{"id":9956,"date":"2025-06-26T19:29:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T19:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/?page_id=9956"},"modified":"2026-07-05T20:43:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T20:43:59","slug":"daily-meditations-fifth-week-after-pentecost","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/daily-meditations-fifth-week-after-pentecost\/","title":{"rendered":"MEDITACIONES DIARIAS: QUINTA SEMANA DESPU\u00c9S DE PENTECOST\u00c9S"},"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 III - PARTE II, pp. 1-45<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 LA SALVACI\u00d3N ES NUESTRO \u00daNICO NEGOCIO EN ESTE MUNDO<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Una cosa es necesaria<\/em>. \u2014 (Luke x. 42).\u00a0 It is not necessary we should be rich, or honoured, or in the enjoyment of good health, but it is necessary we should be saved.\u00a0 For this end alone has God placed us in this world, and woe to us if we do not attain it!<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0De todos nuestros asuntos no hay ninguno m\u00e1s importante que el de nuestra salvaci\u00f3n eterna, de la que depende nuestra felicidad o nuestra miseria por toda la eternidad.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Una cosa es necesaria<\/em>. \u2014 (Luke x. 42).\u00a0 It is not necessary we should be rich, honoured, or in the enjoyment of good health, but it is necessary that we should be saved.\u00a0 For this end alone has God placed us in this world, and woe to us if we do not attain it!
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 San Francisco Javier dec\u00eda que el \u00fanico bien que se puede obtener en este mundo es la salvaci\u00f3n; y el \u00fanico mal que hay que temer, la condenaci\u00f3n. \u00bfQu\u00e9 importa que seamos pobres, despreciados o enfermos? Si nos salvamos, seremos felices para siempre. Por el contrario, \u00bfde qu\u00e9 nos sirve ser grandes o monarcas? Si estamos perdidos, seremos miserables por toda la eternidad.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh Dios, \u00bfqu\u00e9 ser\u00e1 de m\u00ed? Puedo salvarme y tambi\u00e9n perderme. Y si puedo perderme, \u00bfpor qu\u00e9 no resuelvo adherirme m\u00e1s estrechamente a Ti?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Jes\u00fas m\u00edo, ten piedad de m\u00ed. Enmendar\u00e9 mi vida. Dame tu ayuda. T\u00fa has muerto para salvarme y, a pesar de ello, \u00bfvoy a perder mi salvaci\u00f3n?<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Have we already done enough to secure salvation?\u00a0 Are we already secure of not falling into hell?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What exchange shall a man give for his soul? \u2014 <\/em>(Matt. xvi. 26). \u00a0If he lose his soul, what will compensate him for his loss?\u00a0 What have not the Saints done to secure their salvation? \u00a0How many kings and queens have renounced their kingdoms and shut themselves up in cloisters! \u00a0How many young men have left their country, and have gone to live in deserts! \u00a0How many young virgins have renounced marriage with the great ones of the world, to go and give their lives for Jesus Christ! \u00a0And what are we doing?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O my God, how much has Jesus Christ done for our salvation! \u00a0He spent thirty-three years in toil and labour; He gave His Blood and His Life; and shall we, through our own fault, be lost?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Lord, I give Thee thanks for not having called me out of the world when I had forfeited Thy grace. \u00a0Had I died then, what would have become of me for all eternity?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 God desires that all should he saved: He will have all men to be saved. \u2014 <\/em>(1 Tim. ii. 4). \u00a0If we are lost, it will be entirely our own fault. \u00a0And this will be our greatest torment in hell.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 St. Teresa says that even the loss of a trifle, of an ornament, of a ring, when it has happened through our own carelessness, occasions us the greatest uneasiness.\u00a0 What a torment, then, will it be to the damned to have wilfully lost all \u2013 their souls, Heaven, and God!
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Alas! death approaches; and what have I done for life eternal?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O my God, for how many years have I deserved to dwell in hell, where I could not repent, nor love Thee!\u00a0 Now that I can repent and love Thee, I will repent and I will love Thee.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 I. LA VENTAJA DE UN RETIRO HECHO EN SOLEDAD Y SILENCIO*.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I have received your last letter in which you tell me you are still undecided as to the state of life you should choose, and that having communicated to your Pastor the advice I gave you \u2013 namely, to go for that purpose to perform the Spiritual Exercises in the house your father owns in the country \u2013 the said Pastor answered you it was not necessary to go there to torture your brains for eight days in solitude, but that it was enough for you to attend the Retreat he would soon have for the people in his own church. \u00a0Now, as on this point of making the Exercises you again ask my advice, it is necessary I should answer you more at length, and show you how much greater the fruit of the Spiritual Exercises is when they are performed in silence, in some retired place, than in public, when one is obliged during the time to live in one\u2019s own house and converse with relatives and friends: and the more so in your case, for, as you write to me, you have in your own home no quiet room to which you can retire.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Besides, I am very much in favour of a Retreat performed in solitude, closed away from the world, as I know it is to such a Retreat I owe my own conversion and my resolution to give up the world. \u00a0I will later suggest to you the means and precautions to be taken during the Spiritual Exercises in order to reap from them the fruit you desire. \u00a0I beg of you, when you have read this letter yourself, to give it to your Rev. Parish Priest that he may read it also.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Let us, then, speak first of the great benefit of the Spiritual Exercises when performed in solitude, where one converses with God alone, and let us see the reason for this.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The truths of eternal life, such as the great affair of our salvation, the value of the time God gives us that we may amass merits for a happy Eternity, the obligations under which we are to love God for His infinite goodness and the immense love He has for us, \u2013 these and similar things are not seen with the eyes of the flesh, but only with the eyes of the mind. \u00a0It is, on the contrary, certain that, unless our understanding represents to the will the value of a good or the greatness of an evil, we shall never embrace that good nor reject that evil. \u00a0And this is the ruin of those who are attached to this world. \u00a0They live in darkness, and not seeing the greatness of eternal good and eternal evil, and allured by the senses, they give themselves up to forbidden pleasure and thus miserably perish.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wherefore the Holy Ghost admonishes us that in order to avoid sin we must keep before our eyes the Last Things which are to come upon us; that is, Death, with which all the goods of this earth will come to an end for us, and the Divine Judgment, in which we shall have to give to God an account of our whole life. \u00a0Remember thy last end and thou shalt never sin. <\/em>\u2014 (Ecclus. vii. 40).\u00a0 And in another place God says: Oh, that they would be wise and would understand and would provide for their last end. \u2014 <\/em>(Deut. xxxii. 29). By which words He wishes us to understand that if men would consider the things of the next life, they would all certainly take care to sanctify themselves, and would not expose themselves to the danger of an unhappy life in Eternity. \u00a0But they shut their eyes to the light and thus, remaining blind, precipitate themselves into an abyss of evil. \u00a0This is why the Saints always prayed the Lord to give them light. \u00a0Enlighten my eyes, that I never sleep in death. <\/em>\u2014 (Ps. xii. 4). \u00a0May God cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us. <\/em>\u2014 (Ps. lxvi. 2). \u00a0Make the way known to me wherein I should walk. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. cxlii 8). \u00a0Give me understanding and I will learn thy commandments. <\/em>\u2014 (Ps. cxviii. 73).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now in order to obtain this Divine light we must come close to God. \u00a0Come ye to him and be enlightened<\/em>. \u2014 (Ps. xxxiii. 6). \u00a0For, as St. Augustine tells us, that as we cannot see the sun without the light of the sun itself, so we cannot see the light of God but by the light of God Himself. \u00a0This light is obtained in the Spiritual Exercises; by them we come close to God, and God enlightens us with His light. \u00a0The Spiritual Exercises mean nothing else than that we retire for a time from intercourse with the world, and go to converse with God alone, where God speaks to us by His inspirations, and we speak to God in our meditations by acts of love, by repenting of the sins by which we have displeased Him, by offering ourselves to serve Him for the future with all our heart, and by beseeching Him to make known to us His will, and give us strength to accomplish it.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Holy Job says: Now I should have rest in my sleep with kings and consuls of the earth who build themselves solitudes. <\/em>\u2014 (Job iii. 13). \u00a0Who are these kings that build themselves solitudes? \u00a0They are, as St. Gregory says, those who rise above this world, and withdraw from its tumults to render themselves fit to talk alone with God.\u00a0 \u201cThey build solitudes, that is, they separate themselves as far as possible from the tumult of the world, in order to be alone and to become fit to speak with God.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One day as St. Arsenius was reflecting on the means that he should take to become a saint, God caused him to hear these words: Fuge<\/em>! \u00a0Tace<\/em>! \u00a0Quiesce<\/em>! \u00a0\u201cFly! \u00a0Be silent! \u00a0And rest!\u201d\u00a0 Fly from the world; be silent; cease to talk with men, and speak only with Me, and thus rest in peace and solitude. \u00a0In conformity with this, St. Anselm wrote to one worried by many worldly occupations, who complained that he had not a moment of peace, and gave the following advice: \u201cLeave your occupations for a while; hide yourself from your tumultuous thoughts; apply yourself for a time to contemplate God and rest in Him: Say to God: Now teach my heart where and how I may seek Thee; where and how I may find Thee.\u201d\u00a0 Words that are applicable, each and all, to yourself.\u00a0 Fly, says he, for a short time from those earthly occupations which render you so unquiet, and rest in solitude with God. \u00a0Say to Him: O Lord, show me where and how I may find Thee, that I may speak alone with Thee, and at the same time hear Thy words.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 God speaks indeed to those who seek Him, but He does not speak in the midst of the tumult of the world.\u00a0 The Lord is not in the commotion of the earthquake, as was said to Elias when God called him to solitude. \u00a0The voice of God, as it is said in the same place, is as the breath of a gentle air, which is scarcely heard, and then not by the ear of the body, but by that of the heart, without noise and in a sweet retreat. \u00a0This is exactly what the Lord says through Osee: I will lead her into solitude, and I will speak to her heart. <\/em>\u2014 (ii. 14). \u00a0When the Lord wishes to draw a soul to Himself, He leads it into solitude, far from the embarrassment of the world and intercourse with men, and there speaks to it in words of fire. \u00a0The word of God is said to be of fire, because it melts a soul, as the sacred Spouse says: My soul melted when he (my beloved) spoke. <\/em>\u2014 (Cant. v. 6).\u00a0 It prepares the soul to submit readily to the direction of God, and to embrace the manner of life which God wishes. \u00a0The word of God is so exceedingly efficacious that at the very time it is heard it operates in the soul all that God requires.<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0* Este peque\u00f1o tratado fue escrito por San Alfonso en forma de carta a un joven que le consult\u00f3 sobre el estado de vida que deb\u00eda elegir. - ED.<\/h6>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0\u00a0LA PR\u00c1CTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

\"La caridad lo soporta todo\".<\/em><\/p>

EL QUE AMA A JESUCRISTO TODO LO SOPORTA POR \u00c9L, Y ESPECIALMENTE LA ENFERMEDAD, LA POBREZA Y EL DESPRECIO<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Dec\u00eda el padre Baltasar \u00c1lvarez que el cristiano no debe imaginarse haber hecho ning\u00fan progreso en la perfecci\u00f3n hasta que no haya logrado penetrar en su coraz\u00f3n un sentido duradero de las penas, pobreza e ignominias de Jesucristo, de modo que sea capaz de soportar con amorosa paciencia toda pena, privaci\u00f3n y desprecio, por amor de Jesucristo.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 En primer lugar, hablemos de las enfermedades corporales, que, soportadas con paciencia, merecen para nosotros una hermosa corona.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 San Vicente de Pa\u00fal dijo: \"Si supi\u00e9ramos cu\u00e1n precioso tesoro encierran las enfermedades, las aceptar\u00edamos con alegr\u00eda como la mayor de las bendiciones posibles\". De ah\u00ed que el mismo Santo, aunque constantemente afligido por dolencias que a menudo no le dejaban descanso ni de d\u00eda ni de noche, las soportaba con tanta paz y serenidad de semblante que nadie pod\u00eda adivinar que algo le aquejaba en absoluto. Oh, \u00a1cu\u00e1n edificante es ver a una persona enferma sobrellevar su enfermedad con un semblante pac\u00edfico, como lo hizo San Francisco de Sales! Cuando estaba enfermo, simplemente le daba a conocer su queja al m\u00e9dico, le obedec\u00eda exactamente tomando las medicinas prescritas, aunque le dieran n\u00e1useas; y por lo dem\u00e1s, permanec\u00eda en paz, sin pronunciar una sola queja en todos sus sufrimientos. \u00a1Qu\u00e9 contraste con \u00e9sta es la conducta de aquellos que no hacen m\u00e1s que quejarse hasta de la m\u00e1s insignificante indisposici\u00f3n, y que quisieran tener a su alrededor a todos sus parientes y amigos para contar con su simpat\u00eda! Muy distinta fue la instrucci\u00f3n de Santa Teresa a sus monjas: \"Hermanas m\u00edas, aprended a sufrir algo por amor de Jesucristo, sin que todo el mundo lo sepa\". Un Viernes Santo, Jesucristo favoreci\u00f3 al Venerable Padre Luis da Ponte con tantos sufrimientos corporales, que ninguna parte de \u00e9l estaba exenta de su dolor particular; mencion\u00f3 sus graves sufrimientos a un amigo, pero despu\u00e9s se arrepinti\u00f3 tanto de haberlo hecho, que hizo voto de no revelar nunca m\u00e1s a nadie lo que tuviera que sufrir despu\u00e9s. Digo \"fue favorecido\", porque, para los santos, las enfermedades y los dolores que Dios les env\u00eda son verdaderos favores.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One day as St. Francis of Assisi lay on his bed in excruciating torments, a companion said to him: \u201cFather, beg of God to ease your pains, and not to lay so heavy a hand upon you.\u201d \u00a0On hearing this the Saint instantly leaped from his bed, and going down on his knees, thanked God for his sufferings; then, turning to his companion he said: \u201cListen; did I not know that you so spoke from simplicity, I would refuse ever to see you again.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Some one who is sick will say it is not so much the infirmity itself that afflicts me as that it prevents me from going to church to perform my devotions, to communicate, and to hear Holy Mass; I cannot go to choir to recite the Divine Office with my brethren; I cannot celebrate Mass; I cannot pray; for my head is aching with pain, and light almost to fainting. \u00a0But tell me now, if you please, why do you wish to go to church or to choir? \u00a0Why would you communicate and say or hear Holy Mass? \u00a0Is it to please God? \u00a0But it is not now the pleasure of God that you say Office; that you communicate, or hear Mass; but that you remain patiently on this bed, and support the pains of this infirmity. \u00a0But you are not pleased with my speaking thus; then you are not seeking to do what is pleasing to God, but what is pleasing to yourself. \u00a0The Blessed John of Avila wrote as follows to a priest who so complained to him; \u201cMy friend, busy not yourself with what you would do if you were well, but be content to remain ill as long as God thinks fit. \u00a0If you seek the will of God, what matters it to you whether you be well or ill?\u201d<\/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\tLUNES DE LA QUINTA SEMANA DESPU\u00c9S DE PENTECOST\u00c9S<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 LA P\u00c9RDIDA DEL ALMA, UN MAL IRREPARABLE<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0\u00bfCu\u00e1nto tardaremos? Hasta que tengamos que llorar con los condenados, diciendo: \u00a1Ergo erravimus! Por tanto, \u00a1nos hemos equivocado!<\/em> \u2014 (Wis. v. 6) and there is now no longer, or ever shall be, any remedy for us?\u00a0 For every other misfortune in this world there is some remedy, but for the loss of the soul, there is none.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00bfY cu\u00e1nto tardaremos? Hasta que tengamos que llorar con los condenados, diciendo: \u00a1Ergo erravimus! Por tanto, \u00a1nos hemos equivocado!<\/em> \u2013 and there is now no longer, or ever shall be, any remedy for us?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Para cualquier otra desgracia en este mundo hay alg\u00fan remedio, pero para la p\u00e9rdida del alma no hay ninguno.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a1Cu\u00e1ntas penas y molestias se toman los hombres para obtener riquezas, dignidades, placeres! Pero, \u00bfqu\u00e9 hacen para salvar sus almas? Nada; \u00a1como si la p\u00e9rdida del alma fuera de poca importancia!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a1Cu\u00e1nta diligencia en preservar la salud corporal! Se buscan los mejores m\u00e9dicos, los mejores remedios, el mejor clima. Y en cuanto a la salud del alma, \u00a1qu\u00e9 gran negligencia!
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a1Oh Dios m\u00edo, no resistir\u00e9 m\u00e1s Tus llamadas! Qui\u00e9n sabe si las palabras que ahora leo ser\u00e1n mi \u00faltima llamada de Dios.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00bfPodemos ser conscientes del peligro de perdernos para siempre y no temblar? \u00bfY tardamos en poner remedio a los des\u00f3rdenes de nuestras conciencias?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Alma m\u00eda, \u00a1cu\u00e1ntas gracias no te ha concedido Dios para que te salves! Te ha hecho nacer en el seno de la verdadera Iglesia. Cu\u00e1ntas ventajas para llegar a ser santo. Sermones, confesiones, el buen ejemplo de los compa\u00f1eros. \u00a1Cu\u00e1ntas luces, cu\u00e1ntas llamadas amorosas en los Ejercicios Espirituales, en la Meditaci\u00f3n, en la Sagrada Comuni\u00f3n! \u00a1Cu\u00e1ntas misericordias no te ha hecho \u00c9l! \u00a1Cu\u00e1nto tiempo no te ha esperado! \u00a1Cu\u00e1ntas veces no te ha perdonado! - Gracias que no ha concedido a tantos otros.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What is there that I ought to do more to my vineyard that I have not done to it?<\/em> \u2014 (Is. v. 4). \u00a0What more, says Almighty God, ought I to do for your soul? For how many years have you been in the world and what fruit have you hitherto brought forth?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If we had been allowed to choose the means of salvation, what more easy and effectual means could we have chosen?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Alas! if we do not avail ourselves of so many graces, they will serve only to render our death the more miserable.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0To become a saint it is not necessary to have ecstasies and visions; sufficient for you are the ordinary means which you possess. \u00a0Meditate, communicate frequently, read spiritual books, fly all sinful occasions, and you will become a saint.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O God, already have I lived many years in the world, and what have I hitherto gained? \u00a0O Jesus! \u00a0Thy precious Blood, Thy death upon the Cross, are my hope!
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If this night I were to die, should I be satisfied with my past life? \u00a0No; and why do I delay? \u00a0Death may come, and I may have to lament and say: Alas! my life is now at an end, and I have done nothing!
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What a grace would it be for a sick man, already despaired of by his physicians, to be allowed another year, or even another month! \u00a0And God grants me this time; and how shall I employ it for the future?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Lord, since Thou hast waited for me until now, I will no longer disregard Thee. \u00a0Here I am! \u00a0Tell me what Thou requirest of me, and I will do it. \u00a0I will not wait to give myself to Thee until time for me be no more.\u00a0 O Jesus! I will never more offend Thee. \u00a0I will spend the remainder of my life in bewailing my past sins, and in loving Thee, the God of my soul.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 II. LA VENTAJA DE UN RETIRO HECHO EN SOLEDAD Y SILENCIO<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One day the Lord said to St. Teresa: \u201cThere are many souls to whom I would willingly speak, but the world makes so great a noise in their hearts that My voice cannot be heard. \u00a0Oh, if they would but separate themselves a little from the world!\u201d \u00a0Thus, then, my very dear friend, the Lord wishes to speak to you, but alone and in solitude; since if He would speak to you in your own house, your relations, your friends, and your domestic occupations would continue to make a noise in your heart, and you would be unable to bear His voice.\u00a0 The Saints have for this reason left their homes and their country, and gone to hide themselves in caverns or deserts, or at least in a cell in some Religious house, there to find God and hear His voice. \u00a0St. Eucherius relates that a certain person seeking a place in which he could find God, went for this purpose to ask counsel from a master of the spiritual life. \u00a0The man of God led him to a solitary place and then said: \u201cBehold, here God may be found!\u201d adding nothing more. \u00a0By this he wished him to understand that God is not to be found in the midst of the noise of the world, but in solitude.\u00a0 St. Bernard says that he learned to know God better amongst the beeches and oaks than in all the learned books he had ever studied.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Worldlings love to be in company with friends, to talk and divert themselves; but the desire of the Saints is to live in solitary places, in the midst of forests, or in caverns, there to converse alone with God Who in solitude familiarly converses with souls as a friend with his friend. \u00a0\u201cOh, Solitude,\u201d exclaims St. Jerome, \u201cin which God familiarly converses with His servants!\u201d \u00a0The Venerable Vincent Caraffa said that if it had been free to him to wish for anything in this world, he would have asked for nothing but a little grotto with a piece of bread and a spiritual book, there always to live far from men, and conversing alone with God. \u00a0The Spouse of the Canticles, praising the beauty of a soul living in solitude, compares it to the beauty of the turtle-dove: Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtle-dove\u2019s <\/em>\u2014 (Cant. i. 0), precisely because the turtle-dove avoids the company of other birds, and always lives in the most solitary places. \u00a0Hence it is that the holy Angels are filled with admiration and joy at the beauty and splendour of a soul ascending into Heaven after a life hidden and solitary as in a desert: Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights? \u2014 <\/em>(Cant. viii. 5).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now I have written all these things in order to inspire you with a love for holy solitude, for I hope that in the Exercises you are going to perform you will not have to torture your brains, as your pastor said, but that the Lord will make you taste so great a spiritual delight, that you will come out of your Retreat with such an affection for the Spiritual Exercises that you will not fail hereafter to go through them every year.\u00a0 This will be of immense advantage to your soul, whatever state of life you may choose, because in the midst of the world, its various occupations, disturbances, and distractions always produce dryness of spirit, so that it is necessary from time to time to refresh and renew it, as St. Paul exhorts: Be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind. \u2014 <\/em>(Ephes, iv. 23).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 King David, troubled by earthly cares, wished to have wings and to fly from the bustle of the world in order to find rest: Who will give me wings . . . and I will fly away and be at rest? \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. liv. 7). \u00a0But being unable to leave the world in body, he at least sought from time to time to withdraw himself from the affairs of the realm he governed and dwelt in solitude conversing with God, and thus his spirit found peace. \u00a0I have gone far off, flying away, and I abode in the wilderness. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. v. 8).<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0\u00a0LA PR\u00c1CTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

\u201cCharity beareth all things.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

EL QUE AMA A JESUCRISTO TODO LO SOPORTA POR \u00c9L, Y ESPECIALMENTE LA ENFERMEDAD, LA POBREZA Y EL DESPRECIO<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0You say you are unable even to pray, because your head is so weak.\u00a0 Be it so: you cannot meditate; but why cannot you make acts of resignation to the will of God?\u00a0 If you would only make these acts, you could not make a better prayer, welcoming with love all the torments that assail you.\u00a0 Thus did St. Vincent de Paul act.\u00a0 When attacked by a serious illness, he was wont to keep himself tranquilly in the presence of God, without forcing his mind to dwell on any particular subject; his sole exercise was to elicit some short acts from time to time, as of love, of confidence, of thanksgiving, and more frequently of resignation, especially in the crisis of his sufferings.\u00a0 St. Francis de Sales made this remark: \u201cConsidered in themselves tribulations are terrifying; but considered in the will of God, they are lovely and delightful.\u201d \u00a0You cannot make meditation, you say, and what more exquisite prayer than to cast a look from time to time on your crucified Lord, and to offer Him your pains, uniting the little that you endure with the overwhelming torments that afflicted Jesus on the Cross!<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There was a certain pious lady lying bed-ridden with many ailments, and on the servant putting the Crucifix into her hands and telling her to pray to God to deliver her from her miseries, she made answer: \u201cBut how can you desire me to seek to descend from the Cross, whilst I hold in my hands a God crucified?\u00a0 God forbid that I should do so! \u00a0I will suffer for Him Who chose to suffer torments for me incomparably greater than mine.\u201d \u00a0This was, indeed, precisely what Jesus Christ said to St. Teresa when she was labouring under serious illness; He appeared to her all covered with Wounds, and then said to her: \u201cBehold, My daughter, the bitterness of My sufferings, and consider if yours equal Mine.\u201d \u00a0Hence the Saint was accustomed to say in the midst of all her infirmities: \u201cWhen I remember in how many ways my Saviour suffered, though He was innocence itself, I know not how it could enter my head to complain of my sufferings.\u201d \u00a0During a period of thirty-eight years St. Lidwina was afflicted with numberless diseases \u2013 fevers, gout in the feet and hands, and sores, all her life-time; nevertheless, from never losing sight of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, she maintained an unbroken cheerfulness and joy. \u00a0In like manner, St. Joseph of Leonessa, a Capuchin, when the surgeon was about to amputate his arm, and his brethren would have bound him to prevent his stirring from vehemence of pain, seized hold of the Crucifix and exclaimed: \u201cWherefore bind me? \u00a0Wherefore bind me?\u00a0 Behold Who it is that binds me to support every suffering patiently for love of Him!\u201d \u00a0And so he bore the operation without a murmur. \u00a0St. Jonas the Martyr, after passing the entire night immersed in ice water by order of the tyrant, declared next morning that he had never spent a happier night, because he had pictured to himself Jesus hanging on the Cross; and thus, compared with the torments of Jesus, his own had seemed rather caresses than sufferings.<\/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\tMARTES DE LA QUINTA SEMANA DESPU\u00c9S DE PENTECOST\u00c9S<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 DEBEMOS ANTE TODO ASEGURAR LA SALVACI\u00d3N DE NUESTRAS ALMAS<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Procedamos en seguida a la obra de la salvaci\u00f3n de nuestra alma, porque la muerte se acerca. Lo que podamos hacer hoy, no lo dejemos para ma\u00f1ana. El tiempo pasa y no vuelve m\u00e1s.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Procedamos en seguida a la obra de la salvaci\u00f3n de nuestra alma, porque la muerte se acerca. Lo que podamos hacer hoy, no lo dejemos para ma\u00f1ana. El tiempo pasa y no vuelve m\u00e1s.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Todos dicen, en la hora de la muerte: \u00a1Oh, si yo hubiera sido un santo! Pero \u00bfde qu\u00e9 servir\u00e1n esos lamentos cuando falte el aceite y la l\u00e1mpara se apague pronto?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Lo diremos cuando llegue la muerte: \u00bfQu\u00e9 me habr\u00eda costado evitar esa ocasi\u00f3n, soportar a esa persona, romper esa correspondencia, ceder ese punto de honor? Pero no lo hice; \u00bfy ahora qu\u00e9 ser\u00e1 de m\u00ed?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Let us not think that we can do too much to gain eternal salvation.\u00a0 \u201cNo security can be too great,\u201d says St. Bernard, \u201cwhere Eternity is at stake.\u201d
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Para asegurar nuestra salvaci\u00f3n, debemos estar resueltos a adoptar los medios. No bastar\u00e1 la inclinaci\u00f3n, ni nos servir\u00e1 decir: Lo har\u00e9 de aqu\u00ed a poco. El infierno est\u00e1 lleno de almas que dijeron: \u00a1Pronto! \u00a1Dentro de poco! Entre tanto lleg\u00f3 la muerte, y se perdieron.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0O Lord, help me!\u00a0 I will say to Thee, with St. Catherine of Genoa: \u201cMy Jesus, no more sins, no more sins!\u201d\u00a0 I renounce all things to please Thee.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Apostle says, With fear and trembling work out your salvation. \u2014 <\/em>(Phil. ii. 12). \u00a0He who trembles at the thought of being lost, always recommends himself to God, avoids the occasions of sin, and will be saved.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To be saved we must use violence. \u00a0Heaven is not given to indolent cowards. \u00a0The violent bear it away. <\/em>\u2014 (Matt. xi. 12).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Lord, how many promises have I not made Thee!\u00a0 But my promises have all been treasons. \u00a0I will never betray Thee more; help me, grant that I may die rather than offend Thee.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ask,<\/em> says our Lord, and you shall receive. \u2014 <\/em>(John xvi. 24), by which He manifests to us His great desire that we should be saved. \u00a0If any one should say to his friend: Ask of me what you please, he could say nothing more.\u00a0 Let us, then, ever pray to God, and we shall be enriched with graces, and secure of salvation.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My dear Jesus, cast Thine eyes on my miseries and have pity on me. \u00a0I have been forgetful of Thee, but Thou hast not forgotten me. \u00a0I love Thee, my Love, with all my soul; I detest all the offences I have committed against Thee above every evil. \u00a0Pardon me, my God, and forget my many acts of ingratitude. \u00a0And since Thou knowest my weakness, do not abandon me; enlighten me, and strengthen me to conquer all things to please Thee. \u00a0Grant that I may forget all, that I may think only of Thy love and the mercies by which Thou hast so powerfully obliged me to love Thee. \u00a0Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 III. LA VENTAJA DE UN RETIRO HECHO EN SOLEDAD Y SILENCIO<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus Christ, Who had no need of solitude to be recollected and united with God, in order to set us an example, often retired from intercourse with men and withdrew to mountains or into deserts to pray: Having dismissed the multitude he went into a mountain alone to pray \u2014 <\/em>(Matt. xiv. 23); and He retired into the desert and prayed. <\/em>\u2014 (Luke v. 16). \u00a0He also desired His disciples, after the fatigue of their missions, to retire to some solitary place to rest in spirit: Come apart into a desert place and rest a little <\/em>\u2014 (Mark vi. 31), declaring by this that the spirit, even amidst spiritual occupations, being obliged to treat with men, becomes somewhat relaxed, whence it is very necessary to renew it in solitude and retreat.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Worldlings, who are accustomed to divert themselves in conversations, at banquets and plays, imagine that in solitude, where no such things are found, one must suffer insupportable tediousness. \u00a0This is indeed the case with those who have a conscience defiled by sin. \u00a0As long as they are occupied in the affairs of this world they do not think of the things of the soul; but when they are disengaged and in solitude where they do not seek God, they feel all at once remorse of conscience, and thus they find nothing but tediousness and pain. \u00a0But in the case of one who seeks God, he will find in solitude not tediousness, but contentment and joy. \u00a0Of this the Wise Man assures us: For her<\/em> (wisdom\u2019s) conversation hath no bitterness, nor her company any tediousness, but joy and gladness. \u2014 <\/em>(Wis. viii. 16). \u00a0Oh no, to converse with God causes no bitterness, no tediousness; no, nothing but peace and joy.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Blessed Cardinal Bellarmine, during the season when the other Cardinals went to pass their holidays in country seats and villas, used to go to some quiet house to make the Exercises for a month, and these he called his holiday, and certainly his heart found more delight in them than others did in their pastimes.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 St. Charles Borromeo made the Exercises every year and found in them his paradise on earth; and it was while he was one year engaged in these Exercises on Mount Varalle that his last illness and death came.\u00a0 Hence it is that St. Jerome says that solitude was his paradise on earth: \u201cSolitude is a paradise to me.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But, perhaps, some one will ask: What contentment can a person find, being alone and having no one with whom to converse? \u00a0St. Bernard answers: \u201cHe who seeks God is by no means alone in solitude, for God Himself is there with him, and renders him happier than if he had the company of the first princes of the world.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cI am never less alone,\u201d wrote the holy Abbot, \u201cthan when alone?\u201d \u00a0Nunquam minus solus quam cum solus.
<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Prophet Isaias, describing the sweetness which God gives to those who seek Him in retreat, says: The Lord therefore will comfort Sion, and will comfort all the ruins thereof; and he will make her desert as a place of pleasure, and her wilderness as a garden of the Lord.\u00a0 Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of praise. \u2014 <\/em>(Is. li. 3).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Lord well knows how to comfort a soul that withdraws from the world. \u00a0He compensates a thousandfold for the loss of all the pleasures of the world. \u00a0He changes solitude into a garden of delights, where the tumult of the world being excluded, the soul thanks and praises God, and finds a very paradise of peace.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0\u00a0LA PR\u00c1CTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

\u201cCharity beareth all things.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

EL QUE AMA A JESUCRISTO TODO LO SOPORTA POR \u00c9L, Y ESPECIALMENTE LA ENFERMEDAD, LA POBREZA Y EL DESPRECIO<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a1Oh, qu\u00e9 abundancia de m\u00e9ritos puede acumularse soportando pacientemente una enfermedad! Dios Todopoderoso revel\u00f3 al Padre Baltasar \u00c1lvarez la gran gloria que ten\u00eda reservada para cierta religiosa que hab\u00eda soportado con resignaci\u00f3n una dolorosa enfermedad; y le dijo que hab\u00eda adquirido m\u00e1s m\u00e9ritos en aquellos ocho meses de su enfermedad que otras Religiosas en muchos a\u00f1os. Es por la paciente resistencia de la enfermedad que tejemos una gran parte, y quiz\u00e1s la mayor parte, de la corona que Dios destina para nosotros en el Cielo. Santa Lidwina tuvo una revelaci\u00f3n en este sentido. Despu\u00e9s de sufrir muchos y muy crueles des\u00f3rdenes, como ya hemos dicho, rog\u00f3 morir m\u00e1rtir por amor a Jesucristo; un d\u00eda, suspirando por este martirio, vio de repente una hermosa corona, pero a\u00fan incompleta, y comprendi\u00f3 que estaba destinada a ella; entonces la Santa, deseando verla completa, suplic\u00f3 al Se\u00f1or que aumentara sus sufrimientos. Su plegaria fue escuchada, pues en seguida llegaron unos soldados y la maltrataron, no s\u00f3lo con palabras injuriosas, sino con golpes y ultrajes. Entonces se le apareci\u00f3 un \u00c1ngel con la corona terminada, y le inform\u00f3 que aquellas \u00faltimas injurias le hab\u00edan a\u00f1adido las gemas que le faltaban; y poco despu\u00e9s expir\u00f3.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ah, yes! to the hearts that fervently love Jesus Christ, pains and ignominies are most delightful. \u00a0And thus we see the holy Martyrs going with gladness to encounter the sharp prongs and hooks of iron, the plates of glowing steel and axes. \u00a0The Martyr St. Procopius thus spoke to the tyrant who tortured him: \u201cTorment me as you like; but know at the same time that nothing sweeter to the lover of Jesus Christ than to suffer for His sake.\u201d\u00a0 St. Gordiano, Martyr, replied in the same way to the tyrant who threatened him with death: \u201cThou threatenest me with death; but I am sorry that I can die only once for my own beloved Jesus.\u201d \u00a0And I ask, did these Saints speak thus because they were insensible to pain or weak in intellect? \u00a0No, replies St. Bernard; not insensibility, but love caused this: Hoc non fecit stupor, sed amor.<\/em> \u00a0They were not insensible, for they felt well enough the torments inflicted on them; but since they loved God, they esteemed it a great privilege to suffer for God, and to lose all, even life itself, for the love of God.<\/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 LA QUINTA SEMANA DESPU\u00c9S DE PENTECOST\u00c9S<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 LA VANIDAD DEL MUNDO - LOS BIENES DE ESTE MUNDO SON BIENES FALSOS<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a1El mundo! \u00bfY qu\u00e9 es el mundo sino mero espect\u00e1culo? Una escena que pasa r\u00e1pidamente.\u00a0 La moda de este mundo pasa.<\/em>\u00a0 La muerte se acerca, cae el tel\u00f3n, se cierra la escena, \u00a1y todo llega a su fin!<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00bfQu\u00e9 aprovechar\u00e1 al hombre, si ganare todo el mundo, y perdiere su alma?<\/em> \u2014 (Matt. xvi. 26).\u00a0 O great maxim, which has conducted so many souls to Heaven, and bestowed so many Saints on the Church!\u00a0 What doth it profit to gain the whole world, which passes away, and lose the soul, which is eternal?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0El mundo. \u00bfY qu\u00e9 es el mundo sino un mero espect\u00e1culo, una escena que pasa r\u00e1pidamente?\u00a0 La moda de este mundo pasa.<\/em> \u2014 (1 Cor. vii. 31).\u00a0 Death approaches, the curtain falls, the scene closes, and thus all comes to an end!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a1Ay! a la hora de la muerte, \u00a1c\u00f3mo le parecer\u00e1n al cristiano todas las cosas mundanas -esos vasos de plata, esos montones de oro, esos muebles ricos y vanos- cuando tenga que dejarlas todas para siempre!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh Jes\u00fas, haz que en adelante mi alma sea toda Tuya. Haz que no ame a nadie m\u00e1s que a Ti. Deseo renunciar a todas las cosas antes de que la muerte me arranque de ellas.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0St. Teresa says: \u201cNothing ought to be considered of consequence which must come to an end.\u201d\u00a0 Let us, therefore, strive to gain that treasure which will not fail with time.\u00a0 What does it avail a man to be happy for a few days (if indeed there can be any happiness without God), if he must be unhappy forever in eternity.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0David dice que los bienes terrenales, a la hora de la muerte, parecer\u00e1n como un sue\u00f1o a quien despierta del sue\u00f1o: Como el sue\u00f1o de los despiertos<\/em>. \u2014 (Ps. lxxii. 20).\u00a0 What disappointment does he feel who, having dreamt he was a king, on awaking finds himself still as lowly and poor as ever?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh Dios m\u00edo, \u00bfqui\u00e9n sabe sino que esta meditaci\u00f3n que ahora leo ser\u00e1 para m\u00ed la \u00faltima llamada? Perm\u00edteme desarraigar de mi coraz\u00f3n todos los afectos terrenales, antes de entrar en la eternidad. Haz que sea consciente del gran mal que te he hecho, ofendi\u00e9ndote y abandon\u00e1ndote por amor a las criaturas.\u00a0 Padre, no soy digno de ser llamado hijo tuyo<\/em>. \u2014 (Luke xv. 21).\u00a0 I am grieved for having turned my back upon Thee; do not reject me, now that I return to Thee.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No position of dignity, no magnificence, no wealth, no nice points of honour, no pastimes, will console a Christian at the hour of death; the love of Jesus Christ, and the little that he has suffered for His love, will alone console him.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Philip II, when dying, said \u201cOh, that I had been a Lay-Brother in some Monastery, and not a King!\u201d\u00a0 Philip III said \u201cOh, that I had lived in a desert! \u00a0Alas, now I shall appear with but little confidence before the tribunal of God!\u201d \u00a0Thus, at the hour of death, do those express themselves who have been esteemed the most fortunate in this world.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In short, all earthly goods generally bring, at the hour of death, only remorse of conscience and fear of eternal damnation. \u00a0O God! will the dying sinner say, I have had sufficient light to withdraw myself from worldliness, and yet I have followed the world, and its maxims; and now what sentence will be pronounced upon me? \u00a0Fool that I have been! \u00a0I might have been a saint, with the means of grace and the advantages I enjoyed! \u00a0I might have led a happy life in union with God; and now what have I but remorse of conscience and a dread of damnation! \u00a0But when will he say this? \u00a0When the scene is about to close, and himself about to enter into eternity, and at that moment on which will depend his happiness or misery forever.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Lord, have pity on me! \u00a0For the past I have not been so wise as to love Thee. \u00a0From this day forward Thou alone shalt be my only Good: My God and my all<\/em>! \u00a0Thou alone deservest all my love, and Thee only will I love.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 IV. LA VENTAJA DE UN RETIRO HECHO EN SOLEDAD Y SILENCIO<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If, indeed, there were no other satisfaction in solitude than that of knowing the Eternal Truths, that alone would be sufficient to make a Retreat a most desirable thing. \u00a0The knowledge of the Eternal Truths gives the soul a perfect contentment such as is never found in the vanities of the world, which are only lying and deceitful things. \u00a0Herein consists precisely the happiness which is found in the exercises of a Retreat gone through in solitude and silence. \u00a0It is then one sees in the clearest light the Christian maxims, the importance of salvation, the ugliness of sin, the value of grace, the love God bears us, the vanity of earthly goods, the foolishness of those who, for the sake of the fleeting joys of the world, fling away eternal goods and prepare for themselves an Eternity of pain and misery.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hence it comes about that, having convinced himself of these truths, a man takes the most efficacious means to secure his eternal salvation. \u00a0In a Retreat he disentangles himself from earthly affections and unites himself to God in prayer, by desires of closer union with Him, by repeated offerings of himself, by multiplied acts of sorrow, love, and resignation. \u00a0He thus finds himself raised so high above all created things that he smiles in pity on those who set such value on the things of this world which he so much despises, knowing how worthless they are, and how unworthy of the love of a heart created to love an infinite Good, which is God. \u00a0It is certain that one comes out of the Exercises a very different man, and much better than he was when he began them.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was the opinion of St. John Chrysostom that retirement was a great means of rising to perfection. \u00a0And a learned author, speaking of the Exercises of a Retreat, says: \u201cHappy, indeed, is the man who, fleeing from the noise of the world, allows himself to be led by the Lord to the Spiritual Exercises, into that sweet solitude where he finds and tastes the delights of Paradise.\u201d\u00a0 Sermons in the churches are good, but if the hearers do not reflect on what they have heard, the fruit will be little. \u00a0Reflection will never be made as it should be unless it be made in solitude. \u00a0As soon as the oyster receives the dew of heaven it shuts itself at once and sinks to the bottom of the sea, and there the pearl is formed. \u00a0It is beyond all doubt that what makes the fruit of the Exercises perfect is the silent reflection alone with God upon the truths one has heard in a sermon or read in a book. \u00a0Hence St. Vincent de Paul in his missions never failed to exhort his hearers to make the Exercises in some retired place. \u00a0One single spiritual maxim well meditated upon is sufficient to make a saint.\u00a0 Thus St. Francis Xavier resolved to give up the world in consequence of the impression made on him by that maxim of the Gospel: \u00bfDe qu\u00e9 le sirve al hombre ganar el mundo entero si sufre la p\u00e9rdida de su propia alma? <\/em>\u2014 (Matt. xvi. 26). \u00a0A young student having once heard a maxim on death, changed his conduct and led a virtuous life. \u00a0St. Clement of Ancyra was encouraged to suffer for Jesus Christ all the torments inflicted by the tyrant, by thinking of what his mother had taught him: \u201cIt is for life eternal we are fighting.\u201d<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0\u00a0LA PR\u00c1CTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

\u201cCharity beareth all things.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

EL QUE AMA A JESUCRISTO TODO LO SOPORTA POR \u00c9L, Y ESPECIALMENTE LA ENFERMEDAD, LA POBREZA Y EL DESPRECIO<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Above all, in time of sickness we should be ready to accept of death, and of that death which God pleases.\u00a0 We must die, and our life must finish in our last illness; but we do not know which will be our last illness.\u00a0 Wherefore in every illness we must be prepared to accept that death God has appointed for us.\u00a0 A sick person says: \u201cYes; but I have committed many sins, and have done no penance.\u00a0 I should like to live, not for the sake of living, but to make some satisfaction to God before I die.\u201d\u00a0 But tell me, how do you know that if you live longer you will do penance, and not rather do worse than before?\u00a0 At present you can well cherish the hope that God has pardoned you, and what penance can be more satisfactory than to accept of death with resignation, if God wills you are to die?\u00a0 St. Aloysius Gonzaga, at the age of twenty-three, gladly embraced death with this reflection: \u201cAt present,\u201d he said, \u201cI am, as I hope, in the grace of God.\u00a0 Hereafter I know not what may befall me; so that I now die contentedly, if God calls me to the next life.\u201d\u00a0 It was the opinion of Blessed John of Avila that every one, provided he be in proper dispositions, though only\u00a0 moderately good, should desire death, to escape the danger which always surrounds us in this world, of sinning and losing the grace of God.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Besides, owing to our natural frailty, we cannot live in this world without committing at least venial sins; this should be a motive for us to embrace death willingly that we may never offend God any more.\u00a0 Further, if we truly love God, we should ardently long to go to see Him, and love Him with all our strength in Paradise, which no one can do perfectly in this present life; but unless death open to us the door, we cannot enter that blessed region of love.\u00a0 This caused St. Augustine, that loving soul, to cry out: \u201cOh, let me die, Lord, that I may behold Thee!\u201d\u00a0 O Lord, let me die, otherwise I cannot behold and love Thee face to face.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the second place we must practise patience in the endurance of poverty. \u00a0Our patience is certainly very much tried when we are in need of temporal goods. \u00a0St. Augustine says: \u201cHe that has not God, has nothing; he that has God, has all.\u201d \u00a0He who possesses God, and remains united to His will, finds every good. \u00a0Witness St. Francis, barefooted, clad in sack-cloth, and deprived of all things, yet happier than all the monarchs of the world, by simply repeating: Deus meus et omnia<\/em>! \u00a0My God and my All! \u00a0He only is a poor man who has not what he desires; but he that desires nothing, and is contented with his poverty, is in fact very rich. \u00a0Of such St. Paul says: Having nothing, yet possessing all things. <\/em>\u2014 (2 Cor. vi. 10). \u00a0The true lovers of God have nothing, and yet have every thing; since, when temporal goods fail them, they exclaim: \u201cMy Jesus, Thou alone art sufficient for me!\u201d and with this they rest satisfied.\u00a0 Not only did the Saints maintain patience in poverty, but sought to be despoiled of all, in order to live detached from all, and united with God alone. \u00a0If we have not courage to renounce all worldly goods, at all events let us be contented with that state of life in which God has placed us; let our solicitude be not for earthly goods, but for those of Paradise, which are immeasurably greater, and last for ever; and let us be fully persuaded of the truth of what St. Teresa says: \u201cThe less we have here the more we shall have in Heaven.\u201d<\/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\tJUEVES DE LA QUINTA SEMANA DESPU\u00c9S DE PENTECOST\u00c9S<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 LA VANIDAD DEL MUNDO - LOS BIENES DE ESTE MUNDO PASAN R\u00c1PIDAMENTE<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Grandes del mundo, atormentados en los fuegos del infierno, \u00bfqu\u00e9 os queda ahora de vuestros honores y riquezas? Responden llorando: \u00a1Nada! \u00a1Nada!\u00a0 \u00bfQu\u00e9 ventaja nos ha tra\u00eddo la jactancia de las riquezas? Todas estas cosas han pasado como una sombra.<\/em><\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Grandes del mundo, que ahora est\u00e1is atormentados en los fuegos del infierno, \u00bfqu\u00e9 os queda ahora de vuestros honores y riquezas? Responden llorando: \u00a1Nada! \u00a1Nada! No tenemos m\u00e1s que tormentos y desesperaci\u00f3n. Todo ha pasado, salvo nuestro castigo, que no tendr\u00e1 fin.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Al morir los hombres dir\u00e1n: \u00bfDe qu\u00e9 nos ha servido la soberbia? \u00bfO qu\u00e9 ventaja nos ha tra\u00eddo la jactancia de las riquezas? Todo eso pas\u00f3 como una sombra.<\/em> \u2014 (Wis. v. 8).\u00a0 Alas! the remembrance of the good things we have enjoyed in the world will not, at the hour of death, inspire us with confidence, but will fill us with terror and confusion.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a1Ay de m\u00ed! \u00bfCu\u00e1ntos a\u00f1os llevo en el mundo, y qu\u00e9 he hecho hasta ahora por Dios? Oh Se\u00f1or, ten piedad de m\u00ed, y no me alejes de tu rostro<\/em>. \u2014 (Ps. l. 13).
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0El tiempo de la muerte es el momento en que todas las cosas mundanas aparecer\u00e1n como realmente son: \u00a1vanidad, humo, polvo!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a1Oh Dios m\u00edo! \u00a1Cu\u00e1ntas veces te he cambiado por la nada! No me atrever\u00eda a esperar el perd\u00f3n si T\u00fa no hubieras muerto para perdonarme. Ahora te amar\u00e9 sobre todas las cosas, y estimar\u00e9 tu gracia m\u00e1s preciosa que todos los reinos de la tierra.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0San Pablo compara la muerte con un ladr\u00f3n<\/em> \u2014 (1 Thess. v. 4), because it robs us of all things \u2013 possessions, relations, beauty, dignity, and even of our own very flesh.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0El d\u00eda de la muerte tambi\u00e9n se llama el d\u00eda de la destrucci\u00f3n<\/em>. \u2014 (Deut. xxxii. 35).\u00a0 Then shall we lose all that we have ever acquired, and all that we can hope for from this world.\u00a0 O my Jesus!\u00a0 I am not concerned about the loss of earthly goods, but only lest I should lose Thee, the Infinite Good.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Exaltamos a los santos que, por amor a Jesucristo, desprecian los bienes de esta tierra; \u00bfy seguimos apegados a tales vanidades ante el peligro inminente de nuestra salvaci\u00f3n?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Tenemos en gran estima los tesoros de esta vida; \u00bfy por qu\u00e9 tenemos tan poco en cuenta los tesoros de la eternidad?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ilum\u00edname, oh Dios m\u00edo. Hazme comprender que todas las criaturas no son nada, y que T\u00fa eres mi Todo, el Bien Infinito. Haz que deje todas las cosas para poseerte s\u00f3lo a Ti. \u00a1Dios m\u00edo! \u00a1Dios m\u00edo! S\u00f3lo a Ti deseo, y fuera de Ti, \u00a1nada en este mundo!<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 St. Teresa says that our faults and our attachments to the goods of this earth, arise from a want of Faith.\u00a0 Let us then reanimate our Faith, and remember we shall one day have to leave all and go into eternity. \u00a0And hence let us leave all now, while we can obtain merit by so doing. \u00a0One day we shall have to leave them all.\u00a0 What are riches, honours, friends? \u00a0God! \u00a0God! \u00a0Let us seek God alone, and God will be our All.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That eminent servant of God, Sister Margaret of St. Ann, daughter of the Emperor Rudolf II, and a discalced Religious used to say: \u201cWhat will kingdoms avail at the hour of death?\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The death of the Empress Isabella induced St. Francis Borgia to renounce the world, and to give himself entirely to God. \u00a0At the sight of her corpse he said to himself: It is thus, then, that the grandeurs and the crowns of this world terminate!
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O my God, Thou hast always loved me! \u00a0Grant that I may be wholly Thine before death overtakes me.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 V. LA VENTAJA DE UN RETIRO HECHO EN SOLEDAD Y SILENCIO<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In order to form a true idea of the good produced by a Retreat, read some book on the subject, and see the wonderful conversions brought about by the Exercises.\u00a0 I will mention a few.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Father Maffei tells us there was in Sienna a priest who led a disedifying life. \u00a0He made a Retreat under the direction of a missionary who happened to be in that town; and not only was he converted, but one day when there was a great multitude in the Church, he went into the pulpit weeping and with a rope round his neck, and there asked pardon for all the scandal he had given. \u00a0He afterwards became a Capuchin and died a Saint. \u00a0On his death-bed he made known that all the great graces he had received were due to the Spiritual Exercises.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Father Bartoli relates that a certain German knight, who, having abandoned himself to all kinds of vice, gave his soul to the devil by a document signed in his own blood. \u00a0He afterwards performed the Spiritual Exercises, and he conceived so great a sorrow for his sins, that he often fainted, from excess of grief. \u00a0He thenceforth led a life of severe penance till the day of his death.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Father Rossignoli tells us that in Sicily a certain baron\u2019s son led so debauched a life that, having tried all means to make him amend, but in vain, his father was obliged to put him in a galley to work with the slaves. \u00a0But a certain good Religious, moved to compassion, sought out the young man, and by his kind winning manners, induced him to meditate whilst at his work on the great Truths of Eternity. \u00a0This he did, and soon he made his confession, and so changed his life that his father was glad to receive him back to his house again, and never again had any reason to be displeased with his son.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A young man in Flanders, having made a Spiritual Retreat, gave up his wicked life. \u00a0Seeing his friends amazed at his conversion, he said to them: \u201cYou wonder at my change of life, but I tell you that if the devil himself were capable of making the Spiritual Exercises, he would be converted to penance.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A Religious who had by his bad conduct become insupportable in his Community, was sent by his Superiors to make a Retreat. \u00a0When he was going away he jestingly said to those about him: \u201cGet ready your Rosary beads to touch me when I return.\u201d \u00a0But the Exercises did indeed change him so completely that he became an example for all the other Religious, and, seeing the change, they all wished to make the Exercises.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Some young men, seeing a number of their friends going to make a Spiritual Retreat, wished to accompany them, not to profit their souls, but in order afterwards to jest about the Exercises. \u00a0Just the opposite happened; for during the Retreat they were so filled with compunction that they began to sigh and weep for their sins. \u00a0They made good Confessions and changed their lives.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0\u00a0LA PR\u00c1CTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

\u201cCharity beareth all things.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

EL QUE AMA A JESUCRISTO TODO LO SOPORTA POR \u00c9L, Y ESPECIALMENTE LA ENFERMEDAD, LA POBREZA Y EL DESPRECIO<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0San Buenaventura dec\u00eda que los bienes temporales no eran m\u00e1s que una especie de cal de p\u00e1jaro que imped\u00eda al alma volar hacia Dios. Y San Juan Cl\u00edmaco dec\u00eda que la pobreza, por el contrario, es un camino que conduce a Dios libre de todo estorbo. Nuestro Se\u00f1or mismo dijo: Bienaventurados los pobres de esp\u00edritu, porque de ellos es el reino de los cielos<\/em>. \u2014 (Matt. v. 3).\u00a0 In the other Beatitudes, the Heaven of the life to come is promised to the meek and to the clean of heart; but to the poor, Heaven (that is, heavenly joy) is promised even in this life: de ellos es el reino de los cielos<\/em>. S\u00ed, porque incluso en la vida presente los pobres disfrutan de un anticipo del Para\u00edso. Por pobres de esp\u00edritu se entiende aquellos que no s\u00f3lo son pobres de bienes terrenales, sino que ni siquiera los desean; que, teniendo lo suficiente para vestirse y alimentarse, viven contentos, seg\u00fan el consejo del Ap\u00f3stol: Pero teniendo comida y con qu\u00e9 cubrirnos, con esto nos contentamos<\/em>. \u2014 (1 Tim. vi. 8).\u00a0 Oh, blessed poverty, exclaimed St. Laurence Justinian, which possesses nothing and fears nothing!\u00a0 Ever joyous and ever in abundance, since she turns every inconvenience into advantage for the soul.\u00a0 St. Bernard said: \u201cThe avaricious man hungers after earthly things as a beggar, the poor man despises them as a lord.\u201d\u00a0 The miser is always hungry as a beggar, because he is never satiated with possessing; the poor man, on the contrary, despises them all as a rich lord, inasmuch as he desires nothing.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One day Jesus Christ thus spoke to St. Angela of Foligno: \u201cIf poverty were not of great excellence, I would not have chosen it for Myself, nor have bequeathed it to My Elect.\u201d \u00a0And, in fact, the Saints, seeing Jesus poor, had therefore a great affection for poverty.\u00a0 St. Paul says that the desire of growing rich is a snare of Satan by which he has wrought the ruin of innumerable souls: They that will become rich, fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition. \u2014 <\/em>(1 Tim. vi. 9). \u00a0Unhappy beings who, for the sake of vile creatures of earth, forfeit an Infinite Good, which is God! \u00a0St. Basil the Martyr was right, when the Emperor Licinius proposed to make him the chief among his priests, if he would renounce Jesus Christ; he was right, I say, to reply: \u201cTell the emperor that were he to give me his whole kingdom, he would not give me as much as he would rob me of by depriving me of God.\u201d \u00a0Let us be content, then, with God, and with the things He gives us, rejoicing in our poverty, when we stand in need of something we desire, and have it not; for herein consists our merit. \u00a0\u201cNot poverty,\u201d says St. Bernard, \u201cbut the love of poverty, is reckoned a virtue.\u201d \u00a0Many are poor, but from not loving their poverty, they merit nothing; therefore St. Bernard says that the virtue of poverty consists not in being poor, but in the love of poverty.<\/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\tVIERNES DE LA QUINTA SEMANA DESPU\u00c9S DE PENTECOST\u00c9S<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 LA VANIDAD DEL MUNDO - LA MUERTE NOS MUESTRA LA VANIDAD DEL MUNDO<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0St. John Chrysostom says: \u201cGo to the tomb, and contemplate the dust and worms and \u2013 sigh!\u201d\u00a0 O the great secret of death!\u00a0 Things the most desirable on this earth lose all their splendour when viewed from the bed of death.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a1Oh, el gran secreto de la muerte! \u00a1C\u00f3mo pone fin a todos los deseos mundanos! \u00a1C\u00f3mo muestra toda la grandeza mundana como humo y enga\u00f1o! Las cosas m\u00e1s deseadas de esta tierra pierden todo su esplendor cuando se contemplan desde el lecho de muerte. La sombra de la muerte oscurece la belleza de todas las cosas de aqu\u00ed abajo.
\u00a0 \u00a0\u00bfDe qu\u00e9 sirven las riquezas, si no queda m\u00e1s que una s\u00e1bana? \u00bfDe qu\u00e9 sirve la belleza corporal, si todo se reduce a un mont\u00f3n de gusanos? \u00bfDe qu\u00e9 sirve la autoridad, si lo \u00fanico que queda es ser arrojado a la tumba y olvidado por todos?
\u00a0 \u00a0 St. Chrysostom says: \u201cGo to a sepulchre, contemplate dust and worms and \u2013 sigh!\u201d\u00a0 Look on the graves of the dead; see those skeletons gnawed by worms and crumbling into dust, and say, with a sigh: Ah, such must I become, and why do I not think of this?\u00a0 Why do I not give myself to God?\u00a0 Alas! who knows but that which I am now reading may be the last call for me?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh mi querido Redentor, acepto mi muerte, y la acepto de la manera que te plazca envi\u00e1rmela; pero te suplico que, antes de juzgarme, me des tiempo para lamentar las ofensas que te he hecho. Te amo, Jes\u00fas m\u00edo, y siento mucho haberte despreciado.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh Dios m\u00edo, \u00a1cu\u00e1ntos seres miserables, por obtener bienes terrenales, placeres, vanidades, han perdido su alma, y, al perder su alma, lo han perdido todo!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00bfCreemos o no que un d\u00eda debemos morir? \u00bfY que s\u00f3lo una vez? \u00bfY por qu\u00e9 no dejamos todo, para asegurarnos una muerte feliz? Dej\u00e9moslo todo, para asegurarlo todo.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00bfEs posible que nos demos cuenta de que el recuerdo de una vida desordenada ser\u00e1 a la hora de la muerte un tormento insufrible, y aun as\u00ed sigamos viviendo en pecado?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh Dios m\u00edo, te doy gracias por la luz que me das. Pero, Se\u00f1or, \u00bfqu\u00e9 he hecho? \u00bfHe multiplicado mis pecados, y T\u00fa tus gracias? \u00a1Ay de m\u00ed, si no las aprovecho!<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He who reflects that in a short time he must leave the world will not be attached to it.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, with what peace of soul do those live and die who, despoiled of all things, are contented to say, My God and my all!
<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Solomon said that all the goods of this earth are only vanity and affliction of spirit; since the more one possesses of the goods of this world, the more he suffers.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 St. Philip Neri used to call those fools whose hearts are attached to this world. \u00a0Fools, because even here they lead miserable lives.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O my God, what now remains of the many sinful deeds of which I have been guilty, but the pain and remorse that torment me, and will torment me still more at the hour of death? \u00a0Oh, do Thou, O Lord, make haste to pardon me! \u00a0Thou desirest that I should be all Thine, and such do I desire to be. \u00a0Behold, from this moment, I give myself to Thee, and I desire nothing in return but Thyself.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Let us not imagine that to be detached from all things, in order to love God alone, is to live an unhappy life.\u00a0 Who on this earth is so contented and happy as the man who loves Jesus Christ with his whole heart? \u00a0Find me one amongst all the kings of the world, who is more happy than the man who gives himself entirely to God.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My soul, if now thou wert to depart out of this world, wouldst thou die satisfied with thy past life? \u00a0And for what dost thou delay? \u00a0Is it that the light which God in His mercy now affords thee may only serve to reproach thee at the great accounting day?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Jesus, I renounce all to give myself to Thee. \u00a0Thou didst seek me when I fled from Thee; and now that I seek Thee, do not reject me. \u00a0Thou didst love me when I did not love Thee, nor even desire that Thou shouldst love me; and now that I have no other desire but to love Thee, and to be loved by Thee, cast me not away from Thy face. \u00a0O my God, I am now convinced that Thou desirest to save me, and I desire to work out my salvation to please Thee. \u00a0I leave all, and give my whole self to Thee. \u00a0Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 VI. LA VENTAJA DE UN RETIRO HECHO EN SOLEDAD Y SILENCIO<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I could add a thousand other examples, but I shall relate only one more \u2013 the case of a nun in the Convent of Torre di Specchi in Rome. \u00a0She pretended to be a learned woman, but led a very imperfect life. \u00a0When the Spiritual Exercises were being conducted in the convent she began them, but very much against her will. \u00a0The very first meditation on the \u201cEnd of Man\u201d made such an impression on her that, weeping, she went to the Spiritual Father, and said: \u201cFather, I wish to become a saint without delay.\u201d \u00a0She wanted to say more, but sobs prevented her. \u00a0Returning to her cell she wrote out a consecration of her entire self to Jesus Christ, and gave herself up to penance and retirement, and persevered until death.
\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If we had no other motive for attaching so much importance to the Spiritual Exercises, it would be enough to consider the esteem so many saintly men had for them. \u00a0St. Charles Borromeo began to lead a perfect life after the first Retreat in Rome. \u00a0St. Francis de Sales attributed to the Spiritual Exercises the first beginnings of a holy life. \u00a0Louis of Granada, a man of very great virtue, used to say that a lifetime would not suffice to explain the knowledge of Divine things which he discovered in going through the Spiritual Exercises.\u00a0 Blessed John of Avila called the Exercises a school of heavenly wisdom, and exhorted all his spiritual children to make them. \u00a0Father Louis Blosius, the holy Benedictine, used to say we should give God special thanks for having in these latter times made known to His Church the precious treasure of the Spiritual Exercises of a Retreat.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But if the Exercises are of great help to persons in every state and condition, they are of special help to him who wishes to make a proper choice of a state of life. \u00a0For I find it laid down that the first end for which the Exercises were instituted was that of making the choice of a state of life, because upon this choice depends the eternal salvation of each one. \u00a0We cannot expect that an Angel from Heaven should come to assure us of the state which, according to the will of God, we should choose. \u00a0It is sufficient to put before us the state we are thinking of choosing, and then to consider the end we have in view in that choice, and weigh all the circumstances.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is the principal reason for which I wish you to make the Exercises in silence; namely, for making the choice of the state of life.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0\u00a0LA PR\u00c1CTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

\u201cCharity beareth all things.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

EL QUE AMA A JESUCRISTO TODO LO SOPORTA POR \u00c9L, Y ESPECIALMENTE LA ENFERMEDAD, LA POBREZA Y EL DESPRECIO<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0This love of poverty should be especially practised by Religious who have made the Vow of Poverty.\u00a0 \u201cMany Religious,\u201d says the great St. Bernard, \u201cwish to be poor; but on the condition of wanting for nothing.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThus,\u201d says St. Francis de Sales, \u201cthey wish for the honour of poverty, but not the inconveniences of poverty.\u201d\u00a0 To such persons in applicable the saying of the blessed Solomea, a nun of St. Clare: \u201cThat Religious will be a laughing-stock to Angels and to men, who pretends to be poor, and yet murmurs when in want of anything.\u201d\u00a0 Good Religious act differently; they love their poverty above all riches.\u00a0 The daughter of the Emperor Maximilian II, a discalced nun of St. Clare, called Sister Margaret of the Cross, appeared on one occasion before her brother, the Archduke Albert, in a patched habit.\u00a0 He evinced some astonishment at it, as if it were unbecoming her noble birth; but she made him this answer: \u201cMy brother, I am more content with this torn garment than all monarchs with their purple robes.\u201d\u00a0 St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi said: \u201cO happy Religious, who, detached from all by means of holy poverty, can say: ‘The Lord is the portion of my inheritance!’\u201d\u00a0 My God, Thou art my portion and all my good!\u00a0 St. Teresa, having received a large alms from a certain merchant, sent him word that his name was written in the Book of Life; and that, in token of this, he should lose all his possessions; and the merchant actually failed, and remained in poverty till death.\u00a0 St. Aloysius Gonzaga said that there could be no surer sign of a person’s being numbered among the elect than to see him fearing God, and at the same time undergoing crosses and tribulations in this life.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The bereavement of relations and friends by death belongs also, in some measure, to holy poverty; and in this we must especially practise patience. \u00a0Some people, at the loss of a parent or friend, can find no rest; they shut themselves up to weep in their chamber, and giving free vent to their sorrow, become insupportable to all around them by their want of patience. \u00a0I would ask these persons for whose gratification, or for whose sake, do they thus lament and shed tears? \u00a0Is it for God\u2019s?\u00a0 Certainly not; for God\u2019s will is that they should be resigned to His dispensations. \u00a0For that of the soul departed? \u00a0By no means: if the soul be lost, she abhors both you and your tears; if she be saved, and already in Heaven she would have you thank God on her part; if still in Purgatory, she craves the help of your prayers, and wishes you to bow with resignation to the Divine will, and to become a saint, in order that she may one day enjoy your society in Paradise. \u00a0Of what use, then, is all this weeping? \u00a0On one occasion the Venerable Father Joseph Caracciolo, the Theatine, was surrounded by his relations, who were all bitterly lamenting the death of his brother, whereupon he said to them: \u201cCome! Come! let us keep these tears for a better purpose, to weep over the death of Jesus Christ, Who has been to us a Father, a Brother, a Spouse, and Who died for love of us.\u201d \u00a0On such occasions we must imitate Job, who, on hearing the news of the death of his sons, exclaimed, with full resignation to the Divine will: The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; <\/em>God gave me my sons, and God hath taken them away. \u00a0As it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord!<\/em> \u00a0It hath pleased God that such things should happen, and so it pleaseth me; wherefore may He be blessed by me for ever. \u2014 (Job i. 21).<\/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\tS\u00c1BADO DE LA QUINTA SEMANA DESPU\u00c9S DE PENTECOST\u00c9S<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Meditaci\u00f3n matutina:\u00a0 LA MISERICORDIA DE LA SANT\u00cdSIMA VIRGEN MAR\u00cdA<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cOh, how many who deserved to be condemned by the justice of the Son, are saved by the mercy of the Mother!\u00a0 For she is God’s treasure and the treasurer of all graces, and thus our salvation is in her hands and depends on her.\u201d \u2014 (Abbott of Celles).<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The Blessed Virgin said one day to St. Bridget: I am called, and I truly am, the Mother of Mercy; for such God has made me.\u00a0 And who, but God in His mercy, because He desires our salvation, has given to us this advocate to defend us?\u00a0 \u201cTherefore,\u201d adds Mary, \u201cmiserable will he be, who, while it is in his power, has not recourse to me, who am merciful.\u201d\u00a0 Miserable is the man, and miserable for eternity, who, though he could during life, have recommended himself to me, who am so benign and merciful to all, has neglected to have recourse to me, and is lost.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Perhaps, says St. Bonaventure, we are afraid that in asking Mary’s intercession she will refuse it to us?\u00a0 No, says the Saint: \u201cMary does not refuse, and never has refused pity and aid to any sinner who has invoked her intercession.\u201d\u00a0 She has not done so, and she cannot do so, because God has made her the Queen and the Mother of Mercy; and as Queen of Mercy she is bound to attend to the care of the miserable.\u00a0 \u201cThou,\u201d says St. Bernard, \u201cart the Queen of Mercy; and who but the miserable are the subjects of mercy?\u201d\u00a0 Hence the Saint through humility adds: \u201cSince, then, O Mother of God, thou art the Queen of Mercy, thou must have a special care of me, who am the most miserable of sinners.\u201d\u00a0 As Mother of Mercy it is her duty to deliver from death her sick children, to whom her mercy makes her a Mother.\u00a0 Hence, St. Basil calls her a public hospital.\u00a0 Public hospitals are erected for the poor; and they who are in the greatest poverty have the best claims to be admitted into them.\u00a0 Hence, according to St. Basil, Mary ought to receive with the greatest tenderness and care the greatest sinners who have recourse to her.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh gran Madre de Dios, he aqu\u00ed a tus pies un miserable pecador, que no una, sino varias veces, ha perdido voluntariamente la gracia divina, que tu Hijo le compr\u00f3 con su muerte. Oh Madre de misericordia, vengo a ti con el alma cubierta de heridas y llagas; no te enojes conmigo por esto, sino ten m\u00e1s piedad de m\u00ed y ay\u00fadame. No te pido bienes terrenales; te pido que me alcances la gracia de Dios y el amor de tu Hijo.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But let us not doubt of the Mercy of Mary. \u00a0One day St. Bridget heard the Saviour saying to His Mother: \u201cThou wouldst show compassion to the devil, should he ask it with humility.\u201d \u00a0The haughty Lucifer will never humble himself to ask her prayers; but if he humbled himself to this Divine Mother, and invoked her help, she, by her intercession, would deliver him from hell. \u00a0By those words, Jesus Christ wished to give us to understand what Mary herself afterwards said to the same St. Bridget \u2013 that when a sinner has recourse to her, however enormous his guilt may be, she regards not the sins with which he is charged, but the intention with which he comes. \u00a0If he come with a sincere desire to amend, she receives him and heals all his wounds. \u00a0Hence St. Bonaventure says: \u201cPoor sinners, do not despair! \u00a0Raise your eyes to Mary, and trust in the Mercy of this good Mother.\u201d \u00a0Let us, then, says St. Bernard, ask the grace we have lost, and let us ask it through Mary. \u00a0The grace which we have lost, she has found, says Richard of St. Laurence; we therefore ought to go to her in order to recover it. \u00a0When the Archangel Gabriel announced to the Most Holy Virgin the Divine maternity, he said to her: No temas, Mar\u00eda, has encontrado la gracia. <\/em>\u2014 (Luke i. 30). \u00a0But, since Mary was never deprived of grace, but was, on the contrary, always full of grace, how could he say that she had found it? \u00a0In answer to this question, Cardinal Hugo says that Mary found grace, not for herself, because she had always possessed it, but for us, who have lost it. \u00a0Hence the same author says that we ought to go to her and say: O Lady, property ought to be restored to him who has lost it; the grace which thou hast found is not thine, for thou hast always possessed it; it is ours, we have lost it through our own fault; thou shouldst then restore it to us. \u00a0\u201cLet sinners, then, who have lost grace by their sins, run \u2013 let them run to the Virgin, and say with confidence: Restore to us our property, which thou hast found.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My Mother Mary, pray for me, and never cease to pray for me. \u00a0It is through the merits of Jesus Christ and thy intercession that I am to be saved. \u00a0Thy office is to intercede for sinners: I will, then, say with St. Thomas of Villanova: \u201cO Mary, our advocate, fulfil thy office!\u201d\u00a0 Recommend me to God and defend me. \u00a0No cause, however desperate, is lost, when defended by thee. \u00a0Thou, after Jesus, art the hope of sinners; thou art my hope.\u00a0 O Mary, I will not cease to serve thee, to love thee, and to have recourse to thee always. \u00a0Do not, then, ever cease to pray for me, particularly when thou seest me in danger of again losing the grace of God. \u00a0O Mary, O great Mother of God, have pity on me.<\/p>

Lectura espiritual:\u00a0 VII. LA VENTAJA DE UN RETIRO HECHO EN SOLEDAD Y SILENCIO<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0When, then, you have entered upon the Retreat, as I hope you will, I beg of you to follow the advice I now give you.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a01.\u00a0 The sole intention you should have in making these Exercises is that you may know what God will have you to do; and, therefore, in going to that silent Retreat-house, say to yourself: I will hear what the Lord God shall speak in me. \u2014 (Ps.<\/em> lxxxiv. 9). I go into Retreat to know what the Lord will tell me and what He wishes me to do.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02.\u00a0 Besides, it is necessary that you have a determined will to obey God and to follow without reserve the vocation He will make known to you.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a03.\u00a0 It is, moreover, necessary that you pray earnestly to the Lord, that He may make known to you His will, no matter what the state of life He wishes you to live. But remember that in order to obtain this light you must ask it with holy indifference. \u00a0He who prays to God to enlighten him on the choice of a state of life, but does so without this indifference, and, instead of wishing to conform to God\u2019s will wishes rather that God should conform to his, is like a pilot who feigns to will, but indeed wills not, that his vessel should advance, since he begins by casting anchor and then hoists the sail! \u00a0God does not enlighten or speak to such a person.\u00a0 But if you will supplicate God with this holy indifference and the resolution to accomplish His will, He will make you see clearly the state which is best for you. \u00a0And if you should then feel any repugnance, place before your eyes the hour of your death, and think of the choice you would in that hour wish to have made, and act accordingly.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a04.\u00a0 Take with you to your house of Retreat a book containing the meditations which are commonly made during the Exercises; read these meditations, and let them take the place of sermons, reflecting on them for half an hour in the morning and in the evening. Bring also with you the Life of some Saint or some other spiritual book for your spiritual reading; and these ought to be your only companions in solitude during the eight days of your Retreat. \u00a0In order to obtain light and to hear what the Lord will speak to you it is necessary to avoid every distraction: Be still, and see that I am God. \u2014 <\/em>(Ps. xlv. 11). \u00a0To hear the Divine voice, we must cease all intercourse with the world. \u00a0To a sick man no remedies will be of any use if he does not take them with the proper precaution, as, for example, avoiding exposure to the cold air, unwholesome food, or too much application of mind. \u00a0In like manner, in order that the Exercises may be useful for the health of your soul, you must remove hurtful distractions, such as the receiving of visits from friends, messages from without, letters, etc.\u00a0 When St. Francis de Sales was engaged in the Exercises he laid aside all the letters he received and did not read them until after the Retreat. \u00a0You must avoid books of amusement, and do no study; for you ought then only to study the Crucifix. \u00a0Therefore, have in your room none but spiritual books, and read not for curiosity\u2019s sake, but only for this one end \u2013 namely, to help you to follow the state of life which God will make known to you as the one He wishes you to embrace.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a05.\u00a0 Moreover, it is not enough to avoid distractions from without, you must also avoid those from within; for if you should deliberately allow your mind to think on worldly matters, or of your studies, or the like, the Exercises and the solitude will be of little use to you. St. Gregory says: \u201cWhat will solitude of the body avail if solitude of the heart be wanting?\u201d \u00a0Peter Ortiz, a minister of the Emperor Charles V, went to make a Retreat at the monastery of Monte Cassino.\u00a0 Having arrived at the gates of the monastery he addressed to his thoughts the words our Lord spoke to His disciples: Sedete hie, donee vadam illuc et orem. <\/em>\u2014 (Matt. xxvi. 36). \u00a0\u201cWorldly thoughts, stay you here outside the gates, and when I have ended my Retreat I shall return to you.\u201d \u00a0When one is engaged in making the Spiritual Exercises, one should occupy the time solely for the good of one\u2019s soul without losing or wasting a single moment of it.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Finally, when you are in your Retreat, I would beg of you to use the following short prayer:
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O my God, I am that miserable one who in the past despised Thee; but now I esteem and love Thee above everything, nor will I love any other but Thee. \u00a0Thou wishest me to belong entirely to Thee; to Thee I will belong entirely. \u00a0Speak, O Lord; for thy servant heareth. \u2014 <\/em>(1 Kings iii. 10). \u00a0Let me know what Thou wishest from me, and I will do all. \u00a0Let me especially know in what particular state Thou wishest me to serve Thee: Make thou known to me the way in which I should walk. <\/em>\u2014 (Ps. cxlii. 8).<\/p>

_____________________<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 During the Exercises recommend yourself also in a special manner to the Divine Mother Mary, praying her to obtain for you the grace to accomplish perfectly the will of her Son.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And do not forget, when you make the Exercises, to recommend me to Jesus Christ, as I will not omit to do so in a particular manner for you, that He may make you a saint, as I wish with all my heart. \u00a0Your most devoted and obliged servant,<\/p>

ALPHONSUS MARY,
Bishop of St. Agatha.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n vespertina:\u00a0\u00a0LA PR\u00c1CTICA DEL AMOR DE JESUCRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

\u201cCharity beareth all things.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

EL QUE AMA A JESUCRISTO TODO LO SOPORTA POR \u00c9L, Y ESPECIALMENTE LA ENFERMEDAD, LA POBREZA Y EL DESPRECIO<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0In the third place, we must practise patience, and show our love of God by tranquilly submitting to contempt.\u00a0 As soon as a soul delivers herself up to God, He sends her from Himself, or through others, insults and persecution.\u00a0 One day an Angel appeared to the Blessed Henry Suso, and said to him: \u201cHenry, thou hast hitherto mortified thyself in thy own way; henceforth thou shalt be mortified after the pleasure of others.\u201d\u00a0 On the day following, as he was looking from a window on the street he saw a dog shaking and tearing a rag which it held in its mouth; at the same moment a voice said to him: \u201cSo hast thou to be torn in the mouths of men.\u201d\u00a0 Forthwith the Blessed Henry Suso descended into the street and secured the rag, putting it by to encourage him in his coming trials.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Te amo con todo mi coraz\u00f3n, oh mi querido Redentor. Te amo, mi Soberano Bien. Te amo a Ti, mi propio Amor, digno de amor infinito. Estoy afligido por cualquier disgusto que Te haya causado, m\u00e1s que por cualquier mal. Te prometo recibir con paciencia todas las pruebas que me env\u00edes; pero te pido ayuda para ser fiel a mi promesa, y especialmente para poder soportar en paz los dolores de mi \u00faltima agon\u00eda y muerte.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh Mar\u00eda, Reina m\u00eda, vu\u00e9lveme a obtener una verdadera resignaci\u00f3n en todas las angustias y pruebas que me esperan en la vida y en la muerte.<\/p>

Meditaci\u00f3n II:
<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Affronts and injuries were the delicacies the Saints earnestly desired and sought for. \u00a0St. Philip Neri, during the space of thirty years had to put up with much ill-treatment in the house of St. Jerome at Rome; but on this very account he refused to leave it, and resisted all the invitations of his sons to come and live with them in the new Oratory, founded by himself, till he received an express command from the Pope to do so. \u00a0St. John of the Cross was prescribed change of air for an illness which eventually carried him to the grave. \u00a0Now, he could have selected a more commodious convent, the prior of which was particularly attached to him; but he chose instead a poor convent, whose superior was unfriendly, and who, in fact, for a long time, and almost up to his dying day, spoke ill of him, and abused him in many ways, and even prohibited the others from visiting him. \u00a0Here we see how the Saints even sought to be despised. \u00a0St. Teresa wrote this admirable maxim: \u201cWhoever aspires to perfection must beware of ever saying: They had no reason to treat me so.<\/em> \u00a0If you will not bear any cross but one which is founded on reason, then perfection is not for you.\u201d \u00a0Whilst St. Peter Martyr was complaining in prison of being confined unjustly he received that celebrated answer from the Crucifix; our Lord said to him: \u201cAnd what evil have I done that I suffer and die on this Cross for men?\u201d \u00a0Oh, what consolation do the Saints derive in all their tribulations from the ignominies Jesus endured! \u00a0St. Eleazar, on being asked by his wife how he contrived to bear with so much patience the many injuries he had to sustain, and that even from his own servants, replied: \u201cI turn my eyes on the outraged Jesus, and I discover immediately that my affronts are a mere nothing in comparison with what He suffered for my sake; and thus God gives me strength to support all patiently.\u201d \u00a0In fine, affronts, poverty, torments, and tribulations serve only to estrange further from God the soul that does not love Him; whereas, when they befall a soul in love with God they become an instrument of closer union and more ardent affection: Many waters cannot quench charity. <\/em>\u2014 (Cant. viii. 7). \u00a0However great and grievous troubles may be, so far from extinguishing the flames of charity, they only serve to enkindle them the more in a soul that loves nothing else but God.<\/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 CUARTA SEMANA DESPU\u00c9S DE <\/em>PENTECOST\u00c9S<\/em><\/a>
\u21d2 SEXTA SEMANA DESPU\u00c9S DE <\/em>PENTECOST\u00c9S<\/em><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VOLUME III – PART II, pp. 1-45 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST Morning Meditation:\u00a0 SALVATION IS OUR ONLY BUSINESS IN THIS WORLD \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0One thing is necessary. \u2014 (Luke x. 42).\u00a0 It is not necessary we should be rich, or … Seguir leyendo <\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4884,"parent":0,"menu_order":91,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9956","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDAILY MEDITATIONS: FIFTH WEEK AFTER PENTECOST - Society of the Most Holy Redeemer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/es\/daily-meditations-fifth-week-after-pentecost\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DAILY MEDITATIONS: FIFTH WEEK AFTER PENTECOST - 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