MEDITAÇÕES DIÁRIAS: SEGUNDA SEMANA DO ADVENTO

Meditação matinal:  AS VANTAGENS DAS TRIBULAÇÕES

     Todas as coisas que foram escritas foram escritas para o nosso aprendizado, para que, pela paciência e consolação das Escrituras, tenhamos esperança. - (Epístola de domingo, Rom. xv., 4-13).
     Nas tribulações, Deus enriquece Suas amadas almas com as maiores graças. É em suas correntes que São João chega ao conhecimento das obras de Jesus Cristo.  Acreditemos que esses flagelos do Senhor, com os quais somos castigados, ocorreram para nossa correção e não para nossa destruição. - (Judith, viii., 27).

Meditação I:
     Pela tribulação, expiamos os pecados que cometemos muito melhor do que pelas obras voluntárias de penitência. "Esteja certo", diz Santo Agostinho, "de que Deus é um médico, e que a tribulação é um remédio salutar". Oh, quão grande é a eficácia da tribulação para curar as feridas causadas por nossos pecados! Por isso, o mesmo santo repreende o pecador que se queixa de Deus por lhe enviar tribulações. "Por que", diz ele, "você se queixa? O que você sofre é um remédio, não um castigo". Jó chamou de felizes os homens a quem Deus corrige por meio da tribulação, porque Ele os cura com as próprias mãos com as quais os golpeia e fere.  Bem-aventurado o homem a quem Deus corrige . . . Porque ele fere e cura. Ele fere, e a sua mão cura. - (Jó v., 17). Por isso, São Paulo se gloriava em suas tribulações: Nós nos gloriamos também nas tribulações. - (Rom. v., 3).
     As tribulações nos permitem adquirir grandes méritos diante de Deus, dando-nos a oportunidade de exercitar as virtudes da humildade, da paciência e da resignação à vontade divina. O Bem-aventurado João de Ávila costumava dizer que um Bendito seja Deus na adversidade vale mais do que mil na prosperidade. "Tire", diz Santo Ambrósio, "os concursos dos mártires, e você terá tirado suas coroas". Oh, que tesouro de mérito é adquirido ao suportar pacientemente os insultos, a pobreza e a doença! Os insultos dos homens eram o grande objetivo dos desejos dos santos, que buscavam ser desprezados por amor a Jesus Cristo e, assim, tornarem-se semelhantes a Ele.
     Meu Jesus, até agora eu Te ofendi gravemente ao resistir à Tua santa vontade. Isso me causa mais dor do que se eu tivesse sofrido qualquer outro mal. Eu me arrependo e me arrependo de todo o coração. Mereço o castigo: Não o recuso: Eu o aceito. Preserve-me apenas do castigo de ser privado de Seu amor, e então faça comigo o que quiser. Eu Te amo, meu querido Redentor! Eu Te amo, meu Deus! E porque Te amo, desejo fazer tudo o que Tu desejas. Amém.

Meditação II:
     St. Francis de Sales used to say: “To suffer constantly for Jesus is the science of the Saints; we shall thus soon become Saints.”  It is by sufferings that God proves His servants, and finds them worthy of Himself.  God hath tried them and found them worthy of himself. — (Wis. iii., 5).  Whom, says St. Paul, the Lord loveth he chastiseth; and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. — (Heb. xii., 6).  Hence, Jesus Christ once said to St. Teresa: “Be assured that the souls dearest to My Father are those who suffer the greatest afflictions.” Hence Job said: If we have received good things at the hand of God, why should we not receive evil? — (Job ii., 10).  If we have gladly received from God the goods of this earth, why should we not receive more cheerfully tribulations, which are far more useful to us than worldly prosperity?  St. Gregory informs us that, as a flame fanned by the wind increases, so the soul is made perfect when she is oppressed by tribulations.  In fine, the scourges of Heaven are sent, not for our injury, but for our good.  Let us believe that these scourges of the Lord, with which, like servants, we are chastised, have happened for our amendment and not for our destruction. — (Judith, viii., 27).  “God,” says St. Augustine, “is angry when He does not scourge the sinner.”  When we see a sinner in tribulation in this life, we may infer that God wishes to have mercy on him in the next, and that he exchanges eternal for temporal chastisement.  But miserable the sinner whom the Lord does not punish in this life!  For those whom He does not chastise here, He treasures up His wrath, and for them He reserves eternal chastisement.
     O Will of God, Thou art my love!  O Blood of Jesus, Thou art my hope!  I hope to be from this day forward always united to Thy Divine Will.  It shall be my guide, my desire, my love, my hope.  Thy Will be done!  My Jesus, through Thy merits grant me the grace always to repeat: Thy Will be done!  Thy Will be done!
     Ah, my blessed Mother Mary, thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, obtain for me, by thy merits, sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of life which will always be light in comparison with my demerits for I have often deserved hell.  Immaculate Virgin, from thee do I hope for help to bear all crosses with patience.  Amen.

Leitura espiritual:  A POBREZA DO MENINO JESUS

Meditação noturna:  DEUS ENVIA SEU FILHO PARA MORRER A FIM DE NOS RESTAURAR À VIDA

Meditação I:
     But God, who is rich in mercy, for his exceeding charity wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ. — (Eph. ii., 4, 5).
     Consider that sin is the death of the soul, because this enemy of God deprives us of Divine grace, which is the life of the soul.  We, therefore, miserable sinners, were already by our sins dead and condemned to hell.  God, through the immense love which He bears to our souls, determined to restore us to life; and how did He do so?  He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die, in order that by His death He might restore us to life.  With reason therefore does the Apostle call this work of love exceeding charity; too much love; yes, indeed, for man could never have had hope to receive life in such a loving manner if God had not found this means of redeeming him: Having obtained eternal redemption. — (Heb. ix., 12).  All men were therefore dead – there was no remedy for them.  But the Son of God, through the bowels of His mercy has come down from Heaven, the Orient from on high, and has given us life.  Justly, therefore, does the Apostle call Jesus Christ our Life: When Christ shall appear, who is your life. — (Col. iii., 4).
     O my Jesus! if Thou hadst not accepted and suffered death for me, I should have remained dead in my sins, without hope of salvation and without the power of ever loving Thee.  But though Thou hast obtained life for me by Thy death, I have again many times voluntarily forfeited it by returning to sin.  Thou didst die to gain my heart to Thyself, and I by my rebellion have made it a slave of the devil.  I lost all reverence for Thee, and I said that I would no longer have Thee for my Master.  All this is true; but it is also true that Thou desirest not the death of the sinner, but that he should be converted and live; and therefore didst Thou die to give us life.  I repent of having offended Thee, my dearest Redeemer; and do Thou pardon me through the merits of Thy Passion; give me Thy grace.

Meditação II:
     Behold, our Redeemer clothed with flesh and become an Infant, says: I have come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly. — (John x., 10).  For this end He accepted death, that He might give us life.  It is but reasonable, therefore, that we should live only to God, Who has condescended to die for us: Christ died, that they who live may not live to themselves, but unto him who died for them. — (2 Cor. v., 15).  It is reasonable that Jesus Christ should be the only Sovereign of our hearts since He has spent His blood and His life to gain them to Himself: To this end Christ died and rose again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. — (Rom. xiv., 9).  O my God! who would be so ungrateful a wretch as to believe it an Article of Faith that God died to secure his love, and yet refuse to love Him, and, renouncing His friendship, choose voluntarily to make himself a slave of hell?
     O Lord, give me that life which Thou hast purchased for me by Thy death, and henceforth mayst Thou have entire dominion over my heart.  Never let the devil have possession of it again; he is not my God, he does not love me, and has not suffered anything for me.  In past times he was not the true sovereign, but the robber of my soul; Thou alone, my Jesus, art my true Lord, Who hast created and redeemed me with Thy Blood; Thou alone hast loved me, and oh, how much!  It is therefore only just that I should be Thine alone during the life that remains to me.  Tell me what Thou wouldst have me to do; for I will do it all.  Chastise me as Thou wilt; I accept everything Thou sendest me; only spare me the chastisement of living without Thy love; make me love Thee, and then dispose of me as Thou wilt.  Most holy Mary, my refuge and consolation, recommend me to thy Son; His death and thy intercession are all my hope.

Meditação matinal: CONSIDERAÇÕES SOBRE O ESTADO RELIGIOSO - I

     Considere que a salvação é garantida às almas que entram no estado religioso. 
    Deus nos colocou no mundo e nos mantém aqui em vida, não para adquirir os bens perecíveis da Terra, mas os bens eternos do Céu.  O fim é a vida eterna. - (Rom. vi., 22). Mas o infortúnio é que, no mundo, os homens pensam muito pouco, se é que pensam, na vida eterna, e só sonham em adquirir honras e prazeres, e essa é a razão pela qual tantas almas perecem.

Meditação I:
     Para entender a importância de nossa salvação eterna, basta ter fé e considerar que temos apenas uma alma e que, se ela se perder, tudo estará perdido, mesmo que um homem seja senhor de todo o mundo.  Que aproveita ao homem ganhar o mundo inteiro, se vier a perder a sua alma? - (Mt. xvi., 26). Essa grande máxima do Evangelho tem induzido muitos jovens a se fecharem em claustros, outros a viverem em desertos e outros a entregarem suas vidas por Jesus Cristo. Pois, diziam eles, de que nos adianta possuir o mundo inteiro e todos os bens deste mundo nesta vida presente, que logo terminará, para depois sermos condenados e miseráveis na vida futura, que nunca terá fim? Todos aqueles homens ricos, todos aqueles príncipes e imperadores que estão agora no inferno - o que eles têm agora de tudo o que desfrutaram nesta vida, a não ser um tormento maior e um desespero maior? Seres miseráveis! Eles agora se lamentam e dizem: Todas essas coisas passaram como uma sombra. - (Sabedoria v., 9). Para eles, tudo passou como uma sombra, como um sonho, e a lamentação que é seu destino já dura muitos anos e durará por toda a eternidade.  A moda deste mundo passa. - (1 Cor. vii., 51). Este mundo é uma cena que dura pouco tempo; feliz aquele que desempenha nessa cena o papel que mais tarde o fará feliz na vida que nunca terá fim. Quando ele estiver satisfeito, honrado e for um príncipe no Paraíso, enquanto Deus for Deus, pouco se importará com o fato de ter estado neste mundo - pobre, desprezado e em tribulação. Foi somente para esse fim que Deus nos colocou nesta terra e nos mantém aqui em vida, não para adquirir bens transitórios, mas eternos: O fim é a vida eterna.
     Ó meu Deus! Como mereci esta grande misericórdia, que, tendo deixado tantos outros para viver no meio do mundo, Tu quiseste chamar a mim, que Te ofendi mais do que os outros e mereci, mais do que eles, ser privado de Tua luz divina, para desfrutar da honra de viver como um amigo em Tua própria casa! Ó Senhor, faze com que eu possa compreender essa graça extraordinária que me concedeste, para que eu possa sempre Te agradecer por ela, como pretendo e espero fazer sempre durante minha vida e por toda a eternidade, e não permitas que eu seja ingrato por ela. Já que o Senhor foi tão liberal comigo e, em Seu amor, preferiu-me aos outros, é justo que eu O sirva e O ame mais do que os outros.

Meditação II:
     With desolation is all the land made desolate, because there is none that considereth in the heart. — (Jer. xii., 11).  How few are they who reflect on death, by which for us the scene is closed; on the eternity which awaits us; on what God has done for our sake!  And hence it comes that these miserable beings live in blindness and carelessly, far from God, having their eyes, like the beasts, intent only on earthly things, without remembering God, without desiring His love, and without a thought of eternity.  Therefore, they die afterwards an unhappy death, which will be the beginning of eternal death and endless misery.  Then it is they will open their eyes; but it will be only to lament over their own foolishness.
     This is the great means of salvation which is found in Religion, namely, continual meditation on the eternal truths.  Remember thy last end and thou shalt never sin. — (Eccles, vii. 40).  In well-regulated Religious houses this is done every day, and even several times a day.  And therefore in the light of divine things, which there shines continually, it is morally impossible to live, at least for a long time, far from God, and without keeping one’s account ready for eternity.
     O my Jesus!  Thou wouldst have me to be wholly Thine, and to Thee I give myself entirely.  Accept me, and henceforward keep me as Thy own, since I am no longer mine.  Finish Thou the work which Thou hast begun.  Thou hast called me to Thy house, because Thou wilt have me become a Saint.  Make me then what Thou wilt have me.  Do it, O Eternal Father! for the love of Jesus Christ, in Whom is all my confidence.  I love Thee, my sovereign Good, I love Thee.  O infinite Goodness!  I love Thee alone, and will love Thee forever.  O Mary, my hope, succour me, and obtain for me to be always faithful and thankful to my Lord.

Leitura espiritual:  CONSELHOS REFERENTES A UMA VOCAÇÃO RELIGIOSA:  I. - COMO É IMPORTANTE SEGUIR A VOCAÇÃO PARA A VIDA RELIGIOSA

Meditação noturna:  O AMOR QUE O FILHO DE DEUS NOS MOSTROU NA REDENÇÃO

Meditação I:
     He hath loved us, and hath delivered himself for us. — (Eph. v., 2).
     Consider that the Eternal Word is that God Who is so infinitely happy in Himself that His happiness cannot be greater than it is, nor could the salvation of all mankind have added anything to it; nor could the loss of souls have diminished it; and yet He has done and suffered so much to save us miserable worms that if His beatitude, as St. Thomas says, had depended on that of man; He could not have done or suffered more: “As if without him He could not be happy.”  And, indeed, if Jesus Christ could not have been happy without redeeming us, how could He have humbled Himself more than He has done, in taking upon Himself our infirmities, the miseries of infancy, the troubles of human life, and a death so barbarous and ignominious?
     None but God was capable of loving to so great an excess such wretched sinners as we are, and who are so unworthy of being loved.  A devout author says: “If Jesus Christ had permitted us to ask of Him to give us the greatest proof of His love, who would have ventured to ask of Him that He should become a Child like unto us, that He should clothe Himself with all our miseries, and make Himself of all men the most poor, the most despised, and the most ill-treated, even to being put to death by the hands of executioners, and in the greatest torments upon an infamous gibbet, cursed and forsaken by all, even by His own Father, Who abandoned His Son that He might not abandon us in our ruin?”
     But that which we should not have had the boldness even to think of, the Son of God has thought of and accomplished.
     My Jesus, I should, indeed, do great injustice to Thy mercy and Thy love, if, after Thou hast given me so many proofs of the love Thou bearest me, and the desire Thou hast to save me, I should still distrust Thy mercy and Thy love.  My beloved Redeemer, I am a poor sinner; but Thou hast said that Thou didst come to seek sinners: I am not come to call the just, but sinners. — (Matt, ix., 13).  I am a poor infirm creature — Thou earnest to cure the infirm, and Thou didst say: They that are whole need not the physician, but they that are sick. — (Luke v., 31).  I was lost through my sins, but Thou didst come to save the lost: The son of man is come to save that which was lost. — (Matt. xviii., 11).  What, then, can I fear, if I am willing to amend my life and to become Thine?  I have only myself and my own weakness to fear; but my own weakness and poverty ought to increase my confidence in Thee, Who hast declared Thyself to be the refuge of the destitute: The Lord is become a refuge for the poor. — (Ps. ix., 10).

Meditação II:
     Even from His childhood He sacrificed Himself for us to sufferings, to opprobrium, and to death: He hath loved us, and hath delivered himself for us. — (Eph. v., 2).  He loved us, and out of love He gave us Himself, in order that we, by offering Him as a Victim to the Father, in satisfaction for our debts, might through His merits obtain from the divine goodness all the graces that we desire; a Victim dearer to the Father than if we offered Him the lives of all men and of all the Angels.  Let us therefore continually offer to God the merits of Jesus Christ, and through them let us seek and hope for every good.
     I implore this favour of Thee, O my Jesus!  Give me confidence in Thy merits, and grant that I may always recommend myself to God through Thy merits.  Eternal Father, save me from hell, and first from sin, for the love of Jesus Christ; for the sake of the merits of this Thy Son enlighten my mind to obey Thy will; give me strength against temptations; grant me the gift of Thy holy love; and, above all, I beseech Thee to give me the grace to pray to Thee to help me, for the love of Jesus Christ, Who hast promised that Thou wilt grant to him who prays in His name whatever he asks of Thee.  If I continue to pray to Thee in this way, I shall certainly be saved; but if I neglect it, I shall certainly be lost.  Most holy Mary, obtain for me this great gift of prayer, and that I may persevere in recommending myself constantly to God, and also to thee, who dost obtain from God whatever thou willest.

Meditação matinal: CONSIDERAÇÕES SOBRE O ESTADO RELIGIOSO - II

     Considere a morte feliz de um religioso.
    Bem-aventurados os mortos que morrem no Senhor. - (Apoc. xiv., 13). E quem são esses bem-aventurados os mortos que morrem no Senhor se não religiosos, que, no final de suas vidas, já se encontram mortos para o mundo, uma vez que, por seus votos, já se desligaram do mundo e de todos os seus bens. Deixo tudo e escolho somente a Ti como meu Tesouro, ó puríssimo Cordeiro de Deus e meu mais ardente Amante!

Meditação I:
     Considere, meu irmão, seu contentamento se, seguindo sua vocação, você tiver a sorte de morrer na Casa de Deus. O diabo certamente lhe dirá que, se você se retirar para a Casa de Deus, talvez depois se arrependa de ter deixado sua própria casa e seu próprio país, e de ter privado seus pais das vantagens que eles poderiam esperar de você. Mas pergunte a si mesmo: Será que, à beira da morte, vou me arrepender ou vou me alegrar por ter seguido minha resolução? Peço-lhe, portanto, que se imagine já à beira da morte, prestes a comparecer perante o Tribunal de Jesus Cristo. Reflita sobre o que, quando reduzido a esse estado, você gostaria de ter feito. Talvez ter agradado a seus pais, ter trabalhado para sua própria família e seu país, e então morrer cercado de irmãos, sobrinhos e parentes em sua própria casa com o título de pastor, pároco, cônego, bispo ou ministro de Estado, tendo feito sua própria vontade? Ou, por outro lado, morrer na Casa de Deus, assistido por seus bons irmãos na religião, que o encorajariam na passagem para a eternidade, depois de ter vivido muitos anos na religião, humilde, mortificado, pobre, longe dos pais, privado de sua própria vontade e sob obediência, e desapegado de tudo no mundo - tudo o que torna a morte doce e agradável? "Aquele que está acostumado a se privar das delícias do mundo", diz São Bernardo, "não se arrependerá de tê-lo feito quando tiver que deixá-lo". O papa Honório II, ao morrer, desejou ter permanecido em seu mosteiro, ocupado em lavar os pratos, e não ter sido papa. Filipe II, ao morrer, desejou ter sido um irmão leigo em alguma ordem religiosa, com a intenção de servir a Deus, e não ter sido rei. Filipe III, também rei da Espanha, disse quando estava morrendo: "Ah, se eu tivesse estado em um deserto, para servir a Deus, e nunca tivesse sido um monarca! Pois, se fosse esse o caso, agora eu deveria comparecer com mais confiança perante o Tribunal de Jesus Cristo".
     Ó meu Senhor Jesus Cristo! Que, para obter uma morte feliz para mim, escolheste uma morte tão amarga para Ti mesmo - já que me amaste a tal ponto que me escolheste para seguir mais de perto Tua vida santa, para me ter assim mais intimamente unido ao Teu amoroso Coração, liga-me, eu Te peço, inteiramente a Ti com as doces cordas do Teu amor, para que eu não possa mais me separar de Ti. Ó meu amado Redentor! Desejo ser grato a Ti e corresponder à Tua graça, mas temo que minha fraqueza me torne infiel. Ó meu Jesus, não permita que isso aconteça. Que eu morra em vez de abandoná-Lo ou esquecer a afeição especial que Tu tens demonstrado por mim.

Meditação II:
     When, then, hell tempts you about your Vocation, think of the hour of death, and set before your eyes that all-important moment upon which eternity depends.  Thus you will overcome all temptations; you will be faithful to God; and certainly you will not repent of it at the point of death, but will give thanks to the Lord, and die contented.  Gerard, brother of St. Bernard, died singing at the very thought of dying in the House of God.  Father Suarez, of the Society of Jesus, felt at his death so great consolation and sweetness at dying in Religion that he said: “I never thought it would be so sweet to die.”  Another good Religious, of the same Society, laughed when at the point of death; and being asked why he laughed, answered: “And why should I not laugh?  Has not Jesus Christ Himself promised Paradise to him who leaves everything for His sake?  Was it not He Who said: Everyone that has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife or children or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall possess life-everlasting? — (Matt, xix., 29).  I have left all for God; God is faithful, He cannot fail in His promises; and so,” he said, “why should I not rejoice and laugh, seeing myself assured of Paradise?”  A certain Lay-brother, who died some years ago, was asked at his death, what he desired most? He answered: “I desire nothing but to die and to be united with God.”
     Father Januarius Sarnelli, a short time before his death, when conversing with God, was heard saying: “O Lord, Thou knowest that all I have done and all I have thought, has been for Thy glory; now I wish to go to see Thee face to face, if it please Thee so.”  And then, desiring his departure, he said: “Courage, I wish to enter into a sweet agony.”  He then began to converse affectionately with God, and shortly after placidly expired.  There was a smile on his lips, and from his body came a sweet odour, which, as many attested, remained for several days in the room in which he had died.*
     St. Bernard, speaking of the happy state of Religious, had good reason to exclaim: “O secure life, in which death is expected without fear – yea, sweetly desired and devoutly accepted!”
     I love Thee, O my Saviour!  Thou art and shalt always be the only Lord of my heart and of my soul.  I leave all and choose Thee alone for my Treasure, O most pure Lamb of God.  O my most ardent Lover!  My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands. — (Cant. v., 10).  Begone, ye creatures, my only Good is my God, He is my Love, my All.  I love Thee, O my Jesus! and in loving Thee I will spend the remainder of my life, be it short, or be it long.  I embrace Thee, I press Thee to my heart, and I wish to die united to Thee.  I wish nothing else.  Make me live always burning with Thy love, and when I shall have arrived at the end of my life, make me expire in an ardent act of love towards Thee.
     Immaculate Virgin Mary, obtain this grace for me, I hope it from thee.

*The Ven. Father Januarius Sarneili, C.SS.R., was one of the first companions of St. Alphonsus. He died in the odour of sanctity in the year 1774, and the Cause of his Beatification has been introduced. — Editor

Leitura espiritual:  CONSELHOS REFERENTES A UMA VOCAÇÃO RELIGIOSA: 

II. - O CHAMADO DE DEUS DEVE SER OBEDECIDO, E OBEDECIDO SEM DEMORA

Meditação noturna:  JESUS, O HOMEM DE DORES, DESDE O VENTRE DE SUA MÃE

Meditação I:
     A man of sorrows, acquainted with infirmity. — (Is. liii., 8).
     Thus does the Prophet Isaias designate our Lord Jesus Christ – the man of sorrows.  Yes, because this Man was created on purpose to suffer, and from His infancy began to endure the greatest sorrows that any man had ever suffered.  The first man, Adam, enjoyed for some time upon this earth the delights of the earthly Paradise; but the second Adam, Jesus Christ, did not pass a moment of His life without sorrows and anguish; for even as a Child He was afflicted by the foresight of all the sufferings and ignominy that He would have to endure during His life, and especially at His death, when He was to close that life immersed in a tempest of sorrow and opprobrium, as David had predicted: I am come into the depth of the sea, and a tempest hath overwhelmed me. — (Ps. lxviii., 3).
     My sweetest Redeemer, when shall I begin to be grateful to Thy infinite goodness?  When shall I begin to acknowledge the love that Thou hast borne me, and the sorrows Thou hast endured for me?  Hitherto, instead of love and gratitude, I have returned Thee offences and contempt; shall I then continue to live always ungrateful to Thee, my God, Who hast spared nothing to acquire my love?  No, my Jesus, it shall not be so.  During the days that may yet remain to me I will he grateful to Thee; and Thou wilt, I trust, help me to be so.  If I have offended Thee, Thy sufferings and Thy death are my hope.  Thou hast promised to forgive the penitent.  I repent with my whole soul of having despised Thee.  Fulfil, therefore, Thy promise, my Beloved, and forgive me.  O dearest Infant, I behold Thee in the manger already nailed to Thy Cross, which is constantly present to Thee, and which Thou dost already accept for me.  O my crucified Babe, I thank Thee for it, and I love Thee.

Meditação II:
     Even from the womb of Mary, Jesus Christ accepted obediently the sacrifice which His Father had desired Him to make, even His Passion and Death: Becoming obedient unto death. — (Phil, ii., 8).  So that even from the womb of Mary He foresaw the scourges and presented to them His flesh; He foresaw the thorns and presented to them His head; He foresaw the blows and presented to them His cheeks; He foresaw the nails and presented to them His hands and feet; He foresaw the Cross and offered His life.  Hence it is true that even from His earliest infancy our Blessed Redeemer, every moment of His life, suffered a continual martyrdom; and He offered it every moment for us to His Eternal Father.
     But what afflicted Him most was the sight of the sins which men would commit even after this painful Redemption.  By His divine light He well knew the malice of every sin, and therefore did He come into the world to do away with all sins; but when He saw the immense number which would be committed, the sorrow that the Heart of Jesus felt was greater than all the sorrows that all men ever suffered or ever will suffer upon earth.
     Stretched upon this straw, O my Jesus, suffering already for me, and preparing Thyself even now to die for the love of me, Thou dost command and invite me to love Thee: Love the Lord thy God.  And I desire nothing more than to love Thee.  Since, therefore, Thou wiliest that I should love Thee, give me all the love that Thou requirest of me; love for Thee is Thy gift, and the very greatest gift Thou canst make to a soul.  Accept, O my Jesus! for Thy lover a sinner who has so greatly offended Thee.  Thou didst come from Heaven to seek the lost sheep; do Thou, therefore, seek me, and I will seek none other but Thee.  Thou desirest my soul, and my soul desires nothing but Thee.  Thou lovest him that loves Thee, and sayest: I love those that love me. — (Prov. viii., 17).  I love Thee, do Thou also love me: and if Thou lovest me, bind me to Thy love; but bind me so that I may never again be able to disengage myself from Thee.  Mary, my Mother, do thou help me.  Let it be thy glory also to see thy Son loved by a miserable sinner, who has hitherto so greatly offended Him.

Meditação matinal:  CONSIDERAÇÕES SOBRE O ESTADO RELIGIOSO - III

     Considere a conta que ele terá de prestar a Jesus Cristo no Dia do Juízo Final se não seguir sua vocação.
     A graça da vocação é uma graça muito rara que Deus concede somente a alguns. Mas quanto maior for a graça, maior será a indignação do Senhor contra aquele que não corresponder a ela. Ele é o Senhor. Quando Ele chama, deseja ser obedecido, e obedecido prontamente.

Meditação I:
     A graça da vocação ao estado religioso não é uma graça comum; é uma graça muito rara, que Deus concede apenas a alguns.  Ele não fez isso com todas as nações. - (Sl. cxlvii., 20). Oh, quão maior é essa graça, ser chamado para uma vida perfeita e tornar-se um membro da família de Deus, do que se alguém fosse chamado para ser o rei de qualquer reino nesta terra! Pois que comparação pode haver entre um reino temporal nesta terra e o eterno reino dos céus?
     Mas quanto maior for a graça, maior será a indignação do Senhor contra aquele que não a tiver correspondido, e mais rigoroso será o Seu julgamento no dia da prestação de contas. Se um rei chamasse um pobre pastor para seu palácio real, para servi-lo entre os nobres de sua corte, qual não seria a indignação do rei se ele recusasse tal favor por não querer deixar sua pobre cabana e seu pequeno rebanho? Deus conhece bem o valor de Suas graças e, por isso, castiga com severidade aqueles que as desprezam. Ele é o Senhor; quando Ele chama, deseja ser obedecido, e obedecido prontamente.
     Ó Senhor, o Senhor me mostrou um excesso de generosidade a ponto de me escolher entre tantos outros para servi-Lo em Sua própria casa com Seus servos mais amados. Sei quão grande é essa graça e quão indigno dela eu tenho sido. Eis que agora estou disposto a corresponder a tão grande amor. Eu Te obedecerei. Já que foste tão liberal comigo a ponto de me chamar quando eu não Te procurava, e quando eu era tão ingrato, não permitas que eu Te ofereça um excesso de ingratidão tão grande a ponto de abraçar novamente meu inimigo, o mundo, no qual até agora tantas vezes perdi Tua graça e minha salvação eterna, e assim Te abandonar, que derramaste Teu Sangue e deste Tua vida por mim. Já que Tu me chamaste, dá-me também a força para corresponder ao chamado. Já prometi obedecer a Ti. Prometo novamente, mas sem a graça da perseverança não posso ser fiel a Ti. Essa perseverança eu a peço a Ti, e por Teus próprios méritos é que a desejo e espero obtê-la.

Meditação II:
     When, therefore, by His inspiration, God calls a soul to a perfect life, if it does not correspond He deprives it of His light, and abandons it to its own darkness.  Oh, how many poor souls shall we see among the reprobate on the Day of Judgment for this very reason, that they were called and would not correspond!
     Give thanks, then, to the Lord, Who has invited you to follow Him; but if you do not correspond, tremble!  Since God calls you to serve near His Person, it is a sign that He wishes to save you.  But He will have you to be saved in that path only which He indicates to you and has chosen for you.  If you wish to save yourself on a road of your own choosing, there is great danger that you will not be saved at all; for if you remain in the world, when God wishes you to be a Religious, He will not give you those efficacious helps prepared for you had you lived in His House, and without those you will not save yourself.  My sheep hear my voice. — (John x., 27).  He who will not obey the voice of God shows that he is not, and will not be, one of His sheep, but in the Valley of Josaphat, he will be condemned with the goats.
     Give me courage, O my Jesus, to vanquish the passions of the flesh, through which the devil seeks to induce me to betray Thee.  I love Thee, O my Jesus!  To Thee I consecrate myself entirely.  I am already Thine, I will be always Thine.  O Mary, my Mother and my hope, thou art the Mother of perseverance.  This grace is only dispensed through thy hands; do thou obtain it for me.  In thee do I confide.

Leitura espiritual:  CONSELHOS REFERENTES A UMA VOCAÇÃO RELIGIOSA: 

III. - OS MEIOS A SEREM EMPREGADOS PARA PRESERVAR A VOCAÇÃO RELIGIOSA

Meditação noturna:  GRANDEZA DO MISTÉRIO DA ENCARNAÇÃO

Meditação I:
     And the Word was made flesh. — (John i., 14).
     Our Lord sent St. Augustine to write upon the heart of St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi the words, And the Word was made flesh.  Oh, let us also pray the Lord to enlighten our minds, and to make us understand what an excess and what a miracle of love this is: that the Eternal Word, the Son of God, should have become Man for the love of us.
     The Holy Church is struck with awe at the contemplation of this great Mystery: I considered thy works and was afraid.  If God had created a thousand other worlds, a thousand times greater and more beautiful than the present, it is certain that this work would be infinitely less grand than the Incarnation of the Word: He hath showed might in his arm. — (Luke i., 51).  To execute the great work of the Incarnation, it required all the omnipotence and infinite wisdom of God, in order to unite human nature to a Divine Person, and that a Divine Person should so humble Himself as to take upon Himself human nature.  Thus God became Man, and Man became God; and hence, the Divinity of the Word being united to the soul and body of Jesus Christ, all the actions of this Man-God became divine: His prayers were divine, His sufferings divine, His infant cries divine, His tears divine, His steps divine, His members divine, His very Blood divine, which became, as it were, a fountain of health to wash out all our sins, and a Sacrifice of infinite value to appease the justice of the Father, Who was justly angered with men.
     O Soul, O Body, O Blood of my Jesus!  I adore you and thank you; you are my hope; you are the price paid to save me from hell, which I have so often merited.  O my God! what a miserable and hopeless life would await me in eternity, if Thou, my Redeemer, hadst not thought of saving me by Thy sufferings and death!  But how is it that souls, redeemed by Thee with so much love, knowing all this, can live without loving Thee, and can despise the grace which Thou hast acquired for them with so much suffering?  And did not I also know all this?  How, then, could I have offended Thee, and offend Thee so often?  But, I repeat it, Thy Blood is my hope.  I acknowledge, my Saviour, the great injuries that I have done Thee.  Oh that I had rather died a thousand times!  Oh, that I had always loved Thee!

Meditação II:
     And who, then, are these men?  Miserable, ungrateful, and rebellious creatures!  And yet for these God becomes Man; subjects Himself to human miseries; suffers and dies to save these unworthy sinners; He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. — (Phil, ii., 8).  O holy Faith!  If Faith did not assure us of it, who would believe that a God of infinite majesty should abase Himself so far as to become a worm like us, in order to save us at the cost of so much suffering and disgrace, and of so cruel and shameful a death?
     “O grace! O power of love!” cries out St. Bernard.  O grace, which men could not even have imagined, if God Himself had not thought of granting it to us!  O mercy!  O infinite charity, worthy only of an infinite Bounty!
     By Thy grace I now feel great sorrow for the offences I have committed against Thee; I feel within me an ardent desire of loving Thee; I feel fully resolved to lose everything rather than Thy friendship; I feel a love towards Thee that makes me abhor everything that displeases Thee.  And this sorrow, this desire, this resolution, and this love, who is it that gives them to me?  It is Thou, O Lord, in Thy great mercy.  Therefore, my Jesus, this is a proof that Thou hast pardoned me; it is a proof that now Thou lovest me, and that Thou willest me at all costs to be saved; Thou wiliest that I should be saved, and I will save myself principally to give Thee pleasure.  Thou lovest me, and I also love Thee; but my love is little indeed.  Oh, give me more love; Thou deservest more love from me, for I have received from Thee more special favours than others: I pray Thee do Thou increase the flames of my love.
     Most holy Mary, obtain for me that the love of Jesus may consume and destroy in me every affection that has not God for its object.  Thou dost listen to the prayers of all that call on thee; listen to me also and obtain for me love and perseverance.

Meditação matinal:  CONSIDERAÇÕES SOBRE O ESTADO RELIGIOSO - IV

     Considere os tormentos da alma de alguém no inferno que perdeu sua vocação.
     Ele dirá: Ó tolo que eu era! Eu poderia ter me tornado um grande santo! E se eu tivesse obedecido ao chamado de Deus, certamente teria me tornado um santo, e agora estou condenado sem remédio! Faça sua escolha, pois Deus a deixa em suas próprias mãos: ser um grande rei no Paraíso ou um réprobo no inferno.

Meditação I:
     O remorso por ter perdido, por culpa própria, algum grande bem, ou por ter sido a causa voluntária de algum grande mal para nós mesmos, é tão grande que mesmo nesta vida é um tormento insuportável. Mas que tormento sentirá aquele jovem, chamado pelo singular favor de Deus para o estado religioso, no inferno, quando perceber que, se tivesse obedecido a Deus, teria alcançado um lugar elevado no Paraíso, e se vir, no entanto, confinado naquela prisão de tormentos, sem esperança de remédio para essa sua ruína eterna!  Seu verme não morre. - (Marcos ix., 43).
     Esse será aquele verme que, vivendo sempre, sempre roerá seu coração com remorso contínuo. Tolo que eu era! dirá ele, eu poderia ter me tornado um grande santo. E se eu tivesse obedecido, certamente teria me tornado um santo; e agora estou condenado sem remédio.
     Homem infeliz! Para seu maior tormento, no Dia do Juízo, ele verá e reconhecerá, à direita de Deus e coroados como santos, aqueles que seguiram sua vocação e, deixando o mundo, retiraram-se para a Casa de Deus, para a qual ele também havia sido chamado. Ele se verá separado da companhia dos Abençoados e colocado no meio da inumerável e miserável tripulação dos condenados, por sua desobediência à voz de Deus.
     Não, meu Deus, não me permita desobedecer a Ti e ser infiel. Vejo Tua bondade e agradeço-Te porque, em vez de me afastar de Tua face e me banir para o inferno, como tantas vezes mereci, Tu me convidaste a tornar-me um santo e me preparaste um lugar elevado no Paraíso. Vejo que mereceria um tormento duplo, caso não correspondesse a essa graça - uma graça que não é concedida a todos. Eu Te obedecerei. Eis que sou Teu, e sempre serei Teu. Aceito com alegria todas as dores e desconfortos da vida religiosa, para a qual Tu me convidas. E o que são essas dores em comparação com as dores eternas que mereci? Eu estava completamente perdido por causa de meus pecados; agora me entrego inteiramente a Ti. Dispõe de mim e de minha vida como Te aprouver.

Meditação II:
     We know well, as we have considered above, that to this most unhappy lot he exposes himself, who, in order to follow his own caprice, turns a deaf ear to the call of God.  Therefore, my brother, you who have already been called to become a Saint in the House of God, consider that you will expose yourself to a great danger should you lose your Vocation through your own fault.  Consider that this very Vocation which God in His Sovereign Bounty has given you, in order, as it were, to take you out from among the crowd, and place you among the chosen princes of His Paradise, will, through your own fault, should you be unfaithful to it, become a special hell for you.  Make your own choice, then, for now God leaves it in your own hands, either to be a great king in Paradise, or a reprobate in hell, more full of despair than the rest.
     Accept, O Lord, of one already at the gates of hell, as I have been, to serve Thee and love Thee in this life and in the next.  I will love Thee as much as I have deserved to be doomed to hate Thee in hell, O God, worthy of an infinite love!  O my Jesus!  Thou hast broken those chains by which the world held me captive; Thou hast delivered me from the servitude of my enemies.  I will love Thee much, then, O my Love! and for the love I bear thee, I will always serve Thee and obey Thee.  I will always thank thee, O Mary, my advocate, who hast obtained this mercy for me.  Help me, and suffer me not to be ungrateful to that God Who has loved me so much.  Obtain for me that I may die rather than be unfaithful to so great a grace.  This is my hope.

Leitura espiritual:  CONSELHOS REFERENTES A UMA VOCAÇÃO RELIGIOSA: 

IV. - OS MEIOS A SEREM EMPREGADOS PARA PRESERVAR UMA VOCAÇÃO RELIGIOSA

Meditação noturna:  JESUS SOFRE DURANTE TODA A SUA VIDA

Meditação I:
     My sorrow is continually before me. — (Ps. xxxvii., 18).
     Consider that all the sufferings and ignominy that Jesus endured in His life and death were present to Him from the first moment of His life: My sorrow is continually before me; and even from His childhood He began to offer them in satisfaction for our sins, beginning even then to fulfil His office as Redeemer.  He revealed to one of His servants that from the commencement of His life even unto His death He suffered continually; and suffered so much for each of our sins that if He had had as many lives as there are men, He would as many times have died of sorrow, if God had not preserved His life that He might suffer more.
     Oh, what a martyrdom did not the loving Heart of Jesus constantly endure in beholding all the sins of men!  He beheld every single fault.  Even whilst He was in the womb of Mary every particular sin passed in review before Jesus, and each sin afflicted Him immeasurably.  St. Thomas says that this sorrow which Jesus Christ felt at the knowledge of the injury done to His Father, and of the evil that sin would occasion to the souls that He loved, surpassed the sorrows of all the contrite sinners that ever existed, even of those who died of pure sorrow; because no sinner ever loved God and his own soul as much as Jesus loved His Father and our souls.
     Behold, my Jesus, at Thy feet, the ungrateful sinner, the persecutor who kept Thee in continual affliction during all Thy life.  But I will say to Thee with Isaias: But thou hast delivered my soul that it should not perish; thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. — (Is. xxxviii., 17).  I have offended Thee.  I have wounded Thee by so many sins; but Thou hast not refused to take upon Thy shoulders all my offences.  I have voluntarily cast my soul into the fire of hell every time that I have consented to offend Thee gravely; and Thou, at the cost of Thy own Blood, hast continually liberated me and prevented me from being entirely lost.  My beloved Redeemer, I thank Thee.

Meditação II:
     Wherefore that agony which our Redeemer suffered in the Garden at the sight of our sins was endured by Him even from His Mother’s womb: I am poor, and in labours from my youth. — (Ps. lxxxvii., 16).  Thus through the mouth of David did our Saviour prophesy of Himself that all His life would be a continual suffering.  From this St. John Chrysostom deduces that we ought not to afflict ourselves for anything but for sin alone; and that since Jesus was afflicted all His life long on account of our sins, so we who have committed them ought to feel a continual sorrow for them, remembering that we have offended God Who has loved us so much.  St. Margaret of Cortona never ceased to shed tears for her sins.  One day her confessor said to her: “Margaret, no more tears!  It is enough — Our Lord has already forgiven thee.”  “What!” answered the Saint, “how can my tears and my sorrows suffice for the sins for which my Jesus was afflicted all His life long!”
     O my Jesus, I could wish to die of sorrow when I think how I have abused Thy infinite goodness; forgive me, my Love, and come and take entire possession of my heart.  Thou hast said that Thou wouldst not disdain to enter into the abode of him that opens to Thee, and to remain in his company: If any man shall open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him. — (Apoc. iii., 20).  If I have hitherto driven Thee away from me, I now love Thee and desire nothing but Thy favour.  Behold, the door is open, enter Thou into my heart, but enter never to depart from it again.  I am poor; but if Thou enter Thou wilt make me rich.  I shall always be rich so long as I possess Thee, the Sovereign Good. O Queen of Heaven, sorrowful Mother of this suffering Son, I also have been a cause of sorrow to thee, because thou hast participated, in great measure, in the sufferings of Jesus.  My Mother, do thou also forgive me, and obtain for me the grace to be faithful to thee, now that I hope my Jesus has returned into my soul.

Meditação matinal:  CONSIDERAÇÕES SOBRE O ESTADO RELIGIOSO - V

     Considere a imensa glória que o religioso desfrutará no céu.
     Ele retribuirá a cada um de acordo com suas obras. - (Mat. xvi., 27).
    A partir disso, você pode avaliar quão grande será a recompensa que Deus dará no Céu aos bons religiosos por causa dos grandes méritos que eles adquirem todos os dias.  Quando iam, iam e choravam lançando suas sementes; mas quando vinham, vinham com alegria, carregando seus feixes. - (Sl. cxxv., 6, 7).

Meditação I:
     Considere, em primeiro lugar, o que São Bernardo diz: que é difícil para os religiosos que morrem no estado religioso serem condenados. "Da cela ao céu o caminho é fácil. Quase nunca se desce da cela para o inferno". A razão que o Santo aduz é: "porque dificilmente alguém persevera nele até a morte, a menos que seja predestinado". Pois é com dificuldade que um religioso persevera até a morte, se ele não for do número dos eleitos do Paraíso. Por isso, São Lourenço Justiniano chamou o estado religioso de porta do Paraíso: "Daquela cidade celestial esta é a porta". E ele disse que, portanto, "os religiosos têm um grande sinal de predestinação".
     Considere, além disso, que a recompensa do céu, como diz o apóstolo, é uma coroa de justiça. - (2 Timóteo 4:8). Portanto, Deus, embora nos recompense por nossas obras mais abundantemente do que merecemos, recompensa-nos, no entanto, em proporção às obras que fizemos.  Ele retribuirá a cada um de acordo com suas obras. A partir disso, você pode julgar quão grande será a recompensa que Deus dará no céu aos bons religiosos, em consideração aos grandes méritos que eles adquirem diariamente.
     O religioso dá a Deus todos os seus bens terrenos e se contenta em ser totalmente pobre, sem possuir nada. O religioso renuncia a todo apego a seus pais, amigos e país, a fim de se unir mais intimamente a Deus. O religioso se mortifica continuamente em muitas coisas que gostaria de desfrutar no mundo. O religioso, finalmente, entrega a Deus todo o seu ser, dando-Lhe sua vontade por meio do voto de obediência.
     A coisa mais preciosa que temos para dar é nossa própria vontade, e o que Deus, dentre todas as outras coisas, mais exige de nós é o coração, ou seja, a vontade.  Meu filho, dê-me seu coração. Aquele que serve a Deus no mundo dará a Ele suas posses, mas não a si mesmo; dará a Ele uma parte e não o todo, pois, de fato, dará a Ele seus bens por meio de esmolas, ações, seu alimento por meio do jejum, seu sangue por meio de disciplinas, etc. Mas ele sempre reservará para si mesmo sua própria vontade, jejuando quando lhe aprouver, rezando quando quiser. Mas o religioso, dando a Ele sua própria vontade, dá a si mesmo e dá tudo; dá não apenas os frutos da árvore, mas a própria árvore inteira. Por isso, ele pode dizer verdadeiramente a Ele: Ó Senhor! Tendo dado a Ti minha vontade, não tenho mais nada a Te dar.
     É possível, ó meu Deus e verdadeiro Amante, que Tu desejes tanto o meu bem e ser amado por mim, e que eu, miserável como sou, deseje tão pouco amar e agradar-Te? Para que fim Tu me favoreceste com tantas graças e me tiraste do meio da multidão? mundo? Ó meu Jesus! Eu Te entendo. Tu me amas muito, queres que eu Te ame muito e seja todo Teu, nesta vida e na próxima. Desejas que meu amor não seja dividido com as criaturas, mas que seja totalmente para Ti, o único Bem, o único adorável e digno de amor infinito. Ah! meu Senhor, meu Tesouro, meu Amor, meu Tudo! Sim, eu desejo ardente e verdadeiramente amá-Lo e não amar ninguém além de Ti.

Meditação II:
     And, therefore, in all that the Religious does through Obedience, he is sure to do the will of God perfectly, and merits by all he does, not only when he prays, when he hears confessions, when he preaches or fasts, or practices other mortifications, but also when he takes his food, when he sweeps his room, when he makes his bed, when he takes his rest, when he recreates himself; for, doing all this through Obedience, in all he does the will of God.  St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi said that everything done through Obedience is a prayer.  Hence, St. Anselm, speaking of those who love Obedience, asserted that all that Religious do is meritorious for them.  St. Aloysius Gonzaga said that in Religion one travels, as it were, in a vessel in which even he who does not labour advances.
     Oh, how much more will a Religious gain in one month by observing his Rule than a secular, with all his penance and prayers, in a year!  Of that disciple of Dorotheus called Dositheus, it was revealed that for the five years he had lived under Obedience, there was given to him in Heaven the glory of St. Paul the Hermit, and of St. Anthony the Abbot, both of whom had, for so many years, lived in the desert.  Religious, it is true, have to suffer the inconvenience of regular observance: Going, they went and wept.  But when they are called to the other life they will go to Heaven, and . . . with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves. — (Ps. cxxv., 6, 7).  Whence they will sing: The lines are fallen unto me in goodly places, for my inheritance is goodly to me. — (Ps. xv., 6).  These bonds which have bound me to the Lord have become for me exceedingly precious, and the glory they have acquired for me is exceedingly great.
     I thank Thee, Jesus, for this desire Thou hast given me; preserve it in me, always increase it in me, and grant that I may please Thee, and love Thee on this earth as Thou desirest, so that I may come hereafter to love Thee face to face, with all my strength in Paradise.  Behold, this is all that I ask from Thee.  Thee will I love, O my God!  I will love Thee, and for Thy love I offer myself to suffer every pain.  I will become a Saint, not that I may enjoy great delight in Heaven, but to please Thee much, O my beloved Lord! and to love Thee much forever.  Graciously hear me, O Eternal Father! for the love of Jesus Christ.
     My Mother Mary, for the love of this thy Son, help thou me.  Thou art my hope; from thee I hope for every good.

Leitura espiritual:  CONSELHOS REFERENTES A UMA VOCAÇÃO RELIGIOSA: 

V. - OS MEIOS A SEREM EMPREGADOS PARA PRESERVAR A VOCAÇÃO RELIGIOSA:

B. - ORAÇÃO

Meditação noturna: JESUS DESEJOU SOFRER TANTO PARA CONQUISTAR NOSSO CORAÇÃO

Meditação I:
     I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptised and how am I straitened until it be accomplished? — (Luke, xii., 50).
     Consider how Jesus suffered even from the first moment of His life, and all for love of us.  During the whole of His life He had no other interest, after the glory of God, than our salvation.  He, as the Son of God, had no need to suffer in order to deserve Paradise; but whatever He suffered of pain, of poverty, of ignominy, He applied it all towards meriting for us eternal salvation.  And even though He could have saved us without suffering, yet He chose to embrace a life of nothing but sufferings, poor, despised, and deprived of every comfort, with a death the most desolate and bitter that was ever endured by any Martyr or penitent, only to make us understand the greatness of the love He bore us, and to gain our affections.
     He lived thirty-three years, and He lived sighing for the hour in which He was to sacrifice His life, which He desired to offer up to obtain for us divine grace and eternal glory, in order that He might have us with Him forever in Paradise.
     My beloved Redeemer, I am also one of those ungrateful wretches who have repaid Thy immense love, Thy sorrows, and Thy death, with offences and contempt.  O my dearest Jesus I how is it possible that, seeing as Thou didst the ingratitude that I should show Thee for all Thy mercies, Thou couldst yet love me so much, and resolve to endure so much contempt and suffering for me!  But I will not despair.  The evil is already done.  Give me, therefore, O my Saviour, that sorrow which Thou hast merited for me by Thy tears; but let it be a sorrow equal to my iniquities.  O loving Heart of my Saviour, once so afflicted and desolate for my sake, and now all burning with love for me, I beseech Thee change my heart, give me a heart that will make reparation for the offences I have committed against Thee – a love that will equal my ingratitude!

Meditação II:
     It was this desire which made Jesus say: Eu tenho um batismo com o qual devo ser batizado; e como estou apertado até que ele se cumpra?  He desired to be baptised with His own Blood, not to wash out His own sins, since He was innocent and holy, but the sins of men whom He loved so much: He loved us, and washed us in his own blood. — (Apoc. i., 5).  Oh, excess of the love of God, which all the men and Angels that ever existed will never succeed in understanding or praising as it deserves.
     St. Bonaventure weeps at seeing the great ingratitude of men for so great a love: “It is a cause for wonder that the hearts of men do not break for love of Thee.”  It is a marvel, says the Saint, to see a God endure such sufferings, shedding tears in a stable, poor in a workshop, languishing on a Cross; in short afflicted and tormented; the whole of His life for the love of men; and then to see these men, who not only do not burn with love towards such a loving God, but even have the boldness to despise His love and His grace.  O Lord, how is it possible to conceive that a God should have given Himself up to so much suffering for men, and yet that there should be men who can offend, and not love this merciful God!
     I give Thee thanks, my Saviour, because I see that Thy mercy has already changed my heart.  I hate, above every evil, the insults I have offered Thee; I detest them, I abhor them.  I now esteem Thy friendship above all the riches and kingdoms of the world.  I desire to please Thee as much as it is possible for me; I love Thee, Who art infinitely amiable; but I see that my love is too feeble.  Do Thou increase the flame, give me more love.  Thy love for me ought to be responded to by a greater degreee of love in me, who have so much offended Thee, and who, instead of chastisement, have received so many special favours from Thee.  O Sovereign Good, permit me not to be any longer ungrateful for all the favours Thou hast bestowed upon me.  I will say with St. Francis: “May I die, Lord, for the love of Thy love, Who for the love of my love didst deign to die!”  Mary, my hope, help me; pray to Jesus for me!

Meditação matinal: A OFERTA QUE MARIA FEZ DE SI MESMA A DEUS FOI PRONTA E SEM DEMORA

     Levante-se, apresse-se, meu amor, minha pomba, minha linda, e venha! - (Cant. ii., 10). Maria compreendeu bem a voz de Deus que a chamava a se dedicar ao Seu amor. E assim iluminada, ela imediatamente se ofereceu ao seu Senhor. Eis que, ó Maria, eu hoje me apresento a ti e, em união contigo, renuncio a todas as criaturas e me dedico inteiramente ao amor do meu Criador.

Meditação I:
     Ouve, filha, e vê, e inclina os teus ouvidos; e esquece o teu povo e a casa de teu pai. - (Sl. xliv., 11). A santa Virgem obedeceu a esse chamado divino com prontidão e generosidade. Desde o primeiro momento em que a criança celestial foi santificada no ventre de sua mãe, que foi no instante de sua Imaculada Conceição, ela recebeu o perfeito uso da razão e começou a merecer. E imediatamente, como um anjo revelou a Santa Brígida, nossa Rainha decidiu sacrificar sua vontade a Deus e dar a Ele todo o seu amor por toda a sua vida.
     Maria, ao saber que seus santos pais, São Joaquim e Santa Ana, a haviam consagrado a Deus por meio de votos, pediu-lhes com sinceridade que a levassem ao Templo e cumprissem sua promessa. Aos três anos de idade, como nos conta Santo Epifânio - uma idade em que as crianças são mais desejosas e precisam mais dos cuidados de seus pais - Maria desejou consagrar-se a Deus.
     Vejam, então, Joaquim e Ana sacrificando generosamente a Deus o tesouro mais precioso que possuíam no mundo e o tesouro mais querido de seus corações. Eles partiram de Nazaré levando consigo sua amada filhinha, pois de outra forma ela não poderia fazer uma viagem tão longa como a de Nazaré a Jerusalém, uma distância de oitenta quilômetros. Eles foram acompanhados por poucos parentes, mas coros de anjos escoltaram e serviram a pequena Virgem Imaculada, que estava prestes a se consagrar à Majestade Divina.  How beautiful are thy steps . . . O prince’s daughter. - (Cant. vii., 1). "Oh, quão belo", devem ter cantado os anjos, "quão aceitável a Deus é cada passo que você dá no caminho para se apresentar e se oferecer a Ele, ó nobre filha, amadíssima de nosso Senhor comum!"
     Ó amada Mãe de Deus, amantíssima filha, Maria, que te apresentaste no Templo e, com prontidão e sem reservas, te consagraste à glória e ao amor de Deus; oxalá eu pudesse oferecer-te hoje os primeiros anos de minha vida, para me dedicar sem reservas ao teu serviço, minha santa e dulcíssima Senhora! Mas agora é tarde demais para fazer isso, pois perdi muitos anos a serviço do mundo. Ai daquele tempo em que eu não a amava! Mas é melhor começar agora, finalmente, do que não começar. Ó Maria, hoje eu me apresento a ti e, em união contigo, renuncio a todas as criaturas e me dedico inteiramente ao amor do meu Criador. Ajude minha fraqueza com sua poderosa intercessão.

Meditação II:
     God Himself with the whole Heavenly Court made great rejoicings on the day that Mary presented herself to be His Spouse in the Temple.  For He never saw a more holy creature, or one He so tenderly loved, come to offer herself to Him.
     When the holy company reached the Temple the fair child turned to her parents and, on her knees, kissed their hands and asked their blessing; and then without turning back, she ascended the steps of the Temple.  She bade farewell to the world, and renouncing all the pleasures it promises to its votaries, she offered and consecrated herself to her Creator.
     At the time of the Deluge a raven sent out by Noe remained to feed on the dead bodies; but the dove, without resting her foot, quickly returned to him into the ark. — (Gen. vii., 9).  Many who are sent by God into this world unfortunately remain to feed on earthly goods.  It was not thus our heavenly dove, Mary, acted.  She knew that God should be our only Good, our only Hope, our only Love; and she knew that the world is full of dangers, and that he who leaves it the soonest is most free from its snares.  Hence she sought to do this from her tenderest years, and as soon as possible shut herself up in the sacred retirement of the Temple, where she could the better hear God’s voice, and honour and love Him more.  Rejoice with me, all ye who love God, for when I was a little one I pleased the Most High. — (Off. B.V.M.).
     O happy Virgin Mary, who didst begin so soon to serve God, and who didst always serve Him so faithfully!  Ah, cast a look on me who have returned to Him with such tardiness, after so many years lost in the love of creatures.  Obtain for me the grace to give God at least the remainder of my life, be it long or short.  Teach me, O Lady, what I should now do to belong entirely to God, and thus to repair the time I have lost.  Thou hast already done so much for me, finish the work of my salvation.  Do not abandon me till thou seest me safe at thy feet in Paradise.  Amen.

Leitura espiritual:  CONSELHOS REFERENTES A UMA VOCAÇÃO RELIGIOSA: 

VI. - DISPOSIÇÕES NECESSÁRIAS PARA ENTRAR NA RELIGIÃO

Meditação noturna:  A MAIOR TRISTEZA DE JESUS

Meditação I:
     What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption. — (Ps. xxix., 10).
     Jesus Christ revealed to the Venerable Agatha of the Cross that whilst He was in His Mother’s womb, that which afflicted Him more than any other sorrow was the hardness of the hearts of men, who would, after His Redemption, despise the graces which He came into the world to diffuse.  And He had expressed this sentiment before, by the mouth of David, in the words just quoted, which are generally thus understood by the holy Fathers: What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption?  St. Isidore explains whilst I descend into corruption “whilst I descend to take the nature of man, so corrupted by vices and sins”; as if He had said: “O my Father, I am indeed going to clothe Myself with human flesh, in order to shed My Blood for men; but what profit is there in my blood?  The greater part of the world will set no value on My Blood, and will go on offending Me, as if I had done nothing for the love of them.”
     This sorrow was the bitter chalice which Jesus begged the Eternal Father to remove from Him, saying: Let this chalice pass from me. — (Matt, xxvi., 39).  What chalice?  The sight of the contempt with which His love was treated.  This made Him exclaim again on the Cross: My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? — (Matt. xxvii., 46).  Our Lord revealed to St. Catherine of Sienna that this was the abandonment of which He complained – the knowledge, namely, that His Father would have to permit that His Passion and His love should be despised by so many men for whom He died.
     O my most amiable Jesus, how much have I, too, caused Thee to suffer during Thy lifetime!  Thou hast shed Thy Blood for me with so much sorrow and love, and what fruit hast Thou hitherto drawn from me but contempt, offences, and insults?  But, my Redeemer, I will no longer afflict Thee; I hope that in future Thy Passion will produce fruit in me by Thy grace, which I feel is already assisting me.  I will love Thee above every other good; and to please Thee, I am ready to give my life a thousand times.

Meditação II:
     And this same sorrow tormented the Infant Jesus in the womb of Mary, the foresight of such a prodigality of sorrows, of ignominy, of blood-shedding, and of so cruel and ignominious a death, and all to so little purpose.  The holy Child saw, even there, what the Apostle says: that many, indeed the greater number, would trample under foot His Blood and despise His grace, which this Blood would obtain for them: Treading under foot the Son of God . . . and offering an affront to the Spirit of grace. — (Heb. x., 29).  But if we have been of the number of those ungrateful men, let us not despair.  Jesus, at His birth, came to offer peace to men of good-will, as He made the Angels sing: And on earth peace to men of good-will. — (Luke ii., 14).  Let us, then, change our will, repent of our sins, and resolve to love this good God, and we shall find peace, that is, the Divine friendship.
     Eternal Father, I should not have the boldness to appear before Thee to implore either pardon or grace, but Thy Son has told me, that whatever grace I ask of Thee in His Name Thou wilt grant it to me: If ye shall ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. — (John xvi., 23).  I offer Thee, therefore, the merits of Jesus Christ, and in His Name I ask of Thee first a general pardon for all my sins; I ask holy perseverance even unto death; I ask of Thee, above all, the gift of Thy holy love, that it may make me always live according to Thy divine will.  As to my own will, I am resolved to choose a thousand deaths sooner than offend Thee, and to love Thee with my whole heart, and to do everything that I possibly can to please Thee.  But in order to do all this, I beg of Thee, and hope to receive from Thee, grace to execute what I propose.  My Mother Mary, if Thou wilt pray for me I am safe.  Oh, pray for me, pray; and cease not to pray until thou seest that I am changed, and made what God wishes me to be.

Meditação matinal:  ERA CONVENIENTE QUE O PAI ETERNO PRESERVASSE MARIA DO PECADO ORIGINAL

     Como o lírio entre os espinhos, assim é meu amor entre as filhas. - (Cant. ii., 2).
   De fato, grande foi o dano causado a Adão e a toda a sua posteridade por seu pecado maldito. Mas, desse infortúnio geral, Deus teve o prazer de isentar a Santíssima Virgem, como a Mãe predestinada de Seu Filho unigênito e a primogênita da Graça. Ela deveria esmagar a cabeça da serpente e ser a Medianeira sem pecado da paz entre o homem e Deus. Portanto, o Pai Eterno poderia muito bem dizer de Sua amada Filha: Como o lírio entre os espinhos, assim é o meu amado entre as filhasSempre imaculado e sempre amado.

Meditação I:
     Foi muito conveniente que Deus preservasse Maria do pecado original, pois Ele a destinou a esmagar a cabeça do espírito infernal que, ao seduzir nossos Primeiros Pais, trouxe a morte a todos os homens. Isso foi predito pelo Senhor: Porei empecilhos entre ti e a mulher, e entre a tua descendência e a descendência dela; ela te esmagará a cabeça. - (Gênesis III, 15). Mas se Maria era aquela Mulher Valente trazida ao mundo para conquistar Lúcifer, certamente não era adequado que ele a conquistasse primeiro e a tornasse sua escrava. A razão, de fato, exigiria que ela fosse preservada de toda mancha e até mesmo de uma sujeição momentânea a seu oponente. Como, então, Deus poderia permitir que ela fosse primeiro escrava da serpente infernal? Louvado e sempre bendito seja Deus, que, em Sua infinita bondade, pré-dotou Maria com tão grande graça que, permanecendo sempre livre da culpa do pecado, ela sempre foi capaz de derrotar e confundir o orgulho da serpente.
     Além disso, era totalmente adequado que o Pai Eterno criasse Maria, "a única filha da vida", livre da mancha do pecado original e sempre possuída por Sua graça, destinada a ser a reparadora de um mundo perdido, Medianeira da paz entre os homens e Deus. "Ó Virgem Santíssima", diz São João Damasceno, "nascestes para que pudésseis ministrar à salvação do mundo inteiro". "Salve, reconciliadora do mundo inteiro!", clama Santo Efrém. "Salve, você que foi nomeado árbitro entre Deus e o homem!", clama São Basílio da Silícia.
     Agora, certamente não seria adequado escolher um inimigo para tratar da paz com a pessoa ofendida, e muito menos um cúmplice no próprio crime. São Gregório diz que "um inimigo não pode se comprometer a apaziguar seu juiz que é, ao mesmo tempo, a parte lesada; pois se o fizesse, em vez de apaziguá-lo, o provocaria a uma ira maior". E, portanto, como Maria deveria ser a Medianeira da paz entre os homens e Deus, era da maior importância que ela não aparecesse como pecadora e inimiga de Deus, mas que aparecesse em todas as coisas como amiga e livre de toda mancha. Por isso, era conveniente que Deus a preservasse do pecado, para que ela não parecesse culpada da mesma falta que os homens pelos quais ela deveria interceder.
     Ah, minha Senhora Imaculada, eu me alegro com você ao vê-la enriquecida com tão grande pureza. Agradeço ao nosso Criador comum por tê-la preservado de toda mancha de pecado.  Você é totalmente justo e não há nenhuma mancha em você! - (Cant. iv., 7). Ó pomba puríssima, toda bela, toda formosa, sempre amiga de Deus! Ah, dulcíssima, amantíssima, imaculada Maria, não te esqueças de lançar teus olhos compassivos sobre as feridas de minha alma. Olhai para mim, tende piedade de mim, curai-me! O feliz dia em que irei contemplar vossa beleza no Paraíso parece estar a mil anos de distância, tanto desejo louvar-vos e amar-vos mais do que agora, minha Mãe, minha Rainha, minha amada, dulcíssima, puríssima e imaculada Maria! Amém.

Meditação II:
     But above all it was becoming that the Eternal Father should preserve this His daughter unspotted from Adam’s sin, because He predestined her to be the Mother of His only-begotten Son.  As Jesus was the first-born of God, o primogênito de toda criatura — (Col. i., 15), so was Mary, the destined Mother of God, always considered by Him as His first-born by adoption, and therefore He always possessed her by His grace.  O Senhor me possuiu no início de seus caminhos. — (Prov. viii., 22).  For the honour, therefore, of His Son, it was becoming that the Father should preserve the Mother from every stain of sin.  When David was planning the Temple of Jerusalem, on a scale of magnificence worthy of God, he said: Pois uma casa está sendo preparada não para o homem, mas para Deus. — (1 Par. xxix., 1).  How much more reasonable, then, is it not, to suppose that the Sovereign Architect, Who destined Mary to be the Mother of His own Son, adorned her soul with all the most precious gifts that she might be a dwelling worthy of a God!
     Sabemos que a maior honra de um homem é nascer de pais nobres.  E a glória dos filhos são seus pais. — (Prov. xvii., 6).  How, then, can we suppose that God Who could cause His Son to be born of a noble Mother by preserving her from sin, would, on the contrary, permit Him to be born of one infected by it, and thus leave it always in Lucifer’s power to reproach Him with the shame of having a mother who had once been his slave and the enemy of God.  No, certainly, the Eternal Father did not permit this; but He well provided for the honour of His son by preserving His mother always immaculate, that she might be a Mother worthy of such a Son.  And the Holy Church herself assures us of this: “O Almighty and Eternal God Who by the co-operation of the Holy Ghost, didst prepare the body and soul of the glorious Virgin Mother Mary, that she might become a worthy habitation for Thy Son.”
     Ah, my most beautiful Lady, I rejoice in seeing thee, by thy purity and thy beauty, so dear to God.  I thank God for having preserved thee from every stain.  O thou, who from the first moment of thy life didst appear pure and beautiful before God, pity me, who not only was born in sin, but have again since Baptism stained my soul with crimes.  What grace will God ever refuse thee?  Immaculate Virgin, thou hast to save me.  Amen.

Leitura espiritual:  ERA CONVENIENTE QUE O FILHO PRESERVASSE SUA MÃE DO PECADO ORIGINAL

     In the second place it was becoming that the Son should preserve Mary from sin, as being His Mother.  No man can choose his mother; but should such a thing ever be granted to any one, who is there who, if able to choose a queen, would wish for a slave?  Or if able to choose a friend of God, would wish for an enemy?  If, then, the Son of God alone could choose a Mother according to His own Heart and His own liking, we must consider, as a matter of course, that He chose one worthy of God.  St. Bernard says, “that the Creator of men becoming man, must have Himself selected a Mother who He knew would be worthy of Him.”  As it was becoming that a most pure God should have a Mother pure from all sin, He created her spotless.  Here we may apply the words of the Apostle to the Hebrews: Porque convinha que tivéssemos um sumo sacerdote tal, santo, inocente, imaculado, separado dos pecadores. — (Heb. vii., 26).  A learned author observes that, according to St. Paul, it was fitting that our Blessed Redeemer should not only be separated from sin, but also from sinners; according to the explanation of St. Thomas, who says, “that it was necessary that He, Who came to take away sines, should be separated from sinners, as to the fault under which Adam lay.”  But how could Jesus Christ be said to be separated from sinners, if He had a Mother who was a sinner?
     St. Ambrose says, “that Christ chose this vessel into which He was about to descend not of earth, but from Heaven; and He consecrated it a temple of purity.”  This agrees with that which St. John the Baptist revealed to St. Bridget, saying: “It was not becoming that the King of Glory should repose otherwise than in a chosen vessel exceeding all men and angels in purity.”  And to this we may add that which the Eternal Father Himself said to the same Saint: “Mary was a clean, and an unclean vessel: clean, for she was all fair; but unclean because she was born of sinners, though she was conceived without sin, that My Son might be born of her without sin.”  And remark these last words: “Mary was conceived without sin.”  Not that Jesus Christ could have contracted sin; but that He might not be reproached with even having a Mother infected with it, who would consequently have been the slave of the devil.
     O Espírito Santo diz que a glória de um homem provém da honra de seu pai, e um pai sem honra é a desgraça do filho. — (Ecclus. iii., 13).  “Therefore it was,” says an ancient writer, “that Jesus preserved the body of Mary from corruption after death; for it would have been to His dishonour had that virginal flesh with which He had clothed Himself become the food of worms.”  For, he adds, “Corruption is a disgrace of human nature; and as Jesus was not subject to it, Mary was also exempted; for the flesh of Jesus is the flesh of Mary.”  But since corruption of her body would have been a disgrace for Jesus Christ, because He was born of her, how much greater would the disgrace have been, had He been born of a mother whose soul was once infected by the corruption of sin?  For not only is it true that the flesh of Jesus is the same as that of Mary, “but,” adds the same author, “the flesh of our Saviour, even after His Resurrection, remained the same that He had taken from His Mother.  The flesh of Christ is the flesh of Mary; and though it was glorified by the glory of His Resurrection, yet it remains the same that was taken from Mary.”  And now if this is true, supposing that the Blessed Virgin had been conceived in sin, though the Son could not have contracted its stain, nevertheless His having united flesh to Himself which once had been infected with sin, a vessel of uncleanness and subject to Lucifer, would always have been a dishonour to Him.
     Mary was not only the Mother, but the worthy Mother of our Saviour.  She is called so by all the holy Fathers. St. Bernard says: “Thou alone wast found worthy to be chosen as the one in whose virginal womb the King of kings should have His first abode.”  St. Thomas of Villanova says: “Before she conceived she was already worthy to be the Mother of God.”  The Holy Church herself attests that Mary merited to be the Mother of Jesus Christ, saying: “The Blessed Virgin, who merited to bear in her womb Christ our Lord”; and St. Thomas Aquinas, explaining these words, says, that “the Blessed Virgin is said to have merited to bear the Lord of all; not that she merited His Incarnation, but that she merited, by the graces she had received, such a degree of purity and sanctity, that she could worthily be the Mother of God”; that is to say, Mary could not merit the Incarnation of the Eternal Word, but by divine grace she merited such a degree of perfection as to render her worthy to be the Mother of a God; according to what St. Augustine says: “Her singular sanctity, the effect of grace, merited that she alone should be judged worthy to receive a God.”
     And now, supposing that Mary was worthy to be the Mother of God, “what excellence and what perfection was there that did not become her?” asks St. Thomas of Villanova.  St. Thomas says: “that when God chooses any one for a particular dignity, He renders him fit for it”; hence he adds: “that God, having chosen Mary for His Mother, He also by His grace rendered her worthy of this highest of all dignities.”  “The Blessed Virgin was divinely chosen to be the Mother of God, and therefore we cannot doubt that God had fitted her by His grace for this dignity; and we are assured of it by the Angel: Pois você encontrou graça diante de Deus; eis que conceberá. — (Luke i., 50).  And thence the Saint argues that “the Blessed Virgin never committed any actual sin, not even a venial one.  Otherwise,” he says, “she would not have been a mother worthy of Jesus Christ; for the ignominy of the Mother would also have been that of the Son, for He would have had a sinner for His mother.”  And now if Mary, on account of a single venial sin, which does not deprive a soul of divine grace, would not have been a mother worthy of God, how much more unworthy would she have been had she contracted the guilt of original sin, which would have made her an enemy of God and a slave of the devil?  And this reflection it was that made St. Augustine utter those memorable words, that, when speaking of Mary for the honour of Our Lord, Whom she merited to have for her Son, he would not entertain even the question of sin in her; “for we know,” he says, “that through Him, Who it is evident was without sin, and Whom she merited to conceive and bring forth, she received grace to conquer all sin.”
     Não foi vergonha para Jesus Cristo o fato de Ele ter sido chamado pelos judeus, com desprezo, de Filho de Maria, o que significa que Ele era filho de uma mulher pobre: Sua mãe não se chama Maria? — (Matt. xiii., 55).  He came into this world to give us an example of humility and patience.  But, on the other hand, it would undoubtedly have been a disgrace should He have heard the devil say: “Was not His mother a sinner?  Was He not born of a wicked mother, who was once our slave?”  It would even have been unbecoming had Jesus Christ been born of a woman whose body was deformed, or crippled, or possessed by devils; but how much more would it not have been so, had He been born of a woman whose soul had been once deformed by sin, and in the possession Lucifer!
     Ah! De fato, Deus, que é a própria Sabedoria, sabia muito bem como preparar para Si uma morada adequada para residir na Terra: A sabedoria construiu uma casa para si mesma. — (Prov. ix., 1).  The Most High has sanctified his own tabernacle.  God will help it in the morning early. — (Ps. xlv., 5, 6).  David says our Lord sanctified this His dwelling de manhã cedoisto é, desde o início de sua vida, para torná-la digna de si mesmo, pois não era conveniente que um Deus santo escolhesse para si uma morada que não fosse santa: A santidade é a sua casa. —  (Ps. xcii., 5).  The Holy Church sings: “Thou, O Lord, hast not disdained to dwell in the Virgin’s Womb.”  Yes, for He would have disdained to have taken flesh in the womb of an Agnes, a Gertrude, a Teresa, because these virgins, though holy, were nevertheless for a time stained with original sin; but He did not disdain to become Man in the womb of Mary, because this beloved Virgin was always pure and free from the lest shadow of sin, and was never possessed by the infernal serpent.  And therefore, St. Augustine says: “the Son of God never made Himself a more worthy dwelling than Mary, who was never possessed by the enemy, nor despoiled of her ornaments.”  On the other hand, St. Cyril of Alexandria asks: “Who ever heard of an architect who built himself a temple, and yielded up the first possession of it to his greatest enemy?”
     Sim, diz São Metódio, falando sobre o mesmo assunto, aquele Senhor que nos ordenou que honrássemos nossos pais, não faria outra coisa, quando se tornou Homem, senão observá-lo, dando à Sua Mãe toda graça e honra: "Aquele que disse, Honre seu pai e sua mãe, that He might observe His own decree, gave all grace and honour to His Mother.”  Therefore we must certainly believe that Jesus Christ preserved the body of Mary from corruption after death; for if He had not done so, He would not have observed the law, which, at the same time that it commands us to honour our mother, forbids us to show her disrespect.  But how little would Jesus have guarded His Mother’s honour, had He not preserved her from Adam’s sin!  “Certainly that son would sin,” says the Augustinian Father Thomas of Strasburg, “who, having it in his power to preserve his mother from original sin did not do so.”  “But that which would be a sin in us,” continues the same author, “would certainly have been considered unbecoming in the Son of God, Who, whilst He could make His Mother immaculate, did it not.” “Ah, no,” exclaims Gerson, “since Thou, the supreme Prince, choosest to have a Mother, certainly Thou owest her honour.  But now if Thou didst permit her, who was to be the dwelling-place of the all-pure God, to be in the abomination of original sin, certainly it would appear that the law was not well fulfilled.”
     “Moreover, we know,” says St. Bernardine of Sienna, “that the Divine Son came into the world to redeem Mary more than all other creatures.”  There are two means by which a person may be redeemed, as St. Augustine teaches us: the one by raising him up after having fallen, and the other by preventing him from falling; and this last means is doubtless the more honourable.  “He is more honourably redeemed,” says the learned Suarez, “who is prevented from falling, than he who, after falling, is raised up”; for thus the injury or stain, which the soul always contracts in falling, is avoided.  This being the case, we ought certainly to believe that Mary was redeemed in the more honourable way, and the one more becoming to the Mother of God, as St. Bonaventure remarks, “for it is to be believed that the Holy Ghost, as a very special favor, redeemed and preserved her from original sin by a new kind of sanctification, and this in the very moment of her Conception; not that sin was in her, but that it might otherwise have been.”  On the same subject Cardinal Cusano beautifully remarks, that “others had Jesus as a liberator, but to the most Blessed Virgin He was a pre-liberator”; meaning, that all others had a Redeemer Who delivered them from sin with which they were already defiles, but that the most Blessed Virgin had a Redeemer Who, because He was to become her Son, preserved her from ever being defiled by sin.
     In fine, to conclude in the words of Hugo of St. Victor, the tree is known by its fruits.  If the Lamb was always immaculate, the Mother must also have been always immaculate: “Such the Lamb, such the Mother of the Lamb; for the tree is known by its fruits.”  Hence this same Doctor salutes Mary, saying: “O worthy Mother of a worthy Son”; meaning, that no other than Mary was worthy to be the Mother of such a Son, and no other than Jesus was a worthy Son of such a Mother; and then he adds these words: “O fair Mother of Beauty itself, O high Mother of the Most High, O Mother of God!”  Let us then address this most Blessed Mother in the words of St. Ildephonsus: “Suckle, O Mary, thy Creator, give milk to Him Who made thee, and Who made thee such that He could be made of thee.”  Amen.

Meditação noturna:  ERA CONVENIENTE QUE O ESPÍRITO SANTO PRESERVASSE MARIA DO PECADO ORIGINAL

Meditação I:
     Minha irmã, minha esposa, é um jardim fechado, uma fonte selada. - (Cant. iv., 12).
     Since it was becoming that the Eternal Father should preserve Mary from sin as His daughter, and the Son as His Mother, it was also becoming that the Holy Ghost should preserve her as His Spouse.  St. Augustine says that “Mary was that only one who merited to be called the Mother and Spouse of God.”  For St. Anselm asserts that the Divine Spirit, the Love itself of the Father and the Son, came corporally into Mary, and enriching her with singular grace above all creatures, rested in her and made her the Queen of Heaven and earth.  O Espírito Santo descerá sobre você. — (Luke i., 35).  And now, had an excellent artist the power to make his bride in reality such as he would represent her in his picture, what pains would he not take to render her as beautiful as possible!  Who, then, can say that the Holy Ghost did otherwise with Mary, when He could make her, who was to be His Spouse, as beautiful as it was becoming that she should be?  Ah no, the Holy Ghost acted as it became Him to act, for this same Lord declares: Você é toda bela, ó meu amor, e não há uma mancha em você. — (Cant. iv., 7).
     O Espírito Santo significa a mesma coisa quando chamou esta Sua Esposa de um jardim fechado e uma fonte selada: Minha irmã, minha esposa, é um jardim fechado, uma fonte selada – a Spouse into whom no guile could enter, against whom no fraud of the enemy could prevail, and who was always holy in mind and body.  “Thou art,” says St. Bernard, “an enclosed garden into which has never entered the hand of sinners to pluck its flowers.”
     Ah, my immaculate Queen, fair dove, beloved of God, disdain not to cast thine eyes on the many stains and wounds of my soul.  See me and pity me.  God Who loves thee much, denies thee nothing, and thou knowest not how to refuse those who have recourse to thee.  O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Meditação II:
     Em Provérbios, lemos: Muitas filhas juntaram riquezas, mas você superou todas elas. — (Prov. xxxi., 29).  If Mary has surpassed all others in the riches of grace, she must have had original justice as Adam and the Angels had it.  In the Canticles we read: Há inúmeras jovens donzelas. Uma é minha pomba, minha perfeita (no hebraico é meu inteiro, meu imaculado) é apenas uma. Ela é a única de sua mãe. — (Cant. vi., 7).  All souls are daughters of divine grace, but amongst these Mary was the pomba sem o fel do pecado, o perfeito sem mancha em sua origem, a que foi concebida em graça.
     Por isso, o anjo, antes de ela se tornar a Mãe de Deus, já a encontrou cheio de graçae a saudou: Salve, cheio de graça! — (Luke i., 28).  Grace was given partially to other Saints, but to the Blessed Virgin all grace was given.  So much so that St. Thomas says: “Grace rendered not only the soul but even the flesh of Mary holy, so that the Blessed Virgin might be able to clothe the Eternal Word with it.”
     O immaculate and entirely pure Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Queen of the Universe, our own good Lady, thou art the advocate of sinners, the consolation of the world, the ransom of captives, the joy of the sick, the comfort of the afflicted, the refuge and salvation of the whole world.  O most pure Virgin Mary, I venerate thy most holy heart which was the delight and resting-place of God, thy heart overflowing with humility, purity and divine love.  Ah, my Mother, for the love of Jesus, take charge of my salvation.  O Lady, deny not thy compassion to one to whom Jesus has not denied His Blood.  O my Mother, abandon me not!  Never, never cease to pray for me until thou seest me safe in Heaven at the feet, blessing and thanking thee for ever.  Amen.