{"id":7962,"date":"2025-04-09T15:34:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T15:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/?page_id=7962"},"modified":"2026-04-09T16:00:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:00:55","slug":"daily-meditations-easter-week","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/daily-meditations-easter-week\/","title":{"rendered":"MEDITACIONES DIARIAS: SEMANA SANTA"},"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\tVOLUMEN II - PARTE II, pp. 1-40<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 LA RESURRECCI\u00d3N DE JESUCRISTO<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Alegr\u00e9monos de ver en su gloria resucitada a nuestro Salvador, a nuestro Padre, al mejor Amigo que poseemos. Alegr\u00e9monos tambi\u00e9n por nosotros mismos, porque la Resurrecci\u00f3n de Jesucristo es para nosotros prenda segura de nuestra propia resurrecci\u00f3n y de la gloria que un d\u00eda esperamos tener en el Cielo en alma y cuerpo.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Jes\u00fas vino al mundo no s\u00f3lo para redimirnos, sino para ense\u00f1arnos con su ejemplo todas las virtudes, y especialmente la humildad, y la santa pobreza, que est\u00e1 inseparablemente unida a la humildad. Para ello eligi\u00f3 nacer en una cueva, vivir como un pobre en un taller durante treinta a\u00f1os y, finalmente, morir pobre y desnudo en una cruz, viendo c\u00f3mo se repart\u00edan sus vestidos entre los soldados antes de expirar; mientras que, despu\u00e9s de su muerte, recibe como limosna de los dem\u00e1s la s\u00e1bana para su sepultura.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Que los pobres se consuelen al ver que Jesucristo, Rey del cielo y de la tierra, vive y muere en la pobreza para enriquecernos con sus m\u00e9ritos y dones.\u00a0 Porque ya conoc\u00e9is la gracia de nuestro Se\u00f1or Jesucristo, que siendo rico, se hizo pobre por vosotros, para enriqueceros con su pobreza.<\/em>. \u2014 (2 Cor. viii. 9).\u00a0 For this cause the Saints, in order to become like unto Jesus in His poverty, despised all earthly riches and honours, so that one day they might go to enjoy with Jesus Christ the riches and honours prepared by God in Heaven for them that love Him.\u00a0 And speaking of these blessings the Apostle St. Paul says that ojo no vio, ni o\u00eddo oy\u00f3, ni ha subido en coraz\u00f3n de hombre lo que Dios ha preparado para los que le aman<\/em>. \u2014 (1 Cor. ii. 9).
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh Jes\u00fas m\u00edo, te suplico por tu Resurrecci\u00f3n, hazme resucitar glorioso contigo en el \u00faltimo d\u00eda, para estar siempre unido a Ti en el Cielo, para alabarte y amarte eternamente.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Jesus Christ, then, rose from the dead with the glory of possessing all power in Heaven and on earth, not only as God, but as Man. \u00a0All the angels and all men are therefore subject to Him. \u00a0Let us rejoice in thus seeing in glory our Saviour, our Father, and the best Friend we possess.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And let us rejoice for ourselves, because the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is for us a sure pledge of our own Resurrection, and of the glory that we may hope one day to have in Heaven in our soul and in our body. \u00a0This hope gave courage to the Martyrs to suffer with gladness all the evils of life, and the most cruel torments of tyrants.\u00a0 We must rest assured, however, that none will rejoice with Jesus Christ but they who are willing to suffer in this world with Him; nor will he obtain the crown who does not fight as he ought to fight. \u00a0He that striveth for the mastery is not crowned except he strive lawfully. <\/em>\u2014 (2 Tim. ii. 5). \u00a0At the same time let us be assured by what the same Apostle says: that all the sufferings of this life are short and light in comparison with the boundless and eternal joys we hope to enjoy in Paradise. \u2014 (2 Cor. iv. 17). \u00a0Let us labour the more to continue in the grace of God, and continually to pray for perseverance in God\u2019s friendship. \u00a0Without continual prayer we shall not obtain perseverance, and without perseverance we shall not be saved.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O sweet Jesus, worthy of all love, how hast Thou so loved men that, in order to show Thy love, Thou hast not refused to die wounded and dishonoured on an infamous tree! \u00a0O my God, how is it there are so few among men who love Thee with their whole heart?\u00a0 O my dear Redeemer, I wish to be one of these few.\u00a0 Miserable that I am to have forgotten Thy love in the past, and given up Thy grace for miserable pleasures!\u00a0 I know the evil I have done. \u00a0I grieve over it with my whole heart and would wish to die of grief. \u00a0O my beloved Redeemer, I love Thee now more than myself and am ready to die a thousand deaths rather than lose Thy friendship. \u00a0Jesus, I thank Thee for the light Thou hast given me. \u00a0O Jesus, my Hope, leave me not in my own hands. \u00a0Help me until death.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 EL CIELO QUE DIOS NOS HA GANADO<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The bliss of Heaven consists in seeing and loving God face to face. \u00a0\u201cEverything we expect,\u201d says St. Augustine, \u201cis expressed in a word of one syllable, namely, God.\u201d<\/em> \u00a0The reward God promises to us does not consist altogether in the beauty, the harmony, and other advantages of the city of Paradise. \u00a0God Himself, Whom the Saints are allowed to behold, is, according to the promises made to Abraham, the principal reward of the just in Heaven. \u00a0I am thy reward exceeding great. \u2014 <\/em>(Gen. xv. 1). \u00a0St. Augustine asserts that were God to show His face to the damned, \u201chell would be instantly changed into a paradise of delights.\u201d \u00a0And he adds that were a departed soul allowed the choice of seeing God and suffering the pains of hell, or of being freed from these pains and deprived of the sight of God, \u201cit would prefer to see God, and to endure those torments.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The delights of the soul infinitely surpass all the pleasures of the senses. \u00a0Even in this life, Divine love infuses such sweetness into the soul when God communicates Himself to it that the body is raised from the earth. \u00a0St. Peter of Alcantara once fell into such an ecstasy of love that, taking hold of a tree, he drew it up from the roots, and raised it with him on high. \u00a0So great is the sweetness of Divine love, that the holy Martyrs, in the midst of their torments, felt no pain, but were on the contrary filled with joy. \u00a0Hence St. Augustine says that when St. Laurence was laid on a red-hot gridiron, the fervour of Divine love made him insensible to the burning heat of the fire. \u00a0Even on sinners who weep for their sins, God bestows consolations which exceed all earthly pleasures. \u00a0Hence St. Bernard says: \u201cIf it be so sweet to weep for Thee, what must it be to rejoice in Thee!\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How great is the sweetness which a soul experiences when, in the time of prayer, God, by a ray of His own light, reveals to it His goodness and His mercies towards it, and particularly the love Jesus Christ has borne to it in His Passion! \u00a0It feels its heart melting and, as it were, dissolved through love. \u00a0But in this life we do not see God as He really is: we see Him, as it were, in the dark. \u00a0We see now through a glass in a dark manner, but then face to face. \u2014 <\/em>(1 Cor. xiii. 12). \u00a0Here below God is hidden from our view; we can see Him only with the eyes of Faith. \u00a0How great shall be our happiness when the veil is raised, and we are permitted to behold God face to face! \u00a0We shall then see His beauty, His greatness, His perfection, His amiableness, and His immense love for our souls.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love or hatred. \u2014 <\/em>(Eccles. ix. 1). \u00a0The fear of not loving God, and of not being loved by Him, is the greatest affliction which souls that love God endure on the earth; but in Heaven the soul is certain that it loves God and that He loves it; and sees that the Lord embraces it with infinite love, and that this love shall not be dissolved for all eternity. \u00a0The knowledge of the love Jesus Christ has shown it in offering Himself in sacrifice for it on the Cross, and in making Himself its Food in the Sacrament of the Altar, shall increase the ardour of its love. \u00a0It shall also see clearly all the graces God has bestowed upon it, all the helps which He has given it, to preserve it from falling into sin, and to draw it to His love.\u00a0 It shall see that all the tribulations, the poverty, the infirmities and persecutions which it regards as misfortunes, have all proceeded from love, and have been the means employed by Divine Providence to bring it to glory. \u00a0It shall see all the lights, loving calls, and mercies which God had granted to it after it had insulted Him by its sins. \u00a0From the blessed mountain of Paradise it shall see so many souls damned for fewer sins than it had committed, and shall see that it is saved and secured against the possibility of ever losing God.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Justly, then, has St. Augustine said that to gain the eternal bliss and peace of Paradise, we should embrace eternal labour.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 \"TU TRISTEZA SE CONVERTIR\u00c1 EN ALEGR\u00cdA\"<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh, happy are we, if we suffer with patience on earth the troubles of this present life!\u00a0 Distress of circumstances, fears, bodily infirmities, persecutions, and crosses of every kind, will one day all come to an end; and if we be saved, they will all become for us subjects of joy and glory in Paradise: Your sorrow, says the Saviour to encourage us, shall be turned into joy. \u2014 (John xvi. 20).\u00a0 So great are the delights of Paradise that they can neither be explained nor understood by us mortals: Cosas que ojo no vio, ni o\u00eddo oy\u00f3, ni han subido en coraz\u00f3n de hombre, son las que Dios ha preparado para los que le aman.<\/em>. \u2014 (1 Cor. ii. 9).\u00a0 Beauties like to the beauties of Paradise, eye hath never seen; harmonies like unto the harmonies of Paradise, ear hath never heard; nor hath ever human heart gained the comprehension of the joys God hath prepared for those that love Him.\u00a0 Beautiful is the sight of a landscape adorned with hills, plains, woods, and views of the sea.\u00a0 Beautiful is the sight of a garden abounding with fruits, flowers, and fountains.\u00a0 Oh, how much more beautiful is Paradise!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0To understand how great the joys of Paradise are, it is enough to know that in that blessed realm resides a God omnipotent, Whose care it is to render happy His beloved souls.\u00a0 St. Bernard says that Paradise is a place where “there is nothing thou wouldst not, and everything thou wouldst.”\u00a0 There thou shalt not find any thing displeasing to thyself, and every thing thou dost desire thou shalt find: “There is nothing thou wouldst not.”\u00a0 In Paradise there is no night; no seasons of winter and summer; but one perpetual day of unvaried serenity, and one perpetual spring of unvaried delight.\u00a0 No more persecutions of jealousies are there; for there all sincerely love one another, and each rejoices in each other’s good as if it were his own.\u00a0 No more bodily infirmities or pains are there, for the body is no longer subject to suffering; no poverty is there, for every one is rich to the full, not having anything more to desire; no more fears are there, for the soul being confirmed in grace can sin no more, nor lose that supreme good which it possesses.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThere is everything thou wouldst.\u201d \u00a0In Paradise thou shalt have whatsoever thou desirest. \u00a0There the sight is satisfied in beholding that city so beautiful, and its citizens all clothed in royal apparel, for they are all kings of that everlasting kingdom. \u00a0There shall we see the beauty of Mary, whose appearance will be more beautiful than that of all the Angels and Saints together.\u00a0 We shall see the beauty of Jesus, which will immeasurably surpass the beauty of Mary. \u00a0The smell will be satisfied with the perfumes of Paradise. \u00a0The hearing will be satisfied with the harmonies of Heaven, and the canticles of the Blessed, who will all with ravishing sweetness sing the Divine praises for all eternity. \u00a0Ah, my God, I deserve not Paradise, but hell; yet Thy death gives me a hope of obtaining it. \u00a0I desire and ask Paradise of Thee, not so much in order to enjoy as in order to love Thee for ever, secure that it will never more be possible for me to lose Thee. \u00a0O Mary, my Mother, O Star of the Sea, it is for thee, by thy prayers, to conduct me to Paradise.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 EL AMOR DE JES\u00daS AL MORIR POR NOSOTROS<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Jes\u00fas muri\u00f3 por nosotros para que, por su amor a nosotros, pudiera obtener todo el dominio de nuestros corazones.\u00a0 Para ello<\/em>escribi\u00f3 San Pablo, Cristo muri\u00f3 y resucit\u00f3 para ser Se\u00f1or de vivos y muertos.<\/em>. \u2014 (Rom. xiv. 9).\u00a0 Contemplating the death of Jesus Christ, and the love with which He died for men, the Saints esteemed it little to forfeit for His sake, property, honours, and life itself.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00bfQui\u00e9n hubiera podido concebir que el Hijo de Dios, el Se\u00f1or del Universo, para mostrar su amor por nosotros, sufriera y muriera en la Cruz, si no lo hubiera hecho realmente? Con raz\u00f3n hablaron Mois\u00e9s y El\u00edas en el monte Tabor de la muerte de nuestro Se\u00f1or Jesucristo como de una exceso<\/em>. \u2014 (Luke ix. 31).\u00a0 And what could be greater excess of love than for the Creator to die for His creatures?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Para corresponder adecuadamente a Tu amor, mi querido Redentor, ser\u00eda necesario que otro Dios muriera por Ti. Ser\u00eda, pues, poco, ser\u00eda nada, si nosotros, pobres gusanos miserables de la tierra, entreg\u00e1ramos toda nuestra vida por Ti, que diste la Tuya por nosotros.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Lo que deber\u00eda excitarnos a\u00fan m\u00e1s a amarle es el ardiente deseo con el que, a lo largo de su vida, anhel\u00f3 la hora de su muerte. Con este deseo demostr\u00f3 cu\u00e1n grande era su amor por nosotros.\u00a0 Tengo un bautismo, dijo, con el que he de ser bautizado; y c\u00f3mo estoy apurado hasta que se cumpla...<\/em>. \u2014 (Luke xii. 50).\u00a0 I must be baptized with the Baptism of My own Blood, to wash away the sins of men, and how am I dying with the desire of My bitter Passion and Death!\u00a0 My soul, lift up your eyes, and behold your Lord hanging upon a disgraceful Cross; behold the Blood which trickles down from His Wounds.\u00a0 Behold His mangled body, all inviting you to love Him.\u00a0 Your Redeemer in His sufferings would have you love Him at least through compassion.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh Jes\u00fas, que no me negaste tu vida y tu preciosa sangre, \u00bfte negar\u00e9 yo algo de lo que me pidas? No, T\u00fa te has entregado a m\u00ed sin reservas. Yo me entregar\u00e9 a Ti sin reservas.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0St. Francis de Sales, speaking of these words of the Apostle, The charity of Christ presseth us \u2014 <\/em>(2 Cor. v. 14), says: \u201cKnowing that Jesus Christ, being true God, has loved us even to the laying-down of His life for us, and this upon a Cross, do we not feel our hearts as it were in a press, forcibly straitened, and love pressed from them by a violence which is the more powerful as it is the more amiable?\u201d \u00a0And he adds: \u201cWhy, therefore, do we not cast ourselves upon Jesus Christ crucified, to die on the Cross for the love of Him Who has willingly died upon the Cross for the love of us? \u00a0I will cling to Him, should we say, and will never abandon Him; I will die with Him, and be consumed in the fire of His love. \u00a0My Jesus has given Himself entirely to me, and I will give myself entirely to Him.\u00a0 I will live and die upon His bosom; neither life nor death shall ever separate me from Him. \u00a0O Eternal Love, my soul seeks Thee and espouses Thee forever!\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0\u00a0 LA VIDA FELIZ DE LOS QUE AMAN A DIOS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Justice and peace have kissed. <\/em>\u2014 (Ps. lxxxiv. 11).\u00a0 Peace resides in every soul in which justice dwells.\u00a0 Hence David said: Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests<\/em> of thy heart. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. xxxvi. 4).\u00a0 To understand these words we must consider that worldlings seek to satisfy the desires of their hearts with the goods of this earth; but, because these cannot make them happy, their hearts continually make fresh demands; and how much soever they may acquire of these goods, they are not content. \u00a0Hence the Prophet says: Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart.<\/em> \u00a0Give up creatures, seek your delight in God, and He will satisfy all the cravings of your heart.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is what happened to St. Augustine, who, as long as he sought happiness in creatures, never enjoyed peace; but, as soon as he renounced them and gave to God all the affections of his heart, he exclaimed: \u201cAll things are hard, O Lord, and Thou alone art repose.\u201d \u00a0As if he had said: Ah, Lord! I now know my folly. \u00a0I expected to find felicity in earthly pleasures; but now I know that they are only vanity and affliction of spirit, and that Thou alone art the peace and joy of our hearts.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Apostle says that the peace which God gives to those who love Him surpasses all the sensual delights a man can enjoy on this earth. \u00a0The peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding. \u2014 <\/em>(Phil. iv. 7). \u00a0St. Francis of Assisi, in saying \u201cMy God and my All!\u201d experienced on this earth an anticipation of Paradise. \u00a0St. Francis Xavier, in the midst of his labours in India for the glory of Jesus Christ, was so replenished with Divine consolations, that he would exclaim: \u201cEnough, O Lord!\u00a0 Enough !\u201d \u00a0Where, I ask, has any lover of this world been found, so satisfied with the possession of worldly goods as to say: Enough, O world, enough; no more riches, no more honours, no more applause, no more pleasures? \u00a0Ah, no! worldlings are constantly seeking after higher honours, greater riches, and new delights; but the more they have of them, the less are their desires satisfied, and the greater their disquietude.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is necessary to persuade ourselves of this truth, that God alone can give content. \u00a0Worldlings do not wish to be convinced of it, through an apprehension that if they give themselves to God, they will lead a life of bitterness and discontent. \u00a0But with the Royal Prophet, I say to them: O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. xxxiii. 9). \u00a0Why, O sinners, will you despise and regard as miserable that life which you have not as yet tried? \u2013 O taste and see.<\/em> \u00a0Begin to make a trial of it; hear Mass every day; practise Mental Prayer and the Visit to the Most Holy Sacrament; go to Communion at least once a week; fly from evil conversations; walk always with God; and you shall see that, by such a life, you will enjoy that sweetness and peace which the world, with all its delights, has not hitherto been able to give you.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 SER\u00c1S CORONADO<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:\u00a0
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Imagin\u00e9monos un alma que, al salir de este mundo, entra en la eternidad en gracia de Dios. Llena de humildad y de confianza, se presenta ante Jes\u00fas, su Juez y Salvador. Jes\u00fas la abraza, le da su bendici\u00f3n y le hace o\u00edr estas palabras de dulzura: \u00a1Ven, esposo m\u00edo, ven! \u00a1Sal coronada!<\/em>\u00a0 Si el alma tiene necesidad de purificarse, \u00c9l la env\u00eda al Purgatorio, y, toda resignada, abraza el castigo, porque no quiere entrar en el Cielo, esa tierra de pureza, si no est\u00e1 totalmente purificada. El \u00c1ngel de la Guarda viene a conducirla al Purgatorio; primero le da las gracias por la ayuda que le ha prestado en vida, y luego le sigue obedientemente. Ah, Dios m\u00edo, \u00bfcu\u00e1ndo llegar\u00e1 el d\u00eda en que me vea fuera de este mundo de peligros, seguro de no poder perderte nunca m\u00e1s? S\u00ed, de buena gana ir\u00e9 al Purgatorio que ser\u00e1 m\u00edo; con alegr\u00eda abrazar\u00e9 todos sus dolores; me bastar\u00e1 en ese fuego amarte con todo mi coraz\u00f3n, pues all\u00ed no amar\u00e9 a nadie m\u00e1s que a Ti.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The purgation over, the Angel will return and say to the soul: Come, beautiful soul, the punishment is over; come, and enjoy the Presence of thy God Who is awaiting thee in Paradise. \u00a0Behold, the soul now passes beyond the clouds, passes beyond the spheres and the stars, and enters into Heaven. \u00a0O God, what will it say on entering into that beautiful country, and casting its first glance on that city of delights? \u00a0The Angels and Saints, and especially its own holy advocates, will go to meet it, and with jubilation will they welcome it, saying, Welcome, O companion of our own! \u00a0Welcome! \u00a0Ah, my Jesus, do Thou make me worthy of it.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What consolation will the soul not feel in there meeting with relations and friends of its own who have previously entered into Heaven! \u00a0But greater by far will be its joy in beholding Mary its Queen, and in kissing her feet, and thanking her for the many kindnesses she has done it. \u00a0The Queen will embrace it, and will herself present it unto Jesus, Who will receive it as a spouse.\u00a0 And Jesus will then present it to His Divine Father, Who will embrace and bless it, saying: Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.<\/em> \u00a0And thus will He beatify it with the same beatitude He Himself enjoys. \u00a0Ah, my God, make me love Thee exceedingly in this life, that I may love Thee exceedingly in eternity. \u00a0Thou art the object most worthy of being loved; Thou dost deserve all my love; I will love none but Thee. \u00a0Do Thou help me by Thy grace. \u00a0And, Mary, my Mother, be thou my protectress.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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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\tMARTES DE SEMANA SANTA<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 \"HAB\u00c9IS SIDO COMPRADOS A UN GRAN PRECIO\"<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 Debemos dar m\u00e1s valor al alma que a todos los bienes de la tierra. Para convencerse de esta verdad basta saber que Dios mismo conden\u00f3 a muerte a Su Divino Hijo para salvar nuestras almas. Y el Verbo Eterno no se ha negado a comprarlas con Su propia Sangre.\u00a0 Porque de tal manera am\u00f3 Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su Hijo unig\u00e9nito... para que el mundo sea salvado por \u00e9l...\".<\/em>. \u2014 (John iii. 16, 17).<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0El negocio de la salvaci\u00f3n eterna es para nosotros el m\u00e1s importante de todos los asuntos; pero es tambi\u00e9n el m\u00e1s descuidado por los cristianos. Ellos son diligentes, y no pierden tiempo en buscar ganar un pleito, o una situaci\u00f3n de emolumento. \u00a1Cu\u00e1ntas medidas se toman para alcanzar estos objetivos! \u00a1Cu\u00e1ntos medios adoptan! No comen ni duermen. \u00bfY qu\u00e9 esfuerzos hacen para asegurar su salvaci\u00f3n eterna? \u00bfC\u00f3mo viven? Para salvar su alma, la mayor\u00eda de los cristianos no hacen nada; al contrario, hacen todo lo posible para llevar su alma a la perdici\u00f3n. Muerte<\/em>, Sentencia<\/em>, Infierno<\/em>, Cielo<\/em>y Eternidad<\/em> no eran Verdades de Fe, sino f\u00e1bulas inventadas por los poetas. Si una persona pierde un pleito o una cosecha, \u00a1cu\u00e1n grande es su dolor y su angustia! \u00a1Con qu\u00e9 celo se afana por reparar la p\u00e9rdida! Si los mundanos pierden un caballo, o un perro, \u00bfcon qu\u00e9 diligencia lo buscan? Pero si pierden la gracia de Dios, duermen, bromean y r\u00eden. Todos se ruborizan cuando se les dice que descuidan sus asuntos mundanos, pero cu\u00e1n pocos se averg\u00fcenzan de descuidar el negocio de la eternidad, que es el m\u00e1s importante de todos. El mundano dice que los santos eran verdaderamente sabios, porque s\u00f3lo buscaban la salvaci\u00f3n de sus almas; y, sin embargo, \u00e9l mismo se ocupa de todos los negocios mundanos, y descuida por completo los asuntos del alma.\u00a0 Pero os rogamos, hermanos<\/em>dice San Pablo, que hagas tu propio negocio<\/em>. \u2014 (1 Thess. iv. 10, 11).
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ah, Dios m\u00edo, \u00bfc\u00f3mo he gastado tantos a\u00f1os que me has dado para asegurar mi salvaci\u00f3n eterna? T\u00fa, Redentor m\u00edo, compraste mi alma con tu sangre y me la entregaste para que me ocupara de su salvaci\u00f3n, y yo s\u00f3lo he trabajado para su perdici\u00f3n, ofendi\u00e9ndote a Ti que me has amado tan tiernamente. Te doy gracias por haberme dado tiempo para poder reparar la gran p\u00e9rdida que he sufrido. He perdido mi alma y Tu gracia. Se\u00f1or, me arrepiento de todo coraz\u00f3n de mis ofensas pasadas, y resuelvo, en adelante, perderlo todo, incluso mi vida, antes que perder Tu amistad.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Salvation is the most important<\/em> affair, because if the soul be lost, all is lost. \u00a0We ought to set a higher value on the soul than on all the goods of the earth.\u00a0 \u201cThe soul,\u201d says St. Chrysostom, \u201cis more precious than the whole world.\u201d \u00a0To be convinced of this truth it is enough to know that God Himself condemned His Son to death in order to save our souls. \u00a0The Eternal Word has not refused to purchase them with His own Blood. \u00a0Hence a holy Father says that man appears to be of as much value as God. \u00a0And Jesus Christ has asked: What exchange shall a man give for his soul? \u2014 <\/em>(Matt. xvi. 26).\u00a0 For God so loved the world as to give his only begotten son. \u2014 <\/em>(John iii. 16). \u00a0If, then, such is the value of the soul, for what earthly good shall a man exchange and lose it?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 St. Philip Neri with reason could say that he who does not attend to the salvation of his soul is a fool. \u00a0Were there on this earth two classes of men, one mortal and the other immortal, and were the former to see the latter seeking after the things of this world, its honours, goods, and amusements, they should, certainly exclaim: O fools that you are! \u00a0You have it in your power to acquire eternal riches, and do you fix your thoughts on those miserable and transitory things? \u00a0Will you, for these, condemn yourselves to an eternity of torments in the next life? \u00a0Leave us, for whom all shall end at death, leave us to seek after these earthly goods! \u00a0But no; we are all immortal. \u00a0How then does it happen that so many lose their souls for the miserable pleasures of this life? \u00a0How does it come to pass, says Salvian, that Christians believe in Judgment, Hell, and Eternity, and still live as if they feared them not?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I love Thee above all things, and I resolve always to love Thee, my Sovereign Good, Who art worthy of infinite love. \u00a0Assist me, my Jesus, that this purpose may not be like my past resolutions to which I have been always unfaithful. \u00a0Take me out of life rather than suffer me ever again to offend Thee, or ever to cease to love Thee. \u00a0O Mary, my hope after Jesus, save me by obtaining for me holy perseverance.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 CONFESI\u00d3N<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

I. IMPORTANCIA DE LA CONFESI\u00d3N FRECUENTE<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I do not intend to treat in this place of the Confessions of those who commit mortal sins, although I shall say something on proximate occasions and on sacrilegious Confessions; but I will principally speak of the Confessions of timorous souls that love perfection and endeavour constantly to purify their souls more and more from the stain of venial sins.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cesarius relates that a good priest commanded, in the Name of God, a devil who appeared to him, to tell what was most hurtful to him. \u00a0The demon answered that nothing was more injurious or displeasing to him than frequent Confession.\u00a0 Jesus Christ once said to St. Bridget, that they who wish to preserve fervour should often purify their souls by accusing themselves in Confession of all their defects, and all their negligence in His service. \u00a0Cassian says that he who aspires to perfection should aim at great purity of conscience; because from purity of conscience the soul passes to perfect love.\u00a0 Hence love corresponds to cleanness of heart. \u00a0It is, however, necessary to know that in the present state this purity of soul does not consist in a total exemption from all faults; for except our Divine Saviour and His Divine Mother, there neither has been nor will be in this world, any soul free from all stain. \u00a0In many things we all offend. \u2014 <\/em>(James iii. 2). \u00a0But it consists in two things: first, in a careful guard over the heart, to prevent the commission of every deliberate sin, however venial; and secondly, in instantly purifying the soul from any fault that it may commit. \u00a0Now these two are precisely the fruits of frequent Confession.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the first place, Confession cleanses the soul from the stains it contracts. \u00a0St. John Climacus relates that a young man, in order to discontinue the scandalous life that he led in the world, went to a Monastery in order to become a Religious. \u00a0Before his admission the Abbot told him that if he wished to be received, he must make a public confession of all his sins. \u00a0The young man, who was sincerely resolved to give himself to God, readily obeyed; and behold, while he confessed his faults in the presence of the monks, a holy Religious who was among them saw a man of venerable aspect cancel from a written paper that he held in his hand, every sin the penitent confessed, so that at the end of the Confession all his sins were cancelled. \u00a0Now, what then took place in a visible manner, happens invisibly to every one that confesses his sins with the requisite dispositions.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Confession not only washes away the stains of the soul, but it also gives it strength against relapse. \u00a0The angelic Doctor teaches that the virtue of Penance not only destroys the fault that has been committed, but also prevents it from budding forth again. \u00a0In his Life of St. Malachy, St. Bernard relates that there was a certain woman who was so much given to impatience and to anger that she became insupportable. \u00a0Hearing from her that she had never confessed her impatience, St. Malachy induced her to make a Confession of all her sins of anger.\u00a0 St. Bernard states that after her Confession she became so meek and patient that she appeared incapable of resenting any injury or insult that she received.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hence, to acquire purity of conscience, many Saints confessed their sins every day. \u00a0Such was the practice of St. Catharine of Sienna, of St. Bridget, of Blessed Colletta, of St. Charles Borromeo, of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and of many others. \u00a0St. Francis Borgia went to Confession even twice a day. \u00a0If worldlings cannot bear to appear before those whom they love with a stain on the countenance, what wonder is it that souls that love God should endeavour always to purify themselves more and more, in order to render themselves more pleasing in the eyes of their beloved Lord! \u00a0Now, I do not intend to require of those who practise frequent Communion to go to Confession every time they communicate; but it is right that they should go to Confession twice or at least once a week, and also when they have committed any deliberate fault.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 VER Y GOZAR DE DIOS PARA SIEMPRE<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0La belleza de los santos, la m\u00fasica celestial y las dem\u00e1s delicias del Para\u00edso no constituyen sino la menor parte de sus tesoros. Lo que da al alma la plenitud de la bienaventuranza es ver a un Dios amoroso cara a cara. San Agust\u00edn dice que si Dios dejara ver su bello rostro a los condenados, el infierno, con todos sus tormentos, se convertir\u00eda para ellos en un para\u00edso. Tambi\u00e9n en este mundo, cuando Dios hace gustar a un alma en la oraci\u00f3n su dulce presencia, y mediante un rayo de luz le descubre su bondad y el amor que le profesa, es tan grande el contento, que el alma siente que se disuelve y se derrite de amor; y, sin embargo, en esta vida no nos es posible ver a Dios tal como es; lo contemplamos oscurecido, como a trav\u00e9s de un tupido velo. \u00bfQu\u00e9 ser\u00e1, entonces, cuando Dios quite ese velo de delante de nosotros, y nos haga contemplarle cara a cara, abiertamente? Oh Se\u00f1or, por haberte dado la espalda ya no ser\u00e9 digno de contemplarte; pero, confiando en tu bondad, espero verte y amarte en el Para\u00edso para siempre. Hablo as\u00ed, porque hablo con un Dios que ha muerto para darme el Para\u00edso.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Aunque las almas que aman a Dios son las m\u00e1s felices de este mundo, no pueden, sin embargo, gozar aqu\u00ed abajo de una felicidad plena y completa; ese temor, que nace de no saber si son merecedoras del amor o del odio de su amado Salvador, las mantiene, por decirlo as\u00ed, en un perpetuo sufrimiento. Pero en el Para\u00edso el alma tiene la certeza de que ama a Dios y es amada por Dios, y ve que ese dulce lazo de amor que la mantiene unida a Dios no se desatar\u00e1 jam\u00e1s por toda la eternidad. Las llamas de su amor aumentar\u00e1n por el conocimiento m\u00e1s claro que el alma poseer\u00e1 entonces de cu\u00e1l ha sido el amor de Dios al hacerse Hombre, y al haber querido morir por ella; y al haberse, adem\u00e1s, entregado a ella en el Sacramento de la Eucarist\u00eda. Su amor aumentar\u00e1 al contemplar entonces, en toda su nitidez, las gracias que le ha concedido para conducirla al Cielo; ver\u00e1 que las cruces que le ha enviado en vida han sido todas artificios de su amor para hacerla feliz. Ver\u00e1, adem\u00e1s, las misericordias que le ha concedido, las muchas luces y llamadas a la penitencia. Desde la cumbre de ese monte bendito contemplar\u00e1 las muchas almas perdidas que ahora est\u00e1n en el infierno por pecados menores que los suyos, y se contemplar\u00e1 a s\u00ed misma ya salvada, pose\u00edda de Dios y segura de que nunca m\u00e1s podr\u00e1 perderle por toda la eternidad. Jes\u00fas m\u00edo, Jes\u00fas m\u00edo, \u00bfcu\u00e1ndo llegar\u00e1 ese d\u00eda tan feliz para m\u00ed?<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The happiness of the blessed soul will be perfected by knowing with absolute certainty that that God Whom it then enjoys, it will be able to enjoy for all eternity.\u00a0 Were there to be any fear in the Blessed that they might lose that God Whom they now enjoy, Paradise would be Paradise no longer. \u00a0But no; the blessed soul is certain with the certainty which it has of the existence of God, that that supreme Good which it enjoys, it will enjoy for ever.\u00a0 That joy, moreover, will not grow less with time; it will be ever new. \u00a0The blessed one will be ever happy, and ever thirsting for that happiness; and, while ever thirsting, will be ever satiated.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When, therefore, we see ourselves afflicted with the troubles of life, let us lift up our eyes unto Heaven, and console ourselves by saying: Paradise! \u00a0The sufferings will one day come to an end; nay, they will themselves become objects over which to rejoice. \u00a0The Saints await us; the Angels await us; Mary awaits us: and Jesus stands with the crown in His hand wherewith to crown us, if we shall be faithful to Him. \u00a0Ah, my God, when will that day come on which I shall arrive at possessing Thee, and be able to say unto Thee: My Love, I cannot lose Thee more! \u00a0O Mary, my hope, never cease from praying for me, until thou Seest me safe at thy feet in Paradise!<\/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\tMI\u00c9RCOLES DE SEMANA SANTA<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 \"AMAR\u00c1S AL SE\u00d1OR TU DIOS CON TODO TU CORAZ\u00d3N\"<\/em><\/strong><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Porque para esto muri\u00f3 Cristo y resucit\u00f3, para ser el Se\u00f1or de los muertos y de los vivos.<\/em>. \u2014 (Rom. xiv. 9).\u00a0 The Saints, contemplating the death of Jesus Christ, thought it little to give their life and all things for the love of so loving a God.\u00a0 How many Martyrs have sacrificed their lives for Him!\u00a0 How many tender Virgins, renouncing the nuptials of the great, have gone with joy to death to make some return for the affection of a God Who died for their sake!\u00a0 And what have you done for Jesus’ sake?<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Pero una cosa es necesaria<\/em>. \u2014 (Luke x. 42).\u00a0 What is this una cosa necesaria<\/em>? No es necesario adquirir riquezas, ni obtener dignidades, ni granjearse un gran nombre. Lo \u00fanico necesario es amar a Dios. Todo lo que no se hace por amor a Dios se pierde. Este es el m\u00e1s grande y el Primer Mandamiento de la Ley Divina. Al fariseo que le pregunt\u00f3 cu\u00e1l era el gran Mandamiento de la Ley, Jesucristo le respondi\u00f3: Amar\u00e1s al Se\u00f1or tu Dios con todo tu coraz\u00f3n. . . Este es el mayor y el primer mandamiento<\/em>. \u2014 (Matt. xxii. 37, 38).\u00a0 But this, the greatest of the commandments, is the most despised by men: there are few who fulfil it.\u00a0 The greater part of men love relatives, friends, and even brute animals, but do not love God.\u00a0 Of these St. John says that they have not life \u2013 that they are dead.\u00a0 El que no ama permanece en la muerte<\/em>. \u2014 (1 John iii. 14).\u00a0 St. Bernard says that the reward of a soul is estimated by the measure of her love for God.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Consideremos, entonces, cu\u00e1n querido debe ser para nosotros este mandamiento de amar a Dios con todo nuestro coraz\u00f3n. \u00bfQu\u00e9 objeto m\u00e1s noble, m\u00e1s magn\u00edfico, m\u00e1s poderoso, m\u00e1s rico, m\u00e1s hermoso, m\u00e1s generoso, m\u00e1s misericordioso, m\u00e1s agradecido, m\u00e1s amable o m\u00e1s amoroso que \u00c9l mismo podr\u00eda Dios darnos para amar?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Qui\u00e9n m\u00e1s noble<\/em> que Dios? Algunos presumen de una nobleza familiar de quinientos o mil a\u00f1os; pero la nobleza de Dios, nuestro Padre, es eterna. \u00c9l es el Se\u00f1or de todo. Ante Dios, todos los \u00e1ngeles del cielo y todos los nobles de la tierra son como una gota de agua o un grano de polvo.\u00a0 He aqu\u00ed que los gentiles son como la gota de un balde - he aqu\u00ed que las islas son como un poco de polvo<\/em>. \u2014 (Is. xl. 15).
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Qui\u00e9n m\u00e1s potente <\/em>que Dios? \u00c9l puede hacer lo que quiera. Por un acto de Su voluntad cre\u00f3 este mundo, y por otro acto puede destruirlo cuando le plazca.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Qui\u00e9n m\u00e1s ricos<\/em>? Posee todas las riquezas del cielo y de la tierra.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Qui\u00e9n m\u00e1s hermoso<\/em>? Ante la belleza de Dios se desvanecen todas las bellezas de las criaturas.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Qui\u00e9n m\u00e1s abundante<\/em>? San Agust\u00edn dice que Dios tiene m\u00e1s deseos de hacernos el bien que nosotros de recibirlo.
\u00a0 \u00a0 Qui\u00e9n m\u00e1s misericordioso<\/em>? Si el pecador m\u00e1s imp\u00edo de la tierra se humilla ante Dios y se arrepiente de sus pecados, Dios al instante lo perdona y lo abraza.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Qui\u00e9n m\u00e1s agradecido<\/em>? \u00c9l no deja sin recompensa el m\u00e1s peque\u00f1o acto que realizamos por Su causa.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Qui\u00e9n m\u00e1s amable<\/em>? Dios es tan amable que, con s\u00f3lo verlo y amarlo en el Cielo, los santos sienten una alegr\u00eda que los hace perfectamente felices y contentos por toda la eternidad. El mayor de los tormentos de los condenados proviene de saber que este Dios es tan amable, y que no pueden amarle.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a1Oh bondad infinita! \u00a1Oh Amor Infinito! Jes\u00fas m\u00edo enamorado, llena mi coraz\u00f3n de tu amor para que me olvide de m\u00ed mismo y no piense en otra cosa que en amarte y complacerte. Ahora te consagro mi cuerpo, mi alma, mi voluntad, mi libertad. Hasta ahora he procurado satisfacerme a Tu gran desagrado. Estoy sumamente arrepentido, mi Amor crucificado. De ahora en adelante no buscar\u00e9 nada fuera de Ti, mi Dios y mi Todo.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0And who is more loving<\/em> than God? \u00a0In the Old Law men might doubt whether God loved them with a tender love; but, after seeing Him die on a Cross for us, how can we doubt the tenderness and the ardent affection with which He loves us? \u00a0Let us raise our eyes and look at Jesus, the true Son of God, fastened with nails to a gibbet, and let us consider the intensity of the love which He bears us. \u00a0That Cross, those Wounds, says St. Bernard, cry out, and proclaim to us that He truly loves us. \u00a0And what more could He do to convince us of His great love than to lead a life of sorrow for thirty-three years, and afterwards die in torments on the infamous tree of the Cross, in order to wash away our sins with His own Blood? \u00a0Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered himself up for us. \u2014 <\/em>(Ephes. v. 2). \u00a0Who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. <\/em>\u2014 (Apoc. i. 5). \u00a0\u201cHow,\u201d says St. Philip Neri, \u201cis it possible for him who believes in God to love anything but God?\u201d \u00a0Contemplating God\u2019s love towards men, St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi began one day to ring the bell, saying that she wished to invite all nations of the earth to love so loving a God. \u00a0St. Francis de Sales used to say with tears: To love our God it would be necessary to have an infinite love; and we throw away our love on vain, contemptible things.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Alas, my Jesus, how many times have I renounced Thy friendship and made myself a slave of Satan, dishonouring Thy Infinite Majesty! \u00a0I grieve above all things for having so grievously insulted Thee. \u00a0Ah, my God, bind my will to Thy feet with the sweet cords of Thy holy love, that it may wish for nothing but what pleases Thee. \u00a0May I take Thy Will as the sole guide of my life. \u00a0I renounce everything. \u00a0Thou alone art sufficient for me.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 CONFESI\u00d3N<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

II. EXAMEN DE CONCIENCIA<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Every one knows that for a good Confession three things are necessary: an Examination of Conscience, Sorrow, and the Purpose to Avoid Sin.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As to the examination of conscience,<\/em> for those that frequent the Sacraments, it is not necessary to distress the head by efforts to find out all the minute circumstances of venial sins. I would rather see such persons careful to discover the causes and roots of their attachments and tepidity. \u00a0Some there are who have the same story to tell, and recite the same faults without sorrow, and without any thought of amendment.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For spiritual souls that go frequently to Confession, and guard against deliberate venial sins, it is not necessary to spend a long time in the examination of conscience. \u00a0With regard to grievous sins, they need not scrutinize the conscience, for had they committed any mortal sin, they would know it without examination.\u00a0 With regard to venial sins, if they have been fully deliberate, they, too, by the remorse that they cause, would make themselves known to the soul. \u00a0Besides, there is no obligation of confessing all our venial transgressions; consequently we are not obliged to make a strict search after them, and much less after the number, the circumstance, the manner, or the causes of them; it is enough to confess those that are most grievous, and most opposed to perfection, and to tell the rest in general terms. \u00a0And when you have not certain matter for the Sacrament, tell some sin of your past life for which you have great sorrow; and say, for example: I accuse myself in a special manner of all the faults I have committed in my past life against Charity, Purity, or Obedience. \u00a0How consoling is the doctrine of St. Francis de Sales on this point. \u00a0\u201cBe not troubled,\u201d he says, \u201cif you do not remember all your little faults at Confession; for as you often fall imperceptibly, so you are often raised up imperceptibly,\u201d that is, by the acts of love, or by the other good acts that devout souls are accustomed to perform.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 LA PR\u00c1CTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

I. C\u00d3MO MERECE JESUCRISTO NUESTRO AMOR POR EL AMOR QUE NOS HA DEMOSTRADO EN SU PASI\u00d3N<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Toda la santidad y perfecci\u00f3n de un alma consiste en amar a Jesucristo nuestro Dios, nuestro soberano Bien y nuestro Redentor. Quien Me ama, dice el mismo Jesucristo, ser\u00e1 amado por Mi Padre Eterno: El Padre mismo os ama, porque vosotros me hab\u00e9is amado.<\/em>. \u2014 (John xvi. 27).\u00a0 Some, says St. Francis de Sales, make perfection consist in an austere life; others in prayer; others in frequenting the Sacraments; others in alms-deeds.\u00a0 But they deceive themselves: perfection consists in loving God with our whole heart.\u00a0 The Apostle wrote: Sobre todas estas cosas tened caridad, que es el v\u00ednculo de la perfecci\u00f3n<\/em>. \u2014 (Col. iii. 14).\u00a0 It is charity which keeps united and preserves all the virtues that render a man perfect.\u00a0 Hence St. Augustine said: “Love God, and do whatever you please”; because a soul which loves God is taught by that same love never to do anything that will displease Him, and to leave nothing undone that may please Him.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Pero, \u00bfquiz\u00e1s Dios no merezca todo nuestro amor?\u00a0 Te he amado con amor eterno<\/em>. \u2014 (Jer. xxxi. 3).\u00a0 O man, says the Lord, behold I was the first to love thee.\u00a0 Thou wast not yet in the world, nay, the world itself was not, and I already loved thee.\u00a0 As long as I am God, I love thee; as long as I have loved Myself, I have also loved thee.\u00a0 With good reason, therefore, did St. Agnes, that young holy virgin, reply to those who wished to unite her to an earthly spouse: “I am engaged to another Lover.”\u00a0 “Go,” said she, “O lovers of this world, cease to ask my love; my God was the first to love me.\u00a0 He has loved me from all eternity: it is but just, then, for me to give Him all my affection, and to love none other but Him.”<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As Almighty God knew that man is won by kindness, He determined to lavish His gifts upon him, and so take captive the affections of his heart. \u00a0For this reason He said: I will draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bands of love. \u2014 <\/em>(Osee, xi. 4). \u00a0I will catch men by those very snares by which they are naturally caught, that is, by the snares of love. \u00a0And such exactly are all the favours of God to man. \u00a0After having given him a soul created to His own image, with memory, understanding, and will, and a body with its senses, He created Heaven and earth for him; yes, all that exists, all for the love of man, \u2013 the firmament, the stars, the planets, the seas, the rivers, the fountains, the hills, the plains, metals, fruits, and a countless variety of animals: and all these God made that they might minister to the uses of man, and that man might love Him in gratitude for so many admirable gifts.\u00a0 The heavens and the earth and all things tell me to love Thee,\u201d says St. Augustine. \u00a0\u201cMy Lord,\u201d he said, \u201cwhatever I behold on the earth, or above the earth, all speak to me and exhort me to love Thee; because all assure me that Thou hast made them for the love of me.\u201d \u00a0The Abbot de Ranc\u00e9, founder of La Trappe, when from his hermitage he stood and surveyed the hills, the fountains, the birds, the flowers, the planets, and the skies, felt himself animated by each one of these creatures to love that God Who had created all through love for him.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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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\tJUEVES DE SEMANA SANTA<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 \"ELLA ES UN TESORO INFINITO PARA LOS HOMBRES\"<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 La tierra, los cielos y toda la naturaleza contemplaron con asombro c\u00f3mo Jes\u00fas, el Hijo unig\u00e9nito de Dios, el Se\u00f1or del Universo, mor\u00eda de intenso dolor y angustia, en una Cruz vergonzosa -\u00bfy por qu\u00e9?\u00a0 Nos ha amado y se ha entregado por nosotros. <\/em>\u2014 (Eph. v. 2).\u00a0 And do men believe this and not love God?<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a1Oh valor inestimable del amor divino que nos enriquece ante Dios! Es el tesoro con el que ganamos su amistad.\u00a0 Ella es un tesoro infinito para los hombres, que los que lo usan se convierten en amigos de Dios<\/em>. \u2014 (Wis. vii. 14).\u00a0 The only thing we ought to fear, says St. Gregory of Nyssa, is the loss of God’s friendship; and the only object of our desires should be its attainment.\u00a0 It is love that obtains the friendship of God.\u00a0 Hence, according to St. Laurence Justinian, by love the poor become rich, and without love the rich are poor.\u00a0 “No greater riches than to have charity.\u00a0 With charity the poor man is rich, and without charity the rich man is poor.”
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a1Cu\u00e1n grande es la alegr\u00eda que siente una persona al creerse amada por un hombre de rango excelso! Pero \u00a1cu\u00e1nto mayor debe ser el consuelo que un alma obtiene de la convicci\u00f3n de que Dios la ama!\u00a0 Amo a los que me aman<\/em>. \u2014 (Prov. viii. 17).\u00a0 In a soul that loves God the Three Persons of the Adorable Trinity dwell.\u00a0 Si alguno me ama, guardar\u00e1 mi palabra; y mi Padre le amar\u00e1, y vendremos a \u00e9l, y haremos morada en \u00e9l.<\/em>. \u2014 (John xiv. 23).\u00a0 St. Bernard writes that among all the virtues charity is the one that unites us to God.\u00a0 St. Catharine of Bologna used to say that love is the golden chain that binds the soul to God.\u00a0 St. Augustine says that “love is a link connecting the lover with the beloved.”\u00a0 Hence were God not immense, where should He be found?\u00a0 Find a soul that loves God, and there God is certainly found.\u00a0 Of this St. John assures us.\u00a0 El que permanece en la caridad, permanece en Dios, y Dios en \u00e9l.<\/em>. \u2014 (1 Jo. iv. 16).\u00a0 A poor man loves riches, but he does not therefore enjoy them; he may love a throne, but he does not therefore possess a kingdom.\u00a0 But the man that loves God possesses God.\u00a0 \u00c9l permanece en Dios y Dios en \u00e9l<\/em>.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Es verdad, oh Jes\u00fas m\u00edo, que soy tan desgraciada como para haberte ofendido a menudo despu\u00e9s de tantas luces y gracias especiales. Ya no soy digna de consumirme en esas benditas llamas con que se inflaman los santos. M\u00e1s bien deber\u00eda arder en el fuego del infierno. Pero T\u00fa me mandas que te ame y yo te obedecer\u00e9. Te amar\u00e9, Jes\u00fas, con todo mi coraz\u00f3n.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0St. Thomas says that love draws in its train all other virtues, and directs them all to unite us more closely to God. \u00a0Hence, because from charity all virtues are born, St. Laurence Justinian called it the mother of all virtues.\u00a0 <\/em>Hence St. Augustine used to say: \u201cLove, and do what you wish.\u201d \u00a0He that loves God can only do what is good; if he does evil he shows that he has ceased to love God. \u00a0And when he ceases to love God, all things can profit him nothing. \u00a0If, said the Apostle, I gave, all my possessions to the poor, and my body to the flames, and have not charity, I am nothing. \u00a0And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver, my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. \u2014 <\/em>(1 Cor. xiii. 3).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Love also prevents us from feeling the pains of this life. \u00a0St. Bonaventure says that the love of God is like honey; it sweetens the bitterest things. \u00a0And what more sweet to a soul that loves God than to suffer for Him?\u00a0 She knows that by cheerfully embracing sufferings she pleases God, and that her pains shall be the brightest jewels in her crown in Paradise. \u00a0And who is there that will not willingly suffer and die in imitation of Jesus Christ, Who has gone before us, carrying His Cross, to offer Himself in sacrifice for the love of us, and inviting us to follow His example. \u00a0If any man will come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me. \u2014 <\/em>(Matt. xvi. 24). \u00a0For this purpose He has condescended to humble Himself to death, and to the opprobrious death of the Cross, for the love of us. \u00a0He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. <\/em>\u2014 (Phil. ii. 8).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Jesus, I have believed all this, and yet not only have I not loved Thee, but I have frequently offended Thee. \u00a0Pardon me, I beseech Thee, and keep me ever mindful of the death Thou hast suffered for me, that I may never more offend Thee, but may always love Thee.\u00a0 Holy Mary, Mother of God, enable me to love Jesus: this is the only favour I ask of thee.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 CONFESI\u00d3N\u00a0 <\/i><\/strong><\/p>

III. CONTRATACI\u00d3N<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the second place, sorrow<\/em> is necessary; this is the principal condition necessary for obtaining the pardon of sins. \u00a0The most sorrowful,<\/em> not the longest<\/em> Confessions, are the best. \u00a0The proof of a good Confession is found, says St. Gregory, not in the multitude of the words of the penitent, but in true compunction of heart. \u00a0But let those who go frequently to Confession, and abhor even venial faults, banish all doubts regarding the sincerity of their sorrow. \u00a0Some are troubled because they do not feel<\/em> sorrow; they wish to shed tears, and to feel a tender sorrow every time they receive the Sacrament of Penance; and, because with all their efforts they are unable to excite this tender sorrow, they feel always uneasy about their Confessions. \u00a0But you must be persuaded that true sorrow consists not in feeling it, but in wishing for it. \u00a0All the merit of virtue is in the will; hence, speaking of the Virtue of Faith, Gerson has said that sometimes a person who wishes to believe has more merit than another who believes. \u00a0Speaking of sorrow, St. Thomas says that the essential sorrow necessary for Confession is a displeasure at having committed sin; and this sorrow is not in the sensitive part of the soul, but in the will; for sensible sorrow is an effect of the displeasure of the will, which effect we are not always able to produce, because the inferior part does not always follow and obey the superior part of the soul. \u00a0Whenever the will is displeased, above all things, at having committed sin, the Confession is a good one.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Be careful to abstain from forced efforts to excite sensible sorrow. \u00a0Remember that, with regard to interior acts, the best are those that we perform with the least violence, and with the greatest sweetness; for the Holy Ghost ordereth all things sweetly and peacefully. \u2014 <\/em>(Wis. viii. 1). \u00a0Hence the holy penitent Ezechias said of the sorrow that he felt for his sins: Behold in peace is my bitterness most bitter. <\/em>\u2014 (Is. xxxviii. 17). \u00a0He felt great sorrow, but it was accompanied with peace.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When you wish to receive absolution, be careful in your preparation for Confession, first to ask of Jesus Christ, and of the sorrowful Mother Mary, a true sorrow for your sins. \u00a0Make afterwards, as has been already said, a short examination of conscience, and then as to the sorrow, it is enough for you to say with sincerity: My God, I love Thee above all things; I hope, through the Blood of Jesus Christ, for the pardon of all my sins, for which I am sorry with my whole heart, because by them I have offended and displeased Thine infinite Goodness; I abhor them above every evil, and I unite my abhorrence of them to the abhorrence that Jesus had for them in the Garden of Gethsemani. \u00a0I purpose, with Thy grace, never more to offend Thee.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And as often as you have sincerely wished to make these acts, go in peace to receive absolution, without fear or scruple. \u00a0St. Teresa gave another excellent means of removing anxiety about sorrow for sins.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSee,\u201d said the Saint, \u201cwhether you have a sincere purpose not to commit the sins that you confess; if you have, doubt not that you also have true sorrow.\u201d<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 LA PR\u00c1CTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

II. C\u00d3MO MERECE JESUCRISTO NUESTRO AMOR POR EL AMOR QUE NOS HA DEMOSTRADO EN SU PASI\u00d3N<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Santa Mar\u00eda Magdalena de Pazzi, cuando ten\u00eda en la mano cualquier flor hermosa, se encend\u00eda a la vista de ella de amor a Dios, y dec\u00eda: \"\u00a1Y Dios, entonces, ha pensado desde toda la eternidad en crear esta flor por amor a m\u00ed!\". As\u00ed se convert\u00eda aquella flor, por decirlo as\u00ed, en un dardo de amor, que la her\u00eda dulcemente, y la un\u00eda m\u00e1s y m\u00e1s a su Dios. Por otra parte, Santa Teresa, a la vista de \u00e1rboles, fuentes, r\u00edos, lagos o prados, declaraba que todas estas cosas bellas la reprend\u00edan por su ingratitud al amar tan fr\u00edamente a un Dios que las cre\u00f3 para que la atrajeran a su amor. Con el mismo prop\u00f3sito se cuenta de un piadoso ermita\u00f1o que, cuando caminaba por el campo, le parec\u00eda que las plantas y las flores de su camino le reprochaban la frialdad con que correspond\u00eda a Dios; de modo que iba golpe\u00e1ndolas suavemente con su bast\u00f3n y dici\u00e9ndoles: \"\u00a1Oh, callad, callad! Me llam\u00e1is desgraciado ingrato; me dec\u00eds que Dios os ha hecho por amor a m\u00ed, y sin embargo yo no le amo; pero ahora os comprendo, callad, callad; no me reproch\u00e9is m\u00e1s.\"<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But God was not satisfied with giving us so many beautiful creatures. \u00a0He has gone to such lengths to gain our love, as to give us Himself. \u00a0The Eternal Father did not hesitate to give us even His only-begotten Son: For God so loved the world as to give his only-begotten Son. \u2014 <\/em>(John iii. 16). \u00a0When the Eternal Father saw that we were all dead, and deprived of His grace by sin, what did He do? \u00a0For the immense love, nay, as the Apostle writes, for the exceeding<\/em> love He bore us, He sent His beloved Son to make atonement for us; and so restore to us that life of which sin had robbed us: Who through his exceeding charity with which he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ. \u2014 <\/em>(Eph. ii. 4, 5). \u00a0And in granting us His Son (not sparing His Son, that He might spare us), He has granted us every good together with Him, His grace, His love and Paradise, since assuredly all these gifts are much less than that of His Son: He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up<\/em> for us all, how hath he not also with him, given us all things? \u2014 <\/em>(Rom. viii. 32).<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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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\tVIERNES DE SEMANA SANTA<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

(Primer viernes de abril)<\/em><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 \"LAS HENDIDURAS DE LA ROCA\"<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh, \u00bfqu\u00e9 lugar seguro de refugio no encontraremos en las sagradas \"hendiduras de la roca\", es decir, en las Llagas de Jesucristo? \"Las hendiduras de la roca\", dice San Pedro Dami\u00e1n, \"son las Llagas del Redentor; en ellas ha puesto mi alma su esperanza.\"<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0No hay medio m\u00e1s seguro de encender en nosotros el amor divino que considerar la Pasi\u00f3n de Jesucristo. San Buenaventura dice que las Llagas de Jesucristo, por ser Llagas de amor, son dardos que hieren los corazones m\u00e1s duros, y llamas que incendian las almas m\u00e1s fr\u00edas: \"\u00a1Oh Llagas, hiriendo los corazones p\u00e9treos, e inflamando las mentes heladas!\". Es imposible que un alma que cree y piensa en la Pasi\u00f3n del Se\u00f1or le ofenda y no le ame, es m\u00e1s, que no corra a una santa locura de amor, al ver a un Dios como loco de amor por nosotros: \"Hemos visto\", dice San Lorenzo Justiniano, \"a la Sabidur\u00eda encaprichada por demasiado amor.\" De ah\u00ed que a los gentiles, como dice el Ap\u00f3stol, al o\u00edrle predicar la Pasi\u00f3n de Jes\u00fas crucificado, les pareciera una locura: Nosotros predicamos a Cristo crucificado, para los jud\u00edos ciertamente un esc\u00e1ndalo, pero para los gentiles locura<\/em>. \u2014 (1 Cor. i. 23).\u00a0 How is it possible, said they, that a God, almighty and most happy, such as He Who is preached to us, could have been willing to die for His creatures?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ah, Jes\u00fas m\u00edo, si contemplo Tu cuerpo, fuera s\u00f3lo veo Llagas y Sangre. Si dentro, en Tu Coraz\u00f3n, no encuentro m\u00e1s que amargura y angustia, que Te hacen sufrir las agon\u00edas de la muerte. Ah, Dios enamorado de los hombres, \u00bfc\u00f3mo es posible que una bondad tan grande, y un amor semejante, queden tan mal correspondidos por los hombres? Suele decirse que el amor se paga con amor; pero tu amor, \u00bfcon qu\u00e9 clase de amor puede ser pagado? Ser\u00eda necesario que un Dios muriera por Ti para recompensar el amor que T\u00fa nos has tenido al morir por nosotros. \u00a1Oh Cruz, oh Llagas, oh Muerte de Jes\u00fas, que me at\u00e1is estrechamente para amar a mi amado Jes\u00fas!<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Behold your Redeemer expiring, and with His dying breath saying: Se consuma.<\/em> \u2014 (John xix. 30). \u00a0As if He had said: O men, all has been completed and done for your redemption. \u00a0Love Me, then, since I have nothing more that I can do to make you love Me. \u00a0My soul, look up at thy Jesus Who is now going to die.\u00a0 Look at those eyes growing dim, that face grown pale, that Heart which is beating with languid pulse, that Body which is now abandoning itself to death: and look at that beautiful Soul which is just on the point of forsaking that Sacred Body. \u00a0The heavens are darkened, the earth trembles, the sepulchres are opened; signs that now the Maker of the world is about to die. \u00a0Lo, at last, Jesus, after having commended His Blessed Soul to His Father, first giving a deep sigh from His afflicted Heart, and then bowing His head in sign of the offering of His life, which at this moment He renewed for our salvation, at length, by the violence of His sorrow, expires and renders up His Spirit into the hands of His beloved Father.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Approach, my soul, to this holy Cross. \u00a0Embrace the feet of thy dead Saviour, and think that He is dead through the love which He bore to thee. \u00a0Ah, my Jesus, to what has Thy affection towards me reduced Thee?\u00a0 And who, more than I, has enjoyed the fruits of Thy death? \u00a0Make me, I beseech Thee, understand what love that must have been that a God should die for me, to the end that from this day forth I may love none other than Thee. \u00a0I love Thee, O greatest Good; O true Lover of my soul, into Thy hands I here commend it. \u00a0I beseech Thee, by the merits of Thy death, make me to die to all earthly loves, in order that I may love Thee alone, Who art alone worthy of all my love. \u00a0Mary, my hope, pray to Jesus for me.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hail, Jesus, our Love, and Mary, our hope!<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cO riven Heart, O Love for me now crucified!
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Give to my soul repose within Thy wounded side!\u201d<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 CONFESI\u00d3N\u00a0 <\/i><\/strong><\/p>

IV. PROP\u00d3SITO DE ENMIENDA - FIRME, UNIVERSAL, EFICAZ<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the third place, a purpose to sin no more is necessary for a good Confession; and this purpose must be firm, universal,<\/em> y efficacious.
<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 First, it must be firm. <\/em>\u00a0Some say: I would wish nevermore to commit this sin: I would wish never more to offend God. \u00a0Alas! this expression, I would wish; <\/em>denotes that the purpose is not firm. \u00a0In order to have a firm purpose, you must say with a resolute will: I<\/em> will never more commit this sin: I will never more<\/em> deliberately offend God.
<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Secondly, it must be universal.<\/em> \u00a0The penitent must purpose to avoid all sins without exception, that is, all mortal Sins. \u00a0With regard to venial sins, it is sufficient for the validity of the Sacrament to have sorrow for one species of them, and to have a firm purpose to avoid it.\u00a0 Spiritual souls should purpose to avoid all deliberate venial sins; and with regard to indeliberate venial sins, it is enough to resolve to guard against them according to the best of their ability; for it is impossible to avoid all indeliberate sins.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thirdly, the purpose of avoiding sin must be efficacious;<\/em> that is, it must make the penitent adopt the means of not relapsing into the sins that he confesses, and must make him avoid the proximate occasions of a relapse. \u00a0An occasion is called proximate in which a person has frequently fallen into grievous sin, or has been, without a just cause, an occasion of sin to others. \u00a0It is not enough for penitents to purpose merely to renounce sin: it is necessary also to resolve to remove the occasion of it; otherwise all their confessions, though they should receive a thousand absolutions, will be invalid: for not to remove the proximate occasion of mortal sin is in itself a mortal sin. \u00a0And, as I have already shown in my Teolog\u00eda moral<\/em> (Lib. 6, n. 454), he that receives absolution without a firm purpose of removing the proximate occasion of mortal sins, commits a new mortal sin, and is guilty of sacrilege.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But some one may say: If I separate from such a person, if I give up such a familiarity, scandal will be the consequence, and it will be an occasion of talk.\u00a0 I answer: You are wrong; you will, on the contrary, give scandal by not removing the occasion, to those who are aware of the friendship; and be assured, that although they may not speak in your presence, they think your conduct deserving of blame. \u00a0But you will say: To separate from such a one would be an act of incivility, and even of ingratitude, for such a one assists, serves me, and relieves me. \u00a0Yes, such a one helps to remove you from God, and to make you lead an unhappy life here, and a more unhappy life hereafter. \u00a0Is it incivility or ingratitude to avoid such a person?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Civility and gratitude are first due to Jesus Christ, Who is a Sovereign of infinite Majesty, and from Whom we have received immense benefits. \u00a0Do you not then see that it is passion makes you speak in this manner, and makes you seek pretexts in order to bring you to eternal perdition? \u00a0Ah! give no more pain to the Heart of Jesus Christ. \u00a0To St. Ludgard, while she was miserably entangled in a dangerous friendship, Jesus appeared, and showed her His Heart grievously wounded. \u00a0The Saint began to weep over her fault, and took leave of her friend, saying that she could love no other than Jesus Christ, to Whom she had been espoused. \u00a0Thenceforward she consecrated herself entirely to the love of her Spouse, and became a Saint.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 LA PR\u00c1CTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

III. C\u00d3MO MERECE NUESTRO AMOR JESUCRISTO POR EL AMOR QUE NOS HA DEMOSTRADO EN SU PASI\u00d3N<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 El Divino Hijo de Dios, por su amor hacia nosotros, se nos ha entregado por entero: que me am\u00f3 y se entreg\u00f3 por m\u00ed<\/em>. \u2014 (Gal. ii. 20).\u00a0 In order to redeem us from everlasting death, and to recover for us the Divine grace and Heaven which we had forfeited, He became Man, and assumed flesh like our own: Et verbum caro factum est; Y la palabra se hizo carne<\/em>. He aqu\u00ed, pues, un Dios reducido a la nada: Sino que se despoj\u00f3 a s\u00ed mismo, tomando forma de siervo... y en h\u00e1bito hallado como hombre<\/em>. \u2014 (Philipp. ii. 7).\u00a0 Behold the Sovereign Lord of the world humbling Himself so low as to subject Himself to all the miseries which the rest of men endure.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Pero lo que es a\u00fan m\u00e1s asombroso es que \u00c9l bien podr\u00eda habernos salvado sin morir y sin sufrir en absoluto; y, sin embargo, eligi\u00f3 una vida de dolor y desprecio, y una muerte de amargura e ignominia hasta el punto de expirar en una Cruz - la horca de la infamia, el premio de los criminales m\u00e1s viles: Se humill\u00f3 a s\u00ed mismo, haci\u00e9ndose obediente hasta la muerte, y muerte de cruz.<\/em>. \u2014 (Philipp. ii. 8).\u00a0 But why, if He could have ransomed us without suffering, why should He choose to die, and to die on a Cross?\u00a0 To show us how He loved us.\u00a0 que me am\u00f3 y se entreg\u00f3 por m\u00ed<\/em>. Nos am\u00f3, y por amarnos se entreg\u00f3 a s\u00ed mismo a dolores e ignominias, y a una muerte m\u00e1s cruel que la que hombre alguno haya sufrido en este mundo.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That great lover of Jesus Christ, St. Paul, has written: The charity of Christ presseth us \u2014 <\/em>(2 Cor. v. 14); wishing to show us by these words that it is not so much the sufferings themselves of Jesus Christ as His love in enduring them that obliges us and, as it were, constrains us to love Him. \u00a0Let us hear what St. Francis de Sales says on this text: \u201cWhen we remember that Jesus Christ, true God, has loved us to such an excess as to suffer death, and the death of the Cross for us, our hearts are, as it were, put in a wine-press, and suffer violence, until love be extorted from them; but a violence which, the stronger it is, becomes the more delightful.\u201d \u00a0He then goes on to say: \u201c Ah! why do we not therefore cast ourselves on Jesus crucified, to die on the Cross with Him, Who has chosen to die for love of us? \u00a0I will hold Him, we should say, and I will never let Him go; I will die with Him, and will be consumed in the flames of His love. \u00a0One flame shall consume this Divine Creator and His miserable creature. \u00a0My Jesus gives Himself unreservedly to me, and I will give myself unreservedly to Him. \u00a0I will live and die on His loving Breast; neither life nor death shall ever separate me from Him. \u00a0O eternal Love, my soul longs after Thee, and makes choice of Thee for ever! \u00a0Come, O Holy Spirit, and inflame our hearts with love. \u00a0O love, O death, to die to all other loves, to live solely to that of Jesus Christ! \u00a0O Redeemer of our souls, grant that we may eternally sing: \u2018Live, Jesus! \u00a0I love Jesus; live, Jesus, Whom I love! \u00a0Yes, I love Jesus, Who reigns for evermore.\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 EL AMOR DEL CORAZ\u00d3N DE MAR\u00cdA POR DIOS<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Amar\u00e1s al Se\u00f1or tu Dios con todo tu coraz\u00f3n<\/em>. En Mar\u00eda el amor divino era tan ardiente que hasta los Serafines podr\u00edan haber descendido del Cielo para aprender en el coraz\u00f3n de Mar\u00eda c\u00f3mo amar a Dios.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0San Anselmo dice que \"donde hay la mayor pureza, hay tambi\u00e9n la mayor caridad\". Cuanto m\u00e1s puro y vac\u00edo de s\u00ed mismo es un coraz\u00f3n, tanto mayor es la plenitud de su amor hacia Dios. La sant\u00edsima Mar\u00eda, porque era toda humildad, y no ten\u00eda nada de s\u00ed misma en ella, estaba llena del amor Divino, de modo que \"su amor hacia Dios sobrepasaba el de todos los hombres y \u00c1ngeles,\" como escribe San Bernardino. Por eso San Francisco de Sales con raz\u00f3n la llam\u00f3 \"la Reina del amor\".
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0En efecto, Dios ha dado a los hombres el precepto de amarle con todo el coraz\u00f3n: Amar\u00e1s al Se\u00f1or tu Dios con todo tu coraz\u00f3n<\/em>. \u2014 (Matt. xxii. 37); but, as St. Thomas declares,\u00a0 “this commandment will be fully and perfectly fulfilled by men only in Heaven, and not on earth, where it is only fulfilled imperfectly.”\u00a0 On this subject Blessed Albert the Great remarks, that, in a certain sense, it would have been unbecoming had God given a precept that was never to have been perfectly fulfilled.\u00a0 But this would have been the case had not the Divine Mother perfectly fulfilled it.\u00a0 The Saint says: “Either some one fulfilled this precept, or no one; if any one, it must have been the most Blessed Virgin.”\u00a0 Richard of St. Victor confirms this opinion, saying: “The Mother of our Emmanuel practised virtues in their very highest perfection.\u00a0 Who has ever fulfilled as she did that first commandment, Amar\u00e1s al Se\u00f1or tu Dios con todo tu coraz\u00f3n<\/em>? En ella el amor divino era tan ardiente que ning\u00fan defecto de ning\u00fan tipo pod\u00eda tener acceso a ella\". \"El amor divino\", dice San Bernardo, \"penetr\u00f3 y llen\u00f3 de tal manera el alma de Mar\u00eda, que ninguna parte de ella qued\u00f3 intacta; de modo que amaba con todo su coraz\u00f3n, con toda su alma, con todas sus fuerzas, y estaba llena de gracia.\" Por eso bien pod\u00eda decir Mar\u00eda: Mi Amado se ha entregado todo a m\u00ed, y yo me he entregado toda a \u00c9l: Mi amado para m\u00ed, y yo para \u00e9l<\/em>. \u2014 (Cant. ii. 16).\u00a0 “Ah! well might even the Seraphim,” says Richard, “have descended from Heaven to learn, in the heart of Mary, how to love God.”
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh Mar\u00eda, Madre m\u00eda, que no deseas otra cosa que ver a Jes\u00fas amado, alc\u00e1nzame esta gracia sobre todas las dem\u00e1s. No te pido bienes terrenales, ni honores, ni riquezas. Te pido lo que tu propio coraz\u00f3n m\u00e1s desea para m\u00ed. Deseo amar a mi Dios.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0God, Who is love, came on earth to enkindle in the hearts of all the flame of His Divine charity; but in no heart did He enkindle it so much as in that of His Mother; for her heart was entirely pure from all earthly affections, and fully prepared to burn with this blessed flame. \u00a0Thus St. Sophronius says that \u201cDivine love so inflamed her that nothing earthly could enter her affections; she was always burning with this heavenly flame, and, so to say, inebriated with it.\u201d \u00a0Hence the heart of Mary became all fire and flames, as we read of her in the sacred Canticles: The lamps thereof are fire and flame \u2014 <\/em>(Cant. viii. 6); fire burning within through love, as St. Anselm explains it; and flames shining without by the example she gave to all in the practice of virtues. \u00a0When Mary, then, was in this world, and bore Jesus in her arms, she could well be called, \u201cfire carrying fire\u201d; and with far more reason than the woman spoken of by Hippocrates, who was thus called because she carried fire in her hand. \u00a0Yes, for St. Ildephonsus said that \u201cthe Holy Ghost heated, inflamed, and melted Mary with love, as the fire does iron; so that the flame of the Holy Spirit was seen, and nothing was felt but the fire of the love of God.\u201d \u00a0St. Thomas of Villanova says that the bush seen by Moses, which burnt without being consumed, was a real symbol of Mary\u2019s heart. \u00a0Therefore with reason, says St. Bernard, was she seen by St. John clothed with the sun: and there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun <\/em>\u2014 (Apoc. xii. 1); \u201cfor,\u201d continues the Saint, \u201cshe was so closely united to God by love, <\/em>and penetrated so deeply the abyss of Divine wisdom, that, without a personal union with God, it would seem impossible for a creature to have a closer union with Him.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O most beautiful Mary, O most amiable Mary, thou hast gained the Heart of God! \u00a0Take also my heart, and make me a saint. \u00a0I love thee. \u00a0In thee is my confidence. \u00a0Most amiable Mother, pray for me.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 CONFESI\u00d3N\u00a0 <\/i><\/strong><\/p>

V. FALSA VERG\u00dcENZA<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O God, how many souls shall, on account of this accursed shame, burn and burn forever in the very depths of hell! \u00a0Some Christians, through human respect, and through fear of losing the esteem of others, easily continue for months and years to make sacrilegious Confessions and Communions. \u00a0In the Chronicles of the Discalced Carmelites it is related that a young girl of great virtue consented to a sin against chastity; she concealed the sin three times in Confession, and went to Communion; after the third Communion she suddenly fell dead. \u00a0Because she was regarded as a Saint her body was laid in a particular part of the church of the Jesuits; but after the obsequies were finished, and the Church closed, the confessor was conducted by two Angels to the place of interment; she came forth, fell on her knees, and threw from her mouth into a chalice prepared for them, the three consecrated Hosts which had been sacrilegiously received, and miraculously preserved in her breast. \u00a0The Angels stripped her of the scapular; the miserable girl instantly presented a horrible aspect, and was carried out of sight by two devils.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But how can a Christian that has been so daring as to sin grievously against the Divine Majesty, and has thus merited hell, where he should suffer eternal shame, find an excuse before God for concealing a sin in Confession, in order to avoid the momentary and trifling confusion that would arise from confessing it to a priest?\u00a0 If he wishes to be pardoned by God, and to deliver himself from the hell he has deserved, the shame caused by the confession of his sin disposes him to receive pardon. \u00a0It is but just that the man that has despised God should humble and confound himself. \u00a0Adelaide, the sinner, gave a beautiful answer to the devil. \u00a0Being called by God to a change of life, she was converted, and instantly resolved to make a good Confession; the devil placed before her eyes the shame that she should suffer in confessing all her sins, and said to her: \u201cAdelaide, where are you going?\u201d \u00a0She courageously answered: \u201cFilthy beast, do you ask me where I am going? \u00a0I am going to confound myself and to confound you.\u201d<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0 LA PR\u00c1CTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

IV. C\u00d3MO MERECE JESUCRISTO NUESTRO AMOR POR EL AMOR QUE NOS HA DEMOSTRADO EN SU PASI\u00d3N<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0El amor de Jesucristo hacia los hombres cre\u00f3 en \u00c9l un deseo anhelante por el momento de su muerte, cuando su amor se manifestara plenamente a ellos; por eso sol\u00eda decir en vida: Tengo un bautismo con el que he de ser bautizado, y \u00a1cu\u00e1n apurado estoy hasta que se cumpla!<\/em> \u2014 (Luke xii. 50).\u00a0 I have to be baptized in My own Blood; and how do I feel Myself straitened with the desire that the hour of My Passion may soon arrive; for then man will know the love I bear him!\u00a0 Hence, St. John, speaking of that night in which Jesus began His Passion, writes: Jes\u00fas, sabiendo que hab\u00eda llegado su hora, que deb\u00eda pasar de este mundo al Padre, habiendo amado a los suyos que estaban en el mundo, los am\u00f3 hasta el fin...\".<\/em>. \u2014 (John xiii. 1).\u00a0 The Redeemer called that hour His own hour (hora ejus<\/em>), porque el tiempo de su muerte era el tiempo deseado por \u00c9l, ya que era entonces cuando quer\u00eda dar a los hombres la \u00faltima prueba de su amor, muriendo por ellos en una Cruz, abrumado por los dolores.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Pero, \u00bfqu\u00e9 podr\u00eda haber inducido a un Dios a morir como un malhechor en una Cruz entre dos pecadores con tal insulto a Su Divina Majestad? \"\u00bfQu\u00e9 hizo esto?\", pregunta San Bernardo. \u00c9l responde: \"Fue el amor, descuidado de su dignidad\". Ah, el amor, en efecto, cuando trata de darse a conocer, no busca lo que conviene a la dignidad del amante, sino lo que servir\u00e1 mejor para declararse al objeto amado. San Francisco de Paula, por lo tanto, ten\u00eda buenas razones para gritar a la vista de un Crucifijo: \"\u00a1Oh caridad! \u00a1Oh caridad! \u00a1Oh caridad! Y del mismo modo, cuando miramos a Jes\u00fas en la Cruz, todos deber\u00edamos exclamar: \u00a1Oh amor! \u00a1Oh amor! \u00a1Oh amor!<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ah, if Faith had not assured us of it, who could have ever believed that a God, almighty, most happy, and the Lord of all, should have condescended to love man to such an extent that He seems to go out of Himself for the love of him? \u00a0We have Seen Wisdom itself, that is the Eternal Word, become foolish through the excessive love He bore to man! \u00a0So spoke St. Laurence Justinian. \u00a0\u201cWe see Wisdom itself infatuated through excess of love.\u201d \u00a0St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi said the same. \u00a0One day, being in an ecstasy, she took a wooden Crucifix in her hands and cried out: \u201cYes, my Jesus, Thou art mad with love! \u00a0I repeat it, and I will say it for ever: My Jesus, Thou art mad with love!\u201d\u00a0 But no, says St. Denis the Areopagite: \u201cNo, it is not madness, but the ordinary effect of Divine love, which makes him who loves go out of himself in order to give himself up entirely to the object of his love: Divine love causes ecstasy.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, if men would only pause and, looking at Jesus on the Cross, consider the love He has borne each one of them! \u00a0\u201cWith what love,\u201d says St. Francis de Sales, \u201cwould not our souls become enkindled at the sight of those flames which are in the Redeemer\u2019s breast! \u00a0And oh, what happiness, to be able to be consumed by that same fire with which our God burns for us! \u00a0What joy, to be united to God by the chains of love!\u201d \u00a0St. Bonaventure called the Wounds of Jesus Christ, Wounds which pierce the most senseless hearts, and which inflame the most icy souls. \u00a0How many darts of love come forth from those Wounds, to wound the hardest hearts! \u00a0Oh, what flames issue from the burning Heart of Jesus Christ to inflame the coldest souls! \u00a0And chains, how many, from that wounded side, to bind the most stubborn wills!<\/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 SEMANA SANTA<\/em><\/a>
\u21d2 FIRST WEEK AFTER EASTER<\/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 II – PART II, pp. 1-40 EASTER SUNDAY Morning Meditation:\u00a0 THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Let us rejoice at seeing in His risen glory our Saviour, our Father, the best Friend we possess.\u00a0 Let us rejoice, too, … Seguir leyendo <\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4884,"parent":0,"menu_order":76,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7962","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7962","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=7962"}],"version-history":[{"count":139,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12542,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7962\/revisions\/12542"}],"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=7962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}