{"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\/pt\/daily-meditations-fifth-week-after-pentecost\/","title":{"rendered":"MEDITA\u00c7\u00d5ES DI\u00c1RIAS: QUINTA SEMANA AP\u00d3S PENTECOSTES"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVOLUME III - PARTE II, pp. 1-45<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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Medita\u00e7\u00e3o matinal:\u00a0 A SALVA\u00c7\u00c3O \u00c9 NOSSO \u00daNICO NEG\u00d3CIO NESTE MUNDO<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Uma coisa \u00e9 necess\u00e1ria<\/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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0De todos os nossos assuntos, nenhum \u00e9 mais importante do que o de nossa salva\u00e7\u00e3o eterna, da qual depende nossa felicidade ou mis\u00e9ria por toda a eternidade.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Uma coisa \u00e9 necess\u00e1ria<\/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 S\u00e3o Francisco Xavier disse que o \u00fanico bem a ser obtido neste mundo \u00e9 a salva\u00e7\u00e3o; e o \u00fanico mal a ser temido, a condena\u00e7\u00e3o. O que importa se somos pobres, desprezados ou doentes? Se formos salvos, seremos felizes para sempre. Pelo contr\u00e1rio, de que adianta sermos grandes ou monarcas? Se estivermos perdidos, seremos miser\u00e1veis por toda a eternidade.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00d3 Deus, o que ser\u00e1 de mim? Posso ser salvo, mas tamb\u00e9m posso me perder! E se posso me perder, por que n\u00e3o resolvo me apegar mais a Ti?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Meu Jesus, tenha piedade de mim. Vou corrigir minha vida. D\u00ea-me Sua ajuda. Tu morreste para me salvar, e, apesar disso, perderei minha salva\u00e7\u00e3o?<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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>

Leitura espiritual:\u00a0 I. A VANTAGEM DE UM RETIRO FEITO EM SOLID\u00c3O E SIL\u00caNCIO*<\/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* Esse pequeno tratado foi escrito por Santo Afonso na forma de uma carta a um jovem que o consultou sobre o estado de vida que deveria escolher. - ED.<\/h6>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o noturna:\u00a0\u00a0A PR\u00c1TICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

\"A caridade suporta todas as coisas.\"<\/em><\/p>

AQUELE QUE AMA JESUS CRISTO SUPORTA TODAS AS COISAS POR ELE, ESPECIALMENTE A DOEN\u00c7A, A POBREZA E O DESPREZO<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0O padre Balthazar Alvarez disse que um crist\u00e3o n\u00e3o deve se imaginar como tendo feito qualquer progresso na perfei\u00e7\u00e3o at\u00e9 que tenha conseguido penetrar seu cora\u00e7\u00e3o com um senso duradouro das tristezas, pobreza e ignom\u00ednias de Jesus Cristo, de modo a ser capaz de suportar com paci\u00eancia amorosa toda tristeza, priva\u00e7\u00e3o e desprezo, por causa de Jesus Cristo.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Em primeiro lugar, vamos falar das enfermidades corporais, que, quando suportadas com paci\u00eancia, merecem para n\u00f3s uma bela coroa.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 S\u00e3o Vicente de Paulo disse: \"Se soub\u00e9ssemos qu\u00e3o precioso \u00e9 o tesouro contido nas enfermidades, n\u00f3s as aceitar\u00edamos com alegria como a maior de todas as b\u00ean\u00e7\u00e3os poss\u00edveis\". Por isso, o pr\u00f3prio santo, embora constantemente afligido por doen\u00e7as que muitas vezes n\u00e3o lhe davam descanso nem de dia nem de noite, suportava-as com tanta paz e serenidade no semblante que ningu\u00e9m poderia supor que algo o afligia. Oh, como \u00e9 edificante ver uma pessoa doente suportar sua doen\u00e7a com um semblante pac\u00edfico, como fez S\u00e3o Francisco de Sales! Quando estava doente, ele simplesmente apresentava sua queixa ao m\u00e9dico, obedecia-o exatamente tomando os rem\u00e9dios prescritos, por mais nauseantes que fossem; e, quanto ao resto, permanecia em paz, sem jamais proferir uma \u00fanica queixa em todos os seus sofrimentos. Que contraste com isso \u00e9 a conduta daqueles que n\u00e3o fazem nada al\u00e9m de reclamar at\u00e9 mesmo da indisposi\u00e7\u00e3o mais insignificante, e que gostariam de ter ao seu redor todos os seus parentes e amigos para ter a simpatia deles! Muito diferente foi a instru\u00e7\u00e3o de Santa Teresa \u00e0s suas freiras: \"Minhas irm\u00e3s, aprendam a sofrer algo por amor a Jesus Cristo, sem que todo o mundo saiba\". Em uma Sexta-Feira Santa, Jesus Cristo favoreceu o Vener\u00e1vel Padre Lu\u00eds da Ponte com tanto sofrimento corporal que nenhuma parte dele estava isenta de sua dor particular; ele mencionou seus severos sofrimentos a um amigo, mas depois ficou t\u00e3o arrependido de ter feito isso que fez um voto de nunca mais revelar a ningu\u00e9m o que quer que tivesse que sofrer depois. Eu digo \"ele foi favorecido\", pois, para os santos, as doen\u00e7as e as dores que Deus lhes envia s\u00e3o verdadeiros favores.<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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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Medita\u00e7\u00e3o matinal:\u00a0 PERDA DA ALMA, UM MAL IRREPAR\u00c1VEL<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0At\u00e9 quando vamos demorar? At\u00e9 que tenhamos de chorar com os condenados, dizendo: Ergo erravimus! Portanto, n\u00f3s erramos!<\/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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0E at\u00e9 quando vamos demorar? At\u00e9 que tenhamos de chorar com os condenados, dizendo: Ergo erravimus! Portanto, n\u00f3s erramos!<\/em> \u2013 and there is now no longer, or ever shall be, any remedy for us?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Para todos os outros infort\u00fanios deste mundo h\u00e1 algum rem\u00e9dio, mas para a perda da alma n\u00e3o h\u00e1 nenhum.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Quantas dores e problemas os homens enfrentam para obter riquezas, dignidades e prazeres! Mas o que est\u00e3o fazendo para salvar suas almas? Nada; como se a perda da alma fosse de pouca import\u00e2ncia!
\u00a0 \u00a0 Quanta dilig\u00eancia na preserva\u00e7\u00e3o da sa\u00fade do corpo! Procuram-se os melhores m\u00e9dicos, os melhores rem\u00e9dios, o melhor clima. E no que diz respeito \u00e0 sa\u00fade da alma, que grande neglig\u00eancia!
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00d3 meu Deus, n\u00e3o resistirei mais aos Teus apelos! Quem sabe se as palavras que estou lendo agora podem ser meu \u00faltimo chamado de Deus!
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Podemos ter consci\u00eancia do perigo de nos perdermos para sempre e n\u00e3o tremer? E ser\u00e1 que demoramos a aplicar um rem\u00e9dio para os dist\u00farbios de nossa consci\u00eancia?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Minha alma, quantas gra\u00e7as Deus n\u00e3o lhe concedeu para que voc\u00ea fosse salvo! Ele fez com que voc\u00ea nascesse no seio da verdadeira Igreja. Quantas vantagens para se tornar um santo. Serm\u00f5es, confiss\u00f5es, o bom exemplo dos companheiros. Quantas luzes, quantos apelos amorosos nos Exerc\u00edcios Espirituais, na Medita\u00e7\u00e3o, na Sagrada Comunh\u00e3o! Quantas miseric\u00f3rdias Ele n\u00e3o mostrou a voc\u00ea! Quanto tempo Ele n\u00e3o esperou por voc\u00ea! Quantas vezes Ele n\u00e3o o perdoou! - Quantas gra\u00e7as Ele n\u00e3o concedeu a tantos outros.<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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>

Leitura espiritual:\u00a0 II. A VANTAGEM DE UM RETIRO FEITO EM SOLID\u00c3O E SIL\u00caNCIO<\/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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o noturna:\u00a0\u00a0A PR\u00c1TICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

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

AQUELE QUE AMA JESUS CRISTO SUPORTA TODAS AS COISAS POR ELE, ESPECIALMENTE A DOEN\u00c7A, A POBREZA E O DESPREZO<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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\tTER\u00c7A-FEIRA DA QUINTA SEMANA AP\u00d3S PENTECOSTES<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o matinal:\u00a0 DEVEMOS, ANTES DE TUDO, ASSEGURAR A SALVA\u00c7\u00c3O DE NOSSA ALMA<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Prossigamos imediatamente com a obra de salva\u00e7\u00e3o de nossa alma, pois a morte est\u00e1 pr\u00f3xima. O que pudermos fazer hoje, n\u00e3o deixemos para amanh\u00e3. O tempo passa e n\u00e3o volta mais.<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Prossigamos imediatamente com a obra de salva\u00e7\u00e3o de nossa alma, pois a morte est\u00e1 pr\u00f3xima. O que pudermos fazer hoje, n\u00e3o deixemos para amanh\u00e3. O tempo passa e n\u00e3o volta mais.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Todo mundo diz, na hora da morte: Ah, se eu tivesse sido um santo! Mas de que servir\u00e3o esses arrependimentos quando o \u00f3leo acabar e a l\u00e2mpada logo se apagar?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Diremos quando a morte chegar: Quanto me custaria ter evitado essa ocasi\u00e3o, ter suportado essa pessoa, ter rompido essa correspond\u00eancia, ter cedido esse ponto de honra? Mas eu n\u00e3o fiz isso; e agora o que ser\u00e1 de mim?
\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 garantir nossa salva\u00e7\u00e3o, precisamos estar decididos a adotar os meios. A inclina\u00e7\u00e3o n\u00e3o ser\u00e1 suficiente; tampouco nos servir\u00e1 dizer: \"Farei isso daqui a pouco\". O inferno est\u00e1 cheio de almas que disseram: \"At\u00e9 mais tarde! At\u00e9 logo! Nesse meio tempo, a morte chegou e elas se perderam.
\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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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>

Leitura espiritual:\u00a0 III. A VANTAGEM DE UM RETIRO FEITO EM SOLID\u00c3O E SIL\u00caNCIO<\/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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o noturna:\u00a0\u00a0A PR\u00c1TICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

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

AQUELE QUE AMA JESUS CRISTO SUPORTA TODAS AS COISAS POR ELE, ESPECIALMENTE A DOEN\u00c7A, A POBREZA E O DESPREZO<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Oh, que abund\u00e2ncia de m\u00e9ritos pode ser acumulada ao se suportar pacientemente uma doen\u00e7a! O Deus Todo-Poderoso revelou ao Padre Balthazar Alvarez a grande gl\u00f3ria que tinha reservada para uma certa freira que havia suportado uma doen\u00e7a dolorosa com resigna\u00e7\u00e3o; e disse-lhe que ela havia adquirido mais m\u00e9ritos naqueles oito meses de doen\u00e7a do que qualquer outra religiosa em muitos anos. \u00c9 pela paciente resist\u00eancia \u00e0 doen\u00e7a que tecemos grande parte, e talvez a maior parte, da coroa que Deus nos destina no C\u00e9u. Santa Lidwina teve uma revela\u00e7\u00e3o nesse sentido. Depois de sofrer muitas e mais cru\u00e9is perturba\u00e7\u00f5es, como mencionamos, ela rezou para morrer como m\u00e1rtir por amor a Jesus Cristo; agora, quando um dia estava suspirando por esse mart\u00edrio, de repente viu uma bela coroa, mas ainda incompleta, e entendeu que era destinada a si mesma; ent\u00e3o a Santa, desejando v\u00ea-la completa, suplicou ao Senhor que aumentasse seus sofrimentos. Sua ora\u00e7\u00e3o foi ouvida, pois alguns soldados logo chegaram e a maltrataram, n\u00e3o apenas com palavras injuriosas, mas com golpes e ultrajes. Um anjo apareceu-lhe ent\u00e3o com a coroa completa e informou-lhe que aquelas \u00faltimas inj\u00farias haviam acrescentado as pedras preciosas que faltavam; pouco depois, ela expirou.<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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\tQUARTA-FEIRA DA QUINTA SEMANA AP\u00d3S PENTECOSTES<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o matinal:\u00a0 A VAIDADE DO MUNDO - OS BENS DESTE MUNDO S\u00c3O BENS FALSOS<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0O mundo! E o que \u00e9 o mundo sen\u00e3o um mero espet\u00e1culo! Uma cena que passa rapidamente!\u00a0 A moda deste mundo passa!<\/em>\u00a0 A morte se aproxima, a cortina cai, a cena se fecha e tudo chega ao fim!<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Que aproveita ao homem ganhar o mundo inteiro, se vier a perder a sua 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 \u00a0O mundo! E o que \u00e9 o mundo sen\u00e3o um mero espet\u00e1culo, uma cena que passa rapidamente!\u00a0 A moda deste mundo passa.<\/em> \u2014 (1 Cor. vii. 31).\u00a0 Death approaches, the curtain falls, the scene closes, and thus all comes to an end!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ai de mim! Na hora da morte, como todas as coisas do mundo parecer\u00e3o ao crist\u00e3o - aqueles vasos de prata, aqueles montes de ouro, aquela mob\u00edlia rica e v\u00e3 - quando ele tiver que deix\u00e1-los para sempre!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00d3 Jesus, faze com que, daqui em diante, minha alma seja totalmente Tua! Permita que eu n\u00e3o ame ningu\u00e9m al\u00e9m de Ti. Desejo renunciar a todas as coisas antes que a morte me arranque delas.
\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 \u00a0Davi diz que os bens terrenos, na hora da morte, parecer\u00e3o um sonho para quem acorda do sono: Como o sonho dos que est\u00e3o acordados<\/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 \u00a0\u00d3 meu Deus, quem sabe se esta medita\u00e7\u00e3o que estou lendo agora n\u00e3o ser\u00e1 o \u00faltimo apelo para mim? Permita que eu arranque da raiz do meu cora\u00e7\u00e3o todas as afei\u00e7\u00f5es terrenas antes de entrar na eternidade. Permita que eu tenha consci\u00eancia do grande mal que fiz a Ti, ofendendo-Te e abandonando-Te por amor \u00e0s criaturas.\u00a0 Pai, n\u00e3o sou digno de ser chamado teu filho<\/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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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>

Leitura espiritual:\u00a0 IV. A VANTAGEM DE UM RETIRO FEITO EM SOLID\u00c3O E SIL\u00caNCIO<\/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: Que aproveita ao homem ganhar o mundo inteiro, se vier a perder a sua 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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o noturna:\u00a0\u00a0A PR\u00c1TICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

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

AQUELE QUE AMA JESUS CRISTO SUPORTA TODAS AS COISAS POR ELE, ESPECIALMENTE A DOEN\u00c7A, A POBREZA E O DESPREZO<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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\tQUINTA-FEIRA DA QUINTA SEMANA AP\u00d3S PENTECOSTES<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o matinal:\u00a0 A VAIDADE DO MUNDO - OS BENS DESTE MUNDO PASSAM RAPIDAMENTE<\/em><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00d3 grandes do mundo, atormentados no fogo do inferno, o que lhes resta de suas honras e riquezas? Eles respondem, chorando: Nada! Nada!\u00a0 Que vantagem nos trouxe a ostenta\u00e7\u00e3o das riquezas? Todas essas coisas passaram como uma sombra!<\/em><\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00d3 grandes do mundo, que agora s\u00e3o atormentados no fogo do inferno, o que lhes resta de suas honras e riquezas? Eles respondem, chorando: Nada! Nada! N\u00e3o temos nada al\u00e9m de tormentos e desespero! Tudo j\u00e1 passou, exceto nosso castigo, que nunca ter\u00e1 fim!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Na morte, os homens dir\u00e3o: De que nos serviu a soberba? Ou que vantagem nos trouxe a ostenta\u00e7\u00e3o das riquezas? Todas essas coisas passaram como uma 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 \u00a0Ai de mim! H\u00e1 quantos anos estou no mundo, e o que tenho feito at\u00e9 agora para Deus? \u00d3 Senhor, tenha piedade de mim e n\u00e3o me afaste de sua face<\/em>. \u2014 (Ps. l. 13).
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0A hora da morte \u00e9 o momento em que todas as coisas do mundo aparecer\u00e3o como realmente s\u00e3o - vaidade, fuma\u00e7a, poeira!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00d3 meu Deus! Quantas vezes Te troquei por um nada! Eu n\u00e3o ousaria esperar por perd\u00e3o, se Tu n\u00e3o tivesses morrido para me perdoar. Agora eu Te amarei acima de todas as coisas e estimarei Tua gra\u00e7a mais preciosa do que todos os reinos da terra.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0A morte \u00e9 comparada por S\u00e3o Paulo a um ladr\u00e3o<\/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 \u00a0O dia da morte tamb\u00e9m \u00e9 chamado de o dia da destrui\u00e7\u00e3o<\/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 os santos que, por amor a Jesus Cristo, desprezam os bens desta Terra; e ser\u00e1 que continuamos apegados a essas vaidades diante do perigo iminente de nossa salva\u00e7\u00e3o?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Temos uma grande estima pelos tesouros desta vida; mas por que damos t\u00e3o pouca import\u00e2ncia aos tesouros da eternidade?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ilumine-me, \u00f3 meu Deus! Fa\u00e7a-me compreender que todas as criaturas n\u00e3o s\u00e3o nada e que Tu \u00e9s o meu Tudo, o Bem Infinito. Conceda-me que eu possa deixar todas as coisas para possuir somente a Ti. Meu Deus! Meu Deus! Somente a Ti eu desejo e, al\u00e9m de Ti, nada neste mundo!<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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>

Leitura espiritual:\u00a0 V. A VANTAGEM DE UM RETIRO FEITO EM SOLID\u00c3O E SIL\u00caNCIO<\/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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o noturna:\u00a0\u00a0A PR\u00c1TICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

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

AQUELE QUE AMA JESUS CRISTO SUPORTA TODAS AS COISAS POR ELE, ESPECIALMENTE A DOEN\u00c7A, A POBREZA E O DESPREZO<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o I:
<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0S\u00e3o Boaventura disse que os bens temporais nada mais eram do que uma esp\u00e9cie de cal para p\u00e1ssaros que impedia a alma de voar para Deus. E S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o Cl\u00edmaco disse que a pobreza, ao contr\u00e1rio, \u00e9 um caminho que leva a Deus livre de todos os obst\u00e1culos. Nosso Senhor mesmo disse: Bem-aventurados os pobres de esp\u00edrito, porque deles \u00e9 o reino dos c\u00e9us<\/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: deles \u00e9 o reino dos c\u00e9us<\/em>. Sim, pois mesmo na vida atual os pobres desfrutam de um antegozo do Para\u00edso. Por pobres de esp\u00edrito entendemos aqueles que n\u00e3o s\u00e3o meramente pobres em bens terrenos, mas que nem sequer os desejam; que, tendo o suficiente para vesti-los e aliment\u00e1-los, vivem contentes, de acordo com o conselho do Ap\u00f3stolo: Mas, tendo sustento e com que nos cobrirmos, com isso estamos satisfeitos<\/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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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\tSEXTA-FEIRA DA QUINTA SEMANA AP\u00d3S PENTECOSTES<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o matinal:\u00a0 A VAIDADE DO MUNDO - A MORTE NOS MOSTRA A VAIDADE DO 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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o I:
<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 Oh, o grande segredo da morte! Como ela p\u00f5e fim a todos os desejos mundanos! Como ela mostra toda a grandeza do mundo como fuma\u00e7a e engano! As coisas mais desejadas desta Terra perdem todo o seu esplendor quando vistas do leito da morte. A sombra da morte obscurece a beleza de todas as coisas aqui embaixo.
\u00a0 \u00a0De que adiantam as riquezas, quando nada mais resta do que um len\u00e7ol de enrolar? De que adianta a beleza do corpo, quando tudo \u00e9 reduzido a um monte de vermes? De que vale a autoridade, quando nada mais resta sen\u00e3o ser jogado na sepultura e ser esquecido 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 \u00a0\u00d3 meu querido Redentor, aceito minha morte e aceito-a da maneira que Te aprouver envi\u00e1-la a mim; mas pe\u00e7o-Te, antes de me julgares, que me d\u00eas tempo para lamentar as ofensas que cometi contra Ti. Eu Te amo, \u00f3 meu Jesus, e estou verdadeiramente arrependido por ter Te desprezado.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00d3 meu Deus, quantos seres miser\u00e1veis, para obter bens mundanos, prazeres e vaidades, perderam suas almas e, ao perderem suas almas, perderam tudo!
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Acreditamos ou n\u00e3o que um dia vamos morrer? E isso apenas uma vez? E por que n\u00e3o deixamos tudo para garantir uma morte feliz? Deixemos tudo, para garantir tudo.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00c9 poss\u00edvel que percebamos que a lembran\u00e7a de uma vida desordenada ser\u00e1 um tormento insuport\u00e1vel na hora da morte e, ainda assim, continuemos a viver em pecado?
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00d3 meu Deus, eu Te agrade\u00e7o pela luz que me proporcionas. Mas, Senhor, o que eu fiz? Multipliquei meus pecados, e Tu aumentaste Tuas gra\u00e7as? Ai de mim, se eu n\u00e3o fizer uso delas!<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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>

Leitura espiritual:\u00a0 VI. A VANTAGEM DE UM RETIRO FEITO EM SOLID\u00c3O E SIL\u00caNCIO<\/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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o noturna:\u00a0\u00a0A PR\u00c1TICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

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

AQUELE QUE AMA JESUS CRISTO SUPORTA TODAS AS COISAS POR ELE, ESPECIALMENTE A DOEN\u00c7A, A POBREZA E O DESPREZO<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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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Medita\u00e7\u00e3o matinal:\u00a0 A MISERIC\u00d3RDIA DA BEM-AVENTURADA VIRGEM MARIA<\/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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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 \u00a0\u00d3 grande M\u00e3e de Deus, eis a teus p\u00e9s um miser\u00e1vel pecador, que n\u00e3o uma, mas v\u00e1rias vezes, perdeu voluntariamente a gra\u00e7a divina, que teu Filho comprou para ele com sua morte. \u00d3 M\u00e3e de Miseric\u00f3rdia, venho a ti com a alma coberta de feridas e chagas; n\u00e3o te zangues comigo por causa disso, mas tem mais piedade de mim e me ajuda. N\u00e3o lhe pe\u00e7o bens terrenos; pe\u00e7o-lhe que me obtenha a gra\u00e7a de Deus e o amor de seu Filho.<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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: N\u00e3o tema, Maria, voc\u00ea encontrou a gra\u00e7a. <\/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>

Leitura espiritual:\u00a0 VII. A VANTAGEM DE UM RETIRO FEITO EM SOLID\u00c3O E SIL\u00caNCIO<\/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>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o noturna:\u00a0\u00a0A PR\u00c1TICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>

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

AQUELE QUE AMA JESUS CRISTO SUPORTA TODAS AS COISAS POR ELE, ESPECIALMENTE A DOEN\u00c7A, A POBREZA E O DESPREZO<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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 \u00a0Eu Te amo com todo o meu cora\u00e7\u00e3o, \u00f3 meu querido Redentor! Eu Te amo, meu Soberano Bem! Eu Te amo, meu pr\u00f3prio Amor, digno de amor infinito! Sinto-me triste por qualquer desagrado que j\u00e1 tenha causado a Ti, mais do que por qualquer mal. Prometo-Te receber com paci\u00eancia todas as prova\u00e7\u00f5es que me enviares; mas pe\u00e7o-Te ajuda para ser fiel \u00e0 minha promessa e, especialmente, para poder suportar em paz as tristezas de minha \u00faltima agonia e morte.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00d3 Maria, minha Rainha, obt\u00e9m para mim uma verdadeira resigna\u00e7\u00e3o em todas as ang\u00fastias e prova\u00e7\u00f5es que me esperam durante a vida e na morte.<\/p>

Medita\u00e7\u00e3o 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>\u00cdNDICE<\/a>
<\/em>\u21d0 QUARTA SEMANA AP\u00d3S <\/em>PENTECOSTES<\/em><\/a>
\u21d2 SEXTA SEMANA AP\u00d3S <\/em>PENTECOSTES<\/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 … Continuar lendo <\/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\/pt\/daily-meditations-fifth-week-after-pentecost\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"pt_BR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DAILY MEDITATIONS: FIFTH WEEK AFTER PENTECOST - 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