very great would be your ingratitude to your God, O Christian soul, if you were not to love Him, after He has been pleased to be bound in swaddling-clothes that you may be released from the chains of hell; after He has become poor that you may be made partaker of His riches; after He has made Himself weak to give you strength against your enemies; after He has chosen to suffer and weep, that by His tears your sins may be washed away.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O sweet Infant, give me Thy love and then do with me what Thou wilt. \u00a0I was once a slave of hell, but now that I am free from those unhappy chains, I consecrate myself entirely to Thee. \u00a0I give Thee my body, my goods, my life, my soul, my will and my liberty. \u00a0I desire no longer to belong to myself, but only to Thee, my only Good! \u00a0Ah, bind my heart to Thy feet, that it may no more stray from Thee! \u00a0O most holy Mary, obtain for me the grace of living united to thy Son by the blessed chains of love. \u00a0He grants all that thou askest.\u00a0 Pray to Him! \u00a0Pray to Him for me! \u00a0This is my hope.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 \"EL CAMINO DEL SE\u00d1OR\"<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 EL AMOR DE JES\u00daS POR NOSOTROS AL HACERSE HOMBRE<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The charity of Christ presseth us. \u2014 <\/em>(2 Cor. v., 14).\u00a0 It was not enough, says St. Augustine, for the Divine Love to have made us to His own Image in creating the first man, Adam, but He must also Himself be made to our image in redeeming us. \u00a0Adam partook of the forbidden fruit, beguiled by the serpent which suggested to Eve that if she ate of that fruit she should become like to God, acquiring the knowledge of good and evil; and therefore the Lord then said: Behold, Adam is become one of us! <\/em>\u2014 (Gen. iii., 2).\u00a0 God said this ironically, and to upbraid Adam for his vast presumption. \u00a0But after the Incarnation of the Word we can truly say: \u201cBehold, God has become one of us!\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLook, then, O man,\u201d exclaims St. Augustine, \u201cthy God is made thy Brother!\u201d \u00a0Thy God is made like to thee, a Son of Adam, as thou art; He has put on the self-same flesh, has made Himself passible, liable as thou art to suffer and to die. \u00a0He could have assumed the nature of an Angel, but no, He would take upon Himself thy very flesh, that thus He might give satisfaction to God with the very same flesh, though sinless, of Adam the sinner. \u00a0And He even gloried in this, oftentimes styling Himself the Son of Man.<\/em> \u00a0Hence we have every right to call Him our Brother.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was an immeasurably greater humiliation for God to become a Man than if all the princes of the earth, and all the Angels and Saints of Heaven, with the divine Mother herself, had been turned into a blade of grass, or into a handful of clay; yes, for grass, clay, princes, Angels, Saints, are all creatures;<\/em> but between the creature<\/em> y God<\/em> there is an infinite difference.<\/em> \u00a0Ah, exclaims St. Bernard, the more God has humbled Himself for us in becoming Man, so much the more has He made His goodness known to us: \u201cThe smaller<\/em> He has become by humility, the greater<\/em> He has made Himself in bounty.\u201d \u00a0But the love which Jesus Christ bears to us, exclaims the Apostle, irresistibly urges and impels us to love Him: The charity of Christ presseth us.
<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Let us say with St. Augustine: \"<\/em>O Fire, ever burning, inflame me.\u201d \u00a0O Word Incarnate, Thou wert made Man to enkindle divine love in our hearts: and how couldst Thou have met with such a want of gratitude in the hearts of men? \u00a0Thou hast spared nothing to induce them to love Thee; Thou hast even gone so far as to give Thy Blood and Thy life for them: and how, then, can men still remain so ungrateful? \u00a0Do they, perchance, not know it? \u00a0Yes, they know it, and they believe that for them Thou didst come down from Heaven to put on mortal flesh, and to load Thyself with our miseries; they know that for their love Thou didst lead a painful life, and embrace an ignominious death; and how, then, can they live forgetful of Thee? \u00a0They love relatives, friends; they love even animals: if from them they receive any token of good-will they are anxious to repay it; and yet towards Thee alone are they so loveless and ungrateful.\u00a0 But, alas! in accusing them, I am my own accuser; I who have treated Thee worse than anyone else.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O God! did not Faith assure us of it, who could ever believe that a God, for love of such a worm as man is, should Himself become a worm like him? \u00a0A devout author says: Suppose, by chance, that, passing on your way, you should have crushed to death a worm in your path; and then some one, observing your compassion for the poor reptile, should say to you: \u2018Well, now, if you would restore that dead worm to life, you must first yourself become a worm like it, and then must shed all your blood, and make a bath of it in which to wash the worm, and it shall revive\u2019 \u2013 what would you reply?\u00a0 You would surely say: \u2018And what matters it to me whether the worm be alive or dead, if I should have to purchase its life by my own death?\u2019 \u00a0And the more would you say so if it was not a harmless worm, but an ungrateful asp, which, in return for all your benefits, had made an attempt upon your life. \u00a0But even should your love for that reptile reach so far as to induce you to suffer death in order to restore it to life, what would men say then? \u00a0And what would not that serpent do for you whose death had saved it, supposing it were capable of reason? \u00a0But this much has Jesus Christ done for you, most vile worm; and you, with the blackest ingratitude, have tried oftentimes to take away His life; and your sins would have done so, were Jesus liable to die again.\u00a0 How much viler are you in the sight of God than is a worm in your own sight! \u00a0What difference would it make to God had you remained dead and forever reprobate in your sins, as you well deserved? \u00a0Nevertheless, this God had such a love for you that, to release you from eternal death, He first became a worm like you; and then, to save you, would lavish upon you His Heart\u2019s Blood, even to the last drop, and endure the death which you had justly deserved. \u00a0Yes, all this is of Faith: And the Word was made flesh. \u2014 <\/em>(John i., 14). \u00a0He hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. <\/em>\u2014 (Apoc. i., 5).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O my Jesus, Thy Goodness encourages me! \u00a0I am well aware, my Redeemer, that my heart is no longer worthy of Thy acceptance, since it has forsaken Thee for the love of creatures; but, at the same time, I see that Thou art willing to have it, and with my entire will I dedicate it and present it to Thee. \u00a0Inflame it, then, wholly with Thy divine love, and grant that from this day forward it may never love any other but Thee, O infinite Goodness, worthy of an infinite love. \u00a0I love Thee, my Jesus; I love Thee, O Sovereign Good! \u00a0I love Thee, O only Love of my soul!
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Mary, my Mother, thou who art the mother of fair love \u2014 <\/em>(Ecclus. xxiv., 24), do thou obtain for me this grace to love my God; I hope it of thee.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0\u00a0CONSIDERACIONES SOBRE EL ESTADO RELIGIOSO - VI<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Considera la paz que Dios da a los buenos religiosos.
<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 Santa Teresa dec\u00eda que una gota de consuelo celestial vale m\u00e1s que todas las delicias del mundo. Oh, qu\u00e9 contento no encuentra quien, habi\u00e9ndolo dejado todo por Dios, es capaz de decir con San Francisco: \"\u00a1Deus meus et omnia!\" - \u00a1Mi Dios y mi Todo! - libre de la esclavitud del mundo y gozando de la libertad de los Hijos de Dios.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:<\/b>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Las promesas de Dios no pueden fallar. Dios ha dicho: Todo el que haya dejado casa, o hermanos, o hermanas, o padre o madre, o mujer, o hijos, o tierras por mi nombre, recibir\u00e1 cien veces m\u00e1s, y poseer\u00e1 la vida eterna.<\/em> - (Mat. xix., 29). Es decir, el ciento por uno en esta tierra, y la vida eterna en el Cielo.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0La paz del alma tiene m\u00e1s valor que todos los reinos del mundo. \u00bfDe qu\u00e9 sirve dominar el mundo entero sin paz interior? Mejor es ser el campesino m\u00e1s pobre de la tierra y estar contento, que ser el se\u00f1or de todo el mundo y vivir descontento. Pero, \u00bfqui\u00e9n puede dar esta paz? \u00bfEl mundo? Oh no, la paz es una bendici\u00f3n que s\u00f3lo se obtiene de Dios. \"\u00a1Oh Dios!\", reza la Iglesia, \"da a tus siervos esa paz que el mundo no puede dar\". Se le llama el Dios de todo consuelo<\/em>. - (2 Cor. i., 3). Pero si Dios es el \u00fanico Dador de paz, \u00bfa qui\u00e9n, piensa usted, dar\u00e1 esa paz sino a aquellos que lo dejan todo, y se desprenden de todas las criaturas, para entregarse enteramente a su Creador? Y por eso vemos a los buenos Religiosos encerrados en sus celdas, mortificados, despreciados y pobres, pero viviendo una vida m\u00e1s contenta que los grandes del mundo, con todas las riquezas, las pompas y las diversiones de que gozan.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Santa Escol\u00e1stica dec\u00eda que si los hombres conocieran la paz de que gozan los buenos religiosos, el mundo entero se convertir\u00eda en un monasterio; y Santa Mar\u00eda Magdalena de Pazzi dec\u00eda que si los hombres la conocieran escalar\u00edan los muros para entrar en los monasterios. Habiendo sido creado el coraz\u00f3n humano para un Bien infinito, las criaturas finitas no pueden contentarlo. S\u00f3lo Dios, que es un Bien infinito, puede colmarlo: Del\u00e9itate en el Se\u00f1or y \u00e9l te conceder\u00e1 la petici\u00f3n de tu coraz\u00f3n.<\/em> - (Sal. xxxvi., 4). Oh no; un buen religioso unido a Dios no envidia a ninguno de los pr\u00edncipes del mundo que poseen reinos, riquezas y honores. \"Que los ricos\", dir\u00e1 con San Paulino, \"tengan sus riquezas, los reyes sus reinos, para m\u00ed Cristo es mi reino y mi gloria\". Ver\u00e1 a los amantes del mundo gloriarse tontamente en la pompa y la vanidad; pero \u00e9l, procurando desprenderse m\u00e1s de las cosas terrenas y unirse m\u00e1s estrechamente a Dios, vivir\u00e1 contento en esta vida, y bien podr\u00e1 decir: Unos conf\u00edan en carros y otros en caballos, pero nosotros invocamos el nombre del Se\u00f1or, nuestro Dios.<\/em>. - (Sal. xix., 8).
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a1Oh Se\u00f1or y Dios m\u00edo, mi Todo! S\u00e9 que s\u00f3lo T\u00fa puedes hacerme feliz en esta vida y en la otra. Pero no Te amar\u00e9 para contentarme a M\u00ed mismo; Te amar\u00e9 para contentar a Tu divino Coraz\u00f3n. Deseo que \u00e9sta sea mi paz, mi \u00fanica satisfacci\u00f3n durante toda mi vida, unir mi voluntad a Tu santa voluntad, aunque para ello tenga que sufrir dolor. T\u00fa eres mi Dios, yo soy tu criatura.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 St. Teresa used to say that one drop of heavenly consolation is worth more than all the delights of the world. \u00a0Father Charles of Lorraine, having become a Religious, said that God, by one moment of the happiness that He gave him to feel in Religion, superabundantly paid him for all be had left for God. \u00a0Hence his jubilation was sometimes so great that, when alone in his cell, he could not help dancing for very joy. \u00a0The Blessed Seraphino of Ascoli, a Capuchin Lay-brother, said that he would not exchange a foot length of his cord for all the kingdoms of the world.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, what contentment does he not find, who, having left all for God is able to say with St. Francis: \u201cMy God and my All!\u201d and to see himself thus freed from the servitude of the world, from the thraldom of worldly fashion, and from all purely earthly affections. \u00a0This is the liberty enjoyed by the children of God, and such good Religious are. \u00a0It is true that in the beginning, the deprivation of the reunions and pastimes of the world, the observances in Community and of the Rules, seem to be thorns; but these thorns, as Our Lord said to St. Bridget, will all become flowers and delights of Paradise to him who courageously bears their first prickles, and then he will taste on earth that peace which, St. Paul says, surpasseth all the gratification of the senses, the enjoyments of feasts, of banquets, and other pleasures of the world: The peace of God which surpasseth all understanding. \u2014 <\/em>(Phil, iv., 7). \u00a0And what greater peace can there be than to know that one pleases God?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And what greater good can I hope for than to please Thee, my Lord and my God, Who hast been so partial in Thy love towards me. \u00a0Thou, O my Jesus, hast left Heaven to live for love of me a poor and mortified life. \u00a0I leave all to live only for Thee, my most Blessed Redeemer. \u00a0I love Thee with my whole heart. \u00a0If only Thou wilt give me the grace to love Thee, treat me as Thou pleasest.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Mary, Mother of God, protect me and render me like to thee, not in thy glory which I do not deserve, but in pleasing God, and obeying His Holy Will, as thou didst. \u00a0Amen.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0\u00a0CONSEJOS SOBRE LA VOCACI\u00d3N RELIGIOSA:\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>VII. - DESVINCULACI\u00d3N<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 JES\u00daS ES LA FUENTE DE LA GRACIA<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ye shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour\u2019s fountains. \u2014 <\/em>(Is. xii., 3).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Consider the four Fountains of grace that we have in Jesus Christ, as contemplated by St. Bernard.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The first is that of Mercy, in which we can wash ourselves from all the filthiness of our sins. \u00a0This fountain was provided for us by our Redeemer with His tears and His Blood: He loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. \u2014 <\/em>(Apoc. i., 5).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The second Fountain is that of Peace and Consolation in our tribulations: Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will console thee. <\/em>\u2014 (Ps. xlix., 15). \u00a0He that thirsteth, let him come to me,<\/em> says Jesus. \u2014 (John vii., 37). \u00a0He that thirsteth for true consolations even in this world, let him come to me, for I will satisfy him. \u00a0He that once tastes the sweetness of My love will forever disdain all the delights of the world: But he that shall drink of the water that I will give him shall not thirst forever. \u2014 <\/em>(John iv., 13). \u00a0And thoroughly contented will he be when he shall enter into the kingdom of the blessed, for the water of My grace shall raise him from earth to Heaven.\u00a0 It will become in him a fountain of water springing up into life everlasting. \u2014 <\/em>(Ibid. 14). \u00a0The peace which God gives to souls that love Him is not the peace that the world promises from sensual pleasures, which leave behind more bitterness than peace: the peace which God bestows exceeds all the delights of the senses: Peace which surpasseth all understanding. \u00a0Blessed are those who long for this divine fountain. \u00a0Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice. \u2014 <\/em>(Matt, v., 6).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O my sweet and dearest Saviour, how much do I not owe Thee? \u00a0How much hast Thou not obliged me to love Thee, since Thou hast done for me what no servant would have done for his master, no son for his father. \u00a0If Thou, therefore, hast loved me more than any other, it is just that I should love Thee above all others. \u00a0I could wish to die of sorrow at the thought that Thou hast suffered so much for me, and that Thou even didst accept for my sake the most painful and ignominious death that a man could endure, and yet I have so often despised Thy friendship. \u00a0But Thy merits are my hope.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The third Fountain is that of Devotion. \u00a0Oh, how devoted and ready to follow the divine inspiration and increase always in virtue does not he become who often meditates on all that Jesus Christ has done for our sake!\u00a0 He will be like the tree planted by a stream of water.\u00a0 He shall be like a tree that is planted near the running waters. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. i., 3).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The fourth Fountain is that of Charity. \u00a0In my meditation a fire shall flame out. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. xxxviii., 4). \u00a0It is impossible to meditate on the sufferings and ignominy borne by Jesus Christ for the love of us and not to feel inflamed by that blessed fire which He came upon earth to kindle. \u00a0How true it is then, that he who betakes himself to these blessed Fountains of Jesus Christ will always draw from them waters of joy and salvation!\u00a0 You shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour’s Fountains.
<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ah, my dear Jesus, I too desire to be reckoned amongst the number of Thy lovers. \u00a0I now esteem Thy grace above all the kingdoms of the earth. \u00a0I love Thee, and for Thy love I accept every suffering, even death itself.\u00a0 And if I am not worthy to die for Thy glory by the hand of executioners, I accept willingly, at least, that death which Thou hast determined for me; I accept it in the manner and at the time that Thou shalt choose. \u00a0My Mother Mary, do thou obtain for me the grace always to live and die, loving Jesus.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0\u00a0CONSIDERACIONES SOBRE EL ESTADO RELIGIOSO - VII<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Piense en el da\u00f1o que la tibieza causa a los religiosos.
<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Las almas negligentes son com\u00fanmente abandonadas por Dios. Santa Teresa vio el lugar preparado para ella en el infierno si no se hubiera desprendido de cierto afecto mundano que, sin embargo, no era sino ligeramente culpable.\u00a0 El que desprecia las cosas peque\u00f1as caer\u00e1 por poco y poco.<\/em> - (Ecclus. xix., 1).<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:<\/b>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Considera la miseria del Religioso que, despu\u00e9s de haber dejado su casa, sus padres y el mundo con todos sus placeres, y despu\u00e9s de haberse entregado a Jesucristo, consagr\u00e1ndole su voluntad y su libertad, se expone al peligro de condenarse llevando una vida tibia y negligente. No est\u00e1 lejos de la perdici\u00f3n el Religioso que, llamado a la Casa de Dios para ser Santo, lleva una vida tibia. Dios amenaza con rechazar y abandonar a tales Religiosos si no se enmiendan: Pero como eres tibio comenzar\u00e9 a vomitarte de mi boca.<\/em> - (Apoc. iii., 16).
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0San Ignacio de Loyola, viendo que un Hermano Seglar de la Compa\u00f1\u00eda se hab\u00eda vuelto tibio en el servicio de Dios, le llam\u00f3 un d\u00eda y le dijo: \"Dime, hermano m\u00edo, \u00bfpor qu\u00e9 entraste en Religi\u00f3n?\". \u00c9l respondi\u00f3: \"Para servir a Dios\". \"\u00a1Oh hermano m\u00edo!\" replic\u00f3 el Santo, \"\u00bfqu\u00e9 has dicho? Si hubieras respondido que hab\u00edas venido a servir a un Cardenal, o a un pr\u00edncipe de esta tierra, ser\u00edas m\u00e1s excusable; pero dices que has venido a servir a Dios, \u00bfy es as\u00ed como le sirves?\". El padre Nieremberg dice que algunos son llamados por Dios para salvarse como santos, y que si no se cuidan de vivir como santos, sino pensando salvarse como cristianos imperfectos, no se salvar\u00e1n en absoluto. Y San Agust\u00edn dice que los tales son, en la mayor\u00eda de los casos, abandonados por Dios: \"Dios acostumbra a abandonar a las almas negligentes\". \u00bfY c\u00f3mo las abandona? Permiti\u00e9ndoles que de faltas leves, que ven y no enmiendan, caigan en otras graves, pierdan la gracia divina y su Vocaci\u00f3n. Santa Teresa de Jes\u00fas vio el lugar que le estaba preparado en el infierno, si no se hubiera desprendido de un afecto terreno, aunque no gravemente pecaminoso.\u00a0 El que menosprecia las cosas peque\u00f1as, poco a poco caer\u00e1.<\/em>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Muchos desean seguir a Jesucristo como San Pedro, que cuando su Maestro fue arrestado en el huerto, dice San Mateo,\u00a0le segu\u00eda de lejos<\/em>. - (Mat. xxvi., 58). Pero haci\u00e9ndolo as\u00ed les suceder\u00e1 f\u00e1cilmente lo que le sucedi\u00f3 a San Pedro, a saber: que, llegada la ocasi\u00f3n, neg\u00f3 a Jesucristo. Un religioso tibio se contentar\u00e1 con lo poco que haga por Dios; pero Dios, que le llam\u00f3 a una vida perfecta, no se contentar\u00e1, y, en castigo de su ingratitud, no s\u00f3lo le privar\u00e1 de favores especiales, sino que a veces permitir\u00e1 su ca\u00edda. \"Cuando dices: Basta, est\u00e1s perdido\", dice Agust\u00edn. La higuera del Evangelio fue arrojada al fuego s\u00f3lo porque no dio fruto.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Dios m\u00edo, no me rechaces, como merezco, porque enmendar\u00e9 mi vida. S\u00e9 muy bien que una vida negligente como la m\u00eda no puede satisfacerte. S\u00e9 que con mi tibieza he cerrado la puerta de mi coraz\u00f3n a las gracias que T\u00fa quer\u00edas concederme. Oh Se\u00f1or, no me abandones todav\u00eda por un tiempo; me levantar\u00e9 de mi miserable estado. En lo sucesivo pondr\u00e9 m\u00e1s cuidado en vencer mis pasiones, en seguir tus inspiraciones, y nunca por pereza omitir\u00e9 mis deberes; los cumplir\u00e9 con mayor diligencia. En resumen, de ahora en adelante har\u00e9 todo lo que pueda para complacerte, y no descuidar\u00e9 nada de lo que s\u00e9 que te agrada.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Father Louis de Ponte said: \u201cI have committed many faults, but I have never made peace with them.\u201d \u00a0Miserable is the Religious who, being called to perfection, makes peace with his defects. \u00a0As long as we detest our imperfections, there is hope that we may become Saints; but when we commit faults and make little of them, then, says St. Bernard, the hope of becoming Saints is lost. \u00a0He who soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly. \u2014 <\/em>(2 Cor. ix., 6). \u00a0Ordinary graces do not suffice to make one a Saint; extraordinary ones are necessary. \u00a0But how shall God be liberal with His favours to one who acts sparingly and with reserve in his love for Him?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Moreover, to become a Saint, one must have courage and strength to overcome all repugnances; and let no one ever believe, says St. Bernard, that he will be able to attain to perfection unless he distinguishes himself in the practice of virtue: \u201cWhat is perfect,<\/em> cannot but be singular.\u201d<\/em> \u00a0Reflect, my brother, for what have you left the world and all it can give? \u00a0It was to become a Saint.\u00a0 But that lukewarm and imperfect life which you lead, is that the way of becoming a Saint? \u00a0St. Teresa animated her daughters by saying to them: \u201cMy sisters, you have done the principal thing necessary to become Saints; the lesser remains yet to be done.\u201d \u00a0The same I say to you; you have, perhaps, done the chief part already; you have left your country, your parents, and home, your property and your amusements, the lesser part now remains to be done to become a Saint. \u00a0Do it.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Since Thou, O my Jesus! hast been so liberal with Thy graces towards me, and hast deigned to give Thy Blood and Thy life for me, why should I act with such reserve towards Thee? \u00a0Thou art worthy of all honour and love, and to please Thee one ought gladly to undergo every labour, and suffer every pain. \u00a0But, O my Redeemer, Thou knowest my weakness, help me by Thy powerful grace; in Thee I confide. \u00a0O immaculate Virgin Mary, thou who hast helped me to leave the world, help me to overcome myself and to become a Saint.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0\u00a0CONSEJOS SOBRE LA VOCACI\u00d3N RELIGIOSA:\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

VIII. - DESVINCULACI\u00d3N (continuaci\u00f3n)<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 JES\u00daS, M\u00c9DICO CARITATIVO DE NUESTRAS ALMAS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But unto you the sun of justice shall rise, and health in his wings. \u2014 <\/em>(Mal. iv., 2).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Your Physician shall come, says the Prophet, to cure the infirm; and He will come swiftly like the bird that flies, and like the sun, which, on rising above the horizon, instantly sends its light to the other pole. \u00a0But behold Him, He is already come. \u00a0Let us console ourselves, and return thanks to Him.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 St. Augustine says: \u201cHe descends even to the bed of the sick\u201d; that is to say, even to taking our flesh, for our bodies are the beds of our infirm souls.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Physicians, if they love their patients, do indeed make every possible effort to cure them; but what physician, in order to cure the sick man, ever took upon himself his disease? \u00a0Jesus Christ is truly that Physician, Who took on Himself our infirmities in order to cure them. \u00a0Neither would He content Himself with sending another in His place, but He chose to come Himself to fulfil this charitable office in order to gain to Himself all our love.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Praised and blessed for ever be Thy Charity, O my Redeemer! \u00a0And what would become of my soul, so infirm and afflicted with the many wounds of my sins, if I had not Thee, my Jesus, Who art both able and willing to heal me? \u00a0O Blood of my Saviour, I trust in Thee! \u00a0Wash me and heal me.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows. <\/em>\u2014 (Is. liii., 4). \u00a0He was pleased to heal our wounds with His own Blood, and by His death deliver us from eternal death which we had deserved. \u00a0In short, He chose to take the bitter medicine of a life of continual sufferings and a painful death to obtain life for us, and to deliver us from our many ills.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The chalice which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? \u2014 <\/em>(John xviii., 11), He said to Peter. \u00a0It was necessary then that Jesus Christ should embrace so many ignominies to heal our pride; that He should embrace such a life of poverty to cure our covetousness; that He should suffer a sea of torments, so as to die of pure agony to cure our eagerness for sensual pleasures.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O my Love, I repent of having offended Thee. \u00a0Thou hast led a life of such tribulations and hast died such a bitter death to prove to me the love which Thou bearest me! \u00a0I would fain show Thee also how much I love Thee, but what can I do \u2013 I am so infirm, so miserable and so weak? \u00a0O God of my soul Thou art Omnipotent; Thou canst cure me and make me holy. \u00a0Oh, kindle in me a great desire of pleasing Thee. \u00a0I renounce all my satisfactions to please Thee my Redeemer, Who dost deserve to be pleased at all cost. \u00a0O Sovereign Good, I esteem Thee and love Thee above every good; make me love Thee with all my heart, and always implore Thy love.\u00a0 Hitherto I have offended Thee, and have not loved Thee, because I have not sought Thy love. \u00a0I now beg this love of Thee, and the grace always to ask it of Thee.\u00a0 Hear me, by the merits of Thy Passion.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Mary, my Mother, thou art always prepared to listen to him that prays to thee. \u00a0Thou lovest him that loves thee. \u00a0I love thee, my Queen. \u00a0Obtain for me the grace to love God, and I ask for nothing more. \u00a0Amen.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0\u00a0CONSIDERACIONES SOBRE EL ESTADO RELIGIOSO - VIII<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Considera cu\u00e1n querida es para Dios un alma que se entrega enteramente a \u00c9l.
<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0El Hijo de Dios ya se ha entregado enteramente a nosotros.\u00a0 Un Ni\u00f1o nos ha nacido, y un Hijo se nos ha dado<\/em>. \u00c9l se nos ha dado por el amor que nos tiene. Cuando Santa Teresa se entreg\u00f3 a Jes\u00fas, el Se\u00f1or le dijo: \"Ahora porque t\u00fa eres toda m\u00eda, yo soy todo tuyo\".<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:<\/b>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Una es mi paloma, mi perfecta<\/em>. - (Cant. vi., 8). Dios ama a todos los que le aman.\u00a0 Amo a los que me aman<\/em>. - (Prov. viii., 17). Muchos, en efecto, se entregan a Dios, pero conservan en su coraz\u00f3n alg\u00fan apego a las criaturas que les impide pertenecerle enteramente. \u00bfC\u00f3mo, pues, se entregar\u00e1 Dios a un alma que divide su amor entre \u00c9l y las criaturas? Es justo que \u00c9l act\u00fae con reserva hacia aquellos que act\u00faan con reserva hacia \u00c9l. En cambio, se da enteramente a las almas que expulsan de su coraz\u00f3n todo lo que no es para Dios, y que pueden decir verdaderamente: \u00a1Mi Dios y mi Todo!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Santa Teresa, mientras mantuvo un afecto desmedido, aunque no impuro, hacia cierta persona, no pudo o\u00edr de Jesucristo lo que oy\u00f3 despu\u00e9s, cuando, liber\u00e1ndose enteramente al Amor Divino, y Dios le dijo: \"Puesto que ahora eres toda M\u00eda, \u00a1yo soy todo tuyo!\".
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a1Mi amado para m\u00ed y yo para \u00e9l!<\/em> - (Cant. ii., 16). Desde entonces, oh Dios m\u00edo, te has entregado enteramente a m\u00ed. Ser\u00eda ingrato, en verdad, si no me entregara enteramente a Ti; puesto que T\u00fa quieres que te pertenezca enteramente, he aqu\u00ed, oh mi Se\u00f1or, que me entrego enteramente a Ti. Ac\u00e9ptame por tu misericordia y no me desprecies. Haz, Se\u00f1or, que mi coraz\u00f3n, que antes amaba a las criaturas, se vuelva ahora enteramente a tu infinita bondad. \"D\u00e9jame al fin morir\", dec\u00eda Santa Teresa, \"y deja que otro viva en m\u00ed. Que Dios viva en m\u00ed y me d\u00e9 vida. Que \u00c9l reine, y que yo sea su esclava, pues mi alma no desea otra libertad\". Mi coraz\u00f3n es demasiado peque\u00f1o, oh Dios m\u00e1s digno de amor, y es demasiado poco capaz de amarte a Ti, que eres merecedor de un amor infinito. Ser\u00eda, pues, culpable de una injusticia demasiado grande si lo dividiera amando otra cosa que a Ti. Te amo, renuncio a todas las criaturas y me entrego enteramente a Ti, mi Jes\u00fas, mi Salvador, mi Amor, mi Todo.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Consider that the Son of God has not hesitated to give Himself all to us. \u00a0A Child is born to us, and a Son is given to us. \u2014 <\/em>(Is. ix., 6). \u00a0He has given Himself to us through the love He bears us. \u00a0He hath loved us and hath delivered himself for us. \u2014 <\/em>(Eph. v., 2). \u00a0It is, then, just, says St. Chrysostom, that as God has given Himself to you without reserve \u2013 \u201cHe has given thee all, nothing has He left for Himself\u201d \u2013 you should give yourself to God without reserve, and burning with divine love should henceforth sing to Him:<\/p>

Thine wholly will I always be;
Thou has bestowed Thyself on me;
Myself I wholly give to Thee.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 St. Teresa, appearing after her death, revealed to one of her nuns that God loves a soul that, as a spouse, gives herself entirely to Him, more than a thousand who are tepid and imperfect. \u00a0The choir of Seraphim is completed from these generous souls belonging entirely to God. \u00a0The Lord Himself says that He loves a soul that tends to perfection so much that He seems not to love any other: One is my dove, my perfect one is but one. \u2014 <\/em>(Cant, vi., 8). \u00a0Hence Blessed Giles exhorts us: \u201cOne for one \u2014 una uni,\u201d by which he wishes to say that this one soul of ours we ought to give wholly, undivided, to that One Who alone deserves all love, on Whom depends all our good, and Who loves us more than all others love us. \u00a0\u201cLeave all and you shall find all,\u201d says Thomas \u00e0 Kempis. \u00a0Leave all for God and in God you will find all. \u00a0\u201cO soul!\u201d concludes St. Bernard, \u201cbe alone, that you may keep yourself for Him alone.\u201d\u00a0 Keep yourself alone, give no part of your affections to creatures, that you may belong alone to Him Who alone deserves an infinite love, and Whom alone you ought to love.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What have I in heaven, and besides Thee, what do I desire on earth? . . . Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. lxxii., 25). \u00a0I desire nothing, either in this life or in the next, but to possess the treasure of Thy love. \u00a0I am unwilling that creatures should any longer have a place in my heart; Thou alone must be its Master. \u00a0To Thee alone shall it belong for the future. \u00a0Thou only shalt be my God, my repose, my desire, all my love. \u00a0\u201cGive me only Thy love and Thy grace, and I am rich enough.\u201d \u00a0O most holy Virgin Mary obtain for me that I may be faithful to God, and never recall the gift which I have made of myself to Him. \u00a0Amen.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0\u00a0CONSEJOS SOBRE LA VOCACI\u00d3N RELIGIOSA:\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

IX. - DESVINCULACI\u00d3N (continuaci\u00f3n)<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 DIOS HA DADO A SU HIJO UNICO PARA SALVARNOS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles that thou mayest be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth. \u2014 <\/em>(Is. xlix., 6).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Consider how the Eternal Father addressed these words to the Infant Jesus at the instant of His Conception: I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles that thou mayst be my salvation.<\/em> \u00a0My Son, I have given Thee to the world for the Light and Life of all people, in order that Thou mayst procure for them their salvation, which I have as much at heart as if it were My own. \u00a0Thou must, therefore, employ Thyself entirely for the well-being of men. \u00a0\u201cWholly given to man Thou must be wholly spent in his service.\u201d \u2014 (St. Bernard). \u00a0Thou must therefore, at Thy birth, suffer extreme poverty in order that men may become rich: \u201cthat Thou mayst enrich them by Thy poverty.\u201d \u00a0Thou must be sold as a slave to acquire liberty for man; and Thou must be scourged and crucified as a slave to satisfy My justice for the punishment due to man. \u00a0Thou must give Thy Blood and Thy Life to deliver man from eternal death. \u00a0In a word, Thou art no longer Thine own, but Thou belongest to man: A child is born to us, a son is given to us. \u2014 <\/em>(Is. ix., 6). \u00a0Thus, My beloved Son, man will be constrained to love Me, and to be Mine, when he sees that I give Thee, My only-begotten One, entirely to him, and that there is nothing left for Me to give him My dearest Jesus, if it is true (as the Law says) that dominion is acquired by gift, since Thy Father hath given Thee to me, Thou art mine; for me Thou wert born, to me Thou hast been given: A child is born to us, a Son is given to us.<\/em> \u00a0Therefore I may well say: \u201cMy Jesus and my all.\u201d \u00a0Since Thou art mine, everything that belongs to Thee is also mine. \u00a0Of this I am assured by Thy Apostle: How hath he not also with him given us all things. \u2014 <\/em>(Rom. viii., 32). \u00a0Thy Blood is mine, Thy merits are mine, Thy grace is mine, Thy Paradise is mine; and if Thou art mine who shall be able to take Thee from me?\u00a0 \u201cNo man can take God away from me,\u201d joyfully exclaimed the Abbot St. Anthony, and so, too, from this day forth, will I also continually say. \u00a0It is only through my own fault that I can lose Thee and separate myself from Thee; but if in past times I have abandoned Thee and lost Thee, O my Jesus, I now repent of it with all my soul, and I am resolved to lose my life and everything sooner than lose Thee, O infinite Good, and only Love of my soul!<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 God so loved the world!<\/em> \u00a0O infinite love, only worthy of an Infinite God! \u00a0God so loved the world as to give his only begotten son! \u2014 <\/em>(John iii., 16). \u00a0The Infant Jesus, far from being sorrowful at this proposal, is pleased at it, accepts it with love, and exults in it: He hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. lviii., 6), and from the first moment of His Incarnation He gives Himself entirely to man, and embraces with pleasure all the sorrows and ignominy that He must suffer on earth for the love of man. \u00a0These were, says St. Bernard, the mountains and hills that Jesus Christ had to pass with so many labours in order to save man: Behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills. \u2014 <\/em>(Cant, ii., 8).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Here consider that the Divine Father, in sending His Son to be our Redeemer and Mediator between Himself and man, has in a certain sense bound Himself to forgive us and love us, on account of the Covenant He made to receive us into His favour, provided His Son satisfied His Divine justice for us. \u00a0On the other hand, the Divine Word, having accepted the decree of His Father, Who, by sending Him to redeem us, has given Him to us, has also bound Himself to love us; not, indeed, for our own merits, but in order to fulfil the merciful will of His Father.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I thank Thee, Eternal Father, for having given me Thy Son; and since Thou hast given Him entirely to me, I, a miserable sinner, give myself entirely to Thee. \u00a0For the sake of this same Son, accept me, and bind me with the chains of love to my dear Redeemer; but bind me so strongly that I also may be able to say: Who shall separate me from the love of Christ? <\/em>\u2014 (Rom. viii., 35).\u00a0 What good shall there ever be in the world that shall separate me from my Jesus? \u00a0And Thou, my Saviour, if Thou art all mine, know that I am all Thine. \u00a0Dispose of me, and of all that belongs to me, as shall best please Thee. \u00a0And how can I refuse anything to a God Who has not refused me His Blood and His life? \u00a0Mary, my Mother, do thou guard me with thy protection. \u00a0I will no longer be my own. \u00a0I will be all my Saviour\u2019s. \u00a0Do thou help me to be faithful; I trust in thee.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0\u00a0CONSIDERACIONES SOBRE EL ESTADO RELIGIOSO - IX<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Considera que para llegar a ser Santo es necesario tener un gran deseo de santidad<\/em>.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ning\u00fan santo ha llegado a serlo sin tener un gran deseo de santidad. Como las alas son necesarias para volar, as\u00ed los deseos santos son necesarios al alma para avanzar en el camino de la perfecci\u00f3n.\u00a0 Mi coraz\u00f3n est\u00e1 listo, oh Dios, \u00a1mi coraz\u00f3n est\u00e1 listo!<\/em>\u00a0 Dime lo que deseas de m\u00ed. Te obedecer\u00e9 en todo.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:<\/b>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Los deseos santos son necesarios al alma para avanzar en el camino de la perfecci\u00f3n. Para llegar a ser Santo debemos desprendernos de las criaturas, vencer nuestras pasiones, superarnos a nosotros mismos y amar las cruces. Pero para hacer todo esto se requiere mucha fuerza y debemos sufrir mucho.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Pero, \u00bfcu\u00e1l es el efecto de este santo deseo? San Lorenzo Justiniano responde: \"Proporciona fuerza, y hace que el dolor sea m\u00e1s f\u00e1cil de soportar\". De ah\u00ed que el mismo Santo a\u00f1ada que ya ha vencido quien tiene un gran deseo de vencer. \"Gran parte de la victoria es el deseo de vencer\". Quien desea alcanzar la cima de una alta monta\u00f1a, nunca la alcanzar\u00e1 si no tiene el deseo de hacerlo. Esto le dar\u00e1 valor y fuerza para soportar la fatiga de la ascensi\u00f3n; de lo contrario, se detendr\u00e1 al pie, cansado y desanimado.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0San Bernardo afirma que adquirimos la perfecci\u00f3n en proporci\u00f3n al deseo de ella que conservamos en el coraz\u00f3n. Santa Teresa dec\u00eda que Dios ama a las almas generosas que tienen grandes deseos; por lo que la Santa exhortaba a todos diciendo: \"Que nuestros pensamientos sean altos, pues de ah\u00ed vendr\u00e1 nuestro bien. No debemos tener deseos d\u00e9biles, sino tener confianza en Dios, por la cual, poco a poco, alcanzaremos aquella perfecci\u00f3n a que, por la gracia de Dios, llegaron los Santos.\" Fue as\u00ed como los Santos alcanzaron, en poco tiempo, un gran grado de perfecci\u00f3n, y pudieron hacer grandes cosas por Dios: Siendo hecho perfecto en un corto espacio, cumpli\u00f3 mucho tiempo.<\/em> - (Sab. iv., 13). San Luis Gonzaga alcanz\u00f3 en pocos a\u00f1os (s\u00f3lo ten\u00eda veintitr\u00e9s cuando muri\u00f3) tal grado de santidad que Santa Mar\u00eda Magdalena de Pazzi, contempl\u00e1ndolo en esp\u00edritu en el Cielo, dijo que le parec\u00eda, en cierto modo, que no hab\u00eda santo en el Cielo que gozara de mayor gloria que Luis. Ella comprendi\u00f3 al mismo tiempo que \u00e9l hab\u00eda llegado a tan alto grado por el gran deseo que ten\u00eda de amar a Dios tanto como \u00c9l merec\u00eda, y que, viendo esto m\u00e1s all\u00e1 de su poder, el santo joven hab\u00eda sufrido en la tierra un martirio de amor.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a1He aqu\u00ed, oh Dios m\u00edo! Aqu\u00ed estoy.\u00a0 Mi coraz\u00f3n est\u00e1 listo, oh Dios, mi coraz\u00f3n est\u00e1 listo<\/em>. - (Sal. lvi., 8). Mira, estoy dispuesto a hacer todo lo que me pidas.\u00a0 Se\u00f1or, \u00bfqu\u00e9 quieres que haga?<\/em> - (Hechos ix., 6). Dime lo que deseas de m\u00ed. Te obedecer\u00e9 en todo. Siento haber perdido tanto tiempo en el que podr\u00eda haberte complacido, y no lo he hecho. Te agradezco que a\u00fan me des tiempo para hacerlo. Oh no, no perder\u00e9 m\u00e1s tiempo. Quiero y deseo hacerme santo, no para obtener de Ti mayor gloria y m\u00e1s delicias. Lo deseo para amarte m\u00e1s y para agradarte en esta vida y en la otra.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 St. Bernard, when a Religious, was accustomed to say to himself in order to excite his fervour: Bernarde, ad quid venisti? \u2014 \u201c<\/em>Bernard, for what hast thou come hither?\u201d \u00a0I say the same to you: What have you come to the House of God to do? \u00a0Why have you left the world? \u00a0To become a Saint? \u00a0And what are you doing?\u00a0 Why do you lose time? \u00a0Tell me \u2014 do you desire<\/em> to become a Saint? \u00a0If you do not desire<\/em> it, then, certainly, you will never become a Saint. \u00a0If you have not this desire, ask Jesus Christ for it: ask Mary for it. \u00a0And if you have it, take courage, says St. Bernard, for many there are who do not become Saints just because they are not courageous. \u00a0And so, I repeat, let us take courage and great courage. \u00a0Why should we fear? \u00a0Why be cast down? \u00a0Our Blessed Lord Who gave us strength to leave the world, will give us also the grace to embrace the life of a Saint. \u00a0Everything comes to an end. \u00a0Our life, be it a contented or a discontented one, will also come to an end, but eternity will never end. \u00a0That little which we have done for God will alone console us at death and throughout eternity. \u00a0The labour will be short, the crown, which is already in sight, will be immortal. \u00a0How well pleased the Saints are now with all they have suffered for God! \u00a0If sorrow could enter Paradise, the blessed would be sorry only that they neglected to do more for God than they had done, and now they are unable to do it. \u00a0Courage, then, make haste, for there is no time to lose; what can be done to-day we may not be able to do to-morrow. \u00a0St. Bernardine of Sienna used to say that one moment of time is of as great value as God Himself, for at each moment we may gain God, His divine grace, and higher degrees of merit.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Make me, O Lord, to love and please Thee as much as Thou desirest. \u00a0Behold, this is all I ask from Thee, O my God! I will love Thee, I will love Thee; and, in order to love Thee, I offer myself to undergo every fatigue, and to suffer every pain. \u00a0O my Lord, increase in me always this desire, and give me the grace to execute it. \u00a0Of myself I can do nothing, but assisted by Thee I can do all things. \u00a0Eternal Father, for the love of Jesus Christ graciously hear me. \u00a0My Jesus, through the merits of Thy Passion, come to my succour. \u00a0O Mary, my hope! for the love of Jesus Christ, protect me.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0\u00a0CONSEJOS SOBRE LA VOCACI\u00d3N RELIGIOSA:\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

X. - LAS PRUEBAS QUE DEBEMOS ESPERAR EN LA VIDA RELIGIOSA<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 DIOS SE HA HECHO NI\u00d1O PARA GANARSE NUESTRA CONFIANZA Y NUESTRO AMOR<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A child is born to us and a son is given to us. \u2014 <\/em>(Is. ix., 6).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Consider how, after so many centuries, after so many prayers and sighs, the Messias Whom the holy Patriarchs and Prophets were not worthy to see, for Whom the nations sighed, the desire of the eternal hills,<\/em> our Saviour, is come! \u00a0He is already born and has given Himself entirely to us. \u00a0A<\/em> child is born to us, and a son is given to us. \u2014 <\/em>(Is. ix., 6).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Son of God has made Himself little, in order to make us great; He has given Himself to us, in order that we may give ourselves to Him; He is come to show us His love, in order that we may respond to it by giving Him ours. \u00a0Let us, therefore, receive Him with affection; let us love Him, and have recourse to Him in all our necessities.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cA child gives easily,\u201d says St. Bernard; children readily give anything that is asked of them. \u00a0Jesus came into the world as a Child, in order to show Himself ready and willing to give us all good gifts: In whom are hid all treasures. \u2014 <\/em>(Col. ii., 3). \u00a0The Father hath given all things into his hands. \u2014 (<\/em>John iii., 35). \u00a0If we wish for light, He is come on purpose to enlighten us. \u00a0If we wish for strength to resist our enemies, He is come to give us comfort. \u00a0If we wish for pardon and salvation, He is come to pardon and save us. \u00a0If, in short, we desire the sovereign gift of Divine love, He is come to inflame our hearts with it; and, above all, for this very purpose, He has become a Child, and has chosen to show Himself to us worthy of our love, in proportion as He was poor and humble, in order to take away from us all fear, and to gain our affections. \u00a0\u201cThus,\u201d says St. Peter Chrysologus, \u201cshould He come Who willed to drive away fear, and seek for love.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O my amiable Jesus, Whom I have treated with so much contempt, Thou hast descended from Heaven to rescue us from hell, and to give Thyself entirely to us \u2014 how can we, then, have so often despised Thee and turned our backs upon Thee? \u00a0O God! men are so grateful to their fellow-creatures, that if anyone makes them a gift, if any one comes from a distance to pay them a visit, if anyone shows them a mark of affection, they cannot forget it, and feel themselves obliged to make him a return. \u00a0And yet they are so ungrateful towards Thee, Who art their God, and so amiable, and Who for their love didst not refuse Thy Blood and Thy life. \u00a0But, alas! \u00a0I have behaved worse than others towards Thee, because more loved by Thee, and yet I have been more ungrateful towards Thee. \u00a0Ah, if Thou hadst bestowed the graces given to me on a heretic, on an idolater, he would have become a Saint! \u00a0And yet I have only offended Thee! \u00a0O Jesus, mercy!<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus has, besides, chosen to become a little Child to make us love Him, not only with an appreciative but with a tender love. \u00a0All infants attract the tender affections of those who behold them; but who will not, then, love with all tenderness a God Whom they behold as a little Child, in need of milk, trembling with cold, poor, abased and forsaken, weeping and wailing, and lying on straw in a manger? \u00a0It was this that made the enamoured St. Francis exclaim: \u201cLet us love the Child of Bethlehem! \u00a0Let us love the Child of Bethlehem!\u201d\u00a0 Come, ye souls, and love a God Who is become a Child and poor; Who is so amiable, and Who has come down from Heaven to give Himself entirely to you.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Forget, O Lord, I pray Thee, the injuries I have done Thee. \u00a0But Thou hast already said that when a sinner repents, Thou forgettest all the outrages Thou hast received from him: All his iniquities I will not remember. <\/em>\u2014 (Ezech. xviii., 26). \u00a0If in times past I have not loved Thee, in future I will do nothing but love Thee, Thou hast given Thyself all to me, I will give Thee my entire will.\u00a0 With this will I love Thee, love Thee, love Thee; and I repeat it, I love Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee. \u00a0While I live I will constantly say this; and thus shall I die, saying with my last breath those sweet words: \u201cMy God, I love Thee.\u201d \u00a0And in the meantime, O my Lord, my only Good, my only Love, I intend to prefer Thy Will to every pleasure of my own. \u00a0Let the whole world offer itself to me, I will refuse, for I will never cease to love Him Who has loved me so much. \u00a0I will never again offend Him Who deserves from me an infinite love. \u00a0Do Thou, O my Jesus, strengthen this my desire with Thy grace. \u00a0Mary, my Queen, I acknowledge that all graces that I have received from God are due to thy intercession. \u00a0Cease not to intercede for me. \u00a0Obtain for me perseverance, thou who art the Mother of perseverance.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0\u00a0CONSIDERACIONES SOBRE EL ESTADO RELIGIOSO - X<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Considera el amor que debemos a Jesucristo a cambio del amor que \u00c9l nos ha mostrado.<\/em>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Para comprender el amor que el Hijo de Dios nos ha profesado basta considerar lo que San Pablo dice de Jesucristo: Se despoj\u00f3 a s\u00ed mismo, tomando forma de siervo... se humill\u00f3 a s\u00ed mismo, haci\u00e9ndose obediente hasta la muerte, y muerte de cruz<\/em>. Oh Jes\u00fas m\u00edo, demasiado me has obligado a amarte.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I: <\/b>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Se despoj\u00f3 de s\u00ed mismo, tomando forma de siervo<\/em>. Se despoj\u00f3 de s\u00ed mismo. Oh Dios! qu\u00e9 asombro para los \u00e1ngeles, a trav\u00e9s de toda la eternidad, ver a un Dios hacerse Hombre por amor al hombre, y someterse a todas las debilidades y sufrimientos del hombre.\u00a0 \u00a1Y el Verbo se hizo carne!\u00a0<\/em> \u00a1Qu\u00e9 maravilla no ser\u00eda ver a un rey convertirse en gusano por causa de los gusanos! Pero es una maravilla infinitamente mayor ver a un Dios hecho Hombre, y luego humillado hasta una muerte tan dolorosa e ignominiosa en la Cruz en la que termin\u00f3 Su vida m\u00e1s sagrada.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Mois\u00e9s y El\u00edas, en el monte Thabor, hablando de Su muerte, como se relata en el Evangelio, la llamaron un \"exceso\":\u00a0 Hablaron de su muerte<\/em> (la palabra latina es \"excessus\", que tambi\u00e9n significa \"exceso\") que deb\u00eda cumplir en Jerusal\u00e9n<\/em>. - (Lucas ix., 31). S\u00ed, dice san Buenaventura, con raz\u00f3n se llam\u00f3 \"exceso\" a la muerte de Jesucristo, porque fue un exceso de sufrimiento y de amor... Excessus doloris, excessus amoris<\/em>. Tanto que ser\u00eda imposible creerlo, si no hubiera sucedido ya. Fue verdaderamente un exceso de amor, a\u00f1ade San Agust\u00edn, pues con este fin quiso el Hijo de Dios venir a la tierra, vivir una vida tan laboriosa y morir una muerte tan amarga, a saber, para dar a conocer al hombre cu\u00e1nto le amaba. \"Por eso vino Cristo, para que el hombre conozca cu\u00e1nto lo am\u00f3 Dios\".
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0El Se\u00f1or revel\u00f3 a su siervo Armella Nicolas que el amor que sent\u00eda por el hombre era la causa de todos sus sufrimientos y de su muerte. Si Jesucristo no hubiera sido Dios, sino s\u00f3lo hombre y Amigo nuestro, \u00bfqu\u00e9 mayor amor podr\u00eda habernos mostrado que morir por nosotros?\u00a0 Nadie tiene amor m\u00e1s grande que el que da la vida por sus amigos.<\/em>. - (Jo. xv., 13). Al pensar en el amor que nos mostr\u00f3 Jesucristo, \u00a1qu\u00e9 poco estimaron los santos dar su vida y todo por un Dios tan amante! \u00a1Cu\u00e1ntos j\u00f3venes, cu\u00e1ntos nobles, han dejado su casa, su patria, sus riquezas, sus padres y todas las cosas para retirarse a los claustros, para vivir s\u00f3lo por amor de Jesucristo! Cu\u00e1ntas j\u00f3venes v\u00edrgenes, renunciando a las nupcias con los pr\u00edncipes y los grandes del mundo, han ido alegremente a la muerte, para retribuir as\u00ed en algo el amor de un Dios que hab\u00eda sido ejecutado en una infame horca y hab\u00eda muerto por ellas.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0En verdad, Jes\u00fas m\u00edo, Se\u00f1or m\u00edo y Redentor m\u00edo, demasiado me has obligado a amarte; demasiado te ha costado mi amor. Ser\u00eda demasiado ingrato si me contentara con amar con reservas a un Dios que me ha dado su sangre, su vida y todo su ser. Oh, T\u00fa que has muerto por m\u00ed, tu pobre siervo, es justo que yo muera por Ti, mi Dios y mi Todo. S\u00ed, Jes\u00fas m\u00edo. Me desprendo de todo para entregarme a Ti. Aparto de m\u00ed el amor de todas las criaturas para consagrarme enteramente a Tu amor.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That Jesus Christ should die on the Cross for our sakes seemed to St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi to be \u201cfoolishness.\u201d \u00a0Hence she said Jesus was foolish with love: \u201cO my Jesus, Thou art foolish with love!\u201d \u00a0So, also, the Gentiles, as St. Paul attests, on hearing the death of Jesus Christ preached to them, considered it a folly that no one could believe. \u00a0We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling-block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness. \u2014 <\/em>(1 Cor. i., 23). \u00a0How is it possible, they said, that a God Who is in Himself most happy and is dependent on none, should die for the love of man, His own servant?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This would be as much as to believe that God became a fool for the love of men. \u00a0Nevertheless, it is of Faith that Jesus Christ, the true Son of God, did, for love of us, deliver Himself up to death. \u00a0He hath loved us and hath delivered himself for us. \u2014 <\/em>(Eph. v., 2). \u00a0The same St. Mary Magdalen had reason then to exclaim, lamenting the ingratitude of men towards so loving a God: \u201cO Love not known! \u00a0O Love not loved!\u201d \u00a0Indeed, Jesus Christ is not loved by men, because they live in forgetfulness of His love.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And, in fact, a soul that considers a God Who died for her sake, cannot live without loving Him. \u00a0The charity of Christ presseth us. \u2014 <\/em>(2 Cor. v., 14). \u00a0The soul will feel herself inflamed, and as if constrained to love a God Who has loved her so much. \u00a0Jesus Christ could have saved us, says Father Nieremberg, with one single drop of His Blood; but it was His will to shed all His Blood, and to give His Divine Life, that at the sight of so many sufferings and of His death, we might not content ourselves with an ordinary love, but be sweetly constrained to love with all our strength a God so full of love towards us. \u00a0That they also who live may not now live to themselves, but unto him who died for them. \u2014 <\/em>(Ib. v., 15).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O my Jesus, I choose Thee alone out of all things for my Good, my Treasure, and my only Love. \u00a0I love Thee, O my Love! \u00a0I love Thee. \u00a0Thou art not satisfied that I should love Thee only a little. \u00a0Thou art not willing to have me love anything besides Thee. \u00a0I will please Thee in all things and I will love Thee much. \u00a0Thou shalt be my only Love. \u00a0My God, my God, help me, that I may fully please Thee. \u00a0Mary, my Queen, do thou also help me that I may have a great love for my God.\u00a0 Amen. \u00a0So I hope; so may it be.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0\u00a0CONSEJOS SOBRE LA VOCACI\u00d3N RELIGIOSA:\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>

XI. - CONCLUSI\u00d3N<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 JES\u00daS SE OFRECI\u00d3 POR NUESTRA SALVACI\u00d3N DESDE EL PRINCIPIO<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He was offered because it was his own will. \u2014 <\/em>(Is. liii., 7).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The divine Word, from the first instant that He was made Man and an Infant in Mary\u2019s womb, offered Himself of His own accord to suffer and to die for the ransom of the world: Se le ofreci\u00f3 porque era su propia voluntad. <\/em>\u2014 (Is. liii., 7). \u00a0He knew that all the sacrifices of goats and bulls offered to God in times past had not been able to satisfy for the sins of men, but that it required a divine Person to pay the price of their redemption; wherefore He said, as the Apostle tells us: When he cometh into the world he saith: Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldst not, but a body thou hast fitted to me . . . Then said I: Behold, I come. \u2014 <\/em>(Heb. x., 5). \u00a0\u201cMy Father,\u201d said Jesus, \u201call the victims hitherto offered to Thee have not sufficed, nor could they suffice, to satisfy Thy justice; Thou hast given Me this passible body, in order that by shedding my Blood I might appease Thee and save men : Behold, I come <\/em>\u2014 here I am ready, I accept everything, and I submit myself in everything to Thy will.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My Lord, ever since I began to have the use of reason, I began to despise Thy grace and Thy love. \u00a0Nevertheless Thou hast borne with me, because Thou still dost love me. \u00a0I fled from Thee, and Thou dost follow me and call me. \u00a0The very same love that made Thee come down from Heaven to seek the lost sheep, has caused Thee to bear with me, and not to forsake me. \u00a0My Jesus, Thou seekest me now, and I seek Thee. \u00a0I feel that Thy grace is assisting me: it assists me by giving me sorrow for my sins, which I abhor above every other evil; it assists me by making me feel a great desire to love Thee and to please Thee. \u00a0Yes, my Lord, I will love Thee and please Thee as much as I can. \u00a0On the one hand I feel afraid, it is true, at the thought of my frailty and the weakness which I have contracted by my sins; but greater is the confidence which Thy grace gives me, making me hope in Thy merits; so that I say, with great courage: I can do all things in him who strengtheneth me. \u2014 <\/em>(Phil, iv., 13). \u00a0If I am weak Thou wilt give me strength against my enemies: if I am infirm, I hope that Thy Blood will be my medicine; if I am a sinner, I hope Thou wilt make me holy. \u00a0I know that I have hitherto contributed to my own ruin, because I have neglected, in times of danger, to have recourse to Thee. \u00a0But from this day forth, my Jesus and my Hope, I will always have recourse to Thee; and from Thee I hope for every assistance and every good.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In Jesus the inferior part felt repugnance towards a life of suffering and a death so full of pain and shame; but the rational part, which was entirely subordinate to the will of His Father, conquered and accepted everything; and Jesus began from the Incarnation to suffer all the anguish and sorrows that He would have to suffer all the years of His life. \u00a0Thus did our Redeemer act from the very first moment of His entrance into the world. \u00a0But, O God, how have we conducted ourselves towards Jesus since we began as adults to know by the light of Faith the Sacred Mysteries of Redemption?\u00a0 What thoughts, what designs, what goods have we loved?\u00a0 Pleasures, amusements, vanities, resentments, sensuality \u2014 these are the things that have engrossed the affections of our hearts. \u00a0But if we have Faith, we must now at last change our lives and change our affections. \u00a0Let us love a God Who has suffered so much for us. \u00a0Let us place before ourselves the sufferings which the Heart of Jesus endured for us, even from His Infancy; for then we shall not be able to love anything else but this Heart which has loved us so much.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O my Jesus, now I love Thee above all things, and I will love none but Thee. \u00a0In pity help me, through the merit of all those sufferings which from Thy infancy Thou hast endured for me. \u00a0Eternal Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ accept my love. \u00a0If I have provoked Thee let the tears of the Infant Jesus, Who is praying for me, appease Thy wrath: Look on the face of thy Christ. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. lxxxiii., 10). \u00a0I do not deserve favours, but this Thy innocent Son deserves them, and offers Thee a life of sufferings, in order that Thou mayst be merciful to me. \u00a0And thou, O Mother of mercy, Mary, cease not to intercede for me. \u00a0Thou knowest how much I confide in thee; and I well know that thou dost not forsake him that has recourse to thee.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0\u00a0CONSIDERACIONES SOBRE EL ESTADO RELIGIOSO - XI<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Considera cu\u00e1nto deben confiar los religiosos en el patrocinio de Mar\u00eda.<\/em>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0La divina Madre ama a todos los hombres. \u00bfCu\u00e1nto, pues, no ama esta gran Reina a los religiosos que han consagrado su libertad, su vida y su todo al amor de Jesucristo, su Hijo? Mi felicidad en esta tierra, oh Mar\u00eda, ser\u00e1 servirte, bendecirte y amarte.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I: <\/b>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Si es verdad, y muy verdad, por cierto, que, como ense\u00f1a San Pedro Dami\u00e1n, la divina Madre, Mar\u00eda sant\u00edsima, ama a todos los hombres con tal afecto que, despu\u00e9s de Dios, no hay ni puede haber quien la supere o iguale en su amor: \"Nos ama con un amor invencible\": \u00bfcu\u00e1nto debemos pensar que ama esta gran Reina a los Religiosos, que han consagrado su libertad, su vida y su todo al amor de Jesucristo? Ella ve bien que la vida de las Religiosas es m\u00e1s conforme a su propia vida, y a la de su divino Hijo; las ve a menudo ocupadas en alabarla, y continuamente atentas a honrarla con sus Novenas, Visitas, Rosarios, Ayunos, etc. Los ve a menudo a sus pies, atentos a invocar su ayuda, pidi\u00e9ndole gracias, y gracias todas conformes a sus santos deseos; es decir, la gracia de la perseverancia en el servicio divino, de la fortaleza en sus tentaciones, del desprendimiento de este mundo y del amor de Dios. \u00a1Ah, c\u00f3mo dudar de que emplea todo su poder y misericordia en beneficio de los Religiosos, y especialmente de los que pertenecen a esta santa Congregaci\u00f3n del Sant\u00edsimo Redentor, en la que como es bien sabido, hacemos especial profesi\u00f3n de honrar a la Virgen Madre con Visitas, con mortificaciones los s\u00e1bados y durante sus Novenas, etc., y promoviendo en todas partes la devoci\u00f3n a ella con sermones y Novenas!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Te doy gracias, oh Mar\u00eda, abogada m\u00eda, porque a ti debo esta gran misericordia de estar consagrado a Jesucristo en la Religi\u00f3n. Ay\u00fadame a no ser ingrato a ese Dios que tanto me ha amado. Muera yo antes que ser infiel a su santa gracia. Oh Mar\u00eda, a ti encomiendo mi alma; t\u00fa has de salvarla. Te amo, oh Reina m\u00eda, y espero amarte siempre. He aqu\u00ed que pongo toda mi confianza en tu clemencia; no dejes de socorrerme en todas mis necesidades. T\u00fa eres mi esperanza, oh Mar\u00eda; todo lo espero por tu poderosa intercesi\u00f3n.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She, the great Mistress is grateful: I love those who love me. \u2014 <\/em>(Prov. viii., 17). \u00a0Yes, she is so grateful that, as St. Andrew of Crete says, \u201cTo him who does her the the least service she is accustomed to return great favours.\u201d \u00a0To those who love her, and who promote her honour among others, she graciously promises to save them from sin: Those that work by me shall not sin.<\/em>\u00a0 She also promises them Paradise: Those that explain me shall have life everlasting. \u2014 <\/em>(Office of the B. V. Mary).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For which reason we especially ought to thank God for having called us to this Congregation, where, by the usages of the Community and the example of our companions, we are often reminded, and in some way constrained, to have recourse to Mary, and continually to honour this, our most blessed Mother, who is called, and is, the joy, the hope, the life, and the salvation of those who invoke and honour her.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My most beloved, most lovely, amiable, and most loving Queen, I thank my Lord and thee, and will always thank thee, who hast not only drawn me out of the world, but also called me to live in this Congregation, in which a special devotion to thee is practised. \u00a0Accept of me, then, my Mother, to serve thee. \u00a0Among so many of thy beloved children, disdain not to let me serve thee also, miserable though I be. \u00a0Thou after God shall always be my hope and my love. \u00a0In all my wants, in all my tribulations and temptations I will have recourse to thee; thou shalt be my refuge and my consolation. \u00a0I will not that any one except God and thee should comfort me in my combats, in the sadness and the tediousness of this life. \u00a0For thy service I renounce the kingdoms of the whole world! \u00a0My kingdom on earth shall be to serve, bless, and love thee, O my most lovely Mistress, \u201cwhom to serve is to reign\u201d as St. Anselm says. \u00a0Thou art the Mother of perseverance; obtain for me to be faithful unto death. \u00a0By so doing I hope, and firmly hope, one day to come where thou reignest, to praise and bless thee forever, and never more to depart from thy feet. \u00a0\u201cJesus and Mary,\u201d I will say with thy loving servant, Alphonsus Rodriguez, \u201cmy sweetest Loves, let me suffer for You, let me die for You, let me be all Yours, and in nothing my own.\u201d<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 SOBRE LA DEVOCI\u00d3N A LA SANT\u00cdSIMA VIRGEN<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 JES\u00daS PRISIONERO EN EL VIENTRE DE MAR\u00cdA<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I am become as a man without help, free among the dead. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. lxxxvii., 5, 6).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Consider the painful life that Jesus led in the womb of His Mother, and the long, close and dark imprisonment that He suffered there for nine months. \u00a0Other infants are, indeed, in the same state, but they do not feel the miseries of it because they do not know them. \u00a0But Jesus knew them well, because from the first moment of His life He had the perfect use of His reason, He had His senses, but He could not use them; eyes, but He could not see; a tongue, but He could not speak; hands, but He could not stretch them out; feet, but He could not walk \u2014 so that for nine months He had to remain in the womb of Mary like a dead man shut up in the tomb: I am become as a man without help, free among the dead. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. lxxxvii., 5,<\/em> 6). \u00a0He was free, because He had of His own free-will made Himself a Prisoner of love in this prison; but love deprived Him of liberty, and bound Him there so fast in chains that He could not move: Free among the dead!\u00a0 <\/em>\u201cOh great patience of our Saviour!\u201d says St. Ambrose, while he considered the sufferings of Jesus in the womb of Mary.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Forget not the kindness of thy surety. \u2014 <\/em>(Ecclus. xxix., 19). \u00a0Yes, my Jesus, the Prophet has reason to warn me not to forget the immense favour in that Thou the innocent One, Thou, O my God! hast chosen to satisfy for my sins by Thy sufferings and Thy death. \u00a0But after all this kindness I have forgotten Thy favours and Thy love, and I have had the boldness to turn my back upon Thee, as if Thou hadst not been my Lord, and the Lord Who has loved me so much. \u00a0But if in times past I have forgotten Thy mercies, O my dear Redeemer! \u00a0I will in future never forget them again. \u00a0Thy sufferings and death shall be the constant subjects of my thoughts, because they will always recall to my mind the love that Thou hast borne me. \u00a0Cursed be the days in which, forgetting what Thou hast suffered for me, I have made so bad a use of my liberty. \u00a0Thou hast given it to me to love Thee, and I have used it to despise Thee. \u00a0But I now consecrate entirely to Thee this liberty which Thou hast given me.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The womb of Mary was, therefore, to our Redeemer, a voluntary prison, because it was a prison of love.\u00a0 But it was also not an unjust prison: He was, indeed, innocent Himself, but He had offered Himself to pay our debts and to satisfy for our crimes. \u00a0It was, therefore, only reasonable for the divine justice to keep Him thus imprisoned, and so begin to exact from Him the satisfaction due.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Behold the state to which the Son of God reduces Himself for the love of men! \u00a0He deprives Himself of His liberty and puts Himself in chains to deliver us from the chains of hell. \u00a0What gratitude and love should we not show in return for the love and goodness of our deliverer and our surety, Who, not by compulsion, but only out of love, offered Himself to pay, and has paid for us, our debts and our penalties by giving up His divine life! \u00a0Forget not the kindness of thy surety; for he hath given his life for thee. \u2014 <\/em>(Ecclus. xxix., 19).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I beseech Thee, my Saviour, deliver me from the misery of seeing myself again separated from Thee, and again made the slave of Lucifer. \u00a0I implore Thee to bind my poor soul to Thy feet by Thy holy love, so that it may never again be separated from Thee. \u00a0Eternal Father, by the imprisonment of the Infant Jesus in the womb of Mary, deliver me from the chains of sin and hell. \u00a0And thou, O Mother of God, help me! \u00a0Thou hast in thy womb the Son of God imprisoned and confined; as, therefore. \u00a0Jesus is thy Prisoner, He will do everything that thou tellest Him. \u00a0Tell Him to pardon me; tell Him to make me holy. \u00a0Help me, my Mother, for the sake of the favour and honour Jesus Christ conferred upon thee by dwelling within thee for nine months.<\/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

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\u21d1 \u00a0<\/a>CONTENIDO<\/a>
<\/em>\u21d0\u00a0SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT<\/em><\/a>
\u21d2\u00a0FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT<\/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 ONE – PART I, pp. 110-168 THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT Morning Meditation:\u00a0 THE JOY OF JESUS’ COMING \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, rejoice!\u00a0 The Lord is nigh. \u2014 (Epistle of Sunday, Philip. iv., 4, … Seguir leyendo <\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4884,"parent":0,"menu_order":49,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5494","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5494","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=5494"}],"version-history":[{"count":94,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12264,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5494\/revisions\/12264"}],"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=5494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}