THE

WORKS

COMPLETE

Saint Alphonsus

de

Liguori,

Doctor of the Church,

Bishop of Saint Agatha, ami Founder of the Congregation of the Most
Holy Redeemer.

TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN.
EDITED BY

tL V _

ZE TT G- ZE ZEST ZE

G R I ZMZ ZMZ

Priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.

THE ASCETICAL WORKS.

Volume VI.

THE SACRIFICE, THE SACRAMENT, AND THE SACRED HEART OF

JESUS CHRIST.

PRACTICE OF LOFE OF JESUS CHRIST.

NOVENA TO THE HOL Y GHOST.

Jitljtl ubsfaL
Arthur J. Scanlan, S.T.D.,
Censor Librorum.

imprimatur
f Patritius Cardinalis Hayes,
Archiepiscopus Neo-Eboracensis
Neo-Eboraci

Die 17 Aprilis, 1934

approbation.
By virtue of the authority granted me by the Most Rev. Patrick
Murray, Superior General of the Congregation of the Most Holy
Redeemer, I hereby sanction the publication of the woik entitled
“The Holy Eucharist,” etc., which is \ ol. \ I. of the complete
edition in English of the works of Saint Alphonsus de Liguon.
Andrew B. Kuhn, C.SS.R.,
Provincial.
Brooklyn, N. ¥.,

February 25, 1934

Copyright by
VERY REV. ANDREW B. KUHN, C.SS.R.
1934
Printed in U. S. A.

CONTENTS.

pAce
Approbation..............................................................................................
4
Notice...........................................................................................................
15
THE SACRIFICE OF JESUS CHRIST.

I. The sacrifices of the Old Law were figures of the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ.............................................................................
II. Fulfilment of the prophetic figures............................................ 2l
Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.........................
Hearing Mass............................................................................................
Pious Exercise to acquire the proper disposition for making a

2S
5S

good Confession...................................................................
Acts

for

Holy Communion.

I. Preparation for Communion................
53
Acts before Communion.........................................................
II. Thanksgiving after Communion............................................ 75
Acts after Communion........................................................... 77
Loving /Aspirations to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
Before Communion................................................................. 83
After Communion..............................................
93
Hymns................................................................................................. 105
Holy Communion, 105. To Jesus after Communion........... 10ό

VISITS TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT AND TO
THE BLESSED VIRGIN.
Notice...........................................................................................................
To Mary......................................................................................................
To the Reader........................................................................................
Introduction.............................................................................................

110
111
112
XI<

The Visit to the Most Holy Sacrament, 113. The Visit to
the Blessed Virgin, 118. Spiritual Communion................. 121

Contents.

8

PAGE

Manner of making the Visits.................................................... 123
Visits for every day in the month................................................. 127
Hymns............................................................................................ 209

Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament enclosed.in the Tabernacle,
209. The visit to Jesus on the altar................................. 210

MEDITATIONS FOR THE OCTAVE OF CORPUS
CHRISTI.

I. The love of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament.............
II. Jesus remains on the altar, that every one may be able to
find him...........................
III. The great gift which Jesus has made us by giving him­
self to us in the Blessed Sacrament.................................
IV. The great love which Jesus Christ has shown us in the
Blessed Sacrament...........................................................
V. The union of the Soul with Jesus in Holy Communion...
VI. The desire which Jesus Christ has to unite himself to us in
Holy Communion...........................................................
VII. Holy Communion obtains for us perseverance in divine
grace................................................................................
VIII. Preparation for Communion and Thanksgiving after it....

213
215

216
218
220
222

224
226

NOVENA TO THE SACRED HEART.

Notice on the devotion to the adorable Heart of Jesus......... 229
MEDITA TIONS.

I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.

The amiable Heart of Jesus................................................
The loving Heart of Jesus..................................................
The Heart of Jesus Christ panting to be loved..................
The sorrowful Heart of Jesus.............................................
The compassionate Heart of Jesus.....................................
The generous Heart of Jesus..............................................
The grateful Heart of Jesus................................................
The despised Heart of Jesus...............................................
The faithful Heart of Jesus.................................................
Affections of love towards the Heart of Jesus..........................
Hymns .........................................................................................
The loving Spouse, 258. The loving Spouse in the Heart of
Jesus....................................................................................

235
237
240
242
244
246
249
251
253
256
258
2ςο

Contents.

9

THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST.
INTRODUCTION.
pagh

I. How deserving Jesus Christ is of our love, on account of
the love he has shown us in his Passion.................... 263
II. How much Jesus Christ deserves to be loved by us, on ac­
count of the love he has shown us in instituting the
Most Holy Sacrament of the altar...................... 275
III. The great confidence we ought to have in the love which
Jesus Christ has shown us, and in all he has done for us. 285
IV. How much we are obliged to love Jesus Christ.................. 293
CHAPTER I.
CHARITY IS PATIENT.

He that loves Jesus Christ loves sufferings.

(Patience.)............. 305

CHAPTER II.

CHARITY IS KIND.

He that loves Jesus Christ loves meekness. (Meekness.)........... 316
CHAPTER III.

CHARITY ENVIETH NOT.

The soul that loves Jesus Christ does not envy the great ones of
this world, but only those who are greater lovers of Jesus
Christ..........................................................................
323
CHAPTER IP.

CHARITY DEAI.ETH NOT PERVERSELY.

He that loves Jesus Christ avoids lukewarmness, and seeks per­
fection; the means of which are: 1. Desire; 2. Resolution,
3. Mental Prayer; 4. Communion; 5. Prayer................ 330
Lukewarmness, 330. Remedies against lukewarmness: 1. De­
sire of perfection, 334; 2. Resolution, 337; 3. Mental Prayer. 342
CHAPTER P.

CHARITY IS NOT PUEFED UP.

He that loves Jesus Christ is not vain of his own worth, but
humbles himself, and is glad to be humbled by others. (Hu­
mility.)..................................................................................

10

Contents.
CHAPTER ΓΛ
CHARITY IS NOT AMBITIOUS.
PAGtt

He that loves Jesus Christ desires nothing but Jesus Christ.
366
(Vainglory.)
CHAPTER VII.
CHARITY SEEKETH NOT HER OWN.

He that loves Jesus Christ seeks to detach himself from every
creature. (Detachment.).......................................................... 37I
Detachment from relatives, above all, in regard to one’s vocation,
379. Sanctity required to enter Holy Orders, 3S2. Detach­
ment from human respect and self-will .....................
3S7
CHAPTER VIII.
CHARITY IS NOT PROVOKED TO ANGER.

He that loves Jesus Christ is never angry with his neighbor.
(Meekness.)
392
CHAPTER IX.

CHARITY ΊΗΙΝΚΕΤΗ NO EVIL, REJOICETH NOT IN INIQUITY,
BUT REJOICING WITH THE TRUTH (CONFORMITY TO God’S
400
WILL)...............................

The necessity of conforming to God’s will, 400.

Obedience....... 409

CHAPTER X.

CHARITY BEARETH ALL THINGS.

He that loves Jesus Christ bears all things for Jesus Christ, and
especially illnesses, poverty, and contempt.....................
415
I Patience in sickness, 415. 2. Patience in poverty, 421. 3.
Patience under contempt........................
426
CHAPTER XI.
CHARITY BELIEVETH ALL THINGS.

He that loves Jesus Christ believes all his words. (Faith.)

430

CHAPTER XII.

CHARITY HOPETH ALL THINGS.

He that loves Jesus Christ hopes for all things from him. (Hope.) 434

Contents.

Il

CHAPTER XIII.
PACK

He that loves Jesus Christ with a strong love does not cease to
love him in the midst of all sorts of temptations and deso­
lations ................................................................................ 446
I. Temptations; why God permits them, 447. Remedies against
temptations, 450. 2. Desolations...................................... 458
Abstract of the virtues treated of in this work, to be practised
by him who loves Jesus Christ............................................ 473
Novena to the Holy Ghost.
MEDITA TIOHS.

Love is a fire that inflames the heart..................................... 479
Love is a light that enlightens thesoul................................ 481
Love is a fountain that satisfies............................................ 4S2
Love is a dew that fertilizes..................................................... 484
Love is a repose that refreshes............................................. 485
Loveis the virtue that gives strength................................. 4S7
Love causes God to dwell in our souls................................ 488
Loveis a bond that binds...................................................... 490
Loveis a treasure containing every good............................ 492
The means of loving God and of becoming a saint........... 494
Exercise to obtain the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost ... 496
Hymn.................................................................................................. 505
Index.................................................................................................. 506

I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X
Pious

f

<

&lje Sacrifice of Jcsns Christ,
WITH Λ SHORT EXPLANATION OF

THE PRA YERS OF THE MASS

In the two preceding volumes we have been consider­
ing that the Son of God, not content with becoming
man and immolating himself for our salvation, in order
to satisfy the love that he bore us, also wished to create
for himself an entirely new life of love by instituting the
Holy Eucharist expressly for the purpose of giving him­
self to us in three different ways; namely, as a victim of
of an infinite price in the Holy Sacrifice; as the food of
our souls in Holy Communion; and, in the holy taber­
nacle, as a perpetual companion of our exile here upon
earth.
After having paid our homage to our Saviour in his
sacrament of love, we honor with a special worship his
divine heart, which is regarded as the seat of his im­
mense love for us.
Now. as God loves only in order to be loved, we are
led by the foregoing considerations to the practice of
the love of Jesus Christ.
We conclude by speaking of the devotion that is due
to the Holy Spirit, who is the love that is consubstantial
with the Father and the Son, through whom God loves
us, and through whom we love God.
Such are the contents of this volume, which is Vol­
ume VI. of the ascetical works.
We place at the beginning of this volume a short
treatise entitled “The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ,” because
the Sacrifice of the Altar is intimatelv connected with
the Sacrifice of the Cross, the latter being the subject
considered in the last volume, and because the Sacrifice
of the Altar completes the Sacrifice of the Cross by
Holy Communion.
St. Alphonsus wrote this little work in his retreat in
the year 1776, when he was eighty years of age, and pub­
lished it with his work called the Victories of the Martyrs.
Ed.
*

NOTICE

I acknowledge to have drawn this little treatise on the
Sacrifice of Jesus Christ from a work composed by a
learned French author.
*
His work is complete and
somewhat diffuse. I have composed and have published
this abridgment because of the profit that may be de­
rived from it, not only by the priests who say Mass, but
by the faithful who are present at it.
My little work bears the title “ The Sacrifice of Jesus
Christ,” for, although we distinguish by different names
the Sacrifice of the Cross from the Sacrifice of the Altar,
* This is, however, not a mere abridgment that St. Alphonsus
gives us. As was usual with him. he appropriated the subject and
treated it after his own manner by confining himself to quoting on
some points the opinion of the French author. What he ascribes to
the latter is found, nearly word for word, in the book entitled “ L’Idée
du Sacerdoce et du Sacrifice de Jésus-Christ, par le R. P. De Condren,
etc. Par un Prêtre de l’Oratoire.” We doubt, however, whether
this excellent work is that which our Saint had before him; for it ap­
pears to us that such a work cannot be called anonymous, though the
learned Oratorian who published it in 1677 gives in the title-page only
his title, and the initials of his name in his dedication, by signing
himself P. Q. (This is Father Pasquier Quesncl, who later on became
unfortunately so famous.) This doubt <s confirmed by the remark
that we add further on, page 26, and is changed almost into certainty
in view of a passage that we read on page 36. and that we have not
seen in the aforesaid work. We therefore believe that (here exists
a more recent work in which “ L'Idée” of Father De Condren is re­
produced in an incomplete manner and without the name of the
author.—Ed.

16

Notice.

yet it is substantially the same sacrifice. In fact, we
find at the altar the same victim and the same priest
that one day offered himself on the cross. The Sacrifice
of the Altar is a continuation or a renewal of the Sacri­
fice of the Cross, and differs from it only in the manner
in which it is offered.

NOTE TO THE THIRD REPRINT REVISED
On account of the Decree of the Sacred Congregation
of the Council, issued Dec. 20, 1905, it was deemed advisable to change the wording of the text in passages re­
ferring to frequent Communion. An asterisk (*
)
pre­
cedes and follows the changed wording.
Judged by our present day practice, the rules laid down
by St. Alphonsus have been considered too rigid and ex­
acting. But it is well to remember that the age in which
he lived was noted for the rigor which regulated the dis­
positions for frequent and daily Communion. St. Al­
phonsus was accused of laxity. They called his doctrine
even scandalous. It was therefore very necessary for
him to speak and write with great prudence and with due
regard to the exigencies of the times. In the words of
the eloquent Antoni, Vain Fears, p. 69: “God alone
knows how much the holy Doctors, Alphonsus and Fran­
cis de Sales, so inflamed with love for the Blessed Sacra­
ment, so passionately eager for daily Communion, prayed
in the secret of their heart to hasten the moment when
they would be permitted to teach freely and openly what
the austere rigorism of their time forced them to keep
silent through prudence.”—Editor.

Φΐκ Sacrifice of Jesus Qlljrist.
I.

The Sacrifices of the Old Law were Figures of the Sacrifice of
Jesus Christ.
All the sacrifices of the old law were figures of the
sacrifice of our divine Redeemer, and there were four
kinds of these sacrifices; namely, the sacrifices of peace,
of thanksgiving, of expiation, and of impétration.
1. The sacrifices of peace were instituted to render to
God the worship of adoration that is due to him as the
sovereign master of all things. Of this kind were the
holocausts.
2. The sacrifices of thanksgiving were destined to give
thanks to the Lord for all his benefits.
3. The sacrifices of expiation were established to obtain
the pardon of sin. This kind of sacrifice was specially
represented in the Feast of the Expiation by the emis­
sary-goat,' which, having been laden with all the sins of
the people, was led forth out of the camp of the He­
brews, and afterwards abandoned in the desert to be
there devoured by ferocious beasts. This sacrifice was
the most expressive figure of the sacrifice of the cross.
Jesus Christ was laden with all the sins of men, as Isaias
had foretold: The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us
all
*
He was afterwards ignominiously led forth from
Jerusalem, whither the Apostle invites us to follow him
’ Lev. xvi. 8.
2 “ Et posuit Dominus in eo iniquitatem omnium nostrum.”—Isa.
liii. 6.
2

by sharing in his opprobrium: Let us go forth therefore tv
him without the camp, bearing his reproach} He was aban­
doned to ferocious beasts; that is to say, to the Gentiles,
who crucified him.
4. Finally, the sacrifices of impétration had for their
object to obtain from God his aid and his grace.
Now, all these sacrifices were abolished by the coming
of the Redeemer, because only the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ, which was a perfect sacrifice, while all the ancient
sacrifices were imperfect, was sufficient to expiate all
the sins, and merit for man every grace. This is the
reason why the Son of God on entering the world said to
his Father: Sacrifice and oblation Thou wouldst not; but a body
Thou hast fitted to me. Holocausts for sin did not please Thee.
Then said I: Behold, I come; in the head of the book it is
written of me, that I should do Thy will, O God} Hence, by
offering to God the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we can fulfil
all our duties towards his supreme majesty, and provide
for all our wants; and by this means we succeed in main­
taining a holy intercourse between God and ourselves.
We must also know that the Old Law exacted five
conditions in regard to the victims which were to be
offered to God so as to be agreeable to him; namely,
sanctification, oblation, immolation, consumption, and
participation.
i. The victim had to be sanctified, or consecrated to
God, so that there might not be offered to him anything
that was not holy nor unworthy of his majesty. Hence,
the animal destined for sacrifice had to be without stain,
without defect; it was not to be blind, lame, weak, nor
1 " Exeamus igitur ad eum extra castra, improperium ejus portantes.”—Htb. xiii. 13.
1 “ Hostiam et oblationem noluisti, corpus autem aptasti mihi;
holocautomata pro peccato non tibi placuerunt; tunc dixi: Ecce
venio; in capite libri scriptum est de me, ut faciam, Deus, voluntatem
tuam.”—H<b. x. 5.

I. The Sacrifices of the Old Law.

19

deformed, according to what was prescribed in the Book
of Deuteronomy.1 This condition indicated that such
would be the Lamb of God, the victim promised for the
salvation of the world; that is to say, that he would be
holy, and exempt from every defect. We are thereby in­
structed that our prayers and our other good works are
not worthy of being offered to God, or at least can never
be fully agreeable to him, if they are in any way defec­
tive. Moreover, the animal thus sanctified could no longer
be employed for any profane usage, and was regarded as
a thing consecrated to God in such a manner that only a
priest was permitted to touch it. This shows us how
displeasing it is to God if persons consecrated to him
busy themselves without real necessity with the things
of the world, and thus live in distraction and in neglect
of what concerns the glory of God.
2. The victim had to be offered to God; this was done
by certain words that the Lord himself had prescribed.
3. It had to be immolatedy or put to death; but this im­
molation was not always brought about by death, prop­
erly so called; for the sacrifice of the loaves of proposi­
tion, or show-bread, was accomplished, for example,
without using iron or fire, but only by means of the
natural heat of those who ate of them.
4. The victim had to be consumed. This was done by fire.
The sacrifice in which the victim was entirely consumed
by fire was called holocaust. The latter was thus en­
tirely annihilated in order to indicate by this destruction
the unlimited power that God has over all his creatures,
and that as he created them out of nothing, so he can
reduce them to the nothingness from which they came.
In fact, the principal end of the sacrifice is to acknowl­
edge God as a sovereign being, so superior to all things
that everything before him is purely nothing: for all
1 Dtut. xv. 21.

20

The Sacr ifice of Jesus Christ.

things are nothing in presence of him who possesses all
things in himself. The smoke that came from· this sac­
rifice and arose in the air signified that God received it
as a sweet odor,—that is to say, with pleasure,—as is
written of the sacrifice of Noe: Noe . . . offered holo­
causts upon the altar; and the Lord smelled a sweet savor.1
5. All the people, together with the priest, had to be
partakers of the victim. Hence, in the sacrifices, except­
ing the holocaust, the victim was divided into three
parts, one part of which was destined for the priest, one
for the people, and one for the fire. This last part was
regarded as belonging to God, who by this means com­
municated in some manner with those who were par­
takers of the victim.
These five conditions are found reunited in the sacri­
fice of the Paschal Lamb. The Lord had commanded
Moses3 that, on the tenth day of the month on which
the Jews had been delivered from the slavery of Egypt,
a lamb of one year and without blemish should be taken
and separated from the flock; and thus were verified the
conditions enumerated above, namely: 1. The separation
of the lamb signified that it was a victim consecrated to
God; 2. This consecration was succeeded by the oblation,
which took place in the Temple, where the lamb was pre­
sented; 3. On the fourteenth day of the month the
immolation took place, or the lamb was killed; 4. Then
the lamb was roasted and divided among those present;
and this was the partaking of it, or communion; 5.
Finally, the Iamb having been eaten, what remained of
it was consumed by fire, and thus was the sacrifice con­
summated.
1 “ Noe . . . obtulit holocausta super altare; odoratusque est Domi­
nus odorem suavitatis.”—Gen. viii. 20.
* Exod. xii. 3.

IL Fulfilment of the Ligures.

21

Π.
Fulfilment of the Prophetic Figures.
The Sacrifice of our Lord, as we have said, was a per­
fect sacrifice, of which those sacrifices of the Old Law
were but signs, imperfect figures, and what the Apostle
calls weak and needy elements) The sacrifice offered by
Jesus Christ really fulfilled all the conditions mentioned
above. The first condition, which is the sanctification, or
the consecration of the victim, was accomplished in the
Incarnation of the Word by God the Father himself, as is
mentioned in the Gospel of St.John: Whom the Father
hath sanctified) Likewise, when announcing to the
Blessed Virgin that she was chosen to be the Mother of
the Son of God, the Angel said: The Holy which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God) Thus this divine
victim, who was to be sacrificed for the salvation of the
world, had already been sanctified by God, when he was
born of Mary. From the first moment in which the
Eternal Word took a human body, he was consecrated
to God to be the victim of the great sacrifice that was
to be accomplished on the Cross for the salvation of
men. In regard to this our Lord said to his Father:
But a body Thou hast fitted to me . . . that I should do Thy
will, O God)
The second condition, or the oblation, was also fulfilled
at the moment of the Incarnation, when Jesus Christ
voluntarily offered himself to atone for the sins of men.
Knowing that divine justice could not be satisfied by all
1 “ Infirma et egena elementa.”—Gal. îv. 9.
2 “Quem Pater sanctificavit.”—John, x. 36.
3“Quod nascetur ex te Sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei.”—Luke,
i. 35·
4 “ Corpus autem aptasti mihi, ... ut faciam. Deus, voluntatem
tuam.”—Heb. x. 5

22

The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

the ancient sacrifices, nor by all the works of men, he
offered himself to atone for all the sins of men, and hence
he said to God, Sacrifices, and oblations, and holocausts for
sin, Thou wouldst not. . . . Then said I, Behold, I come to do
Thy will, 0 God) Then the Apostle adds immediately, In
which will we are sanctified by the oblation of the body of
fesus Christ once! This last text is remarkable. Sin had
rendered all men unworthy of being offered to God and
of being accepted by him, and, therefore, it was neces­
sary that Jesus Christ should offer himself for us in order
to sanctify us by his grace, and to make us worthy of be­
ing accepted by God. And this offering which our Lord
then made of himself did not limit itself to that moment,
but it only then began; it always has continued since,
and it will continue forever. It is true it will cease on
earth at the time of Antichrist: the Sacrifice of the Mass
is to be suspended for twelve hundred and ninety days;
that is, for three years six months and a half, according
to the prophecy of Daniel: And from the time when the con­
tinual sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination unto
desolation shall be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred
ninety days) Yet the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ will never
cease, since the Son of God will always continue to offer
himself to his Father by an eternal sacrifice, for he him­
self is the priest and the victim, but an eternal victim
and an eternal priest, not according to the order of z\aron,
of which the priesthood and the sacrifice were tempo­
rary. imperfect, and inadequate to appease the anger of
God against rebellious man, but according to the order
of Melchisedech, as David predicted : Thou art a priest ac1 “ Quia hostias et oblationes et holocautomata noluisti . . . tunc
dixi : Ecce venio, ut faciam, Deus, voluntatem tuam.”—Heb. x. 8.
8 “ In qua voluntate sanctificati sumus per oblationem corporis
Jesu Christi semel.”—Ibid. io.
3 '· Et a tempore cum ablatum fuerit juge sacrificium, et posita
fuerit abominatio in desolatione, dies mille ducenti nonaginta.” —
Dan. xii. ii.

II. Fulfilment of the Figures.

23

cording to the order of Mclchisedechl The priesthood of
Jesus Christ will, therefore, be eternal, since, even after
the end of the world, he will always continue to offer in
heaven this same victim that he once offered on the
Cross for the glory of God and for the salvation of man­
kind.
The third condition of the sacrifice—namely, the im­
molation of the victim—was evidently accomplished by
the death of our Lord on the Cross.
There remains for us yet to verify, in the Sacrifice of
Jesus Christ, the two other conditions requisite to ren­
der a sacrifice perfect—that is, the consumption of the vic­
tim and the partaking of it.
It is then asked, What was this consumption of the
victim in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ? for although his
body was by death separated from his holy soul, yet it
was not consumed, nor destroyed.
The anonymous author of whom I spoke in the begin­
ning, says that this fourth condition was fulfilled by the
resurrection of our Lord ; for, then, his adorable body
was divested of all that is terrestrial and mortal, and
was clothed in divine glory. He adds that it is this
glory that Jesus Christ asked of his Father before his
death: And now glorify Thou me, O Father, with Thyself,
with the glory which I had, before the world was, with Thee?
Our Lord did not ask this glory for his divinity, since
he possessed it from all eternity as being the Word
equal to the Father; but he asked it for his humanity,
and he obtained it at his resurrection, by which he
entered in a certain manner into his divine glory.
In speaking of the fifth condition, which is, the par­
taking of the victim, or Communion, the same author
1 “ Tu es Sacerdos in æternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech.”
—Ps. cix. 4.
Et nunc clarifica me tu, Pater, apud temetipsum. claritate
quam habui, priusquam mundus fieret, apud te.”— John, xvii. 5.

24

The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

says that it is also fulfilled in heaven, where, all the
blessed are partakers of the victim of the Sacrifice that
Jesus Christ continues to offer to God while offering
himself.
These two reflections, made by the author to explain
the two last conditions of the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ,
are wise and ingenious ; but for myself I think that the
two conditions of which there is question, namely, the
consumption and Communion, are manifestly fulfilled
in the Sacrifice of the Altar, which, as has been declared
by the Council of Trent, is the same as that of the Cross.
In fact, the Sacrifice of the Mass, instituted by our Lord
before his death, is a continuation of the Sacrifice of the
Cross. Jesus Christ wished that the price of his blood,
shed for the salvation of men, should be applied to us
by the Sacrifice of the Altar ; in which the victim offered
is the same, though it is there offered differently from
what it is on the Cross, that is, without the shedding of
blood. These are the words of the Council of Trent :
“ Although Christ our Lord was to offer himself once to
his Eternal Father on the altar of the Cross by .actually
dying to obtain for us eternal redemption, yet as his
priesthood was not to become extinct by his death, in
order to leave his Church a visible sacrifice suited to the
present condition of men, a sacrifice which might at the
same time represent to us the bloody sacrifice con­
summated on the Cross, preserve the memory of it to the
end of the world, and apply the salutary fruits of it for
the remission of the sins which we daily commit ; at his
last supper, on the very night on which he was betrayed,
giving proof that he was established a priest forever
according to the order of Melchisedech, he offered to
God the Father his body and blood, under the appear­
ances of bread and wine, and, under the same symbols,
gave them to the apostles, whom he constituted at the
same time priests of the New Law. By these words,

II. Fulfilment of the Figures.

25

‘Do ye this in remembrance of me,’ he commissioned
them and their successors in the priesthood to conse­
crate and offer his body and blood, as the Catholic
Church has always understood and taught.”1* And
further on the Council declares that the Lord, appeased
by the oblation of the Sacrifice of Mass, grants us his
graces and the remission of sins. It says : ‘‘ It is one
and the same victim ; the one that offers sacrifice is
the same one who, after having sacrificed himself on
the Cross, offers himself now by the ministry of the
priest ; there is no difference except in the manner of
offering.” 3*
9
Jesus Christ has, then, paid the price of our redemp­
tion in the Sacrifice of the Cross. But he wishes that the
fruit of the ransom given should be applied to us in the
Sacrifice of Altar, being himself in both the chief sacri­
ficer, who offers the same victim, namely, his own body
and his own blood;—with this difference only, that on the
Cross his blood was shed, while it is not shed at the
1 “ Is igitur Deus et Dominus noster, etsi semel semetipsum in ara
crucis, morte intercedente, Deo Patri oblaturus erat, ut æternam illic
redemptionem operaretur; quia tamen per mortem sacerdotium ejus
exstinguendum non erat; in coena novissima, qua nocte tradebatur,
ut dilectæ sponsæ suæ Ecclesiæ visibile, sicut hominum natura exigit,
relinqueret sacrificium, quo cruentum illud semel in cruce peragen­
dum repræsentaretur, ejusque memoria in finem usque sæculi per­
maneret, atque illius salutaris virtus in remissionem eorum, quæ a
nobis quotidie committuntur, peccatorum applicaretur. Sacerdotem
secundum ordinem Melchisedcch se in aeternum constitutum decla­
rans, corpus et sanguinem suum sub speciebus panis et vini Deo
Patri obtulit; ac, sub earumdem rerum symbolis, Apostolis, quos tunc
Novi Testamenti Sacerdotes constituebat, ut sumerent, tradidit; et
eisdem eorumque in sacerdotio successoribus, ut offerrent, præcepit
per hæc verba: * Hoc facite in meam commemorationem;’ uti semper
Catholica Ecclesia intellexit et docuit.”—Sess. 22, c. 1.
9 “ Una enim eademque est Hostia, idem nunc offerens Sacerdotis
ministerio, qui seipsum tunc in cruce obtulit, sola offerendi ratione
diversa.”—Sas, 22, c. 2.

26

The Sacrifice of Jcszts Christ.

altar. Hence the Roman catechism 1 teaches that the
Sacrifice of the Mass does not serve only to praise God
and to thank him for the gifts that he has granted us, but
it is a true propitiatory sacrifice, by which we obtain from ’
the Lord pardon for our sins and the graces of which we
stand in need. Because the fruit of the death of Jesus
Christ is applied to us by the Sacrifice of the Altar, the
Church expresses herself thus in her prayers: “As often
as the memory of the Sacrifice of the Cross is celebrated,
so often is accomplished the work of our redemption.” 3
Now, in the Mass we find not only
** the three essential
parts of the Sacrifice of the Cross,—that is, the sanctifica­
tion and oblation of the victim, as also the immolation,
which is here done mystically, the consecration of the body
and that of the blood taking place separately,—but we
also find the two other parts of the sacrifice; namely, the
destruction or consumption, communion or partaking, of
the victim. The destruction or consumption is accom­
plished by the natural heat of those who receive the
consecrated Host. Communion or partaking of the
victim consists in the distribution of the Holy Eucharist
to the faithful who approach the altar for this purpose.
In this manner we clearly see realized in the Sacrifice
of the Altar the five conditions required in the ancient
sacrifices, all of which were signs and figures of the
great Sacrifice of our Lord.
*
1 P. 2, c. 4, q. 62.
* “Quoties hujus Hostiæ commemoratio celebratur, opus nostræ
redemptionis exercetur.”—Dom. 9 p. Pent.
* It seems to us that the two explanations which we have just
read—the explanation of the anonymous author and that of St. Alphonsus—about the consummation or the last two parts of the Sac­
rifice of Jesus Christ can be and should be admitted, should not ex­
clude each other, but should be united. It was necessary that this
great sacrifice, the only real sacrifice worthy of God, should be con­
summated in heaven and on earth at the same time, to unite to God

II Fulfilment of the Figures.

27

the body of Jesus Christ entirely; that is, the Church triumphant and
the Church militant : in heaven, by the glorious union of Jesus Christ,
of the Blessed Virgin, of the angels, of the saints with God, and
among themselves in the bosom of God in which the sacrifice is per­
fect and eternal : on earth, by Holy Mass and Communion, in which
all the faithful partake of the same victim under the Eucharistic veil.
The body of the Redeemer, immolated on the Cross, had, therefore,
to be transformed in a twofold manner ; namely, by the resurrection,
for the consummation of the sacrifice in heavenly glory ; by the Eu­
charist, for the consummation of the sacrifice in earthly combats.
This twofold consummation of the true sacrifice was typified in the cere­
monies of the Old Law: the burning of the victim represented heavenly
Communion, and the eating of it represented earthly Communion.
But in heaven, as in Holy Mass, we have not only consummation, but
we have all the parts of the Sacrifice of the Cross and of the sacri­
fices of the Old Law. Hence, three kinds of sacrifices, or three
degrees, are to be distinguished. In the Old Law there were figures
without the reality ; in the New Law we have the reality under the
figures or appearances; in glory we have the reality exposed and un­
veiled. Such is, briefly, the thought of Père De Coudren, wisely de­
veloped by him who published it. Such is. also, without doubt, the
thought of St. Alphonsus; for otherwise we should not understand
what he says on page 22, where he explains the text taken from
Daniel.—Ed.
*

J

Short (Explanation of tl)e Prancrs of illaos.
Mass is rightly divided into six parts. The first part
is the preparation for the sacrifice ; and this is made at
the foot of the altar. The second part extends from the
Introit to the Credo, inclusively—and was formerly called
the Mass of the Catechumens, who had to leave the church
after the Credo. The third part contains the Offertory
and the Preface. The fourth part comprises the Canon
'roster ; for the Canon in olden times
ater Noster, as a learned author con;age in the writings of St. Gregory
rth part begins with the prayer Libera
ne (“ Deliver us, O Lord, we beseech
preparation for Communion, and in. The sixth and last part comprises
hanksgiving the rest of the Mass.
FIRST PART.

lat is made at the Foot of the Altar.
et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Anien (‘‘In
ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy

ice a victim one must have the power
ith ; but as God only has the power
incarnate Son, who is the victim of
Mass, the priest needs divine author)le to offer Jesus Christ to his heavenly
is invested with the authority that
1 Epist. 1. 7, ind. 2, tp. 63.

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass. 29
belongs to the priesthood, he says, in union with Jesus
Christ, who is the principal one that offers that sacrifice,
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost ; thus declaring that he offers the sacrifice
by the authority of the three Persons.
The priest afterwards recites the antiphon Introibo ad
altare Dei (“ I will go unto the altar of God ”), and the
psalm Judica me Deus (“Judge me, O God”). He im­
plores the help of God against the enemies who are laying
snares for him. Then expressing the pain that he feels
of seeing himself, as it were, rejected by the Lord, he
begs him to assist him with his light, and to console
him with the graces that he promised by leading him
into his tabçrnacle. Finally, he reproaches himself for
indulging in fear, for why should he be troubled when
he has with him his God in whom he should confide ?
Innocent III.1 attests that the recitation before Mass of
the psalm Judica me was the custom of his time, that is,
in the twelfth century ; and Cardinal Lambertini, after­
wards Benedict XIV.,3 assures us that it was recited be­
fore the eighth century. The psalm is concluded with
the Gloria Patri. It was Pope St. Damasus who ordained
that each psalm should be concluded in this manner. It
is, however, believed that the Gloria Patri was intro­
duced by the Council of Nice, or, as we are told by Ba­
ronins’ and St. Basil, even by the Apostles, the Council
of Nice having added only these words, Sicut erat, etc.
Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini (“Our help is in
the name of the Lord”). Affrighted by the grandeur
of the act he is about to perform, and by the thought of
his unworthiness, the priest asks God’s help in the name
of Jesus Christ; and acknowledging himself guilty, he
accuses himself of his sins, not only before God, but
before the Blessed Virgin and all the saints, who on the
1 De Alt. Myst. 1. 2, c. 13.

9 De Missa S. 1. 2, c. 3.

8 Ann. 325.

jo Short Explanation oj the Prayers of Mass.
last day, with Jesus Christ, will pronounce judgment
upon sinners.
Deus, tu conversus, vivificabis nos (“Thou, O Lord,” says
the priest, “ wilt turn and bring us to life”). The sinner
remains in death so long as God in his goodness does
not come to restore to him the life of grace. Then he im­
plores anew the divine mercy : Ostende nobis, Domine, mise­
ricordiam tuam (“ Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy”); and
supplicates the Lord to hear him : Domine, exaudi ora­
tionem meam (“ O Lord, hear my prayer”).
Before leaving the people to go up to the altar, the
priest says to them, Dominus vobiscum (“The Lord be
with you ”). By these words he wishes and asks that
Jesus Christ may grant to the people as wel] as to him­
self the effects of the prayers that he has said ; and the
server expresses to him the same wish when answering
for all the people : Et cum spiritu tuo (“And with Thy
spirit”). These reciprocal wishes indicate the union of
faith in Jesus Christ that exists between the priest and
the people.
Aufer a nobis, etc. (“ Take away from us our iniquities,
etc.”). In going up the steps of the altar, the priest begs
the Lord to deliver him from all iniquities, in order that
he may approach the Holy of Holies with a pure heart ;
that is to say, in order that he may worthily offer up the
great sacrifice.
Oramus te, Domine, per merita Sanctorum tuorum, etc.
(“We beseech Thee, O Lord, by the merits of Thy
saints, etc.”). Having reached the altar, he kisses it, to
unite himself to Jesus Christ, represented by the altar ;
and, through the merits of the holy martyrs whose relies
are therein enclosed, he conjures our Lord to deign to
pardon him all his sins.
Prom the first ages the Church was accustomed to
offer up the Eucharistic sacrifice on the tombs of the
martyrs who had sacrificed their lives for God, and who

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass. 31
for this reason have always been particularly honored in
the Church. During the first period of the Church there
were no other festivals than those of the mysteries of
Jesus Christ, those of the Blessed Virgin, and the anni­
versaries of the martyrs. However, it is not to the saints,
but only to God that altars are erected, “ and,” as St.
Augustine says, “ we have not erected an altar to the
martyr; Stephen, but with the relics of the martyr Ste­
phen we have erected an altar to God.”1
SECOND PART.

4 From the Introit to the Credo.
It is usually in the Introit that the Church proposes
the subject of the feast that is celebrated. Mention is
therein made of some divine mystery, of the Blessed
Virgin, or of some other saint whom the Church honors
on that day, so that we simply render this honor to the
saint, since the sacrifice, as we have said, is offered only
to God. It is asserted that the author of the Introit is
St. Gregory the Great, as may be seen in the works of
Benedict XIV.a
Kyrie, eleison ; Christe, eleison. These are Greek words
that mean “Lord, or Christ, have mercy.” This prayer
is addressed three times to the Father, three times to
the Son, and three times to the Holy Ghost. Durand’
says that Mass was begun to be said in Greek in the
Oriental Church at the time of the Emperor Adrian I.,
about the year 140. Pope St. Sylvester ordered that,
after the example of the Greeks, the Kyrie eleison should
be said in the Latin Church. According to Cardinal
Bellarmine4 this custom was introduced into Italy about
J

J ·

*

1 “ Nos, in isto loco, non aram fecimus Stephano, sed de reliquiis
Stephan i a ram Deo.”—Serm. 318, E. B.
2 De Missœ S. 1. 2, c. 4.
3 Ration. 1. 4, c. I.
4 De Miss. 1. 2, c. 16.

32 Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.
a hundred and fifty years before St. Gregory. Thereby
is shown the union that exists between the Greek and
the Latin Church.
Gloria in excelsis Deo, etc. (“Glory be to God on high,
etc.”). This canticle or prayer is formed o‘f the words
that the celestial choirs used when the Angel came to
announce to the shepherds the birth of the Saviour ;
“ Glory to God in the highest : and on earth peace to
men of good will.” 1 The remaining words were added
by the Church. In it God is thanked for his glory, be­
cause God has used our salvation for his glory by saving
us through Jesus Christ, who, in offering himself as a
sacrifice to his Father, has procured salvation for men,
and has given, at the same time, infinite glory to God.
Then the Church, addressing herself to Jesus Christ,
asks him by the merits of his sacrifice to have pity on
us; and she concludes by proclaiming him: Quoniam
tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus,
Jesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris.
Amen (“For Thou only art holy; Thou only art Lord;
Thou only, O Jesus Christ, art Most High in the glory
of God the Father. Amen”). For our Saviour, who
sacrifices himself as a victim, is at the same time God,
equal to Him to whom the sacrifice is offered.
Then follows the prayer or Collect, thus called because
the priest, performing the office of mediator between
God and men, collects all the prayers of the people, and
presents them to God. The Collect is said in a suppli­
ant manner, with outstretched and raised hands. In
these prayers are asked of God the graces that have
reference to the mystery of the day: for example, at
Easter, the grace to rise with Jesus Christ, and at the
Ascension to dwell with him in spirit in heaven; or we
ask for those graces that we wish to obtain through the
1 Luke, ii. 14.

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.

33

intercession of the saint whose feast we are celebrating.
But all these prayers are concluded with the name of
Jesus Christ : Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum
(“Through our Lord Jesus Christ”). Because all the
graces that we obtain are given to us chiefly in view of
the merits of Jesus Christ. It is not true, as the innova­
tors say, that we offer the Sacrifice of the Altar to the
saints. It is altogether false; for we know very well
that the sacrifice, being a cult or worship that is due to
the sovereign Lord of the universe, can be offered only
to God; and if at the Mass we make mention of the
saints, we do so only because of the favors that they
have received from God. to whom they acknowledge
they are indebted for all the happiness that they pos­
sess.
Here follow the Epistle and the Gospel. While list­
ening to the reading of the Epistle, we must hear it as if
it is God himself who speaks by the mouth of his proph­
ets and apostles.
The Epistle is followed by the Gradual, which, accord­
ing to Bellarmin, was sung in former times while the
deacon ascended the steps of the ambo—an elevated pul­
pit—to read the Gospel. The Gradual was followed by
the Alleluia, a Hebrew word that signifies Praise the Lord.
But in Lent the Alleluia, which expresses joy, is replaced
by the Tract, which Abbot Rupert calls the lamentation
of penitents (Pœnitentium lamentum).
The priest then leaving the left side of the altar, which
represents the Jewish people, passes to the right side,
which represents the Gentiles, who accepted the Gospel
that was rejected by the Jews. We should listen to the
Gospel as if we heard the words of our divine Saviour
instructing us himself, and we should at the same time
ask him for the necessary help to put in practice what
he teaches. It is an ancient custom to stand during the
reading of the Gospel, to show that we are ready to fol­
3

*

_

34 Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.
low the precepts and counsels that our Lord points out
to us.
Credo (“ I believe”). While the priest is reciting the
symbol, we should renew our faith in all the mysteri.es
and all the dogmas that the Church teaches. By the
symbol was formerly understood a military sign, a mark by
which many recognize one another, and are distinguished
from one another: this at present distinguishes believers
from unbelievers. Benedict XIV.1 tells us that at Rome
the recitation of the symbol during Mass was begun only
in the eleventh century.
THIRD PART.

The Offertory and the Preface.
The Offertory embraces everything from the Dominus
vobiscum till the Preface. In offering the bread and
wine the priest calls them the immaculate Host, the Chalice
of salvation. We should not be astonished at this; for all
the prayers and all the ceremonies before and after the
consecration have reference to the divine Victim. It is
at the moment of consecration that the Victim presents
himself to God, that he offers himself to him, and that
the sacrifice is offered; but as these different acts cannot
be explained at the same time, they are explained one
after the other. The priest then offers by anticipation
the bread prepared for the sacrifice, and while saying,
Suscipe, sancte Pater, hanc immaculatam Hostiam, etc.
(“Accept, O holy Father, this immaculate Host, etc.”);
and he offers the wine as if it had already been consecrated, by saying, Offerimus tibi, Domine, Calicem salu­
taris, etc. (“We offer unto Thee, O Lord, the Chalice of
salvation, etc.”) ; because this wine, being afterwards
changed into the blood of Jesus Christ, becomes our sal*

1 De Missa S. 1. 2, c. 8.

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass. 35
vation. St. Augustine says that as at the Eucharistic
Table our Saviour offers us to eat and to drink his body
and his blood, we should also offer to him our body and
our blood by giving ourselves entirely to him, being
ready to sacrifice our life for his glory, should it be neces­
sary. These are the beautiful words of the holy Doctor:
“ You know what this banquet is, and what nourishment
is offered you at this table. Since Jesus Christ gives
entirely his body and his blood, let no one approach
without giving himself entirely to the Lord.” 1*
A little water isiriixed with the wine to represent the
mixture or the union that takes place in the Incarnation
of the Word between the divinitv and the humanitv, and
also to represent the intimate union that is effected in the
sacramental Communion between Jesus Christ and the
person who communicates—a union which St. Augus­
tine calls Mixtura Dei et hominis (“A mixture of God
and of man”). Hence the priest, in the prayer which he
recites while mixing the water with the wine, beseeches
God to grant that, as bis divine Son became partaker of
our humanity, we may be made partakers of his divinity.
The Council of Trent declares that this mingling of water
and of wine in the chalice is prescribed: “The holy
Synod admonishes that it is enjoined on the priests by
the Church that they should mix water with the wine
that is to be offered in the chalice, as it is believed that
the Lord has done the same thing.”3 However, this is
only an ecclesiastical, not a divine precept.
Offerimus tibi, Domine, Calicem salutaris, etc. (“ We offer
unto Thee, O Lord, the Chalice of salvation, etc.”). The
chalice of salvation is offered to the Lord, so that it may
*

J '

1 “ Mensa quæ sit, nostis; ibi est corpus et sanguis Christi; qui ac­
cedit ad talem mensam, præparet talia.’’—In Jo. tr. 47.
- *' Monet sancta Synodus præceptum esse ab Ecclesia Sacerdoti­
bus, ut aquam vino in calice offerendo miscerent; quod Christum Do­
minum ita fecisse credatur.”—Sess. 22 c 7.

36 Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.
arise in his divine presence as an agreeable odor, for our
salvation and for the salvation of the whole world.
Cardinal Bona,’ in his Liturgy, assures us that neither
in the Sacramentarium of St. Gregory, nor in other authors,
is any prayer found for the offering of the bread and
of the wine; however, the same Cardinal says that in the
ancient Liturgy which he caused to be published we
find the prayers that were recited by the clergy as well
as by the faithful when the latter presented to the priest
their offerings. Moreover, our French author says that
the prayers recited at present by the priest at the obla­
tion of the bread and of the wine have reference to the
offerings which the faithful formerly made, not at the
altar, but at the balustrade of the choir.
In spiritu humilitatis et in animo contrito suscipiamur a te,
Domine, etc. (“ In the spirit of humility, and with a con­
trite heart, let us be received by Thee, O Lord, etc.”).
The priest presents himself before our Lord with an
humble and a contrite heart, and begs him to bless the
great sacrifice that is about to be offered: Veni, Sanctifi­
cator, etc. (“Come, O Sanctifier, etc.”).
Then he goes to wash his hands, out of respect for this
divine sacrifice, while reciting the psalm Lavabo inter in­
nocentes manus meas, etc. (“I will wash my hands among
the innocent, etc.”).
Suscipe, Sancta Trinitas, etc. (“ Receive, O Holy Trinity,
etc.”). By this prayer the priest offers to God Jesus
Christ as a victim already immolated by his death on the
Cross. Heretics calumniate us when they affirm that we
offer to God two different sacrifices, namely, the sacrifice
of the Cross and that of the altar. We reply to them that
there are not two sacrifices, since, as we have already
explained elsewhere, the sacrifice of the altar is a
memorial of the sacrifice of the Cross; it is really the
1 Lib.

Short Exploitation of the Prayers of Mass. yj
same sacrifice as that of the Cross, Jesus Christ being
there the principal offerer and the victim that is offered.
Orate, fratres, etc. (“Brethren, pray, etc.”). By these
words the priest exhorts the people to supplicate the
Lord to receive this sacrifice for the glory of his name
and the good of the faithful. The server then answers
in the name of the people by praying to God to accept
this sacrifice: Suscipiat Dominus Sacrificium de manibus
tuis, etc. (“ May the Lord receive this sacrifice from thy
hands, etc.”).
Then follows the Secret, a prayer that refers to the
offerings made by the people, namely, of the bread and
wine that are to be changed into the body and the blood
of Jesus Christ. The Church asks the Lord to bless
them and to render them profitable, not only to those
who present them, but to all the faithful, just as may be
seen in the Secret of the fifth Sunday after Pentecost·
“Mercifully receive, O Lord, these offerings of thy ser­
vants; that what each hath offered to the honor of thy
name, may avail to the salvation of all.” 1 Thus the
Offertory* is concluded.
Before passing to the Canon, the priest reads the Pref­
ace, in which he exhorts the faithful to raise their hearts
to God: Sursum corda (“Lift up your hearts”). The
people answer that they have already done so: Habemus
ad Dominum (“ We have lifted them to the Lord ”). And
the priest continues by inviting them to unite with him
in thanking the Lord: Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro
(“Let us give thanks to our Lord God”). He after­
wards says that it is just and salutary to render thanks
through Jesus Christ, who alone can worthily give
thanks for the eternal salvation and for so many
* benefits
granted to men and also to angels, who also give thanks
to God through Jesus Christ for all the gifts that they
1 “ Domine, has oblationes benignus assume, ut, quod singuli obtu­
lerunt, cunctis proficiat.”

38 Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.

I

have received. The priest entreats the Lord to accept
our prayers united with those of the angels, who cele­
brate his glory by repeating without ceasing the can­
ticle, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth!1
(“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!”); and he
concludes by repeating the words used by the Jewish
people in their acclamations at the triumphant entry of
Jesus into Jerusalem; Benedictus, qui venit in nomine
Domini! Hosanna in excelsis!'1 (“Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord ! Hosanna in the
highest ! ”)
FOURTH PART.

The Canon.
Te igitur, clementissime Pater, etc. (“We therefore hum­
bly pray and beseech Thee, most merciful Father, etc,”).
Here begins what we call the Canon of the Mass, which
the Council of Trent declares to be free from everv*
error,3 since it is composed of the very words of our
Lord, of the traditions of the apostles, and of pious regu­
lations of the Holy See.4 The Canon is very ancient; it
was already in use in the fourth century, according to the
testimony of St. Ambrose.5 The priest first prays to his
heavenly* Father in the name of the whole Church,1 and
through the merits of Jesus Christ, to accept and to bless
the offerings that are made to him, and that are called
gifts without spot: Hœc dona, heee munera, hœc sancta sacri­
ficia illibata (“These gifts, these presents, these holy un­
spotted sacrifices”). These words apply not only to the
bread and the wine that have been offered, but refer by
1 Isa. vi. 3.
2 Matt. xxi. 9.
3 “ Ab omni errore purum.”
4 “ Is enim constat, cum ex ipsis Domini verbis, tum ex Apostolo­
rum traditionibus, ac Sanctorum quoque Pontificum piis institutioni­
bus.”—Sess. 22, c. 4.
4
Sacr. 1. 4, c. 4.

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass. 39
anticipation to the body and the blood of Jesus Christ,
into which the bread and the wine are soon to be
changed; hence they are called - unspotted sacrifices.
Innocent III. refers these last words to the purity of the
heart and of the body with which the priest should cele­
brate Mass: “We call them by this name because of the
purity of heart and of body with which the priest should
offer them.” 1 But this is rather a spiritual and mystical
reflection, the proper explanation is that which precedes
it above.
The Holy Sacrifice is, before all, offered for the
Catholic Church by praying to God that he may pre­
serve her in peace, may defend her, maintain her in
unity, and govern her through the ministry of the pas­
tors, by communicating to them his Holy Spirit. It
must be observed that the prayers of the Church, during
the Holy Sacrifice, should be addressed to God the
Father, as was ordained by the Third Council of Carth­
age: “ During the August Function the prayer should be
addressed to God the Father.” a It does not follow that
the other divine Persons should be excluded from these
prayers: but they are considered together in the Person
of the Father, their first principle, and this is the reason
why the Church is accustomed to pray to the Father,
with the Son, in the Holy Ghost.
At the first Memento, the priest recommends, at first,
all those persons for whom he wishes most especially to
pray; then he recommends all those who, happening to
be present, offer with him the Holy Sacrifice; finally, he
recommends all their relatives and friends. He says:
i. Pro quibus tibi offerimus, vel qui tibi offerunt (“For whom
we offer, or who offer up to Thee”). It must be re­
marked that the disjunctive particle vel, “or,” is some1 “ ‘ Illibata,’ quæ sine macula cordis et corporis oportet offerri.”—
De Alt. Myst. 1. 3, c. 3.
2 “ Cum altari assistitur, semper ad Patrem dirigatur oratio.”—c. 23.

40 Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.
times conjunctive, and that it is probable that it is here
taken in this last sense according to St. Gregory, as we
are told by Benedict XIV. Moreover, it must be ob­
served that there is a great difference between sacrificing
and offering: to the priest alone belongs the right to
sacrifice, whilst all those who are present may offer the
sacrifice. 2. Quorum tibi fides cognita est, et nota devotio
(“Whose faith is known, and devotion apparent unto
Thee”). By these words we are to understand that in
order to participate in the fruit of the sacrifice we must
have faith and devotion, which spring from charity.
3. Pro redemptione animarum suarum (“ For the redemption
of their souls”). The first effect of the sacrifice of the
Cross, which is applied to us by the sacrifice of the altar,
is to become free from the power of the devil. 4. Pro
spe salutis et incolumitatis suce (“For the hope of their
safety and salvation”). These words comprise all the
spiritual and temporal graces that God grants to us by
virtue of this sacrifice, through which alone we can
render to God the thanks that we owe him. .
Communicantes et memoriam venerantes, etc. (“ Communi­
cating with the saints and honoring the memory, etc.”).
This prayer is said in order to enter into communion
with the Church triumphant. Thereby we honor, in the
first place, the memory of the Mother of God, then that
of the apostles, then that of the martyrs and of all the
other saints, through the merits and the intercession of
whom we beg our Lord’s protection in all our necessi­
ties. We who are travellers upon earth form only one
body with the saints who are in heaven, and united
with them in the same spirit, we offer to God the same
sacrifice.
Hanc igitur oblationem, etc. (“We therefore beseech
Thee, O Lord, graciously to accept this oblation, etc.”).
The priest spreads his hands over the bread and the
wine, and, through the merits of Jesus Christ, who re-

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass. 41
deemed us from the power of the devil, he prays to the
Eternal Father favorably to accept this offering that his
servants and his whole family make to him. He also
asks God to help us to enjoy peace in this life, to pre­
serve us from hell, and to admit us among the number
of the elect: Et in electorum tuorum jubeas grege numerari
(“And number us in the flock of Thine elect”). Estius
observes that by these last words we do not ask of God
predestination, as if God could change his eternal de­
crees, but we ask of him the effects of predestination,
that he may draw us to himself and conduct us to eter­
nal happiness.1 In the Old Law he who offered sacrifice
placed his hands on the victim to signify that just as
this animal was soon to lose its life by immolation, so
he also offered up his own life to God. It is with the
same spirit of sacrifice that every priest should offer
himself to God, when he spreads his hands over the host
and the chalice.
*
Quam oblationem tu, Deus in omnibus, qucesumus, benedictam, adscriptam, ratam, rationabilem, acceptabilemque
facere digneris ; ut nobis corpus et sanguis fiat dilectissimi
Filii tui Domini nostri Jesu Christi (“ Which obla­
tion do Thou, O God, vouchsafe in all respects to
make blessed, approved, ratified, reasonable, and ac­
ceptable, that it may become to us the body and blood
of Thy most beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord”).
In this prayer the priest asks God to cause this oblation
to be blessed (benedictam}, that by this blessing the bread
and the wine may be changed into the body and the blood
1 “ Non petimus immutari aeternum Dei propositum, sed causam pro
effectu ponimus, orantes ut Deus nos ad se convertat atque ad aeter­
nam felicitatem perducat; qui sunt effectus praedestinationis.”—In
Sent. 1. i, d. 40, § 22.

* Such should also be, in this grave ceremony, the sentiments of all
the faithful, who, we should not forget, offer the holy sacrifice jointly
with the priest.—Ed.

42 Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.
of Jesus Christ ; that it may be admitted (adscriptam),—
that is, substracted from all profane usage and wholly
consecrated to the divine Majesty; ratified (ratam), that
is, approved as a perfect sacrifice ; reasonable or rational
(rationabilem),—this includes an allusion to a passage
in the Epistle to the Romans, in which St. Paul says : “ I
beseech you . . . that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable
service;”1 acceptable (acceptabilem),—that is, altogether
agreeable and worthy of being received, differently from
the victims and the oblations of the Hebrew people,
which were not sufficient to appease the divine justice
incensed against sinners ; and, finally, Ut nobis corpus
ct sanguis fiat dilectissimi Filii tui (“That it may become
to us the body and blood of Thy most beloved Son” ).
The priest, according to St. Thomas, does not thereby
ask that the consecration be accomplished, but that it
be profitable to us. ’
Qui, pridie quam pateretur, etc. (“Who the day before
he suffered,” etc.). Here the priest, renewing the mem­
ory of the Passion of Jesus Christ, relates what the
Lord did on the evening before his death, when he in­
stituted the Sacrament and the sacrifice of his body
* and
blood. Then the priest does the same thing, and con­
secrates by pronouncing the very words used by Jesus
Christ, as St. Ambrose remarks: “He uses not his own
words, but the very words of Jesus Christ.”3
The form of the consecration is taken from St.
Matthew : Hoc est corpus ineum (“ This is my body”).4
These words need no explanation, since they themselves
1 “Exhibeatis corpora vestra hostiam viventem, sanctam, Deo
placentem, rationabile obsequium vestrum.”—Rom. xii. i.
2 “ Non ut consecratio impleatur, sed ut nobis fiat fructuosa.”—P.
3, q. 83, a. 4·
3 “ Non suis sermonibus, sed utitur sermonibus Christi.”—De Sacr.
1 4. c. 4.
4 Matt. xxvi. 26.

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass. 43
declare what mystery is accomplished, namely, the
change of the bread into the body of Jesus Christ.
'Die form of the consecration of the chalice is as fol­
lows: Hic est enim calix Sanguinis mei, novi et œterni Tes­
tante h!i. mysterium fidei, qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur
in remissionem peccatorum (“ For this is the chalice of my
blood of the new and eternal testament, the mystery of
faith, which shall be shed for you, and for many, to the
remission of sins”). These words the Church has taken
from different texts of the Gospel, partly from St. Luke,
partly from St. Matthew. St. Luke says: This is the
chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for
you) St. Matthew: For this is my blood of the new testament
■ which shall be shedfor many unto remission of sins) The word
œterni, “everlasting,
” is found in St. Paul: In the blood
O'
of the everlasting testament) The other words, Mystery of
faith, the Roman catechism declares are taught by
sacred tradition, which is the guardian of Catholic
truths. This divine mystery is called Mystery of faith,
not to exclude the reality of the blood of Jesus Christ,
but to show that in it the faith shines forth in a wonder­
ful manner, and triumphs over all the difficulties that
may be raised by human reason, since it is here, says
Innocent III.,4 that we see one thing and believe another.
We believe, he adds, that the form that we read in the
Canon was received from Jesus Christ by the Apostles,
and that they transmitted it to their successors? The
1 “ I he est calix novum Testamentum in Sanguine meo, qui pro
vobis fundetur.”—Luke, xxii. 20.
2 “ Hic est enim Sanguis meus novi Testamenti, qui pro multis
effundetur in remissionem peccatorum.”—Matt xxvi. 28.
3 ” In sanguine Testamenti æternî.”—Heb. xiii. 20.
4 “Quoniam aliud ibi cernitur, aliud creditur.”—De Alt. Myst. 1.
4, c. 36.
5 “Sane formam istam verborum ab ipso Christo acceperunt Apos­
toli, et ab ipsis Apostolis accepit Ecclesia.”—Ibid. c. 5.

44 Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.
Roman catechism/ moreover, says, that the words of
consecration should be thus understood: It is my blood
that is contained in the chalice of the New Testament.
This signifies that men receive no longer the figure of the
blood of Jesus Christ, as was the case in the Old Law ;
but they really receive the true blood of the New Testa­
ment. The words Pro vobis et pro multis (“ For you and
for many”) are used to distinguish the virtue of the
blood of Christ from its fruits; for the blood of our
Saviour is of sufficient value to save all men, but its
fruits are applicable only to a certain number and not to
all, and this is their own fault. Or, as the theologians
say, this precious blood is (in itself) sufficiently (suf­
ficienter} able to save all men, but (on our part) effectu­
ally (efficaciter} it does not save all—it saves only those
who co-operate with grace. This is the explanation of
St. Thomas, as quoted by Benedict XIV.
*
The consecration is followed by the elevation of the host
and of the chalice: this is done, writes Sassi, in order to
prove the truth of the Eucharist which was attacked by
Berengarius at the beginning of the twelfth century. The
same truth is again professed at the second elevation
shortly before the Pater noster, when the priest says, Omnis
honor et gloria (“ All honor and glory”). It was also at the
time of the heresy of Berengarius that the custom was
introduced of ringing the bell at the elevation of the
Host and of the chalice.
1 P. 2, c. 4, q. 20.

* De Afiss. Sacr. 1. 2, c. 15.—Benedict XIV. here observes that
St. Thomas (P. 3, q. 18, a. 3) seems to favor the opinion of those
who make the essential form of the consecration of the chalice con­
sist in all the words that the priest pronounces as far as Hac quoties­
cumque; because the words that follow, Hic est enim calix sanguinis
mei, are determinationes fradicati, that is to say, sanguinis Christi,
and consequently, belonging ad integritatem ejusdem locutionis, are
de substantia forma. St. Pius V. caused the contrary opinion to be
erased from the commentary of Cajetan.

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass. 45
Hœc quotiescumque feceritis, in mei memoriam facietis (“As
often as ye do these things, ye shall do them in remem­
brance of me”). After the two consecrations the priest
repeats the words of Jesus Christ, by which our Saviour
commanded his Apostles and their successors to do, in
memory of his Passion, what he had just done himself in
their presence.
Unde et memores, Domine, etc. (“ Wherefore, O Lord, . . .
calling to mind,” etc.). Here the priest calls to mind
the Passion of our Lord, his resurrection, and ascension.
He offers to the divine majesty in the name of the
Church the consecrated victim, which he calls a pure
Host, exempt from every sin; holy, being united with
the divinity in the person of the Word; immaculate, with­
out any stain; and then, “The holy bread of eternal life,
and the chalice of everlasting salvation.” While pro­
nouncing these words he blesses the bread and the
chalice with the sign of the cross. On this subject
Luther turns to ridicule the Roman Church by asking
how the priest blesses Jesus Christ—how the creature
blesses the Creator. We answer here that the priest
blesses the Host, not by his own authority, nor in his
own name, but in the name and by the authority of the
Eternal Father, who alone can bless Jesus Christ as
man and as victim. Such is the answer given on this
point by Innocent III. St. Thomas answers differently
by saying that after the consecration the priest does
not make the sign of the cross to bless, but only to re­
mind us of the power of the cross and of the death of our
Lord.1
Supra quce propitio, etc. (“Upon which vouchsafe to
look,” etc.). The priest then prays to the Lord that he
1 “ Sacerdos, post consecrationem, non utitur crucesignaiione ad
benedicendum et consecrandum, sed solum ad commemorandum vir­
tutem crucis et modum passionis Christi, quæ ad crucem est termi­
nata.”—P. 3, q. 83, a. 5.

40 Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.
may accept with pleasure this sacrifice, just as he ac­
cepted the offerings of Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham,
and that of Melchisedech. In recalling to mind the sacrafice of Abel, of Abraham, and of Melchisedech, we regard
less the value of the things offered than the sanctity of
those who offered them, because they were holy men. Conquently, if God, because of his sanctity, favorably re­
ceived their sacrifice, how much more should please him
the sacrifice of the Saint of saints—of our Lord Jesus
Christ ! But the most decisive reason on account of which
the Church makes special mention of these three sacrifices
is, because they represented in an excellent manner the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Supplices te rogamus, etc. (“We most humbly beseech
Thee,” etc.). The priest continues humbly to ask the
Saviour that the consecrated Host be presented to his
divine Majesty through the hands of his holy Angel, in
order that all those who are going to receive the body
and the blood of his adorable Son may be filled with
blessings and all celestial gifts through the merits of
Jesus Christ. By the Angel of whom mention is made
in this prayer, we may understand the Angel who pre­
sides at the Sacrifice of the Altar, or, as our French author
says, we may understand Jesus Christ himself, who is pre­
eminently the Hol}· Angel, called in Scripture the Angel
of the Great Counsel. But the explanation of St.
Thomas seems to be the most natural. The priest, he
says, speaks for the Church, and asks that the Angel
who presides at the divine mysteries may present to God
the prayers of the celebrant and of the people.1
Memento etiam, Domine, etc. (“ Be mindful, O Lord,”
etc.). The priest asks the Lord to remember his ser­
vants who have passed to the other life and are slumber1 "Sacerdos petit hoc pro corpore mystico, ut scilicet orationes
Sacerdotis et populi Angelus assistens divinis mysteriis Deo reprae­
sentet.”—P. 3, q. S3, a. 4.

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass. Arf
ing in the sleep of peace, and to grant them a place of
refreshment, light, and peace, through the merits of
Jesus Christ. When the charity of the souls that depart
from this life is not sufficient to purify them, the fire of
purgatory will supply this defect. Yet the charity of the
Saviour supplies it best by means of the Eucharistic
sacrifice, which procures for these holy souls great miti­
gation of their sufferings, and often deliverance from
their torments. The Council of Trent savs: “The souls
there detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful,
but principally by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar.” 1
And it adds2 that this is a tradition of the Apostles. St.
Augustine exhorts us to offer the sacrifice for all the
dead, in case the souls that we recommend cannot re­
ceive our help.
Nobis quoque peccatoribus, etc. (“And to us sinners,”
etc.). Here the Church prays for sinners, in order that
God may vouchsafe, in his mercy, to permit them to
enter the society of the saints ; and she asks this grace
through the merits of Jesus Christ. She then adds :
Per quern hœc omnia semper bona creas, etc. (“By whom,
O Lord, Thou dost always create,” etc.). By the Word
Thou hast created this bread and wine, and now, by the
same Word, Thou hast sanctified (sanctificas) them by
reserving them for the sacrifice. Thou hast quickened
them (vivificas) by changing them into the body and the
blood of Jesus Christ; Thou hast blessed (benedicis) them
and transformed them into a source of benediction for
the Church of Christ; and, finally, Thou hast given us all
these good things (et prœstas nobis) by distributing them
to the faithful in Holy Communion. And all these
favors the Church asks through the merits of Jesus
Christ: Per ipsum, that is, through him; cum ipso, in
1 ‘'Animas ibi detentas, fidelium suffragiis, potissimum vero acceptabili altaris Sacrificio juvari.”—Sess. 25, Decr. de Purg.
5
22, c. 2.

48 Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.
union with our Saviour; in ipso, in him as the members
are in the body, since God recognizes as his own only
those who are united with Jesus Christ.
THE PATER NOSTER.

Oremus. Prœceptis salutaribus moniti, etc. (“ Instructed
by Thy saving precepts, etc.”). The Church militant
regards herself as entirely composed of sinners ; she
thinks herself unworthy to call God her Father, and to
address to him the seven petitions, which in the name of
the faithful she is going to address to him by reciting
the Pater nosier, Our Father”). Hence she protests
that she only dares to address to God this prayer
because God himself has commanded her to do so. She
then teaches us that we may venture to present to God
the seven petitions which contain the whole economy of
our salvation, because it is pleasing to him and he him­
self gives us the command. We are so miserable, and
our mind is so limited, that we do not even know what
graces we should ask of God in behalf of our own sal­
vation. Regarding our poverty and our insufficiency,
Jesus Christ himself deigned to compose our prayer or
to indicate the subjects on which we should address
Almighty God. He instructs us to say :
Pater noster, qui es in cœlis
Our Father, who art in
heaven, etc.). The Apostle St. John says: Behold what
manner of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us that we
should be called, and should be the sons of GodI It is as­
suredly only by the effect of extreme love that we worms
of the earth have been enabled to become the children of
God, not by nature, but by adoption; and such is the
immense grace that the Son of God has obtained for us
by becoming man; for St. Paul says: You have received the
1 “ Videte qualem charitatem dedit nobis Pater, ut Filii Dei nomi­
nemur et simus.”—I John, iii. 1.

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass. 49
spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry, Abba (FatherY
Can a subject wish for greater happiness than to be
adopted by his king? ora creature to be adopted by its
Creator? This is what God has done for us; and he
wishes that we should address to him with filial confi­
dence the following prayer:
1. Sanctificetur nomem tuum (“ Hallowed be Thy name”).
God cannot possess a greater sanctity than that which
he possesses from all eternity, because he is infinite;
hence what we ask in this prayer is merely that God
may make known in every place his holy name, and
that he may make himself loved by all men: by unbe­
lievers, who know him not; by heretics, who do not know
him in the right manner; and by sinners, who know him
but do not love him.
2. Adveniat regnum tuum (“ Thy kingdom come”). Two
kinds of dominion God exercises over our souls—the do­
minion of grace and the dominion of glory. By these
words we ask for both, namely, that the grace of God
may reign among us in this life, that it may direct and
govern us, so that one day we may be judged worthy of
glory, and may have the happiness to possess God and
be possessed by him for all eternity.
3. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in cœlo, et in terra (“ Thy will
be done on earth, as it is in heaven”). The whole perfec­
tion of a soul consists in the perfect accomplishment of
the will of God, as is done by the blessed in heaven.
Hence Jesus Christ wishes us to ask the grace to ac­
complish the will of God upon earth, as the angels and
saints accomplish it in heaven.
4. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie (“ Give us this
day our daily bread”). Such is the text as we find it in
St. Luke.2 By this prayer we ask God for the temporal
' “ Accepistis Spiritum adoptionis, in quo clamamus: Abba (Pater).”
—Rom. viii. 15.
'
3 Luke, xi. 3.

50 Short Explanation oj the Prayers of Λ/ass.
goods of which we stand in need to sustain our present
life. The words “Our daily bread’’ teach us that we
should ask for this kind of goods with moderation, after
the example of Solomon, who asked only what was neces­
sary: Give mt only the necessaries of life} It is to be re­
marked that in the Gospel of St. Matthew, instead of the
daily bread, we read, Give us this day our supersubstantiaP
*
bread
By this supersubstantial bread we must un­
derstand, according to the explanation given by the
Roman catechism, Jesus Christ himself in the Sacra­
ment of the Altar, that is, in Holy Communion. We ask
this heavenly bread every day, Give us this day, because
every good Christian should communicate every day,
if not really at least spiritually, as we are exhorted by
the Council of Trent.
5. Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus
debitoribus nostris (“And forgive us our trespasses, as we
forgive them that trespass against us’’). To eat worthily
of this heavenly bread, we must be free from mortal sin,
or at least be washed of it by the blood of the Lamb in
the sacrament of penance. We say, free from mortal sin;
but it must be observed that if anyone should communi­
cate with an actual affection for some venial sin, he could
not be said to communicate without offering some indig­
nity to our Lord—at least if he communicates often.
6. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem (“And lead us not
into temptation”). How are these words to be under1 “Tribue tantum victui meo necessaria.”—Prov. xxx. 8.
’"Supersubstantialem.”—Matt. vi. II.

* These two expressions are not opposed to each other; on the
contrary, one explains the other. We ask, in the one as in the other,
what is each day necessary for the subsistence of the body and of the
soul; but we chiefly ask for spiritual nourishment, and, above every­
thing else. for the Holy Eucharist, which is pre-eminently and beyond
comparison called the bread of life and the true bread of the children
of God.· Panis vita, vere Panis filiorum.— Ed.

?

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass. 51
stood ? Does God sometimes tempt us—does lie lead us
into temptation? No; for St. James says: God is not a
tempter of evils, and Ife tempteth no man) This text we
must understand as we do that of Isaias: Blind the heart
of this people . . . lest they see) God never blinds any
sinner, but be often refuses to grant to some, in punish­
ment for their ingratitude, the light that he would have
given them had they remained faithful and grateful.
Hence when it is said that God makes any one blind, it
is meant that he withholds the light of his grace. This,
therefore is the sense of the prayer, and lead us not into
temptation ; we ask God not to permit us to have the mis­
fortune of being in those occasions of sin in which we
might fall. Hence we should always watch and pray
as the Lord exhorts us to do, in order not to fall into,
tern ptalion : Watch ye, andpray that ye enter not into tempta­
tion) To enter into temptation means the same as to
find one’s self in the danger of falling into sib; we should
therefore often say to God, Lord, lead us not into tempta­
tion.
7. Sed libera nos a malo (“ But deliver us from evil ”).
There are three kinds of evils from which we should ask
the Lord to deliver us—the temporal evils of the body,
the spiritual evils of the soul, and the eternal evils of the
next life. As for the temporal evils of this life, we ought
always to be disposed to receive with resignation those
that God sends us for the good of our souls, such as
poverty, sickness, and desolation; and when we ask God
to deliver us from temporal evils we should always do
so on condition that they are not necessary nor useful
for our salvation. But the true evils from which we
1 “ Deus enim intentator malorum est; ipse autem neminem ten2 “ Excæca cor populi hujus ... ne forte videat.”—Isa. vi. 10.
3 “Vigilate et orate, ut non intretis in tentationem.”—Matt. xxvi.

52 Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.
should absolutely pray to be delivered are spiritual evils,
sins, which are the cause of eternal evils. Moreover, let
us be convinced of this infallible truth, that in the present
state of corrupt nature we cannot be saved unless we
pass through the many tribulations with which this life
is filled: Through many tribulations we must enter into the
kingdom of GodI
The priest finishes the Lord’s prayer with the word
Amen, which he pronounces in a low voice, because he
represents the person of Jesus Christ, who is the founda­
tion of all the divine promises.
*
This word is a summary
of all the petitions that have been made—petitions the re­
petition of which pleases the Lord, for the more we pray
to God the more he will hear our prayers. The great
people of this world are not pleased when they are im­
portuned by petitions; but this importunity is pleasing
to God, says St. Jerome.2 Cornelius à Lapide even as­
sures us that God wishes that we should persevere in
this importunity in our prayers.’
FIFTH PART.

From the Prayer “ Libera nos” till the Communion.
Immediately after the Pater noster the priest recites
the prayer Libera nos, qucesumus, Domine (“Deliver us, O
Lord”), by which he asks the Lord for himself and for
all the faithful to grant, through the intercession of the
Blessed Virgin, of the apostles and of all the saints, a
continual peace during the days of the present life, so
1 “ Per multas tribulationes oportet nos intrare in regnum Dei.”—
Acts, xiv. 2i.
“ Oratio, quamvis importuna, plus arnica est."—Hom. in Matt.
3 “Vult Deus nos in oratione esse perseverantes usque ad impor­
tunitatem.”—In Luc. xi. 8.

* This signifies that the divine Mediator gives support to our
prayer and renders it efficacious.—Ed.

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.

53

that his divine mercy may preserve them from every sin
and from all confusion.
He then says, Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum (“ May
the peace of the Lord be always with you”). He wishes
the peace of the Lord for all his brethren, who answer
him with the same wish: Et cum spiritu tuo (“And with
thy spirit”). He makes at the same time upon the chalice,
with the particle of the Host which he holds in his hand,
three signsof the cross, which indicates, according to St.
Thomas,1 the three days that Jesus Christ spent in the
tomb.
The priest then drops the sacred particle into the
chalice and says these words: Hcec commixtio et consecratio
Corporis et Sanguinis Domini nostri Jesu Christi fiat accipi­
entibus nobis in vitam œternam! (“ May this mixture and consecration of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
be to us that receive it effectual to eternal life”). Ex­
plaining these words, Consecratio . . . fiat, Bellarmin says
that we do not here ask that the consecration should
take place, but that it be profitable for eternal life to
those who are about to receive Jesus Christ in Holy Com­
munion.1 This mixture of the holy species represents
the union of the divinity with the humanity which was at
first effected in the womb of Mary through the Incarna­
tion of the Word, and which is renewed in the souls of
the faithful when they receive him in the Eucharistic
Communion.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi (“ Lamb of God, who
takest away the sins of the world”). Before Communion
the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, as the victim of the sac­
rifice, is invoked, and is invoked three times, to point out
1 P. 3. q. 83, a. 5.
3 “ Non enim petimus ut nunc fiat Consecratio, sed ut Consecratio,
antea facta, sit nobis ad vitam æternam salutaris.”—De Miss. 1. 2, c.
27-

54 Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.
the need that we have of his grace, in order to be recon­
ciled with God and to receive his peace.
Here follow the three prayers that precede Commun­
ion.
In the first prayer—Domine Jesu Christe, qui dixisti
Apostolis tuis. Pacem relinquo vobis (“ Lord Jesus Christ,
who said to Thy Apostles, I leave you peace”)—prayer
is offered to God that he may vouchsafe to grant peace
to the Church in consideration of her faith, and keep her
in union, according to his will, by delivering her from the
division produced by false doctrines, and from all that is
contrary to the divine wilL—And here the Church has in­
troduced the custom that the faithful should give one an­
other the kiss of peace, to remind them that their hearts
should be united in charity. Before giving the kiss of
peace, the priest kisses the altar, to show that he cannot
give the peace unless he has first received it from Jesus
Christ, who is represented by the altar.
In the second prayer, Domine Jesu Christe, Fili Dei
vivi, the priest asks Jesus Christ, by virtue of his ador­
able body and blood, to deliver him from all evils, and to
keep him always united with him.
In the third prayer he beseeches the Lord that this
Communion may not turn to his condemnation, but may
be for the salvation of his soul and body.—The Holy
Eucharist protects the soul against temptations and pas­
sions; it extinguishes the fire of concupiscence that burns
in our bodies, and is a powerful remedy against the death
of the soul.
After these prayers the priest says, while invoking the
name of the Lord, Panem coelestem accipiam, et nomen
Domini invocabo (“ I will take the bread of heaven, and
call upon the name of our Lord”). In order that the
earthly food may be of benefit to us, we must eat it when
we are hungry; in like manner, in order that Communion
may produce in us much fruit, we should receive it with

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass. 55
great desire to possess Jesus Christ and to love him ar­
dently. As John Gerson says, we ought, at the moment
in which we are about to receive Jesus, invoke him anew,
in order to obtain the grace to receive him with great
profit to our souls.
Corpus (Sanguis) Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat ani­
mam meam in vitam œternam (“ May the Body (Blood) of
our Lord Jesus Christ preserve my soul to life everlast­
ing”). While pronouncing these words the priest re­
ceives the body and the blood of Jesus Christ. This
prayer recalls to our mind that this precious body and
blood are given to us as a pledge of eternal life, and as a
viaticum in order to pass from this exile to our heavenly
country. Hence when we receive Communion we ought
to be so disposed as if we had to leave the earth at once,

to enter eternity.

SIXTH PART.
Thanksgiving.
Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quee retribuit mihi ?
(“What shall I render to the Lord for all he hath rendered
unto me ?”) The priest says, For all, etc., because he who
receives Jesus Christ in Communion receives all the
gifts and all the goods that one can desire, according to
the words of St. Paul: How hath He not also, with Him,
given us all things) He says, What shall I render I be­
cause man is not capable of thanking God as he should
thank him. Jesus Christ only can worthily thank the
Eternal Father for the gifts that he bestowed upon men.
The priest therefore adds: Calicem salutaris accipiam, et
nomen Domini invocabo (“ I will take the chalice of salva­
tion, and call upon the name of the Lord”). He suppli1 “ Quomodo non etiam cum illo omnia nobis donavit ?”_ Rom. viii.
32.

56 Short Explanation op the Prayers of Mass.
cates the Divine Redeemer to thank the heavenly Father
for himself and for all men.
After having taken the precious blood he renews his
thanks to God in the following words: Quod ore sumpsi­
mus, Domine, pura mente capiamus, et de munere temporali fiat
nobis remedium sempiternum (“Grant, O Lord, that what
we have taken with our mouth we may receive with a
pure mind, that of a temporal gift it may become to us an
eternal remedy”). By this prayer the Church makes us
ask God that, as our mouth has received this divine
food and drink, our hearts may also receive them, so that
they may be for us an eternal remedy that may forever
heal us of all our infirmities.
Finally the priest says, Corpus tuum, Domine, quod
sumpsi, et Sanguis quem potavi, adhœreat visceribus meis
(“ May Thy body, O Lord, which I have received, and
the blood which I have drunk, cleave to my bowels”). In
this prayer, and in the last prayer called Post-commun­
ion, he asks, through the merits of Jesus Christ in this
mystery, and through the intercession of the saint whose
memory is celebrated, that this divine Saviour may al­
ways preserve him in this intimate union with him, and
that no stain may rest on his soul, which has been
nourished by a sacrament so holy and so pure.
Ite, Missa est (“ Go, the Mass is ended”); or, Benedica­
mus Domino (“Let us bless the Lord”). It is with these
words that the priest dismisses the people, just as if he
said, The Sacrifice is accomplished; and those who are
present while thanking God by the mouth of the ser­
ver, say, Deo Gratias (“Thanks be to God”). “To give
thanks to God,” says St. Augustine, “ is to acknowledge
that all good things come from God, and to thank him
for them.” 1
The priest afterwards passes to the right side of the
1 “ Deo gratias agere, est sentire omnia bona a Deo data esse, et
pro ipsis Deum laudare.”

Short Explanation of the Prayers of Mass.
altar, and recites the Gospel of St. John: In principio erat
Verbum (“ In the beginning was the Word”). William de
Bury says that it was St. Pius V. who ordained that this
Gospel should always be recited at the end of Mass; as
formerly some said it, and others omitted it.

This explanation of the prayers of Mass may be ser­
viceable to all—to the faithful as well as to priests.

HEARING MASS.
*
In order to hear Mass with devotion, it is necessary to
know that the sacrifice of the altar is the same as that
which was once offered on Calvary, with this difference,
that on Calvary the blood of Jesus Christ was really
shed, but on the altar it is shed only in a mystical man­
ner. Had you been present on Calvary, with what
devotion and tenderness would you have attended that
great sacrifice! Enliven your faith, then, and consider
that the same action is performed on the altar, and that
the same sacrifice is offered not only by the priest, but
also by all who attend Mass. Thus, all perform, in a
certain manner, the office of priests during the celebra­
tion of the Mass, in which the merits of the Passion of
our Saviour are applied to us in a particular manner.
It is, moreover, necessary to know that the sacrifice of
the Mass has been instituted for four ends.
t. To
honor God. 2. To satisfy for our sins. 3. To thank
God for his benefits. 4. To obtain the divine graces.
Thence arise the following considerations which may aid
us to hear Mass with great fruit :
1. By the oblation of the person of Jesus Christ, God
and man, to the Eternal Father, we give to God infinite
honor ; we give him greater honor than he would receive
from the oblation of the lives of all men and all angels.
2. By the oblation of Jesus Christ in the Mass, we
offer to God a complete satisfaction for all the sins of
men, and especially for the sins of those who are present
at Mass ; to whom is applied the same divine blood, by
* \\ e add this paragraph that it may serve as a practical conclusion.
It is taken from the “ True Spouse of Christ,” chap. 24, §4.

Hearing Mass.

59

which the human race was redeemed on Calvary. Thus,
by each Mass more satisfaction is made to God than by
any other expiatory work. But although the Mass is of
infinite value, God accepts it only in a finite manner,
according to the dispositions of those who attend the
holy sacrifice, and, therefore, it is useful to hear several
Masses.
3. In the Mass we render to God an adequate thanks­
giving for all the benefits that he has bestowed upon us.
4. During the Mass we can obtain all the graces that
we desire for ourselves and for others. We are un­
worthy of receiving any grace from God, but Jesus
Christ has given us the means of obtaining all graces,
if, while we offer him to God in the Mass, we ask them
of the Eternal Father in his name, for then Jesus him­
self unites with us in prayer. If you knew that while
you pray to the Lord, the divine Mother, along with the
whole of paradise, united with you, with what confidence
would you pray? Now when you ask of God any grace
during the Mass, Jesus (whose prayers are more effica­
cious than the prayers of all who are in heaven) prays
for you, and offers in your behalf the merits of his
Passion.
You will do well, then, to divide the Mass into four
parts, as follows :
1.

From the Beginning to the Gospel.

Offer the sacrifice of the Mass to honor God, saying :
My God, I adore Thy majesty. I would wish to honor
Thee as much as Thou deservest ; but what honor can
I, a miserable sinner, give Thee? I offer Thee the honor
which Jesus renders to Thee on this altar.

2. From the Gospel to the Elevation.

Offer the sacrifice in satisfaction for your sins, saying:
Lord, I detest above every evil all the offences that I

6o

Hearing Mass.

have given Thee : I am sorry for them above all things,
and in satisfaction for them I offer Thy Son, who sacri­
fices himself again for us on this altar, and through his
merits I prajF Thee to pardon me, and to give me holy
perseverance.
3. From the Elevation to the Communion.

Offer Jesus to the Eternal Father in thanksgiving for
all the graces that he has bestowed upon you, saying :
Lord, I am unable to thank Thee ; I offer Thee the
blood of Jesus Christ in this Mass, and in all the Masses
that are at this moment celebrated throughout the
world.
4. From the Communion to the End.
You will ask with confidence the graces that you need,
and particularly sorrow for your sins, the gift of perse­
verance, and of the divine love ; and you will recom­
mend to God, in a special manner, the persons with
whom you live, your relatives, poor sinners, and the
souls in purgatory. I do not find it amiss if you
recite vocal prayers during Mass,
*
but I desire that you
should not fail at the same time to fulfil the four duties
to God that I have pointed out to you ; namely, honor,
expiation, thanksgiving, and prayer. I desire you to
hear as many Masses as possible. Every Mass heard in
this manner will obtain for you a treasure of merits.
* Sec Vol. I., A Christian’s Rule of Life, chap. 2, § 4.

pians

er rise tn acquire tl)c Proper disposition for
making a goob (ionfcssion.
*
Preparation.

To prepare ourselves well for confession, we should retire
from every external source of distraction, go either to a church
or an oratory, place ourselves in the presence of God, and make
the following act:
Act of Adoration.
Supreme and adorable Majesty, God of heaven and
earth, I firmly believe that Thou art present, and that
Thou seest me and knowest the dispositions of my
heart. I adore Thee and render Thee my humble hom­
age, acknowledging Thee for my God, my Creator, and
my Sovereign Redeemer. In testimony of this my faith,
I prostrate my soul and body before the throne of Thy
Infinite Majesty, and offer Thee the adoration which
is due to Thee alone.
* We find this exercise, with that which is mentioned at the end of
the Novena to the Holy Ghost, in an old edition of the Reflections
and Affections on the Passion (Operctte spir., p. 2. Napoli, 1769).
The act which concludes it—the Offering of the Mass—shows that it
here finds a suitable place in connection with the Holy Sacrifice, as it
does elsewhere in connection with Holy Communion.—There are
other shorter Acts for Confession in the Christian’s Rule of Life, chap,
ii. § 3. On the advantages of frequent confession, and the manner
how to approach worthily this sacrament, see True Spouse of Christ,
chap, xviii. § 1, and Instructions on the Commandments and the
Sacraments, part ii. chap. 5.—Ed.

62

Pious Exercise for Confession.
Examination of Conscience.

We ought to represent confession to ourselves as the last one
of our life, and dispose ourselves to make it as one would do
who is at the point of death. We should ask God for the grace
to make well the examination of conscience, and for the neces­
sary light to know well our sins. Hence let us recite the Veni
Creator Spiritus.
O Father of lights! who enlightenest every man that
comes into the world, send into my heart a ray of light,
of love, and of sorrow, that I may know, detest, and
confess the sins which I have committed against Thee.
Prayer before (he Examination of Conscience.

Mother of my God, who art so charitable to sinners
that desire to repent, assist me by thy intercession.—My
guardian angel, who hast been a spectator of all my
crimes, help me to discover the sins which I have com­
mitted against my God.—All ye saints of heaven, pray
for me, that I may bring forth fruits of penance. Amen.

Offering of the Examination.

Jesus, my God and Saviour, I offer Thee the examina­
tion which I am going to make, that Thy divine justice
may be glorified in it. I look to Thee with confidence
for the grace to do it well. Thus, therefore, in the
spirit of charity, in order to please Thee, and to accom­
plish Thy holy will, together with every intention that
can procure Thee the greatest honor and glory, I under­
take it.

Here the penitent must begin the examination of his con­
science. But it must be observed by persons of a timorous dis­
position, who often approach the sacraments, that their exami­
nation ought to be short and unaccompanied with disquietude
and scrupulosity. It is sufficient for persons of this description
to take a momentary view of the faults into which they are ac­

Pious Exercise for Confession,

63

customed to fall, and then principally to apply themselves to
acts of devotion and contrition, which are always the most es­
sential dispositions for this sacrament, and from whicn they
may easily suffer their minds to be diverted by yielding to
fears and anxiety. As for those who seldom approach the
sacrament, it is their duty to employ sufficient time to make a
diligent examination of their consciences, and to call to mind
as nearly as possible, by reading over leisurely and attentively
the commandments of God and of the Church, together
with the seven capital sins, the duties of their state of life,
and see in what they have failed in thought, word, or deed. If
they cannot call to mind the precise number of their sins, they
must consider how often in the day or week they have sinned in
each particular kind, and their confession of them in this man­
ner will satisfy the divine justice, which never obliges us to do
what is morally impossible.
We should take care to examine ourselves especially about
the fault to which we are inclined, and about the means that we
should adopt to amend ourselves.

Motives of Contrition.
I.
The Greatness and Sanctity of God.

Reflect, that sin, however trifling it may be, greatly offends
Almighty God, and is an insult to the infinite perfections 01
him whose greatness knows no limits, and who is consequently
dcserving of infinite love. By sin you displease one who loves
you most tenderly. Oh ! reflect well on this, and you will dis­
cover how base, how cruel, how unreasonable it is to offend
him. But, alas! we shall never, during this life, be able fully
to comprehend the entire malice even of a venial sin, or know
what punishment he deserves who commits it.
An Act of Contrition.

O my infinitely amiable God ! I acknowledge that my
sins are multiplied beyond the number of the hairs of
my head, or the grains of sand on the sea-shore. But, if

64

Pious Exercise for Confession.

I had committed only one, in committing it I have of­
fended Thy infinite perfections. Oh ! why then is not
my heart penetrated with infinite grief and regret ? I
have sinned against Thy goodness, which I ought ever
to have loved. I have preferred a vile creature, a petty
honor, a miserable pleasure, some vain interest, to Thy
sovereign majesty, which I ought to have adored, served,
and honored. Ah ! my God, pardon my sins. O infi­
nite beauty, infinite goodness ! how could I have the au­
dacity to insult and despise Thee ? But I now heartily
repent of my ingratitude and disloyalty ; I wish sincere­
ly that I had never offended Thee, and resolve never to
offend Thee again. Yes, I had rather sacrifice all that
I possess, and forfeit my honor and my life, than ever
more offend so good a God.

II.
The Benefits of God.

Reflect that God is our sovereign benefactor, who has be­
stowed upon us innumerable benefits, both general and particu­
lar. He has drawn us out of nothing, and formed us to his
own image and likeness, without having any need at all of us:
we are continually dependent upon him for our preservation.
He has redeemed us with the price of the blood of his Son ; he
has made us Christians in preference to thousands of others
whom he has left in the darkness of infidelity; he has borne with
us in our sins until the present time; he has given us many and
easy means of saving our souls; and still we repay all his mer­
cies with ingratitude. He has created all creatures for our
benefit, and the only use which we make of them is to offend
him.
An Act of Contrition.

Oh ! how great has been my ingratitude ! there is,
there can be, none equal to it. O my amiable Saviour!
H this the recompense that I have made Thee, for hav-

Pious Exercise for Confession.
ing drawn me out of the abyss of nothing, in which I
should still be, were it not for Thee ? is this the value
that I set upon the precious blood of Thy veins spilt
with so much pain and so much love for me? Ungrate­
ful creature that I am ! who will give sighs to my heart
and tears to my eyes, that I may bewail, as I ought, the
insults which I have offered to my God, my sovereign
benefactor? O God of goodness ! have mercy on me. I
greatly desire, and firmly resolve, never to offend Thee
more. Ah ! why was I born to receive so many benefits
from my God, and still to offend him so often and so
grievously as I have done? How could I employ in of­
fending him the hands, the feet, the tongue, the ears, the
heart which he gave me to use in his service ? O un­
happy eyes! O criminal hands! O unfaithful heart!
you, by your sins, have been the cause of the pains, the
torments, and the cruel death which the Son of God
suffered upon the cross.

III.
The Presence of God.
Reflect that the Most Blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, the only and almighty God, is everywhere present, that
he sees all things, knows all things, and penetrates the inmost
and most secret thoughts of our heart. He is that divine and
infinite Majesty before whom the highest seraphim tremble with
a holy fear, and veil their faces through respect; and we have
the audacity to sin in his presence; to say, to do, and to think
what, if known, would cover us with confusion before the mean­
est of men. Reflect, moreover, that this God, before whom we
sin, is our sovereign Judge, who at the moment of our death .
will inevitably pass sentence upon the thoughts, the words,
the actions, of which we may be found guilty.
An Act of Contrition.
Supreme and just Judge of the living and the dead,
Thou who seest and k no west all things, even those very

66

Pious Exercise for Confession.

secrets that pass in the interior of my heart, and which
] would not have known to any creature upon earth, is
it possible that I should dare to appear in Thy presence,
after having been so unfaithful to Thee ? Alas! I can­
not fly from Thee, because Thou art present everywhere:
I cannot hide myself from Thy view, because Thou seest
alt things. Ah ! has not my insolence been insupport­
able in having dared, in the presence of Thy exalted
majesty, before whom the purest angels cover their
faces, to do what I would not have done before the
meanest and the last of men ? O my God ! have mercy
on me: I detest, with my whole heart, all my sins for the
love of Thee.
Another Act of Contrition.
O my God ! I am covered with shame and confusion,
when I reflect that I have lived in Thy presence with so
little regard and respect, and that I have so often broken
the protestations that I have made never to offend Thee
more. O God ! if I had made so many promises to any
creature upon earth, how much should I feel ashamed at
having broken my word ! But, where Thou art con­
cerned, I pay little regard to my resolutions, since I
daily insult Thee before Thy eyes. Oh ! how great is
Thy goodness in having borne with me so long! O
God of my heart ! since Thou hast dealt mercifully with
me in the course of my most heinous crimes, do not
withdraw Thy mercy, now that I repent of all my dis­
loyalties.
Offering of the Holy Mass to obtain Remission of Sins.

Heavenly Father, Father of mercy and God of con­
solation, who does comfort us in all our pains, accept,
I beseech Thee, this sacrifice of the body and blood of
Thy only Son, which I offer Thee to-day in union with the
Church militant and the Church triumphant, in memory

Pious Exercise for Confession.

67

of the Passion, the resurrection, and the ascension of my
Saviour, and in honor of the Blessed Virgin and of ail
the heavenly court, in order to satisfy for my sins and
those of all men. Behold, O my God, on this altar Thy
well-beloved Son, the one object of Thy complacency;
listen to the voice of his wounds; consider the precious
tears which from his cross he shed, whilst he prayed so
humbly for me, his faithless murderer, but now a peni­
tent sinner. Behold his heart burning with so pure, so
ardent a love; and in consideration of his merits, deliver
us from all the evils that we have deserved on account
of our sins. Yes, O merciful Father ! pardon us for the
love of Jesus Christ who is our advocate and mediator,
and who makes satisfaction for us, whilst together with
the Holy Ghost he renders Thee all glory and all honoi
forever and ever. Amen.

QUts for fjoln QTommunion.
*
I.

Preparation for Communion.
St. Francis de Sales says,1 that our Saviour can never
be seen more amiable and more tender, in all that he
has done for us, than in the Holy Communion, in which
he, so to say, annihilates himself and becomes food, that
he may unite himself to the hearts and bodies of his
faithful. Therefore the learned Gerson used also to say,
that there was no means more efficacious than the Holy
Communion whereby to enkindle devotion and the holy
love of God in our souls.
And, indeed, if we speak of doing something agree­
able to God, what can a soul do more agreeable to him
than to receive Communion? St. Denis teaches us that
love always tends towards perfect union; but how can a
soul be more perfectly united with Jesus than in the
manner of which he speaks himself, saying : He that
eateth My flesh and drinkcth My blood abide th in Me and I in
him? St. Augustine says, that if every day you receive
this sacrament, Jesus will be always with you, and you
will alwavs advance in divine love.
Again, if there is question of healing our spiritual in­
firmities, what more certain remedy can we have than
1 Introd., ch. 21.
8 “ Qui manducat meam carnem et bibit meum sanguinem, in me
manet, et ego in illo.”—John, vi. 57.
* These Acts and the Aspirations that follow them were published
by the Saint, with the Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, about the year
1745.—Ed.

Acts for Holy Communion,

69

the Holy Communion, which is called by the sacred
Council of Trent “a remedy whereby we may be freed
from daily faults, and be preserved from mortal sins.”1
Whence does it come, asks Cardinal Bona, that in so
many souls we see so little fruit with so frequent Com­
munions, and that they constantly relapse into the same
faults? He replies: “The fault is not in the food, but
in the disposition of him who receives.”2 Can a man,
says Solomon, hide fire in his bosom, and his garments
not burn?3 God is a consuming fire:1 *
He comes himself
in the Holy Communion to enkindle this divine fire;
how is it then, says William of Paris, that we see so
strange a phenomenon—souls remaining cold in divine
love in the midst of such flames? This failure to reap
more abundant fruit comes from the want of perfect dis­
positions, and especially from want of fervent prepa­
ration. Fire immediately inflames dry but not green
wood ; for this latter is not disposed to burn. The saints
derived great benefit from their Communions, because
they prepared themselves with very great care. St.
Aloysius Gonzaga devoted three days to his prepara­
tion for Ploly Communion, and three days he spent in
thanksgiving to his Lord.
To prepare better for Holy Communion, a soul should
be disposed on two main points : it should be detached
from creatures, and have a great desire to advance in
divine love.
1. In the first place, then, a soul should detach itself
from all things, and drive everything from its heart
which is not God. He that is washed. saith Jesus, needeth
1 “Antidotum quo liberemur a culpis quotidianis, et a peccatis
mortalibus praeservemur.”—ÔFjj. xiii, c. 2.
2 “Defectus non in cibo est, sed in edentis dispositione.”—De
Sacr. M. c 6, § 6.
3 “Numquid potest homo abscondere ignem in sinu suo, ut
vestimenta illius non ardeant?”—Prov. vi. 27.
< “Ignis consumens est.”—Dcut. iv. 24.

Acts for Holy Communion
not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly ;x which sig­
nifies, as St. Bernard explains it, that in order to receive
this sacrament with great fruit, we should not only be
cleansed from mortal sins, but our feet also should be
washed, that is, free from earthly affections; for being
in contact with the earth, they excite a sort of repug­
nance in God, and soiling the soul, prevent the full effects
of the Holy Communion.
St. Gertrude asked our Lord what preparation he re­
quired of her for the Holy Communion; and he replied:
“I only ask that thou shouldst come empty of thyself, to
•
MO
receive me.
2. In the second place, it is most meritorious, in the
Holy Communion, to have a great desire to receive Jesus
Christ and his holy love. In this sacred banquet, says
Gerson,3 only those who are famishing receive their fill ;
and the most blessed A^irgin Mary had already said the
same thing: lie hath filled the hungry with good *
things
As Jesus, writes the \renerable Father Avila,5 only came
into this world after he had been much and long desired,
so does he only enter a soul that desires him ; for it is
not becoming that such food should be given to him
who has a loathing for it. Our Lord one day said to
St. Matilda: “No bee flies with such impetuosity to
flowers, to suck their honey, as I fly to souls in the Holy
Communion, driven by the violence of my love.” G Since,
then, Jesus Christ has so great a desire to come into our
souls, it is right that we also should have a great desire
to receive him and his divine love by the Floly Commu­
nion. St. Francis de Sales teaches us that the principal
1 “Qui lotus est, non indiget nisi ut pedes lavet.”—/ü/ih, xiii, 10.
2 Insin. 1. 4, c. 26.
3 Sup. Magn. tr. 9, p. 1.
* “Esurientes implevit bonis.”—Luke, i. 53.
5 Part I. Ep. 50.
6Spir. Grat. 1. 2, c. 3.

Acts before Holy Communion.

71

object which a soul should have in view in communicat­
ing should be, to advance in the love of God. How­
ever, this is not essential since even for daily Commun­
ion, it is sufficient to be in the state of grace and to have
a right and devout intention.
*

Acts before Communion.
i. An Act of Faith.
Behold, He corncth leaping upon the mountains, skipping over
the hills.' Ah, my most amiable Saviour, over how many,
what rough and craggy mountains, hast Thou had to
pass in order to come and unite Thyself to me by means
of this most holy sacrament ! Thou, from being God,
hadst to become man ; from being immense, to become
a babe ; from* being Lord, to become
a_ servant. Thou
_
hadst to pass from the bosom of Thy Eternal Father to
the womb of a Virgin ; from heaven into a stable ; from
a throne of glory to the gibbet of a criminal. And on
this very morning Thou wilt come from Thy seat in
heaven to dwell in my
* bosom.
Behold He standeth behind our wall, looking through the
windows, looking through the lattices? Behold, O my soul,
thy loving Jesus, burning with the same love with which
he loved thee when dying for thee on the Cross, is now
concealed in the Most Blessed Sacrament under the
sacred species; and what is he doing? Looking through
the lattices. As an ardent lover, desirous to see you corre­
spond to his love, from the Host, as from within closed
lattices, whence he sees without being seen, he is looking
at you, who are this morning about to feed upon his
divine flesh ; he observes your thoughts, what it is that
you love, what you desire, what you seek for, and what
offerings you are about to make him.
1 “ Ecce iste venit saliens in montibus, transiliens colles.”—Cant.
ii. 8.
2 “ En ipse stat post parietem nostrum, respiciens per fenestras,
prospiciens per cancellos.”—Cant. ii. 9.

72

A As before Holy Communion.

Awake, then, my soul, and prepare to receive thy
Jesus; and, in the first place, by faith, say to him : So,
then, my beloved Redeemer, in a few moments Thou art
coming to me? O hidden God, unknown to the greater
part of men, I believe, I confess, I adore Thee in the
Most Holy Sacrament as my Lord and Saviour! And
in acknowledgment of this truth I would willingly lay
down my life. Thou comest to enrich me with Thy
graces and to unite Thyself entirely to me : how great,
then, should be my confidence in this Thy so loving
visit !

2. An Act of Confidence.
My soul, expand thy heart. Thy Jesus can do Thee
every good, and, indeed, loves thee. Hope thou for great
things from this thy Lord, who, urged by love, comes
all love to thee.
Yes, my dear Jesus, my hope, I trust in Thy goodness,
that, in giving Thyself to me this morning, Thou wilt
enkindle in my poor heart the beautiful flame of Thy
pure love, and a real desire to please Thee ; so that,
from this day forward, I may never will anything but
what Thou wiliest.

3. An Act of Love.

Ah, my God, my God, true and only love of my soul,
and what more couldst Thou have done to be loved by
me ? To die for me was not enough for Thee, my Lord;
Thou wast pleased to institute this great sacrament in
order to give Thyself all to me, and thus bind and unite
Thyself heart to heart with so loathsome and ungrateful
a creature as I am. And what is more, Thou Thyself
invitest me to receive Thee, and desirest so much that I
should do so ! O boundless love ! incomprehensible
love ! infinite love ! a God would give himself all to
me !—My soul, believest thou this ? And what doest

A cfs before Holy Communion.

73

thou? what sayest thou? O God, O God, O infinite
amiability, only worthy object of all love, I love Thee
with my whole heart, I love Thee above all things, I
love Thee more than myself, more than my life ! Oh,
could I but see Thee loved by all ! Oh, could I but
cause Thee to be loved bv all hearts as much as Thou
deservest ! I love Thee, O most amiable God, and I
unite my miserable heart in loving Thee to the hearts
of the Seraphim, to the heart of the most blessed Virgin
Mary, to the Heart of Jesus, thy most loving and beloved
Son. So that, O Infinite Good, I love Thee with the
love with which the saints, with which Mary, with which
Jesus love Thee. And I love Thee only because Thou
art worthy of it, and to give Thee pleasure. Depart, all
earthly affections, that are not for God, depart from my
heart. Mother of fair love, most holy Virgin Mary, help
me to love that God whom Thou dost so ardently desire
to see loved !
*

4. An Act of Humility.
Then, my soul, thou art even now about to feed on
the most sacred flesh of Jesus ! And art thou worthy ?
My God, and who am I, and who art Thou ? I indeed
know and confess who Thou art that givest Thyself to
me ; but dost Thou know what I am who am about to
receive Thee? And is it possible, O my Jesus, that Thou
who art infinite purity desirest to come and reside in.
this soul of mine, which has been so many times the
dwelling of Thy enemy, and soiled with so many sins ?
I know, O my Lord, Thy great Majesty and my misery ;
I am ashamed to appear before Thee. Reverence would
induce me to keep at a distance from Thee ; but if I
depart from Thee, O my life, whither shall I go? to
whom shall I have recourse ? and what will become of
me ? No, never will I depart from Thee ; nay, even I
will ever draw nearer and nearer to Thee. Thou art

74

Acls before Holy Communion.

satisfied that I should receive Thee as food, Thou even
invitest me to this. I come then, O mv amiable Saviour,
I come to receive Thee this morning, all humbled and
confused at the sight of my defects ; but full of confi­
dence in Thy tender mercy, and in the love which Thou
bearest me.
<

9

5. An Act of Contrition.

I am indeed grieved, O God of my soul, for not hav­
ing loved Thee during the time past; what is still worse,
so far from loving Thee, and to gratify my own inclina­
tions, I have greatly offended and outraged Thy infinite
goodness: I have turned my back upon Thee, I have
despised Thy grace and friendship ; in a word, O
my God, I was deliberate in my will to lose Thee.
Lord, I am sorry, and grieve for it with my whole heart.
1 detest the sins which I have committed, be they great
or small, as the greatest of all my misfortunes, because
I have thereby offended Thee, O Infinite Goodness. I
trust that Thou hast already forgiven me ; but if Thou
hast not yet pardoned me, oh, do so before I receive
Thee : wash with Thy blood this soul of mine, in which
Thou art so soon about to dwell.
6. An Act of Desire.

And now, mv soul, the blessed hour has arrived in
which Jesus will come and take up his dwelling in thy
poor heart. Behold the King of Heaven, behold thy
Redeemer and God, who is even now coming; prepare
thyself to receive him with love, invite him with the
ardor of thv desire.
Come, O my Jesus, come to my soul, which desires
Thee. Before Thou givest Thyself to me, I desire to
give Thee, and I now give Thee, my miserable heart ;
do Thou accept it, and come quickly to take possession
of it. Come, my God ! hasten ; delay no longer. My
9

J

Acis after Holy Communion,

75

only and Infinite Good, my treasure, my life, my Para­
dise, my love, my all, my wish is to receive Thee with
the love with which the most holy and loving souls have
received Thee ; with that with which the most blessed
Virgin Mary received Thee ; to their Communions I
unite this Communion of mine.
Most holy Virgin and my Mother Mary, behold, I
already approach to receive thy Son. Would that I had
the heart and love with which thou didst communicate!
Give me this morning thy Jesus, as thou didst give him
to the shepherds and to the kings. I intend to receive
him from thy most pure hands. Tell him that I am thy
servant and thy client; for he will thus look upon me
with a more loving eye, and now that he is coming, will
press me more closely to himself.

II.

Thanksgiving After Communion.
There is no prayer more agreeable to God, or more
profitable to the soul, than that which is made during
the thanksgiving after Communion. It is the opinion
of many grave writers (Suarez, Cajetan, Valentia, De
Lugo, and others), that the Holy Communion, so long
as the sacramental species lasts, constantly produces
greater and greater graces in the soul, provided the soul
is then constant in disposing itself by new acts of virtue.
The Council of Florence,1 in the decree of Eugenius IV.
to the Armenians, teaches that the Blessed Sacrament
produces the same effect in the soul as material food,
which, when it enters the body, takes effect according to
the state in which it finds it.
For this reason, holy souls endeavor to remain as long
as possible in prayer after Communion. The Venerable
Father Avila, even when he was given his missions, used
1 Deer, ad Arm.

76

A els after Holy Communion.

to remain forat least two hours in prayer. Father Bah
thasar Alvarez used to say, that we should set great
value on the time after Communion, imagining that we
hearfrom the lips of Jesus Christ himself the words that
he addressed to his disciples: But Me you have not always
with you.1
It is not advisable, as many do, to begin to read im­
mediately after Communion: it is then better to spend
at least a short time in producing holy affections, and in
conversing with Jesus, who is then within us, and in
repeating many times words of tenderness, or some feel­
ing prayer. Jesus Christ repeated the same prayer in
the garden three times: And He prayed the third time, say­
ing the self-same word? In affections and prayers it is,
then, that the soul should entertain itself with Jesus
after Communion; for we must know, that the acts
formed in prayer after Communion are far more precious
and meritorious in the sight of God than when made at
another time; for the soul being then united with Jesus,
the value of the acts is increased by the presence of
Jesus. We should, moreover, know, that after Commun­
ion Jesus Christ is more disposed to grant graces. St.
Teresa says, that after Communion Jesus places himself
in the soul as on a throne of grace, and then says:
What wiliest thou that J should do for thee A meaning,
O soul, I am come for the express purpose of granting
thee graces: ask me what thou wilt, and as much as
thou wiliest, thou shalt receive all.
Oh, what treasures of grace would you receive, devout
soul, if you only entertained yourself with Jesus for an
hour, or at least half an hour, after Communion ! For
this purpose you can read the following acts. After
your prayer is ended be also careful during the whole
’ “ Me autem non semper habetis."—Matt. xxvi. n.
♦ *'
* “Et oravit tertio, eumdem sermonem dicens.”—Matt. xxvi. 44.
8 “Quid tibi vis faciam?”—Mark, x. 51.

Acis after Holy Communion.

77

day on which you have communicated to keep yourself
united by affections and prayers with Jesus, whom you
have received.

Acts after Communion.
i.

An Act of Faith.

Behold, my God is even now come to visit me ; my
Saviour to dwell in my soul. My Jesus is even now
within me. He is come to make himself mine, and at
the same time to make me his. So that Jesus is mine,
and I belong to Jesus: Jesus is all mine, and I am all
his.
O Infinite Goodness ! O Infinite Mercy ! O Infinite
Love ! that a God should come to unite himself to me,
and to make himself all mine ! My soul, now that thou
art thus closely bound to Jesus, that thou art thus one
with him, what doest thou ? Hast thou nothing to say to
him; dost thou not converse with thy God, who is with
thee? Ah, yes, renew thy faith; remember that the
angels now surround thee adoring their God, who is
within thy breast; do thou also adore thy Lord within
thyself. Enter into thyself, and banish thence every
other thought. Unite all thy affections, and, clinging
closely to thy God, say:

2. An Act of Welcome.
Ah, my Jesus, my love, my infinite good, my all, be
ever welcome in the poor dwelling of my soul ! Ah, my
Lord, where art thou ! to what a place art Thou come !
Thou hast entered my heart, which is far worse than the
stable in which Thou wast born ;9 it is full of earthly*
affections, of self-love, and of inordinate desires. And
how couldst Thou come to dwell there? I would address
Thee with St. Peter: Depart from me, for I am a sinful
man? Yes, depart from me, O Lord, for I am indeed
1 “ Exi a me, quia homo peccator sum.”—Luke. v. 8.

78

Acis after Holy Communion.

unworthy to receive a God of infinite goodness ; go and
find repose in those pure souls who serve Thee with so
much love. But no, my Redeemer ; what do I say ?
Leave me not ; for if Thou departest, I am lost. I
embrace Thee, my life ; I cling to Thee. Mad indeed
have I been in having separated myself from Thee for
the love of creatures ; and in my ingratitude I drove
Thee from me. But now I will never more separate
myself from Thee, my treasure ; I desire to live and die
ever united to Thee. Most blessed Virgin Mary,
Seraphim, and all souls, do ye who love God with pure
love lend me your affections, that I may worthily attend
on my beloved Lord.
3. An Act of Thanksgiving.

My God and Lord, I thank Thee for the grace which
Thou hast this morning bestowed upon me, of coming
to dwell in my soul ; but I would wish to thank Thee
in a manner worthy of Thee and of the great favor which
Thou hast done me. But what do I say ? how can so
miserable a creature as I am ever worthily thank Thee ?
Father Segneri says, that the feeling most becoming a
soul that communicates is that of wondering astonish­
ment at the thought, and to repeat, “ A God is united to
me; a God is mine!” David said, What shall I render to
the Lord for all the things that He hath rendered to me ? 1
But I ! what return shall I make to Thee, my Jesus, who,
after having given me so many of Thy good things, hast
this morning, moreover, given me Thyself ? My soul,
bless, then, and thank thy God as best thou canst. And
thou, my Mother Mary, my holy advocates, my guardian
angel, and all ye souls who love God, Come and hear, all
ye that fear God, and I will tell you what great things He
’ “ Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi?”—Ps.
cxv. 12.

Aleis after Holy Communion.

79

hath done for my soul.1 Come and bless and thank my
God for me, admiring and praising the indeed great
graces which he has granted me.

4. An Act of Oblation.

My Beloved to me, and I to Him I Should a king go to
visit a poor shepherd in his hut, what can the shepherd
offer him other than his whole hut, such as it is? Since,
then, O Jesus, my divine king, Thou hast come to visit
the poor house of my soul, I offer and give Thee this
house and my entire self, together with my liberty and
will: My Beloved to me, and I to Him. Thou hast given
Thyself all to me ; I give myself all to Thee. My Jesus,
from this day forward I will be no longer mine; I will
be Thine, and all Thine. May my senses be Thine, that
they may only serve me to please Thee. And what
greater pleasure, says St. Peter of Alcantara, can be
found, than that of pleasing Thee, most amiable, most
loving, most gracious God? I at the same time give
Thee all the powers of my soul, and I will that they
shall be all Thine ; my memory I will only use to recall
to mind Thy benefits and Thy love ; my understanding
I will only use to think of Thee, who always thinkest
of my good ; my will I will only use to love Thee, my
God, my all, and to will only that which Thou wiliest.
My most sweet Lord, I offer, then, and consecrate to
Thee this morning all that I am and have—my senses,
my thoughts, my affections, my desires, my pleasures,
my inclinations, my liberty; in a word, I place my whole
body and soul in Thy hands.
Accept, O Infinite Majesty, the sacrificeof the hitherto
most ungrateful sinner Thou hast ever had on earth ;
1 ·' Venite, audite, . . . omnes qui timetis Deum, quanta fecit
animæ meæ.”—Ps. Ixv. 16.
5 “Dilectus meus mihi et ego illi.”—Cant. ii. 16.

So

Acts after Holy Communion,

but who now offers and gives himself all to Thee. Do
with me and dispose of me, O Lord, as Thou pleasest.
Come, O consuming fire, O divine love! and consume
in me all that is mine, and that is displeasing in Thy
most pure eyes, so that henceforward I may be all
Thine, and may live only to execute, not Thy commands
and counsels only, but also all Thy holy desires and Thy
good pleasure. Amen.
O most holy Mary, do thou present this offering of
mine to the Most Blessed Trinity with thine own
hands; and do thou obtain their acceptance of it, and
that they may grant me the grace to be faithful unto
death. Amen, amen, amen.
♦

5. An Act of Petition.
O my soul, what art thou doing? The present is no
time to be lost: it is a precious time, in which thou
canst receive all the graces that thou askest. Seest thou
not the Eternal Father, who is lovingly beholding thee?
for within thee he sees his beloved Son, the dearest
object of his love. Drive, then, far from thee all other
thoughts ; rekindle thy faith, enlarge thy heart, and ask
for whatever thou wiliest.
Hearest thou not Jesus himself who thus addresses
thee: What wilt thou that I should do to thee 7x O soul,
tell me, what dost thou desire of me? I am come for
the express purpose of enriching and gratifying thee;
ask with confidence, and thou wilt receive all.
Ah ! my most sweet Saviour, since Thou hast come
into my heart in order to grant me graces, and desirest
that I should ask Thee for them, I ask Thee not for the
goods of the earth—riches, honors, or pleasures; but
grant me, I beseech Thee, intense sorrow for the dis­
pleasure that I have caused Thee ; impart to me so clear

Acts after Holy Communion.

81

a light, that I may know the vanity of this world, and
how deserving Thou art of love. Change this heart of
mine, detach it from all earthly affections; give me a
heart conformable in all things to Thy holy will, that it
may seek only that which is more pleasing to Thee, and
have no other desire than Thy holy love: Create a clean
heart in me, O God.'
I deserve not this; but Thou, my Jesus, deservest it,
since Thou art come to dwell in my soul : I ask it of
Thee through Thy merits, and those of Thy most holy
Mother, and by the love which Thou bearest to Thy
Eternal Father.

Here pause, to ask Jesus for some other particular grace for
yourself and for your neighbors. Do not forget poor sin­
ners, or the souls in Purgatory; and pray also for me, who
composed this little book for your good.

Eternal Father, Jesus Christ himself, Thy Son, has
said, Amen, amen, 1 say to you, If you ask the Father any­
thing in My Name, He will give it you I For the love,
then, of this Son, whom I now hold within my breast, do
Thou graciously hear me and grant my petition.
Amores mei dulcissimi, Jesu et Maria! pro vobis patiar,
pro vobis moriar; sim totus vester, sim nihil meus?
My
most sweet Loves, Jesus and Mary, may I suffer for you,
may I die for you; may I be all yours, and in nothing my
own !’)
Prayers to which Indulgences are attached.

Mav
* the Most Blessed Sacrament be ever thanked and
praised !
Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.
1 “Cor mundum crea in me, Deus.”—Ps. 1. 12.
* “Amen, amen, dico vobis: si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine
meo, dabit vobis.”—John, xvi. 23.
3 Alph. Rodrig.
6

Acts after Holy Communion.
Anima Christi, sanctifica me;
Corpus Christi, salva me;
Sanguis Christi, inebria me;
Aqua lateris Christi, lava me;
Passio Christi, conforta me.

0 bone Jesu! exaudi me;
Intra tua vulnera, absconde me;
Ne permittas me separari a te ;
Ab hoste maligno defende me;
Jn hora mortis meae, voca me;
Et jube me venire ad te;
Ut cum Sanctis tuis laudem te,
In sœcula sœculorum. Amen.

Soul of Christ, be my sanctification.
Body of Christ, be my salvation.
Blood of Christ, fill all my veins.
W ater of Christ’s side, wash out my stains.
Passion of Christ, my comfort be.
0 good Jesu, listen to me.
In Thy wounds I fain would hide,
Ne’er to be parted from Thy side.
Guard me should the foe assail me.
Call me when my life shall fail me.
Bid me come to Thee above,
W ith Thy Saints to sing Thy love
World without end. Amen.

Zoning Aspirations to Jcsns in tlje Dlcsscb Sacrament
They can be used either before or after Communion, or in visiting
the Blessed Sacrament.

Before Communion.
I.

Egredimini et videte, filice Sion, regem Salomonem in dia­
demate, quo coronavit illum mater sua in die desponsationis
illius 1—“ Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see king
Solomon in the diadem wherewith his mother crowned
him in the day of his espousals.”
O daughters of grace, O ye souls who Tove God quit the
darkness of earth, and behold Jesus, your king, crowned
with a crown of thorns ; the crown of contempt and suf­
fering with which the impious synagogue, his mother
crowned him on the day of his espousals,—that is to say,
on the day of his death, by means of which he espoused
himself on the Cross to our souls. Go forth again, and
behold him all full of compassion and love, now that he
comes to unite himself to thee in this sacrament of love.
Has it indeed, then, cost Thee so much, my beloved
Jesus, before Thou couldst come and unite Thyself to
souls in this most sweet Sacrament? Wert Thou indeed
obliged to suffer so bitter and ignominious a death ?
Oh, come, then, without delay, and unite Thyself to my
soul also. It was at one time Thy enemy by sin ; but
now Thou desirest to espouse it by Thy grace. Come,
O Jesus, my spouse, for never more will I betray Thee ;
I am determined to be ever faithful to Thee. As a lov­
ing spouse, my whole thought shall be to find out Ί hy
1 Cant. iii. II.

84

Loving Aspirations before Communion.

pleasure. I am determined to love Thee without re­
serve ; I desire to be all Thine, my Jesus,—all, all, all.
II.

Fasciculus myrrhce Dilectus meus mihi, inter ubera mea
commorabitur—“ A bundle of myrrh is my Beloved to
me : he shall abide between my breasts.” 1
The myrrh plant, when pricked, sends forth tears, and
a healthful liquor from the wounds. Before his Passion,
our Jesus determined to pour forth his divine blood
from his wounds in so painful a way, to give it after­
wards all to us for our salvation in this bread of life.
Come, then, O my beloved bundle of myrrh, O my en­
amored Jesus ; Thou art indeed a subject of grief and
pity to me when I consider Thee all wounded for me on
the Cross : but then, when I receive Thee in this most
sweet Sacrament, Thou becomest indeed to me more
sweet and delicious than a bunch of the choicest grapes
can be to one who is parched with thirst : A cluster of
cypress my Love is to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi?
Come, then, to my soul, and revive and satiate me with
Thy holy love Ah, what sweetness do I feel in my soul
at the thought, that I have to rèceive within myself that
same Saviour of mine who for my salvation was pleased
to be drained of all his blood, and sacrificed on a cross !
He shall abide between my breasts. No, my Jesus, never
more will I drive Thee hence ; and Thou shalt never
more have to leave me. I am determined ever to love
Thee, and to be always united and closely bound up with
Thee. I will always belong to Jesus, and Jesus will be
always mine : forever, forever, forever He shall abide be­
tween my breasts.
1 Cant. i. 12.
’ · Botrus cypri Dilectus meus mihi in vineis Engaddi.”—Cant
L 13.

Loving Aspirations before Communion.

85

ni.

Dum essct Rex in accubitu suo, nardus mea dedit odorem
suuni—“While the King was at His repose my spike­
nard sent forth the odor thereof.”
When Jesus comes to dwell in a soul in the Holy
Communion, oh, how clearly docs she see and know her
own nothingness by the bright light which the king of
heaven brings with him ! As the spikenard is the most
lowly amongst plants, so does the soul confess itself the
most vile of all creatures ; and when thus humbled, oh,
how sweet is the odor which she breathes forth to her
beloved king ! and for this reason he invites her to
unite herself to him in closer and closer bonds.
If, then, my soul, thou desirest that thy Jesus should
repose in thee, consider thy own nothingness. Who art
thou? what dost thou deserve? Humble thyself as
thou shouldst do, by casting away from thyself all selfesteem which may keep Jesus at a distance from thee, or
prevent him from coming to repose in thee.
Come to me, my dear Redeemer, come ; and by thy
divine light make me to see my own lowliness, my mis­
ery, my nothingness, that Thou mayest be enabled to
repose in me with satisfaction to Thyself, to separate
Thyself no more from me.
IV.

Sentite de Domino in bonitate'—“Think of the Lord in
goodness.”
My soul, why art thou so timid and fearful at the sight
of the goodness and infinite love of thy Lord ? why such
distrust? Now that thou art made worthy to receive
within thee Jesus Christ, let thy sentiments correspond ω
this grace, by confiding in that goodness of God, who
gives thee all himself. Truly his judgments are terrible
1 Cant. i. ii.

9 IVisd. i. i.

86

Loving Aspirations before Communion.

but they are terrible only to the proud and to the obsti­
nate; but to the humble and penitent, who desire to love
and please him, his judgments are all mercy and love,
emanating from a heart full of compassion and kindness.
So that David, considering these judgments of God, su­
perabounds with hope: I have more than hoped in Thy judg­
ments. These judgments made him happy and consoled
him: Thy judgments are delightful; I remembered Thy judg­
ments, and was comforted.' Ah! our great God is only too
loving and generous to those who seek him with love:
The Lord is good to the soul that seeketh Him? How good
is God to those who seek to unite their will to the divine
will: How good is God to Israel, to those that are of a right
heart?
My God, my love, my hope, my all, I desire Thee, and
Thee alone,—to love Thee, to please Thee, and to do
Thy will in all things. Let me always find Thee; make
me agreeable to Thee; and never let me leave Thee
again. So be it. Amen, amen.

v.
Vox Dilecti mei pulsantis : Aperi mihi, soror mea, amica
mea, columba meay immaculata mea'—“The voice of my
Beloved knocking: Open to Me, My sister, My love, My
dove, My undefiled.”
Such are the words which Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament speaks to those who love and desire him.
Open to me, he says, O soul, thy heart, and there
I will come to unite myself to thee; so that, being one
with me, thou mayest become my sister by resem­
blance, my friend by participation in my riches, my
1 “ In judiciis tuis supersperavi.—Judicia tua jucunda.—Memor fui
judiciorum tuorum. . . . ei consolatus sum.”—Pr cxviii. 43, 39, 52.
1 “ Bonus est Dominus animæ quærcnti illum.’’—Lam. iii. 25.
• "Quam bonus Israel Deus his qui recto sunt corde!”—Ps. Ixxii. I.
4 Cant. v. 2

Loving Aspirations before Communion.

87

dove by the gift of simplicity, my undefiled by the
gift of purity, which I shall communicate to thee
And then he goes on to say, Open to me, for my head
ts full of dew and my locks of the drops of the night. As
if he said: Consider, my beloved, that I have waited for
thee all the night of the bad life thou hast led in the
midst of darkness and error. Behold, now, instead of
bringing scourges to chastise thee, I come in the Blessed
Sacrament, with my hair full of heavenly dew, to extin­
guish in thee all impure desires towards creatures, and
to kindle in Thee the happy fire of my love. Come,
then, O my beloved Jesus, and work in me what Thou
wilt. I renounce the love of all things, in order to be all
Thine, and that Thou mayest make me as Thou wouldst
have me, entirely united to Thy will.
VI.

Veniat Dilectus meus in hortum suum y et comedat fructum
pomorum suorum'—11 Let my beloved come into His gar­
den, and eat the fruit of His apple-trees.”
Cornelius à Lapide says that this is precisely the
invitation that a soul desirous of the Holy Communion
makes to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Come, my
beloved, she says, into my poor heart, which at one
unhappy time did not belong to Thee; but which
now, by the help of Thy grace, has returned to Thee:
Come and cat the fruit of Thy apple-trees. Come and
taste in me those virtues which Thou dost bring with
Thyself when Thou comest to me. O my Lord, at
least for the honor of Thy majesty, purify my heart,
adorn it, inflame it with Thy love, and make it beautiful
in Thy sight, that it may be a worthy dwelling-place for
Thee.
1 Cant. v. i.

88

Loving Aspirations before Communion,
vn.

Ad ubera portabimini1—“You shall be carried at the
breasts.”
It is thus that Jesus from the sacred altars invites our
souls. Come, he savs, and suck mv divine milk, which I
give you in this Sacrament, wherein I offer you my own
blood to drink. But what shepherd, says St. John Chry­
sostom,2 ever feeds his sheep with his own blood ? Even
mothers give their children to nurses to be fed. But
Thou, O divine Pastor, art so enamored of our souls as to
wish to nourish them with Thine own blood. St. Catha­
rine of Sienna, then, did well in approaching the Holy
Communion as if panting to suck the divine milk, in
the same way as an infant presses anxiously to suck the
milk from its mother’s breast. And well might the
Sacred Spouse say to her Beloved, Thy breasts are better
than wine
*
signifying that she esteemed the milk of this
sacrament, as the sacred interpreters explain it, above
all the pleasures of the world, which are transitory and
vain, as are transitory and vain also the joys and plea­
sures of wine.
O my beloved Jesus, since Thou wilt feed me this morn­
ing with Thine own blood in the Holy Communion, it is
but reasonable that I should willingly renounce all the
delights and pleasures which the world might give me.
Yes, I give them all up; I protest that I choose rather to
suffer all evils united to Thee, than to enjoy all the goods
of the world away from Thee. It is sufficient happiness
for me to please Thee, who art worthy of all that we can
do to please Thee. I will say, then, with St. Ignatius of
Loyola, give me, I pray Thee, but Thy love and Thy
grace; that is sufficient for me, and I am contented.
/

J

1

1 Isa. Ixvi. 12.
2 Ad pop. A nt. hom. 6o.
3 “ Meliora sunt ubera tua vino.”—Cant. i. χ.

f

Loving Aspirations before Communion.
VIII.

Comedite, amici, et bibite, et inebriamini, charissimi1—
“ Eat, O friends, and drink, and be inebriated, my dearly
beloved.”
The “ friends,” that is beginners, who scarcely enjoy
the divine friendship, when they receive the Holy Com­
munion, feed indeed on the flesh of Jesus Christ, but
they eat with labor; while those who are on the way
to perfection eat with less difficulty.
But by the
“dearly beloved” are meant the perfect, who, inebri­
ated with holy love, live almost out of the world, forget­
ting all things, even themselves, and think only how they
may love and please their God.
My beloved Jesus, I am not yet perfect; but Thou
canst make me perfect. I am not dear to Thee, and it
is my own fault, because I have been ungrateful and
unfaithful; but Thou canst make me become so, by in­
ebriating me this morning with Thy love. Thy kingdom
come? Come, my beloved Lord, and take possession of
my whole soul. Establish Thy kingdom in me; so that
Thou alone mayest reign in me, that Thy love alone
may command me, and that Thy love only may I obey.
Inebriate me, inebriate me entirely; make me forget all
creatures, myself, my interests, and all, that I may love
nothing but Thee, my God, my treasure, all my good,
my all; may I sigh for Thee alone, seek I hee alone,
think of Thee alone, and please I hee alone. Do this
by the merits of Thy Passion. This only do I ask of
Thee; this I hope.
IX.

Fulcite me floribus, stipate me malis; quia amore langueo'
1 Cant. V. i.
’ “ Adveniat regnum tuum.”—Matt. vi. ία
3 Cant. ii. 5.

90

Loving Aspirations before Communion,

—“Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with
apples : because I languish with love.”
The languor of the soul is when, forgetful of herself
and her affairs, she thinks only of seeking refreshment
for her languishing love by holy desires, which are the
flowers, and by good works, which are the fruits of
divine love.
0 my God, O Blessed Sacrament, since Thou wilt have
me to be all Thine, make me what Thou wouldst have
me. Make me forget everything that does not belong to
Thy love. Increase in me always more and more the de­
sire of pleasing Thee. Grant that these flowers may not
always remain flo\vers; make them also become fruits, by
my doing and suffering something for Thee, who hast
done and suffered only too much for me. O God, O
God of my soul, make Thyself loved, but really loved,
by me,—not only in word, but in deed,—before death
comes upon me.

x.
Dilectus viens candidus et rubicundus, electus et millibus 1
—“ My Beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of
thousands.”
Our beloved Jesus is all white by his purity, and
all red by the flames of his divine love.
My spotless Lamb, all burning with love for me, when
shall I make myself like to Thee, pure as Thou art, O
lily, burning with love of Thee as Thou dost burn with
love of me? Yes, I do renounce all other love, and"
choose for myself Thy sweet love, my God, my all.
Begone, ye creatures ! what do you want with me? Go
and enjoy the love of those who seek you. I wish only
for my God; for God alone will I keep all my heart and
all my affections.
1 Cant. v. io.

Loving Aspirations before Communion.

91

XI.

Benignitas et humanitas apparuit Salvatoris noAm Dei1
—“The goodness and kindness of God our Saviour ap­
peared.”
St. Paul says that God, by making himself man,
showed the world how far his goodness towards us
went. But by giving himself in this sacrament, he
makes us know the depth of the tenderness of his love
towards our souls. “ Does it not seem madness to say,
Eat my flesh, and drink my blood ?” St. /Xugustine
says, does it not seem a madness, Jesus Christ saying to
us, as he said in that blessed night,2 Take and eat, this is
My body ?3 O men, he says, to make you understand
how much I love you, I will that you should come and
feed on my very flesh. O holy faith ! And who among
us would have been able to demand so much ? Who
could have even thought of it, if Jesus had not thought
it and done it? Some of the followers of Jesus Christ,
when they heard that from his mouth, that is, that he
wished to give them his body to eat, said that this was
too hard a thing, and that they could neither believe nor
hear it : This saying is hard, and who can hear it? 4 And
they went so far as to leave him, because they would
not believe it : but yet it is of faith that so it is. But
what else does Jesus Christ ask of us, by all this he has
done for us, but that we should love him ? as the Lord
had once before instructed his people : And now, Israel,
what does the Lord thy God require of thee, but that thou
. . . love Him and serve Him with all thy heart ? 5
J Tit. iii. 4.
5 “ Nonne videtur insania: Manducate meam carnem, bibite meum
sanguinem?”—In Ps. xxxiii. en. i.
.’ “Accipite, et comedite; hoc est corpus meum.”—Matt. xxvi. 26.
4 “ Durus est hic sermo et quis potest eum audire?”—John, vi. 61.
* “ Et nunc, Israel, quid Dominus Deus tuus petit a te. nisi ut . . .
diligas eum, ac servias Domino Deo tuo in toto corde tuo?”—Deut
x. 12.

92

Loving Aspirations before Communion.

O my most loving Jesus, what dost Thou not give,
what dost Thou not promise to those that love Thee?
Thou dost promise them Thy love : I love those that love
Me} Thou dost promise them Thy caresses, even when
they have already turned their backs upon Thee : Turn
ye to Me, and J will turn to you.' Thou dost promise to
come with the Father and the Holy Spirit to abide for­
ever in their souls : He who loveth Me shall be loved of My
Father, . . . and We will come to him and make Our abode
with him} And what more hast Thou to promise and to
give, to entice men to love Thee ? My dearest Lord, I
it is ; Thou dost wish also to be loved by me :
re Thee with all my heart; and if I do not love
Thou teach me to love Thee; make me to love
d to love Thee above all things: “Give what
mmandest, and command what Thou wilt.” *

me considerare quod fusca sim, quia decoloravit me
Ό not consider me, that I am brown; for the sun
ilored me.”
sat of my passions, said the Sacred Spouse (and
e ought I to say it, O my dear Jesus), has deand blackened me : I am black, but beautiful}
m black by my own works; I am beautiful by
'its, O my Redeemer. I was black at one time,
was alone and separated from Thee; but now
am united to Thee, Thy grace, Thy beauty,
e has made me beautiful.
iy Jesus, so do I hope. Mayest Thou be blessed
diligentes me diligo.”—Prov. viii. 17.
vertimini ad me, ... et convertar ad vos.”—Zach. i. 3.
uis diligit me, ... et Pater meus diliget eum, et ad eum
, et mansionem apud eum faciemus.”—John. xiv. 23
quod jubes, et jube quod vis.”—5. Aug. Conf. 1. io, c. 2g.
i. 5.
6 “Nigra sum, sed formosa."—Ibid. 4.

Loving Aspirations after Communion.

93

forever. Never permit me to lose Thee again, and to
return to my former depravity. I love Thee, O infinite
beauty; I wish also that my soul should be beautiful,
always beautiful, that it may be always pleasing in Thy
divine sight, and that Thou mayest always love it.

After Communion.
I.

Trahe me: post te curremus in odorem unguentorum
tuorum 1—“ Draw me : we will run after Thee to the odor
of Thy ointments.”
Since, then, O my dear Jesus, I cannot, while in
this life, ascend to Thee, Thou hast willed to de­
scend to me, to unite Thyself to me in this sacra­
ment of love. Draw me, my Lord, all to Thee. I do
not wish to draw Thee to me, that Thou shouldst do
my pleasure ; but I desire that thou shouldst draw me
so entirely to Thee by Thy sweet attractions, that I may
not be able to desire or do anything else but Thy most
holy will. It is just that my inclinations should yield
to Thy disposition. Take me up wholly to Thyself; and
so united, I shall be free from earthly affections, and
shall run with Thee in the path of virtue, and be able
to repose peacefully in Thy divine will both in this life
and in the next: In peace, in the self-same I will sleep, anà
I will restI
II.

Introduxit me in cellam vinariam, ordinavit in me charitatenC—“The King brought me into the cellar of wine,
and set in order charity in me.”
It is precisely by this cellar of wine that St. Bonaven1 Cant. i. 3.
* *· In pace, in idipsum dormiam et requiescam.”—Ps. iv. 9.
3 Cant. ii. 4.

94

Loving Aspirations after Communion.

ture understands the Holy Communion which introduces
and then unites the soul to its divine king·, and gives
it to taste that wine of love which destroys the desire
of created things; infuses a well-regulated love, that is
just tow’ards itself, charitable towards its neighbor,
supreme towards God, loving him above all things,
who above all things deserves to be loved.
O Jesus, my king, only Lord of my heart, Thou hast
already brought me into the beautiful cellar of Thy love,
that is, into Thyself, uniting me to Thee by means of
this sacrament of love. Yes, my Lord, I already feel
my heart changed. I feel a holy desire, which gives me
peace, and makes me loathe all impure affections, and
enkindles in me the pure love of Thee. O my Jesus,
since Thou hast given me an entrance to this beautiful
cellar, let me no more depart from it. Since Thou hast
united Thyself to me, do not leave me again. Detach
me from the love of all creatures. Unite me to Thee
continually more and more on this earth, that I may one
day come to be perfectly united to Thee in heaven ;
where I shall love Thee face to face with all my strength,
without interruption and without imperfection through­
out all eternity.

in.
Dilectus meut descendit ad hortum suum, ... ut pascatur
in hortis, et lilia colligat1—“ My Beloved is gone down into
His garden ... to feed in the gardens, and to gather
lilies.”
My sweet Saviour, since Thou dost descend from heaven
to come into my soul, by Thy grace do Thou make it be­
come Thy garden, that Thou mayest gather in it lilies
and fruits which are agreeable to Thee. Pardon me, if I
have offended Thee. Receive me, if I have left Thee,
now that I return penitent to Thee. Give me that purity
1 Cant. vi. I.

i

,
Hl

Loving Aspirations after Communion.

95

which Thou dost desire to see in me. Give me strength
to do what Thou desirest. Grant me Thy true love, and
then shall I become pleasing to Thee. I sacrifice to
Thee all my inclinations, and I desire and wish for noth­
ing but to please Thee.
IV.

Totus desiderabilis, talis est Dilectus meus 1—a He is all
lovely; such is my Beloved.”
Jesus, to those souls who love him as spouses, makes
himself altogether desirable, whether he chastises or
consoles them, whether he appears near or distant, be­
cause he does it all for love, and that he may be loved.
Treat me, then, O my Jesus, as Thou wilt, I will
always love Thee ; whether Thou dost give me sweet­
nesses or tribulations, I know that all will come to me
from Thy loving heart, and that all will be for my great­
er good. My heart is ready, 0 God, my heart is ready."1
Behold, my will is ready, O Lord, to accept all that Thou
shalt ordain. I will bless the Lord at all times.3 At all times,
whether prosperous or adverse, I will bless Thee, and
love Thee, O my Creator. I neither seek nor merit any
consolation from Thee ; for I have given Thee nothing
but bitterness by my sins : I seek only Thy good pleas­
ure. Provided Thou art satisfied, I shall be content with
any punishment. My Jesus, my Jesus, whether far off
or near, Thou shalt always be desirable to me, always
dear ; whether Thou dost console or afflict me, I will
always love Thee, always thank Thee.

v.
Quœ est ista quœ ascendit de deserto, deliciis affluens, innixa
super Dilectum suumC—“Who is this that cometh up
1 Cant. v. 16.
8 “ Paratum cor meum, Deus, paratum cor meum.”—Ps. Ivi. 8.
3 “ Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore.”—Ps. xxxiii. 2.
4 Cant. viii. 5.

ç6

Loving Aspirations after Communion.

from the desert flowing with delights, leaning upon her
Beloved ? ”
r
Who, then, are those souls who, living on the earth,
esteem it a desert? so that, detached from visible things,
they live only to God ; as if there was no one else but
God, whom alone they love and desire to please. And in
this way they almost go out of the world, and raise them­
selves above it ; enjoying the delights which are experi­
enced by those who wish for God alone, and who place
in God all their hopes. Who, then, are these faithful
souls, if not those who often and with pure love unite
themselves to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament ?
Yes, my God, such do I also desire to be by the means
of Thy grace, detached from all things, and to be all
Thine. Henceforth the world shall be to me a desert,
where, flying from all attachment to creatures, I will
think of nothing but Thee ; as if Thou and I were the
only persons there. In Thee alone will I put all my
confidence, all my love, O God, O beloved God, my hope,
my love, my all.
VI.

St murus est, œdificemus super eum propugnacula, argentea ;
Ji ostium est, compingamus illud tabulis cedrinis ! 1—“ If she be
a wall, let us build upon it bulwarks of silver; if she
be a door, let us join it together with boards of cedar.”
I his is precisely what Jesus does when he comes
to a soul in the Holy Communion. He sees that she
is a wall too weak to be able to resist the assaults
of hell ; therefore, by the virtue of the sacrament, he
fortifies her with bulwarks of silver, that is, with his
divine light. He sees that she is a door inclined easily
to be corrupted, and he renews it, adjusting her with
planks of strength and perseverance, as is signified
by cedar, which is a strong and incorruptible wood ;
1 Cant. viii. 9.

Loving Aspirations after Communion.

97

that is, with the gifts of holy fear, with detachment from
creatures, with the love of prayer, with supplications,
with holy desires, and still more with the gift of divine
love, which are the support of holy perseverance: Bread
strengthens mans heart) Jesus teaches us, that as earthly
bread preserves the life of the body, so the heavenly
bread of the Holy Communion preserves the life of the
soul : He that eateth Me, the same shall live by Me) He that
eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in Me and I in
him) Such are the gracious promises which Jesus
makes to him who receives him in the Blessed Sacra­
ment.
Ah, my Jesus ! who is weaker and more unfaithful
than I ? Thou knowest well how many times I have
yielded to my enemies, and how many times they have
seized the gate, that is, my will, by which they have
entered to ruin me by causing me to lose Thy friendship.
Oh, fortify me with Thy light and strength, that I may
no more lose Thee or drive Thee from me ! Mv Lord
and my dear Redeemer, if I am to turn back and offend
Thee again, oh, let me die now, while I hope that I am
in Thy grace and united to Thee ! I trust not myself ;
no, nor will I ever, my dear Jesus, live without Thee.
Butas long as I live, I am in danger of changing my will
and betraying Thee, as I have done before: do Thou
help m.e. Help me also, most holy Mary ; have pity on
me: thou who art the Mother of perseverance, obtain for
me this gift from thy Jesus. Of thee I seek it, of thee I
hope it, of thee I ask it.
J

VII.

Invent, quem diligit anima mea; tenui eum, nec dimittam !4
1 “ Panis cor hominis confirmet.”—P$. ciii. 15.
2 “Qui manducat me, et ipse vivet propter me.”—John, vi. 58.
3 “ Qui manducat meam carnem et bibit meum sanguinem, in me
manet, et ego in illo.”—Ibid. Çrf.
4 Cant. iii. 4.
7

98

Loving Aspirations after Communion.

—“I found Him whom my soul loveth: I held Him, and
I will not let Him go.”
So ought every soul to say who is united with Jesus
in the Blessed Sacrament: Creatures, depart from me ;
go out altogether from my heart. I loved you once,
because I was blind ; now I love you not, nor can I
ever love you again. I have found another good,
infinitely more delightful than you ; I have found in
myself my Jesus, who has enamoured me by his beauty ;
to this love I have given myself entirely. He has al­
ready accepted me, so that I am no longer my own.
Creatures, farewell: I am not, nor shall I ever again
be yours ; but I am and shall be always Christ’s. He,
too, is mine, and will always be mine: J held Him,
and I will not let Him got Now I have pressed him to
my heart, receiving him in the Holy Communion ; for
the future I will hold him with my love, and will not let
him leave me any more.
Permit me, sweet Saviour, to embrace Thee so closely,
that I may never more be separated from Thee. Behold,
I press Thee to myself, my Jesus ; I love Thee, I love
Thee ; and, oh, that I could love Thee worthily. I wish
that my only happiness and repose should be to love
Thee and please Thee. Do Thou command all creatures
to leave me, and not to disturb me ; say to them,I adjure
you, do not arouse or waken My loveI1 Ah, if I do not wish
it, creatures cannot enter in to disturb and divide me
from Thee. Strengthen, then, my will, unite my misera­
ble heart to Thy divine heart, that it may always will
what Thou wilt. Do this, Lord, by Thy merits. Arnen,
amen. So do I hope ; so may it be.
1 “ Inveni, quem diligit anima mea ; tenui eum, nec dimittam.”—
Cant. iii. 4.
8 “ Adjuro vos, . . .ne suscitetis neque evigilare faciatis dilectam.”
—Cant. viii. 4.

Loving Aspirations after Communion.

99

VIII.

Surge, aquilo, et veni, auster ; perfla hortum meum, et fluant
aromata illius'—“Arise, O north wind, and come, Ο
south wind, blow through my garden, and let the aro­
matical spices thereof flow.”
Fly from me, O north wind ! hurtful and cold wind
of earthly affections; and come, thou soft, warm breeze
of the sacred love of the Holy Spirit, which comes from
the Heart of my Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Do
thou alone breathe through my soul, which has been
chosen by Jesus for his garden of delights. Blow ; for
by thy breath how many fresh and sweet odors of holy
virtues shalt thou draw forth from me! My Jesus, my
Jesus, Thou canst do this ; and this do I hope from
Thee.
IX.

Messui myrrham meam cum aromatibus meis, comedi favum
cum meile meo'—“I have gathered my myrrh, with my
aromatical spices: I have eaten the honeycomb with my
honey.”
A soul which has received Jesus must be careful
to gather myrrh, that it may always offer the sweet
odor of those virtues which arise from mortification. 7
have eaten honeycomb with my honey. In like manner, the
soul that loves God alone is not satisfied with the honey,
but will also have the honeycomb; therefore it says to
Jesus: O Lord, Thy consolations are not sufficient for
me, unless Thou givest me Thyself, who art the fountain
of consolation; the fruits of love are not enough for me,
if Thou dost not give me also Thyself, who art the ob­
ject of my love. Truly Thou alone wilt suffice for me;
I am ready to renounce all Thy delights, provided I
possess Thee alone, my God, and my only good. I love
1 Cant. iv. 16.

2 Cant. v. I.

ιοο Loving Aspirations after Communion»
Thee, not to please myself, but to please Thee; for Thou
dost desire to be loved by me, and Thou art worthy of
all our love, whether Thou dost console or try us.

x.
Nihil mihi deerit; in loco pascua ibi me collocavit1*
4—“ He
hath set me in a place of pasture, and I shall want noth­
ing.”
Ah, my beloved Jesus ! since Thou dost invite me
in this feast of love to feed on Thy divine flesh, what
more can I ever want? The Lord is my light and my
salvation, whom shall I fear7' Whom shall I fear, if
Thou, O God omnipotent, art my light and my salva­
tion ? I give myself all to Thee. Accept me, and then
do with me what Thou wilt; chastise me, show Thine
indignation towards me when Thou wilt; kill me, de­
stroy me, and I will say always, with Job : Although He
should kill me, I will trust in Him? Whilst I am Thine,
and Thou lovest me, I am content to be treated by Thee
with every hardship; to be even annihilated, if it so
pleases Thee.
XI.

In manibus meis descripsi te ; muri tui coram oculis meis
semper''—“I have graven thee in My hands; thy walls
are always before My eyes.”
See the loving care that God takes of a soul that
he wishes to have to himself. He carries it written
in his hands, so that he may never forget it, and
says, that sooner would a mother forget her own son
than he a soul in grace : And if she should forget, yet
1 Ps. xxii. I.
s “Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea; quem timebo?”—Ps.
xxvi. i.
8 “ Etiam si occiderit me, in ipso sperabo.”—Job, xiii. 15.
4 Isa. xlix. 16.

Loving Aspirations after Communion,

ιοί

will I not forget thee? And thy walls are always before
My eyes. His eyes are always open, to watch over that
soul, so that its enemies do it not harm: Thou hast
crowned us, as with a shield of Thy good-will? Our good
God surrounds us with the protection of his good-will,
wholly solicitous for our good; and so he delivers us
from all dangers. Ah, my God ! infinite goodness, who
more than any other lovest me and desirest my good, I
abandon myself entirely to Thee. Should every other
hope fall me, Thou wilt never fail me. I know that I
also must co-operate by obeying Thy holy will. Lord,
what wilt Thou have me to doT Nothing else can I say;
behold me ready and determined, my sweet Saviour, to
do what Thou pleasest : Thy will be done? Nothing else
do I desire but to accomplish Thy will. But do Thou
help me, otherwise I shall do no good at all. Teach me
not only to know, but also to do, all that pleases Thee :
teach me to do Thy will? Eternal Father, grant that I may
be able to say with truth, as Thy Jesus did whilst he was
on earth: I always do the things that are pleasing to Him?
My God ! this I desire, this I pray for, and this I hope,
through the merits of Thy Son and the most holy Mary.
XII.

Prœbe, fili mi, cor tuum mihi'—“My son, give Me thy
heart.”
O my soul, behold this is all that thy Lord asks of
thee; when he comes to visit thee, he would have thy
1 “ Et si illa oblita fuerit, ego tamen non obliviscar tui.’*—/sa.
xlix. 15.
’ “Scuto bonæ voluntatis tuæ coronasti nos.”—Ps. v. 13.
3 “ Domine, quid me vis facere ?”—Acts, xii. 6.
4 “ Fiat voluntas tua.”—Matt. vi. 10.
5 “ Doce me facere voluntatem tuam.”—Ps. cxlii. ίο.
6 “ Ego, quæ placita sunt ei, facio semper.”—-John, viii. 2Q.
1 Prov. xxiii. 26.

102 Loving Aspirations after Communion,
heart and thy will. He gives himself to thee without
reserve; it is but reasonable that thou shouldst also
give him all thyself without reserve, taking care to fol­
low his will in all things: For the Lord will return to rejoice
over thee in all good things} Act in such a manner as that
Jesus, when he comes to thee again, may find that thou
hast executed all his designs. My Jesus! I wish to
please Thee ; help Thou my desire. Give me strength,
and do with me whatsoever Thou pleasest.
XIII.

Quid est quod dcbui ultra facere vinece meœ, et non feci ei ? a
—“What is there that I ought to do to my vineyard,
that I have not done to it ?”
My soul, hear what thy God says to thee : What ought
I to do more for thee than I have done ? For love of
thee I became man : I am the Word made flesh} Instead
of Lord, I have become servant : taking the form of a ser­
vant} I went so far as to be born in astable, like a worm
—for worms are born in stables: I am a worm, and no
man} I died for thee, I died upon the tree of shame :
I was made obedient to death, even the death of the Cross}
What remained more for me to do, but to give my life for
thee? Greater love than this no man hath, that he should
lay down his life for his friends} But my love has in­
vented and done more for thee. After my death, I have
chosen to leave myself in the Most Blessed Sacrament,
1 “ Revertetur enim Dominus, ut gaudeat super te in omnibus
bonis.”—Dcut. xxx. 9.
2 Is. v. 4.
3 “Verbum caro factum est.”—John, i. 14.
4 “ Formam servi accipiens.”—Phil. ii. 7.
4 “ Sum vermis et non homo.”—Ps. xxi. 7.
* “ Factus obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis.”—
• Phil. ii. S.
’ “ Majorem hac dilectionem nemo habet, ut animam suam ponat
quis pro amicis suis.”—John, xv. 13.

Loving Aspirations after Communion, 103
to give my whole self as food. Tell me what more
could I have done to gain thy love?
It is true, my Lord and my Redeemer; what can I
answer? I have nothing to say. Thou hast been too
good to me, and I have been too ungrateful towards
Thee. I wonder at Thy immense goodness ; I see my
own baseness, and I throw myself at Thy feet, and say:
Have pity on me, my Jesus, though I have repaid Thy
love with so much ingratitude. Avenge Thyself, there­
fore, I pray Thee, avenge Thyself upon me, and chas­
tise me ; but do not abandon me ; chastise me and
change me. Let me not live any longer ungrateful to
Thee. Grant that I may love Thee at least out of grati­
tude, and that before I die I may make Thee some re­
compense for Thy love.
XIV.

Pone me id signaculum super cor tuum'—“Put Me as a
seal upon thy heart.”
Yes, my beloved Jesus, since I have consecrated to Thee
my whole heart, it is but just that I should put Thee as a
seal of love upon it, to close the entrance against any other
affection; and thus to make known to all that my heart is
Thine, and that Thou alone'possessest dominion over it.
But, my Lord, what dost Thou hope -from me, if Thou
dost not do the work Thyself? I can do nothing but
give Thee my poor heart, that Thou mayest dispose of
me according to Thy pleasure. Behold, I give it all to
Thee, I consecrate it to Thee, I sacrifice it to Thee. Do
Thou possess it forever; I will no longer have any part
in it. If Thou lovest it, mayest Thou be able to preserve
it for Thyself. Leave it no longer in my hands, lest I
should again take it from Thee. O God most gracious,
O infinite love, since Thou hast so constrained me to
1 Cant. viii. 6.

104

Loving Aspirations after Communion,

love Thee, I pray Thee, make Thyself loved, make Thy­
self loved by me. I only wish to live that I may love
Thee, I only wish to love Thee in order to please Thee.
Thou who dost work miracles to be able to enter into
my heart in this sacrament, work also this one, make my
heart all Thine; but all, all, all, without division, with­
out reserve, so that I may say, both in this life and
in eternity, that Thou art the only Lord of my heart,
and my only treasure : God is the God of my heart, and my
portion forever)
Most holy Mary, my Mother and my hope, do thou
help me, and I shall certainly be heard. Amen, amen.
This I wish, this I hope. So be it.
1 " Deus cordis mei, et pars mea, Deus in aeternum.”—Ps. Ixxii. 26.

Hymns,

HYMNS.
I.
Holy Communion.
My soul, what dost thou ? Answer me—
Love God, who loves thee well :—
Love only does he ask of thee,
Canst thou his love repel ?

See, how on earth for love of thee,
In lowly form of bread,
The sovereign good and majesty
His dwelling-place has made.

He bids thee now his friendship prove,
And at his table eat;
To share the bread of life and love,
His own true flesh thy meat.

What other gift so great, so high,
Could God himself impart?
Could love divine do more to buy
The love of thy poor heart ?
Though once, in agonies of pain,
Upon the cross he died,
A love so great, not even then
Was wholly satisfied.

Not till the hour when he had found
The sweet, mysterious way
To join his heart in closest bond
To thy poor heart of clay.

105

106

Hymns.
How, then, amid such ardent flame,
My soul, dost thou not burn ?
Canst thou refuse, for very shame,
A loving heart’s return ?
Then yield thy heart, at length, to love
That God of charity,
Who gives his very self to prove
The love he bears to thee.

II.

To Jesus after Communion.
O bread of heaven ! beneath this veil
Thou dost my very God conceal ;
My Jesus, dearest treasure, hail !
I love Thee, and adoring kneel :
The loving soul by Thee is fed
With Thy own self in form of bread !

O food of life ! Thou who dost give
The pledge of immortality !
I live;—no, ’tis not I that live,
God gives me life, God lives in me:
He feeds my soul, he guides my ways
And every grief with joy repays.
O bond of love ! that dost unite
The servant to his loving Lord !
Could I dare live, and not requite
Such loving—then death were meet reward :
I cannot live, unless to prove
Some love for such unmeasured love.
O mighty fire! thou that dost burn
To kindle every mind and heart !
For Thee my frozen soul doth yearn :
Come, Lord of love, Thy warmth impart.
If thus to speak too bold appear,
’lis love like Thine has banished fear.

Hymns.
O sweetest dart of love divine !
If I have sinned, then vengeance take:
Come, pierce this guilty heart of mine,
And let it die for his dear sake
Who once expired on Calvary,
His heart pierced through for love of me.

My dearest good ! who dost so bind
My heart with countless chains to Thee !
O sweetest love, my soul shall find
In Thy dear bonds true liberty,
Thyself Thou hast bestowed on me,
Thine, Thine forever I will be!
Beloved Lord ! in heaven above,—
There, Jesus, Thou awaitest me
To gaze on Thee with changeless love.
Yes, thus I hope,—thus shall it be :
hor how can he deny me heaven,
Who here on earth himself hath given?

107

bisits to tije Slcsseb Sacrament anb to tl)c Slesseb
binjin.

This treatise, called the Visits to the Blessed Sacra­
ment and to the Blessed Virgin, is the first work that St.
Alphonsus published : this was in the year 1745. This
first-born of his pen has met from its appearance with
marvellous success, not only in Italy, but in Europe and
the whole Catholic world. During the lifetime of the
holy author it was translated into nearly every lan­
guage. After more than a century the reputation that
it has enjoyed instead of diminishing has ever increased.
Our saint also composed other acts for Visits to the
Blessed Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin. These
are to be found in Volume XVI.—Ed.

TO MARY,
THE EVER-IMMACULATE VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD.

Mv most holy Queen,—On the point of publishing
the present little work, in which I treat of the love of
thy Son, I know not to whom I can better dedicate it
than to thee, my most beloved Mother, who, amongst
all creatures, art his most tender lover. I believe that
by this little offering which I present to thee, and which
is composed for the sole purpose of inflaming souls more
and more with the love of Jesus Christ,—I believe, Isay,
that by it I shall greatly please thee, who desirest to see
him loved by all as he deserves. To thee, then, I conse­
as it is ;’ do
and
• crate it, Fsuch
1
’ ' " thou
JI * graciously
·
- accept
4
protect it ; not indeed that I may receive the praises of
men, but that all who read it may for the future corre­
spond,
and affection,, with the
• · by their
· X * U greater
· / a.
A · devotion
·. ·
&
tender and excessive love which our most sweet Sav­
iour has been pleased to show us in his Passion, and in
the institution of the Most Holy Sacrament. As such, I
place it at thy feet, and beseech thee to accept the gift
as wholly thine, as also the giver, who has long since
placed all his hopes in thee, and wishes and hopes al­
ways to call himself, and to rejoice in being,
Most gracious Lady,
Thy most loving, though most unworthy servant,
•

*

ALPHONSUS DE LIGUORI,
Of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.

TO THE READER.
I beg, my dear reader, that you will not despise this
little book, though written with the utmost simplicity.
I have composed it in a style very simple, because I be­
lieve that it will thus more likely promote devotion
amongst all classes of persons. I also beg that whether
I am living or dead you will recommend me to the
Most Holy Sacrament each time that you use it ; and on
my part I promise to pray for all who do me this act of
charity, every time I offer up the Most Holy Sacrifice.

J

Sntrofcuction.

The Visit to the Most Holy Sacrament.

Our holy faith teaches us, and we are bound to be­
lieve, that in the consecrated Host Jesus Christ is really
present under the species of bread. But we must also
understand that he is thus present on our altars as on
a throne of love and mercy, to dispense graces and there
to show us the love which hé bears us, by being pleased
to dwell night and day hidden in the midst of us.
It is well known that the Holy Church instituted the
festival of Corpus Christi with a solemn octave, and
that she celebrates it with the many usual processions,
and so frequent expositions of this Most Holy Sacra­
ment, that men may thereby be moved gratefully to ac­
knowledge and honor this loving presence and dwelling
of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar, by their
devotions, thanksgivings, and the tender affections of
their souls. O God ! how many insults and outrages has
not this amiable Redeemer had, and has he not daily, to
endure in this Sacrament on the part of those very men
for whose love he remains upon their altars on earth !
Of this he indeed complained to his dear servant St.
Margaret Mary Alacoque, as the author of the Book of
Devotion to the Heart of Jesus relates. One day, as she
was in prayer before the Most Holy Sacrament, Jesus
showed her his heart on a throne of flames, crowned with
thorns, and surmounted by a cross, and thus addressed
her: “Behold that heart which has loved men so much,
and which has spared itself nothing; and has even gone
so far as to consume itself, thereby to show them its love;
8

114

In trodu ction. —I.

but in return the greater part of men only show me in­
gratitude, and this by the irreverences, tepidity, sacri­
leges, and contempt which they offer me in this sacra­
ment of love ; and that which I feel the most acutely
is, that they are hearts consecrated to me.” Jesus then
expressed his wish, that the first Friday after the octave
of Corpus Christi should be dedicated as a particular
festival in honor of his adorable heart ; and that on that
day all souls who loved him should endeavor, by their
homage, and by the affections of their souls, to make
amends for the insults which men have offered him in
this sacrament of the Altar ; and at the same time he
promised abundant graces to all who should thus honor
him.
We can thus understand what our Lord said of old
by his prophet, that his delight is to be with the children
of men ;* since he is unable to tear himself from them
even when they abandon and despise him. This also
shows us how agreeable all those souls are to the heart
of Jesus who frequently visit him, and remain in his
company in the churches in which he is, under the sac­
ramental species. He desired St. Mary Magdalene of
Pazzi to visit him in the Most Blessed Sacrament thirtythree times a day ; and this beloved spouse of his faith­
fully obeyed him, and in all her visits to the altar ap­
proached it as near as she possibly could, as we read in
her life.
But let all those devout souls who often go to spend
their time with the Most Blessed Sacrament speak ;—let
them tell us the gifts, the inspirations which they have
received, the flames of love which are there enkindled in
their souls, the paradise which they enjoy in the pres­
ence of this hidden God.
The servant of God and great Sicilian missionary Fa• «

·

x Prov. viii. 31.

In traduction. —I.

US

ther, Louis La Nusa, was, even in his youth and as a
layman, so enamoured of Jesus Christ, that he seemed
unable to tear himself from the presence of his beloved
Lord. Such were the joys which he there experienced,
that his director commanded him, in virtue of obe,
dience, not to remain there for more than an hour.
The time having elapsed, he showed in obeying (says
the author of his life), that in tearing himself from
the bosom of Jesus Christ he had to do himself just
such violence as a child that has to detach itself from
its mother’s breast in the very moment in which it is
satiating itself with the utmost avidity ; and when he
had to do this, we are told that he remained standing
with his eyes fixed on the altar, making repeated in­
clinations, as if he knew not how to quit his Lord,
whose presence was so sweet and gracious to him.
To St. Aloysius it was also forbidden to remain in the
presence of the Most Blessed Sacrament ; and as he
used to pass before it, finding himself drawn, so to
speak, by the sweet attractions of his Lord, and almost
forced to remain there, he would, with the greatest ef­
fort, tear himself away, saying, with an excess of tender
love: Depart from me, O Lord, depart ! ’ There it was
also that St. Francis Xavier found refreshment in the
midst of his many labors in India; for he employed
his days in toiling for souls, and his nights in the pres­
ence of the Most Blessed Sacrament. St. John Francis
Regis did the same thing ; and sometimes finding the
church closed, he endeavored to satisfy his longings by
lemaining on his knees outside the door, exposed to the
rain and cold, that at least at a distance he might attend
upon his comforter concealed under the sacramental
species. St. Francis of Assisi used to go to communi­
cate all his labors and undertakings to Jesus in the
1 “ Recede a me, Domine, recede ! ”

i ιό

In trodnotion. —I

Most Holy Sacrament. But tender indeed was the de­
votion of St. Wenceslaus, duke of Bohemia, to the Most
Holy Sacrament. This holy king was so enamoured of
Jesus there present, that he not only gathered the wheat
and grapes, and made the hosts and wine with his own
hands, and then gave them to be used in the Holy Sac­
rifice, but he used, even during the winter, to go at
night to visit the church in which the Blessed Sacrament
was kept. These visits enkindled in his beautiful soul
such flames of divine love, that their ardor imparted it­
self even to his body, and took from the snow on which
he walked its wonted cold ; for it is related that the ser­
vant who accompanied him in these nightly excursions,
having to walk through the snow, suffered much from
the cold. The holy king, on perceiving this, was moved
to compassion, and commanded him to follow him, and
only to step in his footmarks ; he did so, and never af­
terwards felt the cold.
In the visits you will read other examples of the ten­
der affection with which souls inflamed with the love of
God loved to dwell in the presence of the Most Holy
Sacrament. But vou will find that all the saints were
enamoured of this most sweet devotion ; since, indeed,
it is impossible to find on earth a more precious gem, or
a treasure more worthy of all our love, than Jesus in the
Most Holy Sacrament. Certainly amongst all devo­
tions, after that of receiving the sacraments, that of
adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament holds the first
place, is the most pleasing to God, and the most useful
to ourselves. Do not then, O devout soul, refuse to
begin this devotion; and forsaking the conversation of
men, dwell each day, from this time forward, for at least
half or quarter of an hour, in some church, in the pres­
ence of Jesus Christ under the sacramental species.
Taste and see how sweet is the Lord) Only try this de1 “Gustate, et videte quoniam suavis est Dominus.”—Ps. xxxiii. g.

Introduction,—I

117

votion, and by experience you will see the great benefit
that you will derive from it. Be assured that the time
you will thus spend with devotion before this most
divine Sacrament will be the most profitable to you in
life, and the source of your greatest consolation in death
and in eternity. You must also be aware, that in a
quarter of an hour’s prayer spent in the presence of the
Blessed Sacrament, you will perhaps gain more than in
all the .other spiritual exercises of the day. It is true,
that in every place God graciously hears the petitions of
those who pray to him, having promised to do so : Ask,
and you shall receive J yet the disciple tells us that Jesus
dispenses his graces in greater abundance to those who
visit him in the Most Holy Sacrament. Blessed Henry
Suso used also to say that Jesus Christ hears the prayers
of the faithful more graciously in the sacrament of the
altar than elsewhere. And where, indeed, did holy souls
make their most beautiful resolutions, but prostrate
before the Most Holy Sacrament ? Who knows but that
you also may one day, in the presence of the tabernacle,
make the resolution to give yourself entirely to God ?
In this little book I feel myself bound, at least out of
gratitude to my Jesus in the Holy Sacrament, to declare,
that through the means of this devotion of visiting the
Most Blessed Sacrament, which I practised, though with
so much tepidity and in so imperfect a manner, I aban­
doned the world, in which, unfortunately, I lived until I
was six-and-twenty years of age. Fortunate indeed will
you be if you can detach yourself from it at an earlier
period, and give yourself without reserve to that Lord
who has given himself without reserve to you. I repeat
it, that indeed you will be blessed, not only in eternity,
but even in this life. Believe me, all is folly : feasts,
theatres, parties of pleasure, amusements,—these are the
1 “ Petite et accipietis.—John, xvi. 24.

In troduction. —IL

118

goods of the World, but goods which are filled with the
bitterness of gall and with sharp thorns. Believe me,
who have experienced this and now weep over it. Be
also assured that Jesus Christ finds means to console a
soul that remains with a recollected spirit before the
Most Blessed Sacrament, far beyond what the world can
do with all its feasts and pastimes. Oh, how sweet a
joy it is to remain with faith and tender devotion before
an altar, and converse familiarly with Jesus Christ, who
is there for the express purpose of listening to and
graciously hearing those who pray to him ; to ask his
pardon for the displeasures which we have caused him;
to represent our wants to him, as a friend does to a friend
in whom he places all his confidence ; to ask him for his
graces, for his love, and for his kingdom ; but above all,
oh, what a heaven is it there to remain making acts of
love towards that Lord who is on the very altar praying
to the Eternal Father for us, and is there burning with
love for us. Indeed that love it is which detains him
there, thus hidden and unknown, and when he is even
despised by ungrateful souls ! But why should we say
more ? “Taste and see.”

The Visit to the Blessed Virgin.
And now as to the visits to the Most Blessed Virgin,
the opinion of St. Bernard is well known, and generally
believed : it is, that God dispenses no graces otherwise
than through the bands of Mary : “ God wills that we
should receive nothing that does not pass through Mary’s
hands.” 1 Hence Father Suarez declares that it is now
the sentiment of the universal Church, that “ the inter­
cession of Mary is not only useful, but even necessary to
Nihil nos Deus voluit habere, quod per Mariæ manus non
transiret.”—In Vig. Arat. Dom. s. 3.

f

In troduction. —II
obtain graces.” 1 * And we may remark that the Church
gives us strong grounds for this belief, by applying the
words of the Sacred Scripture to Mary, and making her
say : In me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to
me, all ye that desire med Let all come to me ; for I am
the hope of all that you can desire. Hence she then adds:
Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at
my gates, and vuaiteth at the posts of my doorsi Blessed is he
who is diligent in coming every day to the door of my
powerful intercession; for by finding me he will find life
and eternal salvation: He that shall find me shall find life,
and shall have salvation from the Lordi Hence it is not
without reason that the Holy Church wills that we should
all call her our common hope, by saluting her, saying,
“ Hail, our hope !”
“ Let us then,” says St. Bernard (who went so far as
to call Mary “ the whole ground of his hope”), “seek for
graces, and seek them through Mary.” 5 Otherwise,
says St. Antoninus, if we ask for graces without her
intercession, we shall be making an effort to fly without
wings, and we shall obtain nothing : “ He who asks with­
out her as his guide, attempts to fly without wings.”’
In Father Auriemma’s little book, Affetti Scambievolii
1 “ Sentit Ecclesia Virginis intercessionem esse utilem et necessa­
riam.”—De Inc. p. 2, q. 37, a. 4, d. 23.
3 “ In me omnis spes vitæ et virtutis. Transite ad me omnes.”—
Ecchts. xxiv. 25.
3 “ Beatus homo qui audit me, et qui vigilat ad fores meas quotidie,
et observat ad postes ostii mei.”—Prov. viii. 34.
4 " Qui me invenerit, inveniet vitam, et hauriet salutem a Domino.”
—Ibid. 35.
6 "Quaeramus gratiam, et per Mariam quaeramus.”—De Aquœd.
6 “ Qui petit sine ipsa duce, sine alis tentât volare.”—P. 4, tit. 15,
c. 22.
’ Ajfetti Scamb. p. 2, c. 3.
* This question is treated at length in the Glories of Mary, Part I.
ch. 5,
I

120

Introduction,—II.

we read of innumerable favors granted by the Mother of
God to those who practised this most profitable devotion
of often visiting her in her churches or before some
image. We read of the graces which she granted in
these visits to Saint Albert the Great, to the Abbot
Rupert, to Father Suarez, especially when she obtained
for them the gift of understanding, by which they after­
wards became so renowned throughout the Church for
their great learning: the graces which she granted to
Saint John Berchmans of the Society of Jesus, who was
in the daily habit of visiting Mary in a chapel of the
Roman college; he declared that he renounced all earthly
love, to love no other after God than the Most Blessed
Virgin, and had written at the foot of the image of his
beloved Lady: “I will never rest until I shall have ob­
tained a tender love for my Mother:”1 the graces which
she granted to St. Bernardine of Sienna, who in his
youth also went every day to visit her in a chapel near
the city-gate, and declared that that Lady had ravished
his heart. Hence he called her his beloved, and said that
he could not do less than often visit her; and by her
means he afterwards obtained the grace to renounce the
world, and to become what he afterwards was, a great
saint and the apostle of Italy.
Do you, then, be also careful always to join to your
daily visit to the Most Blessed Sacrament a visit to the
most holy \rirgin Mary in some church, or at least before
a devout image of her in your own house. If you do
this with tender affection and confidence, you may
hope to receive great things from this most gracious
Lady, who, as St. Andrew of Crete says, always bestows
great gifts on those who offer her even the least act of
homage.2
1 “Nunquam quiescam, donec obtinuero tenerum amorem erga
Matrem meam.’’
2 “Solet maxima pro minimis reddere.”—In Dorm. B. V. s. 3.

Introduction.—11I.
Mary. Queen of sweetest hope,
Who can e’er forget thee?
By thy mercy, by thy love,
Have pity, Queen, on me?

III.
Spiritual Communion.
As in all the following visits to the Most Blessed
Sacrament a spiritual Communion is recommended, it
will be well to explain what it is, and the great advan­
tages which result from its practice. A spiritual Com­
munion, according to St. Thomas,1 consists in an ardent
desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament, and
in lovingly embracing him as if we had actually received
him.
How pleasing these spiritual Communions are to
God, and the many graces which he bestows through
their means, was manifested by our Lord himself to
Sister Paula Maresca, the foundress of the convent of
St. Catharine of Sienna in Naples, when (as it is related
in her life) he showed her two precious vessels, the one
of gold, the other of silver. He then told her that in the
gold vessel he preserved her sacramental Communions,
and in the silver one her spiritual Communions. He
also told Blessed Jane of the Cross that each time that
she communicated spiritually she received a grace of the
same kind as the one that she received when she really
communicated. Above all, it will suffice for us to know
that the holy Council of Trent3 greatly praises spiritual
Communions, and encourages the faithful to practise
them.
Hence all devout souls are accustomed often
tise this holy exercise of spiritual Communion. Blessed
Agatha of the Cross did so two hundred times a day.
1 P. 3. q. So, a. I.

9 Ssss. xiii. c. 8.

122

Introduction.—III.

And Father Peter Faber, the first companion of St.
Ignatius, used to say that it was of the highest utility to
make spiritual Communions, in order to receive the
sacramental Communion well.
All those who desire to advance in the love of Jesus
Christ are exhorted to make a spiritual Communion at
least once in every visit that they pay to the Most
Blessed Sacrament, and at every Mass that they hear;
and it would even be better on these occasions to repeat
the Communions three times, that is to say, at the
beginning, in the middle, and at the end. This devotion
is far more profitable than some suppose, and at the
same time nothing can be easier to practise. The abovenamed Blessed Jane of the Cross used to say, that a
spiritual Communion can be made without any one re­
marking it, without being fasting, without the permission
of our director, and that we can make it at any time we
please: an act of love does all. * The Church grants an
Indulgence of 300 days for every act of spiritual Com­
munion, and a plenary Indulgence once a month, on the
usual conditions.
*

Manner of Making the Visits.*
ACTS TO BE MADE BEFORE EACH VISIT TO THE MOST
BLESSED SACRAMENT.

My Lord Jesus Christ, who, for the love which Thou
bearesl to men, remainest night and day in this Sacra­
ment full of compassion and of love, awaiting, calling,
and welcoming all who come to visit Thee: I believe that
Thou art present in the Sacrament of the Altar: I adore
Thee from the abyss of my nothingness, and I thank
Thee for all the graces which Thou hast bestowed upon
me, and in particular for having given me Thyself in this
Sacrament, for having given me Thy most holy Mother
Mary for my advocate, and for having called me to visit
Thee in this church.
I now salute Thy most loving Heart; and this for three
ends: 1. In thanksgiving for this great gift; 2. To make
amends to Thee for all the outrages which Thou receivest in this Sacrament from all Thine enemies; 3. I
intend by this visit to adore Thee in all the places on
earth in which Thou art present in this Sacrament, and
* His Holiness, Pius IX., by an autograph rescript, September 7,
1S54, confirmed August 8 and September 23, 1859, attached to each
of the two prayers of St. Alphonsus, beginning with the words. My
Lord Jesus Christ,—Most Holy Immaculate Virgin,—an indulgence of
three hundred days each time that one recites with, at least contrite
heart, either the first before the Blessed Sacrament, or the second
before an image of the Blessed Virgin. His Holiness granted, be­
sides, a plenary indulgence, once a month, to persons who during this
time recite every day both those prayers in the manner indicated,
provided they confess and communicate and pray for some time to
the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff.—Ed.

124

Manner of Making the Visits.

in which Thou art the least revered and the most aban­
doned.
My Jesus, I love Thee with my whole heart. I grieve
for having hitherto so many times offended Thy infinite
goodness. I purpose by Thy grace never more to offend
Thee for the time to come; and now, miserable and un­
worthy though I be, I consecrate myself to Thee without
reserve; I give Thee and renounce my entire will, my
affections, my desires, and all that I possess. From
henceforward do Thou dispose of me and of all that I
have as Thou pleasest. All that I ask of Thee and de­
sire is Thy holy love, final perseverance, and the perfect
accomplishment of Thy will.
I recommend to Thee the souls in purgatory; but
especially those who had the greatest devotion to the
Most Blessed Sacrament and to the Most Blessed Virgin
Mary. I also recommend to Thee all poor sinners.
In fine, my dear Saviour, I unite all my affections with
the affections of Thy most loving Heart; and I offer
them, thus united, to Thy Eternal Father, and beseech
him in Thy name to vouchsafe, for Thy love, to accept
and grant them.
AN ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION.

My Jesus. I believe that Thou art truly present in the
Most Blessed Sacrament. I love Thee above all things,
and I desire to possess Thee within my soul. Since I am
unable now to receive Thee sacramentally, come at least
spiritually into my heart. I embrace Thee as being
already there, and unite myself wholly to Thee; never
permit me to be separated from Thee.
A SHORTER ACT.

I believe that Thou, O Jesus, art in the Most Holy
Sacrament! I love Thee and desire Thee! Come into
my heart. I embrace Thee; oh, never leave me!

Manner of Making the Visits.
“May the burning and most sweet power of Th
O Lord Jesus Christ, I beseech Thee, absorb my mind,
that I may die through love of Thy love, who wast
graciously pleased to die through love of my love.”1—
St. Francis of Assisi.
“O love not loved! O love not known!”—St. Mary
Magdalene of Pazzi.
“O my spouse, when wilt Thou take me to Thyself?”
—St. Peter of Alcantara,
Jesus, my good, my sweetest love,
Strike and inflame this heart of mine,
Make it all fire for love of Thee !

Hail to the love of Jesus, our life, and our all!
to Mary, our hope! Amen.

Hail

After the spiritual Communion, you will then make a visit to
some image of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

VISIT TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN.

Read the visit of the day, and finish by the following prayer,
thereby to obtain the most powerful patronage of Mary:
Most holy Immaculate Virgin and my Mother Mary,
to thee who art the Mother of my Lord, the Queen of
the world, the advocate, the hope, the refuge of sinners,
I have recourse to-day,—I, who am the most miserable
of all. I render thee my most humble homages, O Great
Oueen, and I thank thee for all the graces thou hast conferred on me until now, particularly for having delivered
me from hell, which I have so often deserved. I love
thee, O most amiable Lady; and for the love which I
bear thee, I promise to serve thee always, and to do all
in my power to make others love thee also. I place in
1 “ Absorbeat, quæso, Domine Jesu Christe, mentem meam ignita et
melliflua vis amoris tui, ut amore amoris tui moriar, qui amore
amoris mei dignatus es mori !”

120

Manner of Making the Visits.

thee all my hopes; I confide my salvation to thy care.
Accept me for thy servant, and receive me under thy
mantle, 0 Mother of mercy. And since thou art so
powerful with God, deliver me from all temptations, or
rather obtain me the strength to triumph over them
until death. Of thee I ask a perfect love for Jesus
Christ. From thee I hope to die a good death. O my
Mother, by the love which thou bearest to God, I beseech
thee to help me at all times, but especially at the last
moment of my life. Leave me not, I beseech thee, until
thou seest me safe in heaven, blessing thee, and singing
thy mercies for all eternity. Amen. So I hope. So may
it be.

bisits to tf)£ ©lesseb Sacrament, anb ta the Blesseb
birgin.
FOR EA CH DA Y OF THE MONTH.

FIRST VISIT.
*

To the Blessed Sacrament.
Say preliminary prayer, My Lord Jtsus Chiist, etc., page 123.

Behold the source of every good, Jesus in the Most
Holy Sacrament, who says, If any man thirst, let him come
to Me) Oh, what torrents of grace have the saints
drawn from the fountain of the Most Blessed Sacra­
ment ! for there Jesus dispenses all the merits of his Pas­
sion, as it was foretold by the Prophet: You shall draw
waters with joy out of the Saviour s fountains) The Count­
ess of Feria, that illustrious disciple of the Venerable
Father John d’Avila, afterwards a poor Clare, and surnamed the spouse of the Most Blessed Sacrament from
her long and frequent visits to it, on being asked how
she employed the many hours thus passed in the pres­
ence of the Holy of holies, answered: “ I could remain
there for all eternity. And is not there present the very
essence of God, who will be the food of the blessed?
Good God ! am I asked what I do in his presence ? Why
am I not rather asked, what is not done there ? We love,
we ask, we praise, we give thanks. We ask, what does
a poor man do in the presence of one who is rich ? What
does a sick man do in the presence of his physician ?
What does a man do who is parched with thirst in the
1 “Qui sitit, veniat ad me.”—John, vii. 37.
3 “ Haurietis aquas in gaudio de fontibus Salvatoris.”—Isa. xii. 3.
* See manner of making the Visits, page 123.

128

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

presence of a clear fountain ? What is the occupation of
one who is starving, and is placed before a splendid
table ?”
O my most amiable, most sweet, most beloved Jesus,
my life, my hope, my treasure, the only love of my soul;
oh, what has it cost Thee to remain thus with us in this
Sacrament ! Thou hadst to die, that Thou mightest
thus dwell amongst us on our altars; and then, how
many insults hast Thou not had to endure in this Sacra­
ment, in order to aid us by Thy presence ! Thy love,
and the desire which Thou hast to be loved by us, have
conquered all.
Come then, O Lord ! come and take possession of my
heart ; close its doors forever, that henceforward no
creature may enter there, to divide the love which is due
to Thee, and which it is my ardent desire to bestow all
on Thee. Do Thou alone, my dear Redeemer, rule me;
do Thou alone possess my whole being; and if ever I do
not obey Thee perfectly, chastise me with rigor, that
thenceforward I may be more watchful to please Thee
as Thou wiliest. Grant that I may no longer seek for
any other pleasure than that of giving Thee pleasure ;
that all my pleasure may be to visit Thee often on Thy
altar ; to entertain myself with Thee, and to receive Thee
in Holy Communion.
Let all who will, seek other
treasures ; the only treasure that I love, the only one
that I desire, is that of Thy love; for this only will I ask
at the foot of the altar. Do Thou make me forget my­
self, that thus I may only remember Thy goodness. Ye
blessed seraphim, I envy you, not for your glory, butfor
the love which you bear to your and my God ; oh, do
you teach me what I must do to love him, and to please
him.
Ejaculatory prayer. My Jesus, I will love Thee only;
Thee only do I desire to please.

and to the Blessed Virgin,—I.

129

Then follows the Spiritual Communion, page 124, after which
the visit should be paid to the ever-blessed Mary, the Mother
of God, before her image.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary
*
In our Mother Mtiry we have another fountain, which
is indeed fruitful to us. She is so rich in good things
and in graces, says St. Bernard, that there is no one
in the world who does not participate in them: “ Of
* We have two kinds of Visits to the Blessed Virgin, one of which
is found in several editions published at Naples, and the other in
those editions that have appeared elsewhere. Both kinds, however,
were without doubt written by St. Alphonsus. This is the reason
why we publish them in his complete works. It may, perhaps, be
asked why two kinds of Visits have been published, and which of the
two was published first ? To this no positive answer can be given,
though we may venture on a conjecture. The Visits to the Blessed
Sacrament appeared about the year 1745, with those Visits to the
Blessed Virgin that we have put in the first place, and that were soon
spread all over Europe. About five years after this publication, in
1750, the work called Glories of Mary was published, and excited com­
ment on the part of some critics. An anonymous writer dared to re­
proach St. Alphonsus with having exaggerated certain prerogatives
attributed to the Mother of God ; but the saint at once replied to this
attack and triumphantly repelled it. It is very probable that St. Al­
phonsus then replaced the first twenty two Visits that he had com­
posed in honor of the Blessed Virgin by prayers drawn from different
authors of great celebrity—prayers that had already been inserted
in his book, the Glories of Mary, “ to show the high idea that the
saints had of the power and mercy of the Mother of God.” The nine
other Visits, joined to these prayers, appear to have been chosen
with some modifications in the text which we regard as the first pub­
lished. But this change was made only in the Naples editions ;
everywhere else the first prevailing text, or translations therefrom,
have continued to be printed, with the exception of the first French
translation which was made in 1773, from the fifteenth Naples edi­
tion.—Ed.

130

Icistis to the Most Holy Sacrament

her fulness we have all received.” 1 The Most Blessed
Virgin Mary was filled by God with grace, and as such
was saluted by the angel, “ Hail, full of grace ;” not for
herself alone, but also for us. St. Peter Chrysologus
adds, that she received that great abyss of grace, that
she might then impart it to all who are devout to her:
“The Blessed Virgin received this grace, that she might
ogive in return salvation to all.”2
Ejaculatory prayer. Cause of our joy, pray for us !3
(From the Naples Edition.)

Prayer of St. Ephrem.
Most pure and immaculate Virgin ! divine Mary, Mother of
God ! thou art elevated in dignity above all the saints ; thou art
the hope of our fathers and the joy of the elect. Through thee,
as the Mother of Jesus, we have been reconciled with God. 0
great Queen ! have compassion on us, and grant us an asylum
in the arms of thy mercy. We dedicate and consecrate our­
selves to thy service; suffer not the devil to draw us with him
into eternal flames.
Ejaculatory prayer. Cause of our joy, pray for us.4
The usual prayer, page 125.
SECOND VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
Aly Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

The devout Father Nieremberg says, that bread being
a food which is consumed by eating, and which keeps
when preserved for use, Jesus was pleased to dwell on
earth under its species, that he might thus not only be
consumed by uniting himself to the souls of his lovers by
1 “ De plenitudine ejus accepimus omnes.”—De Laud. P. M. hom.
2.
2 “ Hanc gratiam accepit Virgo, salutem sæculis redditura.”—
Serm. 143.
3 “Causa nostræ lætitiæ ! ora pro nobis.”
4 “Causa nostræ lætitiæ! ora pro nobis.”

and lo the Blessed Virgin.
means of the Holy Communion, but also that he might
be preserved in the tabernacle, and be present with us,
and thus remind us of the love which he bears us. St.
Paul says: He emptied Himself taking the form of a servant)
But what must we say when we see him “taking the
form of bread”? “No tongue would suffice,” says St.
Peter of Alcantara, “ to proclaim the greatness of th
love which Jesus bears to every soul that is in a state o
grace. In order, therefore, that his absence might not
be to them an occasion of forgetting him, this most sweet
Spouse, when he was pleased to quit this life, left as a
memorial this Most Blessed Sacrament, in which he
himself remained. He did not wish that between these
souls and himself any other pledge but himself should
remain, whereby to keep alive their remembrance of
f.·_ f»
Since, then, my Jesus, Thou art enclosed in this taber­
nacle to receive the supplications of miserable creatures
who come to seek an audience of Thee, listen this day to
the petition addressed to Thee by the most ungrateful
sinner living on earth. I come repentant to Thy feet ;
fori nowknow the evil which I have committed in giv­
ing Thee displeasure. My first prayer and desire, then,
is, that Thou wilt be pleased to pardon me all the sins
that I have committed against Thee. Ah, my God,
would that I had never offended Thee! After this I
must tell Thee my next desire. Now that I have found
out Thy sovereign goodness, I have become enamoured of
Thee; I feel an ardent desire to love Thee and to please
Thee; but I have not the strength Lo do this unless Thou
helpest me.
Manifest, O great Lord, Thy supreme
power, and Thy immense goodness to the whole court of
heaven; change me from a great rebel, such as I have
hitherto been to Thee, into a great lover of Thee. Thou
Semetipsum exinanivit, formam servi accipiens.”—Phil. ii. 7.

■■

-

-

*

132

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

canst do so, and I know that such is Thy will ; supplv
all that is wanting in me, that thus I may be enabled to
love Thee much—at least that I may love Thee as much
as I have offended Thee. I love Thee, my Jesus ; I love
Thee above all things; I love Thee more than my life,
my God, my love, my all !
Ejaculatory prayer. My God and my all.
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Let us go with confidence to the throne of grace : that we may
obtain mercy, and findgrace in seasonable aid.1 St. Antoninus
says,2 that Mary is this throne, from which God dispenses
all graces.
O most amiable Queen, since thou hast so great a de­
sire to help sinners, behold a great sinner who has
recourse to thee; help me much, and help me without
delav* !
Ejaculatory Prayer. Sole refuge of sinners, have mercy
on me.3
[From the Naples Edition.)

Prayer of St. Ephrem,

O Queen of the universe and most bountiful sovereign ! thou
art the great advocate of sinners, the sure port of those who
have suffered shipwreck, the resource of the world, the ransom
of captives, the solace of the weak, the consolation of the af­
flicted, the refuge and salvation of every creature. O full of
grace’ enlighten my understanding, and loosen my tongue, that
I may recount thy praises, and sing to thee the angelical saluta­
tion, which thou so justly deservest. Hail, thou who art the
peace, the joy, the consolation of the whole world ! Hail, para1 *' Adeamus cum fiducia ad thronum gratiæ, ut misericordiam con­
sequamur, et gratiam inveniamus in auxilio opportuno.”—Heb. iv. 16.
2 P. 4, (it: 15, c. 14.
3 “ Unicum Refugium peccatorum ! miserere mei!”—St. Aug.

and lo the Blessed Virgin.—III.

133

dise of delight, the assured asylum of all who are in danger, the
source of grace, the mediatrix between God and man !
Ejaculatory Prayer. Refuge of sinners, take pity on me.
The usual frayer, page 125.

THIRD VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

And My delights were to be with the children of mend
Behold our Jesus, who, not satisfied with dying on earth
for our love, is pleased even after his death to dwell with
us in the Most Holy Sacrament, declaring that he finds
his delights among men.
“O men,” exclaims St.
Teresa, “how can you offend a God who declares that it
is with you that he finds his delights!” Jesus finds his
delights with us; and shall we not find ours with Jesus ?
And we especially who have had the honor to dwell in
his palace? How greatly do those vassals esteem them­
selves honored to whom the king assigns an abode in his
own residence ! Behold the palace of the King; it is this
house in which we dwell with Jesus Christ. Let us, then,
learn to thank him for it, and to avail ourselves of con­
versing with Jesus Christ.
Behold me, then, O my Lord and God, before this
altar, on which Thou dost reside night and day for my
sake. Thou art the source of every good; Thou art the
healer of every ill; Thou art the treasure of every poor
creature. Behold now at Thy feet a sinner, who is of all
the poorest and most infirm, and who asks Thy mercy;
have pity upon me ! Now that I see Thee in this Sacra­
ment, come down from heaven upon earth only to do me
good; I will not be disheartened at the sight of my
misery. I praise Thee, I thank Thee, I love Thee; and if
1 “ Deliciæ meæ, esse cum filiis hominum.”—Prov. viii. 31.

134

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

Thou wiliest that I should ask Thee for an alms, I will
ask for this. O listen to me: I desire never more to of­
fend Thee; and I desire that Thou shouldst give me light
and grace to love Thee with all my strength. Lord,
I love Thee with my whole soul ; I love Thee with
all my affections. Do Thou grant that I may thus
speak with truth; and that I may speak in the same
way during life and for all eternity. Most holy Virgin
Mary, my holy patron saints, ye angels and all ye
blessed spirits of paradise, help me to love my most
amiable God.
Ejaculatory Prayer. O Good Shepherd, true bread, Jesus,
have mercy on us: do Thou feed us; do Thou guard us;
do Thou show us good things in the land of the living!1
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Her bands are a healthful binding? The devout Pelbart
>
says 3 that devotion to Mary is a chain of predestination.
Let us beseech our sovereign Lady to bind us always
more closely by the chains of love to confidence in her
protection.
Ejaculatory Prayer. O clement, O pious, O sweet Virgin
Mary.4
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Get manus of Constantinople.
Most holy Virgin who art the greatest consolation that I re­
ceive from God, thou who art the heavenly dew which assuages
1 “ Bone Pastor, Panis vere,
Jesu ! nostri miserere :
Tu nos pasce, nos tuere ;
Tu nos bona fac videre
In terra viventium.”
9 “Vincula illius, alligatura salutaris.”—Ecclus. vi. 31.
3 Stellar. 1. 12, p. a· 2.
4 “ O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.”

τΛ

and to the Blessed Virgin.—IV.

13 5

all my pains, thou who art the light of my soul when it is en­
veloped in darkness, thou who art my guide in unknown paths,
the support of my weakness, my treasure in poverty, my remedy
in sickness, my consolation in trouble, my refuge in misery, and
the hope of my salvation ; hear my supplications, have pity on
me, as becomes the mother of so good a God, and obtain for me
a favorable reception of all my petitions at the throne of mercy.12
Ejaculatory Prayer. O merciful, O pious, O sweet Virgin
Mary.
The usual prayer, page 125.
FOURTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

Her conversation hath no bitterness, nor her company any
tediousness.'1 Friends on earth find such pleasure in being
together, that they lose entire days in each other’s com­
pany: with Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament, those who
love him not, get weary. After her death, St. Teresa,
who was already in heaven, said to a nun: “Those who
are in heaven and those who are on earth should be one
and the same in purity and in love; we enjoying, and
you suffering; and that which we do in heaven with the
divine Essence, you should do on earth with the Most
Blessed Sacrament.”3 Behold, then, our paradise on
earth ;—the Most Blessed Sacrament.
O immaculate Lamb, sacrificed for us upon the cross,
remember that I am one of those souls that Thou hast
redeemed by so many sufferings, and by Thy death.
Grant that Thou mayest be mine, and that I may never
lose Thee, since Thou hast given Thyself to me, and
1 Encom. in S. Deip.
2 “ Non habet amaritudinem conversatio illius, nec tædium con
victus illius, sed lætitiam et gaudium.”—Wis. viii. 16.
3 A'ib. 1. 5, c. 4.

-

136

ISszts to the Most Holy Sacrament

givest Thyself every day, sacrificing Thyself for my love
on the altar; and grant that I may be all Thine. I give
myself to Thee without reserve, that Thou mayest dis­
pose of me as Thou pleasest. I give Thee my will; chain
it with the sweet bonds of Thy love, that it may forever
be the slave of Thy most holy will. I wish no longer to
live for the satisfaction of my desires, but only to please
Thy goodness. Destroy in me all that does not please
Thee; grant me the grace never to have any other thought
than to please Thee, any other desire than that which
Thou desirest. I love Thee, O my dear Saviour, with
my whole heart; I love Thee because Thou desirest that
I should love Thee; I love Thee because Thou art indeed
worthy of my love. I grieve that I love Thee not as
much as Thou deservest.
I desire, Lord, to die for
Thy love; accept my desire and give me thy love.
Amen.
Ejaculatory Prayer. O good pleasure of my God, I
sacrifice myself all to Thee!
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mary says: I am the Mother of fair love; 1 that is to say,
she is the Mother of that love which beautifies souls. St.
Mary Magdalene of Pazzi saw the Most Blessed Virgin
Mary going about dispensing a sweet liquid, which was
divine love. This gift is dispensed only by Mary; from
MarvJ let us seek it.
Ejaculatory Prayer. My Mother, my hope, make me
belong wholly to Jesus.
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Germanus of Constantinople.
O sovereign Queen ! thou art our defence and our joy. Make
me worthy to share with thee the happiness which thou enjoy1 “ Ego mater pulchræ dilectionis.”—Ecclus. xxiv. 24.

and to the Blessed Virgin.— V.

137

est in heaven. Yes, my refuge, my defence, my strength, my
hope, obtain for me, by thy powerful intercession, a place with
thee in paradise. Being the mother of God, thou canst obtain
it if thou pleasest.1 O Mary! thou art all-powerful in saving
sinners, and, being the Mother of mercy, thou canst want no
inducement to save them by thy intercession?
Ejaculatory Prayer. O my Mother and my hope ! obtain for
me the grace to be devoted entirely to Jesus.
The usual prayer, page 125.
FIFTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

The sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest
for herself, where she -may lay her young ones! Thy altars,
0 Lord of hosts, my King and my God? The sparrow, says
David, finds a dwelling in houses; turtle-doves in nests
*
but Thou, my king and my God, hast made Thyself a
nest and found a dwelling on earth on our altars, that we
might find Thee, and that Thou mightest dwell amongst
us.
Lord, we cannot but say, that Thou art too much en­
amoured of men; Thou no longer knowest what to do to
gain their love. But do Thou, my most amiable Jesus,
give us the grace that we also may be passionately en­
amoured of Thee. It would indeed be unreasonable were
we cold in our love towards a God who loves us with such
affection. Draw us to Thee by the sweet attractions of
Thy love ; make us understand the endearing claims
which Thou hast on our love.
O infinite Majesty and infinite Goodness, Thou lovest
1 Encom. in S. Deip.
* In Dorm. V. M. s. 2.
3 “ Passer invenit sibi domum, et turtur nidum sibi, ubi ponat pullos
suos: altaria tua, Domine virtutum, Rex meus et Deus meus.”—Ps.
Ixxxiii. 4.

138

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

men so much, Thou hast clone so much that Thou mightest be loved by men: how is it, then, that amongst men
there are so few who love Thee? I will no longer be as
I have hitherto been, of the unhappy number of those
ungrateful creatures: lam resolved to love Thee as much
as I can, and to love no other than Thee: Thou deservest
it; Thou commandest me with so much earnestness to
do so, I am resolved to satisfy Thee. Grant, O God of
my soul, that I may fully satisfy Thee. I entreat Thee to
grant me this favor by the merits of Thy Passion, and
I confidently hope for it. Bestow the goods of the earth
on those who desire them ; I desire and seek the great
treasure of Thy love alone. I love Thee, my Jesus; I love
Thee, infinite Goodness. Thou art all my riches, my
whole satisfaction, my entire love.
Ejaculatory Prayer. My Jesus, Thou hast given Thy
whole self to me; I give my whole self to Thee!

Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
My Lady, St. Bernard calls thee “ the ravisher of
hearts.”1 He says that thou goest about stealing hearts
by the charms of thy beauty and goodness. Steal also
my heart and will, I beseech thee: I give them wholly to
thee; offer them to God with thine own.
Ejaculatory Prayer. Mother most amiable, pray for
_t 2 I
me
(From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Bernard.
We look up to thee, O Queen of the world, for protection.
After a life of so much sin and ingratitude, we have to appear
before our Judge, and who shall appease his wrath ? No one is so
well qualified to do this as thyself, who didst love him so ten­
derly, and was so tenderly loved by him. O Mother of mercy,
1 “ Raptrix cordium.”—Med. in Salve Reg.
5 “ Mater amabilis! ora pro me.”

and to the Blessed Virgin.— VI.

139

open then thy ears to our sighs and prayers. Thou dost not
look with disdain on the sinner, however enormous his crimes
may have been ; if with sincere repentance he cries out to thee
and entreats thy intercession, thou despisest him not. Thou
animatest and consolcst him. and dost not abandon him, until
thou hast reconciled him with his Judge?
We fly, therefore, to thy protection, entreating thee to ap­
pease the indignation of thy Son, and to restore us to His
grace.
Ejaculatory Prayer. O Mary ! show thyself a mother to us.
The usual grayer, page 125.
SIXTH VISIT

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

Where your treasure is, there will your heart he also}
—Jesus Christ says, that where a person esteems bis
treasure to be, there also he keeps his affections. There­
fore the saints, who neither esteem nor love any other
treasure than Jesus Christ, centre their hearts and all
their love in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
My most amiable Jesus, hidden under the sacramental
veils, who for the love which Thou bearest me remainest
night and day imprisoned in this tabernacle, draw, I be­
seech Thee, my whole heart to Thee, that I may think of
none but Thee, that I may love and seek and hope for
Thee alone. Do this bv the merits of Thv Passion,
through which 1 seek and hope for it.
Ah, my sacramental Lord and divine Lover, how ami­
able and tender are the inventions of Thv love to gain
the love of souls! O Eternal Word, Thou, in becoming
man, wast not satisfied with dying for us; Thou hast also
given us this sacrament as a companion, as food, and as
1 Depr. ad glor. V.
* “ Ubi thesaurus vestei est, ibi et cor vestrum erit.”—Luke, xii. 34.

140

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

a pledge of heaven. Thou reducest Thyself so as to ap«
pear amongst us, at one time as an infant in a stable, at
another as a poor man in a workshop, then as a criminal
on a gibbet, and now as bread on an altar. Tell me,
could st Thou invent other means to win our love?
O infinite goodness, when shall I really begin to correspond with such refinements of love? Lord, I will
only live to love Thee alone. And of what use is life to
me, if I do not spend it wholly in loving and pleasing
Thee, my beloved Redeemer, who hast poured out Thy
whole life for me? And what have I to love, if it is not
Thee, who art all beauty, all condescension, all goodness,
all loving, all worthy of love ? May my soul live only to
love Thee; may the sole remembrance of Thy love dissolve
my soul with love; may the very names of crib, and cross,
and sacrament inflame it with the desire to do great
things for Thee, O my Jesus, who hast indeed done and
suffered great things for me !
Ejaculatory Prayer. Grant, my Lord, that before I die
I may do something for Thee !
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Asa fair olive-tree in the plain.' I am, says Mary, the
beautiful olive-tree from which the oil of mercy
z always
z
flows. And I stand in the plain, that all may see me,
and that all may have recourse to me. “ Remember (let
us say in the words of the prayer of St. Bernard), O most
compassionate Mary, that it has never been heard of in
any age, that any one having recourse to thy protection
was abandoned bvthee.”2 Most merciful Oueen, such
a thing was never heard of, that any one having recourse
1 “Quasi oliva speciosa in campis.”—F.cclus. xxiv. 19.
• “ Memorare, piisima Maria, a sæculo non esse auditum, quem·
quam ad tua præsidia confugientem esse derelictum.”

and to the Blessed Virgin.— VII.

141

to thy aid was abandoned: I will not be the first unfor­
tunate creature who, having recourse to thee, was aban­
doned.
Ejaculatory Prayer. O Mary, grant me the grace always
to have recourse to thee !
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Bernard.
O Mary ! thou art the only woman on whom the Saviour of
the world has poured the treasures of his grace without measure ;
hence we are taught to honor thy chaste womb as the temple of
God, wherein he was pleased to begin the great work of our
redemption, the reconciliation of God with man. Thou, O
mother of God, art that spiritual garden, whose fruit is never
gathered by the hands of sinners. Thou art that hallowed soil
where God has planted all the flowers which adorn his church,
and amongst the rest, the holy virtues of humility, purity, and
charity, which are greater ornaments to the souls of men than
violets, lilies, and roses are to the earth. Thou art the paradise
of God, whence flows the stream of living water to moisten the
earth. Oh, what benefits were bestowed on the world through
thee, when thou wast selected to be the fortunate channel of so
many graces !
Ejaculatory Prayer. Hail ! our life, our sweetness, and our
hope.1
The usual frayer, page 125.
SEVENTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
J/y Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of
the worldf Thus our loving shepherd, who has given
his life for us who are His sheep, would not separate
himself from us by death. Behold me, he says, beloved
sheep; I am always with you; for you I have remained
1 “Vita, Dulcedo, Spes nostra, salve !”
2 “ Ecce vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem
sæculi.”—Matt, xxviii. 20.

142

lïstls to the Most Holy Sacrament

on earth in this Sacrament; here you find me whenever
you please, to help and console you by my presence: I
will not leave you until the end of the world, as long as
you are on earth. The Bridegroom, says St. Peter of
Alcantara, wished to leave his bride company, that she
might not remain alone during so long an absence; and
therefore he left this Sacrament, in which he himself, the
best companion he could leave her, remains.
My sweetest Lord, my most amiable Saviour, I am now
visiting Thee on this altar; but Thou returnest me the
visit with far other love when Thou enterest my soul in
the Holy Communion. Thou art then not only present
to me, but Thou becomest my food; Thou unitest and
givest Thy whole self to me, so that I can then say with
truth, My Jesus, Thou art now all mine. Since, then,
Thou givest Thyself all to me, it is reasonable that I
should give myself all to Thee. I am a worm, and Thou
art God. O God of love! O love of my soul ! when
shall I find myself all Thine, in deeds, and not only in
words? Thou canst do this; by the merits of Thy blood
increase my confidence, that I may at once obtain this
grace of Thee, that I may find myself all Thine, and in
nothing mine own. Thou graciously hearest, O Lord,
the prayers of all; bear now the prayers of a soul that
indeed desires really to love Thee. I desire to love
Thee with all my strength, I desire to obey Thee in all
that Thou wiliest, without self-interest, without conso­
lations, without reward. I wish to serve Thee through
love, only to please Thee, only to content Thy heart,
which is so passionately enamoured of me. My reward
will be to love Thee. O beloved Son of the eternal
Father, take possession of my liberty, of my will, of all
that I possess, and of my entire self, and give me Thy­
self. I love Thee, I seek after Thee, I sigh after Thee;
I desire Thee, I desire Thee, I desire Thee !
Ejaculatory prayer. My Jesus, make me all Thine own!

and to the Blessed Virgin.— VII.

143

Spiritual Communion, page 124.
Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
O our own most amiable Lady, the whole Church pro­
claims and salutes thee as “our hope”! Thou, then,
who art the hope of all, be also my hope. St. Bernard
called thee “the whole ground of his hope,”' and said:
“Let him who despairs hope in thee.”’ Thus also will
I address thee: My own Mary, thou savest even those
who are in despair; in thee I place all my hope.
Ejaculatory prayer. Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus
for me !
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Bernard.
O Blessed Queen ! it is of thee the prophet speaks when he
says, “ Who is she that riseth like the day-star, beautiful as the
moon, brilliant as the sun?”3 Yes, thou didst appear in the
world like the bright day-star, preceding by the light of thy
sanctity the coming of the Sun of Justice. The day on which
thou earnest into the world may well be styled a day of salva­
tion and a day of grace. Thou art beautiful as the moon; be­
cause as none of the celestial bodies so nearly resembles the
sun as it does, so there is no creature whose perfections so
nearly approach to those of God as thy own. The moon en­
lightens the night by reflecting the rays of the sun, and thou
enlightenest our darkness by the splendor of those virtues with
which God has adorned thee. But thou art even more beauti­
ful than the moon, because in thee is found neither spot nor
shade; thou art brilliant like the sun ; I mean that divine Sun
who created the one which enlightens the earth, for, as he in
his humanity is the most resplendent among men, so art thou
the brightest amongst women.4
Ejaculatory prayer. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us
sinners.6
The usual prayer, page 125.
*

1
9
8
4
6

“Tota ratio spei mere.”—De Aquad.
“ In te speret, qui desperat.”—Med. in Salve Reg.
Cant. vi. 9.
Depr. ad glor. V.
“Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus!”

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament
EIGHTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

To every soul that visits Jesus in the Most Holy Sac­
rament, he addresses the words which he said to the
Sacred Spouse: /Irise, make haste, my love, my dove, my
beautiful one, and cornel Thou, O soul, that visitest me,
“arise” from thy miseries; I am here to enrich thee
with graces. “ Make haste,” approach, come near me;
fear not my majesty, which has humbled itself in this
Sacrament in order to take away thy fear, and to give
thee confidence. “My beloved,” thou art no longer my
enemy, but my friend; since thou lovest me and I love
thee. “My beautiful one,” my grace has made thee
fair. “And come,” draw near and cast thyself into my
arms, and ask me with the greatest confidence for what­
ever thou wiliest.
< ·
St. Teresa says that this great king of glory has dis­
guised himself in the Sacrament under the species of
bread, and that he has concealed his majesty to encour­
age us to approach his divine heart with greater confi­
dence. Let us, then, draw near to Jesus with great condence and affection; let us unite ourselves to him, and
let us ask him for graces.
O Eternal Word made man, and present for my sake
in this Sacrament, what joy should be mine now that I
stand in Thy presence, who art my God, who art infinite
majesty and infinite goodness, and hast so tender an
affection for my* soul ! Ye souls who love God,· wherever
you may be, either in heaven or on earth, love him for
me also. Mary, my Mother, help me to love him. And
Thou, most beloved Lord, make Thyself the object of
1 “ Surge, propera, arnica mea, columba mea, formosa mea, et
veni.”—Cant. ii. 10.

and to the Blessed Virgin.— VIII,

145

all my love. Make Thyself the Lord of my entire will;
possess my entire self. I consecrate my whole mind to
Thee, that it may always be occupied with the thought
of Thy goodness; I also consecrate my body to Thee,
that it may help me to please Thee; I consecrate my
soul to Thee, that it may be all Thine. Would, O be­
loved of my soul, that all men could know the tender­
ness of the love which Thou bearest them, that all might
live only to honor Thee and to please Thee, as Thou
desirest and deservest. Grant that at least I may al­
ways live enamoured of Thy infinite beauty. From this
day forward my desire is to do all that I can to be pleas­
ing to Thee. I now resolve to abandon everything, be
it what it may, as soon as I perceive that it displeases
Thee, however much it may cost me, even should it be
necessary for this purpose to lose all, or even to lay
down my life. Fortunate indeed shall I be, if I lose all
to gain Thee, my God, my treasure, my love, my all !
Ejaculatory prayer. Jesus, my love, take all that I have;
take full possession of me !

Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Whoever is a little one, let him come to meI Mary invites
all children who need a mother to have recourse to her,
as to the most loving of all mothers. The devout
Nieremberg says, that the love of all mothers is a
shadow in comparison with the love which Mary bears
to each one of us.’ My Mother, mother of my soul, thou
who lovest me, and desirest my salvation more than any
other after God, O Mother, “ show thyself a Mother.” 3
Ejaculatory prayer. My Mother, grant that I may al­
ways remember thee !
1 “ Si quis est parvulus, veniat ad me.”—Prov. ix. 49 De Affect, erga B. V. c. 14.
3 “ Monstra te esse Malrem.”

ro

146

l^isits to the Most Holy Sacrament
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Bernard.
Sweet and amiable Mary, no one can pronounce thy name
without feeling the greatest desire of loving thee ; and they who
love thee cannot call thee to mind without being animated to
love thee more. Pray for us to thy divine Son that he would
vouchsafe to strengthen our weakness : no one is better entitled
to speak in our favor to thy God and ours, than thyself, who art
nearest to him. Intercede, then, for us, O blessed Mother, be­
cause thy Son hears thee, and thou canst obtain whatever thou
ask est.1
Ejaculatory frayer. O Mary, obtain for me the grace to have
iontinual recourse to thee.
The usual frayer, page 125.
NINTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, page 123.

St. John says that he saw our Lord girt up with a
golden girdle, which supported his breasts: I saw the Son
of Man girt about the paps with a golden girdle? Thus also
is Jesus in the Sacrament of the Altar, with his breasts
all filled with milk; that is to say, with the graces which,
in his mercy, he desires to bestow upon us. And as a
mother, whose breasts are overcharged with milk, goes
about seeking for children who may draw it off, and re­
lieve her of its weight,
*
so also does he call out to us,
You shall be carried at the breasts?
The Venerable Father Alvarez saw Jesus in the Blessed
1 Depr. ad glor. V.
’ “ Vidi . . . præcinctum ad mamillas zona aurea.”—Afoc. i. 12.
3 “ Ad ubera portabimini.”—Isa. Ixvi. 13.

* St. Francis de Sales, in his treatise 7'he Love of God. B. 1, ch.
15, uses the same comparison in explaining it, to show us that the di­
vine goodness takes greater pleasure in giving us his graces than we
do in receiving them.—Ed.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—IX.

147

Sacrament with his hands filled with graces, and seeking
to whom he might dispense them. Of St. Catharine of
Sienna it is related, that when she approached the Most
Holy Sacrament, she did so precisely with the same
loving avidity with which a child flies to its mother’s
breast.
O most beloved and only-begotten Son of the Eternal
Father, I know that Thou art the object most worthy of
being loved. I desire to love Thee as much as Thou deservest to be loved, or at least as much as a soul can ever
desire to love Thee. I fully understand that I, who am
a traitor, and so great a rebel to Thy love, deserve not
to love Thee, neither do I deserve to approach Thee so
near as I now am in this church. But I feel that Thou,
for all this, seekest my love ; I hear Thee say, My son,
give ?ne thy heart} Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with thy whole heart} I understand that it is for this
end that Thou hast spared my life, and not sent me to
hell, that I might be converted and turn all my affections
to Thee. Since, then, Thou art pleased that even I
should love Thee, oh, yes, my God, I will do so. Behold
me : to Thee I yield myself up ; I give myself to Thee ;
I love Thee. O God ! all goodness, all love, I choose
Thee for the only king and lord of my poor heart. Thou
desirest it, and my will is to give it to Thee : it is cold,
it is loathsome ; but if Thou acceptest it, Thou wilt
change it. Change me, my Lord, change me ; I no
longer have courage to live as I have hitherto done, un­
grateful, and with so little love towards Thy infinite
goodness, which loves me so much, and deserves an infinite love. Enable me to supply from this day forward
for all the love which I have hitherto failed to bear Thee.
1 “ Præbe, fili mi, cor tuum mihi.”—Prov. xxiii. 26.
2 “ Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo.”—Matt. xxii.
37·

148

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

Ejaculatory Prayer. My God, my God, I will love Thee,
I will love Thee, I will love Thee !

Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In all things like to her Son Jesus is his Mother Mary;
and as she is the Mother of mercy, she is thrice happy
when she helps and consoles the miserable. So great is
the desire of this Mother to bestow graces on all, that
Bernardine de Bustis says, that “ she desires more to do
us good, and to impart to us graces, than we can desire
to receive them.” 1
Ejaculatory prayer. Hail, our hope !’
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. John Damascene.

Hail! Mary, the hope of Christians. Hear the petition of a
sinner, who wishes to love thee with the greatest tenderness,
and to honor thee as thou dcservest, and who reposes in thee,
next to God, his hope of salvation. Being indebted to ihee for
the preservation of my life, I entreat thee to restore me to the
grace of thy divine Son. Thou art the surest pledge of my sal­
vation ; deliver me, then, by thy prayers, from the heavy load
of my sins. Disperse the darkness of my understanding; ban­
ish every inordinate affection from my heart; repress the temp­
tations of my spiritual enemies, and so order my life that, under
thy protection, I may arrive at eternal repose in heaven.3
Ejaculatory prayer. O my Mother, obtain for me the grace
that I may always remember thee.
The usual prayer, page 125.
1 “ Plus enim desiderat ipsa facere tibi bonum et largiri gratiam,
quam tu accipere concupiscas.”—Mar. p. 2, s. 5.
3 “ Spes nostra ! salve.”
3 In Nat. B. Μ. V. s. 1.

and to the Blessed Virgin.

149

TENTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

O foolish ones of the world, says St. Augustine, miser­
able creatures, where are you going to satisfy your hearts?
Come to Jesus ; for by him alone can that pleasure which
you seek be bestowed. “Unhappy creatures, whither
are you going ? The good you seek for comes from
him.” * My soul, be not of the number of these foolish
ones ; seek God alone : “ seek for that one good in which
are all good things.”3 And if thou desirest soon to find
him, behold, he is close to thee ; tell him what thou de­
sirest, since for this end it is that he is in the ciborium, to
console thee, and to grant thy prayer. 'St. Teresa says
that all are notallowed to speak to their king : the most
that can be hoped for is to communicate with him through
a third person. To converse with Thee, O King of glory,
no third person is needed ; Thou art always ready in
the Sacrament of the Altar to give audience to all. All
who desire Thee always find Thee there, and converse
with Thee face to face. And even if any one at length
succeeds in speaking with a king, how many difficulties
has he had to overcome before he can do so ! Kings
grant audiences only a few times in the year ; but Thou,
in this Sacrament, grantest audience to all night and
day, and whenever we please.
O Sacrament of love, Thou who, whether Thou givest
Thyself in the Communion, or dwellest on the altar,
knowest, by the tender attractions of Thy love, how to
draw so many hearts to Thyself, who, enamoured of
1 “ Miseri, quo itis ? Bonum quod amatis, ab illo est."—Conf. 1.
c. 12.
3 “Ama unum bonum, in quo sunt omnia bona.”—Man. c. 34.

150

I risits to the Most Holy Sacrament

Thee, and filled with amazement at the sight of such
love, burn with joy, and think always of Thee ; draw also
my miserable heart to Thyself ; for it desires to love
Thee, and to live enslaved by Thy love. For my part,
I now and henceforward place all my interests, all my
hopesj and all my affections, my soul, my body,—I place
all in the hands of Thy goodness. Accept me, O Lord,
and dispose of me as Thou pleasest. I will never again
complain, O my love, of Thy holy dispensations ; I know
that, as they all take their source in Thy loving heart,
they all will be full of love, and for my good. It is
enough for me to know that Thou wiliest them ; I will
them also in time and in eternity. Do all that Thou
wiliest in me and with me ; I unite my entire self to Thy
will, which is all holy, all good, all beautiful, all perfect,
all loving. O will of my God, h’ow dear art thou to me !
My will is ever to live and die united to and bound up
with Thee. Thy pleasure is my pleasure. I will that
Thy desires shall also be my desires. My God, my God,
help me ; make me henceforward live for Thee alone ;
make me will only what Thou wiliest, and make me live
only to love Thy amiable will. Grant that I may die
for Thy love, since Thou hast died and become food for
me. I curse those days in which I did my own will, so
much to Thy displeasure. I love thee, O will of God,
as much as 1 love God, since thou art one with him. I
love Thee, then, with my whole heart, and give myself
all to Thee.
Ejaculatory prayer. O will of God, thou art my love !

Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The great Queen says, With me are riches . . . that 1
may enrich them that love met Let us love Mary, if we
1 “ Mecum sunt divitiae, . . . ut ditem diligentes me.”—Prov.
xviii. S.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XI.

151

would be rich in graces. The writer who calls himself
“ the Idiot” styles her “ the treasurer of graces.”1 Blessed
is he who has recourse to Mary with love and confidence.
My Mother, my hope, thou canst make me a saint; from
thee I hope for this favor.
Ejaculatory prayer. Mother most amiable, pray for me ! *
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Andrew ofJerusalem.
Hail I Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with thee. Hail!
source of our joy. Through thee, as the Mother of Jesus, the
sentence of our condemnation has been revoked, and changed
into a judgment of benediction. Hail, temple of the Deity’s
glory, sacred dwelling of the King of Heaven; thou art the
reconciliation of God with man. Hail, Mother of our bliss;
thou art truly blessed, because thou wast the only one amongst
women found worthy to be the Mother of thy Creator. All
nations call thee blessed.9 If I place my confidence in thee I
shall be saved. Under thy protection I have nothing to fear,
because, in being devoted to thee, I hold in my hand the most
assured arms of salvation, which the Almighty grants only to
those whom he wishes in a special manner to save.
Ejaculatory Prayer. We fly to thy protection, O sacred
Mother of God !
The usual prayer, page 125.
ELEVENTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

“ Let us be careful,” says St. Teresa, “ never to be at a
distance from Jesus our beloved Shepherd, nor to lose
sight of him; for the sheep which are near their shep1
9
3
4

“ Thesaurus gratiarum.”—Cont. de V. M. c. i.
“ Mater amabilis! ora pro me.”
In S. Deip. Ann.
“ Sub tuum præsidium confugimus, sancta Dei genetrix!”

ISs/ts to the Most Holy Sacrament

152

herd are always more caressed and better fed, and
always receive some choice morsels of that which he
himself eats. If by chance the shepherd sleeps, still the
lamb remains near him, and either waits until h>s slum­
ber ends, or itself awakens him; and it is then caressed
with new favors.”
My Redeemer, present in this Most Holy Sacrament,
behold me near Thee: the only favor which I ask of
Thee is, fervor and perseverance in Thy love. I thank
thee, O holy faith; for thou teachest and assurest me
that in the divine Sacrament of the Altar, in that
heavenly bread, bread does not exist; but that my Lord
Jesus Christ is all there, and that he is there for love of
me. My Lord and my all, I believe that Thou art pres­
ent in the Most Holy Sacrament; and though unknown
to eyes of flesh, by the light of holy faith I discern Thee
in the consecrated Host, as the monarch of heaven and
earth, and as the Saviour of the world. Ah, my most
sweet Jesus! as Thou art my hope, my salvation, my
strength, my consolation, so also I will that Thou
shouldst be all my love, and the only subject of all
my thoughts, of my desires, and of my affections. I rejoice more in the supreme happiness which Thou enjoyest, and wilt enjoy forever, than in any good thing
which I could ever have in time or in eternity. My
supreme satisfaction is, that Thou, my beloved Re­
deemer, art supremely happy, and that Thy happiness
is infinite. Reign, reign, my Lord, over my whole soul;
I give it all to Thee; do Thou ever possess it. May my
will, my senses, and my faculties be all servants of Thy
love, and may they never in this world serve for any­
thing else than to give Thee satisfaction and glory.
Such was thy life, O first lover and Mother of my Jesus!
Most holy Mary, do thou help me; do thou obtain for
me the grace to live henceforward, as thou didst always
live, in the happiness of belonging to God alone.
I

_

1
and tn the Blessed Virgin.—XI.

153

Ejaculatory prayer. My Jesus, may I be all Thine, and
be Thou all mine!

Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Blessed is the man . . . that mateheth daily at my gates,
and waiteth at the posts of my doors.' Blessed is he who,
like the poor who stand before the gates of the rich, is
careful to seek for the alms of graces before the doors of
the mercy of Mary! And thrice blessed is he who more­
over seeks to imitate the virtues which he remarks in
Mary, and more especially her purity and humility!
Ejaculatory prayer. My hope, help me!
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Andrew of Crete or of fer usaient.

Mother of mercy! appease the anger of thy Son. Whilst thou
wast upon earth, thou didst occupy only a small portion of it:
but being now seated in the highest heavens, we look upto thee
as the general mediatrix of all nations. We entreat thee, O
sacred Virgin ! to grant us the assistance of thy prayers, which
arc more desirable and more precious than all the treasures of
the earth. Thy prayers move the Almighty to pardon our sins,
and obtain for us the most abundant graces, to enable us to
practise the virtues of a Christian life ; they arrest the progress
of our enemies, frustrate their designs, and triumph over the
efforts of their malice.1
*3
Ejaculatory prayer. Mary! thou art my consolation, and,
after Jesus, the foundation of my hope.’
The usual prayer, page 125.
1 “ Beatus homo . . . qui vigilat ad fores meas quotidie, et observat
ad postes ostii mei.”—Prov. viii. 34.
8 In Domi. S. M. s. 3.
3 “ Hæc tota mea fiducia, hæc tota ratio spei meæ.”—5. Bern. De
Aquced.

154

to the Most Holy Sacrament
TWELFTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

God is charity ; and he that abideth in charity, abideth in
God, and God in him J He who loves Jesus dwells with
Jesus, and Jesus with him. If any one love Me . . . Aly
Father will love him; and We will come to him, and will
make Our abode with him? When St. Philip Neri received
the Holy Communion as Viaticum, on seeing the Most
Blessed Sacrament enter his room, he exclaimed: “Be­
hold my love! behold my love!” Let each one of us, then,
say, here in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacra­
ment: Behold my love! behold the object of all my love
for my whole life and for all eternity!
Since, then, my Lord and my God, Thou hast said in
the Gospel that he who loves Thee will be beloved by
Thee, and that Thou wilt come and dwell in him, and
never more leave him, I love Thee above every other
good: do Thou, then, also love me; for I, indeed, esteem
being loved by Thee above all the kingdoms of the
world. Come and fix Thy dwelling in the poor house of
my soul in such a way that Thou mayest no more depart
from me ; or rather, so that I may never more drive
Thee from me. Thou dost not go, if Thou art not ex­
pelled; but as I have already done this, so I might do
again. Ah, never allow such a fresh act of wickedness,
such horrible ingratitude, to be perpetrated in the world,
as that I, who have been so especially favored by Thee,
and who have received so many graces, should again
drive Thee from my soul ! But this might happen. I
1 “Deus charitas est: et qui manet in charitatc in Deo manet, et
Deus in eo.”—1 John, iv. 16.
* “Si quis diligit me, ... et Pater meus diligit cum; et ad eum
veniemus, et mansionem apud eum faciemus.”—John, xiv. 23.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XII.

155

therefore, my Lord, desire death, if it so pleases Thee ;
that by dying united to Thee, I may live united to Thee
forever. Yes, my Jesus ; for this I hope. I embrace
Thee ; I press Thee to my poor heart; grant that I
may always love Thee, and always be beloved by Thee.
Yes, my most amiable Redeemer, I will always love
Thee; and Thou wilt always love me. I trust that our
love will ever be mutual, O God of my soul, and this for
all eternity. Amen.
Ejaculatory prayer. My Jesus, I desire always to love
Thee, and always to be beloved by Thee.

Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
They that work by me shall not sin) He, says Mary, who
endeavors to honor me shall persevere to the end. They
that explain me shall have life everlasting
and those
who endeavor to make me known and loved by others
will be of the number of the elect. Promise, then, that
whenever you can, be it in public or in private, you will
speak of the glories of Mary, and of devotion to her.
Ejaculatory prayer. Vouchsafe that I may praise Thee,
most sacred Virgin !3
[According to the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Ildefonsus.
O my Sovereign, and Mother of my God, thou art blessed
amongst all women, pure amongst all virgins, and queen of all the
heavenly host, all nations pronounce thee blessed. Vouchsafe
that I may publish as much as possible thy greatness, that I
may love thee to the utmost of my power, and that I may serve
thee with all the capacity of my soul.
Ejaculatory prayer. Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O
blessed Virgin.3
The usual prayer, page 125.
1 “ Qui operantur in me non peccabunt.”—Edus. xxiv. 30.
2 “Qui elucidant me, vitamæternam habebunt.”—Ibid. 31.
3 “ Dignare me laudare te, Virgo sacrata !”

156

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

THIRTEENTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

My eyes and my heart shall be there always) Behold,
Jesus has verified this beautiful promise in the Sacra­
ment of the Altar, wherein he dwells with us night and
day.
My Lord, would it not have been enough hadst Thou
remained in this Sacrament only during the day, when
Thou couldst have had adorers of Thy presence to keep
Thee company; but why remain also the whole night,
when the churches are all closed, and when men retire to
their homes, leaving Thee quite alone ? Ah, yes ! I al­
ready understand Thee: love has made Thee our prisoner;
the excessive love which Thou bearest us has so bound
Thee down on earth, that neither night nor day canst
Thou leave us. Ah, most amiable Saviour, this refine­
ment of love alone should oblige all men ever to stay
with Thee in the sacred ciboriums, and to remain with
Thee until forcibly compelled to leave Thee; and when
they do so, they should all leave at the foot of the altar
their hearts and affections inflamed with love towards an
Incarnate God, who remains alone and enclosed in a
tabernacle, all eyes to see and provide for them in their
necessities, and all heart to love them, and who awaits
the coming day to be again visited by his beloved souls.
Yes, my Jesus, I will please Thee; I consecrate my
whole will and all my affections to Thee. O infinite Ma­
jesty of God, Thou hast left Thyself in this divine Sac­
rament, not only that Thou mightest be present with us
and near us, but principally to communicate Thyself to
Thy beloved souls. But. Lord, who will presume to ap1 “Et erunt oculi mei et cor meum ibi cunctis diebus.”—3 Kings,
ix. 3-

and to the Btossed Virgin.—XIII.

157

proach Thee to feed upon Thy flesh ? and who, on the
other hand, can keep at a distance from Thee ? For this
purpose Thou concealest Thyself in the consecrated Host,
that Thou mayest enter into us and possess our hearts.
Thou burnest with the desire of being received by us,
and Thou rejoicest in being there united with us. Come,
then, my Jesus, come ; I desire to receive Thee within
myself, that Thou mayest be the God of my heart and
of my will. All that is within me I yield, my dear Re­
deemer, to Thy love; satisfactions, pleasures, self-will, all
I give up to Thee. O Love, O God of love, reign,
triumph over my entire self ; destroy and sacrifice all
in me which is mine and not Thine. Permit not, O my
Love, that my soul, which, having received Thee in the
Holy Communion, is filled with the Majesty of God,
should again attach itself to creatures. I love Thee,
my God, I love Thee; and I will love Thee alone and
forever.
Ejaculatory prayer. Draw me by the chains of Thy
love !1
Spiritual Communion, page 125.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
St. Bernard exhorts us, saying: “ Let us seek for grace,
and let us seek it by Mary.”2 “She,” says St. Peter
Damian, “ is the treasure of divine graces.” 3 She can en­
rich us, and she desires to do so. She therefore invites
and calls us, saying: JVhosoever is a little one, let him come
to tnej Most amiable Lady, most exalted Lady, most
gracious Lady, look on a poor sinner who recommends
himself to Thee, and who places all his confidence iu
Thee.
1

s
3

“Trahe me vinculis amoris tui.”
“Quæramus gratiam et per Mariam quæramus.”—De A quad.
“Thesaurus divinarum gratiarum.”
“ Si quis est parvulus, veniat ad me.”—Prov. ix. 4.

■

158

Pïsïts to the Most Holy Sacrament

Ejaculatory prayer. We fly to thy patronage, O holy
Mother of God !1
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Ildefonsus.
Most humble handmaid of thy divine Son ! I prostrate myself
before thee, conjuring thee to obtain pardon of my sins, that I
may be cleansed from all the imperfections of my life. I entreat
thee to procure me the grace of being always united to God and
to thee, and to be ever a faithful servant of thy Son and of
thee: of thy Son, as my Lord and my Redeemer; and of thee,
as the cause of my redemption : for if he has paid the price of
my redemption, it was with the body which he received from
thee.3
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary ! obtain for me confidence in thy
intercession, and the grace that I may continually have recourse
to thee.
The usual prayer, page 125.
FOURTEENTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

Most amiable Jesus, I hear Thee say from this taber­
nacle in which Thou art present, This is my rest forever and
ever; here will I dwelt for I have chosen it.2 Since, then,
Thou hast chosen Thy dwelling on our altars in the
midst of us, remaining there in the Most Holy Sacrament,
and since Thy love for us makes Thee there find Thy re­
pose, it is but just that our hearts also should ever
dwell with Thee in affection, and should find all pleasure
and repose in Thee. Blessed are you, O loving souls,
who can find no sweeter repose in the world than in re­
maining near to your Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament !
And blessed should I be, my Lord, did I from this time
1 “ Sub tuum præsidium confugimus, sancta Dei genitrix !”
3 De Virg.perp. S. M. c. 12.
3 “ Hæc requies mea in sæculum sæculi ; hic habitabo, quoniam
elegi eam.”—Ps. cxxxi. 14.

and to the Blessed. Virgin.—XIV.

15g

forward find no greater delight than in remaining always
in Thy presence, or in always thinking of Thee, who in
the Most Holy Sacrament art always thinking of me and
of my welfare.
Ah, my Lord ! and why have I lost so many years, in
which I have not loved Thee ? O miserable years, I
curse you; and I bless Thee, O infinite patience of my
God, for having for so many years borne with me, though
so ungrateful to Thy love. And still, notwithstanding
this ingratitude, Thou waitest for me: and why, my God,
why? It is, that one day, overcome by Thy mercies and
by Thy love, I may yield wholly to Thee. Lord, I will
no longer resist, I will no longer be ungrateful. It is
but just that I should consecrate to Thee the time, be it
long or short, which I have still to live. I hope for Thy
help, O my Jesus, to become entirely Thine. Thou
didst favor me so much when I fled from Thee and de­
spised Thy love; how much more may I now hope that
Thou wilt favor me, now that I seek and desire to love
Thee ! Give me, then, the grace to love Thee, O God,
worthy of infinite love. I love Thee with my whole heart;
I love Thee above all things; I love Thee more than my­
self, more than my life. I am sorry for having offended
Thee, O infinite goodness: pardon me; and with Thy
pardon grant me the grace to love Thee much in
this life until death, and in the next life for all eternity.
O Almighty God, show the world the greatness of Thy
power, in the prodigy of a soul ungrateful as mine has
been becoming one of Thy greatest lovers. Do this by
Thy merits, my Jesus. It is my ardent desire, and I re­
solve thus to love Thee during my whole life: do Thou,
who inspirest me with this desire, give me also the
strength to accomplish it.
Ejaculatory prayer. My Jesus, I thank Thee for having
waited for me until now !

i6o

TSszts to the Most Holy Sacrament

Spiritual Communion, page 124.
Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
St. Germanus, addressing the Most Blessed Virgin
Mary, says: “No one is saved but through thee; no
one is delivered from evils but through thee; there
is no one on whom any gift is bestowed but through
thee.” 1 Therefore, my Lady and my hope, if thou dost
not help me I am lost, and shall be unable to bless thee
in heaven. But, Lady, I hear all the saints say that thou
never abandonest those who have recourse to thee. He
only is lost who has not recourse to thee. I, then, mis­
erable creature that I am, have recourse to thee, and in
thee place all my hopes.
Ejaculatory prayer, in the words of St. Bernard. Mary is
my whole confidence ; she is the whole ground of my
hope ! ’
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Anselm.
We entreat thee, most Sacred Virgin, by that fulness of grace,
whereby thou wast elevated to the highest degree of dignity
and glory which a pure creature can possibly attain, that thou
wouldst procure for us a fellowship with thee in glory. Pray
for us, that we may obtain that happiness, to purchase which
for us God vouchsafed to become man in thy immaculate womb.
Be not deaf to our supplications; whatever thou askest of thy
Son, he will grant to us: if thou desirest our salvation, and
prayest for it, we are sure to be saved. But if thou dost shut
the bowels of thy mercy against us ; if thou, who art the
Mother of clemency, dost not take pity on us, what will be our
lot when thy Son shall appear in judgment?
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary ! behold our danger, and have
compassion on us.
The usual prayer, page 125.
1 “ Nullus est qui salvus fiat, nisi per te ; nemo qui liberetur a
malis, nisi per te ; nemo cui donum concedatur, nisi per te.”—De
Zona Deip. ap. Sur. 31 Aug.
9 “ Hæc tota mea fiducia, hæc tota ratio spei meæ.”—5. Bern. De
Aquad.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XV

161

FIFTEENTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

I am come to cast fire on the earth; and what will I but
that it be kindledV Father Francis Olimpio, the Theatine,
used to say that there was nothing on earth which en­
kindled so ardent flames of divine love in the hearts of
men as the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Hence
our Lord showed himself to St. Catharine of Sienna in
this Blessed Sacrament as a furnace of love, from which
issued forth torrents of divine flames, spreading themselves over the whole earth : so much so, indeed, that
the saint, in perfect astonishment, wondered how it was
possible that men could live without burning with love
for such love on the part of God towards them.
My Jesus, make me burn with the desire of Thee ;
grant that all my thoughts, and sighs, and desires, and
seekings, may be for Thee alone. Oh, happy should I
be, did this Thy heavenly fire fully possess me, and as I
advance in years, gradually consume all earthly affections
in me !
O divine Word ! O my own Jesus ! I see Thee all
sacrificed, all annihilated, and so to say destroyed on the
altar, for my love. It is, then, but right that, as Thou
sacrificest Thyself as a victim of love for me, I at least
should consecrate myself wholly to Thee. Yes, my God
and my sovereign Lord, I now sacrifice to Thee my whole
soul, my entire self, my whole will and my whole life.
I unite this poor sacrifice of mine, O Eternal Father, to
the infinite sacrifice of himself which Jesus, Thy Son and
my Saviour, once offered to Thee on the cross, and which
1 “ Ignem veni mittere in terram ; et quid volo, nisi ut accendatur
'—Luke, xii. 49.

ri

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

j62

he now offers to Thee so many times every day on our
altars. Accept it, then, through the merits of Jesus;
and grant me the grace to renew it every day of my life,
and to die sacrificing my whole self to Thy honor. I desire’the grace granted to so many martyrs, to die for
Thy love. But if I am unworthy of so great a grace,
grant at least, my Lord, that I may sacrifice my life to
Thee, together with my entire will, by accepting the
death which Thou sendest me.
Lord, I desire this
grace ; I desire to die with the intention of honoring and
pleasing Thee thereby : and from this moment I sacrifice
my life to Thee ; and I offer Thee my death, when or
wheresoever it may take place.
Ejaculatory prayer. My Jesus, I desire to die in order
to please Thee !

Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Allow me also, my most sweet Queen, to call thee,
with thine own St. Bernard, “ the whole ground of my
hope,” 1 and to say with St.John Damascene, “ I have
placed my whole hope in thee.”2 Thou hast to obtain
for me the forgiveness of my sins ; thou, perseverance
until death ; thou, deliverance from purgatory. All who
are saved obtain salvation through thee: thou, then, O
Mary, hast to save me : “ He will be saved whom thou
wiliest.”3 Will, then, my salvation, and I shall be saved.
But thou savest all who invoke thee ; behold, then, I in­
voke thee, and say :
Ejaculatory prayer. O salvation of those who invoke
Thee, save me ! *
1
2
3
4

“ Tota ratio spei meæ.”—De Aquad.
“Totam spem meam in te collocavi.”—Carmina,
“ Quem vis, salvus erit.”—Cant, post Psalt.
“ O Salus te invocantium, salva mei”

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XVI.
.

163

[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Anselm.
Help us, O Queen of mercy ! without regarding the multitude
of our sins. Remember, that our Creator assumed from thee
a human body, not to condemn, but to save sinners. Hadst
thou been chosen to be the Mother of God for thy own benefit
alone, thou mightest then be said to have no particular interest
in our salvation ; but God clothed himself in thy form for the
sake of all mankind. Help us, therefore, and protect us : thou
knowcst the need which we have of thy assistance, and we ear­
nestly recommend ourselves to thy prayers. Pray that we may
not be eternally lost, but with thee may serve and love Jesus
Christ forever.1
The usual frayer, page 125.
SIXTEENTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

Had men but always recourse to the Most Blessed
Sacrament to seek from it the remedy for their ills, they
certainly would not be so miserable as they are. The
prophet Jeremias, lamenting, exclaimed: Is there no balm
in Galaad? or is there no physician there?' Galaad, a
mountain of Arabia, rich in aromatical spices, accord­
ing to venerable Bede, is a figure of Jesus Christ, who in
this Sacrament keeps in readiness all the remedies for
our woes. Why, then, our Redeemer seems to ask, do
you complain of your misfortunes, O sons of Adam, when
you have the physician and the remedy for them all in
this Sacrament? Come to Me. and I will refresh youp I
will, then, address Thee in the words of the sisters of
Lazarus: Behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick.
*
Lord, I am
1 De ExceII. B. M. c. 12.
9 “ Numquid résina non est in Galaad? aut medicus nonest ibi?”—
fer. viii. 22.
3 “ Venite ad me omnes . . . er ego reficiam vos.”—Matt. xi. 28.
4 “ Ecce, quem amas, infirmatur.”—John, xi. 3.

164

fâsits to the Most Holy Sacrament

that miserable creature whom Thou lovest; my soul is
all wounded by the sins which I have committed; my
divine physician, I come to Thee, that Thou mayest heal
me; if Thou wilt, Thou canst cure me: Heal my soul; for
I have sinned against Thee) Draw me wholly to Thyself,
my most sweet Jesus, by the all-winning attractions of
Thy love. Far rather would I be bound to Thee than
become the Lord of the whole earth. I desire nothing
else in the world but to love Thee. I have but little to
give Thee; but could I gain possession of all the king­
doms of the world, I would do so, that I might renounce
them all for Thy love. For Thee, then, I renounce what
I can; I give up all relatives, all comforts, all pleasures,
and even spiritual consolations: for Thee I renounce my
liberty and my will. On Thee I desire to bestow all my
love. I love Thee, infinite goodness; I love Thee more
than myself, and I hope to love Thee for all eternity.
Ejaculatory prayer. My Jesus, I give myself to Thee: do
Thou accept me !

Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
My Lady, though didst say to St. Bridget: “How­
ever much a man sins, if he returns to me with a real
purpose of amendment, I am instantly ready to welcome
him: neither do I pay attention to the greatness of his
sins, but to the intention alone with which he comes. I
do not disdain to anoint and heal his wounds; for I am
called, and truly am, the Mother of mercy.”3 Since,
then, thou hast both the power and the will to heal me,
1 “ Sana animam meam quia peccavi tibi.”—Ps. xl. 5.
* “ Quantumcumque homo peccet, si ex vera emendatione ad me
reversus fuerit, statim parata sum recipere revertentem; nec attendo
quantum peccaverit, sed cum quali voluntate venit: nam non dedig­
nor ejus plagas ungere et sanare,' quia vocor (et vere sum) Mater
misericordiae.”—Rev. 1. 2, c. 23; et 1. 6, c. 117.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XVII.

165

behold, I have recourse to thee, O heavenly physician;
heal the many wounds of my soul: with a single word
addressed by thee to thy Son I shall be restored.
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary, have pity on me !
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Peter Damian.
O holy Virgin ! come to the assistance of those who call upon
thee: cast a look of pity on us. Hast thou, in the close alliance
thou boldest with the Deity, forgotten thy fellow-creatures?
Ah ! certainly not. Thou knowest too well the misery of our
condition, and the dangers to which we are exposed, and it would
ill become clemency and compassion like thine to forget us.
Exert thy influence in our behalf. Nothing is impossible to thee,
and thou canst, by thy prayers, obtain for the most grievous
sinner, the sweet hope of salvation. The greater thy power is,
the greater ought also to be thy mercy.1
Ejaculatory frayer. O Mary ! thou canst by thy intercession
cleanse me from my sins, and I look for this favor from thee.
The usual prayer, page 125.
SEVENTEENTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

Loving souls can find no greater delight than to be in
the company of those whom they love. If we, then, love
Jesus Christ much, behold we are now in his presence.
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament sees us and hears us :
shall we, then, say nothing to him ? Let us console our­
selves in his company; let us rejoice in his glory, and in
the love which so many
J enamoured souls bear him in the
Most Holy Sacrament. Let us desire that all should
love Jesus in the Holy Sacrament, and consecrate their
hearts to him; at least let us consecrate all our affections
to him. He should be all our love and our whole desire.
1 In Nat. 13. Μ. P. s. I.

166

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

Father Salesius, of the Society of Jesus, felt consolation
in only speaking of the Most Blessed Sacrament; he
could never visit it enough. When called to the parlor,
on returning to his room, when going about the house,
he always profited by these occasions to repeat his visits
to his beloved Lord; so much so, that it was remarked
that scarcely an hour of the day passed without his visit­
ing him. At length he obtained the favor to die by the
hands of heretics while defending the truth of the real
presence in the Blessed Sacrament.
Oh, had I but the happiness to die for so noble a cause
as the defence of this Sacrament, in which, O most ami­
able Jesus, Thou hast taught us the tenderness of the love
which Thou bearest us ! But since, my Lord, Thou
workest so many miracles in this Sacrament, work this
one also: draw mv entire self to Thee. Thou indeed
desirest that I should be all Thine, and Thou dost also
indeed deserve that I should be so. Give me the strength
to love Thee with all the affection of my soul. Give the
goods of this world to whomsoever Thou wiliest. I re­
nounce them all : I sigh after and desire Thy love
alone; this alone do I now and will always seek. I love
Thee, my Jesus; grant me the grace always to love Thee,
and grant me this alone.
Ejaculatory prayer. My Jesus, when shall I really love
Thee?

Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
My most sweet Queen, how pleasing to me is that
beautiful name by which thy devout clients address thee:
“Most amiable Mother!”1 Yes, mv Ladv, thou art
truly and indeed amiable. Thy beauty has captivated
thy Lord himself : And the king shall greatly desire thy
1 “ Mater amabilis.”

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XVII.

167

beauty) St. Bernard says that thy very name is so ami­
able to thy lovers, that when they pronounce or hear it
they are inflamed with a fresh desire to love thee: “O
sweet, O pious, O exceedingly amiable Mary ! Thou
canst not be named without inflaming, neither can thy
name be heard without enkindling, the affections of those
who love thee.” ’ It is, then, reasonable, my most ami
able Mother, that I should love thee. But I am not sat­
isfied with only loving thee: I desire in the first place on
earth, and then in heaven, to be, after God, thy greatest
lover. If my desire is presumptuous, it is thou thyself
who art to blame, on account of thy amiability, and the
special love which thou hast shown me. If thou wert
less amiable, my desire to love thee would be less. Ac­
cept, then, O Lady, this my desire; and in token that
thou hast accepted it, do thou obtain me from God this
love for which I ask thee, since he is so well pleased with
the love which is borne thee.
Ejaculatory prayer. My most amiable Mother, I love
thee much.
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Damian.
O Mother of God ! cast upon us one look of compassion. I
know that thou art full of goodness, and that thou lovest us in
a measure that surpasses all other love, blow often dost thou
appease the anger of our Judge, when the hand of his justice is
raised to strike us? All the treasures of mercy are in thy
hands, and thou seekest every opportunity to save miserable
sinners and to make them partakers of thy glory. Ah ! never
cease to interest thyself in our regard, that we may one day ar­
rive at the happiness of seeing Thee in heaven : as the greatest
good that we can enjoy, next to that of seeing God, is to see
thee, to love thee, and to be under thy protection. Since thy
1 lt Concupivit Rex speciem tuam.”—Ps. xliv. 12.
2 “O dulcis, o pia, o multum amabilis Maria! tu nec nominari
potes, quin accendas, nec cogitari, quin recrees affectus diligentium
te.”—Spec. B. V. c. 9.

168

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

Son desires to honor thee by refusing nothing that thou askest,
hear our prayer, and intercede in our behalf?
Ejaculatory firayer. O Mary! I love thee as the most amiable
of the works of God, and place my confidence in thee.
The usual prayer, page 125.
EIGHTEENTH VISIT

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

One day Jesus will be seated on a throne of majesty
in the valley of Josaphat ; but now, in the Most Blessed
Sacrament, he is seated on a throne of love. Did a king,
to show his love for a poor shepherd, go and live in his
village, how great would be the ingratitude of this peas­
ant did he not often go to visit him, knowing the king’s
wish to see him, and that for this purpose he had come
to reside there !
Ah, my Jesus, for love of me Thou dwellest in the
Sacrament of the Altar. Could I, then, do so, my desire
would be to remain night and day in Thy presence. If
the angels, O my Lord, filled with astonishment at the
love which Thou bearest us, remain always around Thee,
it is but reasonable that I, seeing Thee for my sake on
this altar, should endeavor to please Thee, at least by re­
maining in Thy presence, to praise the love and goodness
which Thou hast for me: I will sing praise to Thee in the
sight of the angels; I will worship towards Thy holy temple,
and J will give glory to Thy name : for Thy mercy and for
Thy truth?
O God, present in this Most Holy Sacrament, O bread
of angels, O heavenly food, I love Thee; but Thou art
not, neither am I, satisfied with my love. I love Thee ;
1 In Nat. B. V. M. s. 1.
2 “In conspectu Angelorum psallam tibi, adorabo ad templum
sanctum tuum, et confitebor nomini tuo, super misericordia tua et
veritate tua.”—Ps. cxxxvii. 1, 2.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XVIII.

169

but I love Thee too little. Do Thou, my Jesus, make
known to me the beauty, the immense goodness which I
love: make my heart banish from itself all earthly affec­
tions, and give place to Thy divine love. To fill me with
Thy love, and to unite Thyself all to me, Thou descendest every day from heaven on our altars: it is, then,
but just that I should think of nothing else but of lov­
ing, adoring, and pleasing Thee. I love Thee with my
whole soul, I love Thee with all my affections. If Thou
art graciously pleased to make me a return for this love,
increase my love; render its flames more ardent; that
thus I may always love Thee more, and desire more and
more to please Thee.
Ejaculatory prayer. Jesus, my love, give me love !
Spiritual Communion, page 124.
Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
As poor sick persons, who on account of their miseries
are abandoned by all, find shelter in the public hospitals;
so also do the most miserable sinners, who, although dis­
carded by all, find protection in the mercy of Mary, by
whom they are never rejected; for God has placed her in
the world as a receptacle and as a public hospital for
sinners, as St. Basil of Seleucia gives us to understand.1
Hence St. Eph rem also calls her “ the asylum of sinners.”a
Therefore, my Queen, if I have recourse to thee, thou
canst not reject me on account of my sins; nay, even the
more wretched I am, the greater is the claim which I have
upon thy protection, since God has created thee as the
refuge of the most miserable. Therefore to thee I have
recourse, O Mary ; I place myself under thy mantle.
Thou art the refuge of sinners; thou art, then, my refuge,
the hope of my salvation. If thou reject me, to whom
shall I have recourse?
Ejaculatory prayer. Mary, my refuge, save me !
1 “Aperuit Deus peccatoribus publicum valetudinarium.”
9 “ Diversorium peccatorum.” — /^ Laud. Dei Gen.

17o

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of St. Bernard.
O sovereign queen ! on thee the Almighty has bestowed the
perfection of all graces. Thou art styled full of grace, because
the Holy Ghost has given it to thee in its greatest plenitude.
We entreat thee to impart to us a portion of the fulness which
thou hast received. Remember our necessities, and hear our
prayers. Make us partakers of the riches and abundance which
thou possessest. All nations call thee blessed ; the whole hier­
archy of heaven sings thy praises, and we, who are upon earth,
cry out to thee. Receive our homage, O full of grace ! Mother
of God, our sovereign and our queen, the Lord is with thee ;
make intercession for us.1
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary! look down upon us, and draw
our hearts to God.
The usual prayer, page 125.
NINETEENTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

It is sweet to every one to be in the company of a
dear friend; and shall we not find it sweet, in this valley
of tears, to remain in the company of the best friend we
have, and who can do us every kind of good; who loves
us with the most tender affection, and therefore dwells
always with us ? Behold, in the Most Blessed Sacrament
we can converse at pleasure with Jesus, we can op?n our
hearts to him, we can lay our wants before him, and we
can ask him for his graces; in a word, in this Sacrament
we can treat with the King of Heaven, in all confidence
and without restraint. Joseph was only too happy when,
as the sacred Scripture tells us, God descended by his
grace into his prison to comfort him: She went down with
him into the fit, and in bands she left him not.2 But we are
1 In Ann tint. Deip.
* “ Descendit cum illo in foveam, et in vinculis non dereliquit il­
lum.”— IVisd. x. 13.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XIX.

171

yet more highly favored; for we have always with us in
this land of miseries our God made Man, who, by his
reai presence, is with us all the days of our life, and com­
forts and helps us with the greatest affection and com­
passion. What a consolation it is to a poor prisoner to
have an affectionate friend, who keeps him company,
consoles him, gives him hope, succors him, and thinks of
relieving him in his misery ! Behold our good friend
Jesus Christ, who in this Sacrament encourages us, say­
ing: Behold, I am with you all days) Behold me, he says,
all thine: I am come from heaven into thy prison ex­
pressly to console thee, to help thee, to deliver thee.
Welcome me, and do so always; cling to me and thus
thou wilt never feel thy miseries; and afterwards thou
wilt come with me to my kingdom, where I shall make
thee perfectly happy.
O God, O incomprehensible ocean of love, since Thy
condescension towards us is so great, that in order to
dwell near us Thou descendest upon our altars, I propose
often to visit Thee; I am determined, as often as I pos­
sibly can, to enjoy Thy most sweet presence, which is the
beautitude of the saints in heaven. Oh, could I but
always remain in Thy presence, to adore Thee and to
make Thee acts of love ! Arouse, I beseech Thee, my
soul, when through tepidity or worldly affairs it neglects
to visit Thee. Enkindle in me a great desire always to
remain near Thee in this Sacrament. Ah, my loving
Jesus, would that I had always loved Thee ! would that I
had always pleased Thee! I console myself that I still
have time to do so, not only in the next life, but also in
this. I am determined to do so; I am determined to
love Thee indeed, my sovereign good, mv love, my
treasure, my all. I will love Thee with all my strength.
Ejaculatory prayer. My God, help me to love Thee !
Spiritual Communion, page 124.
1 “ Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus.”—Matt, xxviii. 20.

1/2

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The devout Bernardine de Bustis says: “O sinner,
whoever you may be, despair not ; but with confidence
have recourse to this Lady: you will find her hands filled
with mercies and graces.” 1 “And know also,” he adds,
“that this most compassionate Queen has a greater de­
sire to do you good than you can have to be succored by
her.”9 I will ever, O my Lady, thank God for having
taught me to know thee. Unfortunate indeed should I
be, did I not know thee, or did I forget thee. Ill would
it fare with my salvation. But, my Mother, I bless thee,
I love thee; and so great is my confidence in thee, that I
place my whole soul in thy hands.
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary, blessed is he who knows
thee, and puts his trust in thee !
/

[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of the Abbot of Celles.
Draw me after thee, O Virgin Mary ! that I may run in the
odor of thy perfumes. Draw me because I am impeded by the
weight of my sins, and by the malice of my enemies. As no
one can go to thy divine Son who is not conducted by his
heavenly Father, so I presume also to say, that no one can ap­
proach this same Jesus but through thy intercession. Thou art
the teacher of true wisdom : through thee sinners obtain grace
because thou art their advocate; thou promisest to obtain
help for those who honor thee, because thou art the treasure of
God and the depository of all his graces.3
Ejaculatory prayer. O thou, who art the salvation of those
who invoke thee, save me.4
The usual frayer, page 125.
1 “O peccator ! non diffidas, sed secure ad istam Dominam recurras;
invenies eam in manibus plenam misericordia et largitate.”—Nar. p.
2, S. 5.
5 “Plus enim ipsa desiderat facere tibi bonum, quam tu accipere
concupiscas.”
3 Coni. ite V. M. c. i.
4 “O Salus te invocantium !”—5. Bonav.

-•*c

and to the Blessed Virgin.

TWENTIETH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
ilfy Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

The prophet Zacharias says: In that day there shall be a
fountain open to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, for the washing of the sinner! Jesus in the
Holy Sacrament is the fountain foretold by the prophet
as open to all, and to which we can go whenever we
please, to wash our souls from all the stains of sin which
are daily contracted. When any one falls into some
fault, what more beautiful remedy is there than to have
immediate recourse to the Most Blessed Sacrament?
Yes, my Jesus, I resolve always to do this; for I know
that the waters of this fountain of Thine not only cleanse
me, but also give me light, and strengthen me not to
fall, and enable me cheerfully to bear contradictions, and
also inflame me with Thy love. I know that for this end
it is that Thou awaitest my visits, and recompensest those
of Thy lovers with so many graces. My Jesus, delay
not; but wash me now from all the defects that I have
committed this day, and for which I am grieved because
they have displeased Thee ; strengthen me against re­
lapse by giving me a great desire to love Thee much.
Oh, could I but always dwell near Thee, as did Thy
faithful servant Mary Diaz, who lived in the time of St.
Teresa, and had permission from the Bishop of Avila to
inhabit the tribune of a church, where she remained
almost always in the presence of the Most Blessed Sacra­
ment, which she called her neighbor, and which she only
left to go to confession and Communion. When the
Venerable Brother Francis of the Infant Jesus, of the
1 “ In die illa erit fons patens domui David et habitantibus Jerusa­
lem. in ablutionem oeccatoris.”—Zach. xiii. 1.

174

l·risiis to the Most Holy Sacrament

Order of the Discalced Cannelites, passed before a
church in which the Blessed Sacrament was kept, he
could not refrain from entering to visit it, saying:
“That it was not becoming for a friend to pass before
the door of a friend without entering, at least to salute
him and exchange a word.” Buta word did not satisfy
him; he always remained as long as obedience allowed
him in the presence of his beloved Lord.
My only and infinite good, Γ see that Thou hast in­
stituted this Sacrament, and that Thou remainest on this
altar, to be loved by me ; and that for this end Thou
hast given me a heart capable of loving Thee much.
Why is it, then, that I am so ungrateful as not to love
Thee ? or that I love Thee so little ? Now it is not just
that such goodness as Thou art should be so little loved.
The love, at least, which Thou bearest me, deserves other
and greater love on my part. Thou art an infinite God,
and I am a miserable worm. It would be little, did I
die for Thee, or wear myself out for Thee, who didst die
for me, and dost sacrifice Thy entire self for me every
day on the altar. Thou deservest to be much loved; I
will love Thee much: help me, my Jesus, help me to love
Thee, and to do that which pleases Thee so much, and
which Thou so earnestly seekest of me.
Ejaculatory prayer. My Beloved to me, and I to my
Beloved !1
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
My most sweet, most compassionate, most amiable
Queen, oh, how great is the confidence with which St.
Bernard inspires me when I have recourse to thee ! He
says that thou dost not go examining the merits of those
who have recourse to thy compassion ; but that thou
1 “ Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi.”—Cant. ii. 16.

and to the B lessed' Virgin.—XX.
offerest thyself to help all who pray to thee: “ Mary does
not discuss merits, but shows herself ready to hear and
welcome all.”1 Therefore, if I pray to thee, thou dost
graciously hear me. Well, then, listen to what I have to
ask thee: I am a poor sinner, deserving of a thousand
hells. I wish to change my life; I wish to love my God,
whom I have so greatly offended. I dedicate myself to
thee as thy slave; to thee I give myself, miserable as I
am; save, then, a poor creature who is no longer his own,
but thine. My Lady, dost thou understand me? Yes;
I trust that thou hast understood me, and graciously
heard my prayer.
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary, I am thine; save me !a
[From the Naples Edition.]

'

Prayer of the Abbot of Celles.

Most sweet Virgin, thou hast found grace and favor with God,
in having been preserved from original sin, filled with the Holy
Ghost, and chosen to be the Mother of the Son of God. Thou
boldest in thy hands all the treasures of grace, not only for thy
own benefit, but also for ours ; and thou failest not to distribute
them according to our necessities, Thou assistest the good, by
obtaining for them grace to persevere, and thou helpest the
wicked by preparing them to receive the divine mercy ; thou
aidest the dying by defending them against the snares of the
devil, and, after death, thou receivest their souls, and conductest
them to the mansions of the blessed.3
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary ! happy is he who serves thee
and trusts in thee.
The usual prayer, page 125.
1 “ Maria non discutit merita, sed omnibus sc exorabilem præbet.”
—In Sign, inagn. ·
2 “ O Maria, tuus sum ego, salvum me fac 1”
3 “ Contempt, de V. M. c. 6.

176

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

TWENTY-FIRST VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

Wheresoever the body shall be, thither will the eagles also be
gathered together) The saints generally understand by
this body that of Jesus Christ; and by the eagles, souls
who, being detached from creatures, rise above the
things of the earth, and fly towards heaven, after which
they always sigh in thought and affection, and where
they constantly dwell. These eagles also find their
paradise on earth wherever they find Jesus in the Most
Holy Sacrament; so much so, indeed, that they seem
never to tire hovering around him. If eagles, says St.
Jerome,3 on scenting a dead body go from afar to seek
it, how much more should we run and fly to Jesus in the
Most Blessed Sacrament, as to the most delicious food of
our hearts ! Hence saints in this valley of tears have
always as parched harts run to this fountain of paradise.
Father Balthasar Alvarez, of the Society of Jesus, in
whatever occupation he was engaged, used often to cast
his eyes towards the place in which he knew that the
Blessed Sacrament was ; he often visited it, and even
spent entire nights before it. He used to weep when he
saw the palaces of the great ones of this world filled with
people, who courted a man from whom they hoped for
some miserable earthly good, and the churches so aban­
doned, in which the supreme sovereign of the world
dwells, and remains with us as on a throne of love, rich
in immense and eternal treasures. He used also to say,
that religious persons were indeed fortunate, because in
the very houses in which they reside, they can, whenever
1 “ Ubicumque fuerit corpus, illic congregabantur et aquilæ.”—
Malt. xxiv. 23.
s In Matt, loco cit.

and io the Blessed Virgin,
they please, either night or day, visit this great Lord in
the Most Blessed Sacrament; and this lay people cannot
Since, then, my most loving Lord, notwithstanding
that Thou seest me as a leper, and so ungrateful to
Thy love, Thou invitest me to approach Thee, I will not
be discouraged at the sight of my miseries: I come and
approach Thee; but do Thou wholly change me. Drive
from me every love which is not for Thee, every desire
which displeases Thee, every thought which does not
tend toward Thee. My Jesus, my love, my treasure, my
all, I am determined to please Thee alone. I will give
pleasure only to Thee. Thou alone deservest all my
love; Thee only will I love with my whole heart. Detach
me from everything, my Lord, and bind me to Thyself
alone; but bind me so firmly, that I may never more be
able to separate myself from Thee, either in this life or
in the next.
Ejaculatory prayer. My most sweet Jesus, never allow
me to be separated from Thee ! 1
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Denis, the Carthusian, calls the Most Blessed Virgin
“ the advocate of all the wicked who have recourse to
her.”3
Since, then, O great Mother of God, thy office is to de­
fend the causes of the most guilty criminals who have
recourse to thee, behold me now at thy feet; to thee I
have recourse, and I address thee in the words of St.
Thomas of Villanova: “ O gracious advocate, fulfil thy
charge.” 3 Now quickly enter upon thy office, under1 “ Jesu mi dulcissime ! ne permittas me separari a te.”
2 “ Advocata omnium iniquorum ad cam confugientium.”—De Laud.
V. M. 1. 2, a. 23.
3 “ Eja ergo, Advocata nostra ! officium tuum imple.”—In Hat. B.
y. conc. 3.
12

178

JSstts to the Most Holy Sacrament

take my cause : it is true that I have indeed been guilty
before my Lord, having offended him, after the many
benefits and graces he has conferred upon me; but the
evil is done; thou canst save me. Thou hast only to tell
thy God that thou defendest me, and then I shall be for­
given, and shall be saved.
Ejaculatory prayer. My dear Mother, thou hast to save

me !
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of William Bishop of Paris.
I address my petitions to thee, O Mother of God ! whom the
whole Church styles the Mother of mercy. Canst thou, whose
prayers are always acceptable to God, refuse thy intercession in
behalf of sinners? Justly does St. Bernard say, that we may
cease to call thee the Mother of Mercy, if any one ever invokes
thee in the hour of need, without experiencing thy assistance.
Thou wilt not, therefore, exclude me from a share in thy com­
passion. Thou wilt intercede for me with more earnestness than
I can for myself ; and thou wilt procure more abundant graces
than I could presume to ask. O Mother of mercy ! can that
clemency, which never abandoned any one, refuse me its assist­
ance in the danger to which I am exposed of being eternally
lost ? ‘
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary ! I am thine : save me.3
The usual frayer, page 125.
TWENTY-SECOND VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

The Spouse in the sacred Canticles went about seeking for her Beloved; and not finding him, she asked all
whom she met: Have you seen Him whom my soul loveth ? ’
Jesus was not then on earth; but now, if a soul that loves
1 De Rhet. div. c. 18.
2 “ O Maria! tuus sum ego, salvum me fac.”
3 “ Num quem diligit anima mea vidistis?”—Cant. iii. 3.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XXII.

179

him seeks him, she can always find him in the Most
Blessed Sacrament. The Venerable Father John Avila
used to say, that amongst all sanctuaries he coul i
neither find nor desire a more delightful one than a
church in which the Most Blessed Sacrament is reserved.
O infinite love of my God, worthy of infinite love !
And how couldst Thou, my Jesus, ever abase Thyself so
far as, in order to dwell amongst men, and to unite Thy­
self to their hearts, to humble Thyself to such a degree
as to conceal Thyself under the species of bread ? O in­
carnate Word, Thou art supreme in Thy humility,
because Thou art supreme in Thy love ! How can I do
otherwise than love Thee with my entire self, knowing
as I do how much Thou hast done to captivate my love ?
I love Thee much; and therefore I give Thy good pleas­
ure the preference above every interest and every satis­
faction of my own. My pleasure is to give Thee pleas­
ure, my Jesus, my God, my love, my all.
Make me
hunger to be continually in Thy presence in the Blessed
Sacrament, to receive Thee into myself, and to keep
Thee company. I should be indeed ungrateful did I
not accept so sweet and gracious an invitation. Ah,
Lord, annihilate in me all affection for created things !
Thou wiliest that Thou alone, my Creator, shouldst be
the object of all my sighs, of all my love. I love Thee,
most amiable goodness of my God. I ask nothing of
Thee but Thyself. I desire not my own pleasure; Thy
pleasure is all my desire, and sufficient for me. Accept,
my Jesus, this good desire of a sinner who wishes to love
Thee. Help me by Thy grace. Grant that I, a miser­
able slave of hell, may from this day forward be the
happy slave of Thy love.
Ejaculatory prayer. I love Thee, Jesus, my treasure,
above every other treasure !
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

i So

Plstls to the Most Holy Sacrament

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
My most sweet Lady and Mother, I am a vile rebel to
thy great Son; but I come repentant to thy mercy, that
thou mayest obtain for me pardon. Say not that thou
canst not do so; for St. Bernard calls thee “ the minister
of propitiation.”’ To thee also it belongs to succor
those who are in dangers, St. Ephrem calling thee
“the helper of those in peril.”’ My Lady, who is in
greater danger than I am ? I have lost God: it is certain
that I have been condemned to hell. I know not whether
God has yet pardoned me. I may again lose him. But
thou canst obtain me all; and from thee I hope for every
good, for forgiveness, perseverance, and heaven. I hope
to be one of those who, in the kingdom of the blessed,
will most praise thy mercies, O Mary, for having saved
me bv
• thv intercession.
Ejaculatory prayer. I will sing the mercies of Mary for
all eternity; I will sing them forever and ever! Amen,
amen.’
[From the Naples Edition.]

Prayer of William, Bishop of Paris.
O Mother of God ! thy goodness never despises the sinner
who recommends himself to thy patronage, however enormous
his crimes may have been: and hence the Church justly calls
thee her advocate and the refuge of sinners. Let not, then, my
crimes prevent thee from fulfilling this office of mercy, whereby
thou becomest the mediatrix of peace, the hope and secure
asylum of all who are in affliction. Let it not be said that the
Mother of God, who, for the sake of the world, brought forth
the source of mercy, can refuse to look down with pity on any
wretch that flies to her for assistance. Thou art employed as
the mediatrix between God and man : let me experience a share
of thy great compassion.” 4
1 “Ministra propitiationis."—In Sign. inagn.
■ “ Opitulatrix periclitantium.”—De Laud. Dei Gen.
3 “ Misericordias Mariæ in æternum cantabo, in æternum cantabo.
Amen, Amen ”
4 De Rhet. div. c. xS.

and io the Blessed Virgin.
Ejaculaiory prayer. O Mary, my loving Mother, may I, under
God, owe my salvation to thee !
The usual prayer, page 125.
TWENTY-THIRD VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page T23.

Many Christians submit to great fatigue, and expose
themselves to many dangers, to visit the places in the
Holy Land where our most loving Saviour was born,
suffered, and died. We need not undertake so long a
journey, or expose ourselves to so many dangers; the
same Lord is near us, and dwells in the church, only a
few steps distant from our houses. If pilgrims, says St.
Paulinus,1 consider it a great thing to bring back a little
dust from the crib, or from the holy sepulchre in which
Jesus was buried, with what ardor should not we visit
the Most Blessed Sacrament, where the same Jesus is in
person, and where we can go without encountering so
much fatigue and so many dangers! A religious person,
to whom God had given great love for the Most Blessed
Sacrament, amongst other things wrote as follows in a
letter: “ I see that every good thing that I have comes
to me from the Most Blessed Sacrament. I have given
and consecrated my whole self to Jesus in this Sacrament.
I see innumerable graces, which are not granted because
people do not go to this divine Sacrament. I see the
great desire that our Lord has to dispense his graces in
the Sacrament. O holy mystery ! O sacred Host ! Where
is it that God manifests his power the most, if it is not in
this Host? For this Host contains all that God has ever
done for us. Let us not envy the blessed who are in
heaven, since on earth we have the same Lord, with
greater wonders of his love. Induce all with whom you
1 Epist. 36 ad Mac.

182

ISts/ts to the Most Holy Sacrament

speak to devote themselves to the Most Blessed Sacra­
ment. I speak thus because this Sacrament enraptures
my soul. Nor can I cease to speak of the Most Blessed
Sacrament, which deserves so greatly to be loved. I know
not what to do for Jesus in this Sacrament.” Thus the
letter ends.
O ye Seraphim, who remain sweetlj' burning with love
around your and my Lord; though it is not indeed for
love of you but of me that this King of Heaven is
pleased to be present in this Sacrament—O loving An­
gels, let me also burn with love; and do you enkindle
your love in me, that with you I also may burn ! O my
Jesus, teach me to know the greatness of the love which
Thou bearest to men, that at the sight of so great love
my desire to love Thee and please Thee may go on
always increasing! I love Thee, most amiable Lord, and
will always love Thee; and this
alone
to
please
Thee.
9
_
Ejaculatory prayer. My Jesus, I believe in Thee, I hope
in Thee, I love Thee, and I give myself to Thee !
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Most amiable Virgin, St. Bonaventure calls thee, “the
Mother of orphans;” 1 and St. Eph rem, moreover, calls
thee “ the receiver of orphans.”3 Alas, these wretched
orphans are no others than poor sinners who have lost
God ! Behold, then, I have recourse to thee, most holy
Marv.
I have lost
my Father;
but thou art
mv ' · Mother,
*
J
9
J
( J
who must enable me to recover him. In this my so great
misfortune I call thee to my aid; do thou succor me.
Shall I remain disconsolate? No; for Innocent III.,
speaking of thee, asks, “Whoever called upon her, and
was not graciously heard by her ?” 3 And whoever prayed
1 “ Mater orphanorum.”—Psalt. min. B. V.
* “ Susceptio orphanorum ”—De Laud. Dei Gen.
3 “ Quis invocavit eam, et non est exauditus ab ipsa?”—De Ass. B.
V. s. 2.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XXIV.

183

to thee, and was not heard and helped by thee? Who
was ever lost who had recourse to thee? lie alone is
lost who has not recourse to thee. Then, my Queen, if
thou desirest my salvation, enable me always to invoke
and confide in thee.
Ejaculatory prayer. My own most holy Mary, give me
confidence in thee !
[From the Naples Edition.]

I shall say with St. Augustine, Remember, O Mary, full of
goodness! that no sinner has ever been heard of that has had
recourse to thy orotection and been abandoned by thee. Let
us, then, says St. Bernard, seek for grace through the means of
Mary, because she can obtain what she asks, and her demands
never meet with a refusal.' O Mother of God! thou prayest for
all ; vouchsafe to pray for me, who am the greatest of sinners,
and therefore have the greatest need of thy intercession.
*

Ejaculatory prayer. I fly to thy protection, O sacred Mother
of God !
The usual prayer, page 125.
TWENTY-FOURTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

Verily Thou art a hidden GodI In no other work of
divine love are these words so fully verified as in this
adorable mystery of the Most Holy Sacrament, where
our God is entirely hidden. When the Eternal Word
took flesh, he hid his divinity, and appeared as a man on
earth; but remaining with us in this Sacrament, he hides
even his humanity, and, as remarks St. Bernard, appears
only under the form of bread, to show thereby the ten­
derness of the love which he bears us: “The divinity is
1 “Quaeramus gratiam et per Mariam quaeramus; quia quod quærit,
invenit, et frustrari non potest.”—De Aquad.
>
2 “ Sub tuum præsidium confugimus, sancta Dei genitrix !”
8 “Vere tu es Deus absconditus.”—/sa. xlv. 15.

Sec the Sixth and the Thirteenth Visit, page 139 and 156.

184

JHszts to the Most Holy Sacrament

hid, the humanity is hid; the bowels of charity alone
appear.” 1 O my Beloved Redeemer, at the sight of the
excessive tenderness Thou hast for men, I am beside my­
self, my Lord, and know not what to say. In this Sacra­
ment Thou goest so far for their love as to hide Thy
majesty and lower Thy glory; Thou goest so far as even
to consume and annihilate Thy divine life. And whilst
Thou art on the altar Thou seemest to have nothing else
to do than to love men, and to show them the love
which Thou bearest them. And what gratitude do they
show Thee in return, O great Son of God ?
O Jesus, O too great a lover of men, allow me to say
so, for I see that Thou preferrest their advantage to
Thine own glory. And didst Thou not know to how
much contempt this loving design of Thine would ex­
pose Thee? I see, and before me Thou didst see it full
well Thyself, that the greater part of men adore Thee
not, neither will they acknowledge Thee for what Thou
art in this Sacrament. I know that these very men have
gone so far as to trample on the consecrated Hosts, that
they have thrown them on the ground, into water, and
into fire. And I see the greater part even of those who
believe in Thee, O God, who, so far from repairing so
many outrages by the homage of their devotion, either
come to the church to offend Thee still more bv their irreverences, or else abandon Thee on Thy altar, and some­
times even leave it unprovided with a lamp or the neces­
sary ornaments !
Oh, could I, my most sweet Saviour, but wash with
my tears, or even with my blood, those unhappy places in
which, in this Sacrament, Thy love and Thy enamoured
heart have been so greatly outraged ! But if so much is
not granted me, I desire at least, my Lord, and deter­
mine, to visit Thee often, in order to adore Thee as I now
adore Thee, and this in compensation for the insults which
1 “ Latet divinitas, latet humanitas ; sola patent viscera charitatis.”

and to the Blessed Virgin,—XXIV,

185

Thou receivest in this most divine mystery. Accept, O
Eternal Father, this scanty honor, which I, the most
miserable of men, now offer Thee in reparation of the
outrages offered to Thy Son in the Most Holy Sacra­
ment; accept it in union with that infinite honor which
Jesus Christ gave Thee on the cross, and which he daily
gives Thee in the Most Blessed Sacrament. O my
Sacramental Jesus, would that I could fill all men with
love for the Most Blessed Sacrament !
Ejaculatory prayer. O amiable Jesus, make Thyself
known, make Thyself loved !
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
My most powerful Lady, in the midst of my misgivings
as to my eternal salvation, how great is the confidence
which I feel when I have recourse to thee; and when I
think that thou, my Mother, art, on the one hand, so rich
in graces, that St. John Damascene calls thee “a sea of
graces;” 1 St. Bonaventure, “ the assemblage of graces,” 2
that is, the source in which all graces are congregated;
St. Ephrem, “ a fountain of grace and of all consolation;” 3
and St. Bernard,z “the* fulness
of every (rood;”4—and
o
when, on the other hand, I reflect that thy desire to do
us good is so great, that thou esteemest thyself offended,
as St. Bonaventure says, by him who does not ask thee
for thy graces: “they sin against thee, O Lady,” he says,
“ who do not ask of thee;” 5—O most rich, O most wise,
and most merciful Queen, I see that thou knowest far
better than I do the wants of mv
J soul, and that thou
lovest me far more than I can love thee ! Know, then,
1
9
3
4
6

“Pelagus gratiarum.”—In iVat. V. M, or. i.
“ Congregatio gratiarum.”—Spec. B. V. c. 7.
“ Fons gratiæ et totius consolationis.”—ZZ- Laud. Dei Gen.
“ Plenitudo totius boni."—De A quad.
“ In te, Domina, peccant, qui te non rogant.”

186

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

the grace for which I now ask thee ; obtain me the
grace which thou knowest to be the most expedient for
my soul. Ask this favor from God, and I am satisfied.
Ejaculatory prayer. My God, grant me Lhe graces which
Mary asks Thee for me !
[From the Naples Edition.]

Let us go, says St. Paul, to the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy in the time of need.1 Thou, divine Mary, art this
throne of grace,’ from which God dispenses all his blessings.
Most amiable Queen, thy delight is to assist those who are in
the wretched state of sin : behold, then, at thy feet a grievous
sinner, imploring the aid of thy prayers. Help me to the utmost
of thy power, and without delay : the wonders of thy mercy will
be enhanced by saving one that has deserved a thousand hells.
Thy Son cannot withstand thy intercession. I entreat thee,
therefore, by the love which thou entertainest for Jesus, to pro­
cure pardon for me for the past, and grace to lead a holy life for
the future. O Mary, thou art my strength, and the ground of
my hope.
*
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary, cast a look of compassion on

me.
The usual prayer, page 125.
TWENTY-FIFTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

St. Paul praises the obedience of Jesus Christ, saying,
that he obeyed his Eternal Father even to death: becom­
ing obedient even unto death? But in this sacrament he has
gone still farther; for here he has been pleased to become
1 “ Adeamus cum fiducia ad thronum gratiæ, ut misericordiam con­
sequamur, et gratiam inveniamus in auxilio opportuno.”—Heb. iv.
16.
9 St. Antoninus —P. 4. lit. 15, c. 14.
3 “ Factus obediens usque ad mortem.”—Phil. ii. 8.
See the Second Visit, page 130.

and io the Blessed Virgin.—XXV.

187

obedient, not only to his Eternal Father, but also to
man; and not only to death, but as long as the world
shall last; so that we can say: “ He has become obedient
even unto the consummation of the world.” He, the
King of Heaven, comes down from heaven in obedience
to man, and then seems to dwell and converse there, in
order to obey men: And I do not resist.1 There he re­
mains without moving himself; he allows himself to be
placed where men will, be it for exposition in the re­
monstrance, or to be enclosed in the tabernacle. He al­
lows himself to be carried wheresoever he is borne, be it
into houses or through the streets; he allows himself to
be given in Communion to whomsoever be is adminis­
tered, be they just or sinners. St. Luke says that whilst
he dwelt on earth he obeyed the Most Blessed Virgin
Mary and St. Joseph; but in this Sacrament he obeys as
many creatures as there are priests on earth: and I do not
resist.
Permit me now to address Thee, O most loving Heart
of my Jesus, from which indeed all the Sacraments
flowed forth, but principally this Sacrament of love. I
would gladly give Thee as much glory and honor as
Thou givest in the Holy Sacrament in our churches to
the Eternal Father. I know that on this altar Thou
still lovest me with that same love with which Thou didst
love me when Thou didst close Thy divine life in the
midst of so much anguish on the cross. O divine Heart,
enlighten all those who know Thee not with the knowl­
edge of Thyself ! Through Thy merits deliver from
purgatory, or at least relieve, the pains of the afflicted
souls, who are already Thy spouses for all eternity. I
adore Thee, I thank Thee, I love Thee, in union with all
souls who at this moment love Thee, be they on earth or
in heaven. O most pure Heart, purify my heart from all
1 “ Ego autem non contradico.”—Isa. 1. 5,

188

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

attachment to creatures, and fill it with Thy holy love !
O most sweet Heart, possess my whole heart, so that
henceforward it may be all Thine, and always be en­
abled to say: Who, then, shall separate us from the love oj
God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord? Write, O most
sacred Heart, upon my heart all the bitter sorrows, which
for so many years Thou didst endure on earth with so
much love for me, that, on seeing them, I may hencefor­
ward desire, or at least endure with patience, all the
sorrows of this life. Most humble Heart of Jesus, give
me a share of Thy humility. Most meek Heart, impart
Thy sweetness to me. Take from my heart all that dis­
pleases Thee; convert it wholly to Thee, so that I may
no longer will or desire other than what Thou wiliest.
In a word, grant that I may live only to obey Thee, only
to love Thee, only to give Thee pleasure. I know that I,
indeed, owe Thee much; and that Thou hast indeed
placed me under great obligations: it will be but little if
I consume and wear myself out for Thee.
Ejaculatory prayer. O Heart of Jesus, Thou art the sole
Lord of mv* heart !
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
St. Bernard says, that Mary is that heavenly ark, in
which if we take timely refuge, we shall certainly be de­
livered from the shipwreck of eternal damnation: “She
is the ark in which we escape shipwreck.”3 The ark in
which Noe escaped from the general wreck of the world
was indeed a type of Mary. But Hesychius says, that
Mary is a more spacious, stronger, and more compassion­
ate ark.’ Oniy a few men and a few beasts were received
1 “ Neque mors, neque vita, . . . potent nos separare a charitate
Dei. quæ est in Christo Jesu.”—Rom. viii, 39.
3 “ Area in qua naufragium evadimus.”—5. de B. M. Deip
3 “Arca Noe largior.”—De S. M. Deip. hom. 2.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XX VI.

189

and saved by the former; but Mary, our ark, receives all
who take refuge under her mantle, and with certainty
saves them all. Unfortunate should we be had we not
Marv ! But still, my Queen, how many are lost ! and
why? Because they have not recourse to thee. And
who would ever be lost had he recourse to thee ?
Ejaculatory prayer. Grant, most holy Mary, that we may
all and always have recourse to thee !
[From the Naples Edition.]

O my sovereign Queen ! thou art the treasure of God,1 and in
thy hands are deposited those stores of mercy which he wishes to
bestow upon us. Thou hast said, by the mouth of the prophet,
that thou boldest in thy hands the treasures of heaven, to enrich
those who love thee.2 My loving Mother, I am an unfortunate
sinner, and in the greatest need of help. Remember that I love
thee with all my heart; yes, next to God, there is no object that
I love so much as thee, because I know that this is due to thy
unrivalled perfections. Have pity on me, and forsake me not;
help me during life, and help me at the hour of death, that I
may one day arrive at the enjoyment of thy happy society in the
kingdom of heaven.
*
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary ! all my hopes are directed to­
wards thee.
The usual prayer, page 125.
TWENTY-SIXTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

Rejoice, anil praise, O thou habitation of Sion; for great is
He that is in the midst of thee, the Holy One of Israel.3 O
God, and what joy ought not we men lo conceive, what
1 “Thesaurus et Thesauraria gratiarum.”—Idiot. Cont. de l·”. AL
c. I.
2 “ Mecum suntdivitiæ, . . ut ditem diligentes me.”—Prov. xviii. S.
3 “ Exsulta et lauda, habitatio Sion; quia Magnus in medio tui
Sanctus Israel.”—Isa. xii. 6.
* Sec the Tenth Visit, page 149.

190

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

hopes and what affections, in knowing that in the midst
of our land, in our churches, near our houses, the Holy
of holies, the true God, dwells and lives in the Most Holy
Sacrament of the Altar! He who by his presence alone
renders the saints in heaven blessed ! He who is love
itself. “ It is not so much that he has love, as that he is
love itself,”1* says St. Bernard. This Sacrament is not
only a sacrament of love, but is love itself; it is God
himself, who, for the immense love which he bears his
creatures, callshimself, and is, love itself: God is love.34
But I hear Thee complain, O my Sacramental Jesus:
I was a stranger, andyou took Me not in ;3 that Thou earnest
on earth to be our guest for our good, and that we have
not welcomed Thee. Thou art right, Lord, Thou art
right; and I am one of these ungrateful creatures who
have left Thee alone, without even visiting Thee. Chas­
tise me as Thou pleasest ; but not by depriving me
of Thy presence, which is the chastisement I deserve:
no, I will repair my fault, and the indignities which I
have heaped upon Thee. From this day forward I will
not only visit Thee often, but will remain with Thee for
as long a time as I can. O most compassionate Saviour,
be pleased to make me faithful to Thee; and grant that I
may also, by my example, excite others to keep Thee
company in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I hear the
Eternal Father, who says: This is my beloved Son: in whom
I am well pleased) A God, then, finds all his complacency
in Thee; and shall not I, a miserable worm, find mine in
dwelling with Thee in this valley of tears ! O consum­
ing fire, destroy in me all affections for earthly things;
for they alone can render me unfaithful, and take me
1 “Amorem non tam habet, quam ipse est.”—In Cani. s. 59.
5 “ Deus charitas est.”—I John, iv. 16.
3 “ Hospes eram, et non collegistis me.”—Matt. xxv. 43.
4 “ Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi complacui.”—Matt.
iii. 17.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XX ! f.

191

awav* from Thee. Thou canst do so, if Thou wilt: Lord,
if Thou wilt, Thoucanst make me clean) Thou hast already
done so much for me, do this also : banish from my heart
all love which does not tend towards Thee. Behold, I
give myself all to Thee: I now dedicate the whole re­
mainder of my life to the love of the Most Blessed
Sacrament. Thou, O Sacramental Jesus, hast to be my
comfort, my love in life, and at the hour of my death,
when Thou wilt come to be my Viaticum and my guide
to Thy blessed kingdom. Amen, amen. So do I hope;
so may it be !
Ejaculatory prayer. When, O my Jesus, shall I behold
Thy beautiful face !
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In thee, our own most holy Mother, we find the remedy
for all our woes; in thee we find strength in our weak­
ness; for St. Germanus calls thee the “strength itself of
our weakness.”3 In thee we find a door by which to
make our exit from the slavery of sin; for St. Bonaven­
ture calls thee “the gate of liberty.”3 In thee we find
our certain peace; for the same saint calls thee “the safe
repose of men.”4 In thee we find relief in our miserable
life. Thou art “the solace of our pilgrimage,”5 as St.
Laurence Justinian calls thee. In thee, in a word, we
find divine grace and God himself, for St. Bonaventure
calls thee “ the throne of God’s grace;”0 and St. Proclus.
“ the bridge by which God descends to men;”7 that happy
1
9
3
4
‘
*
1
M.

“Domine, si vis, poles me mundare.”—Matt. viii. 2.
“Potentia debilitatis nostræ.”—Enc. Deipara.
“ Porta libertatis.”—Psalt. min. B. I7.
“ Quies tuta hominum.”
“Solatium perigrinationis nostræ.”—5. in Nat. V. M.
“ Thronus gratiæ Dei.”
“ Pons per quern Deus ad homines descendit.”—Or. I in Dei gen.

192

I asi Is to the Most Holy Sa era vient

bridge by which God, who had been driven to a distance
by our sins, returns to dwell by his grace in our souls.
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary, thou art my strength, my
deliverance, my peace, and salvation !
[From the Naples Edition.]

O Mary! I will say to thee -in the words of thy servant St.
Bernard thou art the queen of mercy. And who are the sub­
jects of thy mercy but such as are in misery and affliction ? Yes,
thou art truly the queen of mercy, and I, the most wretched of
sinners, am thy subject. I. therefore, of all, am the best en­
titled to thy compassion. Turn then, O my advocate, those
eyes of mercy towards me, and after my days of exile, show me
Jesus, the blessed fruit of thy womb.2
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary, my refuge, pra)' for me to Jesus.
The usual prayer, page 125.
TWENTY-SEVENTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

The holy Church sings in the Office of the Most Blessed
Sacrament: “ There is no other country, however great,
whose gods are nigh it as our God is nigh to us.” 3 When
the Gentiles heard how far our God carried his works of
love, they exclaimed: Oh, how good a God is this God
of the Christians ! And, indeed, although the Gentiles
imagined their gods according to their own caprices,—
yet, if you read history, you will never find in all their
fables, and among the many gods they invented, that
they went so far as even to imagine a god as enamoured
1 “Tu es Regina misericordiae; et qui subditi, nisi miseri? Tu
Regina misericordiae, et ego miserrimus peccator, subditorum maxi­
mus. Rege nos ergo, o Regina misericordiæ.”
- “ Eja ergo, Advocata nostra! illos tuos misericoroes oculos ad nos
converte."
3 “ Non est alia natio tam grandis, quæ habeat deos appropinquantes
sibi, sicut Deus noster adest nobis.”—Kes/>. 7.—Deut. iv. 7.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XXVfl.

T93

of men as is our true God ; who, to show his love
, for his adorers, and to enrich them with graces, has
worked such a prodigy of love as to become their con­
stant companion, and to remain night and day concealed
on their altars, seeming as if he knew not how to sepa­
rate himself from them, even fora moment: Hehathmade
a remembrance of His wonderful works.1
Thou, then, my most sweet Jesus, hast been pleased to
work the greatest of Thy miracles in order to satisfy the
excessive desire which Thou hast to remain always near
and present to us. Why, then, do men fly from Thy pres­
ence ? And hew can they live for so long a time at a
distance from Thee, or visit Thee so seldom ? How is it
that when in Thy presence they get so weary that a
quarter of an hour appears an age? Oh, patience of
my Jesus, how great art Thou ! Yes, my Lord, I under­
stand Thee; Thy patience is great, because the love
Thou bearest to men is great, and this it is which, so to
say, forces Thee to dwell always in the midst of creatures
so ungrateful.
Ah, my God, who, because Thou art infinite in perfec­
tions art also infinite in love, permit not that I should for
the future be, as I have hitherto been, of the number of
these ungrateful ones. Grant me a love equal to Thy
merits and to my own obligations. At one time I also
was weary in Thy presence, either because I loved Thee
not,7 or because I loved Thee too little;
but if> bv *Thy
>
grace I am enabled to love Thee much, I shall no longer
find it tedious to remain even for whole days and nights
at Thy feet in the Most Holy Sacrament. O Eternal
Father, I offer Thee Thine own Son himself; accept him
for me, and through his merits give me so ardent and
tender a love towards the Most Blessed Sacrament, that,
constantly turning towards some church in which he
Memoriam fecit mirabilium suorum.”—Ps. cx. 4.

194

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

dwells, I may think of, and desire with longing anxiety,
the time when I may be able to go and entertain myself
in his presence.
Ejaculatory prayer. My God, for the love of Jesus,
give me a great love towards the Most Blessed Sacra­
ment !
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mary is that tower of David, of which the Holy Ghost
says in the sacred Canticles: It is built with bulwarks; a
thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armor of valiant men.1*
A tower built with a thousand fortresses, and containing
a thousand shields and weapons, for the benefit of those
who have recourse to it. Thou art, then, according to an
expression of St. Ignatius, martyr, O most holy Mary,
a most powerful defence for all those who are en­
gaged in battle.3 Oh, how constantly are my enemies
attacking me, in order to deprive me of the grace of God
and of thy protection, my most dear Lady ! But thou
art my strength. Thou, indeed, dost not disdain to bat­
tle for those who trust in thee; for St. Ephrem calls thee
“the bulwark of all who confide in thee.”3 Do thou,
then, defend and fight for me, who have such great hope
and confidence in thee.
Ejaculatory prayer. Mary, Mary, thy name is my de­
fence !
[From the Naples Edition.]

My queen ! thou hast said to thy servant St. Bridget, that as
often as a man sins, if he returns to thee with sincere repentance,
thou wilt receive him and restore him to the friendship of God î
that thou dost not consider the greatness of his crimes, but the
sincerity of his repentance ; and that thou art ever ready to apply
1 “ Ædificata est cum propugnaculis; mille clypei pendent ex ea,
omnis armatura fortium.”—Cant. iv. 4.
’ “ Propugnaculum munitissimum in bello versantibus.”
3 “ Propugnatrix confidentium in te.”

Μι *
C 4

and to the Btessed Virgin.—XXVIII. 195
a cure to his wounds, because thou art in reality, as in name, the
Mother of mercy.1 Since, therefore, thou rejectest no sinner
who approaches thee with a sincere detestation of his crimes,
and since thou hast both the power and the will to heal him.
behold, I present myself before thee, and beseech thee to apply
thy celestial remedies to the deep wounds of my soul. Thy Son
can refuse thee nothing: entreat him, then, to pardon me and
to grant me his love.
*
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary! my hope, I expect all through
thee.
The usual prayer, page 125.
TWENTY-EIGHTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

God, having given us his own Son, says St. Paul, what
good thing is there that we can fear he might deny us !
How hath He not also with Him given us all things lΊ We
know, indeed, that all that the Eternal Father has he has
given to Jesus Christ. The Father has given Him all things
into His hands! Let us, then, ever thank the goodness,
the mercy, the liberality of our most loving God, who
has been pleased to make us rich in all good things, and
in every grace, by giving us Jesus in the Sacrament of
the Altar: In all things you are made rich in Him, ... so
that nothing is wanting to you in any grace.«
1 “ Quantumcumque homo peccet, si ex vera emendatione ad me
reversus fuerit, statim parata sum recipere revertentem; nec attendo
quantum peccaverit, sed cum quali voluntate venit: nam non dedignor
ejus plagas ungere et sanare, quia vocor (et vere sum) Mater misencordiæ.”—Rev. 1. 2, c. 23: 1. 6, c. 117.
s “ Quomodo non etiam cum illo omnia nobis donavit ?”—Rom. viti.
32.
3 “Omnia dedit ei Pater in manus.”—John. xiii. 2.
4 “ In omnibus divites facti estis in illo, ... ita ut nihil vobis
desit in ulla gratia.”—1 Cor. i. 5, 7.

* See the Sixteenth Visit, page 163.

îq6

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament
*

Therefore, 0 Saviour of the world, O Incarnate Word,
if I desire to have Thee, I can really think that Thou art
mine, and all mine. But can I at the same time say that
I am all Thine, as Thou desirest? Ah, my Lord, pre­
ventit ; and never let the world witness such disorder
and such ingratitude, as that I should not be Thine
when Thou desirest me ! Ah, no; let it never be ! If
it has been so hitherto, let it never be so again. I now,
with the utmost determination, consecrate myself entire­
ly to Thee; for time and eternity I consecrate my life,
my will, my thoughts, my actions, my sufferings, to
Thee. Behold me Thine; as a victim consecrated to
Thee, I bid farewell to all creatures, and offer my whole
self to Thee. Consume me with the flames of Thy
divine love. No, I am determined that creatures shall
no longer share my heart. The proofs which Thou hast
given me of the love which Thou bearest me, even at a
time when I did not love Thee, make me hope that Thou
rertainly acceptest me now that I love Thee, and out of
love give myself to Thee.
Eternal Father, I now offer Thee all the virtues, the
actions, the affections, of the Heart of Thy dear Jesus.
Accept them, and by his merits, which are all mine,—for
he has given them to me,—grant me the giaces which
Jesus asks Thee for me. With these merits I thank
Thee for the many mercies which Thou hast shown me;
with these I satisfv for wnat I owe Thee for mv
J sins;
through these I hope for every grace fiom Thee,—par­
don, perseverance, Paradise, and above all, the crowning
gift ot Thy pure love. I well see that to all these gifts I
myself place impediments ; but do Thou also remedy
this. I ask it of Thee in the name of Jesus Christ, who
has promised: Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My
name, that will I doI Then Thou canst not refuse me.
1 "Si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis "—John,
xvi. 23.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XXVIII.

197

Lord, my only desire is to love Ί hee, to give myself to
Thee without reserve, and no longer to be ungrateful to
Thee, as I have hitherto been. Behold me, and gra­
ciously hear me; grant that this may be the day of my
entire conversion to Thee, so that I may never more
cease to love Thee. I love Thee, my God ! I love Thee,
Infinite Goodness ! I love Thee, my love, my paradise,
my good, my life, my all !
Ejacul tory prayer. My Jesus, who art all mine, Thou
desirest me, and I desire Thee !
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
What relief do I feel in my miseries, and what conso­
lation in my tribulations, what strength do I not find in
the midst of temptations, when I remember and call
thee to my aid, O my most sweet and most holy Mother
Mary ! Yes, indeed, you were right, O ye saints, in call­
ing my Lady “ the haven of those who are in tribula­
tion,” 1 with St. Ephrem; “the repairer of our calami­
ties,” '2 and “ the solace of the miserable,” 3 with St. Bona­
venture; and “the rest from our mournings,”4 with St.
Germanus. Mv
own Mary,
do thou console me. I see
J
* 1
myself loaded with sins, and surrounded by enemies;
without virtue, and cold in my love towards God. Com­
fort me, comfort me; and let my consolation be to make
me begin a new life—a life which will be really pleasing
to thy Son and to (hee.
Ejaculatory prayer. Change me, O Mary my Mother :
change me; thou canst do it.
[From the Naples Edition.]

O Mary, how lovely is the name given to thee by thv Zaithful
1
*
3
4

“ Portus vexatorum ”—Or. ad Dcip.
*· Restauratio calamitatum nostrarum.”
“Solatium miserorum.”—Cant, post Psalt.
“ Requies gemituum nostrorum.”—huc. Deipara.

igS

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

servants: most amiable Mother) Yes, thou art truly amiable:
thy beaut}' and thy goodness have won the heart of the King of
kings, even of God himself. He has said to thee, How beauti­
ful thou art, my beloved ; and again, Thou art all beautiful, and
there is no spot in thee) If, then, thou art so dear to God, how
can I a miserable sinner, and indebted to thee for so many
benefits, refuse to love thee? I love thee, therefore, my most
amiable Queen, and I desire to be of the number of thy most
devoted lovers. Accept my desire, and obtain for me from God
the love which I ask, since nothing is more pleasing to him than
to love thee.
*
Ejaculatory prayer. 0 my amiable Mother, grant that I
may love thee with the greatest ardor.

The usual prayer, page 125.
TWENTY-NINTH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock) O most loving
shepherd, who, not satisfied with sacrificing Thyself once
to death on the altar of the cross for the love of Thy
sheep, hast moreover been pleased to hide Thyself in this
divine Sacrament on the altars of our churches, to be
always
y near, and to knock at the doors of our hearts,
<
and thus obtain Thy admission ! Ah, did I but know
how to enjoy Thy nearness to me as did the Sacred
Spouse in the Canticles, who says : I sat down under
His shadow, whom I desired) Ah, did I but love Thee,
did I but really love Thee, my most amiable Sacra­
ment, I also should wish never to leave the foot of a
1 “ Mater amabilis.”
5 “Concupivit Rex speciem tuam. Quam pulchra es, Amica mea’
quam pulchra es!—Tota pulchra es, Amica mea, et macula non est in
te.”—Cant. iv. 1, 7.
3 “ Sto ad ostium, et pulso.”—Apoc. iii. 20.
4 “ Sub umbra illius, quem desideraveram, sedi.”—Cant. ii. 3.

* See the Seventeenth Visit, page 165.

*
and to the Blessed
tabernacle either night or day; and fixing myself near
Thy Majesty, concealed under the apparent shadow of
the sacred species, I also should find those divine sweet­
nesses and that happiness which souls enamoured of
Thee there find. Ah, do Thou be graciously pleased to
draw me by the odor of Thy beauties, and of the im­
mense love which Thou manifestest in this Sacrament:
Draw mt : we will run after Thee to the odor of Thy oint­
ments? Yes, my Saviour, I will leave creatures and all
earthly pleasures, to run after Thee in this Sacrament :
As olive-plants, round about Thy table? Oh, what abundant
fruits of virtues do those happy souls, like olive-plants,
bring forth to God, who assist with love before the
sacred tabernacle ! But I am ashamed to appear before
Thee, O my Jesus, so naked and so devoid of all virtues.
Thou hast commanded that all who approach the altar
to honor Thee should present a gift : Thou shalt not ap­
pear empty before Me? What, then, am I to do ? Am I
no more to appear before Thee ? Ah, no ; this would
not please Thee. Poor as I am, I will approach Thee;
and do Thou provide me with the gifts which Thou
desirest. I see that Thou dwellest in the Sacrament, not
only to reward Thy lovers, but also to provide for the
poor out of Thy riches.
Be it so, then ; let us now begin. I adore Thee, O
King of my heart, and true lover of men. O shepherd,
loving Thy sheep beyond all bounds, to this throne of
Thy love I now approach; and having nothing else to
present to Thee, I offer Thee my miserable heart, that it
may be entirely consecrated to Thy love and to Thy
good pleasure. With this heart I can love Thee, and I
will love Thee as much as I can. Draw it, then, to Thy1 “Trahe me: post te curremus in odorem unguentorum tuorum.”
— Cant. i. 3.
3 “ Sicut novellæ olivarum in circuitu mensæ tuæ.”—Ps. cxxvii. 3.
3 “ Non apparebis in conspectu meo vacuus.”—Exod. xxiii. 15.

%

200

l· Is ils to the Most Holy Sacrament

self, and bind it wholly to Thy will, so that, filled with
consolation, it mav be able from henceforth to sav, as
Thy dear disciple said, that it is bound by the chains of
Thy love: Iy Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ.1 Unite
me, my Lord, entirely to Thyself, and make me forget
myself, that I may have the happiness one day to lose
all things, and even myself, to find Thee alone, and to
love Thee forever. I love Thee, my Sacramental Lord ;
to Thee do I bind myself, to Thee do I unite myself ;
make me find Thee, make me love Thee, and never more
separate Thyself from me.
Ejaculatory prayer. My Jesus, Thou alone art sufficient
for me !
/ Spiritual Communion, page 124.
*

* 9

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
St, Bernard calls Mar}' “ the royal road of the Sav­
iour;”2 the safe road by which to find the Saviour and
salvation. Since, then, it is true, O Queen, that thou
art, as the same saint says, “ the chariot in which our
souls go to God,”3—the one who guides us to him,—ah,
Lady, thou must not suppose that I shall advance to­
wards God, if thou dost not carry me in thine arms!
Carry me, carry me ; and if I resist, carry me b)' main
force; do all the violence that thou canst by the sweet
attractions of thy charity to my soul and to my rebellious
will, that they may leave creatures, to seek for God alone
and his divine will. Show the court of heaven the great­
ness of thy power. After so many wonders of thy
mercy, show this one more: make a poor creature who
is far from God wholly his.
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary, thou canst make me a
saint ; I hope for this grace from thee !
’ “ Ego Paulus, vinctus Christi Jesu.”—Eph. iii. 1.
5 “Via regia Salvatoris.’’—De Adv. Dom. s. 2.
* ‘kVchiculum ad Deum animarum nostrarum.”

and to the Blessed Virgin.—X.X.X.,

201

[From the Naples Edition.]

O charitable Queen, thou art styled by thy servants the advo­
cate of dinners.1 Since, then, thou art employed in defending
sinners, who place themselves under thy protection, I fly to
thee, and address thee in the language of one of thy most
devoted servants, St. Thomas of Villanova: O loving advo­
cate, exercise thy office in my behalf; undertake my defence.’
It is true that I have been a rebel to thy beloved Son ; but the
evil is committed : save mo, then, from the dreadful conse­
quence of my rebellion. If thou tell thy divine Son that thou
hast taken me under thy protection, I shall be pardoned and
*
saved.
Ejaculatory frayer. O my Mother, my dear Mother, save me.
The usual frayer, page 125.
THIRTIETH VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Chi ist, etc., page 123.

Why hidest Thou Thy face B Job feared when he saw
that God hid his face : but to know that Jesus Christ
veils his majesty in the Most Blessed Sacrament should
not inspire us with fear, but rather with greater love and
confidence; since it is precisely to increase our confi­
dence, and with greater evidence to manifest his love,
that he remains on our altars concealed under the ap­
pearance of bread. Novarinus says “that whilst God
hides his face in this Sacrament, he discloses his love.”4
And who would ever dare approach him with confidence,
1 “ Advocata omnium iniquorum ad cam confugientium.”—De
Laud. V. hf. 1. 2, a. 23.
3 “ Eja ergo, Advocata nostra! officium tuum imple. ’—Ln Nat. B.
V. cone. 3.
2 " Cur faciem tuam abscondis?"—Job, xiiî. 24.
4 “Dum Deus in hoc Sacramento faciem suam abscondit, amorem
suum detegit.”

* Sec the Twenty-first Visit, page 176.

202

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

and lay bare before him his affections and desires, did
this King of heaven appear on our altars in the splendor
of his glory ?
Ah, my Jesus ! what loving invention was this of the
Most Blessed Sacrament, to hide Thyself under the ap­
pearance of bread, in order to make Thyself loved and
that Thou mightest be found on earth by all who desire
Thee ! The prophet was right in saying that men should
speak and raise their voices throughout the world, in
order to make known to all men to what an excess the
inventions of the love of our good God go for us: Make
His works known among the people) O most loving Heart
of my Jesus, worthy to possess the hearts of all crea­
tures,—Heart all and ever full of flames of most pure
love ! O consuming fire, consume me all, and give me
a new life of love and grace ! Unite me to Thyself in
such a way that I may never more be separated from
Thee. O Heart open to be the refuge of souls, receive
me ! O Heart, which on the cross was so agonized for
the sins of the world, give me true sorrow for my sins !
I know that in this Sacrament Thou preservest the same
sentiments of love for me which Thou hadst for me
when dying on Calvarv; and therefore Thou hast an
ardent desire to unite me wholly to Thyself. And is it
possible that I should any longer resist yielding up my
entire self to Thy love and to Thy desire? Ah, by Thy
merits, my beloved Jesus, be pleased Thyself to wound
me, to bind me, to force me, to unite me in all things to
Thy Heart. I am now determined by Thy grace to give
Thee all the pleasure that I possibly can, by trampling
under foot all human respect, inclinations, repugnances,
all my tastes and conveniences, which may prevent me
from entirely pleasing Thee. Do Thou, my Lord, so
help me, that 1 may execute this determination in such
1 “ Notas facite in populis adinventiones ejus.”—Isa. xii. 4.

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XXX.

203

a way, that henceforward all my works, opinions, and
affections, may be all in conformity with Thy good
pleasure. O love of God, do Thou drive all other loves
from my heart ! O Mary, my hope, thou art all-power­
ful with God, obtain me the grace to be a faithful ser­
vant of the pure love of Jesus until death. Amen, amen.
So I hope : so may it be in time and in eternity !
Ejaculatory prayer. Who shall separate me from the
love of Christ ! ’

Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
St. Bernard affirms, that the love of Mary towards us
cannot be greater or more powerful than it is ; hence by
her affection she is always abundant in her compassion
for us, and by her power she is plentiful in the relief she
affords us: “The most powerful and compassionate
charity of the Mother of God abounds in tender com­
passion, and in kind relief : she is equally rich in both.” 2
So that, my most pure Queen, thou art rich in pow’er,
and rich in compassion ; thou art able to save, and
desirest to save all. I therefore beseech thee, now and
always, in the words of the devout Blosius, saying : “O
Lady ! protect me in my combats, and confirm me when
I am wavering.”5 O most holy Mary, in this great
battle in which I am now engaged with hell, do thou
always help me ; but when thou seest me wavering and
likely to fall, O my Lady ! do thou then extend thy
hand with greater promptitude, and sustain me with
greater vigor. O God ! how many temptations have I
1 “Quis me separabit a charitate Christi?”—Rom. viii. 35.
* “ Potentissima et piissima charitas Dei Matris, et affectu compa­
tiendi, et subveniendi abundat effectu : æque locuples in utroque.”—
In Assumpt. s. 4.
3 “O Domina ! me pugnantem protege, me vacillantem confirma.”
—Par. an. p. 2. c. 4.

204

Visits to the Most Holy Sasrament

still to overcome before my death ! Mary, my hope, my
refuge, my strength, do thou protect me, and never
allow me to lose the grace of God. And on my part I
resolve always and instantly to have recourse to thee in
all temptations, saying:
Ejaculatory prayer. Help me, Mary ! Mary, help me !
[From the Naples Edition.]

O Mary, we are taught by thy servant St. Bonaventure to re­
gard thee as the Mother of orphans} Those unfortunate sin­
ners, who have lost God, their Father, are orphans indeed. I
fly then to thee, O merciful Mother: I have by my sins lost my
Father; all my hope rests in thee, who still remainest as my
Mother. I feel fresh confidence arise within me when I hear
Innocent III. ask, Who has ever called on Mary without being
heard ?a Who was ever lost that had sincere recourse to her?
I fly, therefore, to thy holy protection ; have compassion on me ;
heip me, and do not forsake me.
*
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mother of my God, augment daily my
confidence in thee.
The usual frayer, page 125.
THIRTY-FIRST VISIT.

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, page 123.

Oh, how beautiful a sight
Redeemer on that day when,
sat down, all engaging and
await the Samaritan woman,

was it to behold our sweet
fatigued by his journey, he
loving, beside the well to
that he might convert and

1 “ Mater orphanorum.”—Psalt. min. B. V.
’ “ Quis invocavit earn, et non est exauditus ab ipsa?”—De Ass.
B. F. s. 2.
*See the Twenty-third Visit, page 181.

and lo the Blessed- Virgin.—XXXI.

205

save her ! Jesus, therefore, sat thus on the well} It is pre­
cisely thus that this same Lord seems sweetly to dwell
with us all the day long, having comedown from heaven
upon our altars as upon so many fountains of graces,
where he awaits and invites souls to keep him company,
at least for a while, that he may thus draw them to his
perfect love. From every altar on which Jesus remains
in the Most Holy Sacrament he seems to speak and ad­
dress all, saying : O men ! why do you fly my presence?
Why do you not come and draw near to me, who love
you so much, and who remain thus annihilated for your
sake ? Why do you fear? I am not now come on earth
to judge; but I have hid myself in this Sacrament of
love only to do good, and lo save all who have recourse
to me: I came not to judge the world, but to save the world}
Let us, then, understand, that as Jesus Christ in
heaven is always living to make intercession for us,1*3 so in the
Sacrament of the Altar he is continually. both night and
day, exercising the compassionate office of our Advocate;
offering himself as a victim for us to the Eternal Father,
thus to obtain for us his mercies and innumerable graces.
Therefore the devout Thomas à Kempis says, that we
ought to approach and converse with Jesus in the
Blessed Sacrament without the fear of chastisement,
and unrestrained, as to a beloved friend, “ as one who
loves speaks to his beloved, as a friend to a friend.” 4
Since, then, Thou thus givest me permission, let me,
O my hidden King and Lord, now open my heart to Thee
with confidence, and say: O my Jesus ! O enamoured
1 “Jesus ergo, fatigatus ex itinere, sedebat sic supra fontem.”—
John iv. 6.
9 “ Non veni ut judicem mundum, sed ut salvificem mundum.”—
John. xii. 47.
3 “Semper vivens ad interpellandum pro nobis.”—Hcb. vii. 25.
4 “Sicut solet dilectus ad dilectum loqui, et amicus cum amico con­
vivari.”—linit. Chr. B. 4, c. 13.

2θό

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament

of souls, I well know the injustice that men do Thee.
Thou lovest them, and art not beloved by them; Thou
doest good, and receivest contempt; Thou desirest to
make them hear Thy voice, and they give Thee no ear;
Thou offerest them Thy graces, and they refuse them.
Ah, my Jesus ! and is it true that I also at one time
joined these ungrateful creatures in thus displeasing
Thee? O God, it is but too true? But I am deter­
mined to amend, and to endeavor during the time that
I still have to live, to make up for the displeasure which
I have caused Thee, by doing all that I possibly can to
please Thee and to give Thee pleasure. Tell me, Lord,
what Thou askest of me, I will execute all without any
reserve: make it known to me by the means of holy
obedience, and I hope to do it. My God, I now reso­
lutely promise Thee that I will never, from this day for­
ward, omit anything which I know to be, rather than
another, pleasing to Thee, even were I thereby to lose
all—parents, friends, esteem, health, and even life. Let
all perish, provided Thou art pleased. Happy is that
loss, when all is lost and sacrificed to satisfy Thy heart,
O God of my soul ! I love Thee, O sovereign good,
worthy of love above every other good; and in loving
Thee I unite my poor heart to all the hearts with which
the seraphim love Thee; I unite it to the heart of Mary,
to the Heart of Jesus. I love Thee with my entire
self; Thee alone will I love, and Thee alone will I always
love.
Ejaculatory prayer. My God, my God ! I am Thine, and
Thou art mine !
Spiritual Communion, page 124.

Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Blessed Amadeus says that our most blessed Queen,
Mary, is always in the divine presence, acting as our ad-

and to the Blessed Virgin.—XXXI.

207

vocate, and interposing with God by her prayers, which
are most powerful: “The most blessed Virgin stands
before the face of her Creator, interceding with her most
powerful prayers for us. For,” he adds, “she well sees
our miseries and our dangers, and the most clement and
sweet Lady compassionates and succors us with a
mother’s love.” 1
Thou, my advocate and my most loving Mother, thou
even now seest the miseries of my soul; thou seest my dan­
gers, and prayest for me. Pray, pray, and cease not to
pray, until thou seest me saved and thanking thee in
heaven. The devout Blosius tells me that thou, O most
sweet Mary, art, after Jesus, the certain salvation of those
who are thy faithful servants.3 Ah ! this grace I now ask
thee: grant me the happy lot of being thy faithful ser­
vant until death; that after death I may go to bless thee
in heaven, where I shall be certain never more, as long
as God is God, to leave thy sacred feet.
Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary, my Mother, grant that I
may be ever thine !
[From the Naples Edition.]

O Mary, thou art the tower of David, and therefore art able to
defend those who take refuge under thee. Protect all who are
engaged in the contest. I experience continual assaults from
my enemies, who are striving to deprive me of the grace of God,
and to withdraw me from thy protection. But thou art the
fortress and the bulwark of our hope ; thou dost not disdain to
fight in behalf of those who trust in thee. O Mary, defend me,
then, against all my enemies, and light my battles for me, because
I rely with confidence on thee.
*
1 “Adstat Beatissima Virgo vultui Conditoris, prece potentissima
semper interpellans pro nobis. Videt enim nostra discrimina, nostrique clemens ac dulcis Domina materno affectu miseretur.”—De
Laud. B. V. hom. 8.
9 “Tu post Unigenitum tuum certa fidelium salus.”—Par. an. p.

2, c. 4·
* See the Twenty-seventh Visit, page 192.

2o8

Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament.

Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary, thou art my protectress.

The usual prayer, page 125.
My Good, my God, all mine Thou art;
Myself I give Thee, all my heart;
For Thee, and Thee alone, I sigh.

What have I in heaven I and besides Thee, what do I desire
upon earth ? Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that
is my portion forever)
1 “Quid enim mihi est in cœlo? et a Te quid volui super terram?
Deus cordis mei, et pars mea Deus in æternum.”—Ps. Ixxii. 25, 26.

Hymns.

209

HYMNS.
I.

Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament enclosed in the Tabernacle.
O FLOWERS, O happy flowers, which day and night
So near to my own Jesus silent stay,
And never leave him, till before his sight
At length your life in fragrance fades away!
Could I, too, always make my dwelling-place
In that dear spot to whi< h your charms you lend.
Oh. what a blessed lot were mine ! what grace,
Close to my truest Life, my life to end !
O lights! O happy lights, which burn away,
The presence of our Jesus to proclaim ;
Ah ! could I see my heart become one day
Like you, all fire of love and burning flame,
Then, as you waste away, so would I die,
Like you, consumed with fire of love divine;
Oh ! how I envy you ! How blest were I
Could I but change your happy lot with mine !
O sacred pyx ! thou art more favored still,
For t hou my love concealed dost here enclose ;
What nobler, happier part could creature fill ?
In thee thy very God deigns to repose !
Ah ! were thy office but for one brief day
On this my poor and frozen breast bestow’d,
Then would my heart be melted all away,
Of love and fire become the blest abode!
14

2 ΙΟ

Hymns.

But ah, sweet flowers, bright lights, and pyx so blest !
Far, far more fortunate than you am I,
When my Beloved comes within my breast,
All loving like a tender lamb to lie ;
And I, poor worm, in this frail host receive
My good, my all, the God of Majesty !
Why then not burn ? my life why then not give,
Since here my treasure gives himself to me?

Away, like fluttering moth around the light,
My raptured soul, about thy Jesus fly,
Inflamed with faith and love ; and at the sight
Of thy beloved ever burn and sigh !
And when the hour arrives, and he is thine
Whose very sight make Paradise above,
Oh, press him to thy heart with fire divine,
And say thou wilt but love, love, only love !

II.
The Visit to Jesus on the Altar.
When the loving Shepherd,
Ere he left the earth,
Shed, to pay our ransom,
Blood of priceless worth,—
These his lambs so cherish’d,
Purchased for his own,
He would not abandon
In the world alone.

Ere he makes us partners
Of his realm on high,
Happy and immortal
With him in the sky,—
Love immense, stupendous,
Makes him here below
Partner of our exile
In this world of woe.

Hymns.
Lest one heart that loves him
E’er should sigh with pain,
Pining for his presence,
Seeking him in vain,—
He on earth would tarry
Near to every one,
That each heart might find him
On his altar-throne.

Yes, upon that altar,
Captive in his cell,
Burning with affection,
Jesus deigns to dwell.
Thence he seeks to kindle
With his heavenly fires
Every heart that truly
To his love aspires.

How that fire enkindles,
Piercing like a dart,
He alone is witness
Who has felt its smart ;
Though the heart approaches
Cold as falling snow,
Soon it melts and kindles
From the furnace glow.
Say, ye souls enamour’d,
What blest flames you feel :
Say, what fiery arrows
Pierce you as you kneel,
When you come to worship
Where your Jesus lies,
All your love awaiting,
Hid from mortal eyes.
Jesus, food of angels !
Monarch of the heart,
Oh, that I could never
From Thy face depart ’

211

2 I 2'
Yes, Thou ever dwellcst
Here for love of me,
Hidden Thou remainest,
God of Majesty !

Soon I hope to see Thee,
And enjoy Thy love,
Face to face, sweet Jesus,
In Thy heaven above.
But on earth an exile
My delight shall be,
Ever to be near Thee,
Veiled for love of me.

illebitiitions for the (Oetaee of (Corpus (Christi.
MEDITATION I.

The Love of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament.
Our most loving Redeemer, knowing that he must
leave this earth and return to his Father as soon as he
should have accomplished the work of our redemption
by his death, and seeing that the hour of his death was
now come,—Jesus knowing that His hour was come, that He
should pass out of this world unto the Father,1—would not
leave us alone in this valley of tears, and therefore what
did he do? He instituted the Most Holy* Sacrament of
the Eucharist, in which he left us his whole self. “No
tongue,” said St. Peter of Alcantara, “is able to declare
the greatness of the love that Jesus bears to every soul:
and therefore this Spouse, when he would leave this
earth, in order that his absence might not cause us to
forget him, left us as a memorial this Blessed Sacrament,
in which he himself remained ; for he would not that there
should be any other pledge to keep alive our remembrance
of him than he himself.” Jesus, therefore, would not be
separated from us by his death; but he instituted this
Sacrament of love in order to be with us even to lhe end of
the world: Behold I am with you evento the consummation of
the world? Behold him, then, as faith teaches us,—be­
hold him on so many altars shut up as in so many prisons
of love, in order that he may be found by every one that
1 “ Sciens Jesus quia venit bora ejus, ut transeat ex hoc mundo ad
Patrem.”—John, xiii. I.
2 “ Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus, usque ad consummationem sæculi.”—Matt, xxviii. 20.

214

Meditations for the

seeks him. But, O Lord, says St. Bernard, this does not
become Thy majesty. Jesus Christ answers, It is enough
that it becomes my love.
They feel great tenderness and devotion who go to
Jerusalem and visit the cave where the Incarnate Word
was born, the hall where he was scourged, the hill of
Calvary on which he died, and the sepulchre where he
was buried; but how much greater ought our tender­
ness to be when we visit an altar on which Jesus remains
in the Most Holy Sacrament ! The Ven. Father John
Avila used to say, that of all sanctuaries there is not one
to be found more excellent and devout than a church
where Jesus is sacramentally present.

Affections and Prayers.
O my beloved Jesus, O God, \vho hast loved men with so ex­
ceeding love ! what more canst Thou do to make Thyself loved
by these ungrateful men ? Oh, if men loved Thee, all the
churches would be continually filled with people prostrate on
the ground adoring and thanking Thee, and burning with love
for Thee at seeing Thee with the eyes of faith hidden in a
tabernacle. But no ; men, forgetful of Thee and of Thy love,
are ready enough to court a man from whom they hope for some
miserable advantage, while they leave Thee, O my Lord, aban­
doned and alone. Oh that I could by my devotion make rep­
aration for such ingratitude ! I am sorry that I also have
hitherto been, like them, careless and ungrateful. But for the
future I will not be so any longer, and I will devote myself to
Thy service as much as I possibly can. Do Thou inflame me
with Thy holy love, so that from this day forth I may live only
to love and to please Thee. Thou deservest the love of all
hearts. If at one time I have despised Thee, I now desire
nothing but to love Thee. O my Jesus, Thou art my love and
my only good, “ my God and my all.” 1
Most holy Virgin Mary, obtain for me, I pray thee, a great
love for the Most Holy Sacrament.
1 “ Deus meus, et omnia !”

Octave of Corpus Christi,

215

MEDITATION II.

Jesus remains on the Altar, that Every One may be able to
find Him.
St. Teresa said, that in this world it is impossible for
all subjects to speak to the king. As for the poor, the
most they can hope for is, to speak with him by means of .
some third person. But to speak with Thee. O King of
Heaven, there is no need of third persons; for every one
that wishes can find Thee in the Most Holy Sacrament,
and can speak to Thee at his pleasure and without re­
straint. For this reason, said the same saint, Jesus Christ
has concealed his majesty in the Sacrament, under the
appearance of bread, in order to give us more confi­
dence, and to take away from us all fear of approaching
him.
Oh, how Jesus seems continually to exclaim from the
altar: Conic to Me, all you that labor and are burdened, and 1
luill refresh you) Come, he says, come, ye poor: come,
ye infirm; come, ye afflicted; come, ye just and ye sin­
ners, and you shall find in me a remedy for all your losses
and afflictions: such is the desire of Jesus Christ; to
console every
to him, he remains
* one who has recourse
1
day and night on our altars, that he maybe found by all,
and that he may bestow favors upon all. Hence the
saints experienced in this world such pleasure in remain­
ing in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament,
that days and nights appeared to them as moments. The
Countess of Feria having become a nun of the Order of
St. Clare, was never wearied of remaining in the choir in
sight of the tabernacle: being asked one dav what she
was doing so long before the Most Holy Sacrament,
she answered with surprise: “What do I do before the
1 “Venite ad me omnes, qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego re­
ficiam vos.”—Matt. xi. 28.

2Ι0

Meditations for the

Blessed Sacrament? what do I do ? I return thanks, I
love and I pray!” St. Philip Neri being in the presence
of the Blessed Sacrament, exclaimed: “Behold my love,
behold all my love ?” Ah, if Jesus were thus our whole
love, days and nights in his presence would appear also
to us as moments.
Affections and Prayers.
O my Jesus, from this day forward I also hope to say always
to Thee, when I come to visit Thee on Thy altars: “ Behold my
love, behold all my love!” Yes, my beloved Redeemer, I will
love none other but Thee; I desire that Thou shouldst be the
only love of my soul. I seem to die of sorrow when I think that
hitherto I have loved creatures and my own pleasures more than
Thee, and have turned my back upon Thee, the sovereign good.
But Thou wouldst not have me lost, and therefore hast Thou
borne with me with so much patience; and instead of chastising
me, Thou hast pierced my heart with so many darts of love,
that I could no longer resist Thy kindness, but have given my­
self up to Thee; I see that Thou wouldst have me to be entirely
Thine. But since Thou wouldst have it to be so, do Thou
make me so Thyself ; for it is Thou who must do it. Do Thou
detach my heart from all earthly affectionsand from myself, and
grant that I may seek none other but Thee, that I may think of
none but Thee, that I may speak of none but Thee, and that I
may only desire and sigh to burn with love for Thee, and to live
and die for Thee alone. O love of my Jesus, come and occupy
my whole heart, and expel from it all other love but that of
God ! I love Thee, O Jesus in the Sacrament, I love Thee, my
treasure, my love, my all.
O Mary, my hope, pray for me, and make me belong entirely
to Jesus.
MEDITATION III.

The Great Gift which Jesus has made us by Giving Himself
to us in the Blessed Sacrament.
The love of Jesus Christ was not satisfied with sacri­
ficing forus his divine life in the midst of a sea of igno­
minies and torments, in order to prove to us the affection

Octave of Corpit, s Christi.

217

that he bore us; but besides all this, in order to oblige
us to love him more, on the night before his death he
would leave us his whole self as our food in the Holy
Eucharist. God is omnipotent; but after he has given
himself to a soul in this Sacramentof love, he has nothing
more to give her. The Council of Trent says, that Jesus,
in giving himself to us in the Holy Communion, pours
forth, as it were, all the riches of his infinite love in this
gift: “ He has, as it were, poured forth the treasures of
his love towards man.” 1 How would that vassal esteem
himself honored, writes St. Francis de Sales, were his
prince, whilst he was at table, to send him a portion of
his own dish; and what would it be if this portion were
a piece torn out from his own arm ? Jesus in the Holy
Communion gives us for our food, not only a portion of
his own meal and of his most sacred flesh, but all his
body: Take and eat, this is My Body.2 And together with
his body he gives us also his soul and his divinity; so that,
as St. Chrysostom says, our Lord, in giving himself to
us in the Blessed Sacrament, gives us all that he has,
and nothing more remains for him to give us: “He gave
all to Thee, and left nothing for himself.” O wonderful
prodigy of divine love, that God, who is the Lord of all,
makes himself entirely ours !
Affections and Prayers.

O my dear Jesus, what more canst Thou do to make us love
Thee? Oh, make us understand what an excess of love Thou
hast shown us in reducing Thyself to food, in order to unite
Thyself thus to us poor sinners! Thou, therefore, my dear Re­
deemer, hast had so much affection for me, that Thou hast not
refused to give Thyself again and again entirely for me in Holy
Communion. And yet I have had the courage to drive Thee
so many times away from my soul ! But Thou canst not despise
1 “ Divitias divini sui erga homines amoris velut effudit.”—
xiii. c. 2.
2 “Accipite et comedite; hoc est corpus meum.”—Matt, xxvi. 26.

218

Meditations • for the
*

an humble and a contrite lirait. Thou didst become man for
my sake, Thou didst die for inc, Thou did si even χο so iai as to
become my food ; and what more can there remain for 'I lire to
do togain my love? Oh, that 1 could die with grief every time
that 1 remember to have thus despised Thy grace ! I repent,
O my love, with my whole heart for having offended '1 hee. I
love Thee, O infinite goodness! I love Thee, O infinite love!
1 desire nothing but to love Thee, and I feat nothing but to live
without Thy love. My beloved Jesus, do not refuse to come
for the future into my soul. Come, because I would rather die
a thousand limes than drive Thee away again, ami I will do all
1 can lo please Thee. Come and inflame my whole soul with
Thy love. Grant that I may forget everything, to think only
of Thee, and to aspire to 'Dice alone, my sovereign and my only
good.
O Mary, my Mother, pray for me; and by thy prayers make
me grateful for all the love of Jesus towards me.
MEDITATION IV.

The Great Love which Jesus Christ has shown us in the
Blessed Sacrament.
Jesus, knowing that His hour was come, that Hr shouldpass
out oj this wot hl to the Father : having loved //is own who
were in (he world’ He loved them to the end. ‘ Jesus, knowing
that the hour of his death was come, desited to leave us,
before he died, the greatest pledge of his affection that
he could give us; and this was the gift of the Most Ifoly
Sacrament: He loved them to the end ; whirl) St. Chrysostom
explains, “ IIc loved them with extreme love.” IIc loved
men with the greatest love with which he could love
them, by giving them his whole self. I5ut at what lime
did Jesus institute this great Sacrament, in which he has
left us himself? On the night preceding his death;
The same night in which Hr was betrayed (writes the Apos1 "Sciens Jesus quia venit hora ejus, ut transeat ex hoc mundo ad
Patrem, cum dilexisset suos, ... in finem dilexit surs."—John,
xiii. I.

Octave of Corpus Christi,

219

tie), //> look bread; and giving Ihauk^ broke and said, Take,
ye. an deal; this is Afy BodyA At. the very lime that men
were preparing to pul him to death, he gave them this
last proof of his love. The marks of affection which we
receive from our friends at the time of their death re­
main more deeply impressed on our hearts; for this
reason did Jesus bestow on us this gift of the Blessed
Sacrament just before his death. With reason, then, did
St. Thomas call this gift “a sacrament and pledge of
love;” '1 and St. Bernard, “ the love of loves;”* bec ause
in this Sacrament Jesus Christ united and accomplished
all the other acts of love whi< h he had shown us. Hence
St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi called the day on which
Jesus instituted this Sacrament “the day of love.”

Affections and Prayers,
O infinite love of Jesue, worthy of being loved with a like in­
finite love! Ί lion, my Lord, dost love men so much ; how is it,
then, that men love Thee so little in return? What more
ConldstThou do to make Thyself loved by them? O my Jesus,
Thou art so amiable and so loving; make Thyself, I pray Ί her,
known ; make Ί hysclf loved. When shall I Jove I bee as Thou
hast love me? Oh, discover to me more and mon· the great­
ness of Ί hy mercy, in order that 1 may bum ever more and
more with Ί hy love, and always seek to please Thee. Obe­
loved one of my soul, would that 1 had always loved Thee'
Alas, there was a time when I not only did not love Thee, but
despised Ί hy grace and Thy love! I am < onsoled by the sorrow
whi< h 1 feel for it, and 1 hope for pardon through Thy promise
to forgive him t hat repents of his sins. To Ί hee. O my Saviour,
do I turn all my aline lions ; help me, through the merits of Thy
Passion, to love Thee with my whole strength Oh, that I
could die for Ί hee, as ΊΊ1011 didst die for me!
O Mary, my Mother, do thou obtain for me the grace hence­
forth to love God alone.
1 “In qua nocte tradebatur, accepit panem, et gratia» agens fregit, et
dixit : Accipite et manducate ; hoc est corpus meum." 1 Cur. xi, 23.
'J “Sacramentum charitatis, summæ charilalis pignus.”
“ Amor amorum.”

220

Meditations for the
MEDITATION V.

The Union of the Soul with Jesus in the Holy Communion.
St. Dionysius the Areopagite says that the principal
effect of love is to tend to union. For this very purpose
did Jesus institute the Holy Communion, that he might
unite himself entirely to our souls. He had given him­
self to us as our master, our example, and our victim; it
only remained for him to give himself to us as our food,
that he might become one with us; as food becomes one
with the person that eats it. This he did by instituting
this Sacrament of love: “The last degree of love” (says
St. Bernardine of Sienna) “is when he gave himself to
us to be our food; because he gave himself to be united
with us in every way, as food and he who takes it are
mutuallv
* united.” 1
So that Jesus Christ was not satisfied with uniting
himself to our human nature; but he would, by this
Sacrament, find a way of uniting himself also to each
one of us, so as to make himself wholly one with him
who receives him. Hence St. Francis de Sales writes:
“In no other action can our Saviour be considered more
tender or more loving than in this, in which he, as it
were, annihilates himself, and reduces himself to food,
that he may penetrate our souls, and unite himself to the
hearts of his faithful.”3 Because Jesus loved us ar­
dently, he desired to unite himself to us in the Holy
Eucharist, in order that we might become the same thing
with him; thus writes St. Chrysostom: “He mingled
himself with us, that we might be one; for this belongs
to those who love greatly.”3 Thou wouldst, in short,
1 “Ultimus gradus amoris est, cum se dedit nobis in cibum ; quia
dedit se nobis ad omnimodam unionem, sicut cibus et cibans invicem
uniuntur.”—T. ii. s. 54, a. 1, c. I.
s Introd. p. 2. ch. 21.
3 “ Semetipsum nobis immiscuit, ut unum quid simus; ardenter
enim amantium hoc est.”—Ad pop. Aut. hom.bl.

Octave of Corpus Christi.

221

O God of love, that our hearts and Thine should form
but one heart. “Thou wouldst that we should have one
heart with Thee,” said St. Laurence Justinian.1
And Jesus himself said this: He that
eateth My flesh
9
abideth in Me. and I in him
*
He, therefore, that com­
municates, abides in Jesus, and Jesus abides in him; and
this union, is not of mere affection, but it is a true and
real union. As two wax tapers, when melted, says St.
Cyril of Alexandria,3 unite themselves into one, so he
that communicates becomes one with Jesus Christ. Let
us, therefore, imagine, when we communicate, that Jesus
Christ says to us that which he said one day to his be­
loved servant, Margaret of Ypres : “Behold, O my
daughter, the beautiful union between me and thee;
come. then, love me. and let us remain constantlv united

222

Meditations for the

Thee alone, and nothing but Thee. O my Jesus, hear me; 1
desire Thee alone, and nothing but Thee.
O Mary, Mother of mercy, pray for me now ; and obtain for
me the grace never more to separate myself from Jesus, and to
love only Jesus.
MEDITATION VI.

The Desire which Jesus Christ has to Unite Himself to us in the
Holy Communion.
Jesus knowing that JJis hour was comet This hour,
which Jesus called “ His hour,” was the hour of that
night in which his Passion was to begin. But why did
he call so sad an hour his hour? Because this was the
hour for which he had sighed during his whole life, hav­
ing determined to leave us in this night the Holy Com­
munion, by which he desired to unite himself entirely to
the souls whom he loved, and for whom he was soon to
give his blood and his life. Behold how he spoke on
that night to his disciples: With desire have I desired to
eat this Pasch with you? By which words he would ex­
press to us the desire and anxiety that he had to unite
himself to us in this Sacrament of love. With desire
have I desired ; these words, said St. Laurence Justinian,
were words which came from the Heart of Jesus, which
was burning with infinite love: “This is the voice of
the most ardent charity.” 3
Now the same flame which burnt then in the Heart of
Jesus burns there at present; and he gives the same in­
vitation to all of us to-day to receive him as he did then
to his disciples. Take ye and eat ; this is My Body? And
to allure us to receive him with affection, he promises
1 “Sciens Jesus quia venit hora ejus.”—John, xiii. i.
s “ Desiderio desideravi hoc pascha manducare vobiscum.”—Luke,
xxii. 15.
3 '* Flagrantissimæ charitatis est vox hæc.”—De Tr. Chr. Ag. c. 2.
4 “ Accipite et comedite; hoc est corpus meum.”—Matt. xxvi. 26.

Octave of Corpus Christi.

222.

Paradise to us: He that eateth My flesh hath everlasting
life) And if we refuse to receive him, he threatens us
with death: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, you
shall not have life in you)
These invitations, promises, and threats, all arise from
the desire of Jesus Christ to unite himself to us in Holy
Communion, through the love that he bears us. “There
is not a bee,” said our Lord to St. Mechtilde, “ which seeks
the honey out of the flowers with such eagerness of de­
light, as I have to enter into the souls that desire me.” *
Jesus, because he loves us, desires to be loved by us ;
and because he desires us he will have us desire him.
“God thirsts to be thirsted after,”4 writes St. Gregory.
Blessed is that soul that approaches Holy Communion
with a great desire to be united to Jesus Christ.
%

Affections and Prayers.
*
My adorable Jesus, Thou canst not give us greater proofs of
Thy love, to show us how much Thou lovest us. Thou hast
given Thy life for us; Thou hast bequeathed Thyself to us in
the Holy Sacrament, in order that we may come and nourish
ourselves with Thy flesh ; and Thou art most anxious that we
should receive Thee. How, then, can we behold all these proofs
of Thy love, and not burn with love for Thee? Begone, ye
earthly affections, begone from my heart; it is you that hinder
me from burning with love for Jesus as he burns with love for
me. And what other pledges of Thy love can I expect, O my
Redeemer, than those which Thou hast already given me ? Thou
hast sacrificed Thy whole life for the love of me; Thou hast
embraced for my sake a most bitter and infamous death ; Thou
hast for my sake reduced Thyself almost to annihilation, by be­
coming food in the Holy Eucharist in order to give Thyself
1 “ Qui manducat meam carnem . . . , habet vitam æternam.”—
John, vi. 55.
2 “ Nisi manducaveritis carnem Filii hominis . . . , non habebitis
▼itam in vobis.”—Ibid. 54·
’ Spir. Grat. 1. 2, c. 3.
4 “Sitit sitiri Deus.”—Tetr. Sent. 37.

2 24

Meditations for the

entirely to us. 0 Lord, let me no longer live ungrateful for
such great goodness. I thank Thee for having given me time
to bewail the offences I have commuted against Thee, and to
love Thee during the days that remain to me in this life. I re­
pent, O sovereign good, for having hitherto despised Thy love.
I love Thee, O infinite goodness! I love Thee, O infinite treas­
ure! I love Thee, O infinite love who art worthy of infinite
love! Oh, help me, my Jesus, to discard from my heart all
affections that are not directed to Thee; so that from this day
forward I may not desire, nor seek, nor love any other but Thee.
My beloved Lord, grant that 1 may always find Thee, grant that
I may always love Thee. Do Thou take possession of my whole
will, in order that I may never desire anything but what is pleas­
ing to Thee. My God, my God, whom shall I love, if I love not
Thee, who art the supreme good ? I do indeed desire Thee,
and nothing more. O Mary, my Mother, take my heart into
thy keeping, and fill it with pure love for Jesus Christ.
MEDITATION VII.

Holy Communion Obtains for us Perseverance in Divine Grace.
When Jesus comes to the soul in Holy Communion,
he brings to it every grace, and specially the grace of
holy perseverance. This is the principal effect of the
Most Holv Sacrament of the Altar, to nourish the soul
that receives it with this food of life, and to give it great
strength to advance unto perfection, and to resist those
enemies who desire our death. Hence Jesus calls him­
self in this Sacrament heavenly bread: I am the living
Bread which came down from heaven ; if any man eat of this
Breads he shall live forever} Even as earthly bread sus­
tains the life of the body, so this heavenly bread sustains
the life of the soul, by making it persevere in the grace
of God.
Therefore the Council of Trent teaches that Holy
Communion is that remedy which delivers us from daily
7

1 “ Ego sum panis vivus, qui de cœlo descendi; si quis manducaverit
ex hoc pane, vivet in æternum.”—John, vi. ςι.

Octave of Corpus Christi.

225

faults ana preserves us from mortal sins.1 Innocent III.
writes’ that Jesus Christ by his Passion delivers us from
sins committed, and by lhe Holy Eucharist from sins
which we might commit. Therefore St. Bonaventure
says that sinners must not keep away from Communion
because they have been sinners ; on the contrary, for this
very reason they ought to receive it more frequently ;
because ‘‘ the more infirm a person feels himself, the
more he is in want of a physician." 3

Affections and Prayers.
Miserable sinner that I am. O Lord, wherefore do I lament
my weakness when I consider my many falls from grace? How
was it possible that I should have resisted the assaults of the
devil while I stayed away from Thee, who art my strength ? If
I had oftencr approached the Holy Communion, I should not
have been so often overcome by my enemies. But in future it
shall not be so
* In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped ; I shall not be
confounded forever! No, I will no longer rely on my own
resolution. Thou alone art my hope, O my Jesus; Thou wilt
give me strength, that I may no more fall into sin. I am weak;
but Thou, by Holy Communion, wilt make me strong against
every temptation : I can do all things in Him who strengthened
me! Forgive me, O my Jesus, all the offences I have com­
mitted against Thee, of which I repent with my whole heart. I
resolve rather to die than ever to offend Thee again ; and I
trust, in Thy Passion, that Thou wilt give me Thy help to per­
severe in Thy grace to the end of my life: In Thee, O Lord,
have I hoped ; I shall not be confoundedforever.
And with St. Bonaventure I will sav the same to thee, O
Mary, my Mother: “In thee, O Lady, have I hoped; I shall
not be confounded forever.”
1 “ Antidotum, quo liberemur a culpis quotidianis, et a peccatis mor­
talibus præservemur.”—S>jj. xiii. c. 2.
2 De Alt. Myst. 1. 4, c. 44.
3 “ Tanto magis æger necesse habet requirere medicum, quanto
magis senserit se ægrotum.—De Prof. rei. I. 2, c. 77.
4 “In te, Domine, speravi ; non confundar in æternum.”—Ps. xxx. 2.
6 “Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat."—Phil. iv. 13.
15

226

Meditations for the
MEDITATION VIII.

Preparation for Communion and Thanksgiving after it.

Cardinal Bona asks wherefore it happens that so many
souls, after so many Communions, make so little advance
in the way of God? and he answers: ‘‘The fault is not
in the food, but in the disposition of him who eats it 1
that is to say, in the want of due preparation on the part
of the communicant. Fire soon burns dry wood, but not
that which is green, because the latter is not fit to burn.
The saints derived great profit from their Communions,
because they were very careful in their preparation
for it.
* There are two principal things which we should en­
deavor to obtain in order to prepare ourselves for Holy
Communion and derive the greatest fruit.
The first is, detachment from creatures, by driving
from our heart everything that is not of God and for
God. Although the soul may be in a state of grace, yet
if the heart is occupied by earthly affections the more
there is of earth in the soul, so much less room will there
be for divine love. St. Gertrude once asked our Lord
what preparation he required of her for Holy Com­
munion, and Jesus answered her: “I require none other
from thee than that thou shouldst come to receive me
void of thyself.” 2
The second thing that is necessary in order to reap the
greatest fruit from Communion is, the desire to receive
Jesus Christ with the view of loving him more. Gerson 3
says that at this banquet none are satiated but those
who feel great hunger. Hence St. Francis de Sales
9

'

1 "Defectus non in cibo est, sed in edentis dispositione.”—De
Sacr. M. c. 6, § 6.
2 Insin. 1. 4, c. 26.
3 Sup. Magn. tr. 9, p. 1.

Octave of Corpus Christi.

227

writes, that the principal intention of a soul in receiving
Communion should be to advance in the love of God.
“He” (says the saint) “should be received for love, who
out of pure love alone gives himself to us.” 1 And there­
fore Jesus said to St. Mechtilde: “When thou art going
to communicate, desire all the love that any soul ever
had for me, and I will receive it according to thy desire,
as if it were thine own.” 3 *
It is also necessary to make a thanksgiving after Com­
munion. There is no prayer more dear to God than
that which is made after Communion. We must occupy
this time in acts of love and prayers. The devout acts
of love which we then make have greater merit in the
sight of God than those which we make at other times,
because they are then animated by the presence of Jesus
Christ, who is united to our souls. And as to prayers,
St. Teresa says that Jesus, after Communion, remains in
the soul as on a throne of grace, and says to it: What
ivilt thou that I should do for thee 23 Soul, I am come from
heaven on purpose to bestow graces upon thee; ask me
what thou wilt, and as much as thou wilt, and thou shall
be heard. Oh, what treasures of grace do they lose who
pray but a short time to God after Holy Communion !
Affections and Prayer

O God of love, dost Thou, then, so much desire to dispense
Thy favors to us, and yet are we so little anxious to obtain
them ? Oh, what sorrow we shall feel at the hour of death,
when we think of this negligence, so pernicious to our souls!
O my Lord, forget, I beseech Thee, all that is past; for the
future, with Thy help, I will prepare myself better, by endeavor­
ing to detach my affections from everything that prevents me
from receiving all those graces which Thou desirest to bestow
upon me. And after Communion I will lift up my heart to Thee
1 Introd. p. 2, ch. 21.
9 Spir. Grat. 1. 3, c. 22.
3 “ Quid tibi vis faciam?”—Mark, x. 51.

2 28

Meditations for the Octave of Corpus Christi.

as much as I can, in order to obtain Thy help that I may ad­
vance in Thy love,—oh, grant me grace to accomplish this. O
my Jesus, how negligent have I hitherto been in loving I heel
The time which Thou in Thy mercy may est yet allot to me in
this life, is the time to prepare myself for death, and to make
amends by my love for the offences I have committed against
Thee. I will spend it entirely in lamenting my sins and in lov­
ing Thee. I love Thee, my Jesus, my love; 1 love '1 hee, my
only Good; have pity on me, and do not forsake me.
And thou. O Mary, my hope, do not cease to help me by thy
holy intercession !

Noücna to tlje Sacrcb fjeart of 3csns.
*
NOTICE ON THE DEVOTION TO THE ADORABLE HEART
OF JESUS.

The devotion of all devotions is love for Jesus Christ, and
frequent meditation on the love which this amiable Redeemer
has borne and still bears to us.
A devout author laments, and most justly, the sight of so
many persons who pay much attention to the practice of
various devotions, but neglect this ; and of many preachers and
confessors, who say a great many things, but speak little of
love for Jesus Christ: whereas love for Jesus Christ ought to
be the principal, indeed the only, devotion of a Christian ; and
therefore the only object and care of preachers and confessors
towards their hearers and penitents ought to be to recommend
to them constantly, and to inflame their hearts with, the love
of Jesus Christ. This neglect is the reason why souls make’so
little progress in virtue, and remain grovelling in the same
defects, and even frequently relapse into grievous sins, because
they take but little care, and arc not sufficiently admonished to
acquire the love of Jesus Christ, which is that golden cord
which unites and binds the soul to God.
For this sole purpose did the Eternal Word come into this
world, to make himself loved : I am come to cast fire on the
earth, and what will I but that it be kindled? 1 And for this
purpose also did the Eternal Father send him into the world, in
order that he might make known to us his love, and thus
obtain ours in return ; and he protests that he will love us in
the same proportion as we love Jesus Christ : For the Father
Himself loveth you, because you have loved Me.'1 Moreover, he
1 “ Ignem veni mittere in terram ; et quid volo, nisi ut accendatur?”
-K-Luke, xii. 49.
8 “ Ipse enim Pater amat vos, quia vos me amastis.”—John, xvi. 27.

* This opuscule was written and published in 1758. (Tannoia, B2, ch. 46.)

230

Novena to the

gives us his graces as far as we ask for them in the name of his
Son : Ifyou ask the Father anything in My name, He will give
it youi And he will admit us to the eternal beatitude in so
far only as he finds us conformable to the life of Jesus Christ:
For whom he foreknew, He also predestinated to be made con­
formable to the image of His Son.1 But we shall never acquire
this conformity, nor even ever désire it, if we are not attentive
to meditate upon the love which Jesus Christ has borne to us.
For this same purpose it is related in the life of Saint
Mary Margaret Alacoque, a nun of the Order of the Visitation,
that our Saviour revealed to this his servant his wish that in
our times the devotion and feast of his Sacred Heart should be
established and propagated in the Church, in order that de­
vout souls should by their adoration and prayer make reparation
for the injuries his heart constantly receives from ungrateful men
when he is exposed in the Sacrament upon the Altar. It is also
related in the life of the same venerable sister, written by the
learned Monseigneur Languet, Bishop of Sens, that while this
devout virgin was one day praying before the Most Holy Sacra­
ment, Jesus Christ showed her his heart surrounded by thorns,
witji a cross on the top and in a throne of flames ; and then he
said thus to her: “Behold the heart that has so much loved
men, and has spared nothing for love of them, even to consum­
ing itself to give them pledges of its love, but which receives
from the majority of men no other recompense but ingratitude,
and insults towards the Sacrament of love ; and what grieves
me most is, that these hearts are consecrated to me.” And
then he desired her to use her utmost endeavors in order that a
particular feast should be celebrated in honor of his divine
heart on the first Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi.
And this for three reasons: I. In order that the faithful should
return thanks to him for the great gift which he has left them
in the adorable Eucharist; 2. In order that loving souls should
make amends by their prayers and pious affections for the
irreverences and insults which he has received and still receives
1 '‘Si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis.”—John,
xvi. 23.
* “ Quos præscivit et prædestinavit conformes fieri imaginis Filii
sui.”—Fom. viii. 2Ç

Sacred Heart of Jesus.

231

from sinners in this Most Holy Sacrament; 3. In order that
they might make up also for the honor which he does not re­
ceive in so many churches where he is so little adored and
reverenced. And he promised that he would make the riches
of his Sacred Heart abound towards those who should render
him this honor, both on the day of this feast, and on every
other day when they should visit him in the Most Holy Sacra­
ment.
This devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ is nothing
more than an exercise of love towards this amiable Saviour.
But as to the principal object of this devotion, the spiritual ob­
ject is the love with which the heart of Jesus Christ is inflamed
towards men, because love is generally attributed to the heart,
as we read in many places of Scripture : My son, give Me thy
heartP My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living Godd
The God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever.3
The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost who is given to us.
*
But the material or sensible object
is the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, not taken separately by
itself, but united to his sacred humanity, and consequently to
the divine Person of the Word.
This devotion in the course of a short time has been so ex­
tensively propagated, that besides having been introduced into
many convents of holy virgins, there have been about foui
hundred confraternities erected of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
established with the authority of the Prelates in France, in
Savoy, in Flanders, in Germany, in Italy, and even in many
heathen countries ; and these confraternities have also been
enriched by the Holy Sec with many indulgences, and also with
the faculty of erecting chapels and churches with the title of
the Sacred Heart, as appears from the brief of Clement X. in
the year 1674, mentioned by Father Eudes in his book (page
468), and referred to by Father Galliiet, of the Company of
1 “Præbe, fili mi, cor tuum mihi.”—Prov. xxiii. 26.
2 “Cor meum et caro mea exsultaverunt in Deum vivum."—Ps.
Ixxxiii. 3.
3 “ Deus cordis mei, et pars mea, Deus, in aeternum.”—Ps. Ixxii. 26.
4 “ Charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum Sanc­
tum, qui datus est nobis.”—Rom. v. 5.

232

Novena to the

Jesus, in his work on the “ Excellence of the devotion to the
Heart of Jesus.
And many devout persons hope that the Holy Church may
some day grant permission for the Office, and proper Mass, in
honor of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. We know,
indeed, that even in the year 1726 this request was made
through the medium of the same Father Gallifet, who was the
postulator of it; he explained that the Sacred Heart of Jesus
deserved this special veneration, because it was the sensible
origin and the seat of all the affections of the Redeemer, and
*
especially that of love ; and because it was also the centre of all
the interior sorrows which he suffered during his life. But, as far
as my weak judgment goes, I believe that this good religious did
not obtain his petition because he urged it upon grounds which
were dubiously tenable. It was therefore justly objected to his
views that it was a great question as to whether the affections
of the soul were found in the heart or in the brain ; and even the
most modern philosophers, with Louis Muratori in his moral
philosophy, adopt the second opinion, viz., of the brain. And
that therefore, as there had been no judgment pronounced con­
cerning this disputed point by the Church, which prudently
abstains from such decisions, the request made was not to be
granted, inasmuch as it wasgrounded on an uncertain opinion of
the ancients. And it was moreover said, that as this special
motive for the veneration of the Sacred Heart had failed, it
would not be right to grant the petition for the Office and Mass ;
because otherwise this might be a precedent for similar requests
in favor of the most holy side, of the tongue, the eyes, and
other members of Jesus Christ’s body. This is the substance of
what I find recorded in the celebrated work on the canonization
of the saints, of Benedict XIV., of blessed memory. 1
But the hope we entertain that this concession will some day
be granted in favor of the heart of our Lord, is not built upon
the above-mentioned opinion of the ancients, but on the com­
mon opinion of philosophers, both ancient and modern, that
the human heart, even though it may not be the seat of the
affections and the principle of life, is, notwithstanding, as the
most learned Muratori writes in the same place, “ One of the
’ Lib. 4, p. 2, c. 30, n. 17.

Sacred Heart ofJesus.

233

primary fountains and organs of the life of man.” For the
generality of modern physicians agree in saying that the foun­
tain and the principle of the circulation of the blood is the
heart, to which are attached the veins and arteries; and there­
fore there is no doubt that the other parts of the body receive
their principle of motion from the heart. If, therefore, the
heart is one of the “ primary fountains” of human life, it can­
not be doubted that the heart has a principal share in the affec­
tions of man. And, indeed, one may observe from experience,
that the internal affections of sorrow and love produce, a much
greater impression on the heart than on all the other parts of the
body. And especially with regard to love, without naming many
other saints, it is recorded of St. Philip Neri, that in his fervors
of love towards God, heat came forth from his heart so that it
might be felt on his chest, and his heart palpitated so violently
that it beat against the head of any one that approached him ;
and by a supernatural prodigy our Lord enlarged the ribs of the
saint round his heart, which, agitated by the ardor he felt,
required a greater space to be able to move. St. Teresa herself
writes in her life,1 that God sent several times an angel to
pierce her heart, so that she remained afterwards inflamed with
divine love, and felt herself sensibly burning and fainting away,
—a thing to be well pondered on, as we perceive from this that
the affections of love are in a special manner impressed by God
in the hearts of the saints ; and the Church has not objected to
grant to the Discalced Carmelites the proper Mass in honor of
the wounded heart of St. Teresa.
It may be added, that the Church has declared worthy of
particular veneration the instruments of the Passion of Christ,
such as the lance, the nails, and the crown of thorns, granting
a particular Office and Mass for their special veneration, as is
mentioned by Benedict XIV. in the work and place referred
to, where he quotes particularly the words of Innocent VI.,
who granted the Office for the lance and the nails of our Lord,
and these are the words: "We think it right that a special
feast were celebrated in honor of the special instruments of his
Passion, and particularly in those countries in which those in­
struments are said to be, and that we should encourage the
1 Life, ch. 29.

234

Novena to the

faithful servants of Christ in devotion to them by concession of
the divine Offices.”1 If, therefore, the Church has judged it
right to venerate by a special Office the lance, the nails, the
thorns, because they came in contact with those parts of
Christ’s body which were particularly tormented in the Passion,
how much more have we notreason to hope that a special Office
may be granted in honor of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Christ, which had such a great share in his affections, and in
the immense internal sorrows that he suffered in seeing the
torments that were prepared for him, and the ingratitude which,
after all his love for them, would be shown him by men? This
was the cause of the bloody sweat which our Lord afterwards
endured in the Garden, because such a sweat can only be ex­
plained by a strong compression of the heart, by which the
blood, being impeded in its course, was forced to diffuse itself
through the exterior parts; and this compression of the Heart
of Jesus Christ could not arrive from any other cause than from
the internal pains of fear, of weariness, and of sorrow, accord­
ing as the Evangelists write: He began to fear, and to be heavy
and sad?
But, however this may be, let us now endeavor to satisfy the
devotion of souls enamoured of Jesus Christ, who are desirous
to honor him in the most Holy Sacrament, by a Novena of holy
meditations and affections to his Sacred Heart.
*
1 “Dignum reputamus, si de ipsius passionis specialibus instru­
mentis, et præsertim in partibus in quibus instrumenta ipsa dicuntur
haberi, speciale festum celebretur, nosque Christi fideles in eorum
devotione divinis officiis specialiter foveamus.”—Lib. 4, p. 2, c. 30,
n. 15.
2 “ Coepit pavere et tædere,—contristari et mœstus esse.”—Mark,
xiv. 33 ; Matt. xxvi. 37.
* The reader is aware that the desire of St. Alphonsus was realized
a few years afterwards, and even during his lifetime. In 1765 the
permission to celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart by an Office and
a Proper Mass on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi was
granted to several churches by Clement XIII.; nearly all the dioceses
of the Catholic world asked and successively obtained the same per­
mission; and Pope Pius IX. by a decree of August 23, 1856, m an­
swer to a request of the bishops of France, rendered this feast obliga­
tory for the universal Church. Moreover, by another decree, dated

Sacred Heart of Jesus.

235

MEDITATION I.

The Amiable Heart of Jesus.
He who shows himself amiable in everything must
necessarily make himself loved. Oh, if we only applied
ourselves to discover all the good qualities by which
Jesus Christ renders himself worthy of our love, we
should all be under the happy necessity of loving him.
And what heart among all hearts can 'be found more
worthy of love than the Heart of Jesus ?
A heart all pure, all holy, all full of love towards God
and towards us; because all his desires are only for
the divine glory and our good. This is the heart in
which God finds all his delight. Every perfection, every
virtue reign in this heart;—a most ardent love for God,
his Father, united to the greatest humility and respect
that can possibly exist; a sovereign confusion for our
sins, which he has taken upon himself, united to the ex­
treme confidence of a most affectionate Son; a sovereign
abhorrence of oursins, united to a lively compassion for
our miseries; an extreme sorrow, united to a perfect
conformity to the will of God.
.In Jesus is found everything that there can be most
amiable. Some are attracted to love others bv their
beauty, others by their innocence, others by living with
them, others by devotion. But if there were a person
in whom all these and other virtues were united, who
*

May 8, 1873, His Holiness vouchsafed to grant to persons who
every day during, the month of June offer special prayers and
perform some pious acts in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
either in public or in private, an indulgence of seven years for
each of those days, and besides, a plenary indulgence on the
usual conditions. * Finally on May 8, 1928 Pius XI. raised the
feast of the Sacred Heart to the rank of a Primary Double of
the First Class with a Privileged Octave, and granted an entirely
new Mass and Office, and a proper Preface.—Ed.*

2j6

Novena to the

could help loving him ? If we heard that there was in
a distant country a foreign prince who was handsome,
humble, courteous, devout, full of charity, affable to all,
who rendered good to those who did him evil; then,
although we knew not who he was, and though he knew
not us, and though we were not acquainted with him,
nor was there any possibility of our ever being so, yet
we should be enamoured of him, and should be con­
strained to love him. How is it, then, possible that
Jesus Christ, who possesses in himself all these virtues,
and in the most perfect degree, and who loves us so
tenderly, how is it possible that he should be so little
loved by men, and should not be the only objeci, of our
love ?
O my God, how is it that Jesus, who alone is worthy
of love, and who has given us so many proofs of the love
that he bears us, should be alone, as it were, the un­
lucky one with us, who cannot arrive at making us love
him; as if he were not sufficiently worthy of our love!
This is what caused floods of tears to St. Rose of
Lima, St. Catharine of Genoa, St. Teresa, St. Mary
Magdalen of Pazzi, who, on considering the ingratitude
of men, exclaimed, weeping, “ Love is not loved, Love is
not loved.”
Affections and Prayers.
O my amiable Redeemer, what object more worthy of love
could Thy Eternal Father command me to love than Thee?
Thou art the beauty of paradise, Thou art the love of Thy
Father, Thy heart is the throne of all virtues. O amiable heart
of my Jesus, Thou dost well deserve the love of all hearts ; poor
and wretched is that heart which loves Thee not ! Thus miser­
able, O my God, has my heart been during all the time in which
it hath not loved 1 hee. But 1 will not continue to be thus
wretched ; I love Thee, I will always continue to love Thee. O my
Jesus. O my Lord, I have hitherto forgotten Thee, and now what
can I expect ? Ί hat my ingratitude will oblige Thee to forget me
entirely, and forsake me forever? No, my Saviour, do not per-

Sacred Heart of Jesus.
mit this. Thou art the object of the love of God ; and shalt Thou
not, then, be loved by a miserable sinner, such as I am, who
have been so favored and loved by Thee ? O lovely flames that
burnt in t he loving heart of my Jesus, enkindle in my poor heart
that holy fire which Jesus came down from heaven to kindle on
earth. Consume and destroy all the impure affections that
dwell in my heart, and prevent it from being entirely his. O
my God, grant that it may only exist to love Thee, and Thee
alone, my dearest Saviour. If at one time I despised Thee, Thou
art now the only object of my love. I love Thee, I love Thee,
1 love Thee, and I will never love any one else but Thee. My
beloved Lord, do not disdain to accept the love of a heart which
has once afflicted Thee by my sins. Let it be Thy glory to ex­
hibit to the angels a heart now burning with the love of Thee,
which hitherto shunned and despised Thee.
Most holy Virgin Mary, my hope, do thou assist me, and
beseech Jesus to make me, by his grace, all that he wishes me
to be.
MEDITATION IL

The Loving Heart of Jesus.
Oh, if we could but understand the love that burns in
the heart of Jesus for us ! He has loved us so much,
that if all men, all the angels, and all the saints were to
unite, with all their energies, they could not arrive at
the thousandth part of the love that Jesus bears to us.
He loves us infinitely more than we love ourselves.
He has loved us even to excess: They spoke of His de­
cease (excess) which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem) And
what greater excess of love could there be than for God
to die for his creatures? He has loved us to the great­
est degree: Having loved His own . . . He loved them unto
the endf since, after having loved us from eternity,—for
there never was a moment from eternity when God did
not think of us and did not love each one of us: I have
1 “ Dicebant excessum ejus, quem completurus erat in Jerusalem.”
Luke, ix. 31.
Cum dilexisset suos, ... in finem dilexit eos.”—John, xiii. 1.

238

Novena to the

laved thee with an everlasting lave'—for the love of us he
made himself man, and chose a life of sufferings and the
death of the cross for our sake. Therefore he has loved us
more than his honor, more than his repose, and more
than his life; for he sacrificed everything to show us the
love that he bears us. And is not this an excess of love
sufficient to stupefy with astonishment the angels of
paradise for all eternity ?
This love has induced him also to remain with us in
the Holy Sacrament as on a throne of love; for he re­
mains there under the appearance of a small piece of
bread, shut up jn a ciborium, where he seems to remain
in a perfect annihilation of his majesty, without move­
ment, and without the use of his senses; so that it seems
that he performs no other office there than that of loving
men. Love makes us desire the constant presence of
the object of our love. It is this love and this desire
that makes Jesus Christ reside with us in the Most Holy
Sacrament. It seemed too short a time to this loving
Saviour to have been only thirty-three years with men
on earth; therefore, in order to show his desire of being
constantly with us, he thought right to perform the great­
est of all miracles, in the institution of the Holy Euchar­
ist. But the Avork of redemption was already com­
pleted, men had already become reconciled to God; for
what purpose, then, did Jesus remain on earth in this
Sacrament? Ab, he remains there because he cannot
bear to separate himself from us, as he has said that he
takes a delight in us.
Again, this love has induced him even to become the
food of our souls, so as to unite himself to us, and to
make his heart and ours as one: He that eateth My Flesh
and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me and I in him? O
1 “ In charitate perpetua dilexi te.”—Jer. xxxi. 3.
2 “Qui manducat meam carnem et bibit meum sanguinem in me
manet, et ego in illo.”—John, vi. 57.

Sacred Heart of Jesus.
wonder ! O excess of divine love ! It was said by a ser­
vant of God, If anything could shake my faith in the
Eucharist, it would not be the doubt as to how the bread
could become flesh, or how Jesus could be in several
places and confined into so small a space, because I
should answer that God can do everything ; but if I
were asked how he could love men so much as to make
himself their food, I have nothing else to answer but that
this is a mystery of faith above my comprehension, and
that the love of Jesus cannot be understood. O love of
Jesus, do Thou make Thyself known to men and do
Thou make Thyself loved !

Affections and Prayers.

O adorable heart of my Jesus, heart inflamed with the love
of men, heart created on purpose to love them, how is it possi­
ble that Thou canst be despised, and Thy love so ill corre­
sponded to by men ? Oh, miserable that I am, I also have been
one of those ungrateful ones that have not loved Thee. For­
give me, my Jesus, this great sin of not having loved Thee,
who art so amiable, and who hast loved me so much that Thou
canst do nothing more to oblige me to love Thee. I feel that I
deserve to be condemned not to be able to love Thee, for hav­
ing renounced Thy love, as I have hitherto done. But no, my
dearest Saviour, give me any chastisement, but do not inflict
this one upon me. Grant me the grace to love Thee, and then
give me any affliction Thou pleasest. But how can I fear such
a chastisement, whilst I feel that Thou continuest to give me
the sweet, the pleasing precept of loving Thee, my Lord and my
God? Love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart.' Yes, O
my God, Thou wouldst be loved by me, and I will love Thee;
indeed I will love none but Thee, who hast loved me so much.
O Love of my Jesus,Thou art my Love. O burning heart of my
Jesus, do thou inflame my heart also. Do not permit me in
future, even fora single moment, to live without Phy love;
lather kill me, destroy me; do not let the world behold the
1 “ Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo.”—Matt, xxiu
37·

240

Novena to tkc

spectacle of such horrid ingratitude as that I, who have been so
beloved bv Thee, and received so many favors and lights from
Thee, should begin again to despise Thy love. No, my Jesus,
do not permit this. I trust in the blood that Thou hast shed
for me, that I shall always love Thee, and that!hou wilt always
love me, and that this love between Thee and me will not be
broken off for eternity.
O Mary, Mother of fair love, thou who desircst so much to see
Jesus loved, bind me, unite me to thy Son ; but bind me to him,
so that we may never again be separated.
MEDITATION III.

The Heart of Jesus Christ Panting to be Loved.
Jesus has no need of us; lie is equally happy, equally
rich, equally powerful with or without our love; and yet,
as St. Thomas says,1 he loves us so, that he desires our
love as much as if man was his God, and his felicity de­
pended on that of man. This filled holy Job with astonish­
ment: What is man that Thou shouldst magnify him Ί or why
dost Thou set Thy heart upon him ?2
What ! can God desire or ask with such eagerness for
the love of a worm ? It would have been a great favor
if God had only permitted us to love him. If a vassal
were to say to his king, “ Sire, I love you,” he would be
considered impertinent. But what would one say if the
king were to tell his vassal, “ I desire you to love me”?
The princes of the earth do not humble themselves to this;
but Jesus, who is the King of Heaven, is he who with so
much earnestness demands our love: Love the Lord thy
God with thy whole heart.3 So pressingly does he ask for
our heart: My son, give Me thy heart
*
And if he is driven
1 Ofrusc. 63, c. 7.
‘ “Quid est homo, quia magnificas eum? aut quid apponis erga
eum cor tuum ?”—Job. vii. 17.
3 “ Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo.”—Matt. xxii.
37·
4 “ Præbe, fili mi, cor tuum mihi.”—Prov. xxiii. 26.

Sacred Heart of Jesus.

241

from a soul, he does not depart, but he stands outside of
the door of the heart, and he calls and knocks to be let in:
I stand at the gate and knock' And he beseeches her to
open to him, calling her sister and spouse: Open to Me,
My sister, My love.'1 In short, he takes a delight in
being loved by us, and is quite consoled when a soul
says to him, and repeats often, “My God, my God, I
love Thee."
All this is the effect of the great love he bears us. He
who loves necessarily desires to be loved. The heart re­
quires the heart; love seeks love: “ Why does God love,
but that he might be loved himself,"3 said St. Bernard;
and God himself first said, What doth the Lord thy God re­
quire of thee, but that thou fear the Lord thy God, . . . and
love Hinit4 Therefore he tells us that he is that Shepherd
who, having found the lost sheep, calls all the others to
rejoice with him: Rejoice with Me, because L have found My
sheep that was lost
*
He tells us that he is that Father
who, when his lost son returns and throws himself at his
feet, not only forgives him, but embraces him tenderly.
He tells us that he that loves him not is condemned to
death: He that loveth not abideth in death? And, on the
contrary, that he takes him that loves him and keeps
possession of him: He thatabideth in charity, abideth in God,
and God in him? Oh, will not such invitations, such en­
treaties, such threats, and such promises move us to love
God, who so much desires to be loved by us ?
1 “ Sto ad ostium et pulso.”—Apoc. iii. 20.
2 “ Aperi mihi, soror mea.”—Cant. v. 2.
3 “ Non ad aliud amat Deus, nisi ut ametur.”—In Cant. s. S3.
4 “Quid Dominus Deus petit a te, nisi ut timeas ... et diligas
eum?”—Deut. x. 12.
6 “Congratulamini mihi, quia inveni ovem meam quæ perierat.”—
Luke, xv. 6.
6 “Qui non diligit, manet in morte.”—1 John, iii. 14.
1 “ Qui manet in charitate, in Deo manet, et Deus in eo.”—1 John,
iv. 16.
16

242

Novena to the

Affections and Prayers.
My dearest Redeemer, I will say to Thee, with St. Augustine,
Thou dost command me to love Thee, and dost threaten me
with hell if I do not love Thee; but what more dreadful hell,
what greater misfortune, can happen to me than to be deprived
of Thy Jove! If, therefore, Thou desirest to frighten me, Thou
shouldst threaten me only that I should live without loving
Thee; for this threat alone will frighten me more than a thou­
sand hells. If, in the midst of the flames of hell, the damned
could burn with Thy love, O my God, hell itself would become a
paradise; and if, on the contrary, the blessed in heaven could
not love Thee, paradise would become hell. Thus St. Augus­
tine expresses himself.
I see, indeed, my dearest Lord, that I, on account of my sins,
did deserve to be forsaken by Thy grace, and at the same time
condemned to be incapable of loving Thee; but still I under­
stand that Thou dost continue to command me to love Thee,
and I also feel within me a great desire to love Thee. This my
desire is a gift of Thy grace, and it comes from Thee. Oh, give
me also the strength necessary to put it in execution, and make
me, from this day forth, say to Thee earnestly, and from the
bottom of my heart, and to repeat to Thee always, My God, I
love Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee. Thou desirest my love; I
also desire Thine. Blot out, therefore, from thy remembrance,
O my Jesus, the offences that in past times I have committed
against Thee; let us love each other henceforth forever. I
will not leave Thee, and Thou wilt not leave me. Thou wilt
always love me, and I will always love Thee. My dearest
Saviour, in Thy merits do I place my hope; oh, do Thou make
Thyself to be loved forever, and loved greatly, by a sinner who
has offended Thee greatly.
O Mary, Immaculate Virgin, do thou help me, do thou beseech
Jesus for me.
MEDITATION IV.

The Sorrowful Heart of Jesus.
It is impossible to consider how afflicted the heart of
Jesus was for love of us and not to pity him. He him­
self tells us that his heart was overwhelmed with such

Sacred Heart of Jesus.

243

sorrow, that this alone would have sufficed to take his
life away, and to make him die of pure grief, if the virtue
of his divinity had not, by a miracle, prevented his death:
My soul is sorrowful even unto death}
The principal sorrow which afflicted the heart of Jesus
so much was not the sight of the torments and infamy
which men were preparing for him, but the sight of their
ingratitude towards his immense love. He distinctly
foresaw all the sins which we should commit after all his
sufferings and such a bitter and ignominious death. He
foresaw, especially, the horrible insults which men
would offer to his adorable heart, which he has left us
in the Most Holy Sacrament as a proof of his affection.
O my God, what affronts has not Jesus Christ received
from men in this Sacrament of love? One has trampled
him under foot, another has thrown him into the gutters,
others have availed themselves of him to pay homage to
the devil !
And yet the sight of all these insults did not prevent
him from leaving us this great pledge of his love. He
has a sovereign hatred of sin; but still it seems as if his
love towards us had overcome the hatred he bore to sin,
since he was content to permit these sacrileges, rather
•than to deprive the souls that love him of this divine
food. Shall not all this suffice to make us love a heart
that has loved us so much?
Has not Jesus Christ done enough to deserve our love ?
Ungrateful that we are, shall we still leave Jesus for­
saken on the altar, as the majority of men do? And
shall we not unite ourselves to those few souls who
acknowledge him, and melt with love more even than the
torches melt away which burn round the ciborium ? The
heart of Jesus remains there, burning with love for us;
and shall we not, in his presence, burn with love for
Jesus ?
1 “ Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem.”—Mark, xiv. 34.

244

Novena to the

Affections and Prayers.
My adorable and dearest Jesus, behold at Thy feet one who
has caused so much sorrow to Thy amiable heart. O my God,
how could I grieve this heart, which has loved me so much,
and has spared nothing to make itself loved by me ? But con­
sole Thyself, I will say, O my Saviour, for my heart having been
wounded, through Thy grace, with Thy most holy love, feels
, now so much regret for the offences I have committed against
Thee, that it would fain die of sorrow. Oh, who will give me,
my Jesus, that sorrow for my sins which Thou didst feel for
them in Thy life! Eternal Father, I offer Thee the sorrow and
abhorrence Thy Son felt for my sins ; and, for his sake, I be­
seech Thee to give me so great a sorrow’ for the offences I have
committed against Thee, that I may lead an afflicted and sor­
rowful life at the thought of having once despised Thy friend­
ship. And Thou, O my Jesus, do Thou give me. from this day
forth, such a horror of sin, that I may abhor even the lightest
faults, considering that they displease Thee, who dost not de­
serve to be offended much or little, but dost deserve an infinite
love. My beloved Lord, I now detest everything that displeases
Thee, and in future I will love only Thee, and that which Thou
lovest. Oh, help me, give me the strength, give me the grace
to invoke Thee constantly, O my Jesus, and always to repeat to
Thee this petition : My Jesus, give me Thy love, give me Thy
love, give me Thy love.
And thou, most holy Mary, obtain for me the grace to pray
to thee continually, and to say to thee, O my Mother, make
me love Jesus Christ.
MEDITATION V.

9

The Compassionate Heart of Jesus.
Where shall we ever find a heart more compassionate
or tender than the heart of Jesus, or one that had a
greater feeling for our miseries ?
This pity induced him to descend from heaven to this
earth; it made him say that he was that good shepherd
who came to give his life to save his sheep. In order to
obtain the pardon of our sins, he would not spare him­
self, but would sacrifice himself on the Cross, that by his

Sacred Heart of Jesus.

245

sufferings he might satisfy for the chastisement that we
have deserved. This pity and compassion makes him
say even now: Why will ye die, O house of Israeli return
ye, and live' O men, he says, my poor children, why
will you damn yourselves by flying from me? Do you
not see that by separating yourselves from me you are
hastening to eternal death ? I desire not to see you lost;
do not despair; as often as you wish to return, return,
and you shall recover your life: Return, and live.
This compassion even makes him say that he is that
loving Father who, though He sees himself despised by
his son, yet, if that son returns a penitent, he cannot re­
ject him, but embraces him tenderly and forgets all the
injuries He has received: I will not remember all his iniqui­
ties! It is not thus that men behave; for though they
may forgive, yet they nevertheless retain the remem­
brance of the offence received, and feel inclined to re­
venge themselves; and even if they do not revenge them­
selves, because they fear God, at least they always feel a
great repugnance against conversing and entertaining
themselves with those persons who have vilified them.
O my Jesus, Thou dost pardon the penitent sinners,
and dost not refuse in this world to give them every­
thing in Holy Communion during their life, and every­
thing in the other world, even in heaven, with eternal
glory, without retaining the slightest repugnance to­
wards being united to the soul that has offended Thee,
for all eternity. Where, then, is there to be found a
heart so amiable and compassionate as Thine, O my
dearest Saviour?
Affections and Prayers.
O compassionate heart of my Jesus, have pity on me : “ Most
sweet Jesus, have mercy on me.” I say so now, and beseech
1 “ Quare moriemini, domus Israel ? . . . Revertimini, et vivite.”—
Ezek. xviii. 31.
2 “Omnium iniquitatum ejus . . . non recordabor.”—Ibid. 22.

246

Novena to the

Thee to give me the grace always to say to Thee, “ Most sweet
Jesus, have mercy on me.” Even before I offended Thee, O
my Redeemer, I certainly did not deserve any of the favors
Thou hast bestowed upon me. Thou hast created me, Thou
hast given meso much light and knowledge; and all without
any merit of mine. But after I had offended Thee, I not only
did not deserve Thy favor, but I deserved to be forsaken by Thee
and cast into hell. Thy compassion has made Thee wait for me
and preserve my life even when I had offended Thee. Thy com­
passion has enlightened me, and offered me pardon ; it has given
me sorrow for my sins, and the desire of loving Thee; and now I
hope from Thy mercy to remain always in Thy grace. O my
Jesus, cease not to show Thy compassion towards me. The
mercy which I implore of Thee is that Thou wouldst grant me
light and strength to be no longer ungrateful towards Thee.
No, O my love, I do not expect that Thou shouldst again forgive
me, if I again turn my back towards Thee ; this would be pre­
sumption, and would prevent Thee from showing mercy to me
anymore. For what pity could I expect any more from Thee if
I were so ungrateful as to despise Thy friendship again, and to
separate myself from Thee. No, my Jesus, I love Thee, and I
will always love Thee; and this is the mercy which I hope for
and seek from Thee: “Permit me not to be separated from
Thee, permit me not to be separated from Thee.” 1
And I beseech thee also, O Mary my Mother, permit me not
to be ever again separated from my God.
MEDITATION VI.

The Generous Heart of Jesus.
It is the characteristic of good-hearted people to desire
to make everybody happy, and especially those most
distressed and afflicted. But who can ever find one who
has a better heart than Jesus Christ? He is infinite
goodness, and has therefore a sovereign desire to com­
municate to us his riches: With Me are riches, ....
that I may enrich them that love Me}
1 “ Ne permittas me separari a te.”
2 “Mecum sunt divitiæ, . . . ut ditem diligentes me.”—Prov. viii.

18, 21.

Sacred Hca\
He for this purpose made ’
says, that he might make us rich: lie became poor for
your sakes, that through His poverty you might be rich) For
this purpose also he chose to remain with us in the most
Holy Sacrament, where he remains constantly with his
hands full of graces, as was seen by Father Balthazar
Alvarez, to dispense them to those who come to visit
him. For this reason also he gives himself wholly to us
in Holy Communion, giving us to understand from this
that he cannot refuse us any good gifts, since he even
gives himself entirely to us: How hath He not also, with
Him, given us all things ?2
For in the heart of Jesus we receive every good, every
grace that we desire: In all things you are made rich in
Christ, ... so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace)
And we must understand that we arew debtors to the heart
of Jesus for all the graces we have received—graces of
redemption, of vocation, of light, of pardon, the grace to
resist temptations, and to bear patiently with contradic­
tions; for without his assistance we could not do any­
thing good: Without me you can do nothing)
And if hitherto, says our Saviour, you have not re­
ceived more graces, do not complain of me, but blame
yourself, who have neglected to seek them of me :
Hitherto you have not asked anything; . . . ask, and you shall
receive) Oh, how rich and liberal is the heart of Jesus
towards every one that has recourse to him! .Rich unto
1 “ Propter vos egenus factus est, cum esset dives, ut illius inopia
vos divites essetis.”—2 Cor. viii. 9.
2 “Quomodo non etiam cum illo omnia nobis donavit?”—Rom.
viii. 32.
3 “ In omnibus divites facti estis in illo, ... ita ut nihil vobis de­
sit in ulla gratia.”—1 Cor. i. 5, 7.
4 “Sine me nihil potestis facere.”—John, xv. 5.
5 “Usque modo non petistis quidquam, . . . petite, et accipietis.”
— John, xvi. 24.

248

Novena to the

all that call upon Him.' Oh, what great mercies do those
souls receive who are earnest in asking help of Jesus
Christ. David said, For Thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild,
andplenteous to all who call upon ThecP Let us therefore
always go to this heart, and ask with confidence, and we
shall obtain all we want.

Affections and Prayers.
Ah, my Jesus, Thou hast not refused to give me Thy blood
and Thy life, and shall I refuse to give Thee my miserable
heart? No, my dearest Redeemer, I offer it entirely to Thee.
I give Thee all my will ; do Thou accept it, and dispose of it at
Thy pleasure. I can do nothing, and have nothing; but I have
this heart which Thou hast given me, and of which no one can
deprive me. I may be deprived of my goods, my blood, my
life, but not of my heart. With this heart I can love Thee;
with this heart I will love Thee. I beseech Thee, O my God,
teach me a perfect forgetfulness of myself; teach me what I
must do to arrive at Thy pure love, of which Thou in Thy
goodness hast inspired me with the desire. I feel in myself a
determination to please Thee; but in order to put my resolve
into execution, I expect and implore help from Thee. It de­
pends on Thee, O loving heart of Jesus, to make entirely Thine
my poor heart, which hitherto has been so ungrateful, and
through my own fault deprived of Thy love. Oh, grant that my
heart mavJ be all on fire with the love of Thee, even as Thine is
on fire with the love of me. Grant that my will maybe entirely
united to Thine, so that I may will nothing but what Thou
wiliest, and that from this day forth Thy holy will may be the
rule of all my actions, of all my thoughts, and of all my desires.
I trust, O my Saviour, that Thou wilt not refuse me Thy grace
to fulfil this resolution which I now make prostrate at Thy feet,
to receive with submission whatever Thou may est ordain for
me and my affairs, as well in life as in death. Blessed art thou,
O Immaculate Mary, who hadst thy heart always and entirely
1 “ Dives in omnes_qui invocant illum.”—Pom. x. 12.
* “ Quoniam tu. Domine, suavis et mitis, et multæ misericordi®
omnibus invocantibus te.”—Ps. Ixxxv. 5.

Sacred Heart of Jesus.

249

united to the heart of Jesus ; obtain for me. O my Mother, that
in future I may wish and desire that which Jesus wills and thou
wiliest.
MEDITATION VII.

The Grateful Heart of Jesus.
The heart of Jesus is so grateful, that it cannot behold
the most trifling works done for the love of him—our
smallest word spoken for his glory, a single good
thought directed towards pleasing him—without giving
to each its own reward. He is besides so "rateful, that
he always
* returns a hundredfold for one: You shall receive a hundredfold)
Men, when they are grateful, and recompense any
benefit done to them, recompense it only once; they, as
it were, divest themselves of all the obligation, and then
they think no more of it. Jesus Christ does not do thus
with us; he not only recompenses a hundredfold in this
life every good action that we perform to please him,
but in the next life he recompenses it an infinite number
of times throughout eternity. And who will be so neg­
ligent as not to do as much as he can to please this most
grateful heart?
But, O my God, how do men try to please Jesus
Christ? Or rather, I will say, how can we be so un­
grateful towards this our Saviour? If he had only shed
a single drop of blood, or one tear alone for our salva­
tion, yet we should be under infinite obligation to him;
because this drop and this tear would have been of in­
finite value in the sight of God towards obtaining for us
every grace. But Jesus would employ for us every
moment of his life. He has given us all his merits, all
his sufferings, all his ignominies, all his blood, and his
life; so that we arc under, not one, but infinite, obliga­
tions to love him.
1

Centuplum accipiet.”—Matt. xix. 29.

250

Novena to the

But alas! we are grateful even towards animals:, if a
little dog shows us any sign of affection, it seems to con­
strain us to love it. How, then, can we be so ungrateful
towards God? It seems as if the benefits of God to­
wards men change their nature, and become ill-usage;
for, instead of gratitude and love, they obtain nothing
but offences and injuries. Do Thou, O Lord, enlighten
these ungrateful ones, to know the love that Thou bearest them.

Affections and Prayers.
O my beloved Jesus, behold at Thy feet an ungrateful sinner.
I have been grateful indeed towards creatures; but to Thee
alone I have been ungrateful—to Thee, who hast died for me,
and hast done the utmost that Thou couldst do to oblige me to
love Thee. But the thought that I have to do with a heart full
of goodness and infinite in mercy, of one who proclaims that he
forgives all the offences of the sinner who repents and loves
him, consoles me and gives me courage. My dearest Jesus, I
have in times past offended Thee and despised Thee; but now
I love Thee more than everything—more than myself. Tell me
what Thou wouldst have me to do; for I am ready to do every­
thing with Thy help. I believe that Thou hast created me.
Thou hast given Thy blood and Thy life for the love of me. I
believe also that for my sake Thou dost remain in the Blessed
Sacrament; I thank Thee for it, O my love. Oh, permit me
not to be ungrateful in future for so many benefits and proofs
of Thy love. Oh, bind me, unite me to Thy heart; and permit
me not, during the years that remain to me, to offend Thee or
grieve Thee any more. I have displeased Thee sufficiently. O
my Jesus, it is time that I should love Thee now. Oh, that
those years that I have lost would return ! But they will return
no more, and the life that remains for me may be short; but
whether it be short or long, my God, I desire to spend it all in
loving Thee, my sovereign good, who dost deserve an eternal
and infinite love.
O Mary, my Mother, let me never again be ungrateful to thy
Son. Pray to Jesus for me.

Sacred Heart ofJesus.

251

MEDITATION VIII.

The Despised Heart of Jesus.
There is not a greater sorrow for a heart that loves,
than to see its love despised; and so much the more
when the proofs given of this love have been great, and,
on the other hand, the ingratitude great.
If every human being were to renounce all his goods,
and to go and live in the desert, to feed on herbs, to
sleep on the bare earth, to macerate himself with pen­
ances, and at last give himself up to be murdered for
Christ’s sake, what recompense could he render for the
sufferings, the blood, the life that this great Son of God
has given for his sake? If we were to sacrifice ourselves
every moment unto death, we should certainly not re­
compense in the smallest degree the love that Jesus
Christ has shown us, by giving himself to us in the most
Holy Sacrament. Only conceive that God should con­
ceal himself under the species of bread to become the
food of one of his creatures!
But, O my God, what recompense and gratitude do
men render to Jesus Christ? What but ill-treatment,
contempt of his laws and his maxims,—injuries such as
they would not commit towards their enemy, or their
slave, or the greatest villain upon earth. And can we
think of all these injuries which Jesus Christ has re­
ceived, and still receives every day, and not feel sorrow
for them ? and not endeavor, by our love, to recompense
the infinite love of his divine heart, which remains in the
most Holy Sacrament, inflamed with the same love to­
wards us, and anxious to communicate every good gift
to us, and to give himself entirely to us, ever ready to
receive us into his heart whenever we go to him? Him
that cometh to Me, I will not cast out1
1 “ Eum qui venit ad me non ejiciam foras.”—John, vi. 37.

252

Novena to the

We have been accustomed to hear of the Creation,
Incarnation, Redemption, of Jesus born in a stable, of
Jesus dead on the Cross. O my God, if we knew that
another man had conferred on us any of these benefits,
we could not help loving him. It seems that God alone
has, so to say, this bad luck with men, that, though he
has done his utmost to make them love him vet he cannot attain this end, and, instead of being loved, he sees
himself despised and neglected. All this arises from the
forgetfulness of men of the love of God.

Affections and Prayers.
O Heart of Jesus, abyss of mercy and love, how is it that, at
the sight of the goodness Thou hast shown me, and of my in­
gratitude, 1 do not die of sorrow? Thou. O my Saviour, after
having given me my being, hast given me all Thy blood and
Thy life, giving Thyself up, for my sake, to ignominy and death ;
and, not content with this, Thou hast invented the mode of
sacrificing Thyself every day for me in the Holy Eucharist, not
refusing to expose Thyself to the injuries which Thou shouldst
receive, and which Thou didst foresee, in this Sacrament of
love. O my God, how can I see myself so ungrateful to Thee
without dying with confusion! O Lord, put an end, I pray
Thee, to my ingratitude, by wounding my heart with Thy love,
'and making me entirely Thine. Remember the blood and the
tears that Thou hast shed for me, and forgive me. Oh, let not
all Thy sufferings be lost upon me. But though Thou hast seen
how ungrateful and unworthy of Thy love I have been, yet Thou
didst not cease to love me even when I did not love Thee, nor
even desire that Thou shouldst love me; how much rather,
then, may I not hope for Thy love, now that I desire and sigh
after nothing but to love Thee, and to be loved by Thee. Oh,
do Thou fully satisfy this my desire; or rather this Thy desire,
for it is Thou that hast given it to me. Grant that this day
may be the day of my thorough conversion ; so that I may begin
to love Thee, and may never cease to love Thee, my sovereign
good. Make me die in everything to myself, in order that I may
live only to Thee, and that I may always burn with Thy love.

Sacred Heart of Jesus.
O Mary, thy heart was the blessed altar that was always on
fire with divine love : my dearest Mother, make me like to thee ;
obtain this from thy Son, who delights in honoring thee, by
denying thee nothing that thou askest of him.
*
MEDITATION IX.

The Faithful Heart of Jesus.
Oh, how faithful is the beautiful heart of Jesus towards
those whom he calls to his love: He is faithful who hath
called you, who also will perform)
The faithfulness of God gives us confidence to hope all
things, although we deserve nothing. If we have driven
God from our heart, let us open the door to him, and he
will immediately enter, according to the promise he has
made: If any one open to me the door, I will come in to him,
and will sup with him) If we wish for graces, let us ask
for them of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, and he has
promised us that we shall obtain them: If you shall ask
the Father anything in My name, He will give it you) If we
are tempted, let us trust in his merits, and he will not
permit our enemies to strive with us beyond our strength:
God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that
which you are able)
Oh, how much better it is to have to do with God than
with men! How often do men promise and then fail,
either because they tell lies in making their promises, or
because, after having made the promise, they change
their minds: God is not as man, says the Holy Spirit,
that He should he ; or as the son of man, that He should be
1 “ Fidelis est, qui vocavit vos, qui etiam faciet.”—i 7'hess. v. 24.
2 “ Si quis . . . aperuerit mihi januam, intrabo ad illum, et cœnabo
cum illo.”—Apoc. iii. 20.
3 “ Si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis.”—John,
xvi. 23.
4 “ Fidelis autem Deus est, qui non patietur vos tentari supra quod
potestis.”—i Cor. x. 13.

■

I

254

Novena to the

changed) God cannot be unfaithful to his promises, be­
cause, being truth itself, he cannot lie ; nor can he
change his mind, because all that he wills is just and
right. He has promised to receive all that come to him,
to give help to him that asks it, to love him that loves
him; and shall he then not do it? Hath He said, then,
and will He not do it 18
Oh, that we were as faithful with God as he is with
us! Oh, how often have we, in times past, promised him
to be his, to serve him and love him; and then have be­
trayed him, and, renouncing his service, have sold our­
selves as slaves to the devil ! Oh, let us beseech him to
give us strength to be faithful to him for the future!
Oh, how blessed shall we be if we are faithful to Jesus
Christ in the few things that he commands us to do; he
will, indeed, be faithful in remunerating us with in­
finitely great rewards; and he will declare to us what he
has promised to his faithful servants: Well done, good
and faithful servant ; because thou hast been faithful over a
few things, I will place thee over many things ; enter thou into
the joy of thy Lord)

Affections and Prayers.

Oh, that I had been as faithful towards Thee, my dearest Re­
deemer, as Thou hast been faithful to me. Whenever I have
opened my heart to Thee, Thou hast entered in, to forgive me
and to receive me into Thy favor; whenever I have called Thee,
Thou hast hastened to my assistance. Thou hast been faithful
with me, but I have been exceedingly unfaithful towards Thee.
I have promised Thee my love, and then have many times re­
fused it to Thee; as if Thou, my God, who hast created and
redeemed me, wert less worthy of being loved than Thy crea1 “ Non est Deus quasi homo, ut mentiatur, nec ut filius hominis,
ut mutetur.”—Num. xxiii. 19.
8 “ Dixit ergo, et non faciet?”—Ibid.
3 “ Euge, serve bone et fidelis; quia super pauca fuisti fidelis, super
multa te constituam; intra in gaudium Domini tui.”—Matt. tsxv. 21.

Sacred Heart of Jesus.
turcs and those miserable pleasures for which I have forsaken
Thee. Forgive me, O my Jesus. I know my ingratitude, and
abhor it. I know that Thou art infinite goodness, who deservest an infinite love, especially from me, whom Thou hast so
much loved, even after all the offences I have committed against
Thee. Unhappy me if I should damn myself; the graces Thou
hast vouchsafed to me, and the proofs of the singular affection
which Thou hast shown me, would be, O God, the hell of hells
to me. Ah, no, my love, have pity on me; suffer me not to for­
sake Thee again, and then by damning myself, as I should
deserve, continue to repay in hell with injuries and hatred the
love that Thou hast borne me. O loving and faithful heart of
Jesus, inflame, I beseech Thee, my miserable heart, so that it
may burn with love for Thee, as Thine dost for me. My Jesus,
it seems to me that now I love Thee ; but I love Thee but little.
Make me love Thee exceedingly, and remain faithful to I hee
until death. I ask of Thee this grace, together with that of
always praying to Thee for it. Grant that I may die rather than
ever betray Thee again.
O Mary, my Mother, help me to be faithful to thy Son.

^ffcclions of £oüc towards lljc ^cart of jfcgns.*
O amiable Heart of my Saviour! thou art the seat of
all virtues, the source of all graces, the burning furnace
in which are inflamed all holy souls. Thou art the ob­
ject of all God’s love; thou art the refuge of the afflicted,
and the abode of the souls that love thee. O heart
worthy of reigning over all hearts, and of possessing the
affection of all hearts ! O heart that was wounded for
me on the Cross by the lance of my sins, and that re­
mained afterwards continually wounded for me on the
altar in the Blessed Sacrament, but not by any other
lance than that of the love that thou entertaineçt for me!
O loving heart, that loves men with so much tenderness,
and that is so little loved by men! do thou apply a rem­
edy to so great an ingratitude, inflame thou our hearts
with a true love for thee. Ah ! why can I not go all
over the world to make known the graces, the sweetness,
the treasures that thou dispensest to those who truly love
thee? Accept the desire that I have of seeing all hearts
burning with love for thee. O divine heart! be thou my
consolation in trials, my repose in labors, my solace in
anxieties, my haven in tempests. I consecrate to thee
my body and my soul, my heart and my life, together
with all that I am. I unite to thine all my thoughts, all
mvJ affections, all mv
desires. O eternal Father ! I offer
*
Thee the pure affections of the heart of Jesus. If Thou
dost reject mine, Thou canst not reject those of Thy Son,
* This was written by St. Alphonsus, but remained unpublished till
1S75.—Ed.

Affections of Love towards the Heart offesus. 257
who is sanctity itself; may they supply what is wanting
in me, and may they render me pleasing in Thy eyes!

St. Catharine of Genoa was one day permitted to see
the neartof Jesus in his breast, and she saw it all on fire.
One day our Lord deigned to approach St. Mechtilde,
and she heard the heart of Jesus palpitating violently, as
if some one had struck him blows on the breast. The
Lord told her that his heart had thus palpitated from his
infancy, on account of the love with which it was in­
flamed for mankind. Father Nieremberg also assures
us that if Jesus had left to his love for us the liberty of
producing its own effects, he would have died of love in
his infancy.
Jesus said to St. Gertrude: ‘‘Were it expedient, I
would for thee alone suffer all that I have suffered for
the whole world.”1 And to St. Mechtilde: “My love
for souls is yet the same as that love which I bore them
at the time of my Passion; I would die as many times as
there are souls to save.”
St. Carpus appeared as if he desired to condemn to
the abyss all sinners. Jesus said to him: “For my part,
O Carpus, I am still ready to allow myself to be crucified
for man.”2
St. John of the Cross said: “Jesus loves each one of
us as much as he loves all men.”
1 “Adhuc si expediret, pro te sola tolerarem omnia quæ toleravi
pro toto mundo.”
2 “ Impelle me, Carpe, quia paratus sum pro hominibus crucifigi.”
17

HYMNS ON THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS’
I.

The Loving- Spouse.
Fly, my soul, ah, fly away
To Jesus’ heart so kind ;
There love’s captive thou shalt stav.
And truest freedom find.
See, thy foes are all around ;
Thou art pursued, poor thing!
Safety in the ark is found,
Then thither, dove, take wing.

Why delay? The world is woe,
And care, and cold deceit;
God alone can joy bestow,
And happiness complete.

Give me, Lord, a place to dweA
Within Thy heart so meek;
This shall be my prison cell,
Where true repose I seek.

All on earth I now disdain.
And for Thy love resign :
This the fruit of every pain.
To bind my heart to Thine.
If within Thy heart divine
To die my lot should be,
Oh, what happy death were mine !
Such death were life to me.
_______ ______
_
-

---- -- -

I ■

II. ———

* St. Alphonsus, in adopting these two hymns and inserting them
among his works, informs us that they were composed by another
author, whom he does not name.—Ed.

Hymns.
II.

The Loving Spouse in the Heart of Jesus.
I DWELL a captive in this heart.
On fire with love divine;
’Tis here I live alone in peace,
And constant joy is mine.
It is the Heart of God’s own Son,
In his humanity,
Who, all enamoured of my soul,
Here burns with love of me.
Here, like the dove within the ark,
Securely I repose;
Since now the Lord is my defence,
I fear no earthly foes.

Now I have found this happy home,
God's love alone I prize;
All else is torment to my heart,
The world I now despise.
What though I suffer, still in love
I ever true will be ;
My love of God shall deeper grow
When crosses fall on me.

Then he who longs with me to seek
Repose within this nest,
All love that is not love for God,
Must banish from his breast.

Ye haughty lovers of the world,
Full of self-love, depart !
Away, away! no place is found
For you within this heart.

259

200

Hymns,
Each vile and earthly chain impedes
The soul’s true heavenward flight;
All, all the heart belongs to God
Love claims his sovereign right.

From ev’ry bond of earth, dear Lord,
Thy grace has set me free ;
My soul, delivered from the snare,
Enjoys true liberty.
I cannot love Thee as I ought,
This pains me, this alone;
For all my love must have an end ;
Thy goodness, Lord, has none.

One thought brings comfort to my heart'I love a good so great,
That though 1 love him all I can,
More love he merits yet.
Naught more can I desire than this,
To see his face in heaven ;
And this I hope, since he on earth
His heart in pledge has given.

Œlje practice of ttje £o»e of Jesus ffiljrisL

We have here one of the masterpieces of St. Alphon­
sus.—a book that speaks to all hearts, that reveals to
every Christian soul its true wants and the true means
to satisfy them. One cannot read this book without be­
coming better; nor can one grow tired in reading it
again and again. It is indeed a very highly-prized and
widely-spread work. It was published in 1768. (Tannoia, B. 3, ch. 41, 42.)
The holy bishop, developing the celebrated text of St.
Paul on the qualities of true charity, explains in thirteen
chapters the principal virtues that we ought to practise
and the defects that we ought to avoid in order to render
to our Lord love for love. He treats of patience in gen­
eral (Chap. I.), and in particular in sicknesses, poverty,
and contempt (Chap. X.); of meekness (Chaps. II. and
VIII.); of purity of intention (Chap. III.); of tepidity,
and the remedies against this vice, namely, the desire of
perfection, the determination to attain perfection, men­
tal prayer, frequent communion, and prayer (Chap. IV.);
of humility (Chap. V.); of ambition and vain-glory
(Chap. VI.); of detachment from all things, especially
when there is question of following one’s vocation (Chap.
VII.); of conformity to the will of God, and of obedi­
ence (Chap. IX.); of faith (Chap. XI.); of hope (Chap.
XII.); and, finally, of temptations, and spiritual desola­
tion (Chap. XIII.). I he work is concluded by a sum­
mary of virtues that are to be practised.— Ed.

Jntrobnction.
i.

How deserving Jesus Christ is of our Love, on Account oi
the Love He has shown us in His Passion.
The whole sanctity and perfection of a soul consists
in loving Jesus Christ, our God, our sovereign good, and
our Redeemer. Whoever loves me, says Jesus Christ
himself, shall be loved by my Eternal Father: My Father
loves you because you have loved Me.12 Some, says St. Francis
de Sales,3 make perfection consist in an austere life ;
others in prayer; others in frequenting the Sacraments;
others in alms-deeds. But they deceive themselves: per­
fection consists in loving God with our whole heart.
The Apostle wrote : Above all things, . . . have charity,
which is the bond of perfection? It is charity which keeps
united and preserves all the virtues that render a man
perfect. Hence St. Augustine said: “ Love God, and do
whatever you please;”4 because a soul that loves God is
taught by that same love never to do anything that will
displease him, and to leave nothing undone that may
please him.
But perhaps God does not deserve all our love? He
has loved us with an everlasting love? O man, says the
Lord, behold I was the first to love thee. Thou wast
1 “ Ipse enim Pater amat vos, quia vos me amastis.”—John, xvi.
272 Spirit, p. I, ch. 25.
3 “Super omnia, . . . charitatem habete, quod est vinculun per­
fectionis. ”—Col. iii. 14.
4 “ Ama, et fac quod vis.*'
2 * In charitate perpetua dilexi te.”—fcr. xxxi. 3.

264 The Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.
not yet in the world, nay, the world itself was not, and
I already loved thee. As long as I am God, I loved
thee; as long as I have loved myself, I have also loved
thee. With good reason, therefore, did St. Agnes, that
young holy virgin, reply to those who wished to unite
her to an earthly spouse: “ I am engaged to another
lover.”1 “Go,” said she, “O lovers of this world, cease
to sue my love; my God was the first to love me. He
has loved me from all eternity: it is but just, then, for
me to give him all my affections, and to love none otner
but him.”
As Almighty God knew that man is won by kindness,
he determined to lavish his gifts upon him, a;;d so take
captive the affections of his heart. For this reason he
said, I will draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bands
of love? I will catch men by those very snares by which
they are naturally caught, that is, by the snares of love.
And such exactly are all the favors of God to man. After
having given him a soul created in his own image, with
memory, understanding, and will, and a body with its
senses, he created heaven and earth for him, yes, all that
exists, all for the love of man,—the firmament, the stars,
the planets, the seas, the rivers, the fountains, the hills,
the plains, metals, fruits, and a countless variety of ani­
mals: and all these creatures that they might minister to
the uses of man, and that man might love him in grati­
tude for so many admirable gifts.
“Heaven and earth, and all things, tell me to love
Thee,” 8 says St. Augustine. “ My Lord,” he said, “ what­
ever I behold on the earth, or above the earth, all speak
to me, and exhort me to love Thee; because all assure
me that Thou hast made them for the love of me.”
* “Ab alio amatore præventa sum.”
s “ In funiculis Adam traham eos, in vinculis charitatis.”—Osee,
Xi. 4’ " Cœlum et terra et omnia mihi dicunt, ut te amem.”—Conf. B.
to, c. 6

Introd,—I. The Passion oj Jesus Christ. 265
The Abbot de Rance, founder of La Trappe, when
from his hermitage he stood and surveyed the hills, the
fountains, the birds, the flowers, the planets, and the
skies, felt himself animated by each one of these creat­
ures to love that God who had created all through love
to him.
In like manner St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi, when
she held any beautiful flower in her hand, was enkindled
by the sight of it with love to God; and she would say:
“And God, then, has thought from all eternity of creat­
ing this flower for love of me !” Thus did that flower
become, as it were, a dart of love, which sweetly
wounded her, and united her more and more to her
God.
On the other hand, St. Teresa, at the sight of trees,
fountains, rivers, lakes, or meadows, declared that all
these fair things upbraided her for her ingratitude in
loving so coldly a God who created them that he might
be loved by her.
To the like purpose is it related of a pious hermit,
that when walking through the country, it seemed to him
that the plants and flowers in his path reproached him
for the cold return of love he made to God ; so that he
went along gently striking them with his staff, and say­
ing to them: “Oh, be silent, be silent; you call me an
ungrateful wretch; you tell me God has made you for
love of me, and yet I do not love him; but now I un­
derstand you, be silent, be silent; do not reproach me
more.”
But God was not satisfied with giving us so many
beautiful creatures. He has gone to such lengths to gain
our love, as to give himself to us. The Eternal Father
did not hesitate to give us even his only-begotten Son:
For God so loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son)
1 “Sicenim Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium unigenitum daret ” ~
John, iii. 16.

266 The Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.
When the Eternal Father saw that we were all dead,
and deprived of his grace by sin, what did he do ? for
the immense love, nay, as the Apostle writes, for the too
great love he bore us, he sent his beloved Son to make
atonement for us; and so to restore to us that life which
sin had robbed us of: Who through his exceeding charity
with which He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together in Christi And in granting us his
Son (not sparing his Son, that he might spare us), he has
granted us every good together with him, his grace, his
love, and paradise, since assuredly all these gifts are
much less than that of his Son: die that spared not even
His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how hath He not
also with Him given us all things.1
And so, likewise, the Son, through his love towards
us, has given himself wholly to us: Who loved me, and de­
livered Himselfformed In order to redeem us from ever­
lasting death, and to recover for us the divine grace and
heaven which we had forfeited, he became man, and put
on flesh like our own: And the Word was made flesh .* Be­
hold, then, a God reduced to nothingness: But emptied
Himself, taking the form of a servant, . . . and in habit
found as a man! Behold the sovereign of the world
humbling himself so low as to assume the form of a ser­
vant, and to subject himself to all the miseries which the
rest of men endure.
But what is more astonishing still is, that he could
very well have saved us without dying and without suf1 “ Propter nimiam charitatem suam qua dilexit nos, et cum essemus
mortui peccatis, convivificavit nos in Christo.”—Eph. ii. 4.
s “Qui etiam proprio Filio suo non pepercit, sed pro nobis omni­
bus tradidit illum: quomodo non etiam cum illo omnia nobis dona­
vit ?”—/torn. viii. 32.
3 “Dilexit me, et tradidit semetipsum pro me.”—Gal. ii. 20.
4 “ Et Verbum caro factum est.”—John, i. 14.
1 “ Exinanivit semetipsum formam servi accipiens, . . . et habitu
inventus ut homo.”—Phil. ii. 7.

Introd.—I. The Passion of Jesus Christ. 267
fering at all; but no: he chose a life of sorrow and con­
tempt, and a death of bitterness and ignominy even to
the expiring on a cross,—the gibbet of infamy, the award
of vilest criminals: He humbled. Himself, becoming obedient
unto death, even to the death of the cross) But why, if he
could have ransomed us without suffering, why should
he choose to die, and to die on a cross ? To show us how
he loved us. He loved us, and delivered Himself for us)
He loved us, and because he loved us, he delivered him­
self up to sorrows, and ignominies, and to a death more
cruel than ever any man endured in this world.
Hence that great lover of Jesus Christ, St. Paul, took
occasion to say: The charity of Christ presseth us) Wish­
ing to show us by these words that it is not so much the
sufferings themselves of Jesus Christ as his love in endur­
ing them, that obliges us, and, as it were, constrains us
to love him. Let us hear what St. Francis de Sales savs
on this text: “ When we remember that Jesus Christ,
true God, has loved us to such an excess as to suffer
death, and the death of the cross, for us, our hearts are,
as it were, put in a wine-press, and suffer violence, until
love be extorted from them, but a violence which, the
stronger it is, becomes the more delightful.” 4 He then
goes on to say, “ Ah ! why do we not therefore cast our­
selves on Jesus crucified, to die on the cross with him,
who has chosen to die for love of us ? I will hold him
(should we say), and I will never let him go; I will die
with him, and will be consumed in the flames of his love.
One flame shall consume this divine Creator and his
miserable creature. My Jesus gives himself unreservedly
to me, and I give myself unreservedly to him. I will live
1 “ Humiliavit semetipsum, factus obediens usque :<d mortem, mor­
tem autem crucis.”—Phil. ii. 8.
- “ Dilexit nos, et tradidit semetipsum pro nobis.”— Eph. v. 2,
3 “ Charitas Christi urget nos.”—2 Cor. v. 14.
4 Love of God, B. 7, c. 8.

268 The Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.
and die on his loving breast; neither life nor death shall
ever separate me from him. O eternal love, my soul
longs after Thee, and makes choice of Thee forever.
Come, O Holy Spirit, and inflame our hearts with love.
O love, O death, to die to all other loves, to live solely to
that of Jesus Christ! O Redeemer of our souls, grant
that we may eternally sing, Live, Jesus ! I love Jesus;
live, Jesus, whom I love ! yes, I love Jesus, who reigns
for evermore.” 1*
3
The love of Jesus Christ towards men created in him
a longing desire for the moment of his death, .when his
love should be fully manifested to them; hence he was
wont to say in his lifetime: I have a baptism wherewith 1
am to be baptized, and how am I straitened till it be accom­
*
plished!'
I have to be baptized in my own blood; and
how do I feel mvself straitened with the desire that the
hour of my Passion may soon arrive; for then man will
know the love which I bear him ! Hence St. John, speak­
ing of that night in which Jesus began his Passion,
writes: Jesus knowing that PPis hour was come, that He
should pass out of this world to the Father, having loved His
own who were in the world, PPe loved them unto the end.
*
The
Redeemer called that hour PPis own hour, because the
time of his death was the time desired by him; as it was
then that he wished to give mankind the last proof of
his love, by dying for them upon a cross overwhelmed
bv sorrows.
But what could have ever induced a God to die as a
malefactor upon a cross between two sinners, with such
insult to his divine majesty ? “ Who did this ?” asks St.
1 Love of God. B. 12, c. 13.
I
8 “ Baptismo habeo baptizari; ct quomodo coarctor usquedum per­
ficiatur !”—Luke, xii. 50.
3 “ Sciens Jesus quia venit hora ejus, ut transeat ex hoc mundo ad
Patrem, cum dilexisset suos, ... in finem dilexit eos.”—-John,
•··
XU1. I.

—«r.

Jn t rod.
Bernard; he answers, “It was love, careless of its dig­
nity.”’ Ah, love indeed, when it tries to make itself
known, does not seek what is becoming to the dignity of
the lover, but what will serve best to declare itself to the
object loved. St. F rancis of Paula therefore had good
reason to cry out at the sight of a crucifix, “ O charity, O
charity, O charity !” And in like manner, when we look
upon Jesus on the cross, wre should all exclaim, O love,
O love, O love !
Ah, if faith had not assured us of it, who could ever
have believed that a God, almighty, most happy, and the
Lord of all, should have condescended to love man to
such an extent that he seems to go out of himself for the
love of him ? We have seen Wisdom itself, that is the
Eternal Word, become foolish through the excessive love
he bore to man ! So spoke St. Laurence Justinian:
“ We see Wisdom itself infatuated through excess of
love.”’ St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi said the same:
One day, being in ecstasy, she took a wooden crucifix in
her hands, and then cried out: “ Yes, my Jesus, Thou art
mad with love: I repeat it, and I will say it forever: My
Jesus, thou art mad with love.” But no, says St. Denis
the Areopagite; “ no, it is not madness, but the ordinary
effect of divine love, which makes him who loves go out
of himself, in order to give himself up entirely to the
object of his love: divine love causes ecstasy.”’
Oh, if men would only pause and consider, looking at
Jesus on the cross, the love that he has borne each one
of them ! “With what love,” says St. Francis de Sales,
“would not our souls become enkindled at the sight of
those flames which are in the Redeemer’s breast ! And
oh, what happiness, to be able to be consumed by that
1 “ Quis hoc fecit ?—Fecit amor, dignitatis nescius.”—In Cant. s. 61.
’“Vidimus Sapientiam amoris nimietate infatuatam.”—Serm.de
Nat. D.
3 “ Extasim facit divinus amor.”—De Div. Nam. c. 4.

2/0 The Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.
same fire with which our God burns for us ! What joy,
to be united to God by the chains of love !” St. Bona­
venture called the wounds of Jesus Christ, wounds which
pierce the most senseless hearts, and which inflame the
most icy
* souls.1 How manv
* darts of love come forth
from those wounds, to wound the hardest hearts ! Oh,
what flames issue from the burning heart of Jesus Christ
to inflame the coldest souls ! And chains, how many,
from that wounded side, to bind the most stubborn
wills !
The Venerable John of Avila, who was so possessed
with the love of Jesus Christ that he never failed in any
of his sermons to speak of the love which Jesus Christ
bears towards us, in a treatise on the love which this
most loving Redeemer has for men, has expressed him­
self in sentiments so full of the lire of devotion, and of
such beauty, that I desire to insert them here. He says
as follows:
“Thou, O Redeemer, hast loved man in such a manner,
that whoso reflects upon this love cannot do less than
love Thee; for Thy love offers violence to hearts: as the
Apostle says: The charity of Christ presseth us.23 The
source of the love of Jesus Christ for men is his love for
God. Hence he said on Maunday Thursday, That the
world may know that I love the Father, arise, let us go henced
But whither? To die for men upon the cross.”
“No human intellect can conceive how strongly this fire
burns in the heart of Jesus Christ. As he was com­
manded to suffer death once, so, had he been commanded
to die a thousand times, his love had been sufficient to
endure it. And if what he suffered for all men had been
1 “ Vulnera, corda saxea vulnerantia, et mentes congelatas inflam­
mantia.”—Stirn. div. ani. p. i, c. i.
* “ Charitas Christi urget nos.”—2 Cor. v. 14.
3 “ Ut cognoscat mundus quia diligo Patrem, . . . surgite, eamus.”
—John, xiv. 31.

Introd.—I. The Passion of Jesus Christ. 271
imposed upon him for the salvation of one single soul,
he would have done the same for each in particular as
he did for all. And as he re------------------ ’-------------the cross, so, had it been nece:
made him remain there even t(
that Jesus Christ loved much
divine love, how far greater 1
wardly scemedst to be; for
and bruises tell us of great :
all its greatness. There was
which appeared externally,
which bounded forth from the
This is the greatest mark of lo
our friends. But this was not
Christ wherewith to express h
“ This is the love which cau
selves, and to stand amazed,
allowed to know it. Brom it
timents of ardor, the desire of
ings, exultation under the stoi
walk on burning coals as if t
sufferings, rejoicing in that w
bracing that which it abhors,
soul which is espoused to Je
thinks nothing so glorious a
marks of the crucified one.”
“ But how, O my lover, sha
It is right that blood should
May I behold myself dyed in
this cross ! O holy cross, rec<
thorns, enlarge thyself, that I
head ! O nails, leave those ir
and come and pierce my hear
love ! For Thou, my Jesus, <
in order to gain dominion ovc
not by means of chastisemen

272 The Practice of the Love ofJestes Christ»
end Christ died and rose again: that He might be Lord both of
the dead and of the living. '
“ O robber of hearts, the strength of Thy love has
broken the exceeding hardness of our hearts ! Thou hast
inflamed the whole world with Thy love. O most lov­
ing Lord, inebriate our hearts with this wine, consume
them with this fire, pierce them with this dart of Thy
love ! Thy Cross is indeed an arrow which pierces
hearts. May all the world know that my heart is smit­
ten ! O sweetest love, what hast Thou done? Thou
hast come to heal me, and Thou hast wounded me. Thou
hast come to teach me, and Thou hast made me well-nigh
mad. O madness full of wisdom, may I never live with­
out you .’ All, O Lord, that I behold upon the cross
invites me to love Thee: the wood, the figure, the
wounds of Thy body; and above all, Thy love, engages
me to love Thee, and never to forget Thee more.” 3
But in order to arrive at the perfect love of Jesus
Christ, we must adopt the means. Behold, then, the
means which St. Thomas Aquinas gives us:’
1. To have a constant remembrance of the benefits of
God, both general and particular.
2. To consider the infinite goodness of God, who is
ever waiting to do us good, and who ever loves us, and
seeks from us our love.
3. To avoid even the smallest thing that could offend
him.
4. To renounce all the sensible goods of this world,
riches, honors, and sensual pleasures.
Father Tauler4 says that meditation on the sacred
Passion of Jesus Christ is a great means also for acquir­
ing his perfect love.
1 “ In hoc enim Christus mortuus est et resurrexit, ut et mortuorum
et vivorum dominetur.”—Rom. xiv. 9.
3 Disc, on the Love of God.
3 De Duob. Prcec. c. 4.
4 Eftist. 20.

Introd.—I. The Passion ofJesus Christ. 273
Who can deny that, of all devotions, devotion to the
Passion of Jesus Christ is the most useful, the most
tender, the most agreeable to God, one that gives the
greatest consolation to sinners, and at the same time
most powerfully enkindles loving souls ? Whence is it
that we receive so many blessings, if it be not from the
Passion of Jesus Christ? Whence have we hope of
pardon, courage against temptations, confidence that we
shall go to heaven ? Whence are so many lights to know
the truth, so many loving calls, so many spurrings to
change our life, so many desires to give ourselves up to
God, except from the Passion of Jesus Christ? The
Apostle therefore had but too great reason to declare
him to be excommunicated who did not love Jesus Christ.
If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anath­
ema. 1
St. Bonaventure says there is no devotion more fitted
for sanctifying a soul than meditation on the Passion of
Jesus Christ; whence he advises us to meditate every
day upon the Passion, if we would advance in the love
of God. “If you would make progress, meditate daily
on the Passion of the Lord; for nothing works such an
entire sanctification in the soul, as the meditation of the
Passion of Christ.”3 And before him St. Augustine, as
Bustis relates, said, that one tear shed in memory of the
Passion is worth more than to fast weekly on bread and
water fora year.3 Wherefore the saints were always oc­
cupied in considering the sorrows of Jesus Christ: it was
by this means that St. Francis of Assisi became a seraph.
’ “ Si quis non amat Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, sit ana­
thema.”—I Cor. xvi. 22.
2 “ Si vis proficere, quotidie mediteris Domini passionem; nihil
enim in anima ita operatur universalem sanctimoniam, sicut medi­
tatio passionis Christi.”
3 “ Magis meretur vel unam lacrymam emittens ob memoriam pas­
sionis Christi, quam si qualibet anni hebdomada in pane et aqua
jejunaret.”—Rosar. p. 2, s. 15.
18

2/4 The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.
He was one day found by a gentleman shedding tears,
and crying out with a loud voice: being asked the cause
“ I weep," he answered, “ over the sorrows and ignomin­
ies of my Lord: and what causes me the greatest sorrow
is, that men, for whom he suffered so much, live in for­
getfulness of him." And on saying this he wept the
more, so that this gentleman began also himself to weep.
When the saint heard the bleating of a lamb, or saw
anything which reminded him of the Passion of Jesus,
he immediately shed tears. On another occasion, being
sick, some one told him to read some pious book. “ My
book," he replied, “is Jesus crucified." Hence he did
nothing but exhort his brethren to be ever thinking of
the Passion of Jesus Christ. Tiepoli writes : “ He who
becomes not inflamed with the love of God by looking
on Jesus dead upon the cross, will never love at all."
Affections and Prayers.

O Eternal Word! Thou hast spent three-and-thirty years in
laborsand fatigues: Thou hast.given Thy life and Thy blood
for man’s salvation ; in short, Thou hast spared nothing to make
men love Thee; and how is it possible that there should be
those who know this, and yet do not love Thee ? O God,
amongst these ungrateful ones I also may be numbered ! I see
the wrong I have done Thee ; O my Jesus, have pity upon me '
1 offer Thee this ungrateful heart—ungrateful it is true, but
penitent. Yes, 1 repent above every other evil, O my dear Re­
deemer, for having despised Thee ! I repent, and I am sorry
with my whole heart. O my soul, love a God who is bound like
a criminal for thee : a God scourged like a slave for thee ; a God
made a mock-king for thee; a God, in short, dead upon a cross,
as the vilest outcast for thee ! Yes, my Saviour, my God, I love
Thee, I love Thee! Bring continually to my remembrance, I
beseech Thee, all that Thou hast suffered for me, so that I may
never more forget to love Thee. O cords that bound my Jesus,
bind me to Jesus ; thorns that crowned my Jesus, pierce me with
the love of Jesus ; nails that transfixed my Jesus, nail me to the
Cross of Jesus, that I may live and die united to Jesus. O blood

Iη trod. —IZ 7 he Blessed Sacrament.

275

of Jesus, inebriate me with his holy love ! O death of Jesus,
make me die to every earthly affection ! Pierced feet of my
Lord, I embrace you; deliver me from hell, which I have de­
served ; my Jesus, in hell I could no more love Thee, and yet I
desire to love Thee always. Save me, my dearest Saviour;
bind me to Thyself, that I may never again lose Thee.
O Mary, refuge of sinners, and Mother of my Saviour! help a
sinner who wishes to love God, and whorecommends himself to
thee ; succor me for the love thou bearest to Jesus Christ.

How much Jesus Christ deserves to be Loved by us, on Ac­
count of the Love He has shown us in Instituting the
most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Jesus, knowing that His hour was come, that He should pass
out of this world to the Father: having loved PHs own . . .
He loved them unto the end} Our most loving Saviour,
knowing that his hour was now come for leaving this
earth, desired, before he went to die forus, to leave us the
greatest possible mark of his love; and this was the gift
of the most Holy Sacrament.
St. Bernardine of Sienna remarks, that men remember
more continually and love more tenderly the signs of
love which are shown to them in the hour of death.
Hence it is the custom that friends, when about to die,
leave to those persons whom they have loved some gift,
such as a garment or a ring, as a memorial of their affec­
tion.
But what hast Thou, O my Jesus, left us, when
quitting this world, in memory of Thy love? Not, in­
deed, a garment or a ring, but Thine own body, 1 hy
blood, Thy soul, Thy divinity, Thy whole self, without
1 “Sciens Jesus quia venit hora ejus, ut transeat ex hoc mundo ad
Patrem, cum dilexisset suos qui erant in rnundo, in finem dilexit
cos.”—John, xiii. I.
2 “ Quæ in fine in signum amicitiæ celebrantur, firmius memoriæ
imprimuntur, et cariora tenentur.”—T. ii. s. 54, a. 1, c. i.

2/6

The Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ,

reserve. “ He gave thee all,” says St. John Chrysostom’
“He left nothing for himself.” ’
The Council of Trent says,’ that in this gift of the
Eucharist Jesus Christ desired, as it were, to pour forth
all the riches of the love he had for men. And the
Apostle observes, that Jesus desired to bestow this gift
upon men on the very night itself when they were plan­
ning his death: The same night in which He was betrayed,
He took bread; and giving thanks, broke and said: Take ye,
and eat: this is My body.’ St. Bernardine of Sienna says,
that Jesus Christ, burning with love for us, and not con­
tent with being prepared to give his life for us, was con­
strained by the excess of his love to work a greater work
before he died; and this was to give his own body for
our food.4
This Sacrament, therefore, was rightly named by St.
Thomas, “//^Sacrament of love, the pledge of love.” b
Sacrament of love; for love was the only motive which
induced Jesus Christ to give us in it his whole self.
Pledge of love; so that if we had ever doubted his love,
we should have in this sacrament a pledge of it: as if
our Redeemer, in leaving us this gift, had said: O souls,
if you ever doubt my love, behold, I leave you myself in
this Sacrament: with such a pledge, you can never any
more doubt that I love you, and love you to excess. But
more, St. Bernard calls this sacrament “the love of
loves;” 8 because this gift comprehends all the other gifts
1 “Totum tibi dedit, nihil sibi reliquit.”
5 “ Divitias divini sui erga homines amoris velut effudit.”—Sess.
xiii. c. 2.
3 “ In qua nocte tradebatur, accepit panem, et gratias agens fregit,
et dixit: Accipite et manducate: hoc est corpus meum.”—i Cor. xi. 23.
4 “ In illo fervoris excessu, quando paratus erat pro nobis mori, ab
excessu amoris majus opus agere coactus est, quam umquam operatus
fuit, dare nobis corpus in cibum.”—Loco cit.
6 “ Sacramentum charitatis, Pignus charitatis.”
4 “ Amor amorum. ”

Introd.—II. The Blessed Sacrament.

277

bestowed upon us by our Lord,—creation, redemption,
predestination to glory; so that the Eucharist is not only
a pledge of the love of Jesus Christ, but of paradise,
which he desires also to give us. “In which,” says the
Church, “a pledge of future glory is given us.” ‘ Hence
St. Philip Neri could find no other name for Jesus
Christ in the Sacrament save that of “love;” and so,
when the holy Viaticum was brought to him, he was
heard to exclaim, “ Behold my love; give me my love.”
The prophet Isaias1
2 desired that the whole world
should know the tender inventions that our God has
made use of, wherewith to make men love him. And
who could ever have thought—if he himself had not
done it—that the Incarnate Word would hide himself
under the appearances of bread, in order to become him­
self our food ? “ Does it not seem folly,” says St. Augus­
tine, “ to say, Eat my flesh; drink my blood ?” 3 When
Jesus Christ revealed to his disciples the sacrament he
desired to leave them, they could not bring themselves
to believe him; and they left him, saying: How can this
Man give us His flesh to eat ? . . . This saying is hard, and
who can hear it 2 4 But that which men could neither con­
ceive nor believe, the great love of Jesus Christ hath
thought of and accomplished. Take ye, and eat, said he
to his disciples before he went to die; and through them
to us all. Receive and eat: but what food shall that be,
O Saviour of the world, which Thou desirest to give us
before Thou di est? Take ye, and eat; this is my body
*
1 *' In quo . . . future gloriæ nobis pignus datur.”
9 Isa. xii. 4.
3 “Nonne videtur insania: Manducate meam carnem, bibite meum
sanguinem ?”—In Ps. xxxiii. en. i.
4 “Quomodo potest hic nobis carnem suam dare ad manducan­
dum?—Durus est hic sermo; et quis potest eum audire?”—John, vi.
53. 61.
$ “Accipite et manducate.· hoc est cnrnns meum."

278 The Practice of the Love offeszts Christ.
This is not earthly food; it is I myself who give myself
entirely to you.
And oh, with what desire does Jesus Christ pant to
come into our souls in the Holy Communion ! With de­
sire I have desired to eat this pasch with you before I suffer}
So he spoke on that night in which he instituted this
sacrament of love. With desire I have desired: so did the
excessive love which he bore us cause him to speak, as
St. Laurence Justinian remarks: “These are the words of
most burning love.” u And in order that everyone might
easily receive him, he desired to leave himself under the
appearance of bread; for if he had left himself under the
appearance of some rare or very costly food, the poor
would have been deprived of him; but no, Jesus would
hide himself under the form of bread, which costs but little,
and can be found everywhere, in order that all in every
country might be able to find him and receive him.
In order, then, to excite us to receive him in the Holy
Communion, he not only exhorts us to do so by so many
invitations,—Come, cat My bread; and drink the wine which
I have mingled for you ? Eat, O friends, and drink? speak­
ing of this heavenly bread and wine,—but he even gives
us a formal precept: Take ye. and eat; this is My body. And
more than this; that we may go and receive him, he en­
tices us with the promise of paradise. He that eateth My
flesh hath everlasting life. He that eateth this bread shall live
forever} And still more, he threatens us with hell, and
exclusion from paradise, if we refuse to communicate.
Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, you shall not have
1 “ Desiderio desideravi hoc pascha manducare vobiscum.”—Luke,
xxii. 15.
- “ Flagrantissimæ charitatis est vox hæc.”— De Tr. Chr. /1g. c. 2.
3 “ Venite, comedite panem meum, et bibite vinum quod miscui
vobis.”—Prov. ix. 5.
4 “ Comedite, amici, et bibite.”—Cant. v. 1.
‘“Qui manducat meam carnem, . . . habet vitam aeternam.—Qui
manducat hunc panem, vivet in æternum.”—John, vi. 55, 59.

Introd.—II. The Blessed Sacrament.

2^

life in you.1 These invitations, these promises, these
threats, all proceed from the great desire he has to come
to us in this sacrament.
But why is it that Jesus Christ so desires that we
should receive him in the Holy Communion ? Here is
the reason. St. Denis says that love always sighs after
and tends to union,/ and so also savs
St. Thomas,
X
“Lovers desire of two to become one.’’23 Friends who
really love each other would like to be so united as to
become one person. Now this is what the infinite love
of God for man has done; that he would not only give
us himself in the eternal kingdom, but even in this life
would permit men to possess him in the most intimate
union, by giving them himself, whole and entire, under
the appearances of bread in the sacrament. He stands
there as though behind a wall; and from thence he be­
holds, as it were, through a closed lattice: Behold He
standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking
through the lattices? It is true, we do not see him; but
he sees us, and is there really present: he is present, in
order that we may possess him: but'he hides himself
from us to make us desire him: and as long as we have
not reached our true country, Jesus desires to give him­
self wholly to us, and to remain united with us.
He could not satisfy his love by giving himself to the
human race by his Incarnation and by his Passion, dying
for all men upon the cross; but he desired to find out
a way whereby he might give himself entirely to each
one of us in particular; and for this end he instituted
the Sacrament of the Altar, in order to unite himself
wholly to each: He that eateth My flesh, he said, abideth in
1 “ Nisi manducaveritis carnem Filii hominis, . . . non habebitis
vitam in vobis.”—John, vi. 54.
2 “ Amantes desiderant ex ambobus fieri unum.”—1. 2, q. 28, a. 1.
3 “En ipse stat post parietem nostrum respiciens per fenestras,
prospiciens per cancellos.”—Cant. ii. 9.

28ο The Practice of the Love offcsus Christ,
vie and I in him) In Holy Communion Jesus unites
himself to the soul, and the soul to Jesus; and this is not
a union of mere affection, but it is a true and real union.
Hence St. Francis de Sales says: “In no other action
can the Saviour be considered more tender or more lov­
ing than in this, in which he annihilates himself, so to
say, and reduces himself to food, in order to penetrate
our souls, and to unite himself to the hearts of his faith­
ful.”3 St. John Chrysostom says, that Jesus Christ,
through the ardent love which he bore us, desired so to
unite himself to us, as to become one and the same thing
with us. “He mingled himself with us, that we might
be one thing; for this is the property of those who ar­
dently love." 3
“It was Thy wish, in short,” says St. Laurence Justi­
nian, “ O God, enamoured of our souls, to make, by means
of this sacrament, Thine own heart, by an inseparable
union, one and the same heart with ours !” 4 St. Bernar­
dine of Sienna adds, that “the gift of Jesus Christ to us
as our food was the last step of his love ; since he gives
himself to us in order to unite himself wholly to us ; in
the same way as food becomes united with him who par­
takes of it."4 Oh, how delighted is Jesus Christ to be
united with our souls ! He one day said to his beloved
servant, Margaret of Ypres, after Communion, “See, my
daughter, the beautiful union that exists between me
1 “Qui manducat meam carnem, ... in me manet, et ego in illo.”
—John, vi. 57.
’ Introd. p. 2, ch. 21.
3 “ Semetipsum nobis immiscuit, ut unum quid simus ; ardenter
enim amantium hoc est.”—Ad pop. Aut. honi. 6r.
4 “ O quam mirabilis est dilectio tua, Domine Jesu, qui tuo corpori
taliter nos incorporari voluisti, ut tecum unum cor et unam animam
haberemus inseparabiliter colligatam!”—De Inc. div. am. c. 5.
5 “ Ultimus gradus amoris est, cum se dedit nobis in cibum; quia
dedit se nobis ad omnimodam unionem, sicut cibus et cibans invicem
uniuntur.”—T. ii. s. 54, a. 4, c. i.

Introd.—II. The Blessed Sacrament.
and thee: come, then, love me; and let us remain ever
united in love, and let us never separate again.”
We must, then, be persuaded that a soul can neither
do, nor think of doing, anything which gives greater
pleasure to Jesus Christ than to communicate frequently,
with dispositions suitable to the great guest whom she
has to receive into her heart. 1 have said suitable, not
indeed worthy dispositions; for if w'orthy were necessary,
who could ever communicate?
Another God would
alone be worthy to receive God. By suitable, I mean
such dispositions as become a miserable creature, clothed
with the unhappy flesh of Adam.
*The dispositions required are evident from the Decree
of Pius X. of Dec. 20, 1905 : viz.
1. Frequent and daily Communion, as a thing most
earnestly desired by Christ Our Lord and by the Catholic
Church, should be open to all the Faithful, of whatever
rank and condition of life; so that no one who is in the
state of grace, and who approaches the Holy Table with
a right and devout intention, can lawfully be hindered
therefrom.1
2. A right intention consists in this: that he who ap­
proaches the Holy Table should do so, not out of routine,
or vain glory, or human respect, but for the purpose of
pleasing God, or being more closely united with Him by
charity, and of seeking this divine remedy for his weak­
nesses and defects. . . .
5. That the practice of frequent and daily Communion
may be carried out with greater prudence and more abun­
dant merit, the confessor’s advice should be asked. Con­
fessors, however, are to be careful not to dissuade any
one from frequent and daily Communion, provided that
he is in a state of grace and approaches with a right in­
*
tention.
We must next understand that there is nothing from
which we can derive such profit as from the Communion.
The Eternal Father has made Jesus Christ the possessor
1 “Communio frequens et quotidiana, utpote a Christo Domino
et a Catholica Ecclesia optatissima, omnibus Christifidelibus cujusvis ordinis aut conditionis pateat; ita ut nemo, qui in statu
gratiae sit et cum recta piaquc mente ad S. Mensam accedat pro­
hiberi ab ea possit.”

282 'J he I-radice of die Love ofJesus Christ.
of all his own heavenly treasures.
The Father hath
given all things into His hands.1 11 c n c e, w 11 e n JesusChrist
comes to a soul in Holjr Communion, he brings with
him boundless treasures of grace; and consequently
after Communion we can justly say, Now all good things
came to me together with it.2 St. Denis says, that the Sac­
rament of the Eucharist is far more powerful for the
sanctification of souls than all other spiritual means of
grace;3 and St. Vincent Ferrer,-that one Communion
does more for the soul than a week’s fasting on bread
and water.
In the first place, as the Council of Trent teaches,
Communion is that great remedy which frees us from
venial, and preserves us against mortal sins.4 It is said
“from daily faults;” because according to St. Thomas,6
a man is excited by means of this sacrament to make
acts of love, by which venial sins are forgiven. And it
is said that “ we are preserved from mortal sins, because
Communion increases grace, which will preserve us
from great faults. Hence Innocent III. says, that Jesus
Christ delivered us from the power of sin by his Passion,
but that by the Eucharist he delivers us from the power
of sinning.0
This Sacrament, moreover, above all others, inflames
our souls with divine love. God is loved And he is a
fire which consumes all earthlv affections in our hearts.
He is a consuming fired And for this very purpose,
1 “ Omnia dedit ci Pater in manus.”—John, xiii. 3.
2 “Venerunt mihi omnia bona pariter cum ilia.”—Wtsd. vii. ii.
3 “ Eucharistia maximam vim habet perficiendæ sanctitatis.”
4 “ Antidotum quo liberemur a culpis quotidianis, et a peccatis mor­
talibus præservemur. ”—xiii. c. 2.
6 P. 3. q· 79. a· 4·
c ·< per crucis mysterium, eripuit nos a potestate peccati; per
Eucharistiæ sacramentum, liberat nos a voluntate peccandi.”—De Alt.
Myst. 1. 4, c. 44.
1 “ Deus charitas est.”—1 John. iv. 8.
8 “ Ignis consumens est.”—Deut. iv. 24.

Introd.—II. The Blessed Sacrament.

283

namely, to enkindle this fire, the Son of God came upon
earth. I am conic to send fire on the earth; and he
added, that he desired nothing but to see this fire en­
kindled in on r so ul s : And what will I but that it be kindled ? 12
And oh, what flames of love does not Jesus Christ light
up in the heart of ever}'· one who receives him devoutly
in this sacrament ! St. Catharine of Sienna once saw
the Host in a priest’s hand appearing as a globe of fire;
and the saint was astonished that the hearts of all men
were not burned up, and, as it were, reduced to ashes by
such a flame. Such brilliant rays issued from the face
of St. Rose of Lima after Communion, as to dazzle the
eyes of those who saw her ; and the heat from her mouth
was so intense, that a hand held near it was scorched.
It is related of St. Wenceslaus, that by merely visiting
the churches where the Blessed Sacrament was kept, he
was inflamed by such an ardor, that his servant who
accompanied him did not feel the cold, if when walking
on the snow he trod in the footsteps of the saint.
St. John Chrysostom says that the most Holy Sacra­
ment is a burning fire ; so that when we leave the altar
we breathe forth flames of love, which make us objects
of terror to hell? The spouse of the Canticles says: lie
brought me into the cellar of wine, He set in order charity in
uie.3 St. Gregory of Nyssa says that Communion is
precisely this cellar of wine, in which the soul becomes
so inebriated with divine love, that it forgets and loses
sight of creatures ; and this is that languishing with
love of which the spouse again speaks: Stay me up with
1 “ Ignem veni mittere in terram; et quid volo, nisi ut accendatur ?"
—Luke, xii. 49.
2 “ Carbo est Eucharistia, quæ nos inflammat, ut tamquam leones
ignem spirantes ab illa mensa recedamus; facti diabolo terribiles."—
Ad pop. Aut. hom. 61.
3 “ Introduxit me in cellam vinariam, ordinavit in me charitatem."
—Cant. ii. 4.

284 The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.
flowers, compass me about with apples, because I languish
with love.1
Some one will say: “But this is the very reason why
I do not communicate frequently, because I see that I
am so cold in the love of God.” Gerson answers such a
one by saying: “Do you, therefore, because you are cold,
willingly keep away from the fire? Rather, because you
feel yourself cold, should you so much the more fre­
quently approach this sacrament, if you really desire to
love Jesus Christ.”
“Although it be with lukewarm­
ness,” wrote St. Bonaventure, “still approach, trusting
in the mercy of God. The more one feels himself sick,
the greater need has he of a physician.” 2 In like manner,
St. Francis de Sales: “Two sorts of persons ought to go
frequently to Communion : the perfect, in order to re­
main so; and the imperfect, in order to become per­
fect.” 3 *
For frequent Communion, it is highly useful to
have a great desire to become a saint and to grow in the
love of Jesus Christ.
*
Our Lord said once to St. Matilda:
“When you go to Communion desire all the love which a
soul has ever had for me, and I will receive your love
according to your desire.” 4
Affections and Prayers.
O God of love, O infinite lover, worthy of infinite love, tell
me what more canst Thou invent to make us love Thee? It
was not sufficient for Thee to become man, and to subject
Thyself to all our miseries; not sufficient to shed all Thy blood
for us in torments, and then to die overwhelmed with sorrow,
upon a cross destined for the most shameful malefactors. Thou
1 “Fulcite me floribus, stipate me malis, quia amore langueo.”—
Cant. ii. 5.
2 “Licet tepide, tamen confidens de misericordia Dei accedat ;
tanto magis æger necesse habet requirere medicum, quanto magis
senserit se aegrotum.”—De Prof. rei. 1. 2, c. 77.
3 Inlrod. p. 2, ch. 21.
4 Sfnr. Grat. 1. 3, c. 22.

Λ*"*

Introd.—III. Confidence in Jesus Christ.

285

didst, at last, oblige Thyself to be hidden under the species of
bread and wine, to become our food, and so united with each
one of us. Tell me, I repeat, what more canst Thou invent to
make Thyself loved by us? Ah, wretched shall we be if we do
not love Thee in this life ! And when we shall have entered
into eternity, what remorse shall we not feel for not having
loved Thee! My Jesus, I will not die without loving Thee, and
loving Thee exceedingly ! I am heartily sorry, and am pained
for having so greatly offended Thee. But now I love Thee
above all things. I love Thee more than myself, and I conse­
crate to Thee all my affections. Do Thou, who inspirest me
with this desire, give me also grace to accomplish it. My Jesus,
my Jesus, I desire nothing of Thee but Thyself. Now that
Thou hast drawn me to Thy love, I leave all, I renounce all,
and I bind myself to Thee : Thou alone art sufficient for me.
O Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me, and make me
a saint ! Add this also to the many wonders thou hast done in
changing sinners into saints.
III.

The Great Confidence we ought to have in the Love which
Jesus Christ has shown us and in all He has done for us.
David placed all his hope of salvation in his future
Redeemer, and said: Into Thy hands, 0 Lord. I commend
my spirit ; Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.
But how much more ought we to place our confidence
in Jesus Christ, now that he has come, and has accom­
plished the work of redemption ! Hence each one of us
should say, and repeat again and again with greater con­
fidence: Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit y
Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth. ’
If we have great reason to fear everlasting death on
account of our sins against God, we have, on the other
hand, far greater reason to hope for everlasting life
through the merits of Jesus Christ, which are infinitely
more powerful for our salvation than our sins are for
1 “ In manus tuas commendo spiritum meum ; redemisti me,
Domine Deus veritatis.”—Ps. xxx. 6.

286 The Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.
our damnation. We have sinned, and have deserved
hell; but the Redeemer has come to take upon himself
all our offences, and to make satisfaction for them by
His sufferings: Surety He hath borne our infirmities, and
carried our sorrows)
In the same unhappy moment in which we sinned,
God had already written against us the sentence of
eternal death; but what has our merciful Redeemer
done? Blotting out the handwriting of the decree which was
against us, . . . the same He took out of the way, fastening it
to the cross) He cancelled by his blood the decree of our
condemnation, and then fastened it to the cross, in order
that, when we look at the sentence of our damnation for
the sins we have committed, we may at the same time
see the cross on which Jesus Christ died and blotted out
this sentence by his blood, and so regain hope of pardon
and everlasting life.
Oh, how far more powerfully does the blood of Jesus
Christ speak for us, and obtain mercy for us from God,
than did the blood of Abel speak against Cain ! You
arc come to fesus the mediator of the New Testament, and to
the sprinkling of blood, which speaketh better than that of
Abel. As if the Apostle had said, “O sinners, happy
are you to be able, after you have sinned, to have re­
course to Jesus crucified, who has shed all his blood, in
order to become the mediator of peace between sinners
and God, and to obtain pardon for them ! Your iniqui­
ties cry out against you, but the blood of the Redeemer
pleads in your favor; and the divine justice cannot but
be appeased by the voice of this precious blood.”
1 “ Vere languores nostros ipse tulit, et dolores nostros ipse portavit.”—Isa. liii. 4.
9 “ Delens quod adversus nos erat chirographum decreti, quod erat
contrarium nobis, et ipsum tulit de medio, affigens illud cruci.”—Coi.
ii. 14.
8’* Accessistis ad . . . Mediatorem Jesum, et sanguinis aspersio­
nem melius loquentem quam Abel.”—Heb. xii. 22, 24.

Introii.—111. Confidence in Jesus Christ.
It is true that we shall have to render a rigorous ac­
count to the Eternal Judge of all oursins. But who is
to be our Judge ? The Father hath committed all judgment
to the Sont Let us comfort ourselves, the Eternal Father
has committed our judgment to our own Redeemer.
Therefore St. Paul encourages us, saying, Who is he that
shall condemn I Christ Jesus who died, . . . who also maketh
intercession for usd Who is the judge to condemn us?
It is that same Saviour who, in order not to condemn us
to everlasting death, vouchsafed himself to be con­
demned and to die; and not content with this, at this
moment intercedes with his Father for our salvation.
Hence St. Thomas of Villanova says: “ What do you
fear, O sinner, if you detest your sin ? How will he con­
demn you, who died in order not to condemn you ? how
will he cast you from him, if you return to his feet, he
who came from heaven to seek you at the very time you
were flying from him ?” 3
And if we fear on account of our frailty to fall under
the assaults of our enemies, against whom we must con­
tinually wage war, behold what we have to do, as the
Apostle admonishes us: Let us run to the fight proposed
unto us: looking on fesus the author and finisher of faith,
who having joy proposed unto Him, underwent the cross, de­
spising the shamed Let us go out to the battle with great
courage, looking at Jesus crucified, who from his cross
olfers us his assistance, the victory, and crown. In past
times we fell into sin because we left off looking at the
J

J

1 “ Pater . . . omne judicium dedit Filio.”—John, v. 22.
* “ Quis est qui condemnet? Christus Jesus, qui mortuus est, . . .
qui etiam interpellat pro nobis.”—/toni. viii. 34.
3 *· Quid times, peccator? Quomodo te damnabit pœnitentem, qui
moritur ne damneris? Quomodo te abjiciet redeuntem, qui de cœlo
venit quærere te?”—7r. de Adv. D.
4 “ Curramus ad propositum nobis certamen, aspicientes in Auc­
torem fidei et consummatorem Jesum. qui. proposito sibi gaudio,
sustinuit crucem, confusione contempta.”—/leb. xii. 1, 2.

288 The Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.
wounds and the pains endured by our Redeemer, and
so we did not have recourse to him for help. But if for
the future we set before our eyes all he has suffered for
love of us, and how he ever stands ready to assist us
when we have recourse to him, it is certain that we shall
not be conquered by our enemies. St. Teresa said, with
her wonted generosity, “ I do not understand the fears
of certain persons, who say, The devil, the devil, so long
as we can say, God, God, and make Satan tremble.”1
On the other hand, the saint assures us, that if we do
not place all our confidence in God, all our own exer­
tions will be of little or no avail. “All our exertions,”
these are her own words, “are of little use, if we do not
give up entirely all trust in ourselves, and place it alto­
gether in God.” 3 Oh, what two great mysteries of hope
and love for us are the Passion of Jesus Christ and the
Sacrament of the Altar!—mysteries, which we could
have never believed, had not faith assured us of them.
That God Almighty should deign to become man, shed
all his blood, and die of sorrow upon a cross, and why?
To pay for our sins, and gain salvation for us rebellious
worms ! And then his own very body, once sacrificed
upon the Cross for us, this he vouchsafes to give us for
our food, in order to become wholly united with us! O
God, how should not these two mysteries consume with
love the hearts of all men ! And what sinner is there,
be he ever so abandoned, who can despair of pardon, if
he repent of the evil he has done, when he sees a God so
full of love for men, and so inclined to do them good ?
Hence St. Bonaventure, full of confidence, said, “ I will
have great confidence, firmly hoping that he who has
done and suffered so much for my salvation will deny
me nothing that I have need of.”3 How can he refuse to
1 Life, ch. 25.
* Life, ch. 8.
3 “ Fiducialiter agam, immobiliter sperans nihil ad salutem neces­
sarium ab eo negandum, qui tanta pro mea salute fecit et pertulit ”

In trod.—III. Confidence in Jesus Christ.

289

give me the graces necessary for my salvation, who has
clone and suffered so much to save me?
Let us go therefore, (the Apostle exhorts us) with confi­
dence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find
grace in seasonable aid.' The throne of grace is the cross
on which Jesus sits to dispense graces and mercy to all
who come to him. But we must quickly have recourse
to him, if we would find seasonable aid for our salva­
tion: for there will come a time perhaps when we shall
no longer be able to find it. Let us go quickly then and
embrace the cross of Jesus Christ, and let us go with
great confidence. Let us not be frightened by the sight
of our miseries; in Jesus crucified we shall find all riches,
all grace: In all things you are made rich in Him, ... so
that nothing is wanting to you in any g race.3 The merits of
Jesus Christ have enriched us with all the divine treas­
ures, and have made us capable of every grace we can
desire.
St. Leo says, “that Jesus has brought us by his death
more good than the devil has done us harm by sin.” 3
And by these words he explains what St. Paul said before
him, that the gift of redemption is greater than sin: grace
has overcome the offence. Not as the offence, so also is the
gift : where sin abounded, grace hath abounded morel From
this the Saviour encourages us to hope for every favor
and every grace through his merits. And see how he
teaches us the way to obtain all we want from his Eternal
Father: Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father
1 “ Adeamus ergo cum fiducia ad thronum gratiæ, ut misericordiam
consequamur, et gratiam inveniamus in auxilio opportuno.’’—Heb.
iv. 16.
5 “ In omnibus divites facti estis in illo, ... ita ut nihil vobis desit
in ulla gratia.”—i Cor. i. 5, 7.
3 “Ampliora adepti sumus per Christi gratiam, quam per diaboli
amiseramus invidiam.”—De Asc. s. 1.
4 “ Non sicut delictum, ita et donum: . . . ubi abundavit delictum,
superabundavit gratia.”—Jtom. v. 15.

290 The Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.
anything in My name, He will give it you.1*3 Whatever you
desire, he says, ask for it of the Father in my name, and
. I promise you that you shall be heard. And indeed
how shall the Father be able to deny us, when he has
given us his only-begotten Son, whom he loves as him­
self? He that spared not even PPis own Son, but delivered
Him up for us all, how hath He not also, with PPim, given us
all things I1 The Apostle says all things; so that no
grace is excepted, neither pardon, nor perseverance, nor
holy love, nor perfection, nor paradise, “all, all, he has
given us.” But we must pray to him. God is all liber­
ality to those who call upon him: Rich unto all that call
upon Him?
I will again quote here many other beautiful thoughts
of the Venerable John of Avila, which he has left us in
his letters, on the great confidence we should have in the
merits of Jesus Christ :
“Do not forget that Jesus Christ is the mediator be­
tween the Eternal Father and ourselves; and that we arc
beloved by him, and united to him by so strong bonds
of love that nothing can break them, so long as a man
does not himself dissolve them bvsome
mortal sin. The
*
blood of Jesus cries out, and asks mercy for us; and
cries out so loudlv that the noise of oursins is not heard.
The death of Jesus Christ hath put to death our sins:
O Death, P will be thy death !4 Those who are lost are not
lost for want of means of satisfaction, but because they
would not avail themselves of the sacraments as the
means of profiting by the satisfaction made by Jesus
Christ.
1 “ Amen, amen, dico vobis: si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine
meo, dabit vobis.”—John, xvi. 23.
- “ Pro nobis omnibus tradidit illum; quomodo non etiam cum illo
omnia nobis donavit?”—Rom. viii. 32.
3 “ Dives in omnes qui invocant illum.”—Ibid. x. 12.
4 “ O mors ! ero mors tua.”—Osce, xiii. 14.

Introd.—III. Confidence in Jesus Christ. 291
“ Jesus has taken upon himself the affair of remedying
our evils, as it it had been personally his own affair. So
that he has called our sins his own, although he
did
*
not
commit them, and has sought pardon for them; and with
the most tender love has prayed, as if he were praying
for himself, that all who should have recourse to him
might become objects of love. And as he sought, so he
found, because God has so ordained that Jesus and our­
selves should be so united in one, that either he and we
should be loved, or he and we hated: and since Jesus is
not or cannot be hated, in the same way, if we remain
united by love to Jesus, we shall be also loved. By his
being loved by God, we are also loved, seeing that Jesus
Christ can do more to make us loved than we can do to
make ourselves hated; since the Eternal Father loves
Jesus Christ far more than he hates sinners.
‘‘Jesus said to his Father: Father, I will that where I am,
they also whom Thou hast given Me may be with Me) Love
has conquered hatred ; and thus we have been pardoned
and loved, and are secuTe of never being abandoned, so
strong is the tie of love that binds us. The Lord said by
Isaias: Can a woman forget her infanti And if she should
forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, J have graven Thee
in My hands.' He has graven us in his hands with his
own blood. Thus we should not trouble ourselves about
anything, since everything is ordained by those hands
which were nailed to the cross in testimony of the love
he bears us.
“Nothing can so trouble us on which Jesus Christ
cannot reassure us. Let the sins I have committed sur­
round me, let the devils lay snares for me, let fears for
1 “Pater! quos dedisti mihi, volo ut, ubi sum ego, et illi sint
mecum.”—-John, xvii. 24.
- “Numquid oblivisci potest mulier infantem suum, ut non misere­
atur filio uteri sui ? et si illa oblita fuerit, ego tamen non obliviscar
tui.”—Isa. xlix. 15.

292 The Practice of the Love offcsus Christ.
the future accuse me, by demanding mercy of the most
tender Jesus Christ, who has loved me even until death,
I cannot possibly lose confidence; for I see myself so
highly valued, that God gave himself for me. O my
Jesus, sure haven for those who seek Thee in time of
peril! O most watchful Pastor, he deceives himself who
does not trust in Thee, if only he has the will to amend
his life ! Therefore Thou hast said: I am here, fear
not; I am he who afflicts and who consoles. Some from
time to time I place in desolations, which seem equal to
hell itself; but after a while I bring them out and con­
sole them. I am thine advocate, who have made thy
cause my own. I am thy surety, who am come to pay
thy debts. I am thy Lord, who have redeemed thee
with my blood, not in order to abandon thee, but to en­
rich thee, having bought thee at a great price. How
shall I fly from him who seeks me, when I went forth to
meet those wrho sought to outrage me? I did not turn
away my face from him who struck me; and shall I from
him who would adore me ? How can my children doubt
that I love them, seeing that out of love to them I placed
myself in the hands of my enemies ? Whom have I ever
despised that loved me ? Whom have I ever abandoned
that sought my aid? Even I go seeking those that do
not seek me.” 1
If you believe that the Eternal Father has given you
his Son, believe also that he will give you everything else
which is infinitely less than his Son. Do not think that
Jesus Christ is forgetful of you, since he has left you, as
the greatest memorial and pledge of his love, himself in
the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Affections and Prayers.

O my Jesus, my love, what joyful hope does Thy Passion give
me! How can I possibly fear not to receive from an Almighty
1 Part 2, Ep. 48.

Introci.—IV. Love oj festes Christ.

293

God who lias given me all his blood, the pardon of my sins,
paradise, and all other graces that I require ! Ah, my Jesus, my
hope and my love, Thou, in order that I might not perish, didst
give Thy life ; 1 love Thee above every good, my Redeemer and
my God. Thou gavest Thyself entirely to me; I give Thee my
whole will, and with it I repeat that I love Thee, and I will always
say, I love Thee, I love Thee. So I always desire to say in this life
so I wish to die, breathing forth my last sigh with this dear word
on my lips, My God, I love Thee ; and from that moment I may
commence a love towards Thee which shall last forever, and
without cessation (or all eternity. I love Thee, then ; and be­
cause I love Thee, I repent above all things for having offended
Thee. In order not to lose a passing satisfaction, I have been
willing, wretch that I am, to lose Thee so often, O infinite good !
This thought torments me more than any pain : but it is a con­
solation to me to think that I have to do with infinite goodness,
that knows not how to despise a heart that truly loves. Oh, that
I could die for Thee, who didst die for me ! My dear Redeemer,
I surely hope of Thee eternal salvation in the life to come, and
in this life I hope for holy perseverance in Thy love ; and there­
fore I propose always to ask it of Thee. And do Thou, by the
merits of Thy death, give me perseverance in praying to
Thee. This too I ask and hope of thee, O Mary my Queen !
IV.

How much we are obliged to love Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ as God has a claim on all our love; but
by the love which he has shown us, he wished to put us,
so to speak, under the necessity of loving him, at least
in gratitude for all that he has done and suffered for us.
He has greatly loved us, that we might love him greatly.
“ Why does God love us, but that he may be loved ?” ’
wrote St. Bernard. And Moses had said the same before
him: And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of
thee, but that thou fear the I.ord thy God . . . and love Hint ? 3
1 “ Non ad aliud amat, nisi ut ametur.”—In Cant. s. 83.
4 “ Et nunc, Israel, quid Dominus Deus tuus petit a te, nisi ut
timeas Dominum Deum tuum, ... et diligas eum?—Deut. x. 12.

2Ç4 The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.
Therefore the first command which he gave us was this·
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with Thy whole heart. And
St. Paul says, that love is the fulfilling of the law: Love
is the fulfilling of the law? For “ fulfilling” the Greek
text has the “embracing of the law;”3 love embraces the
entire law.
Who, indeed, at the sight of a crucified God dying foi
oui- love can refuse to love him ? Those thorns, those
nails, that cross, those wounds, and that blood, call upon
us, and irresistibly urge us, to love him who has loved
us so much. One heart is too little wherewith to love
this God so enamoured of us. In order to requite the
love of Jesus Christ, it would require another God to die
for his love. “ Ah, why,” exclaims St, Francis de Sales,
“do we not throw ourselves on Jesus Christ, to die on
the cross with him who was pleased to die there for the
love of us?”4 The Apostle clearly impresses on us that
Jesus Christ died for us for this end, that we might
no longer live for ourselves, but solely for that God
who died for us: Christ died for all, that they also who live
may not now live to themselves, but unto Him who died for
them.6
And the recommendation of Ecclesiasticus is here in
point: Forget not the kindness of thy surety ; for ILe hath
given His life for thee!' Be not unmindful of him who
has stood surety for thee; who, to satisfy for thy sins,
was willing to pay off, by his death, the debt of punish­
ment due from thee. Oh, how desirous is Jesus Christ
that we should continually remember
his
*
Passion ! and
1 “Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo.”—Deut. vi. 5.
* “ Plenitudo legis est dilectio.”—Roni. xiii. 10.
3 “ Completio legis.”
4 Love of God. B. 7, ch. 8.
6 · Pro omnibus mortuus est Christus, ut et qui vivunt, jam non
sibi vivant, sed ei qui pro ipsis mortuus est.”—2 Cor. v. 15,
6 “Gratiam fidejussoris ne obliviscaris; dedit enim pro te animam
suam.”—Ecclus. xxix. 20.

Introd.—IV. Love of Jesus Christ.
how it saddens him to see that we are so unmindful of
it ! Should a person endure for one of his friends affronts,
blows, and imprisonment, how afflicting would it be for
him to know that that friend afterwards never gave it
a thought, and cared not even to bear it spoken of ! On
the contrary, how gratified would he be to know that his
friend constantly spoke of it with the warmest gratitude,
and often thanked him for it. So it is pleasing to Jesus
Christ when we preserve in our minds a grateful and
loving recollection of the sorrows and death which he
underwent for us. Jesus Christ was the desire of all the
ancient Fathers; he was the desire of all nations before
he was yet come upon earth. Now, how much more
ought he to be our only desire and our only love, now
that we know that he is really come, and are aware how
much be has done and suffered for us,—so that he even
died upon the cross for love of us !
For this purpose he instituted the Sacrament of the
Holy Eucharist on the day preceding his death, and gave
us the injunction, that as often as we should be nour-'
ished with his most sacred flesh, we should be mindful
of his death: Take ye, and eat ; this is My body. . . . This
do for a commemoration of Me, etc. For as often as you shall
eat this bread and drink the chalice,you shall show the death of
the Lord until He come.' Wherefore the holy Church prays:
“O God ! who under this wonderful Sacrament hast left
us a memorial of Thy Passion,”a etc. And she also
sings: “ O sacred banquet, in which Christ is taken, the
memory of his Passion is renewed, ’1*3 etc. Hence we may
1 “Accipite et manducate; hoc est corpus meum: . . . hoc facitetn
meam commemorationem. . . . Quotiescumque enim manducabitis
panem hunc. . . . mortem Domini annuntiabitis.”—i Cor. xi. 24.
8 “ Deus qui nobis sub Sacramento mirabili passionis tuæ memo­
riam reliquisti. . . .”
1 “ O sacrum convivium, in quo Christus sumitur, recolitur memo­
ria passionis ejus ! . . .”

296 The Practice of the Love oj Jesus Christ.
gather how pleasing to Jesus Christ are they who think
frequently of his Passion, since it was for this very pur­
pose that he left himself in the holy Sacrament upon our
altars, in order that we might bear in continual and
grateful remembrance all that he suffered for us, and
bv this means evermore increase our love towards
him. St. Francis de Sales called Mount Calvary “ the
mountain of lovers.” It is impossible to remember that
mount and not love Jesus Christ, who died there for love
of us.
O God ! and how is it that men do not love this God
who has done so much to be loved by men ! Before the
Incarnation of the Word, man might have doubted
whether God loved him with a true love; but after the
coming of the Son of God, and after his dying for the
love of men, how can we possibly doubt of his love ? “ O
man,” says St. Thomas of Villanova, “look on that cross,
on those torments, and that cruel death, which Jesus
Christ has suffered for thee: after so great and so many
tokens of his love, thou canst no longer entertain a doubt
that he loves thee, and loves thee exceedingly.” And St.
Bernard says, that “the cross and every wound of our
Blessed Redeemer crv
* aloud to make us understand the
love he bears us.” 1
In this grand mystery of man’s redemption, we must
consider how Jesus employed all his thoughts and zeal to
discover every means of making himself loved by us.
Had he merely wished to die for our salvation, it would
have been sufficient had he been slain by Herod with the
other children; but no, he chose before dying to lead,
during thirty-three years, a life of hardship and suffer­
ing; and during that time, with a view to win our love,
he appeared in several different guises. First of all, as a
poor child born in a stable; then as a little boy helping
1 “Testis crux, testes dolores, (estis amara mors quam pro te sus­
tinuit.”—Dom. ïj p. Petit, cone. 3.
«

Introd.—IV. love of Jesus Christ.
in the workshop; and finally, as a criminal executed on
a cross. But before dying on the cross, we see him in
many different states, one and all calculated to excite
our compassion, and to make himself loved: in agony in
the garden, bathed from head to foot in a sweat of blood;
afterwards, in the court of Pilate, torn with scourges;
then treated as a mock-king, with a reed in his hand, a
ragged garment of purple on his shoulders, and a crown
of thorns on his head; then dragged publicly through
the streets to death, with the cross upon his shoulders;
and at length, on the hill of Calvary, suspended on the
cross by three iron nails. Tell me, does he merit our
love or not, this God who has vouchsafed to endure
all these torments, and to use so many means in order
to captivate our love? Father John Rigouleux used to
say: “I would spend my life in weeping for love of a
God whose love induced him to die for the salvation of
men.”
“Love is a great thing,”1 says St. Bernard. A great
thing, a precious thing is love. Solomon, speaking of
the divine wisdom, which is holy charity, called it an in­
finite treasure; because he that possesses charity is made
partaker of the friendship of God: For she is an infinite
treasure to men, which they that use become the friends of God}
The angelic Doctor, St. Thomas, says, that charity is
not only the queen of all virtues, but that, wherever she
reigns, she draws along with her, as it were, in her train,
all other virtues, and directs them all so as to bring us
in closer union with God; but charity is properly that
which unites us with God.· As St. Bernard tells us:
“Charity is a virtue uniting us with God.”* And, in­
deed, it is over and over again signified in the holy
1 “ Magna res amor.”—In Cant. s. 83.
9 “ Infinitus enim thesaurus est hominibus, quo qui usi sunt, par­
ticipes facti sunt amicitiæ Dei.”—Wisd. vii. 14.
3 “ Charitas est virtus conjungens nos Deo.'

2Ç)S The Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.
Scriptures, that God loves whoever loves him: I love them
that love Me.1 If any one loves me . . . My Father will love
Him ; and JKe will come to him. and will make Our abode
with him} lie that abideth in charttv abideth in God. and
God in him} Behold the beautiful union which charity
produces; it unites the soul to God. Moreover, love
supplies strength to practise and to suffer everything for
God : Love is strong as death} St. Augustine writes:
“Nothing is so hard that cannot be subdued by the fire
of love.”u Wherefore the saint says, that where we
love, either the labor is not felt, or if felt, the labor itself
is loved: “In that which is loved, either there is no
labor, or the labor is loved.” 8
Let us hear from St. John Chrysostom what are the
effects of divine love in those souls in which it reigns:
“ When the love of God has taken possession of a soul,
it produces an insatiable desire to work for the beloved;
insomuch that however many and however vast the
works which she does, and however prolonged the dura­
tion of her service, all seems nothing in her eyes, and she
is afflicted at doing so little for God ; and were it per­
mitted her to die and consume herself for him, she would
be most happy. Hence it is that she esteems herself an
unprofitable servant in all that she does ; because she is
instructed by love to know what God deserves, and sees
by this clear light all the defects of her actions, and finds
in them motives for confusion and pain, well aware how
mean is all that she can do for so great a Lord.”
1 “ Ego diligentes me diligo.”—Prov. viii. 17.
J “ Si quis diligit me, . . . Pater meus diliget eum, et ad eum veni­
emus, et mansionem apud eum faciemus.”—John, xiv. 23.
“Qui manet in charitate, in Deo manet, et Deus in eo.”—1 John,
iv. 16.
4 “ Fortis est ut mors dilectio.”—Cani. viii. 6.
5 “Nihil tam durum, quod amoris igne non vincatur.”—De Mor.
Eccl. cat. c. 22.
6 " In eo quod amatur, aut non laboratur, aut et labor amatur.”—De
Bono vid. c. 21.

hitrod.—IV Love ofJesus Christ.

299

“Oli! how those persons delude themselves,” says St.
Francis de Sales, “ who place virtue in anything else
but in loving God ! Some,” writes the saint, “put per­
fection in austerities, others in alms, others in prayer,
others in frequenting the holy sacraments. For my part,
I know of no other perfection than that of loving God
with our whole heart; because all the other virtues, with
out love, are but a mere heap of stones. And if we do
not perfectly enjoy this holy love, the fault lies with us,
because we do not, once for all, come to the conclusion
of giving up ourselves wholly to God.” 1
Our Lord said one day to St. Teresa, “ Everything
which does not give pleasure to me is vanity.” Would
that all understood well this great truth! 7*}?/· the rest,
one thing is necessary.' It is not necessary to be rich in
this world, to gain the esteem of others, to lead a life of
ease, to enjoy dignities, to have a reputation for learn­
ing ; it is only necessary to love God and to do his will.
For this single end has he created us, for this he pre­
serves our life ; and thus only can we gain admittance
into Farad ise. Pat me as a seal upon thy hearty as a seal upon
thy arm.2
3 The Lord thus speaks to all his espoused souls.
Put me as a seal upon thy heart and upon thine arm, in
order that all thv desires and actions mav tend to me;
upon thy heart, that no other love but mine may enter
there upon thine arm, in order that all thou dost may
have me for its sole object. Oh, how quickly does that
soul speed onwards to perfection, that in all its actions
regards but Jesus crucified, and has no other pretension
than to gratify him!
To acquire, then, a true love of Jesus Christ should be
our only care. The masters of spiritual life describe the
*

■

*

2 “ Porro unum est necessarium.
3 " Pone me ut signaculum super cor tuum, ut signaculum supei
brachium tuum.”—( <m/. viii. 6.

II

I

300 The Practice of the Tove oj Jesus Christ.
marks of true love. Love, say they, is fearful, and its
fear is none other than that of displeasing God. It is
generous, because, trusting in God, it is never daunted
even at the greatest enterprises for his glory. It is strong,
because it subdues all its evil appetites, even in the midst
of the most violent temptations, and of the darkest deso­
lations. It is obedient, because it immediately flies to exe­
cute the divine will. It is pure, because it loves God
alone, and for the sole reason that he deserves to be
loved. It is ardent, because it would inflame all man­
kind, and willingly see them consumed with divine love.
It is inebriating, for it causes the soul to live as it werç
out of itself, as if it no longer saw, nor felt, nor had any
more senses left for earthly things, bent wholly on loving
God. It is umtive, by producing a strict union between
the will of the creature and the will of the Creator. It is
longing, for it fills the soul with desires of leaving this
world, to fly and unite itself perfectly with God in its
true and happy country, where it may love him with all
its strength.
o
But no one teaches us so well the real characteristics
and practice of charity as the great preacher of charity,
St. Paul. In his first epistle to the Corinthians, he says,
in the first place, that without
charitvJ man is nothino·,
1
z
ο“
and that nothing profits him: If I should have all faith,
so that f could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am
nothing, A nd if J should distribute all my goods to feed the
poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not
charity, it profiteth me nothing' So that even should a per­
son have faith strong enough to remove mountains, like
St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, but had not charity, it would
> “ Et si habuero omnem fidem, ita ut montes transferam, charitatem autem non habuero, nihil sum. Et si distribuero in cibos
pauperum omnes facultates meas ; et si tradidero corpus meum, ita
ut ardeam, charitatem autem non habuero, nihil mihi prodest.”_ i
Cor. xiii. 2. 3.

Introd.—IV. Love of Jesus Christ.

301

profit him nothing. Should he give all his goods to the
poor, and even willingly suffer martyrdom, but remain
void of charity,—should he do it, that is, for any other
end than that of pleasing God, it would profit him noth­
ing at all. Then St. Paul gives us the marks of true
charity, and at the same time teaches us the practice of
those virtues which are the daughters of charity; and he
goes on to say : Charily is patient, is kind ; charity envieth
not. dcaleth not perversely; is not pupped up, is not ambitious;
seeketh not her own; is notprovoked to anger, thinketh no evil;
rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth ; beareth
all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all

Let us therefore, in the present book, proceed to con­
sider these holy practices, that we may thus see if the
love which we owe to Jesus Christ truly reigns within
us; as likewise that we may understand in what virtues
we should chiefly exercise ourselves, in order to perse­
vere and advance in this holy love.
Affections and Prayers.
O most lovely and most loving Heart of Jesus, miserable is
the heart which does not love Thee ! O God, for the love of
men Thou didst die on the cross, helpless and forsaken, and how
then can men live so forgetful of Thee? O love of God ! O
ingratitude of man ! O men, O men ! do but cast one look on
the innocent Son of God, agonizing on the cross, and dying for
you, in order to satisfy the divine justice for your sins, and by
this means to allure you to love him. Observe how, at the same
time, he prays his eternal Father to forgive you. Behold him,
and love him. Ah, my Jesus, how small is the number of those
that love Thee ! Wretched too am I ; for 1 also have lived so
1 “ Charitas patiens est, benigna est ; charitas non æmulatur, non
agit perperam, non inflatur, non est ambitiosa, non quærit quæ sua
sunt, non irritatur ; non cogitat malum, non gaudet super iniquitate,
congaudet autem veritati; omnia suffert, omnia credit, omnia sperat,
omnia sustinet.”—i Cor. xiii. 4-7.

302 The Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.
many years unmindful of Thee, and have grievously offended
1 lice, my beloved Redeemer ! It is not so much the punish­
ment I have deserved that makes me weep, as the love which
I hou hast borne me. O sorrows of Jesus! O ignominies of
Jesus ! O wounds of Jesus ! O death of Jesus ! O love of Jesus !
rest deeply engraved in my heart, and may your sweet recollec­
tion be forever fixed there, to wound me and inflame me con­
tinually with love. I love Thee, my Jesus; I love Thee, my
sovereign good ; I love Thee, my love and my all ; I love Thee,
and I will love Thee forever. Oh, suffer me never more to for­
sake Thee, never more to lose Thee ! Make me entirely Thine;
do so by the merits of Thy death. In this I firmly trust.
And I have a great confidence also in thy intercession, O
Mary, my Queen ; make me love Jesus Christ and make me also
love thee, my Mother and my hope !

“St quis non amat Dominum nostrum flesum Christum, sit anath·
em a!''
“It any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema!”
— r Cor. xvi. 22.
Chantas patiens est, benigna est; charitas non cernulatur, non agit
perperam, non inflatur, non est ambitiosa, non qucerit quiz sua sunt, non
irritatur; non cogitat malum, non gaudet super iniquitate, congaudet
autem veritati ; omnia suffert, omnia credit, omnia sperat, omnia susti­
net. ”
“Charity is patient, is kind; charity envieth not, dealeth not per­
versely, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not
provoked to anger; thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth ; beareth all things, believeth all things, endureth
all things.”—I Cor. xiii. 4-7.

Practice of tljc £orc of Jcsns (Æbriet.
CHAPTER I.
•

CHARITY IS PATIENT.

(Charitas flattens est.—I Cor. xiii. 4.)

He that loves Jesus Christ loves Sufferings.
This earth is the place for meriting, and therefore it is
a place for suffering. Our true country, where God has
prepared for us repose in everlasting joy, is paradise.
We have but a short time to stay in this world; but in
this short time we have many labors to undergo: Man
born of a woman, living for a short time, is filled with many
miseries' We must suffer, and all must suffer; be they
just, or be they sinners, each one must carry his cross.
He that carries it with patience is saved; he that carries
it with impatience is lost. St. Augustine says, the same
miseries send some to paradise and some to hell: “One
and the same blow lifts the good to glory, and reduces
the bad to ashes.”2 The same saint observes, that by the
test of suffering the chaff in the Church of God is dis­
tinguished from the wheat: he that humbles himself
under tribulations, and is resigned to the will of God, is
wheat for paradise; he that grows haughty and is en­
raged, and so forsakes God, is chaff for hell.
On the day when the cause of our salvation shall be
1 “ Homo natus de muliere, brevi vivens tempore, repletur multis
miseriis.”—fob, xiv. i.
2 "Una eademque tunsio bonos producit ad gloriam, malos redigit
in favillam.”—Semi. 52, E. B. app.
20

3<d6

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

decided, our life must be found conformable to the life
of Jesus Christ, if we would enjoy the happy sentence of
the predestined: For whom He foreknew He also predesti­
nated to he made conformable to the image of His Son) This
was the end for which the Eternal Word descended upon
earth, to teach us, by his example, to carry with patience
the cross which God sends us: Christ suffered for us (wrote
St. Peter), leaving you an example, that you should follow His
steps) So that Jesus Christ suffered on purpose f.o en­
courage us to suffer. O Goo ! what a life was that of
Jesus Christ ! A life of ignominy and pain. The Prophet
calls our Redeemer despised, and the most abject of men, a
man of sorrows) A man held in contempt, and treated as
the lowest, the vilest among men, a man of sorrows; yes,
for the life of Jesus Christ was made up of hardships and
afflictions.
Now, in the same manner as God has treated his be­
loved Son, so does he treat every one whom he loves,
and whom he receives for his son: For whom the Lord loveth
He chastiseth; and Ide scourgeth every son whom He receiveth)
For this reason he one dav said to St. Teresa: “ Know
that the souls dearest to mv* Father are those who are
afflicted with the greatest sufferings.” 6 Hence the saint
said of all her troubles, that she would not exchange
them for all the treasures in the world. She appeared
after her death to a soul, and revealed to her that she
enjoyed an immense reward in heaven, not so much for
her good works, as for the sufferings which she cheer­
fully bore in this life for the love of God; and that if she
' “ Nam quos præscivit, et prædestinavit conformes fieri imaginis
Filii sui.”—Pont. viii. 29.
2 “ Christus passus est pro nobis, vobis relinquens exemplum, ut
sequamini vestigia ejus.”—1 Pet. ii. 21.
3 “ Despectum et novissimum virorum.”—Isa. liii. 3.
4 “Quem enim diligit Dominus, castigat; flagellat autem omnem
filium quem recipit.”—Heb. xii. 6.
6 Life, addit.

CHAP. I.]

Patience.

307

could possibly entertain a wish to return upon earth, the
only reason would be in order that she might suffer more
for God.
He that loves God in suffering earns a double reward
in paradise. St. Vincent of Paul1 said that it was a
great misfortune to be free from suffering in this life.
z\nd he added, that a congregation or an individual that
does not suffer, and is applauded by all the world, is not
far from a fall. It was or this account that St. Francis
of Assisi, on the day that he had suffered nothing for
God, became afraid lest God had forgotten him. St.John
Chrysostom2 says, that when God endows a man with
the grace of suffering, he gives him a greater grace than
that of raising the dead to life; because in performing
miracles man remains God’s debtor; whereas in suffer­
ing, God« makes himself the debtor of man. And he
adds,8 that whoever endures something for God, even
had he no other gift than the strength to suffer for the
God whom he loves, this would procure for him an immense reward. Wherefore he affirmed, that he considered
St. Paul to have received a greater grace in being bound
in chains for Jesus Christ, than in being rapt to the third
heaven in ecstasy.
But patience has a perfect work.' The meaning of this
is, that nothing is more pleasing to God than to see a
soul suffering with patience all the crosses sent her by
him. The effect of love is to liken the lover to the per­
son loved. St. Francis de Sales said, “All the wounds
of Christ are so many mouths, which preach to us that
we must suffer for him. The science of the saints is to
suffer constantly for Jesus; and in this way we shall soon
become saints.” A person that loves Jesus Christ is
anxious to be treated like Jesus Christ,—poor, persecuted,
and despised. St. John beheld all the saints clothed in
1 A belly, 1. 3, c. 43.
- In Phil. hom. 4.
3 In Eph. horn. 8.
4 “ Patientia autem opus perfectum habet.”—James, i. 4.

3o8

Practice of the Love offesus Christ.

white, and with palms in their hands: Clothed with white
robes, and palms in their hands.' The palm is the symbol
of martyrs, and yet all the saints did not suffer martyr­
dom;—why, then, do all the saints bear palms in their
hands ? St. Gregory replies, that all the saints have been
martyrs either of the sword or of patience; so that, he
adds, “we can be martyrs without the sword, if we keep
patience.” 3
The merit of a soul that lov^s Jesus Christ consists in
loving and in suffering. Hear what our Lord said to
St. Teresa: “Think you, my child, that merit consists
in enjoyment? No, it consists in suffering and in loving.
Look at my life, wholly embittered with afflictions. Be
assured, my child, that the more my Father loves any
one, the more sufferings he sends him; they are the
standard of his love. Look at my wounds; your
torr
ments will never reach so far. It is absurd to suppose
that my Father favors with his friendship those who are
strangers to suffering.”3 And for our consolation St.
Teresa makes this remark: “God never sends a trial, but
he forthwith rewards it with some favor.”* One dav
*
Jesus Christ appeared to the blessed Baptista Varani,
*
and told her of three special favors which he is wont to
bestow on cherished souls: the first is, not to sin; the
second, which is greater, to perform good works; the
third, and the greatest of all, to suffer for his love. So
that St. Teresa® used to say, whenever any one does
something for God, the Almighty repays him with some
trial. And therefore the saints, on receiving tribulations,
1 “ Amicti stolis albis, et palmæ in manibus eorum.”—Afloc. vîi. 9.
- “ Nos sine ferro esse possumus martyres, si patientiam veraciter
in animo custodimus.”—Iu Evang. hom. 35.
3 Life, addit.
4 Life, ch. 30.
5 Ball. 31 Mail. Vit. c. 7.
4 Found, ch. 31.

CHAP. I.]

Patience.

309

thanked God for them. St. Louis of France, referring to
his captivity in Turkey, said: “ I rejoice, and thank God
more for the patience which he accorded me in the time
of my imprisonment, than if he had made me master of
the universe.” And when St. Elizabeth, princess of
Thuringia, after her husband’s death, was banished with
fier son from the kingdom, and found herself homeless
and abandoned by all, she went to a convent of the
Franciscans, and there had the Te Deum sung in thanks­
giving to God for the signal favor of being allowed to
suffer for his love.
St. Joseph Calasanctius used to say, “All suffering is
slight to gain heaven.” And the Apostle had already
said the same: The sufferings of this time
are
not
worthy
to
9
be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in
us.'
It would be a great gain for us to endure all the tor­
ments of all the martyrs during our whole lives, in order
to enjoy one single moment of the bliss of paradise; with
what readiness, then, should we embrace our crosses,
when we know that the sufferings of this transitory life
will gain for us an everlasting beatitude ! That which is
at present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for
us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory.3 St.
Agapitus, while still a mere boy in years, was threatened
by the tyrant to have his head covered with a red-hot hel­
met; on which he replied, “ And what better fortune could
possibly befall me, than to lose my head here, to have it
crowned hereafter in heaven ?” This made St. Francis
exclaim :
“ I look for such a meed of bliss,
That all my pains seem happiness.”
1 “ Non sunt condignæ passiones hujus temporis ad futuram gloriam
quæ revelabitur in nobis.”—Rom. viii. 18.
- “ Momentaneum et leve tribulationis nostræ supra modum in
sublimitate æternum gloriæ pondus operatur in nobis.”—2 Cor. iv. 17.

310

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

But whoever desires the crown of paradise must needs
combat and suffer: If we suffer, we shall also rei^n? We
cannot get a reward without merit; and no merit is to
be had without patience: He is not crowned, except he strive
lawfully? And the person that strives with the greatest
patience shall have the greatest reward. Wonderful in­
deed ! When the temporal goods of this world are in
question, worldlings endeavor to procure as much as
they can; but when it is a question of the goods of eter­
nal life, they say, “ It is enough if we get a little corner
in heaven!” Such is not the language of the saints:
they are satisfied with anything whatever in this life,
nay more, they strip themselves of all earthly goods;
but concerning eternal goods, they strive to obtain
them in as large a measure as possible. I would ask
which of the two act with more wisdom and pru­
dence ?
But even with regard to the present life, it is certain
that he who suffers with most patience enjoys the greatest
peace. It was a saying of St. Philip Neri,3 that in this
world there is no purgatory; it is either all paradise or
all hell: hethat patiently supports tribulations enjoys a
paradise; hethat does not do so, suffers a hell. Yes, for
(as St. Teresa writes) he that embraces the crosses sent
him by God feels them not. St. Francis de Sales, finding
himself on one occasion beset on every side with tribula­
tions, said, “For some time back the severe oppositions
and secret contrarieties which have befallen me afford
me so sweet a peace, that nothing can equal it; and they
give me such an assurance that mv soul will ere long be
firmly united with God, that I can say with all truth that
they arc the sole ambition, the sole desire of my heart.”4
1 “Si sustinebimus, et con regnabimus.”—2 Tim. ii. 12.
5 “Qui certat in agone, non coronatur, nisi legitime certaverit.”—
2 Tim. ii. 5.
3 Bacci, 1. 2, ch. 20.
4 Spirit, ch. 19.

CHAP. I.]

Patience.

And indeed peace can never be found by one who leads
an irregular life, but only by him who lives in union with
God and with his blessed will. A certain missionary of
a religious Order, while in the Indies, was one day stand­
ing to witness the execution of a person under sentence
of death, and already on the scaffold: the criminal called
the missionary to him, and said, “ You must know, Father,
that I was once a member of your Order; whilst I ob­
served the rules I led a very happy life; but when, after­
wards, I began to relax in the strict observance of them,
I immediately experienced pain in everything; so much
so, that I abandoned the religious life, and gave myself
up to vice, which has finally reduced me to the melan­
choly pass in which you at present behold me.” And in
conclusion he said, “ I tell you this, that my example
may be a warning to others.” The Venerable Father
Louis da Ponte said, “ Take the sweet things of this life
for bitter, and the bitter for sweet; and so you will be
in the constant enjoyment of peace. Yes, for though the
sweet are pleasant to sense, they invariably leave behind
them the bitterness of remorse of conscience, on account
of the imperfect satisfaction which, for the most part,
they afford; but the bitter, when taken with patience from
the hand of God, become sweet, and dear to the souls
who love him.”
Let us be convinced that in this valley of tears true
peace of heart cannot be found, except by him who en­
dures and lovingly embraces sufferings to please Al­
mighty God: this is the consequence of that corruption
in which all are placed through the infection of sin. The
condition of the saints on earth is to suffer and to love;
the condition of the saints in heaven is to enjoy and to
love. Father Paul Segneri the younger, in a letter
which he wrote one of his penitents to encourage her to
suffer, gave her the counsel to keep these words inscribed
at the foot of her crucifix:
fis thus one loves.” It is

312

Practice of the Love offesus Christ,

not simply by suffering, but by desiring to suffer for the
love of Jesus Christ, that a soul gives the surest signs of
really loving him. And what greater acquisition (said
St. Teresa) can we possibly make than to have some token
of gratifying Almighty God ?* Alas, how ready are the
greatest part of men to take alarm at the bare mention
of crosses, of humiliations, and of afflictions ! Neverthe­
less, there are many souls who find all their delight in
suffering, and who would be quite disconsolate did they
pass their time on this earth without suffering. The
sight of Jesus crucified (said a devout person) renders
the cross so lovely to me, that it seems to me I could
never be happy without suffering; the love of Jesus Christ
is sufficient for me forall. Listen how Jesus advises every
one who would follow him to take up and carry his cross:
Let him take up his cross, and follow Med But we must
take it up and carry it, not by constraint and against our
will, but with humility, patience, and love.
Oh, how acceptable to God is he that humbly and
patiently embraces the crosses which he sends him! St.
Ignatius of Loyola said, “There is no wood so apt to
enkindle and maintain love towards God as the wood of
the cross that is, to love him in the midst of sufferings.
One day St. Gertrude asked our Lord what she could
offer him most acceptable, and he replied, “My child,
thou canst do nothing more gratifying to me than to
submit patiently to all the tribulations that befall thee.”
Wherefore the great servant of God, Sister Victoria
Angelini, affirmed that one day of crucifixion was worth
a hundred years of all other spiritual exercises. And the
Venerable Father John of Avila said, “One ‘blessed be
God’ in contrarieties is worth more than a thousand
thanksgivings in prosperity.” Alas, how little men know
of the inestimable value of afflictions endured for God !
1 Life, ch. io.
’ “Tollat crucem suam quotidie, et sequatur me.”—Luke, ix. 23.

chap,

i.]

Patience,

313

The Blessed Angela of Foligno said, “ that if we knew
the just value of suffering for God, it would become an
object of plunder;” which is as much as to say, that each
one would seek an opportunity of robbing his neighbor
of the occasions of suffering. For this reason St. Mary
Magdalene of Pazzi, well aware as she was of the merit
of sufferings, sighed to have her life prolonged rather
than to die and go to Heaven, “ because,” said she, “ in
Heaven one can suffer no more.”
A soul that loves God has no other end in view but to
be wholly united with him ; but let us learn from St.
Catharine of Genoa what is necessary to be done to
arrive at this perfect union: “To attain, union with
God, adversities are indispensable ; because by them
God aims at destroying all our corrupt propensities
within and without. And hence all injuries, contempts,
infirmities, abandonment of relatives and friends, con­
fusions, temptations, and other mortifications, all are in
the highest degree necessary for us, in order that we may
carry on the fight, until by repeated victories we come
to extinguish within us all vicious movements, so that
they are no longer felt ; and we shall never arrive at
divine union until adversities, instead of seeming bitter
to us, become all sweet for God’s sake.”
It follows, then, that a soul that sincerely desires to
belong to God must be resolved, as St. John of the
Cross’ writes, not to seek enjoyments in this life, but to
suffer in all things ; she must embrace with eagerness
all voluntary mortifications, and with still greater eager­
ness those which are involuntary, since they are the more
welcome to Almighty God.
The patient man is better than the valiant' God is pleased
with a person who practises mortification by fasting,
hair cloths, and disciplines, on account of the courage
1 Mont, du C. 1. 2. ch. 7.
- *· Melior est patietis viro forti.”—Ptov. xvi. 32.

314

Practice oj the Love ofJesus Christ.

displayed in such mortifications ; but lie is much more
pleased with those who have the courage to bear pa­
tiently and gladly such crosses as come from his own
divine hand. St. Francis de Sales said, “Such mortifica­
tions as come to us from the hand of God, or from men
by his permission, are always more precious than those
which are the offspring of our own will ; for it is a gen­
eral rule, that wherever there is less of our own choice,
God is better pleased, and we ourselves derive greater
profit.”1 St. Teresa taught the same thing: “We gain
more in one day by the oppositions which come to us
from God or our neighbor than by ten years of mortifi­
cations of self-infliction.” J Wherefore St. Mary Magda­
lene of Pazzi made the generous declaration, that there
could not be found in the whole world an affliction so
severe, but what she would gladly bear with the thought
that it came from God ; and, in fact, during the five years
of severe trial which the saint underwent, it was enough
to restore peace to her soul to remember that it was by
the will of God that she so suffered. Ah, God. that in­
finite treasure is cheaply purchased at any cost! Father
Hippolytus Durazzo used to say, “ Purchase God at what
cost vou
will,1 he can never be dear.”
*
Let us then beseech God to make us worthy of his
love ; for if we did but once perfectly love him, all the
goods of this earth would seem to us but as smoke and
dirt, and we should relish ignominies and afflictions as
delights. Let us hear what St. John Chrysostom says of
a soul wholly given up to Almighty God: “ He who has
attained the perfect love of God seems to be alone on
the earth,—he no longer cares either for glory or igno­
miny,—he scorns temptations and afflictions,—he loses
all relish and appetite for created things. And as noth­
ing in this world brings him any support or repose, he
1 Spirit, ch. 4.

8 Way of Pcrf. ch. 37.

i.]

chap,

Patience.

315

goes incessantly in search of his beloved without ever
feeling wearied; so that when he toils, when he eats,
when he is watching, or when sleeping, in every action
and word, all his thoughts and desires are fixed upon
finding his beloved; because his heart is where his treas­
ure is.”*
»

Affections and Prayers.

My dear and beloved Jesus, my treasure, I have deserved by
my offences never more to be allowed to love Thee ; but by Thy
merits, I entreat Thee, make me worthy of Thy pure love. 1
love Thee above all things; and I repent with my whole heart,
of having ever despised Thee, and driven Thee from my soul :
but now I love Thee more than myself; I love Thee with all my
heart, O infinite good ! I love Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee,
and I have not a wish besides that of loving Thee perfectly; nor
have I a fear besides that of ever seeing myself deprived of Thy
love. O my most loving Redeemer, enable me to know how
great a good Thou art, and how great is the love Thou bast
borne me in order to oblige me to love Thee ? Ah, my God,
suffer me not to live any longer unmindful of so much good­
ness! Enough have I offended Thee, I will never leave Thee
again ; I wish to employ all the remainder of my days in loving
Thee, and in pleasing Thee. My Jesus, my Love, lend me
Thine aid; help a sinner who wishes to love Thee and to be
whollv Thine own.
O Mary my hope, thy Son hears thee; pray to him in my
behalf, and obtain for me tiie grace of loving him perfectly !
X

* In this chapter we have spoken of patience in general ; in Chapter
X. we shall treat more particularly of occasions in which we have
especially to practise patience.

3 16

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ,

CHAPTER II.
CHARITY IS KIND.

I

{Charitax benigna est.)

He that loves Jesus Christ loves Meekness.
The spirit of meekness is peculiar to God: My spirit is
sweet above honey ? Hence it is that a soul that loves God
loves also all those whom God loves, namely, her neigh­
bors; so that she eagerly seeks every occasion of helping
all, of consoling all, and of making all happy as far as
she can. St. Francis de Sales, who was the master and
model of holy meekness, says, “Humble meekness is the
virtue of virtues, which God has so much recommended
to us; therefore we should endeavor to practise it always
and in all things.” 3 Hence the saint gives us this rule:
“ What you see can be done with love, do it ; and what
you see cannot be done without offence, leave it un­
done.” 3 He means, when it can be omitted without
offending God; because an offence of God must always,
and as quickly as possible, be prevented by him who is
bound to prevent it.
This meekness should be particularly observed
towards the poor, who, by reason of their poverty, are
often harshly treated by men. It should likewise be
especially practised towards the sick who are suffering
under infirmities, and for the most part meet with small
help from others. Meekness is more especially to be
observed in our behavior towards enemies: Overcome evil
with good.' Hatred must be overcome by love, and per1 “ Spiritus enim meus super mei dulcis.”—Ecclus. xxiv. 27.
'Lettre 853.
3 Lettre 7S6.
4 “ Vince in bono malum.”—Rom. xii. 21.

CHAP. IL]

Meekness.

3’7

seciition by meekness; thus the saints acted, ai d so they
conciliated the affections of their most exasperated
enemies.
*
“There is nothing,” says St. Francis de Sales, “that
gives so much edification to our neighbor as meekness
of behavior.”1 The saint, therefore, was generally seen
smiling, and with a countenance beaming with charity,
which gave a tone to all his words and actions. This
gave occasion to St. Vincent of Paul3 to declare that he
never knew a kinder man in his life. He said further,
that it seemed to him that in his lordship of Sales was a
true likeness of Jesus Christ. Even in refusing what he
could not in conscience comply with, he did so with such
sweetness, that all, though unsuccessful in their requests,
went away satisfied and well-disposed towards him. He
was gentle towards all, towards Superiors, towards
equals and inferiors, at home and abroad; in contrast
with some, who, as the saint used to say, “seemed angels
abroad, but were devils at home.”3 Moreover, the saint,
in his conduct towards servants, never complained of
their remissness; at most he would give them an admo­
nition, but always in the gentlest terms. And this is a
thing most praiseworthy in Superiors.
The Superior should use all kindness towards those
under him. When telling them what they have to do,
he should rather request than command. St. Vincent of
Paul said: “ A Superior will never find a better means of
being readily obeyed than meekness.” And to the same
effect was the saying of St. Jane Frances of Chantal: “ I
have tried various methods of governing, but I have not
found any better than that of meekness and forbear­
ance.” *
And more than this, the Superior should be kind even
in the correction of faults. Il is one thing to correct
x Lettre 605.
4 A belly, 1. 3, ch. 27.
4 Mém. de la M. de Chaugy, p. 3, ch. 19.

3 hitrod. ch. 8.

3i8

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

with firmness, and another with harshness; it is needful
at times to correct with firmness, when the fault is seri­
ous, and especially if it be repeated after the subject has
already been admonished of it; but let us always be on
our guard against harsh and angry correction; he that
corrects with anger does more harm than good. This is
that bitter zeal reproved by St. James. Some make a
boast of keeping their family in order by severity, and
they say it is the only successful method of treatment ;
but St. James speaks not so: But if you have bitter zeal
. ■ ■ glory not.' If on some rare occasion it be neces­
sary to speak a cross word, in order to bring the offender
to a proper sense of his fault, yet in the end we ought
invariably to leave him with a gentle countenance and a
word of kindness. Wounds must be healed after the
fashion of the good Samaritan in the Gospel, with wine
and oil: “ But as oil,” said St. Francis de Sales, “always
swims on the surface of all other liquors, so must meek­
ness prevail overall our actions.” And when it occurs
that the person under correction is agitated, then the
reprehension
must be deferred till his anger
has sub
*
O
sided, or else we should only increase his indignation.
The Canon Regular St. John said: “When the house is
on fire, one must not cast wood into the flames.”
You know not of what spirit you are.'2 Such were the
words of Jesus Christ to his disciples James and John,
when they would have brought
down chastisements on
o
the Samaritans for expelling them from their country.
Ah, said the Lord to them, and what spirit is this? this
is not my spirit, which is sweet and gentle; for I am
come not to destroy but to save souls: The Son of Man
came not to destroy souls, but to saved And would you in1 “ Quod si zelum amarum habetis, . . . nolite gloriari.”—fames,
•··
111. 14.
* “ Nescitis cujus spiritus estis.”—Luke. ix. 55.
'' ·' Filius hominis non venit animas perdere, sed salvare.”—Luke.
x. 56·

CHAP. II.]

Meekness.

319

duce me to destroy them? Oh, hush ! and never make
the like request to me, for such is not according to my
spirit. And, in fact, with what meekness did Jesus
Christ treat the adulteress’ Woman, said He, hath no
man condemned thee? Neither will I condemn thee! Go, and
now sin no more} He was satisfied with merely warning
her not to sin again, and sent her away in peace. With
what meekness, again, did he seek the conversion of the
Samaritan woman, and so, in fact, converted her ! He
first asked her to give him to drink; then he said to her:
If thou didst know who He is that saith to thee, Give me to
drink I and then he revealed to her that he was the ex­
pected Messiah. And, again, with what meekness did
he strive to convert the impious Judas, admitting him to
eat of the same dish with him, washing his feet and ad­
monishing him in the very act of his betrayal: Judas, and
dost thou thus betray me with a kiss ? Judas, dost thou betray
the Son of Man with a kiss?'123 And see how he converted
Peter after his denial of him ! And the Lord turning,
looked on Peler? On leaving the house of the high-priest,
without making him a single reproach, he cast on him a
look of tenderness, and thus converted him; and so ef­
fectually did he convert him, that during his whole life
long Peter never ceased to bewail the injury he had
done to his Master.
Oh, how much more is to be gained by meekness than
by harshness ! St. Francis de Sales said there was noth­
ing more bitter than the bitter almond, but if made into
a preserve, it becomes sweet and agreeable: thus correc­
tions, though in their nature very unpleasant, are ren­
dered pleasant by love and meekness, and so are attended
with more beneficial results. St. Vincent of Paul said
1 “Mulier, . . . nemo te condemnavit ? . . . Nec ego te condem­
nabo. Vade, et jam amplius noli peccare.”—John, viii. 10, II.
2 “Juda ! osculo Filium hominis tradis?”—Luke, xxii.,48.
3 “ Conversus Dominus respexit Petrum.”—Luke, xxii. 61.

320

Practice of the Love of fesus Christ.

of himself, that in the government of his own congrega­
tion he had never corrected any one with severity, except
on three occasions, when he supposed there was reason
to do so, but that he regretted it ever afterwards, because
he found it turned out badly; whereas he had always ad­
mirably succeeded by gentle correction.1
St. Francis de Sales obtained from others whatever he
wished by his meek behavior; and by this means he
managed to gain the most hardened sinners to God. It
was the same with St. Vincent of Paul, who taught his
disciples this maxim: “ Affability, love,and humility have
a wonderful efficacy in winning the hearts of men, and
in prevailing on them to undertake things most repug­
nant to nature.” He once gave a great sinner to the care
of one of his Fathers, to bring him to sentiments of true
repentance; but that Father, in spite of all his endeavors,
found his labor fruitless, so that he begged the saint to
speak a word to him. The saint accordingly spoke with
him, and converted him. That sinner subsequently de­
clared that the singular sweetness of Father Vincent had
worked upon his heart. Wherefore it was that the saint
could not bear his missionaries to treat sinners with
severity; and he told them that the infernal spirit took
advantage of the strictness of some to work the greater
ruin of souls.
Kindness should be observed towards all on all occa­
sions and at all times. St. Bernard remarks,3 that cer­
tain persons are gentle as long as things fall out to their
taste; but scarcely do they experience some opposition
or contradiction than they are instantly on fire, like
Mount Vesuvius itself. Such as these may be called
burning coals, but hidden under the embers. Whoever
would become a saint, must, during this life, resemble
the lily among thorns, which, however much it may be
1 Abclly, 1. 3. ch. 27.

^In Adv.

jD. s.

4.

chap, h.]

Meekness.

321

pricked by them, never ceases to be a lily; that is, it is
always equally sweet and serene. The soul that loves
God maintains an imperturbable peace of heart; andshe
shows this in her very countenance, being ever mistress
of herself, alike in prosperity and adversity, according to
the lines of Cardinal Petrucci:
“ Of outward things he views the varying guise,
While in his soul’s most inmost depth
Undimmed God’s image lies.”

Adversity brings out a person’s real character. St.
Francis de Sales very tenderly loved the Order of the
Visitation, which had cost him so much labor. He saw
it several times in imminent danger of dissolution on
account of the persecutions it underwent; but the saint
never for a moment lost his peaeê, and was ready, if such
was the will of God, to see it entirely destroyed; and
then it was that he said: “For some time back the
trying oppositions and secret contrarieties which have
befallen me afford me so sweet a peace, that nothing
can equal it; and they give me such an earnest of the
immediate union of my soul with God, that, in truth,
they form the sole desire of my heart.” 1
Whenever it happens that we have to reply to some
one who insults us, let us be careful to answer with
meekness: A mild answer breaketh wrath? A mild reply
is enough to quench every spark of anger. And in case
we feel irritated, it is best to keep silence, because then
it seems only just to give vent to all that rises to our
lips; but when our passion has subsided, we shall see
that all our words were full of faults.
And when it happens that we ourselves commit some
fault, we must also practise meekness in our own regard.
To be exasperated at ourselves after a fault is not humil­
ity. but a subtle pride, as if we were anything else than
’ Spirit, ch. io.
2 “ Responsio mollis frangit iram.”—Prov. xv. I.
21

322

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

the weak and miserable things that we are. St. Teresa
said: “The humility that disturbs does not come from
God, but from the devil.”1 To be angry at ourselves after
the commission of a fault is a fault worse than the one
committed, and will be the occasion of many other faults;
it will make us leave off our devotions, prayers, and com­
munions ; or if we do practise them, they will be done
very badly. St. Aloysius Gonzaga said that we cannot
see in troubled waters, and that the devil fishes in them.
A soul that is troubled knows little of God and of what
it ought to do. Whenever, therefore, we fall into any
fault, we should turn to God with humility and confi­
dence, and craving his forgiveness, say to him, with St.
Catharine of Genoa: “O Lord, this is the produce of
my own garden ! I love Thee with my whole heart, and
I repent of the displeasure I have given Thee ! I will
never do the like again: grant me Thy assistance!”
Affections and Prayers.

O blessed chains that bind the soul with God, oh, enfold me
still closer, and in links so firm that I mavJ never be able to
loosen myself from the love of my God ! My Jesus, I love Thee;
O treasure, O life of my soul, to Thee I cling, and I give myself
wholly unto Thee! No, indeed, my beloved Lord, I wish never
more to cease to love Thee. Thou who, to atone for my sins,
didst allow Thyself to be bound as a criminal, and so bound to
be led to death through the streets of Jerusalem,—Thou who
didst consent to be nailed to the cross, and didst not leave it
until life itself had left Thee, oh, suffer me never to be separated
from Thee again ; I regret above every other evil, to have at one
time turned my back upon Thee, and henceforth I purpose by
Thy grace to die rather than to give Thee the slightest dis­
pleasure. O my Jesus, I abandon myself to Thee. I love Thee
with my whole heart ; 1 love Thee more than myself. I have
offended Thee in times past; but now I bitterly repent of it, and
I would willingly die of grief. Oh, draw me entirely to Thyself !
’ Lift' ch 30.

chap,

in.]

Purity of Intention.

I renounce all sensible consolations ; I wish for Thee alone, and
nothing more. Make me love Thee, and then do with me what
Thou wilt.
O Mary, my hope, bind me to Jesus ; and grant me to live and
die in union with him, in order to come one day to the happy
kingdom, where I shall have no more fear of ever being sepa­
rated from his love!

CHAPTER III.
CHARITY ENVIETH NOT.

{Charitas non annulatur.')

The Soul that loves Jesus Christ does not envy the Great Ones
of this World, but only those who are Greater Lovers of
Jesus Christ.
St. Gregory explains this next characteristic of char­
ity in saying, that as charity despises all earthly great­
ness, it cannot possibly provoke her envy. “ She envieth
not, because, as she desireth nothing in this world, she
cannot envy earthly prosperity.” '
Hence we must distinguish two kinds of envy, one
evil and the other holy. The evil kind is that which
envies and repines at the worldly goods possessed by
others on this earth. But holy envy, so far from wish­
ing to be like, rather compassionates the great ones of
the world, who live in the midst of honors and earthly
pleasures. She seeks and desires God alone, and has no
other aim besides that of loving him as much as she can;
and therefore she has a pious envy of those who love him
more than she does, for she would, if possible, surpass
the very seraphim in loving him.
This is the sole end which pious souls have in view on
J

* “ ‘ Non æmulatur;’ quia, per hoc quod in præsenti mundo nihil
appetit, invidere terrenis successibus nescit.”—Mor. 1. io, c. 8.

324

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ,

earth—an end which so charms and ravishes the heart
of God with love, that it causes him to say; Thou hast
wounded My heart, My sister; My spouse, thou hast wounded
My heart with one of thy eyes.1* By “ one of thy eyes ” is
meant that one end which the espoused soul has in all
her devotions and thoughts, namely, to please Almighty
God. Men of the world look on things with many eyes,
that is, have several inordinate views in their actions;
as, for instance, to please others, to become honored, to
obtain riches, and if nothing else, at least to please them­
selves ; but the saints have but a single eye, with which
they keep in view, in all that they do, the sole pleasure
of God; and with David they say: What have J in heaven,
and besides Thee what do I desire upon earth
What do I
wish, O my God, in this world or in the next, save Thee
alone? Thou art my riches, Thou art the only Lord of
my heart. “Let the rich,” said St. Paulinus, “enjoy
their riches, let the kings enjoy their kingdoms, Thou.
O Christ, art my treasure and my kingdom!”34
And here we must remark, that we must not only per­
form good works, but we must perform them well. In
order that our works may be good and perfect, they
must be done with the sole end of pleasing God. This
was the admirable praise bestowed on Jesus Christ : He
hath done all things well.' Many actions may in them­
selves be praiseworthy, but from being performed for
some other purpose than for the glory of God, they are
often of little or no value in his sight. St. Mary Mag­
dalene of Pazzi said, “ God rewards our actions by the
1 “Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea Sponsa, vulnerasti cor meum
in uno oculorum tuorum.”—Cani. iv. 9. ,
* “ Quid enim mihi est in coelo ? et a te quid volui super terram ?...
Deus cordis mei, et pars mea. Deus, in æternum.”—Ps, Ixxii. 25, 26.
3 “ Sibi habeant divitias suas divites, sibi regna sua reges; nobis
gloria, et possessio, et regnum, Christus est.”—Ep. ad Apruni.
4 “ Bene omnia fecit.”—Mark, vii. 37.

■rrg

CHAP. III.]

Purity of Intention.

weight of pure intention.” ’ As much as to say, that ac­
cording as our intention is pure, so does the Lord accept
of and reward our actions. But, O God, how difficult it
is to find an action done solely for Thee ! I remember
a holy old man, a religious, who had labored much in the
service of God, and died in the reputation of sanctity ;
now one day, as he cast a glance back at his past life, he
said to me in a tone of sadness and fear, “Wo is me !
when I consider all the actions of my past life, I do not
find one done entirely for God.” Oh, this accursed selflove, that makes us lose all or the greater part of the
fruit of our good actions ! How many in their most
holy employments, as of preaching, hearing confess’ons,
giving missions, labor and exert themselves very much,
and gain little or nothing because they do not regard
God alone, but worldly honor, or self-interest, or the
vanity of making an appearance, or at least their own
inclination!
Our Lord has said, Take heed that you do not your justice
before men, to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a
reward of your Father who is in heaven? He that works
for his own gratification already receives his wages;
Amen I say to you, they have received their reward? But a
reward, indeed, which dwindles into a little smoke, or the
pleasure of a day that quickly vanishes, and confers no
benefit on the soul. The Prophet Aggeus says, that
whoever labors for anything else than to please God.
puts his reward in a sack full of holes, which, when he
comes to open, he finds entirely empty: And he that hath
earned wages, put them into a bag with holes? And hence it
’ Pucc. p. I, ch. 58.
* “ Attendite ne justitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus, ut
videamini ab eis ; alioquin mercedem non habebitis apud Patrem
vestrum qui in coelis est."—Matt. vi. 1.
3 “Arnen, dico vobis, receperunt mercedem suam.”—Matt. vi. 5.
4“ Et qui mercedes congregavit, misit eas in sacculum pertusum.”
—<4gg- »· 6·

326

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

is that such persons, in the event of their not gaining the
object for which they entered on some undertaking, are
thrown into great trouble. This is a sign that they had
not in view the glory of God alone. He that undertakes
a thing solely for the glory of God, is not troubled at all,
though his undertaking may fail of success; for, in truth,
by working with a pure intention, he has already gained
his object, which was to please Almighty God.
The following are the signs which indicate whether we
work solely for God in any spiritual undertaking, i. If
we are not disturbed at the failure of our plans, because
when we see it is not God’s will, neither is it any longer
our will. 2. If we rejoice at the good done by others, as
heartily as if we ourselves had done it. 3. If we have no
preference for one charge more than for another, but will­
ingly accept that which obedience to Superiors enjoins
us. 4. If after our actions we do not seek the thanks or
approbation of others, nor are in any way affected if we
be found fault with or scolded, being satisfied with hav­
ing pleased God. And if when the world applauds us
we are not puffed up, but meet the vain glory, which
might make itself felt, with the reply of the venerable
John of Avila : “ Get away, thou comest too late, for all
has been already given to God.”
This is to enter into the joy of the Lord; that is, to
enjoy the enjoyment of God, as is promised to his faith­
ful servants: Well done, thou good and faithful servant;
because thou hast been faithful over a few things, , . . . enter
thou into the joy of thy Lord} And if it falls to our lot to
do something pleasing to God, what more, asks St. John
Chrysostom, can we desire ? “If thou art found worthy
to perform something that pleases God, dost thou seek
other recompense than this ?”3 The greatest reward, the
1 “ Euge, serve bone et fidelis ; quia super pauca fuisti fidelis, super
multa te constituam ; intra in gaudium Domini tui.”—Matt. xxv. 21.
s “ Si dignus fueris agere aliquid quod Deo placet, aliam, præter
-id, mercedem requiris?”—De Compunct. 1. 2.

chap,

in.]

Purity of Intention,

327

brightest fortune, that can befall a creature, is to give
pleasure to his Creator.
/\nd this is what Jesus Christ looks for from a soul
that loves him : Put me, he says, as a seat upon thy heart, as
a seal upon thy arm' He desires us to place him as a seal
on our heart and on our arm: on our heart, in order that
whatever we intend doing, we may intend solely for the
love of God; on our arm, in order that whatever we do,
all may be done to please God; so that God may be
always the sole end of all our thoughts and of all our
actions. St. Teresa said, that he who would become a
saint must live free from every other desire than that of
pleasing God; and her first daughter, the Venerable
Beatrice of the Incarnation, said, “ No sum whatever
could repay the slightest thing done for God.”2 And
with reason; for all things done to please God are acts
of charity which unite us to God, and obtain for us ever­
lasting rewards.
Purity of intention is called the heavenly alchemy by
which iron is turned into gold ; that is to say, the most
trivial actions (such as to work, to take one’s meals, to
take recreation or repose), when done for God, become
the gold of holy love. Wherefore St. Mary Magdalene
of Pazzi believes for certain that those who do all with a
pure intention, go straight to Paradise, without passing
through purgatory. It is related (in the Spiritual Tretsury) that it was the custom of a pious hermit, before set­
ting about any work, to pause a little, and lift his eyes
to heaven; on being questioned why he did so, he re­
plied, “ I am taking my aim.” By which he meant, that
as the archer, before shooting his arrow, takes his aim,
that he may not miss the mark, so before each action he
made God his aim, in order that it might be sure of pleas'“Pone me ut signaculum super cor tuum, ut signaculum super
brachium tuum.”—Cant. viii. 6.
2 Found, ch. 12.

328

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ,

ing him. We should do the same ; and even during the
performance of our actions, it is very good for us from
time to time to renew our good intention.
Those who have nothing else in view in their under­
takings than the divine will, enjoy that holy liberty of
spirit which belongs to the children of God; and this
enables them to embrace everything that pleases Jesus
Christ, however revolting it may be <0 their own self-love
or human respect. The love of Jesus Christ establishes
his lovers in a state of total indifference; so that all is
the same to them, be it sweet or bitter; they desire noth­
ing for their own pleasure, but all for the pleasure of
God. With the same feelings of peace, they address
themselves to small and great works; to the pleasant
and the unpleasant: it is enough for them if they please
God.
Many, on the other hand, are willing to serve God, but
it must be in such an employment, in such a place, with
such companions, or under such circumstances, or else
they either quit the work, or do it with an ill-will. Such
persons have not freedom of spirit, but are slaves of selflove; and on that account gain very little merit by what
they do ; they lead a troubled life, because the yoke of
Jesus Christ becomes a burden to them. The true lovers
of Jesus Christ care only to do what pleases him; and
for the reason that it pleases him, when he wills, and
where he wills, and in the manner he wills: and whether
he wishes to employ them in a state of life honored by
the world, or in a life of obscurity and insignificance.
This is what is meant by loving Jesus Christ with a pure
love; and in this we ought to exercise ourselves, battling
against the craving of our self-love, which'would urge
us to seek important and honorable functions, and such
as suit our inclinations.
We must, moreover, be detached from all exercises,
even spiritual ones, when the Lord wishes us to be occu-

CHAP. III.]

Purity of Intention.

/

329

pied in other works of his good pleasure. One day,
Father Alvarez, finding himself overwhelmed with busi­
ness, was anxious to get rid of it, in order to go and
pray, because it seemed to him that during that time he
was not with God; but our Lord then said to him:
44 Though I do not keep thee with me, let it suffice thee
that I make use of thee.” 1 This is a profitable lesson
for those who are sometimes disturbed at being obliged,
by obedience or by charity, to leave their accustomed
devotions; let them be assured that such disturbances
on like occasions do not come from God, but either from
the devil or from self-love. “ Give pleasure to Goduand
die.” This is the grand maxim of the saints.
Affections and Prayers.

O my Eternal God, I offer Thee my whole heart ; but what
sort of heart, O God, is it that I offer Thee ? A heart, created,
indeed, to love Thee ; but which, instead of loving Thee, has so
many times rebelled against Thee. But behold, my Jesus, if
there was a time when my heart rebelled against Thee, now it is
deeply grieved and penitent for the displeasure it has given
Thee. Yes, my dear Redeemer, I am sorry for having despised
Thee ; and I am determined to do all to obey Thee, and to love
Thee at every cost. Oh, draw me wholly to Thy love; do this
for the sake of the love which made Thee die for me on the
cross. I love Thee, my Jesus; I love Thee with all my soul ;
I love Thee more than myself, O true and only lover of my soul ;
for I find none but Thee who have sacrificed their life for me.
I weep to think that I have been so ungrateful to Thee. Un­
happy that I am ! I was already lost; but I trust that by Thy
grace Thou hast restored me to life. And this shall be my life,
to love Thee always, my sovereign good. Make me love Thee,
O infinite love, and I ask Thee for nothing more !
O Mary my mother, accept of me for thy servant, and gain
acceptance for me with Jesus thy Son.
1 Life, ch. 2.

330

Practice of the Love offesus Christ

CHAPTER IV.
CHARITY DEALETH NOT PERVERSELY.

(Charitas non agit perperam )

He that loves Jesus Christ avoids Lukewarmness, and seeks
Perfection; the Means of which are: I. Desire; 2. Reso­
lution ; 3. Mental Prayer ; 4. Communion ; 5. Prayer.
St. Gregory, in his explanation of these words,
“dealeth not perversely,” says that charity, giving her­
self up‘ more and more to the love of1 God,
ignores
o
whatever is not right and holy.
*
The Apostle had
already written to the same effect, when he calls charity a
bond that unites the most perfect virtues together in the
soul. Have charity, which is the bond of perfection} And
whereas charity delights in perfection, she consequently
abhors that lukewarmness with which some persons
serve God, to the great risk of losing-charity, divine
grace, their very soul, and their all.
I.

Lukewarmness.
It must be observed that there are two kinds of
tepidity or lukewarmness : the one unavoidable, the
other avoidable.
ê
I.—From the lukewarmness that is unavoidable, the
saints themselves are not exempt; and this comprises all
the failings that are committed by us without full con­
sent,'J
but merely from our natural frailtv.
Such 9 are, for
*
example, distractions at prayers, interior disquietudes,
useless words, vain curiosity, the wish to appear, tastes
f

W

I

.

i

M

r

·· \

'4

/

· 9 \

I

1 “ Non agit perperam. Quia (charitas). quæ se in solum Dei am­
orem dilatat, quidquid a rectitudine discrepat, ignorat.”—Mor. 1. 10,
c. 8.
S
‘ “ Charitatem habete, quod est vinculum perfectionis.”—Coi. iit
14·

CHAP. IV.]

L u kewa rm n ess.

33t

in eating and drinking, the movements of concupiscence
not instantly repressed, and such like. We ought to
avoid these defects as much as we possibly can; but, ow­
ing to the weakness of our nature, caused by the infec­
tion of sin, it is impossible to avoid them altogether.
We ought, indeed, to detest them after committing them,
because they are displeasing to God ; but, as we re­
marked in the preceding chapter, we ought to beware of
making them a subject of alarm or disquietude. St.
Francis de Sales writes as follows: “All such thoughts
as create disquietude are not from God, who is the prince
of peace; but they proceed always from the devil, or from
self-love, or from the good opinion which we have of
ourselves.”1 Such thoughts, therefore, as disturb us,
must be straightway rejected, and made no account of.
It was said also by the same saint, with regard to in­
deliberate faults, that as they were involuntarily com­
mitted, so are they cancelled involuntarily. An act of
sorrow, an act of love, is sufficient to cancel them. The
Venerable Sister Mary Crucified, a Benedictine nun, saw
once a globe of fire, on which a number of straws were
cast, and were all forthwith reduced to ashes. She wa's
given to understand by this figure that one act of divine
love, made with fervor, destroys all the defects that we
may have in our soul. The same effect is produced by
the holy Communion; according to what we find in the
Council of Trent, where the Eucharist is called “an an­
tidote by which we are freed from daily faults.”’ Thus
the like faults, though they are indeed faults, do not
hinder perfection—that is, our advancing toward perfec­
tion; because in the present lite no one attains perfec­
tion before he arrives at the kingdom of the blessed.
II. The tepidity, then, that does hinder perfection is
that tepidity which is avoidable when a person commits
1 Lettre 51.
» “ Antidotinn, quo liberemur a culpis quotidianis.”

332

Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.

deliberate venial faults; because all these faults com­
mitted with open eyes can effectually be avoided by the
divine grace, even in the present life. Wherefore St.
Teresa said: “ May God deliver you from deliberate sin,
however small it may be.”12 Such, for example, are wil­
ful untruths, little detractions, imprecations, expressions
of anger, derisions of one’s neighbor, cutting words,
speeches of self-esteem, animosities nourished in the
heart, inordinate attachments to persons of a different
sex. “ These are a sort of worm” (wrote the same saint)
“which is not detected before it has eaten into the vir­
tues.”34 Hence, in another place, the saint gave this ad­
monition: “ By means of small things the devil goes
about making holes for great things to enter.”’
We should therefore tremble at such deliberate faults;
since they cause God to close his hands from bestowing
upon us his clearer lights and stronger helps, and they de­
prive us of spiritual sweetnesses; and the result of them
is to make the soul perform all spiritual exercises with
great weariness and pain; and so, in course of time, she
begins to leave off prayer, Communions, visits to the
Blessed Sacrament, and novenas; and, in fine, she will
probably leave off all, as has not unfrequently been the
case with many unhappy souls.
This is the meaning of that threat which our Lord
makes to the tepid: Thou art neither cold nor hot; I would
thou wert cold or hot: but because thou art lukewarm ... I
will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth? How wonderful !
He says, I would thou wert cold ! What ! and is it better
to be cold, that is, deprived of grace, than to be tepid ?
1 Way of Perf. ch. 42.
2 Inter. Castle, ch. 3.
3 Found, ch. 29.
4 “Neque frigidus es, neque calidus; utinam frigidus esses, aut cali­
dus ! sed, quia tepidus es, . . . incipiam te evomere.”—Apoc. iii.
15. 16.

CHAP. IV.]

L tt kewarm n ess.

333

Yes, in a certain sense it is better to be cold; because a
person who is cold may more easily change his life, being
stung by the reproaches of conscience; whereas a tepid
person contracts the habit of slumbering on in his faults,
without bestowing a thought, or taking any trouble to
correct himself; and thus he makes his cure, as it were,
desperate.
St. Gregory says, “Tepidity, which has
cooled down from fervor, is a hopeless state.”1 The
Ven. Father Louis da Ponte said that he had committed
many defects in the course of his life; but that he never
had made a truce with his faults. Some there are who
shake hands with their faults, and from that springs
their ruin; especially when the fault is accompanied with
some passionate attachment of self-esteem, of ambition,
of liking to be seen, of heaping up money, of resentment
against a neighbor, or of inordinate affection for a per­
son of different sex. In such cases there is great danger
of those hairs, as it were, becoming chains, as St. Francis
of Assisi said, which will drag down the soul to hell. At
all events, such a soul will never become a saint, and will
forfeit that beautiful crown, which God had prepared
for her, had she faithfully corresponded to grace. The
bird no sooner feels itself loosed from the snare than it
immediately flies; the soul, as soon as she is loosed from
earthly attachments, immediately flies lo God; but while
she is bound, though it be but by the slightest thread, it
is enough to prevent her from flying to God. Oh, how
many spiritual persons there are who do not become
saints, because they will not do themselves the violence
to break away from certain little attachments !
All the evil arises from the little love they have for
Tesus Christ. Those who are puffed up with self-esteem;
those who frequently take to heart occurrences that fall
out contrary to their wishes; who practise great indul1 “Tepor (quia fervore defecit) in desperatione est.”—Past. p. 3,
adni. 35.

334

Practice of thé Love ofJesus Christ.

gence towards themselves on account of their health;
who keep their heart open to external objects, and
the mind always distracted, with an eagerness to listen
to, and to know, so many things that have nothing to do
with the service of God, but merely serve to gratify pri­
vate curiosity; who are ready to resent every little inat­
tention from others, and consequently are often troubled,
and grow remiss in prayer and recollection. One moment
they are all devotion and joy, the next all impatience
and melancholy, just as things happen, according to or
against their humor; all such persons do not love Jesus
Christ, or love him very little, and cast discredit on true
devotion.
But suppose any one should find himself sunk in this
unhappy state of tepidity, what has he to do? Cer­
tainly it is a hard thing for a soul grown lukewarm to
resume her ancient fervor; but our Lord has said, that
what man cannot do, God can very well do. The things
that are impossible with man, are possible with God) Who­
ever prays and employs the means is sure to accomplish
his desire.

II.
Remedies against Lukewarmness.
The means to castoff tepidity, and to tread in the path
of perfection, are five in number: i. The desire of per­
fection; 2. The resolution to attain it; 3. Mental prayer;
4. Frequent Holy Communion; 5. Prayer.
I.

Desire of Perfection.

The first means, then, is the desire of perfection. Pious
desires are the wings which lift us up from earth; for, as
aurence Justinian says, desire “suppl ies strength,
1 “ Quæ impossibilia sunt apud homines, possibilia sunt apud Deum."
—Luke, xviii. 27.

chap,

iv.]

Remedies against Lukewarmness.

and renders pain more light:” 1 on the one hand it gives
strength to walk towards perfection, and on the other
hand it lightens the fatigue of the journey. lie who has
a real desire of perfection fails not to advance continu­
ally towards it; and so advancing, he must finally arrive
at it. On the contrary, he who has not the desire of per­
fection will always go backwards, and always find him­
self more imperfect than before. St. Augustine says,
that “not to go forward in the way of God is to go
backward.” 3 He that makes no efforts to advance will
find himself carried backward by the current of his cor­
rupt nature.
They, then, who say “ God does not wish us all to be
saints” make a great mistake. Yes, for St. Paul says,
This is the Will of God, your sanctification.' God wishes
all to be saints, and each one according to his state of
life: the religious as a religious; the secular as a secular;
the priest as a priest; the married as married; the man
of business as a man of business; the soldier as a soldier;
and so of every other state of life.
Most beautiful, indeed, are the instructions which my
great patroness St. Teresa gives on this subject. She
says, in one place, “Let us enlarge our thoughts; for
hence we shall derive immense good.” Elsewhere she
says: “We must beware of having poor desires; but
rather put our confidence in God, in order that, by forc­
ing ourselves continually onwards, we may by degrees
arrive where, by the divine grace, so many saints have
arrived.”4 And in confirmation of this she quoted her
own experience, having known how courageous souls
make considerable progress in a short period of time.
Vires subministrat, pœnam exhibet leviorem.”—De Disc. mon.

2 “ Non progredi, jam reverti est.”—Ep. 17, E. B.app.
3 “ Hæc est voluntas Dei, sanctificatio vestra.”—1 Thess. iv. 3.

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.
“ Because,” said she, “ the Lord takes as much delight
in our desires, as if they were put into execution.” In
another place she says: “Almighty God does not confer
extraordinary favors, except where his love has been
earnestly sought after.” 1 Again, in another passage,
she remarks: “God does not fail to repay every good
desire even in this life,2 for he is the friend of generous
souls, provided only they do not trust in themselves.” 3
I EL·
·
This saint herself was endowed with just such a spirit of
generosity ; so that she once even said to our Lord,
that were she to behold others in paradise enjoying
him more than herself, she should not care; but were
she to behold any one loving him more than she should
love him, this she declared she knew not how she could
end u re.4
We must, therefore, have a great courage: The Lord
is good to the soul that seeketh him.
*
God is surpassingly
good and liberal towards a soul that heartily seeks him.
Neither can past sins prove a hindrance to our becoming
saints, if we only have the sincere desire to become so.
St. Teresa remarks: “The devil strives to make us think
it pride to entertain lofty desires, and to wish to imitate
the saints; but it is of great service to encourage ourselves
with the desire of great things, because, although the
soul has not all at once the necessary strength, yet she
nevertheless makes a bold fight, and rapidly advances.”0
The Apostle writes: To them that love God, all things
work together unto good.' And the gloss or ancient com­
mentary adds “even sins;”0 even past sins can contrib­
1
3
5
6
1
28.
8

Way of Perf. ch. 35.
3 Life, ch. 4.
Life. ch. 13.
« Rib. 1. 4, c. to.
“ Bonus est Dominus . . . animæquærenti illum.”—Lam. iii. 25.
Life, ch. 13.
“ Diligentibus Deum omnia cooperantur in bonum.”—Rom. viii.
“ Etiam peccata.”

chap,

iv.] Remedies against. Lukewarmness.

ute to our sanctification, inasmuch as the recollection
of them keeps us more humble, and more grateful,
when we witness the favors which God lavishes upon us,
after all our outrages against him. I arn capable of
nothing (the sinner should say), nor do I deserve any­
thing; I deserve nothing but hell; but I have to deal
with a God of infinite bounty, who has promised to listen
to all that pray to him. Now, as he has rescued me from
a state of damnation, and wishes me to become holy, and
now proffers me his help, I can certainly become a saint,
not by my own strength, but by the grace of my God,
who strengthens me : I can do all things in Him that
strengtheneth me.' When, therefore, we have once good
desires, we must take courage, and trusting in God, en­
deavor to put them in execution; but if afterwards we
encounter any obstacle in our spiritual enterprises, let us
repose quietly on the will of God. God’s will must be
preferred before every good desire of our own. St. Mary
Magdalene of Pazzi would sooner have remained void of
all perfection than possess it without the will of God.

2. Resolution.
The second means of perfection is the resolution to
belong wholly to God. Many are called to perfection;
they are urged on towards it by grace, they conceive a
desire of it ; but because they never really resolve to
acquire it, they live and die in the ill-odor of their tepid
and imperfect life.
The desire of perfection is not
enough, if it be not followed up bv a stern resolve to
attain it. How many souls feed themselves on desires
alone, but never make withal one step in the way of God !
It is of such desires that the wise man speaks when
he says : Desires kill the slothful.1 The slothful man is
ever desiring, but never resolves to take the means suitO'

1 “Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat.’’—Phil. iv. 13.
rov. xxi. 25.
2 “ Desideria occidunt pigrum.

22

Illi

I
338

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

able to his state of life to become a saint. He says:
“Oh, if I were but in solitude, and not in this house!
Oh, if I could but go and reside in another monastery, I
would give myself entirely up to God !” And mean­
while he cannot support a certain companion; he cannot
put up with a word of contradiction; he is dissipated
about many useless cares; he commits a thousand faults
of gluttony, of curiosity, and of pride; and yet he sighs
out to the wind: “ Oh, if I had but !” or “ Oh, if I could
but!" etc. Such desires do more harm than good; be­
cause some regale themselves upon them, and in the
meantime go on leading a life of imperfection. It was a
saying of St. Francis de Sales: “I do not approve of a
person who, being engaged in some duty or vocation,
stops to sigh for some other kind of life than is compati­
ble with his actual position, or for other exercises un­
fitted for his present state; for it merely serves to dissi­
pate his heart, and makes him languish in his necessary
d uties.” 1*
We must, therefore, desire perfection, and resolutely
take the means towards it. St. Teresa says: “God only
looks for one resolution on our part, and will afterwards
do all the rest himself:3 the devil has no fear of irresolute
souls.”3 For this reason mental prayer must be used,
in order to take the means which lead to perfection. Some
make much prayer, but never come to a practical con­
clusion. The same saint said: “I would rather have a
short prayer, which produces great fruits, than a prayer
of many years, wherein a soul never gets further than
resolving to do something worthy of Almighty God.”*
And elsewhere she says: “ I have learned by experience
that whoever, at the beginning, brings himself to the
resolution of doing some great work, however difficult it
1 liitrod. ch. 37.
3 JFiry of Perf. ch. 24..

3 Found, ch. 28.
4 Life, ch. 39.

chap.

IV.] Remedies against Lukewarmness,

339

may be, if he does so to please God, he has no reason to
be afraid.”
The first resolution must be to make every effort, and
to die rather than commit any deliberate sin whatever,
however small it mav be. It is true that all our endeavors, without the divine assistance, cannot enable us to
vanquish temptations; but God wishes us on our part fre­
quently to use this violence with ourselves, because then
he will afterwards supply us with his grace, will succor
our weakness, and enable us to gain the victory. This
resolution removes from us every obstacle to our going
forward, and at the same time gives us great courage,
because it affords us an assurance of being in the grace
of God. St. Francis de Sales writes: “ The best security
we can possess in this world of being in the grace of God,
consists not indeed in feeling that we have his love, but
in a pure and irrevocable abandonment of our entire
being into his hands, and in the firm resolution of never
consenting to any sin, either great or small.”1 This is
what is meant by being of a delicate conscience. Be it
observed, that it is one thing to be of a delicate con­
science, and another to be of a scrupulous conscience.
To be of a delicate conscience is requisite to become a
saint; but to be scrupulous is a defect, and does harm;
and on this account we must obey our directors, and rise
above scruples, which are nothing else but vain and un­
reasonable alarms.
Hence it is necessary to resolve on choosing the best,
not only what is agreeable to God, but what is most
agreeable to him, without any reserve. St. Francis de
Sales says: “We must start with a strong and constant
resolution to give ourselves wholly to God, and protest
to him that for the future we wish to be his without any
reserve, and then we must afterwards often renew this
*

1 Spirit, ch. 9.

340

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

same resolution.”’ St. Andrew Avellini made a vow to
advance daily in perfection. It is not necessary for every
one who wishes to become a saint to make it the matter
of a vow; but he must endeavor every day to make some
steps forward in perfection. St. Laurence Justinian has
written: ‘‘When a person is really making way, he feels
in himself a continual desire of advancing; and the more
he improves in perfection, the more this desire increases;
because as his interior light increases each day more
and more, he seems to himself always to be wanting in
every virtue, and to be doing no good at all; and if, per­
chance, he is aware of some good he does, it always ap­
pears to him very imperfect, and he makes small account
of it. The consequence is, he is continually laboring to
acquire perfection without ever feeling wearied.”
And we must begin quickly, and not wait for the mor­
row. Who knows whether we shall afterwards find time
or not ! Ecclesiastes counsels us: Whatsoever thy hand is
able to do, do it earnestly.’ What thou canst do, do it
quickly, and defer it not; and he adduces the reason
why: For neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowl­
edge shall be in hell, whither thou art hastening? Because in
the next life there is no more time to work, nor free­
will to merit, nor prudence to do well, nor wisdom or
experience to take good counsel by, for after death what
is done is done.
A nun of the convent of Torre de Specchi in Rome,
whose name was Sister Bonaventura, led a very luke­
warm sort of life. There came a religious, Father Lancicius, to give the spiritual exercises to the nuns, and
Sister Bonaventura, feeling no inclination to shake off
1 Love of God, B. 12, ch. 8.
' “ Quodcumque facere potest manus tua, instanter operare.”—
Eccles, ix. 10.
3 “ Quia nec opus, nec ratio, nec sapientia nec scientia, erunt apud
inferos, quo tu properas.”—Ibid.

chap,

iv.i Remedies against'Lukewarmness.

341

her tepidity, began to listen to the exercises with no good
will. But at the very first sermon she was won by divine
grace, so that she immediately went to the feet of the
Father who preached, and said to him, with a tone of
real determination, “Father, I wish to become a saint,
and quickly a saint.” And, by the assistance of God,
she did so; for she lived only eight months after that
event, and during that short time she lived and died a
saint.
David said: And I said, now have I begun.' So likewise
exclaimed St. Charles Borromeo: “To-day I begin to
serve God.” And we should act in the same way as if
we had hitherto done no good whatever; for, indeed, all
that we do for God is nothing, since we are bound to do
it. Let us therefore each day resolve to begin afresh to
belong wholly to God. Neither let us stop to observe
what or how others do. They who become truly saints
are few. St. Bernard says: “ One cannot be perfect with­
out being singular.”’ If we would imitate the common
run of men, we should always remain imperfect, as for
the most part they are. We must overcome all, renounce
all, in order to gain all. St. Teresa said: “ Because we
do not come to the conclusion of giving all our affection
to God, so neither does he give all his love to us.” 3 Oh,
God, how little is all that is given to Jesus Christ, who
has given his blood and his life for us ! “ However much
we give,” says the same saint, “is but dirt, in compari­
son of one single drop of blood shed for us by our
Blessed Lord.”4 The saints know not how to spare
themselves, when there is a question of pleasing a God
who gave himself wholly, without reserve, on purpose to
oblige us to deny him nothing. St. John Chrysostom
1
2
3
4

“Etdixi: Nunc coepi.”—Ps. Ixxvi. u.
“ Perfectum esse non potest nisi singulare.”
Life, ch. it.
Ibid, ch 39.

342

Practice of the Love oj Jesus Christ.

wrote: “ He gave all to thee, and kept nothing for him­
self.”1 God has bestowed his entire self upon thee;
there is, then, no excuse for thee to behave reservedly
with God. He has even.died for us all, says the Apostle,
in order that each one of us may live only for him who
died for us: Christ died for all; that they also who live may
not now live to themselves, but unto Him who died for them?

3. Mental Prayer.
The third means of becoming a saint is mental prayer.
John Gerson writes:3 “That he who does not meditate
on the eternal truths cannot, without a miracle, lead the
life of a Christian. The reason is, because without men­
tal prayer light fails us, and we walk in the dark. The
truths of faith are not seen by the eyes of the body, but by
the eves
of the mind,
when we meditate; he that fails to
y
7
meditate on them, fails to see them, and therefore walks in
the dark; and being in the dark, he easily grows attached
to sensible things, for the sake of which he then comes to
despise the eternal.” St. Teresa wrote as follows to the
Bishop of Osma: “ Although we seem to discover in our­
selves no imperfections; yet, when God opens the eyes of
the soul, which he is wont to do in prayer, then they plainly
appear.”4 And St. Bernard had before said, that he who
does not meditate “does not abhor himself, merely be­
cause he does not know himself.” 6 “Prayer,” says the
saint, “ regulates the affections, directs the actions,” 6
keeps the affections of the soul in order, and directs all
our actions to God; but without prayer the affections
a 4

’

/

” ft H

·

1 “Totum tibi dedit, nihil sibi reliquit.”
5 “Pro omnibus mortuus est Christus, ut et qui vivunt, jam non
sibi vivant, sed ei qui pro ipsis mortuus est.”—2 Cor. v. 15.
3 De Med. cons. 7.
4 Lettre 8.
* “ Seipsum non exhorret, quia nec sentit.”—De Cons. 1. i, c. 2,
* “Consideratio regit affectus, dirigit actus.”—Ibid. c. 7.

chap.

IV.] Remedies against Lukewarmness.

343

become attached to the earth, the actionsconform themselves to the affections, and in this manner all runs into
disorder.
We read of an awful example of this in the life of the
Venerable Sister Mary Crucified of Sicily. Whilst this
servant of God was praying, she heard a devil making a
boast that he had succeeded in withdrawing a religious
from the community-prayer; and she saw in spirit, that
after this omission the devil tempted her to consent to a
grievous sin, and that she was on the point of yielding.
She forthwith accosted her, and by a timely admonition
prevented her from falling. Abbé Dioclès said, that
whoever leaves off prayer “very shortly becomes either
a beast or a devil.” 1
He therefore that leaves off prayer will leave off lov­
ing Jesus Christ. Prayer is the blessed furnace in which
the fire of holy love is enkindled and kept alive: And in
my meditation a fire shall flame out? It was said by St.
Catharine of Bologna: “ The person that foregoes the
practice of prayer cuts that string which binds the soul
to God.” It follows that the devil,/ finding
o the soul cold
in divine love, will have little difficulty in inducing her
to partake of some poisonous fruit or other. St. Teresa
said, on the contrary, “Whosoever perseveres in prayer,
let him hold for a certainty, that with however many
sins the devil may surround him, the Lord will eventu­
ally bring him into the haven of salvation.” 3 In another
place she says, “ Whoever halts not in the way of prayer
arrives sooner or later.”4 And elsewhere she writes,
“ that it is on this account that the devil labors so hard
to withdraw souls from prayer, because he well knows
that he has missed gaining those who faithfully perse1 Pall. Hist. laus. c. 98.
s “ In meditatione mea exardescet ignis.”—xxxviii. 4.
8 Life. ch. 8.
4 Ibid. ch. 19.

344

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ,

vere in prayer.” Oh, how great are the benefits that flow
from prayer! In prayer we conceive holy thoughts, we
practise devout affections, we excite great desires, and
form efficacious resolutions to give ourselves wholly to
God; and thus the soul is led for his sake to sacrifice
earthly pleasures and all disorderly appetites. It was
said by St. Aloysius Gonzaga: “ There will never be
much perfection without much prayer.” Let him who
longs for perfection mark well this notable saying of the
saint.
We should not go to prayer in order to taste the
sweetness of divine love; whoever prays from such a
motive will lose his time, or at least derive little advan­
tage from it. A person should begin to pray solely to
please God, that is, solely to learn what the will of God
is in his regard, and to beg of him the help to put it in
practice. The Venerable Father Antony Torres said:
“To carry the cross without consolation makes souls fly
to perfection. Prayer unattended with sensible consola­
tions confers greater fruit on the soul. But pitiable is
the poor soul that leaves off prayer, because she finds no
relish in it.” St. Teresa said: “When a soul leaves off
prayer, it is as if she cast herself into hell without any
need of devils.”1
It results, too, from the practice of prayer, that a per­
son constantly thinks of God. “ The true lover” (says
St. Teresa) “ is ever mindful of the beloved one. And
hence it follows that persons of prayer are always speak­
ing of God, knowing, as they do, how pleasing it is to
God that his lovers should delight in conversing about
him, and on the love he bears them, and that thus they
should endeavor to enkindle it in others.” 3 The same
saint wrote: “Jesus Christ is always found present at
the conversations of the servants of God, and he is very
much gratified to be the subject of their delight.”*
1 Life, ch. ig.

5 Found, ch. 5.

» Life, ch. 34.

GHAP. iv.]

Remedies against Lukewarmness.

345

Prayer, again, creates that desire of retiring into soli­
tude in order to converse alone with God, and to main­
tain interior recollection in the discharge of necessary
external duties ; I say necessary, such as the management
of one’s family, or of the performance of duties required
of us by obedience; because a person of prayer must
love solitude, and avoid dissipation in superfluous and
useless affairs, otherwise he will lose the spirit of recol­
lection, which is a great means of preserving union with
God: My sister, my sporise is a garden enclosed.1 The
soul espoused to Jesus Christ must be a garden closed
against all creatures, and must not admit into her heart
other thoughts, nor other business, but those of God or
for God. Hearts thrown open never become saints. The
saints, who have to labor in gaining souls to God, do not
lose their recollection in the midst of all their labors,
either of preaching, confessing, reconciling enemies, or
assisting the sick. The same rule holds good with those
who have to apply to study. How many from excessive
study, and a desire to become learned, become neither
holy nor learned, because true learning consists in the
science of the saints; that is to say, in knowing how to
love Jesus Christ; whereas, on the contrary, divine love
brings with it knowledge and every good: All good things
came to me together with her,2 that is, with holy charity.
Saint John Berchmans had an extraordinary love for
study, but by his great virtue he never allowed study to
interfere with his spiritual interests. The Apostle ex­
horts us: Not to be more wise than it behooveth to be
wise, but to be wise unto sobriety.3 A priest especially
must have knowledge; he must know things, because he
1 “Hortus conclusus, soror mea sponsa.”—Cant. iv. 12.
2 "Venerunt autem mihi omnia bona pariter cum illa.”—IVisd.
vii. H.
3 "Non plus sapere, quam oportet sapere, sed sapere ad sobrieta­
tem.”—Ront. xii. 3.

340

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

lias to instruct others in the divine law: For the lips of
the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at
his mouth) He must have knowledge, but unto sobriety.
He that leaves prayer for study shows that in his study
he seeks himself, and not God. He that seeks God
leaves study (if it be not absolutely necessary), in order
not to omit prayer.
Besides, the greatest evil is, that without mental
prayer we do not pray at all. I have spoken frequently
in my spiritual works of the necessity of prayer, and
more especially in a little volume entitled, On Prayer,
the great Means, etc.; and in the present chapter also I will
briefly say a few other things. It will be sufficient then
to quote here the opinion of the Venerable Palafox,
Bishop of Osma, in his remarks on the letters of St.
Teresa: “How can charity last, unless God grant us
perseverance ? How will the Lord grant us perse­
verance unless we ask it of him ? And how w shall we ask
it of him except by prayer? Without prayer there is no
communication with God for the preservation of vir­
tue.”2 And so it is, because he that neglects mental
prayer sees very little into the wants of his soul, he
knows little of the dangers of his salvation, of the means
to be used in order to overcome temptations; and so,
understanding little of the necessity of prayer, he leaves
off praying, and will certainly be lost.
Then as regards subjects for meditation, nothing is
more useful than to meditate on the Four Last Things
—death, judgment, hell, and heaven; but it is of especial
advantage to meditate on death, and to imagine our­
selves expiring on the bed of sickness, with the crucifix
in our hands, and on the point of entering into eternity.
But above all, to one that loves Jesus Christ, and is
J “ Labia enim sacerdotis custodient scientiam, et legem requirent
ex ore ejus."—Mal. ii. 7.
s Lettre 8.

CHAP IV.]

Remedies against Lukewarmness

347

anxious always to increase in his love, no consideration
is more efficacious than that of the Passion of the Re­
deemer. St. Francis de Sales calls “Mount Calvary the
mountain of lovers.” All the lovers of Jesus Christ love
to abide on this mountain, where no air is breathed but
the air of divine love. When we see a God dying for
our love, and dying in order to gain our love (He
loved us, and delivered Himself up for us1}, it is impos­
sible not to love him ardently. Such darts of love con­
tinually issue forth from the wounds of Christ crucified
as pierce even hearts of stone. Oh, happy is he who is
ever going during this life to the heights of Calvary! O
blessed Mount ! Q lovely Mount ! O beloved Mount ! and
who shall ever leave thee more ! A Mount that sends
forth flames to enkindle the souls that perscveringly abide
upon thee !
4. Frequent Communion.

The fourth means of perfection, and even of perse­
verance in the grace of God, is frequently to receive the
Holy Communion, of which we have already spoken in
the Introduction, §11., page 275, where we affirmed that a
soul can do nothing more pleasing to Jesus Christ than
to receive him often in the Sacrament of the Altar. St.
Teresa said: “There is no better help to perfection than
frequent Communion: oh, how admirably does the Lord
bring such a soul to perfection!” And she adds, that,
ordinarily speaking, they who communicate most fre­
quently are found further advanced in perfection; and
that there is greater spirituality in those communities
where frequent Communion is the custom. For this
reason it is that, as we find declared in a decree of Pius X.,
in 1905, the holy Fathers have so highly extolled, and
so much promoted, the practice of frequent and even
of daily Communion. Holy Communion, as the Council
3 “Dilcxit nos ct tradidit semetipsum pro nobis.”—Eph. v. 2.

348

Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.

of Trent tells us, delivers us from daily faults, and pre­
serves us from mortal ones. St. Bernard asserts1 that
Communion represses the movements of anger and in­
continence, which are the two passions that most fre­
quently and most violently assail us. St. Thomas says,2
that Communion defeats the suggestions of the devil.
And finally, St. John Chrysostom says, that Communion
pours into our souls a great inclination to virtue, and a
promptitude to practise it ; and at the same time imparts
to us a great peace, by which the path of perfection is
made very sweet and easy to us. Besides, there is no
sacrament so capable of kindling the divine love in souls
as the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, in which Jesus
Christ bestows on us his whole self, in» order to unite us
all to himself by means of holy love. Wherefore the
Venerable Father John of Avila said: “Whoever deters
souls from frequent Communion does the work of the
devil.” Yes; for the devil has a great horror of this sac­
rament, from which souls derive immense strength to
advance in divine love.
*But a suitable preparation is most useful to communi­
cate well. The first preparation, or, in other terms, the
remote preparation, to derive the greatest profit from
frequent and daily Communion, is: 1. To keep free from
all deliberate affection to sin—that is, to sin committed,
as we say, with open eyes. 2. The practice of much
mental prayer. 3. The mortification of the senses and
of the passions.
“3. Although it is most expedient that those who com­
municate frequently or daily should be free from venial
sins, at least from such as are fully deliberate, and from
any affection thereto, nevertheless it is sufficient that they
be free from mortal sin, with the purpose of never sin­
ning mortally in future; and, if they have this sincere
purpose, it is impossible but that daily communicants
should gradually emancipate themselves from even venial
sins, and from all affection thereto.
1 In Cœria D. s. 1.

2 P. 3, q 79. a. 6.

chap,

iv.]

Remedies against Lukewarmness.

349

5. That the practice of frequent and daily Commun­
ion may be carried out with greater prudence and more
abundant merit, the confessor’s advice should be asked.
Confessors, however, are to be careful not to dissuade
any one from frequent and daily Communion, provided
that he is in a state of grace and approaches with a right
intention.”1 In the next place, the proximate preparation
for Communion is that which is made on the morning
itself of Communion, for which it is recommended to
make at least half an hour of mental prayer.
*
To reap also more abundant fruit from Communion,
we should make a fervent thanksgiving. Father John of
Avila said that the time after Communion is “a time to
gain treasures of graces.” St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi
used to say that no time can be more calculated to in­
flame us with divine love than the time immediately after
our Communion. And St. Teresa says: “After Com­
munion let us be careful not to lose so good an oppor­
tunity of negotiating with God. His divine majesty is
not accustomed to pay badly for his lodging, if he meets
with a good reception.”2
There are certain pusillanimous souls, who, on being
exhorted to communicate more frequently, reply: “But
I am not worthy.” But, do you not know, that the more
you refrain from Communion, the more unworthy you
become of it? Because, deprived of Holy Communion,
you will have less strength, and will commit many faults.
Well, then, obey your director, when he tells you to go:
venial faults do not forbid Holy Communion : besides,
among your failings, the greatest would be not to obey
when your spiritual Father bids you communicate.
“But in my past life I was very bad.” And I reply,
that vou must know, that he who is weakest has most
need of the physician and of medicine. Jesus in the
Blessed Sacrament is our physician and medicine as well.
J

1 Decree of Pius X.

2 [Pay of Perfection, ch. 35.

35°

Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.

St. Ambrose said: “I, who am always sinning, have
always need of medicine.”1 You will then say, perhaps:
“But my confessor does not tell me to communicate
of tener.” If, then, he does not tell you to do so, ask his
advice. “It would seem to be pride.” It would be pride
if you should wish to communicate because you consider
yourself entirely worthy, or better than others. This
heavenly bread requires hunger. Jesus loves to be de­
sired, says a devout author: “He thirsts to be thirsted
for.”2 And what a thought is this: “To-day I have com­
municated, and to-morrow I have to communicate.” Oh,
how such a reflection keeps the soul attentive to avoid
all defects and to do the will of God ! “But I have no
devotion.” If you mean sensible devotion, it is not
necessary, neither does God always grant it even to his
most beloved souls. It is enough for you to have the
devotion of a will determined to belong wholly to God,
and to make progress in his divine love. John Gerson
says,3 that he who abstains from Communion because he
does not feel that devotion which he would like to feel,
acts like a man who does not approach the fire because
he does not feel warm,
t

“But why do so few souls approach the Divine Ban­
quet frequently or daily?
Some, unhappily, are prevented by mortal
separates them from Him who ‘is the life.’
good reason that they recognize themselves
of Holy Communion, since to communicate
state would be horrible sacrilege.

sin which
It is with
unworthy
in such a

1 “Qui semper pecco, semper debeo habere medicum.”—De
Sacrani I. 4, c. 6.
2 “Sitit sitiri Deus.”—Tetr. Sent. 37.
3 Sup. Magn. tr. 9, p. 3.

chap,

iv.j

Remedies against Lukewarmness.

Others live in grace; but, absorbed in the things of
earth, loving our Lord but little, they prefer to remain
in their tepidity, they do not desire to become more fer­
vent by approaching often, still less every day, to the
Flame of Love, which is Jesus Christ!
Others, in fine, love Him and would be happy to re­
ceive Him often, even daily, in the Sacrament, and ever
to increase in His love. But they dare not do so because
of certain prejudices and vain fears, which prevent
their approach to the Holy Table.” O timid, fearful
souls, why not despise these fears and prejudices, and
give heed to the voice of the Church?1
It will be found likewise to contribute very much to
keep fervor alive in the soul, often to make a spiritual
Communion, so much recommended by the Council of
Trent,2 which exhorts all the faithful to practise it. The
spiritual Communion, as St. Thomas says,3 consists in an
ardent desire to receive Jesus Christ in the Holy Sacra­
ment; and therefore the saints were careful to make it
several times in the day. The method of making it is
this: “My Jesus, I believe that Thou art really present
in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love Thee, and I desire
Thee ; come to my soul. I embrace Thee ; and I beseech
Thee never to allow me to be separated from Thee
again.” Or more briefly thus: “My Jesus, come to me;
I desire Thee; I embrace Thee; let us remain ever united
together.” This spiritual Communion may be practised
several times a day : when we make our prayer, when we
make our visit to the Blessed Sacrament, and especially
when we attend Mass at the moment of the priest’s Com­
munion. The Dominican Sister Blessed Angela of the
Cross said: “If my confessor had not taught me this
method of communicating spiritually several times a day,
I should not have trusted myself to live.”
5. Prayer.
The fifth and most necessary means for the spiritual
i S. Antoni, Vain Fears, pp. 10-11.
3 P. 3, q. 79, a. 1.

2 Sess. xiii. cap. 8.

352

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

life, and for obtaining the love of Jesus Christ, is prayer.
In the first place, I say that by this means God convinces
us of the great love he bears us. What greater proof of
affection can a person give to a friend than to say to him,
“My friend, ask anything you like of me, and I will give
it you?” Now, this is precisely what our Lord says to
us: Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and you shall find'
Wherefore prayer is called all-powerful with God to ob­
tain every blessing: “ Prayer, though it is one, can effect
all things,” as Theodoret says;3 whoever prays, obtains
from God whatever he chooses. The words of David are
beautiful : Blessed be God who hath not turned away my
prayer, nor his mercy from me.3 Commenting on this pas­
sage, St. Augustine says, “ As long as thou seest thyself
not failing in prayer, be assured that the divine mercy
will not fail thee either.” And St. John Chrysostom:
“We always obtain, even while we are still praying.”4
When we pray to God he grants us the grace we ask for,
even before we have ended our petition. If then we are
poor, let us blame only ourselves, since we are poor
merely because we wish to be poor, and so we are unde­
serving of pity. What sympathy can there be for a beg­
gar, who, having a very rich master, and one most desir­
ous to provide him with everything if he will only ask
for it, nevertheless chooses still to continue in his poverty
sooner than ask for what he wants ? “ Behold,” says the
Apostle, “our God is ready to enrich all who call upon
him:” Bich unto all that call upon Him P
Humble prayer, then, obtains all from God; but we
1 “ Petite, et dabitur vobis; quærite, et invenietis.”—Matt. vii. 7.
'l *“ 3Oratio
4 5 cum sit una omnia potest.”—Ap. Rodr. p. 1, tr. 5, c. 14;
Wisd. vii. 27.
3 “ Benedictus Deus, qui non amovit orationem meam et misericor­
diam suam a me."—Ps. Ixv. 20.
4 “Semper obtinemus, etiam dum adhuc oramus.”
5 “ Dives in omnibus qui invocant illum.”—Rom. x. 12.

chap,

iv.]

Remedies against Lukewarmness.

353

must be persuaded at the same time, that if it be useful,
it is no less necessary for our salvation. It is certain
that we absolutely require the divine assistance, in order
to overcome temptations ; and sometimes, in certain
more violent assaults, the sufficient grace which God
gives to all, might possibly enable us to resist them; but
on account of our inclination to evil, it will not ordina­
rily be sufficient, and we shall stand in need of a special
grace. Whoever prays obtains this grace; but whoever
prays not, obtains it not, and is lost. And this is more
especially the case with regard to the grace of final per­
severance, of dying in the grace of God, which is the grace
absolutely necessary for our salvation, and without
which we should be lost forever. St. Augustine1 says
of this grace, that God only bestows it on those who
pray. And this is the reason why so few are saved, be­
cause few indeed are mindful to beg of God this grace
of perseverance.
In fine, the holy Fathers say, that prayer is necessary
for us, not merely as a necessity of precept (so that divines
say, that he who neglects for a month to recommend to
God the affair of his salvation is not exempt from mortal
sin), but also as a necessity of means, which is as much as
to say, that whoever does not pray cannot possibly be
saved. And the reason of it is, in short, because we can­
not obtain eternal salvation without the help of divine
grace, and this grace Almighty God only accords to
those who pray. And because temptations, and the
dangers of falling into God’s displeasure, continually be­
set us, so ought our prayers to be continual. Hence St.
Thomas declares that continual prayer is necessary for a
man to save himself: “Unceasing prayer is necessary to
man, that he may enter heaven.’’2 And Jesus Christ
1 De Dono pers. c. 16.
2 “ Necessaria est homini jugis oratio, ad hoc quod coelum introeat.”
—P· 3, q· 39. a· 5·
23

354

Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.

himself had already said the same thing: We ought always
to pray, and not to faint.' And afterwards the Apostle:
Pray without ceasing.12 During the interval in which we
shall cease to pray, the devil will conquer ns. And
though the grace of perseverance can in no wise be
merited by us, as the Council of Trent teaches us,3
nevertheless St. Augustine says, “that in a certain sense
we can merit it by prayer.” 4 The Lord wishes to dis­
pense his grace to us, but he will be entreated first:
nay more, as St. Gregory remarks, he wills
to
*
be impor­
tuned, and in a manner constrained by our prayers:
“ God wishes to be prayed to,—he wishes to be com­
pelled,—he wishes to be, as it were, vanquished by our
importunity.” 5 St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi said, “that
when we ask graces of God, he not only hears us, but in
a certain sense thanks us.” Yes, because God, as the
infinite goodness, in wishing to pour out himself upon
others, has, so to speak, an infinite longing to distribute
his gifts; but be wishes to be besought: hence it follows,
that when he sees himself entreated by a soul, he receives
so much pleasure, that in a certain sense he thanks that
soul for it.
Well, then, if we wish to preserve ourselves in the
grace of God till death, we must act the mendicant, and
keep our mouths open to beg for God’s help, always re­
peating, “ My Jesus, mercy; never let me be separated
from Thee; O Lord, come to my aid ; My God, assist
me 1” This was the unceasing prayer of the ancient
Fathers of the desert: “Incline unto my aid, O God:
1 “ Oportet semper orare, et non deficere.”—Luke, xviii. I.
2 “ Sine intermissione orate.”—I These, v. vj.
3
vi. cap. 13.
4 “ Hoc Dei donum suppliciter emereri potest.”—De Dono pers.
c. 6.
5 “ Vult Deus rogari, vult cogi, vult quadam importunitate vinci.”—
In Ps. vi. pcen.

chap, iv.]

Remedies against Lukewarmness.

355

O Lord, make haste to help me !1 0 Lord, help me, and
help me soon; for if Thou delayest Thy assistance, I
shall fall and perish !” And this above all must be
practised in the moment of temptation ; he who acts
otherwise is lost.
And let us have a great faith in prayer. God has
promised to hear him that prays: Ask, and you shall re­
ceive.2 How can we doubt, says St. Augustine, since God
has bound himself by express promise, and cannot fail to
grant us the favors we ask of him? “By promising he
has made himself our debtor.”34*6 In recommending our­
selves to God, we must have a sure confidence that God
hears us, and then we shall obtain whatever we want.
Behold what Jesus Christ says: All things, whatsoever you
ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive, and they shall
come unto youi
“ But,” some one may say, “ I am a sinner, and do not
deserve to be heard.” But Jesus Christ says: Everyone
that asketh, receivethi Every one, be he just, or be he a
sinner. St. Thomas teaches us that the efficacy of prayer
to obtain graces does not depend on our merits, but on
the mercy of God, who has promised to hear every one
who prays to him.0 And our Redeemer, in order to re­
move from us all fear when we pray, said: Amen, amen, 1
say to you, if you shall ask the Father anything in My name,
He will give it you.1 As though he would say: Sinners,
1 “ Deus, in adjutorium meum intende; Domine, ad adjuvandum me
festina.”—Ps. Ixix. 2.
’ “ Petite, et accipietis.”—John, xvi. 24.
3 “ Promittendo, debitorem se fecit.”—Senn. no. E. B.
4 “ Omnia quæcumque orantes petitis, credite quia accipietis, et eve­
nient vobis.”—Mark, xi. 24.
4 *’ Omnis qui petit, accipit.”—Luke, xi. το.
6 “ Oratio in impetrando non innititur merito, sed divinæ misericordiæ.”—2. 2, q. 178, a. 2.
1 “ Amen, amen, dico vobis: si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine
meo, dabit vobis.”—John, xvi. 23.

356

Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.

you have no merits of your own to obtain graces,
wherefore do in this manner; when you would obtain
graces, ask them of my Father in my name; that is,
through my merits and through my love; and then ask
as many as you choose, and they shall be granted to you.
But let us mark well those words, “ In My name;” which
signify (as St. Thomas explains it), “ in the name of the
Saviour;” or, in other words, that the graces which we
ask must be graces which regard our eternal salvation;
and consequently we must remark that the promise does
not regard temporal favors; these our Lord grants, when
they are profitable for our eternal welfare; if they would
prove otherwise, he refuses them. So that we should
always ask for temporal favors, on condition that they
will benefit our soul. But should they be spiritual
graces, then they require no condition; but with confi­
dence, and a sure confidence, we should say: “ Eternal
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ deliver me from this
temptation: grant me holy perseverance, grant me Thy
love, grant me heaven.” We can likewise ask these
graces of Jesus Christ in his own name; that is, by his
merits, since we have his promise also to this effect: If
you shall ask Me anything in My name, that I will do.1
And whilst we pray to God, let us not forget to recom­
mend ourselves at the same time to Mary, the dispenser
of graces. St. Bernard says, that it is Almighty God
who bestows the graces; but he bestows them through
the hands of Mary: “Let us seek grace, and let us seek
it through Mary; because what she seeks she finds, and
cannot be refused.” * If Mary prays for us, we are safe;
for every petition of Mary is heard, and she can never
meet with a repulse.
1 “Si quid petieritis me in nomine mco, hoc faciam.”—John, xiv.
Μ’ “ Quæramus gratiam, et per Mariam quæramus; quia, quod quærit, invenit, et frustrari non potest.”—De Aquced.

I

chap,

iv.j Remedies against Lukewarmness.
Affections and Prayers.

O Jesus, my love, I am determined to love Thee as much as I
can, and I wish to become a saint; and I wish to become a saint
for this reason, in order to give Thee pleasure, and to love Thee
exceedingly in this life and the next! I can do nothing of
myself, but Thou canst do all things; and I know that Thou
wishest me to become a saint. I see already that by Thy grace
my soul sighs only for Thee, and seeks nothing else but Thee.
I wish to live no more for myself ; Thou desirest me to be wholly
Thine, and 1 desire to be wholly Thine. Come, and unite me to
Thyself, and Thyself to me. Thou art infinite goodness; Thou
art he who hast loved me so much ; Thou art, indeed, too lov­
ing and too lovely ; how, then, can I love anything but Thee?
I prefer Thy love before all the things of this world ; Thou art
the sole object, the sole end of all my affections. I leave all to
be occupied solely in loving Thee, my Redeemer, my Com­
forter, my hope, my love, and my all. I will not despair of be­
coming a saint on account of the sins of my past life; for I
know, my Jesus, that Thou didst die in order to pardon the
truly penitent. I love Thee now with my whole heart, with my
whole soul ; I love Thee more than myself, and I bewail, above
every other evil, ever having had the misfortune to despise Thee,
my sovereign good. Now I am no longer my own, I am Thine ;
O God of my heart, dispose of me as Thou pleasest. In order to
please Thee, I accept of all the tribulations Thou maycst choose
to send me—sickness, sorrow, troubles, ignominies, poverty, per­
secution, desolation—I accept all to please Thee: in like manner
I accept of the death Thou hast decreed for me, with all the an­
guish and crosses which may accompany it: it is enough if
Thou grantest me the grace to love Thee exceedingly. Lend
me Thy assistance ; give me strength henceforth to compensate,
by my love, for all the bitterness that I have caused Thee in
past time, O only love of my soul !
O Queen of Heaven, O Mother of God, O great advocate of
sinners, I trust in thee!

358

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

CHAPTER V.
CHARITY IS NOT PUFFED UP.

(Charilas non inflatur.}

He that loves Jesus Christ is not vain of his own Worth, but
humbles himself, and is glad to be humbled by Others.
A proud person is like a balloon filled with air, which
seems, indeed, great; but whose greatness, in reality, is
nothing more than a little air; which, as soon as the bal­
loon is opened, is quickly dispersed. He who loves God
is humble, and is not elated at seeing any worth in him­
self; because he knows that whatever he possesses is the
gift of God, and that of his own he has only nothingness
and sin; so that this knowledge of the divine favors be­
stowed on him humbles him the more; whilst he is con­
scious of being so unworthy, and yet so favored by God.
St. Teresa says, in speaking of the especial favors she
received from God: “God does with me as they do with
a house, which, when about to fall, they prop up with
supports.” When a soul receives a loving visit from
God, and feels within herself an unwonted fervor of
divine love, accompanied with tears, or with a great ten­
derness of heart, let her beware of supposing that God
so favors her, in reward for some good action; but let
her then humble herself the more, concluding that God
caresses her in order that she may not forsake him;
otherwise, were she to make such favors the subject of
vain complacency, imagining herself more privileged,
because she receives greater gifts from God than others,
such a fault would induce God to deprive her of his
favors. Two things are chiefly requisite for the stabil­
ity of a house—the foundation and the roof; the founda-

CHAP. V.]

Humility.

359

lion in us must be humility, in acknowledging ourselves
good for nothing, and capable of nothing; and the roof
is the divine assistance, in which alone we ought to put
all our trust.
Whenever we behold ourselves unusually favored by
God, we must humble ourselves the more. When St.
Teresa received any special favor, she used to strive to
place before her eyes all the faults she had ever com­
mitted; and thus the Lord received her into closer union
with himself: the more a soul confesses herself undeserv­
ing of any favors, the more God enriches her with his
graces. Thais, who w'as first a sinner and then a saint,
humbled herself so profoundly before God that she dared
not even mention his name; so that she had not the
courage to say, “ My God;” but she said, “My Creator,
have mercy on me !” 1 And St. Jerome writes, that in
recompense for such humility, she saw a glorious throne
prepared for her in heaven. In the life of St. Margaret
of Cortona we read the same thing; that, when our Lord
visited her one day with greater tokens of tenderness
and love, she exclaimed: “ But, O Lord, hast Thou then
forgotten what I have been ? Is it possible that Thou
canst repay all my outrages against Thee with so exqui­
site sweetness?” And God replied, that when a soul loves
him, and cordially repents of having offended him, he
forgets all her past infidelities; as, indeed, he formerly
spoke by the month of Ezechiel: But if the wicked do pen­
ance .... Twill not remember all his iniquities.2 And in
proof of this, he showed her a high throne, which he had
prepared for her in heaven in the midst of the seraphim.
Oh, that we could only well comprehend the value of
humility ! A single act of humility is worth more than
all the riches of the universe.
’ “ Qui plasmasti me, miserere mei.”—Vitce Pair. 1. i.
2 “ Si autem impius egerit poenitentiam, . . . omnium iniquitatum
ejus, quas operatus est, non recordabor.”—Ezech. xviii. 21, 22.

βόο

Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.

It was the saying of St. Teresa, “ Think not that thou
hast advanced far in perfection, till thou considerest thy­
self the worst of all, and desirest to be placed below
all." And on this maxim the saint acted, and so have
done all the saints; St. Francis of Assisi, St. Mary Mag­
dalene of Pazzi, and the rest, considered themselves the
greatest sinners in the world, and were surprised that the
earth sheltered them, and did not rather open under
their feet to swallow them up alive; and they expressed
themselves to this effect with the sincerest conviction.
The Venerable Father John of Avila, who, from his
earliest infancy had led a holy life, was on his deathbed;
and the priest who came to attend him said many sub­
lime things to him, taking him for what indeed he was,
a great servant of God and a learned man; but Father
Avila thus spoke to him: “Father, I pray you to make
the recommendation of my soul, as of the soul of a crim­
inal condemned to death; for such I am.” This is the
opinion which saints entertain of themselves in life and
death.
We, too, must act in this manner, if we would save our
souls, and keep ourselves in the grace of God till death,
reposing all our confidence in God alone. The proud
man relies on his own strength, and falls on that account;
but the humble man, by placing all his trust in God
alone, stands firm and falls not, however violent and
multiplied the temptations may be; for his watchword
is: I can do all things in Him that strengtheneth me.' The
devil at one time tempts us to presumption, at another
time to diffidence; whenever he suggests to us that we
are in no danger of falling, then we should tremble the
more; for were God but for an instant to withdraw his
grace from us, we are lost. When, again, he tempts us
to diffidence, then let us turn to God, and thus address
him with great confidence: In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped,
1 “Omnia possum in co qui me confortat.”—Phil. iv. 13.

chap,

v.]

Humility,

361

I shall never be confounded) My God, in Thee I have put
all my hopes; I hope never to meet with confusion, nor
to be bereft of Thy grace. We ought to exercise our­
selves continually, even to the very last moments of our
life, in these acts of diffidence in ourselves and of confi­
dence in God, always beseeching God to grant us hu
mility.
But it is not enough, in order to be humble, to have
a lowly opinion of ourselves, and to consider ourselves
the miserable beings that we really are; the man who is
truly humble, says Thomas à Kempis,’ despises himself,
and wishes also to be despised by others. This is what
Jesus Christ so earnestly recommends us to practise,
after his example: Learn of Me, because I am meek and
humble of heartd Whoever styles himself the greatest
sinner in the world, and then is angry when others de­
spise him, plainly shows humility of tongue, but not of
heart. St. Thomas Aquinas says, that a person who re­
sents being slighted may be certain that he is far distant
from perfection, even though he should work miracles.
The divine Mother sent St. Ignatius Loyola from heaven
to instruct St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi in humility;
and behold the lesson which the saint gave her: “ Hu­
mility is a gladness at whatever leads us to despise our­
selves.” 4 Mark well, a gladness; if the feelings are
stirred wTith resentment at the contempt we receive, at
least let us be glad in spirit.
And how is it possible fora soul not to love contempt,
if she,loves Jesus Christ, and beholds how her God was
buffeted and spit upon, and how he suffered in his Pas­
sion ! Then did they spit in His face and buffeted Him ; and
1 “ In te, Domine, speravi; non confundar in æternum.”—Ps.
xxx. 2.
2 Imit. Chr. B. 3, c. 7.
3 “ Discite a me, quia mitis sum et humilis corde.”—Matt. xi. 29.
4 Cepar. c. ii.

362

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ,

others struck His face with the palms of their ha ndsi For
this purpose our Redeemer wishes us to keep his image
exposed on our altars, not indeed representing him in
glory, but nailed to the cross, that we might have his
ignominies constantly before our eyes; a sight which
made the saints rejoice at being vilified in this world.
And such was the prayer which St. John of the Cross
addressed to Jesus Christ, when he appeared to him
with the cross upon his shoulders: “ O Lord, let me
suffer, and be despised for Thee!” 3 My Lord, on be­
holding Thee so reviled for my love, I only ask of Thee
to let me suffer and be despised for Thy love.
St. Francis de Sales said,3 “ To support injuries is the
touchstone of humility and of true virtue.” If a person
pretending to spirituality practises prayer, frequent
Communion, fasts, and mortifies himself, and yet cannot
put up with an affront, or a biting word, of what is it a
sign? It is a sign that he is a hollow cane, without hu­
mility and without virtue. And what indeed can a soul
do that loves Jesus Christ, if she is unable to endure a
slight for the love of Jesus Christ, who has endured so
much for her? Thomas à Kempis, in his golden little
book of the Imitation of Christ, writes as follows:
“Since you have such an abhorrence of being humbled,
it is a sign that you are not dead to the world, have no
humility, and that you do not keep God before your
eyes. He that has not God before his eyes, is disturbed
at every syllable of censure that he hears.” 4 Thou canst
not endure cuffs and blows for God; endure at least a
passing word.
Oh, what surprise and scandal does that person occa' I une exspuerunt in faciem ejus, et colaphis eum ceciderunt; alii
autem palmas in faciem ejus dederunt.”—Matt. xxvi. 67.
* “ Domine, pati et contemni pro te.”
8 Spirit, ch. 10.
4 Imit. Chr. B. 3, c. 46.

CHAP. V.]

Humility.

363

sion, who communicates often, and then is reaoy to re­
sent every little word of contempt! On the contrary,
what edification does a soul give that answers contempts
with words of mildness, spoken in order to conciliate the
offender; or perhaps makes no reply at all, nor com­
plains of it to others, but continues with placid looks,
and without showing the least sign of indignation ’ St,
John Chrysostom says, that a meek person is not only
serviceable to himself but likewise to others, bv the good
example he sets them of meekness in bearing contempt:
“The meek man is useful lo himself and to others.”’
Thomas a Kempis mentions, with regard to this subject,
several things in which we should practise humility; he
says as follows: “What others say shall command an
attentive hearing, and what you say shall be taken no
notice of. Others shall make a request and obtain it;
you shall ask for something and mcfet with a refusal.
Others shall be magnified in the mouths of men, and on
you no one shall bestow a word. Such and such an
office shall be conferred on others, but you shall be
passed by as unfit for anything With such like trials
the Lord is wont to prove his faithful servant; and to
see how far he has learned to overcome himself and to
hold his peace. Nature, indeed, will it times not like it;
but you will derive immense profit thereby, if you sup­
port all in silence.”3
It was a saying of St. Jane of Chantal, that “a person
who is truly humble takes occasion from receiving some
humiliation to humble himself the more.” 3 Yes, for he
who is truly humble never supposes himself humbfed as
much as he deserves. Those who behave in this manner
are styled blessed by Jesus Christ. They are not called
blessed who are esteemed by the world, who are honored
1 “ Mansuetus utilis sibi et aliis.”—In Act. hom. 6.
’ /mit. Chr. B. 3, c. 49·
3 Marsol. 1. 4. ch· θ·

3^4

Practice of the Love offesus Christ.

and praised, as noble, as learned, as powerful; but they
who are spoken ill of by the world, who are persecuted
and calumniated; for it is for such that a glorious re­
ward is prepared in heaven, if they only bear all with
patience: Blessed are you when they shall revile you and per­
secute you, and speak all that is evil against you untruly for
Afy sake : be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great
in heavent
The grand occasion for practising humility is when
we receive correction for some fault from Superiors or
from others. Some people resemble the hedgehog:
they seem all calmness and meekness as long as they
remain untouched; but no sooner does a Superior or a
friend touch them, by an observation on something
which they have done imperfectly, than they forthwith
become all prickles, and answer warmly, that so and so
is not true, or that they were right in doing so, or that
such a correction is quite uncalled for. In a word, to
-rebuke them is to become their enemy; they behave like
a person who raves at the surgeon for paining them in
the cure of their wounds. “ He is angry with the sur­
geon,”2 writes St. Bernard. ‘'When the virtuous and
humble man is corrected for a fault,” says St. John
Chrysostom, “ he grieves for having committed it; the
proud man on the other hand, on receiving correction,
grieves also; but he grieves that his fault is detected;
and on this account he is troubled, gives answers, and is
angry with the person who corrects him.” This is the
golden rule given by St. Philip Neri, to be observed
with regard to receiving correction· “ Whoever would
really become a saint must never excuse himself, al­
though what is laid to his charge be not true.” 3 And
1 “ Beati estis, cum maledixerint vobis, et persecuti vos fuerint, et
dixerint omne malum adversum vos mentientes, propter me; gaudete
et exultate, quoniam merces vestra copiosa est in coelis.”—Matt. v. n.
2 “ Medicanti irascitur."—In Cant. s. 42.
3 Bacci, 1. 2, ch. 17.

chap, va

Humility.

365

there is only one case to be excepted from this rule, and
that is when self-defence may appear necessary to pre­
vent scandal. Oh, what merit with God has that soul
that is wrongfully reprehended, and yet keeps silence,
'.nd refrains from defending itself! St. Teresa said:
‘ There are occasions when a soul makes more progress
and acquires a greater degree of perfection by refrain­
ing from excusing herself than by listening to ten ser­
mons; because by not excusing herself she begins to
obtain freedom of spirit, and to be heedless whether the
world speaks well or ill of her.”
Affections and Prayers.
O Incarnate Word! I entreat Thee, by the merits of Thy
holy humility, which led Thee to embrace so many ignominies
and injuries for our love, deliver me from all pride, and grant
me a share of Thy humility. And what right have I to com­
plain of any affront whatever that may be offered me, after
having so often deserved hell ? O my Jesus, by the merit of all
the scorn and affronts endured for me in Thy Passion, grant
me the grace to live and die humbled on this earth, as Thou
didst live and die humbled for my sake. For Thy love I would
willingly be despised and forsaken by all the world ; but without
Thee I can do nothing. I love Thee, O my sovereign good; I
love Thee, O beloved of my soul ! I love Thee ; and I hope,
through Thee, to fulfil my purpose of suffering all for Thee,—
affronts, betrayals, persecutions, afflictions, dryness, and desola­
tion ; enough is it for me if Thou dost not forsake me, O sole
object of the love of my soul. Suffer me never more to estrange
myself from Thee. Enkindle in me the desire to please Thee.
Grant me fervor in loving Thee. Give me peace of mind in
suffering for Thee. Give me resignation in all contradictions.
Have mercy on me. I deserve nothing; but I fix all my hopes
in Thee, who hast purchased me with Thine own blood.
And I hope all from thee, too, O my Queen and my Mother
Mary, who art the refuge of sinners!
1 Way of Perf. ch. 16.

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

CHAPTER VI.
CHARITY IS NOT AMBITIOUS.

(Charitas non est ambitiosa.}

He that loves Jesus Christ desires Nothing· but Jesus Christ.
He that loves God does not desire to be esteemed and
loved by his fellow-men: the single desire of his heart is
to enjoy the favor of Almighty God, who alone forms
the object of his love. St. Hilary writes, that all honor
paid by the world is the business of the devil.1 And so
it is; for the enemy traffics for hell, when he infects the
soul with the desire of esteem; because, by thus laying
aside humility, she runs great risks of plunging into
every vice. St. James writes, that as God confers his
graces with open hands upon the humble, so does he
close them against the proud, whom lie resists. God re­
sists the proud, and gives His grace to the humble? He says
he resists the proud, signifying that he does not even
listen to their prayers. And certainly, among the acts
of pride we may reckon the desire to be honored by
men, and self-exaltation at receiving honors from them.
We have a frightful example of this in the history of
Brother Justin the Franciscan, who had even risen to a
lofty state of contemplation; but because perhaps—and
indeed without a perhaps—he nourished within himself
a desire of human esteem, behold what befell him. One
day Pope Eugenius IV. sent for him; and on account of
the great opinion he had of his sanctity, showed him
1 “ Omnis sæculi honor diaboli negotium est.”—In Matt. c. 3, n. 5,
9 “ Deus superbis resistit; humilibus autem dat gratiam.”—James,
iv. 6.

CHAP. VI.]

Vainglory.

peculiar marks of honor, embraced him, and made him
sit by his side. Such high honors filled Brother Justin
full of self-conceit; on which St. John Capistran said to
him, “ Alas, Brother Justin, thou didst leave us an angel,
and thou returnest a devil !” And in fact, the hapless
Brother becoming daily more and more puffed up with
arrogance, and insisting on being treated according to
his own estimate of himself, he at last murdered a
brother with a knife; he afterwards became an apostate,
and fled into the kingdom of Naples, where he perpe­
trated other atrocities; and there he died in prison, an
apostate to the last.
Hence it is that a certain great servant of God wisely
said, that when we hear or read of the fall of some tow­
ering cedars of Libanus, of a Solomon, a Tertullian, an
Osius, who had all the reputation of saints, it is a sign
that they were not given wholly to God; but nourished
inwardly some spirit of pride and so fell away. Let us
therefore tremble, tvhen we feel arise within us an am­
bition to appear in public, and to be esteemed by the
world; and when the world pays us some tribute of
honor, let us beware of taking complacency in it, which
might prove the cause of our utter ruin.
Let us especially be on our guard against all ambi­
tious seeking of preference, and sensibility in points of
honor. St. Teresa said, “Where punctiliousness pre­
vails, there spirituality will never prevail.” 1 Many per­
sons make profession of a spiritual life, but they are
worshippers of self. They have the semblance of cer­
tain virtues, but they are ambitious of being praised in
all their undertakings; and if nobody else praises them,
they praise themselves : in short, they strive to appear
better than others ; and if their honor be touched, they
lose their peace, they leave off Holy Communion, they
1 Way of Perf. ch. 13.

368

Practice of the Love ofJesics Christ.

omit all their devotions, and find no rest till they imag­
ine they have got back their former standing. The true
lovers of God do not so behave. They not only care­
fully shun every word of self-esteem and all self-com­
placency, but, further, they are sorry at hearing them­
selves commended by others, and their gladness is to
behold themselves held in small repute by the rest of
men. r
The saying of St. Francis of Assisi is most true:
“What I am before God, that I am.” Of what use is it
to pass for great in the eyes of the world, if before God
we be vile and worthless? And on the contrary, what
matters it to be despised by the world, provided we be
dear and acceptable in the eyes of God ? St. Augustine
thus writes: “The approbation of him who praises
neither heals a bad conscience, nor does the reproach of
one who blames wound a good conscience.”1 As the
man who praises us cannot deliver us from the chastise­
ment of our evil doings, so neither can he who blames us
rob us of the merit of our good actions. “ What does it
matter.” says St. Teresa, “ though we be condemned and
reviled by creatures, if before Thee, OGod! we are great
and without blame ?” The saints had no other desire
than to live unknown, and to pass for contemptible in
the estimation of all. Thus writes St. Francis de Sales :
“But what wrong do we suffer when people have a bad
opinion of us, since we ought to have such of ourselves ?
Perhaps we know that we are bad, and yet wish to pass
off for good in the estimation of others.” 3
Oh, what security is found in the hidden life for such
as wish cordially to love Jesus Christ ! Jesus Christ him­
self set us the example, by living hidden and despised
for thirty years in a workshop. And with the same view
1 “ Nec malam conscientiam sanat laudantis præconium, nec bonam
vulnerat conviciantis opprobrium.”—Contra Petii. 1. 3, c. 7.
3 Spirit, ch. 3.

chap,

vi.)

Vainglory.

369

of escaping the esteem of men, the saints went and hid
themselves in deserts and in caves. It was said by St.
Vincent of Paul,1*that a love of appearing in public, and
of being spoken of in terms of praise, and of hearing our
conduct commended, or that people should say that we
succeed admirably and work wonders, is an evil which,
while it makes us unmindful of God, contaminates our
best actions, and proves the most fatal drawback to the
spiritual life.
Whoever, therefore, would make progress in the love
of Jesus Christ, must absolutely give a death-blow to the
love of self-esteem. But how shall we inflict this blow?
Behold how St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi instructs us:
44 That which keeps alive the appetite for self-esteem is
the occupying a favorable position in the minds of all;
consequently the death of self-esteem is to keep one’s
self hidden, so as not to be known to any one. And till
we learn to die in this manner, we shall never be true
servants of God." 3
In order, then, to be pleasing in the sight of God, we
must avoid all ambition of appearing and of making a
parade in the eyes of men. And we must shun with
still greater caution the ambition of governing others.
Sooner than behold this accursed ambition set foot in
the convent, St. Teresa3 declared she w’ould prefer to
have the whole convent burned, and all the nuns with it.
So that she signified her wish, that if ever one of her
religious should be caught aiming at the Superiorship,
she should be expelled from the community, or at least
undergo perpetual confinement. St. Mary Magdalene
of Pazzi said, “The honor of a spiritual person consists
in being put below all, and in abhorring all superiority
over others. The ambition of a soul that loves God
should be to excel all others in humility, according to
1 Abelly, 1. 3, ch. 34, 48·
24

8 Copar. c. 13.

3 Way of Perf. ch. 8.

I

!

I

370

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

the counsel of St. Paul : In humility let each esteem others
better than themselves." 1 In a word, he that loves God
must make God the sole object of his ambition.

Affections and Prayers.

My Jesus, grant me the ambition of pleasing Thee, and make
me forget all creatures and myself also. What will it profit me
to be loved by the whole world, if I be not loved by Thee, the
only love of my soul ! My Jesus, Thou earnest into the world
to win our hearts ; if I am unable to give Thee my heart, do
Thou please to take it and replenish it with Thy love, and never
allow me to be separated from Thee any more. I have, alas!
turned my back upon Thee in the past ; but now that I am con­
scious of the evil I have done, I grieve over it with my whole
heart, and no affliction in the world can so distress me, as the
remembrance of the offences that I have so often committed
against Thee. I am consoled to think that Thou art infinite
goodness, that Thou dost not disdain to love a sinner who loves
Thee. My beloved Redeemer, O sweetest love of my soul, I
have heretofore slighted Thee ; but now at least I love Thee
more than myself ! I offer Thee myself and all that belongs to
me. I have only the one wish to love Thee, and to please Thee.
This forms all my ambition ; accept of it, and be pleased to
increase it, and exterminate in me all desire of earthly goods.
Thou art indeed deserving of love, and great indeed arc my
obligations of loving Thee. Behold me then, I wish to be
wholly Thine; and I will suffer whatever Thou pleasest, Thou
who for love of me didst die of sorrow on the cross! Thou
wishest me to be a saint ; Thou canst make me a saint; in Thee
I place my trust.
And I also confide in thy protection, O Mary, great Mother
of God !
1 “ In humilitate superiores.”—Phil. ii. 3.

Detachment.

CHAP. VIL]

3/1

CHAPTER VII.
CHARITY SEEKETH NOT HER OWN.

(Charilas non quarit qua sua sunt.)

He that loveth Jesus Christ seeks to detach Himself from
every Creature.
Whoever desires to love Jesus Christ with his whole
heart must banish from his heart all that is not God, but
is merely self-love. This is the meaning of those words,
“ seeketh not her own;” not to seek ourselves, but onlv
what pleaseth God. And this is what God requires of us
all, when he says: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy
whole heart. 1 Two things art needful to love God with
our whole heart: i. To clear it of earth. 2. To fill it
with holy love. It follows, that a heart in which any
earthly affections linger can never^belong wholly to God.
St. Philip Neri ' said, “ that as much love as we bestow
on the creature, is so much taken from the Creator.” In
the next place, how must the earth be purged away from
the heart? Truly by mortification and detachment from
creatures. Somesouls complain that they seek God, and
do not find him; let them listen to what St. Teresa sa vs:
“Wean your heart from creatures, and seek God, and
you will find him.” 3
The mistake is, that some indeed wish to become
saints, but after their own fashion ; thev would love
Jesus Christ, but in their own way, without forsaking
those diversions, that vanity of dress, those delicacies in
food : they love God, but if they do not succeed in ob'

J

9

9

J

9

*

1 “ Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo.”—Matt. xxii. 37.
1 Bacci, 1. 22, ch. 15.
3 A vis 36.

372

Practice of the Love oj Jestes Christ.

taining such or such an office, they live discontented; ifT
too, they happen to be touched in point of esteem, thejr
are all on fire; if they do not recover from an illness,
they lose all patience. They love God; but they refuse
to let go that attachment for the riches, the honors of
the world, for the vainglory of being reckoned of good
family, of great learning, and better than others. Such
as these practise prayer, and frequent Holy Commun­
ion; but inasmuch as they take with them hearts, full of
earth, they derive little profit. Our Lord does not even
speak to them, for he knows that it is but a waste of
words. In fact, he said as much to St. Teresa on a cer­
tain occasion: “I would speak to many souls, but the
world keeps up such a noise about their ears, that my
voice would never be heard by them. Oh, that they
would retire a little from the world !” Whosoever, then,
is full of earthly affections cahnot even so much as hear
the voice of God that speaks to him. But unhappy the
man that continues attached to the sensible goods of this
earth; he may easily become so blinded by them as one
day to quit the love of Jesus Christ ; and for want of
forsaking these transitory goods he may lose God, the
infinite good, forever. St. Teresa said: “ It is a reasona­
ble consequence, that he who runs after perishable goods
should himself perish.”
St. Augustine ' informs us that Tiberius Cæsar de­
sired that the Roman senate should enrol Jesus Christ
among the rest of their gods; but the senate refused to
do so, on the ground that he was too proud a God, and
would be worshipped alone without any companions.
It is quite true : God will be alone the object of our ad­
oration and love; not indeed from pride, but because it
is his just due, and because too of the love he bears us.
For as he himself loves us exceedingly, he desires in rew

1 De Cons. Evang. 1. i, c. 12.

CHAP. VIL]

Detachment,

373

turn all our love ; and is therefore jealous of any one
else sharing the affections of our hearts, of which he de­
sires to be the sole possessor: “ Jesus is a jealous lover,” *
says St. Jerome; and he is unwilling therefore for us to
fix our affections on anything but himself. And when­
ever he beholds any created object taking a share of our
hearts, he looks on it as it were with jealousy, as the
Apostle St. James says, because he will not endure a
rival, but will remain the sole object of all our love: Do
you think that the Scripture saith in vain: To envy doth the
Spirit covet which dwelleth in you?"1 The Lord in the
sacred Canticles praises his spouse, saying: My sister,
my spouse, is a garden enclosed? He call her “ a garden
enclosed,” because the soul that is his spouse keeps her
heart shut against every earthly love, in order to preserve
all for Jesus Christ alone. And does Jesus Christ per­
chance not deserve all our love? Ah, too much, too
much has he deserved it, both for his own goodness and
for his love towards us. The saints knew this well, and
for this reason St. Francis de Sales said: “Were I con­
scious of one fibre in my heart that did not belong to
God, I would forthwith tear it out.” 4
David longed to have wings free from all lime of
worldly affections, in order to fly away and repose in
God: Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly
and be at rest?
*
Many souls would wish to see them­
selves released from every earthly trammel to fly to God,
and would in reality make lofty flights in the way of
sanctity, if they would but detach themselves from
/
1 “ Zelotypus est Jesus.”—Ep. ad Eust.
3 “ An putatis quoniam inaniter Scriptura dicat: Ad invidiam con­
cupiscit Spiritus qui habitat in vobis?"—James, iv. 5.
8 “ Hortus conclusus soror mea, Sponsa.”—Cant. iv. 12.
4 Spirit^ ch. 9.
6 “Quis dabit mihi pennas'sicut coiumbæ, et volabo, et requies­
cam ?”—Ps. liv. 7.

374

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

everything in this world; but whereas they retain some
little inordinate affection, and will not use violence with
themselves to get rid of it, they remain always languish­
ing on in their misery, without ever so much as lifting a
foot from the ground. St. John of the Cross said: “ The
soul that remains with her affections attached to any­
thing, however small, will, notwithstanding many virtues
which she may possess, never arrive at divine union; for
it signifies little whether the bird be tied by a slight
thread or a thick one; since, however slight it may be,
provided she does not break it, she remains always
bound, and unable to fly. Oh, what a pitiful thing it is
to see certain souls, rich in spiritual exercises, in virtues
and divine favors; yet, because they are not bold enough
to break off some trifling attachment, they cannot attain
to divine union, for which it only needed one strong and
resolute flight to break effectually that fatal thread !
Since, when once the soul is emptied pf all affection to
creatures, God cannot help communicating himself
wholly to her.” '
He who would possess God entirely must give himself
up entirely to God: My beloved to me and I to him
*
says
the Sacred Spouse. My beloved has given himself en­
tirely to me, and I give myself entirely to him. The
love which Jesus Christ bears us causes him to desire
all our love; and without all he is not satisfied. On this
account we find St. Teresa thus writing to the Prioress
of one of her convents: “Endeavor to train souls to a
total detachment from everything created, because they
are to be trained for the spouses of a king so jealous,
that he would have them even forget themselves.” St.
Mary Magdalene of Pazzi took a little book of devotion
from one of her novices, merely because she observed
that she was too much attached to it. Many souls ac1 Montée du C. 1. I, ch. n.
s “ Dilectus meus mihi, er ego illi.”—Cant. ii. i6.

CHAP. VII.]

Detachment.

375

quit themselves of the duty of prayer, of visiting the
Blessed Sacrament, of frequenting Holy Communion;
but nevertheless they make little or no progress in per­
fection, and all because they keep some fondness for
something in their heart ; and if they persist in living
thus, they will not only be always miserable, but run
the risk of losing all.
We must, therefore, beseech Almighty God, with Da­
vid, to rid our heart of all earthly attachments: Create a
clean heart in nie, O God} Otherwise we can never be
wholly his. He has given us to understand very plainly,
that whoever will not renounce everything in this world,
cannot be his disciple: Every one of you that doth not re­
nounce all that hepossesseth cannot be my disciple} For this
reason the ancient Fathers of the desert were accus­
tomed first to put this question to any youth who desired
to associate himself with them : “ Dost thou bring an
empty heart, that the Holy Spirit may fill it?” Our
Lord said the same thing to St. Gertrude, when she be­
sought him to signify what he wished of her: “ I wish
nothing else, he said, but to find a heart devoid of crea­
tures.”3 We must therefore say to God with great res­
olution and courage: O Lord, I prefer Thee to all ; to
health, to riches, to honors and dignities, to applause, to
learning, to consolations, to high hopes, to desires, and
even to the very graces and gifts which I may receive of
Thee ! In short, I prefer Thee to every created good
which is not Thee, O my God. Whatever benefit Thou
grantest me, O my God, nothing besides Thyself will
satisfy me. I desire Thee alone, and nothing else.
When the heart is detached from creatures, the divine
love immediately enters and fills it. Moreover, St. Ter­
1 “ Cor mundum crea in me, Deus.”—Ps. 1. 12.
9 “'Qui non renuntiat omnibus quæ possidet, non potest meus esse
discipulus.”—Luke, xiv. 33.
3 Jnsin. 1. 4. c. 26.

376

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

esa said: “As soon as evil occasions are removed, the
heart forthwith turns herself to love God.” Yes, for the
human heart cannot exist without loving ; it must either
love the Creator or creatures: if it does not love crea­
tures, then assuredly it will love God. In short, we
must leave all in order to gain all. “ All for all,” 1 says
Thomas A Kempis. /Xs long as St. Teresa cherished a cer­
tain affection, though pure, towards one of her relatives,
she did not wholly belong to God; but when afterwards
she summoned courage, and resolutely cut off the at­
tachment, then she deserved to hear these words from
Jesus: “Now, Teresa, thou art all mine, and I am all
thine.” ' One heart is quite too small to love this God,
so loving and so lovely, and who merits an infinite love;
and shall we then think of dividing this one little heart
between creatures and God ? The Venerable Louis da
Ponte felt ashamed to speak thus to God:· “O Lord, I
love Thee above all things, above riches, honors, friends,
relatives;” for it seemed to him as much as to say: “O
Lord, I love Thee more than dirt, than smoke, and the
worms of the earth ! ”
The Prophet Jeremias says, that the Lord is all good­
ness towards him who seeks him : The Lord is good to
the soul that secketh him? But he understands it of a
soul that seeks God alone. O blessed loss ! O blessed
gain ! to lose worldly goods, which cannot satisfy the
heart and are soon gone, in order to obtain the sovereign
and eternal good, which is God ! It is related that a
pious hermit, one day while the king was hunting
through the wood, began to run to and fro as if in
search of something ; the king, observing him thus oc­
cupied, inquired of him who he was and what he was
doing; the hermit replied: “ And may I ask your majesty
’ "Totum pro toto.”—[mit. Chr. B. 3, c. 37.
s Life, ch. 39.
- “ Bonus est Dominus . . animæ quærenti illum.”—Lam. iii. 25.

CHAP. VII.]

Detachment.

3ΊΊ

what you are engaged about in this desert ?” The king
made answer: “ I am going in pursuit of game.” And
the hermit replied: “ I, too, am going in pursuit of God.”
With these words he continued his road and went away.
During the present life this must likewise be our only
thought, our only purpose, to go in search of God in or­
der to love him, and in search of his will in order to ful­
fil it, ridding our heart of all love of creatures. And
whenever some worldly good would present itself to our
imaginations to solicit our love, let us be ready prepared
with this answer: “ I have despised the kingdom of this
world, and all the charms of this life, for the sake of the
love of my Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 And what else are all
the dignities and grandeurs of this world but smoke,
filth, and vanity, which all disappearat death? Blessed
he who can say: “My Jesus, I have left all for Thy love;
Thou art my only love; Thou alone art sufficient for
Λ >>
me.
Ah, when once the love of God takes full possession
of a soul, she of her own accord (supposing always, of
course, the assistance of divine grace) strives to divest
herself of everything that could prove a hindrance to her
belonging wholly to God. St. Francis de Sales remarks
that when a house catches fire, al) the furniture is thrown
out of the window;’ meaning thereby, that when a per­
son gives himself entirely to God, he needs no persuasion
of preachers or confessors, but of his own accord seeks
to get rid of every earthly affection. Father Segneri
the younger called divine love a robber, which happily
despoils us of all, that we may come into possession of
God alone. A certain man, of respectable position in
life, having renounced everything in order to become
poor for the love of Jesus Christ, was questioned by a
1 “ Regnum mundi et omnem ornatum sæculi contempsi, propter
amorem Domini mei Jesu Christi.”—Offic. nec Virg. nec Mart. resp. S.
2 Spirit, ch. 27.

3/8

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

friend how he fell into such a state of poverty; he took
from his pocket a small volume of the Gospels, and said:
‘‘Behold, this is what has stripped me of all.” The Holv9
Spirit says: Jf a man shall give all (he substance of his house
for love, he shall despise it as nothingi And when a soul
axes her whole love in God, she despises all, wealth, pleas­
ures, dignities, territories, kingdoms, and all her longing
is after God alone; she says, again and again: “My
God. I wish for Thee only, and nothing more.” St.
Francis de Sales writes:3 “The pure love of God con­
sumes everything which is not God, to convert all into
itself; for whatever we do for the love of God is love.”
The Sacred Spouse said: He brought me into the cellar
of wine, he set in order charity in me
*
This cellar of wine,
writes St. Teresa, is divine love, which, on taking posses­
sion of a soul, so perfectly inebriates it as to make it for­
getful of everything created. A person intoxicated is,
as it were, dead in his senses; he does not see, nor hear,
nor speak; and so it happens to the soul inebriated with
divine love. She has no longer any sense of the things
of the world; she wishes to think only of God, to speak
only of God; she recognizes no other motive in all her ac­
tions but to love and toplease God. In the sacred Can­
ticles the Lord forbids them to awake his beloved, who
sleeps: Stir not up. nor make the beloved to awake, till she
pleasct This blessed sleep, enjoyed by souls espoused to
Jesus Christ, says St. Basil, is nothing else than “ the
utter oblivion of all things,” b a virtuous and voluntary
forgetfulness of every created thing, in order to be occu1 “ Si dederit homo omnem substantiam domus suæ pro dilectione,
quasi nihil despiciet eam.”—Cant. viii. 7.
'l *Lettres
3 4 5 531, 203.
3 “ Introduxit me in cellam vinariam, ordinavit in me charitatem.”
—Cant. ii. 4,
4 " Ne suscitetis, neque evigilare faciatis dilectam.”—Cant. ii. 7.
5 “Summa rerum omnium oblivio.”—Reg. fus. disp. ini. 6.

CHAP VIL]

Detachment.

379

pied solely with God, and to be able to exclaim with St.
Francis, “ My God and my all.”1 My God, what are
riches, and dignities, and goods of the world, compared
with Thee !
Thou art my all and my every good.
“ My God and my all.” Thomas àKempis writes,2 “ Oh,
sweet word ! It speaks enough for him who under­
stands it; and to him who loves, it is most delicious to
repeat again and again: My God and my all, my God
and my all ! ”

Detachment from Relatives, above all, in regard to one s
Vocation.

Wherefore, to arrive at perfect union with God, a total
detachment from creatures is of absolute necessity. And
to come to particulars, we must divest ourselves of all in­
ordinate affection towards relatives. Jesus Christ says :
If any man come to Me and hate not his father and mother,
and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his
own life also, he cannot be My disciple) And wherefore this
hatred to relatives? because generally, as regards the
interests of the soul, we cannot have greater enemies
than our own kindred : And a man s enemies shall be those
of his own household) St. Charles Borromeo declared
that he never went to pay a visit to his family without
returning cooled in fervor. And when Father Antony
J
Mendoza was asked why he refused to enter the house
of his parents, he replied, “Because I know, by experi­
ence, that nowhere is the devotion of religious so dissi­
pated as in the house of parents.”
When, moreover, the choice of a state of life is con* “ Deus meus, et omnia.”
‘J Iniit. Chr. B. 3, c. 34.
3 “ Si quis venit ad me, et non odit patrem suum, et matrem, et ux­
orem, et filios, et sorores, adhuc autem et animam suam, non potest
meus esse discipulus.”—Luke, xiv. 26.
4 “ Et inimici hominis domestici ejus.”—Malt. x. 36.

3 So

Practice of the Love offesus Christ.

cerned, it is certain that we are not obliged to obey our
parents, according to the doctrine of St. Thomas Aquinas.’
Should a young man be called to the religious life, and
find opposition from his parents, he is bound to obey
God, and not his parents, who, as the same St. Thomas
says, with a view to their own interests and private ends,
stand in the way of our spiritual welfare. “ Friends of
flesh and blood are oftentimes opposed to our spiritual
profit.” 3 And they are content, says St. Bernard,3 to
have their children go to eternal perdition, rather than
leave home. It is surprising, in this matter, to see some
fathers and mothers, even though fearing God, yet so
blinded by mistaken fondness, that they use every effort,
and exhaust every means, to hinder the vocation of a
child who wishes to become a religious. This conduct,
however (except in very rare cases), cannot be excused
from grievous sin.
But some one may say : What, then, and if such a youth
does not become a religious, can he not be saved ? Are,
then, all who remain in the world castaway ? I answer ·
d'hose whom God does not call into religion may be
saved in the world by fulfilling the duties of their state;
but those who are called from the world, and do not obey
God, may, indeed, possibly be saved; but they will be
saved with difficulty, because they will be deprived of
those helps which God had destined for them in religion,
and for want of which they will not accomplish their sal­
vation. The theologian Habert writes, that he who dis­
obeys his vocation remains in the Church like a member
out of joint, and cannot discharge his duty without the
greatest pain; and so will hardly effect his salvation.
Whence he draws this conclusion : “ Although, absolutely
’ 2. 2, q. 104, a. 5.
' “ Frequenter amici carnales adversantur profectui spirtuali.”—
2. 2, q. 189. a. 10.
3 Epist. in.

CHAP. VII.]

Detachment.

speaking, he can be saved, yet he will enter on the way,
and employ the means of salvation with difficulty." 1
The choice of a state of life is compared by Father
Lewis of Grenada to the mainspring in a watch : if the
mainspring be broken, the whole watch is out of order;
and the same holds good with regard to our salvation—
if the state of life be out of order, the whole life is out of
order too. Alas, how many poor youths have lost their
vocation through their parents, and have afterwards
come to a bad end, and have themselves proved the ruin
of their family ! There was a certain youth who lost bis
religious vocation at the instigation of his father; but in
course of time, conceiving a great dislike of this same
father, he killed him with his own hand, and was exe­
cuted for the crime. Another young man, whilst pursu­
ing his studies in the seminary, was also called by God
to leave the world; heedless of his vocation, he first left
off the devout life he was leading, prayer, Holy Com­
munion, etc.; then he gave himself up to vice; and
eventually, as he was one night leaving a house of illfame, where he had been, he was murdered bv his rival.
Several priests ran to the spot, but they found him
already dead. And, oh, what a sad catalogue of like ex­
amples could I here add !
But to return to our subject. St. Thomas advises
those who are called to a more perfect life not to take
their parents’ advice, because they would be theirenemies
in such a case.3 And if children are not bound to take
1 “ Non sine magnis difficultatibus poterit saluti suæ consulere,
manebitque in corpore Ecclesiae velut membrum suis sedibus motum,
quod servire potest, sed ægre et cum deformitate. Licet, absolute
loquendo, salvari possit, difficile tamen ingredietur viam humilitatis
et pœnitentiæ, qua sola ipsi patet ingressus ad vitam.”—De Ord. p. 3,
c. i, § 2.
'J “ Ab hoc consilio amovendi sunt carnis propinqui ... : in hoc
proposito, amici non sunt, sed potius inimici, juxta sententiam Domini:
* Inimici hominis, domestici ejus.’”—Contra retr. a rei. c. 9.

382

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

the advice of their parents on their vocation, they are
under less obligation of asking or waiting for their per­
mission, particularly when they have reason to fear that
they would unjustly refuse their consent, or prevent them
from fulfilling their designs. St. Thomas of Aquinas,
St. Peter of Alcantara, St. Francis Xavier, St. Louis Ber­
trand, and many others, embraced a religious state
without even acquainting their parents.

Sanctity required to enter Holy Orders.
Again, it must be observed that as we are very much
exposed to be lost when to please our relatives we do not
follow the divine vocation, so we also endanger our sal­
vation when not to displease them we embrace the ecclesi­
astical state without being called to it by God. Now, a
true vocation to this sublime dignity is distinguished by
three signs, namely—the requisite knowledge, the inten­
tion of applying one’s self only to God’s service, and
positive goodness of life. We shall here speak only of
this last condition.
The Council of Trent has prescribed to bishops to
raise to Holy Orders only those whose irreproachable
conduct has been proved.1 This is a rule that Canon
Law had already established.2 Although this is directly
understood of the external proof that the bishop should
have in regard to the irreproachable conduct of the as­
pirants to the priesthood, yet one cannot doubt that the
Council requires not only external irreproachableness,
but even with greater reason, interior irreproachableness,
without which the former would be illusory. The Coun­
cil also adds that those only are to be admitted to Holy
Orders who show themselves worthy by a wise maturity.3
1 “ Subdiaconi et diaconi ordinentur ut habentes bonum testimonium
et in minoribus Ordinibus jam probati.”—Sess. xxiii. cap. 13.
s “ Nullus ordinetur, nisi probatus fuerit.”—Cap. Nullus, disl. 24.
3 “Sciant episcopi debere ad hos (sacros) Ordines assumi dignos
dumtaxat, et quorum probata vita senectus sit.”—Sess. xxiii. cap. 12.

CHAP. VII ]

Detachment.

383

We, moreover, know that the Council prescribes for this
end the keeping of the interstices, that is, of an interval
of time between the different degrees of Holy Orders.1
St. Thomas gives a reason for such a regulation : it
is this, that in receiving Holy Orders one is destined Lo
the most sublime ministry,—that of serving JesusChrist
in the Sacrament of the Altar. Hence the angelic Doctor
adds that the sanctity of ecclesiastics ought to surpass
that of the religious.3 He elsewhere explains that sane
tily is required not only in those who are ordained, but
also in the subject who presents himself to be admitted
to Holy Orders, and be shows the difference that exists in
this respect between the religious and the ecclesiastical
state. For in religion one purifies one’s self of one’s vices,
whilst to receive Holy Orders it is necessary that one
has already led a pure and holy life.3 The holy Doctor
also says in another place that the candidates for Holy
Orders ought to be raised above the simple faithful by
their virtue as well as by the dignity of their functions.
*
And this merit he requires before ordination, for he calls
it necessary not only in order to exercise well the ec­
clesiastical functions,r but
J also to be worthily admitted
amongf the number of the ministers of Jesus Christ/ He
1 “ Ut in eis, cum ætate, vitæ meritum ct doctrina major accrescat.”
—Sess. xxiii. cap. 11.
2 “ Quia per sacrum Ordinem aliquis deputatur ad dignissima min­
isteria. quibus ipsi Christo servitur in Sacramento altaris; ad quod re­
quiritur major sanctitas interior quam requirat etiam religionis
status.”—2. 2, q. 184, a. 8.
3 “Ordines sacri præexigunt sanctitatem; sed status religionis est
exercitium quoddam ad sanctitatem assequendam. Unde pondus Or­
dinum imponendum est parietibus jam per sanctitatem desiccatis;
sed pondus religionis desiccat parietes, id est, homines ab humore
vitiorum.”—2. 2, q. 189, a. 1.
4 “ Ut, sicut illi, qui Ordinem suscipiunt, super plebem constituun­
tur gradu Ordinis, ita et superiores sint merito sanctitatis.”
5 “ Et ideo præexigitur gratia, quæ sufficiat ad hoc quod digne con­
numerentur in plebe Christi.”

384

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ,

finally concludes with these words : “In the reception of
the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the candidates receive a
more abundant outpouring of grace in order thus to be in
a position to advance to a higher perfection.” * By these
last words, “to advance to a higher perfection,” the
saint declares that the grace of the sacrament, far from
being useless, will dispose the subject by an increase of
strength to obtain still greater merits ; but he expresses,
at the same time, how necessary it is for the candidate
to prepare himself in a state of grace that is sufficient in
order that he may be judged worthy of entering the
sanctuary.
In my Moral Theology'12 I have given on this point a
long dissertation to establish that those cannot be ex­
cused from mortal sin who without having been suffi­
ciently tried by a holy life receive a Holy Order ; since
they raise themselves to this sublime state without a
divine vocation ; for one cannot regard those as .having
been called by God who have not yet succeeded in over­
coming a bad habit, especially the habit of offending
against chastity. And whenever among those one might
be found who is disposed by repentance to receive the
Sacrament of Penance, he would nevertheless not be
in a condition to receive Holy Orders, for in his case
there must be more holiness of life manifested during a
long trial. Otherwise the candidate would not be ex­
empt from mortal sin on account of the grave presump­
tion that he wished to intrude into the holy ministry
without a vocation. Hence St. Anselm says : “ Those who
thus thrust themselves into Holy Orders and have in view
only their own interests are robbers who arrogate to
themselves the grace of God; instead of benediction they
1 “ Sed confertur in ipsa susceptione Ordinis amplius gratiæ
munus per quod ad majora reddantur idonei.”—Suppl, q. 35, a. I.
2 Lib. 6, c. 2, n. 63.

CHAP. VII.)

Detachment.

would receive God’s malediction.”1 As Bishop Abelly
remarks, they would expose themselves to the great
danger of being lost forever: “Whoever deliberately
and without troubling himself whether or not he had a
vocation would thrust himself into the priesthood, would
without doubt plainly expose himself to eternal per­
dition.’” Soto holds the same opinion when he asserts,
in speaking of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, that posi­
tive sanctity in the candidate is of divine precept: “ As­
suredly,” he says, “ this sanctity is not essential to the
sacrament, though it is altogether necessary by a divine
precept. . . . Now, the sanctity that should characterize
the candidates to Holy Orders does not consist in the
general disposition required for the reception of the
other sacraments, and sufficient in order that the sacra­
ment may not be impeded. For, in the Sacrament of
Holy Orders, one receives not only grace, but one is
raised to a much more sublime state. Hence in the can­
didates there must be great purity of life and perfect
virtue.’” Thomas Sanchez, Holzmann, the school of
Salamanca, are also of the same opinion. Thus, what I
have advanced is not only the opinion of one theologian,
but it is the common teaching based upon what is
taught by St. Thomas.
1 “ Qui enim se ingerit, et propriam gloriam quærit, gratiæ Dei
rapinam facit, et ideo non accipit benedictionem sed maledictionem.”
—In Hebr. v.
* “Qui sciens et volens, nulla divinæ vocationis habita ratione,
sese in Sacerdotium intruderet, haud dubie seipsum in apertissimum
salutis discrimen injiceret.”—Sac. Chr. p. i, c. 4.
3 “ Quamvis morum integritas non sit de essentia Sacramenti, est
tamen præcepto divino maxime necessaria. ... At vero, quod de
idoneitate eorum qui sacris sunt Ordinibus initiandi definitur, non est
generalis illa dispositio quae in suscipiente quodeumque Sacramentum
requiritur, ne sacramcntalis gratia obicem inveniat. . . . Enim vero,
quoniam per sacramentum Ordinis homo, non solum gratiam suscipit,
sed ad sublimiorem statum conscendit, requiritur in eo morum hon­
estas et virtutum claritas.”—In 4 Sent. d. 25, q. 1, a. 4.
25

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

386

If any one receive Holy Orders without having led
the requisite good life, not only would he himself com­
mit a mortal sin, but also the bishop who confers them
upon him without having been morally certain, by suffi­
cient proofs, of the good conduct of the candidate. The
confessor also would be guilty of mortal sin, because he
gives absolution to one who, addicted to a bad habit,
wishes to be ordained without having given evidence
during a considerable time of a positively good life.
Finally, parents also sin grievously because, though
knowing the wicked conduct of their son, they yet try to
induce him to take Holv Orders in order that afterwards
he may become the support of the family. Jesus Christ
instituted the ecclesiastical state, not to aid the houses of
seculars, but to promote the glory of God and the salva­
tion of souls. Some imagine the ecclesiastical state to be
an honorable and a remunerative employment or trade;
but they deceive themselves. Hence, when parents ask the
bishop to ordain one of their children who is ignorant, and
whose conduct has been bad, alleging that their family is
poor, and that they know not how otherwise to extricate
themselves from their embarrassment, the bishop must
say to them: This I cannot do; the ecclesiastical state is
not established to give assistance to poor families, but
to promote the good of the church. They should be sent
away without listening to them any longer; for such per­
sons ordinarily bring ruin not only upon their own souls,
but upon their family and their country.
As for the priests who live with their parents, if they
are solicited to occupy themselves less with the functions
of their ministry than the interests and advancement of
their families, they should answer what Jesus Christ one
dav said, for our own edification, to his holv mother:
Did you not know that I must be about my fathers business / 1
*

J

'

1

J

1 “ Nesciebatis quæ in his quae Patris mei sunt oportet me esse ?”
—Luke, ii. 49.

chap,

vu.]

Detachment.

387

I am a priest; my duty it is not to amass wealth and
procure honors, nor to govern the house, but to live in
retirement, to meditate, to study, and to work for the
salvation of souls. When it is absolute!}· necessary to
aid one’s family, one ought to do so as much as possible
without neglecting one’s principal care, which is, to ap­
ply one’s self to one’s own sanctification, and that of
others.
Detachment from Human Respect and from Self-will.

Moreover, any one that would belong wholly to God
must be free of all human respect. Oh, how many souls
does this accursed respect keep aloof from God, and
even separate them from him forever! For instance, if
they hear mention made of some or other of their fail­
ings, oh, what do they not do to justify themselves, and
to convince the world that it is a calumny ! If they per­
form some good work, how industrious are they to cir­
culate it everywhere ! They would have it known to
the whole world, in order to be universally applauded.
The saints behave in a very different way : they would
rather publish their defects to the whole world, in order
to pass in the eyes of all for the miserable creatures
which they really are in their own eyes; and, on the
contrary, in practising any act of virtue, they prefer to
have God alone know of it; for their only care is to be
acceptable to him. It is on this account that so many
of them were enchanted with solitude, mindful, as they
were, of the words of Jesus Christ : But when thou dost
alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth) And
again: But thou, when thou shalt pray, enter into thy cham­
ber; and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret)
1 “ Te autem faciente eleemosynam, nesciat sinistra tua quid faciat
dextera tua.”—Matt. vi. 3.
2 “Cum oraveris, intra in cubiculum tuum, et clauso ostio, ora Pa­
trem tuum in abscondito ”—Ibid. 6.

388

Practice of the Love offesus Christ.

But of all things, self-detachinent is most needful;
that is, detachment from self-will. Only once succeed
in subduing yourself, and you will easily triumph in
every other combat. Vince teipsum, “Conquer thyself,”
was the maxim which St. Francis Xavier inculcated on
all. And Jesus Christ said : If any one would come after
Me, let him deny himself? Behold in small compass all
that we need practise to become saints; to deny our­
selves, and not to follow our own will : Go not after thy
lusts, but turn away from thy own will? And this is the
greatest grace, said St. Francis of Assisi, that we can re­
ceive from God : the power, namely, to conquer our­
selves by denying self-will. St. Bernard writes, that if
all men would resist self-will, none would ever be
damned : “ Let self-will cease, and there will be no
hell.” 1
*3 The same saint writes, that it is the baneful
effect of self-will to contaminate even our good works:
“Self-will is a great evil, since it renders thy good works
no longer good.”4 As, for instance, were a penitent ob­
stinately bent on mortifying himself, or on fasting, or
on taking the discipline against the will of his director;
we see that this act of penance, done at the instigation
of self-will, becomes very defective.
Unhappy the man that lives the slave of self-will ! for
he shall have a yearning for many things, and shall not
possess them; while, on the other hand, he will be forced
to undergo many things distasteful and bitter to his
inclinations: From whence arc wars and contentions among
you ? Are they not hence I From your concupiscences, which
1 “ Si quis vult post me venire, abnegetsemetipsum.”—Hiatt, xvi. 24.
s ’* Post concupiscentias tuas non eas, et a voluntate tua avertere.”
—Ecclus. xviii. 30.
3 “ Cesset voluntas propria, et infernus non erit.”—In Temp.
Pascb. s. 3.
4 *· Grande malum propria voluntas, qua fit ut bona tua tibi bona
non sint.”—In Cant. s. 71.

chap,

vu.]

Detachment.

389

war in your members 1 You covets and have not' The first
war springs from the appetite for sensual delights. Let
us take away the occasion ; let us mortify the eyes ; let
us recommend ourselves to God, and the war will be over.
The second war arises from the covetousness of riches:
let us cultivate a love of poverty, and this war will cease.
The third war has its source in ambitiously seeking after
honors : let us love humility and the hidden life, and this
war too will be no more. The fourth war, and the most
ruinous of all, comes from self-will : let us practise
resignation in all things which happen by the will of
God, and the war will cease. St. Bernard tells us that
whenever we see a person troubled, the origin of his
trouble is nothing else but his inability to gratify self­
will. “ Whence comes disquiet,” says the saint, “ except
that we follow self-will ?” 2 Our Blessed Lord once com­
plained of this to St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi, in these
words : “Certain souls desire my Spirit, but after their
own fancy ; and so they become incapable of receiv­
ing it.”
We must therefore love God in the way that pleases
God, and not that pleases us. God will have the soul
divested of all, in order to be united to himself, and to
be replenished with his divine love. St. Teresa3 writes
as follows : “The prayer of union appears to me to be
nothing more than to die utterly, as it were, to all things
in this world, for the enjoyment of God alone. One
thing is certain, that the more completely we empty our­
selves of creatures, by detaching ourselves from them for
the love of God, the more abundantly will he fill us with
himself, and the more closely shall we be united with
1 “Unde bella et lites in vobis? nonne hinc, ex concupiscentiis
vestris, quæ militant in membris vestris? Concupiscitis, et non ha
betis.”—James, ιν. I, 2.
j “Unde turbatio, nisi quod propriam sequimur voluntatem?”—D
*
Div. s. 26.
3 Interior Castle, ch. I,

39°

Practice oj the Love ofJesus Christ.

him.” Many spiritual persons would attain to union
with God; but then they do not desire the contrarieties
which God sends them: they fret at having to suffer
from ill-health, from poverty, from affronts ; but, for
want of resignation, they will never come to a perfect
union with God. Let us hear what St. Catharine of
Genoa said: “To arrive at union with God, the contrari­
eties which God sends us are absolutely necessary; his
purpose is, to consume in us, by means of them, all
irregular movements, both within and without. And
hence all contempt, ailments, poverty, temptations, and
other trials, are all indispensable, to give us the oppor­
tunity of fighting; that so, by the way of victory, we may
eventually extinguish all inordinate movements, so as to
be no more sensible of them; furthermore, until we be­
gin to find contradictions sweet for God’s sake, instead
of bitter, we shall never arrive at divine union.”
I here subjoin the practice of it, taught by St. John of
the Cross. The saint says, that in order to perfect union,
“a thorough mortification of the senses and of the appe­
tites is necessary. On the part of the senses, every single
relish that presents itself to them, if it be not purely for
the glory of God, should forthwith be rejected for the
love of Jesus Christ; for example, should you have a de­
sire to see or hear something in no wise conducive to
the greater glory of God, then refrain from it. As to the
appetites also, endeavor to force ourselves always to
choose the worst, the most disagreeable, or the poorest,
without fostering any other wish than to suffer and to be
despised.” ‘
In a word, he that truly loves Jesus Christ loses all
affection for things of earth, and seeks to strip himself
of all, in order to keep himself united with Jesus Christ
alone. Jesus is the object of all his desires, Jesus the
subject of all his thoughts ; for Jesus he continually
1 Mont. du C.

1. i. ch. 4-13.

chap, vili

Detachment.

391

sighs; in every place, at every time, on every occasion,
his sole aim is to give pleasure to Jesus. But to reach
this point, we must study unceasingly to rid the heart of
every affection which is not for God. And, I ask, what is
meant by giving the soul entirely to God ? It means,
first, to shun whatever may be displeasing to God and
to do what is most pleasing to him; secondly, it means
to accept unreservedly all that comes from his hands,
how hard or disagreeable soever it may be: it means,
thirdly, to give the preference in all things to the will of
God over our own: this is what is meant by belonging
wholly to God.
Affections and Prayers.
Ah, my God and my all ! 1 cannot help feeling that, in spite
of all my ingratitude and remissness in Thy service, Thou still
invitest me to love Thee. Behold me, then ; 1 will resist Thee
no longer. I will leave all to be wholly Thine. I will no more
live for myself: Thy claims on my love are too strong. My
soul is enamoured of Thee ; my Jesus, it sighs after Thee. And
how can I possibly love anything else, after seeing Thee die of
sufferings on a cross in order to save me ! how could 1 behold
Thee dead, and exhausted with torments, and not love Thee
with my whole heart? Yes. 1 love Thee indeed with all my
soul ; and I have no other desire but to love Thee in this life
and for all eternity. My love, my hope, my courage, and my
consolation, give me strength to be faithful to Thee; grant me
light, and make known to me from what 1 ought to detach my­
self ; supply me too with a strong will to obey Thee in all things.
O love of my soul ! I offer myself, and deliver myself up entirely,
to satisfy the desire which Thou hast to unite Thyself to me,
that I may be wholly united with Thee, my God and my all.
Oh, come then, my Jesus; come and take possession of my
whole self, and occupy all my thoughts and all my affections.
I renounce all my appetites, all my comforts, and all created
things; Thou alone art sufficient for me. Grant me the grace
to think only of Thee, to desire only Thee, to seek only Thee,
my beloved and my only good !
O Mary, Mother of God, obtain for me holy perseverance!

392

Practice oj the Love offestis Christ

CHAPTER VIII.
CHARITY IS NOT PROVOKED TO ANGER.

{Charitas non irritatur.')

He that loves Jesus Christ is never angry with his Neighbor,
The virtue not to be angry at the contrarieties that
happen to us is the daughter of meekness. We have
already spoken at length of the acts which belong to
meekness in preceding chapters; but since this is a vir­
tue which requires to be constantly practised by every
one living among his fellow-men, we will here make
some remarks on the same subject more in particular,
and more adapted for practice.
Humility and meekness were the favorite virtues of
Jesus Christ; so that he bade his disciples learn of him
to be meek and humble : Learn of Me, for I am meek ana
humble of heart) Our Redeemer was called the Lamb,
—Behold the Lamb of God)—as well in consideration of
his having to be offered in sacrifice on the cross for our
sins, as in consideration of the meekness exhibited bv
him during his entire life, but more especially at the
time of his Passion. When in the house of Caiphas he
received a blow from that servant, who at the same time
upbraided him with presumption in those words : An­
swerest thou the high-priest so I Jesus only answered :
If I have spoken evil, give testimony of the evil ; but if well,
why strikest thou me V He observed the same invariable
1 “ Discite a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde.”—Matt. xi. 29.
s “ Ecce Agnus Dei.”—John, i. 29.
1 “ Si male loculus sum, testimonium perhibe de malo; si autem
bene, quid me cædis ?”—John, xviii. 23.

CHAP. VIII.]

Meekness.

393

meekness of conduct till death. While on the cross, and
made the object of universal scorn and blasphemy, he
only besought the Eternal Father to forgive them :
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do}
Oh, how dear to Jesus Christ are those meek souls
who, in suffering affronts, derisions, calumnies, persecu­
tions, and even chastisement and blows, are not irritated
against the person that thus injures or strikes them:
The prayer of the meek hath always pleased thee} God is al­
ways pleased with the prayers of the meek; that is to say,
their prayers are always heard. Heaven is expressly
promised to the meek: Blessed are the meek, for they shah
possess the land} Father Alvarez said that paradise is the
country of those who are despised and persecuted and
trodden under foot. Yes, for it is forthem that the pos­
session of the eternal kingdom is reserved, and not for the
haughty, who are honored and esteemed by the world.
David declares that the meek shall not only inherit eter­
nal happiness, but shall likewise enjoy great peace in the
present life: The meek shall inherit the land, and shall de­
light in abundance of peace} It is so, because the saints
harbor no malice against those who ill-treat them, but
rather love them the more; and the Lord, in reward for
their patience, gives them an increase of interior peace.
St. Teresa said: “ I seem to experience a renewed love
towards those persons who speak ill of me.”* This gave
occasion to the Sacred Congregation to say of the saint,
that “ even affronts themselves supplied her with the
food of charily.” 8 Offences became a fresh reason for
’“Pater! dimitte illis ; non enim sciunt quid faciunt.”—Luke,
xxiii. 34.
9 “Mansuetorum semper tibi placuit deprecatio."—Judith, ix. 16.
3 “ Beati mites, quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram.”—Matt. v. 4.
4 “ Mansueti autem hæreditabunt terram, et delectabuntur in mul­
titudine pacis."—Ps. xxxvi. II.
* Pib. 1. 4, c. 26
* “ Offensiones amoris ipsi escam ministrabunt.”

394

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

her to love the person who had offended her. No one
can have such meekness as this, if he has not a great
humility and a low opinion of himself, so as to consider
himself worthy of every kind of contempt; and hence
we see, on the contrary, that the proud are always irrita­
ble and vindictive, because they have a high conceit of
themselves,7 and esteem themselves worthy
* of all honor.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.' We must, in­
deed, die in the Lord to be blessed, and to enjoy that
blessedness even in the present life: we mean, such hap­
piness
as can
1
M| be had before entering
O heaven,1 which,7
though certainly much below that of heaven, yet far
surpasses all the pleasures of sense in this world: And
the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your
hearts·2 so wrote the Apostle to his disciples. But togain
this peace, even in the midst of affronts and calumnies,
we must be dead in the Lord: a dead person, how much
soever he may be ill-treated and trampled on by others,
resents it not; in like manner, he who is meek, like a
dead body, which no longer sees or feels, should endure
all the outrages committed against him. Whoever loves
Jesus Christ from his heart easily attains to this; because,
as he is conformed in all things to his will, he accepts
with equal composure and peace of mind prosperous and
adverse occurrences, consolations and afflictions, injuries
and courtesies. Such was the conduct of the Apostle;
and he says, therefore: I exceedingly abound with joy in all
our tribulation2 Oh, happy the man who reaches this
point of virtue ! he enjoys a continual peace, which is a
treasure precious beyond all other goods of this world.
St. Francis de Sales said: “Of what value is the whole
universe in comparison with peace of heart ?”4 And, in
1
8
3
4

“Beati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur.”—Apoc. xiv. 13.
“ Pax Dei. quæ exsuperat omnem Sensum.”—Phil. iv. 7.
“ Superabundo gaudio in omni tribulatione nostra.”—2 Cor. vii. 4
Lettre 580.

chap,

νπτ.'

Meekness.

395

truth, of what avail are all riches and all the honors of
the world to a man that lives in disquiet, and whose heart
is not at peace ?”
In short, in order to remain constantly united with
Jesus Christ, we must do all with tranquillity, and not
be troubled at any contradiction that we may encounter.
The Lord is not in the earthquake) The Lord does not
abide in troubled hearts. Let us listen to the beautiful
lessons given on this subject by that master of meekness
St. Francis de Sales: “Never put yourself in a passion,
nor open the door to anger on any pretext whatever; be­
cause, when once it has gained an entrance, it is no longer
in our power to banish it, or moderate it, when we wish
to do so. The remedies against it are: 1. To check it
immediately, by diverting the mind to some other object,
and not to speak a word. 2. To imitate the Apostles
when they beheld the tempest at sea, and to have recourse
to God, to whom it belongs to restore peace to the soul.
3. If you feel that, owing to your weakness, anger
has already got footing in your breast, in that case do
yourself violence to regain your composure, and then try
to make acts of humility
* and of sweetness towards the
person against whom you are irritated; but all this must
be done with sweetness and without violence, for it is of
the utmost importance not to irritate the wounds.”’ The
saint said that he himself was obliged to labor much dur­
ing his life to overcome two passions which predomi­
nated in him, namely, anger and love: to subdue the
passion of anger, he avowed it had cost him twenty-two
years’ hard struggle. As to the passion of love, he had
succeeded in changing its object, by leaving creatures,
and turning all his affections to God. And in this
manner the saint acquired so great an interior peace,
that it was visible even in his exterior; for he was in1 “Non in commotione Deus.”—3 Kings, xix. n.
2 Introd. ch. 8.

396

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

variably seen with a serene countenance and a smile on
his features.
From whence are wars ? . . . Are they not from your con­
cupiscences t1 When we are made angry by some contra­
diction, we fancy we shall find relief and quiet by giving
vent to our anger in actions, or at least in words: but we
are mistaken, it is not so; for after having done so, we
shall find that we are much more disturbed than before.
Whoever desires to persevere in uninterrupted peace,
must beware of ever yielding to ill-humor. And when­
ever any one feels himself attacked by this ill-humor, he
must do his utmost to banish it immediately; and he
must not go to rest with it in his heart, but must divert
himself from it by the perusal of some book, by singing
some devout canticle, or by conversing on some pleasant
subject with a friend. The Holy Spirit says: Anger resteth
in the bosom of a fool? Anger remains a long time in the
heart of fools, who have little love for Jesus Christ; but
if by stealth it should ever enter into the hearts of the true
loversof Jesus Christ, it is quickly dislodged, and does not
remain. A soul that cordially loves the Redeemer never
feels in a bad humor, because, as she desires only what
God desires,she has all she wishes for, and consequently is
ever tranquil and well-balanced. The divine will tranquil­
lizes her in every misfortune that occurs; and thus she is
able at all times to observe meekness towards all. But we
cannot acquire this meekness without a great love for
Jesus Christ. In fact, we know by experience that we
are not meeker and gentler towards others, except
when we feel an increased tenderness towards Jesus
Christ.
But since we cannot constantly experience this tender­
ness, we must prepare ourselves, in our mental prayer,
1 "Unde bella? . . . nonne hinc, ex concupiscentiis vestris?”—
fames, iv. I, 2.
9 *' Ira in sinu stulti requiescit.”—Ecclus. vii. io.

CHAP. VIII.]

Meekness.

397

to bear the crosses that may befall us. This was the
practice of the saints; and so they were ever ready to
receive with patience and meekness injuries, blows, and
chastisements. When we meet with an insult from our
neighbor, unless we have frequently trained ourselves
beforehand, we shall find it extremely difficult to know
what course to take, in order not to yield to the force of
anger; in the very moment, our passion will make it ap­
pear but reasonable for us to retort boldly the audacity
of the person who affronts us, but St. John Chrysostom
says that it is not the right way to quench the fire which
is raging in the mind of our neighbor by the fire of an
indignant reply; to do so will only enkindle it the more:
’‘One fire is not extinguished by another.”1
Some one may say: But why should I use courtesy
and gentleness towards an impertinent fellow, that insults
me without cause ? But St. Francis de Sales replies:
“We must practise meekness, not only with reason, but
against reason.” 2
We must therefore endeavor, on such occasions, to
make a kind answer; and in this way we shall allay the
fire: A mild answer breaketh wrath? But when the mind
is troubled, the best expedient will be to keep silence.
St. Bernard writes: “ The eye troubled by anger sees not
straight.”3
4 When the eye is dimmed with passion, it no
longer distinguishes between what is and what is not un­
just; anger is like a veil drawn over the eyes, so that we
can no longer discern betwixt right and wrong; where­
fore we must, like St. Francis de Sales, make a compact
with our tongue: “I have made a covenant with my
tongue,” he wrote, “ never to speak while my heart is
disturbed.”
1 “Igne non potest ignis extingui.”—In Gen. hom. 58.
3 “ Responsio mollis frangit iram.”—Prov. xv. I.
4 “Turbatus præ ira oculus . . . reclum non videt.”—De Cons. I
2, C. II.

398

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

But there are moments when it seems absolutely neces­
sary to check insolence with severe words. David said:
Be angry, and sin not.' Occasions do exist, therefore,
when we may be lawfully angry, provided it be without
sin. But here is just the matter: speculatively speaking,
it seems expedient at times to speak and reply to some
people in terms of severity, in order to make an impres­
sion on them; but in practice it is very difficult to do this
without some fault on our part; so that the sure way is
always to admonish, or to reply, with gentleness, and to
scrupulously guard against all resentment. St. Francis
de Sales said: “ I have never been angry without after­
wards repenting of it.” And when, for some reason
or other, we still feel warm, the safest way, as I said be­
fore, is to keep silence, and reserve the remonstrance
till a more convenient moment, when the heart is cooled
down.
We ought particularly to observe this meekness when
we are corrected by our Superiors or friends. St. Francis
de Sales again writes: To receive a reprimand willingly,
shows that we love the virtue opposed to the fault for
which we are corrected; and consequently this is a great
sign of progress in perfection.”2
We must besides practise meekness towards ourselves.
It is a delusion of the devil, to make us consider it a vir­
tue to be angry with ourselves for committing some
fault; far from it, it is a trick of the enemy to keep us in
a state of trouble, that so we may be unfit for the per­
formance of any good. St. Francis de Sales said : “Hold
for certain that all such thoughts as create disquiet are
not from God, who is the Prince of peace, but proceed
either from the devil, or from self-love, or from the good
opinion we have of ourselves. These are the three
scources from which all our troubles spring. When,
1 “ Irascimini, et nolite peccare.”—Ps. iv. 5.
9 Spirit, ch. 19.

CHAP. VIII.]

Meekness.

therefore, any thoughts arise which throw us into trou
ble, we must immediately reject and despise them.”1
Meekness is also more especially necessary when we
have to correct others. Corrections made with a bitter
zeal often do more harm than good, especially when he
who must be corrected is himself excited: in such cases
the correction should be put off, and we must wait until
he is cool. And we ourselves ought no less to refrain
from correcting while we are under the influence of illtemper; for then our admonition will always be accom­
panied with harshness; and the person in fault, when he
sees that he is corrected in such a way, will take no heed of
the admonition, considering it the mere effect of passion.
This holds good as far as concerns the good of our
neighbor; as concerns our personal advantage, let us
show how dearly we love Jesus Christ, by patiently and
gladly supporting every sort of ill-treatment, injury, and
contempt.

O my despised Jesus, Ό love, O joy of my soul, Thou hast by
Thy example made contempt most acceptable to Thy lovers 1 I
promise Thee, from this day forward, to submit to every affront
for the love of Thee, who for love of me didst submit on earth
to every species of revilement from men. Do Thou grant me
strength to keep this promise. Enable me to know and to per­
form whatever Thou desirest at my hands. My God and my
all, I crave no other good than Thyself, who art infinite good !
O Thou who takest my interests so much too heart, grant that
my only care may be to gratify Thee ! Grant that all my thoughts
may be occupied in avoiding whatever may offend Ί hee, and in
promoting whatever may contribute to Thy good pleasure. Ward
off every occasion that may draw me from Thy love. I strip my­
self of my liberty, and consecrate it entirely to Thy good will. I
love Thee, O infinite goodness! I love Thee, O my delight ! Ο
Word incarnate, I love Thee more than myself ! Take pity on me,

I
I
I
I

I
I

i

*

Practice of the Love offesus Christ.

400

and heal whatever wounds remain in my poor soul from its past
disloyalties towards Thee. I resign myself wholly into Thy
arms, O my Jesus ; I will be wholly Thine; I will suffer every­
thing for love of Thee; and I ask of Thee nothing but Thy­
self !
O Holy Virgin and my Mother Mary, I love thee, and I rely
on thee; succor me by thy powerful intercession !

CHAPTER IX.
CHARITY THINKETH NO EVIL, REJOICETH NOT IN INIQUITY,

•

BUT REJOICETH WITH THE TRUTH.

(Charitas non cogitat malum, non gaudet super iniquitate, congaudet
autem veritati.')

He that loves Jesus Christ only wishes what Jesus Christ
wishes.
Charity and truth always go together; so that charity,
conscious that God is the only and the true good, detests
iniquity, which is directly opposed to the divine will, and
takes no satisfaction but in what pleases Almighty God.
Hence the soul that loves God is heedless of what people
say of it, and only aims at pleasing God. The Blessed
Henry Suso said: “That man stands well with God who
strives to conform himself to the truth, and for the rest
is utterly indifferent to the opinion or treatment of man­
kind.”
As we have already more than once asserted, the sanc­
tity and perfection of a soul consists in renouncement of
self and in submission to the will of God; but now it
will be well to enter more into detail.

I.
The Necessity of Conforming to the Will of God.
If, then, we would become saints, our whole endeavor
must be, never to follow our own will, but always the

chap,

ix.]

Z Conformity to God's Will.

401

will of God; the substance of all the precepts and divine
counsels is comprised in doing and suffering what God
wills, and in the manner he wills it. Let us, therefore,
entreat the Lord to bestow on us a holy liberty of spirit;
liberty of spirit leads us to embrace whatever is pleasing
to Jesus Christ, regardless of all feelings of repugnance
arising from self-love and human respect. The love of
Jesus Christ makes those who love him . utterly indiffer­
ent; so that all tilings are alike to them, whether bitter
or sweet: they do not wish for anything that pleases
themselves, but only for that which is pleasing to God;
they employ themselves in little and great things, be
they pleasant or unpleasant, with the same peace of
mind; it is enough for them if they please God.
St. Augustine says: “ Love, and do what you like.” 1
Whoever really * )ves God seeks only to please him; and
in this is all his pleasure. St. Teresa says: “He that
seeks but the gratification of one he loves, is gratified
with all that pleases that person. Love in its perfection
produces this result; it makes a person heedless of all
private interests and self-satisfaction, and concentrates
all his thoughts on endeavoring to please the person be­
loved, and to do all he can to honor him himself, and to
make him honored by others. O Lord, all our ills come
from not keeping our eves fixed on Thee! Were we
solely intent on advancing, we should soon come to the
end of our journey; but we fall and stumble a thousand
times, and we even lose our way, for want of looking
attentively to the right path.” Here we may see what
should be the single aim of all our thoughts, actions,
desires, and of all our prayers, namely, the pleasure of
God; our way to perfection must be this, to walk accord­
ing to the will of God,
God wishes us to love him with our whole heart:
1 “ Ama, st fac quod vis.”

26

402

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ,

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart)
That person loves Jesus Christ with his whole heart who
says to him with the Apostle: Lord, what wilt Thou have
me to dot' Lord, signify to me what Thou wilt have
me do; for I desire to perform all. And let us be per­
suaded that whilst we desire what God desires, we de­
sire *\vhat is best for ourselves; for assuredly God only
wishes what is best for us. St. Vincent of Paul said:
“Conformity with the will of God is the treasure of a
Christian and the remedy for all evils; since it comprises
abnegation of self and union with God and all virtues.”
In this, then, is all perfection: Lord, what wilt Thou have
me to dot Jesus Christ promises us, not a hair of your
head shall perish.' Which is as much as to say, that the
Lord rewards us for every good thought we have of
pleasing him, and for every tribulation embraced with
patience in conformity Lo his hoi}'· will. St. Teresa said,
“The Lord never sends a trial, without remunerating it
with some favor as often as we accept it with resigna­
tion.”4
But our conformity to the divine will must be entire,
without any reserve, and constant without withdrawal.
In this consists the height of perfection ; and to this (I
repeat) all our works, all our desires, and all our prayers
ought to tend. Some souls given to prayer, on reading
of the ecstasies and raptures of St. Teresa and St. Philip
Neri, come to wish to enjoy themselves these super­
natural unions. Such wishes must be banished as con­
trary to humility; if we reall}'· desire to be saints, we
must aspire after true union with God, which is to unite
our will entirely to the will of God. St. Teresa4 said,
1
2
3
4
6

“ Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo.”—Matt. xxii. 37.
“ Domine, quid me vis facere?”—Acts, ix. 6.
“Et capillus de capite vestro non peribit.”—Luke, xxi. 18.
Life, ch. 30.
Found, ch. 5

CHAP. IX.]

I. Conformity to God's Will.

403

“Those persons are deceived who fancy that union with
God consists in ecstasies, raptures, and sensible enjoy­
ments of him. It consists in nothing else than in sub­
mitting our will to the will of God; and this submission
is perfect when our will is detached from everything,
and so completely united with that of God, that all its
movements depend solely on the will of God. This is
the real and essential union which I have always sought
after, and continually beg of the Lord.” And then she
adds: “Oh, how many of us say this, and seem to our­
selves to desire nothing besides this; but, miserable
creatures that we are, how few of us attain to it!” Such,
indeed, is the undeniable truth; many of us say: O Lord!
I give Thee my will, I desire nothing but what Thou
desirest; but, in the event of some trying occurrence,
we are at a loss how to yield calmly to the divine will.
And this is the source of our continually complaining
that we are unfortunate in the world, and that we are
the butt of every misfortune; and so of our dragging on
an unhappy life.
If we were conformed to the divine will in every
trouble, we should undoubtedly become saints, and be
the happiest of mankind. This, then, should form the
chief object of our attention, to keep our will in un­
broken union with the will of God in every occurrence
of life, be it pleasant or unpleasant. It is the admoni­
tion of the Holy Spirit. Winnow not with every wind.1
Some people resemble the weathercocks, which turn
about every wind that blows; if the wind is fair and
favorable to their desires, they are all gladness and con­
descension ; but if there blow a contrary wind, and
things fall out against their desires, they are all sadness
and impatience; this is why they do not become saints,
and why their life is unhappy, because, in the present
1 “ Ne ventiles te in omnem ventum.”—Ecclus. v. 11.

404

Practice of the Love offesus Christ,

life, adversity will always befall us in a greater measure
than prosperity. St. Dorotheas said, that to receive
from the hands of God whatever happens is a great
means to keep ourselves in continual peace and tranquil­
lity of soul. And the saint relates, that on this account
the ancient Fathers of the desert were never seen angry
or melancholy, because they accepted whatever happened
to them joyfully, as coming from the hands of God.
Oh, happy the man who lives wholly united and aban­
doned to the divine will ! he is neither puffed up by suc­
cess nor depressed by reverses; for he well knows that
all alike comes from the self-same hand of God; the
will of God is the single rule of his own will; thus he
only does what God wishes him to do, and he only de­
sires what God does. He is not anxious to do many
things, but to accomplish with perfection what he knows
to be acceptable to God. Accordingly, he prefers the
minutest obligations of his state of life to the most
glorious and important actions, well aware that in the
latter self-love may find a great share, whereas in the
former there is certainly the will of God.
Thus we, too, shall be happy when we receive from
God a.'l the dispositions of his Providence in the spirit
of perfect conformity to his divine will, utterly regard­
less whether or not they coincide with our private in­
clinations. The saintly Mother de Chantal said: “ When
shall we come to relish the divine will in everv event
that happens, without paying attention to anything else
but the good pleasure of God. from whom it is certain
that prosperity and adversity proceed alike from motives
oi love and for our best interests? When shall we resign
ourselves unreservedly into the arms of our most loving
heavenly Father, intrusting him with the care of our per­
sons ’nd our affairs, and reserving nothing for ourselves
but the sole desire of pleasing God ?” The friends of
St. \ incent of Paul sa,d of him while he was still on

chap,

ix.]

I. Conformity to God's Will.

405

earth: “Vincent is always Vincent.” By which they
meant to sav,
* f that the saint was ever to be seen with the
same smiling face, whether in prosperity or in adversity;
and was always himself, because, as he lived in the total
abandonment of himself to God, he feared nothing and
desired nothing but what was pleasing to God. St.
Teresa said: “ By this holy abandonment that admir­
able liberty of spirit is generated, which those who are
perfect possess, wherein they find all the happiness in
this life which they can possibly desire; inasmuch as,
fearful of nothing, and desirous or wanting for nothing
in the things of this world, they possess all.” 1
Many, on the other hand, fabricate a sort of sanctity
according to their own inclinations; some, inclined to
melancholy, make sanctity consist in living in seclusion;
others, of a busy temperament, in preaching and in mak­
ing up quarrels; some, of an austere nature, in peniten­
tial inflictions and macerations; others, who are nat­
urally generous, in distributing alms; some in saying
many vocal prayers; others in visiting sanctuaries; and
all their sanctity consists in such or the like practices.
External acts are the fruit of the love of Jesus Christ;
but true love itself consists in a complete conformity to
the will of God; and as a consequence of this, in deny­
ing ourselves and in preferring what is most pleasing to
God, and solely because he deserves it.
Others wish to serve God; but it must be in that em­
ployment, in that place, with those companions, and in
such circumstances; or else they either neglect their
duty, or at least do it with a bad grace: such as these
are not free in spirit, but are slaves of self-love, and on
that account reap little merit even from what they per­
form; moreover, they live in perpetual disquiet, since
their attachment to self-will makes the yoke of Jesus
1 Found. ch. 5.

4o6

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

Christ become heavy to them. The true lovers of Jesus
Christ love only that which is pleasing to Jesus Christ,
and for the sole reason that it does please him; and they
love it when it pleases Jesus Christ, where it pleases him,
and how it pleases him; whether he chooses to employ
them in honorable functions, or in mean and lowly occu­
pations; in a life of notoriety in the world, or in one
hidden and despised. This is the real drift of what is
meant by the pure love of Jesus Christ; hence we must
labor to overcome the cravings of our self-love, which
seeks to be employed in those works only that are glori­
ous, or that are according to our own inclina ions. And
what will it profit us to be the most honored, the most
wealthy, the greatest in this world, without the will of
God? The Blessed Henry Suso said, “I would rather
be the vilest insect on earth by the will of God, than a
seraph in heaven by my own will.”
Jesus Christ said: Many shall say: Lord, we have cast out
devils and done great wonders in Thy name : Lord, have we
not prophesied in Thy name, and cast out devils in Thy name,
and done many miracles in Thy name 11 But the Lord will
answer them: / never knew you; depart from Me, you that
work iniquity.' Depart from me; I nevei acknowledged
you for my disciples, because you preferred to follow
your own inclinations rather than my will. And this is
especially applicable to those priests who labor much for
the salvation or perfection of others, while they them­
selves continue to live on in the mire of their imperfec­
tions. Perfection consists: First, in a true contempt of
one’s self. Secondly, in a thorough mortification of our
own appetites. Thirdly, in a perfect conformity to the will
1 “Domine, nonne in nomine tuo prophetavimus, et in nomine tuo
dæmonia ejecimus, el in nomine tuo virtutes multas fecimus?”—Matt.
vii. 22.
’ “ Nunquam novi vos; discedite a me, qui operamini iniquitatem.”
-—Ibid. 23.

chap,

ix.]

I. Conformity to God's Witt.

407

of God: whosoever is wanting in one of these virtues is
out of the way of perfection. On this account a greatser­
vant of God said, it was better for us in our actions to
have the will of God rather than his glory as their sole
end; for in doing the will of God, we at the same time
promote his glory; whereas in proposing to ourselves
the glory of God, we frequently deceive ourselves, and
follow our own will under pretext of glorifying God.
St. Francis de Sales said: “There are many who say to
the Lord: I give myself wholly to Thee without reserve;
but few indeed, in point of fact, practically embrace this
abandonment. It consists in a certain indifference in
accepting all kinds of events, just as they fall out accord­
ing to the order of divine Providence, afflictions as well
as consolations, slights and injuries as well as honor and
glory.” *
It is therefore in suffering, and in embracing with
cheerfulness whatever cuts against the grain of our own
inclinations, that we can discover who is a true lover
of Jesus Christ. Thomas à Kempis says “that he is
not deserving of the name of lover who is not ready to
endure all things for his beloved, and to follow in all
things the will of his beloved.”a On the contrary, Father
Balthazar Alvarez said, that whoever quietly resigns
himself to the divine will in troubles “ travels to God
post-haste.” And the saintly Mother Teresa said : “What
greater acquisition can we make, than to have some
proof that we are pleasing God ?” And to this I add,
that we cannot have a more certain proof of this, than
by peacefully embracing the crosses which Gcd sends us.
We please God by thanking him for his benefits on
earth; but, says Father John of Avila, one “blessed be
God ” uttered in adversity* is worth six thousand acts of
thanksgiving in prosperity.
1 En tret. 2.
9 “ Qui non est paratus omnia pati et ad voluntatem stare dilecti,
non est dignus amator appellari.” — Iniit, Chr. 1. 3. c. 5.

4<d8

Practice of the Love offestes Christ.

And here we must observe, that we must receive with
resignation not merely the crosses which come directly
from God; for instance, ill-health, scanty talents, acci­
dental reverses of fortune; but such, moreover, as come
indirectly from God, and directly from our fellow-men;
for instance, persecutions, thefts, injuries; for all, in
reality, come from God. David was one day insulted by
one of his vassals called Semei, who not only upbraided
him with words of contumely, but even threw stones at
him. One of the courtiers would have forthwith avenged
the insult by cutting off the head of the offender; but
David replied: Let hint alone, and let him curse; for the
Lord hath bid him curse David f or, in other words, God
makes use of him to chastise me for my sins, and there­
fore he allowed him to pursue me with injuries.
Wherefore St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi said, that all
our prayers should have for their end to obtain from
God the grace to follow his holy will in all things. Cer­
tain souls, greedy of spiritual dainties in prayer, go in
search only of these banquets of sweet and tender feel­
ings; but courageous souls that seek sincerely to belong
wholly to God, ask him only for light to understand his
will, and for strength to put it in execution. In order to
attain to purity of love, it is necessary to submit our will
in all things to the will of God: “Never consider your­
selves,” said St. Francis de Sales, “to have arrived at
the purity which you ought to have, as long as your will
is not cheerfully obedient, even in things the most re­
pulsive, to the will of God.” “ Because,” as St. Teresa
remarks, ‘“the giving up of our will to God draws him
to unite himself to our lowliness.” 3 But this can never
be obtained, except by means of mental prayer and of
continual petitions addressed to the divine majesty, nof
9

'

1 “ Dimitte eum ut maledicat; Dominus enim praecepit ei ut male
diceret David.”—2 Kings, xvi. io.
5 Way of Perfect, ch. 33.

chap,

ix.]

/Z. Obedience.

409

without a cordial desire to belong entirely to Jesus
Christ without reserve.
O most amiable Heart of my divine Saviour, Heart
enamoured of mankind, since Thou lovest us with such
a depth of tenderness; O Heart, in fine, worthy to rule
over and possess all our hearts, would that I could make
all men comprehend the love Thou bearest them, and
the tender caresses Thou dost lavish on those who love
Thee without reserve ! O Jesus my love, be pleased to
accept the offering and the sacrifice which I this day
make to Thee of my entire will ! Acquaint me with
what Thou wouldst have me to do; for I am determined
to do all by the help of Thy grace.

II.

Obedience.
Now what is the surest way to know and ascertain
what God requires of us? There is no surer way than
to practise obedience to our Superiors and directors.
St. Vincent of Paul said: “The will of God is never bet­
ter complied with than when we obey our Superiors.”
The Holy Ghost says: Much better is obedience than the
victims of fools.' God is more pleased with the sacrifice
which we make to him of our own will, by submitting it
to obedience, than with all other sacrifices which we
can offer him; because in other things, as in alms-deeds,
fastings, mortifications, and the like, we give of what is
ours to God, but in giving him our will we present him
ourselves: when we give him our goods, our mortifica­
tions, we give him part; but when we give him our will,
we give him everything. So that when we say to God,
O Lord, make me know by means of obedience what
Thou requirest of me, for I wish to comply with all, we
have nothing more to offer him.
1 “ Melior est obedientia, quam stultorum victimae.”—Ecclcs. iv. 17.

410

Practice of the Love offeszts Christ.

I
Whoever, therefore, gives himself up to obedience,
must needs detach himself totally from his own opinion,
“ What though each one,” says St. Francis de Sales, “ has
his own opinions, virtue is not thereby violated; but
virtue is violated by the attachment which we have to
our own opinions.”1 But alas! this attachment is the
hardest thing to partA with; and hence there are so few
persons wholly given to God, because few render a thor­
ough submission to obedience. There are some persons
so fondly attached to their own opinion, that, on receiv­
ing an obedience, although the thing enjoined suit their
inclination, yet, from the very fact that it is commanded,
they lose all fancy for it, all wish to discharge it; for
they find no relish in anything but in following the
dictates of their individual will. How different is the
conduct of saints! their only happiness flows from the
execution of what obedience imposes on them. The
saintly Mother Jane Frances de Chantal once told her
daughters that they might spend the recreation-day in
any manner they chose. When the evening came, they
all went to her, to beg most earnestly that she would
never again grant them such a permission; for they had
never spent such a wearisome day as that on which they
had been set free from obedience.
It is a delusion to think that any one can be possibly
better employed than in the discharge of what obedience
has imposed. St. Francis de Sales says: “To desert an
occupation given by obedience in order to unite ourselves
to God by prayer, by reading, or by recollection, would
be to withdraw from God to unite ourselves to our own
self-love.”3 St. Teresa adds, moreover, that whoever
performs any work, even though it be spiritual, yet
against obedience, assuredly works by the instigation of
the devil, and not by divine inspiration, as he perhaps
1 Entre t. 14,

2 Spirit, ch. 19.

chap,

ix.]

411

ZZ. Obedience.

flatters himself; Ci because,’’ says the saint, “ the inspira­
tions of God always come in company with obedience.”
Ίο the same effect she says elsewhere; ‘‘God requires
nothing more of a soul that is determined to love him
than obedience.” 1 “ A work done out of obedience,” says
Father Rodriguez, “outweighs every other that we can
imagine.” To lift up a straw from the ground out of obe­
dience is of greater merit than a protracted prayer, or a
discipline to blood, through our own will. This caused
St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi to say, that she would
rather be engaged in some exercise from obedience than
in prayer ; “ because,” said she, “ in obedience I am cer­
tain of the will of God, whereas I am by no means so
certain of it in any other exercise.” 2 According to all
spiritual masters, it is better to leave off any devout ex­
ercise through obedience, than to continue it without obe­
dience. The Most Blessed Virgin Mary revealed once to
St. Bridget,3 that he who relinquishes some mortification
through obedience reaps a twofold profit; since he has
already obtained the merit of the mortification by the
good-will to do it, and he also gains the merit of obe­
dience by foregoing it. One day the famous Father
Francis Arias went to see the Venerable Father John of
Avila, his intimate friend, and he found him pensive and
sad; he asked him the reason, and received this answer:
“ O happy you, who live under obedience, and are sure
of doing the will of God. As for me, who shalf warrant
me whether I do a thing more pleasing to God in going
from village to village, catechizing the poor peasants, or
in remaining stationary in the confessional, to hear every­
one that presents himself? Whereas he that is living
under obedience is always sure that whatever be per­
forms by obedience is according to the will of God, or
rather that it is what is most acceptable to God.” Let
1 Found, ch. 5.

3 Cepar. c. 5.

z Rev. 1. 4, c. 26.

412

Practice of the Love offesus Christ.

this serve as a consolation for all those who live under
obedience.
For obedience to be perfect, we must obey with the will
and with the judgment. To obey with the will signifies
to obey willingly, and not by constraint, after the fashion
of slaves ; to obey with the judgment means to conform
our judgment to that of the Superior, without examining
what is commanded. St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi
remarks on this: “ Perfect obedience demands a soul
without judgment.” To the like purpose, St. Philip
Neri said that, in order to obey with perfection, it was
not enough to execute the thing commanded, but it must
be done without reasoning on it ; taking it for certain
that what is commanded us is for us the most perfect
thing we can do, although the opposite might be better
before God/
This holds good not merely for religious, but likewise
for seculars living under obedience to their spiritual di­
rectors. Let them request their director to prescribe
them rules for the guidance of their affairs, both spiritual
and temporal; and so they will make sure of doing what
is best. St. Philip Neri said: “Let those who are desir­
ous of progressing in the way of God submit themselves
to a prudent confessor, whom they should obev as in
God’s place. By so doing, we arc certain of not having
to render an account to God of the actions we perform.” 3
He said, moreover, “that we must place faith in the
confessor, because the Lord will not permit him to err ;
that nothing is so sure of cutting off all the snares of the
devil as to do the will of others in the performance of
good; and that there is nothing more dangerous than to
wish to direct ourselves according to our private fancy.”
In like manner, St. Francis de Sales says, in speaking of
the direction of the spiritual Father as a means of walk1 Bacci,

1. I, c. 20.

’ Bacci,

1. 1, c. 20.

CHAP. IX]

II. Obedience.

413

ing securely in the path of perfection, “ This is the maxim
of all maxims.”1 “Seek as you will,” says the devout
Avila, “you will never so surely find the will of God as
in the way of this humble obedience, so much recom­
mended and so practised by all the ancient servants of
God.” The same thing is affirmed by St. Bernard, St.
Bernardine of Siena, St. Antoninus, St. John of the
Cross, St. Teresa, John Gerson, and all theologians and
masters of the spiritual life; and St. John of the Cross
said, that to call this truth in question is almost to doubt
of the faith. The words of the saint are, “ not to be sat­
isfied with what the confessor says, is arrogance, and a
want of faith.”
Among the maxims of St. Francis de Sales are the two
following, most consolatory for scrupulous souls: “ First,
a truly obedient soul was never yet lost ; secondly, we
ought to be satisfied on being told by our spiritual di­
rector that we are going on well, without seeking to be
convinced of it ourselves.” It is the teaching of many
Doctors, as of Gerson, St. Antoninus, Cajetanus,
Navarrus, Sanchez, Bonacina, Cordovius, Castropalao,
and the Doctors of Salamanca, with others, that the
scrupulous person is bound, under strict obligation, to act
in opposition to scruples, when from such scruples there
is reason to apprehend grievous harm happening to soul
or body, such as the loss of health, or of intellect;
wherefore scrupulous persons ought to have greater
scruple at not obeying the confessor than at acting m
opposition to their scruples.
Io sum up, therefore, all that has been said in this
chapter, our salvation and perfection consist: 1. In de­
nying ourselves; 2. In following the will of God; 3. In
praying him always to give us strength to do both one
and the other.
z Introd. p. 1, c. 4.

414

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ,
Affections and Prayers.

What have I in heaven? and besides Thee what do I desire
upon earth ? Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is
my portion forever? My beloved Redeemer, infinitely amiable,
since Thou hast come down from heaven to give Thyself wholly
to me, what else shall I seek for on earth or in heaven besides
Thee, who art the sovereign good, the only good worthy to be
loved ? Be Thou, then, the sole Lord of my heart, do Thou
possess it entirely: may my soul love Thee alone, obey Thee
alone, and seek to please no other than Thee. Let others
enjoy the riches of this world, I wish only for Thee: Thou art
and shalt ever be my treasure in this life and in eternity
Wherefore I give Thee, O my Jesus, my whole heart and all my
will. It was at one time, alas! a rebel against Thee ; but now
I dedicate it wholly to Thee. Lord, what wilt Thou have me
to do?' Tell me what Thou requirest of me, and lend me Thy
assistance; for I will leave nothing undone. Dispose of me,
and of all that concerns me, as Thou pleasest ; I accept of all,
and resign myself to all. O Love deserving of infinite love,
Thou hast loved me so as even to die for me ; I love Thee with
my whole heart, I love Thee more than myself, and into Thy
hands I abandon my soul. On this very day I bid farewell to
every worldly affection, I take leave of everything created, and
I give myself without reserve to Thee ; Through the merits of
Thy Passion receive me, and make me faithful unto death. My
Jesus, my Jesus, from this day forward I will live only for Thee,
I will love none but Thee, I will seek nothing else than to do
Thy blessed will.
Aid me by Thy grace, and aid me, too, by thy protection, O
Mary my hope.
1 “ Quid mihi est in coelo ? et a te quid volui super terram ?... Deus
cordis mei, et pars mea, Deus, in æternum.”—Ps. Ixxii. 25.
9 “ Domine quid me vis facere?"—Acts, ix. 6.

CHAP. X.]

Z. Infirm il ies.

CHAPTER X.
CHARITY BEARETH ALL THINGS.

(Charitas omnia suffert.)

He that loves Jesus Christ bears all Things for Jesus Christ,
and especially Illnesses, Poverty, and Contempt.
In Chapter I. we spoke of the virtue of patience in
general. In this we will speak of certain matters in par­
ticular, which demand the especial practice of patience.
Father Balthazar Alvarez1 said that a Christian need
not imagine himself to have made any progress until he
has succeeded in penetrating his heart with a lasting
sense of the sorrows, poverty, and ignominies of Jesus
Christ so as to support with loving patience every sort
of sorrow, privation, and contempt, for the sake of Jesus
Christ.

I.

Patience in Sickness.
In the first place, let us speak of bodily infirmities,
which, when borne with patience, merit for us a beautiful
crown.
St. Vincent de Paul said; “Did we but know how
precious a treasure is contained in infirmities, we should
accept of them with joy as the greatest possible blessings.”
Hence the saint himself, though constantly afflicted with
ailments, that often left him no rest day or night, bore
them with so much peace and such serenity of counte­
nance that no one could guess that anything ailed him
at all. Oh, how edifying is it to see a sick person bear
1 Life, ch. 3.

4i6

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

his illness with a peaceful countenance, as did St. Fran­
cis de Sales ! When he was ill, he simply explained his
complaint to the physician, obeyed him exactly by tak­
ing the prescribed medicines, however nauseous; and
for the rest he remained at peace, never uttering a single
complaint in all his sufferings. What a contrast to this
is the conduct of those who do nothing but complain
even for the most trifling indisposition, and who would
like to have around them all their relatives and friends
to sympathize with them ! Far different was the in­
struction of St. Teresa to her nuns: “My sisters, learn
to suffer something for the love of Jesus Christ, without
letting all the world know of it.”1 One Good Friday
Jesus Christ favored the Venerable Father Louis da
Ponte with so much bodily suffering, that no part of him
was exempt from its particular pain: he mentioned his
severe sufferings to a friend; but he was afterwards so
sorry at having done so, that he made a vow never again
to reveal to anybody whatever he might afterwards
suffer. I say “he was favored;” for, to the saints, the
illnesses and pains which God sends them are real
favors. One day St. Francis of Assisi lay on his bed in
excruciating torments, a companion said to him: “Fa­
ther, beg God to ease your pains, and not to lay so
heavy a hand upon you.” On hearing this, the saint
instantly leaped from his bed, and going on his knees,
thanked God for his sufferings; then, turning to his
companion, he said: “Listen, did I not know that you
so spoke from simplicity, I would refuse ever to see you
again.” 2
Some one that is sick will say, it is not so much the
infirmity itself that afflicts me, as that it disables me
from going to church to perform my devotions, to com­
municate, and to hear Holy Mass; I cannot go to choir
1 Way of Perf. ch. 12.

^Pita, c. 14.

chap,

x.]

1. Infirmities.

417

to recite the divine Office with my brethren; I cannot
celebrate Mass; I cannot pray; for my head is aching
with pain, and is light almost to fainting. But tell me
now, if you please, why do you wish to go to church or
to choir? why would you communicate and say or hear
Holy Mass ? is it to please God ? but it is not now the
pleasure of God that you say the Office, that you com­
municate, or hear Mass; but that you remain patiently on
this bed, and support the pains of this infirmity. But
you are displeased with my speaking thus; then you
are not seeking to do what is pleasing to God, but what
is pleasing to yourself. The Venerable John of Avila
wrote as follows to a priest who so complained to him:
“ My 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. If you seek the will of God, what mat­
ters it to you whether you be well or ill ?” 1*
You say you are unable even to pray, because your
head is weak. Be it so: you cannot meditate; but why
cannot you make acts of resignation to the will of God ?
If you would only make these acts, you could not make
a better prayer, welcoming with love all the torments
that assail you. So did St. Vincent of Paul: when at­
tacked 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 exer­
cise was to elicit some short acts from time to time, as
of love, of confidence, of thanksgiving, and more fre­
quently of resignation, especially in the crisis of his suf­
ferings. St. Francis de Sales made this remark:. “ Con­
sidered in themselves, tribulations are terrifying ; but
considered in the will of God, they are lovely and de­
lightful.”3 You cannot say prayers; and what more
exquisite prayer than to cast a look from time to time
1 Part 2, Ep. 54.
27

* Love of God ■ B. g, ch. 2.

4i 8

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

on your crucified Lord, and to offer him your pains,
uniting the little that you endure to the overwhelming
torments that afflicted Jesus on the cross !
There was a certain pious lady lying bedridden with
many disorders; and on the servant putting the crucifix
into her hand, and telling her to pray to God to deliver
her from her miseries, she made answer: “But how can
you desire me to seek to descend from the cross, whilst
I hold in my hand a God crucified ? God forbid chat I
should do so. I will suffer for him who chose to suffer
torments for me incomparably greater than mine.”
This was, indeed, precisely what Jesus Christ said to St.
Teresa when she was laboring under serious illness; he
appeared to her all covered with wounds, and then said
to her: “ Behold, my daughter, the bitterness of my suf­
ferings, and consider if yours equal mine.” * Hence the
saint was accustomed to say, in the midst of all her in­
firmities: “When 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 suf­
ferings.” During a period of thirty-eight years, St. Lid­
wine was afflicted with numberless evils—fevers, gout in
the feet and hands, and sores, all her lifetime; neverthe­
less, from never losing sight of the sufferings of Jesus
Christ, she maintained an unbroken cheerfulness and joy.
In 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 him from
stirring through vehemence of pain, seized hold of the
crucifix and exclaimed: “Wherefore bind me?—where­
fore bind me ? behold who it is that binds me to support
every suffering patiently for love of him;” and so he bore
the operation without a murmur. St. Jonas the Martyr,
after passing the entire night immersed in ice by order
1 Life, addit.

chap,

x.]

Z Infirmities.

419

of the tyrant, declared next morning that he had never
spent a happier night, because he had pictured to him­
self Jesus hanging on the cross; and thus, compared
with the torments of Jesus, his own had seemed rather
caresses than torments.
Oh, what abundance of merits may be accumulated
by patiently enduring illnesses ! Almighty God revealed
to Father Balthazar Alvarez the great glory he had in
store for a certain nun, who had borne a painful sick­
ness with resignation; and told him that she had ac­
quired greater merit in those eight months of her illness
than some other religious in many years. It is by the
patient endurance of ill-health that we weave a great
part, and perhaps the greater part, of the crown that God
destines for us in heaven. St. Lidwine had a revelation
to this effect. After sustaining many and most cruel
disorders, as we mentioned above, she prayed to die a
martyr for the love of Jesus Christ; now as she was one
day sighing after this martyrdom, she suddenly saw a
beautiful crown, but still incomplete, and she understood
that it was destined for herself; whereupon the saint,
longing to behold it completed, entreated the Lord to
increase her sufferings. Her prayer was heard, for some
soldiers came shortly after, and ill-treated her, not only
with injurious words, but with blows and outrages An
angel then appeared to her with the crown completed,
and informed her that those last injuries had added to it
the gems that were wanting; and shortly afterwards she
expired.
Ah, yes ! to the hearts that fervently love Jesus Christ,
pains and ignominies are·most delightful. And 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. The martyr St. Procopius thus spoke
to the tyrant who tortured him: “Torment me as you
like; but know at the same time, that nothing is sweeter

420

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

to the lover of Jesus Christ than to suffer for his sake.”
St. Gordius, Martyr, replied in the same way to the
tyrant who threatened him death: “Thou threatenest
me with death; but I am only sorry that I cannot die
more than once for my own beloved Jesus.” 2 And I ask,
did these saints speak thus because they were insensible
to pain or weak in intellect ? “ No,” replies St. Bernard;
“ not insensibility, but love caused this.” 3 They were
not insensible, for they felt well enough the torments in­
flicted on them; but since they loved God, they es­
teemed it a great privilege to suffer for God, and to lose
all, even life itself, for the love of God.
Above all, in time of sickness we should be ready to
accept of death, and of that death which God pleases.
We must die, and our life must finish in our last illness;
nor do we know which will be our last illness. Where­
fore in every illness we must be prepared to accept that
death which God has appointed for us. A sick person
says: “Yes; but I have committed many sins, and have
done no penance. I should like to live, not for the sake
of living, but to make some satisfaction to God before
my death.” But tell me, my brother, how do you know
that if you live longer you will do penance, and not
rather do worse than before? At present you can well
cherish the hope that God has pardoned you; what pen­
ance can be more satisfactory than to accept of death
with resignation, if God so wills it? St. Aloysius Gon­
zaga, at the age of twenty-three, gladly embraced death
with this reflection: “At present,” he said, “ I am, as I
hope, in the grace of God. Hereafter, I know not what
may befall me; so that I now die contentedly, if God
calls me to Lhe next life.” 4 It was the opinion of Father
1 /i/. Sur. 8 Jul.
2 S. Bas. horn, in Gord. M.
3 “ Neque hoc facit stupor, sed amor.”—In Cant. s. 6i.
4 Life, ch. 25.

CHAP. X.]

II, Poverty.

42I

John of Avila that every one, provided he be in good
dispositions, though only moderately good, should desire
death, to escape the danger, which always surrounds us
in this world, of possibly sinning and losing the grace of
God.
Besides, 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. 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 us the door, we cannot enter that
blessed region of love. This caused St. Augustine, that
loving soul, to cry out: “ Oh, let me die, Lord, that I
may behold Thee !” 1 O Lord, let me die, otherwise I
cannot behold and love Thee face to face.

IL

Patience in Poverty.
In the second place, we must practise patience in the '
endurance of poverty. Our patience is certainly very
much tried when we are in need of temporal goods. St.
Augustine said: “He that has not God, has nothing;
he that has God, has all.” 3 He who possesses God, and
remains united to his blessed will, finds every good.
Witness St. Francis, barefooted, clad in sackcloth, and
deprived of all things, yet happier than all the monarchs
of the world, by simply repeating, “My God and my
all.” 3 A poor man is properly he that has not what he
desires; but he that desires nothing, and is contented
with his poverty, is in fact very rich. Of such St. Paul
' “ Eia, Domine' moriar, ut te videam.”—Sol. an. ad D. c. 1.
3 “ Deus meus, et omnia.”

42 2

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

says: Having nothing, yet possessing all things} The true
lovers of God have nothing, and yet have everything,
since, when temporal goods fail them, they exclaim:
“My Jesus, Thou alone art sufficient for me;” and with
this they rest satisfied. Not only did the saints main­
tain patience in poverty, but sought to be despoiled of
all, in order to live detached from all, and united with
God alone. If we have not courage enough 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 what St. Teresa
says: “The less we have here, the more we shall have
there. ’2
St. Bonaventure said that temporal goods were nothing
more than a sort of bird-lime to hinder the soul from
flying to God. And St. John Climacus 3 said, that pov­
erty, on the contrary, is a path which leads to God free
of all hindrances. Our Lord himself said: Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven} In the
other Beatitudes, the heaven of the life to come is prom­
ised to the meek and to the clean of heart; but to the
poor, heaven (that is, heavenly joy) is promised even in
this life : theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Yes, for even in
the present life the poor enjoy a foretaste of paradise.
By the poor in spirit are meant those who are not merely
poor in earthly goods, but who do not so much as desire
them; who, having enough to clothe and feed them, live
contented, according to the advice of the Apostle: But
having food, and wherewith to he. covered, with these we are
' “ Nihil habentes, et omnia possidentes.”—2 Cor. vi. 10.
2 Found, ch. 14.
3 Scala sp. gr. 17.
4 “ Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum/
—Matt. v. 3.

CHAP. X.]

II. Poverty.

423

content' Oh, blessed poverty (exclaimed St. Laurence
Justinian), which possesses nothing and fears nothing;
she is ever joyous and ever in abundance, since she
turns every inconvenience into advantage for the soul?
St. Bernard said: “The avaricious man hungers after
earthly things as a beggar, the poor man despises them
as a lord.” * The miser is always hungry as a beggar,
because he is never satiated with the possessions he
desires; the poor man, on the contray, despises them all
as a rich lord, inasmuch as he desires nothing
One day Jesus Christ thus spoke to the Blessed Angela
of Foligno: “ If poverty were not of great excellence, I
would not have chosen it for myself, nor have bequeathed
it to my elect.” And, in fact, the saints, seeing Jesus
poor, had therefore a great affection for poverty. St.
Paul says, that the desire of growing rich is a snare of
Satan, bv which he has wrought the ruin of innumerable
souls: They that will become iich,fall into temptation, and
into the snare ol the devil, and into many unprofitable and
hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdi­
tion! Unhappy beings who, for the sake of vile creatures
of earth, forfeit an infinite good, which is God ! St.
Basil the Martyr was quite in the right, when the Em­
peror Licinius proposed to make him the chief among
his priests, if he would renounce Jesus Christ; he was
right, I say, to reply: “Tell 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.” 4
1 “ Habentes autem alimenta et quibus tegamur, bis contenti
«urnus/’—i Tini. vi. 8.
9 De Disc. mon. c. 2.
3 “ Avarus terrena esurit ut mendicus, fidelis contemnit ut domi­
nus.”— In Cant. s. 21.
4 “Qui volunt divites fieri, incidunt ... in laqueum diaboli et
desideria . . . nociva, quæ mergunt homines in interitum ct perdi­
tionem.— i lini. vi. 9.
5 Boll. April 26, Act. η. Tl.

424

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

Let us be content then with God, and with those things
which 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. “Not poverty,” says St.
Bernard, “ but the love of poverty, is reckoned a virtue.” 1*
Many 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.
This love of poverty should be especially practised by
religious who have made the vow of poverty. “Many
religious,” says the same St. Bernard, “ wish to be poor;
but on the condition of wanting for nothing.” ’ “ Thus,”
says St. Francis de Sales, “they wish for the honor of
poverty, but not the inconveniences of poverty.”3 To
such persons is applicable the saying of the Blessed
Salomea, a nun of St. Clare: “That religious shall be a
laughing-stock to angels and to men, who pretends to be
poor, and yet murmurs when she is in want of some­
thing.” Good religious act differently; they love their
poverty above all riches. 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-up habit,
who evinced some astonishment, as if it were unbecom­
ing her noble birth ; but she made him this answer:
“My brother, I am more content with this torn garment
than all monarchs with their purple robes.” St. Mary
Magdalene of Pazzi said: “O happy religious! who,
detached from all by means of holy poverty, can say,
1 “Non paupertas virtus reputatur, sed paupertatis amor.”—Epist.
100.
s “ Pauperes esse volunt, eo tamen pacto, ut nihil eis desit.”—In
Adv. D. s. 4.
' 3
3 Introd. ch. 16.

chap,

x.]

II. Poverty.

425

The Lord is the portion op my inheritance' “ My God,
Thou art my portion ar,d all my good.”’ 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 re­
mained in poverty till death. St. Aloysius Gonzaga
said that there could be no surer sign that a person is
numbered among the elect, than to see him fearing God,
and at the same time undergoing crosses and tribulations
in this life.
The bereavement of relatives and friends by death be­
longs also, in some measure, to holy poverty; and in this
we must especially practise patience. Some 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. I would ask these per­
sons, for whose gratification they thus lament and shed
tears? Forthat of God ? Certainly not; forGod’s will is,
that they should be resigned to his dispensations. For
that of the soul departed ? By 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. Of what use,
then, is all this weeping ? On one occasion, the Venerable
Father Joseph Caracciolo, the Theatine, was surrounded
by his relatives, who were all bitterly lamenting the
death of his brother, whereupon he said to them:
<( Come, come ! let us keep these tears for a better pur­
pose, to weep over the death of Jesus Christ, who has
1 “ Dominus pars hæreditatis meæ.”—Ps. xv. 5.
’ Cepar. c. 22.

426

Practice oj the Love of Jesus Christ.

been to us a fatner, a brother, and spouse, and who died
for love of us.’ On such occasions we must imitate Job,
who, on hearing· the news of the death of his sons, ex­
claimed, with full resignation to the Divine will, The
Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; God gave me
my sons, and God hath taken them away. As it hath
pleased the Lord, so is it done : blessed be the name of the
Lordy1 it hath pleased God that such things should hap­
pen, and so it pleaseth me; wherefore may he be blessed
bv me forever.
III.

Patience under Contempt.
In the third place, we must practise patience, and
show our love to God, by tranquilly submitting to con­
tempt.
As soon as a soul delivers herself up to God, he sends
her from himself, or through others, insults and perse­
cution. One day an angel appeared to the Blessed
Henry Suso and said to him, “ Henry, thou hast hitherto
mortified thyself in thy own way; henceforth thou shalt
be mortified after the pleasure of others.” 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,
“ So hast thou to be torn in the mouths of men.” Forth­
with the Blessed Henry descended into the street and
secured the rag, putting it by to encourage him in his
coming trials.’
Affronts and injuries were the delicacies the saints
earnestly longed and sought for. St. Philip Neri, dur­
ing the space of thirty years, had to put up with much
1 "Dominus dedit. Dominus abstulit: sicut Domino placuit, ita
factum est; sit nomen Domini benedictum.”—Job, i. 21.
* Life, ch. 22.

CHAP. X.]

III. Contempt.

427

ill-treatment in the house of St. Jerome at Rome; but
on this very account he refused to leave it, and resisted
all i he. in vi talions of his sons to come and live with them
in me new Oratory, founded by himself, till he received
an express command from the Pope to do so. So St.
John of the Cross was prescribed change of air for an
illness which eventually carried him to the grave; now,
he could have selected a more commodious convent, of
which the Prior was particularly attached to him; but
he chose inste.ad a poor convent, whose Prior was his
enemy, 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 other monks
from visiting him. Here we see how the saints even
sought to be despised. St. Teresa wrote this admir­
able maxim: “Whoever aspires to perfection must bewaie of ever saying: They had no reason to treat me so.
If you will not bear any cross but one which is founded
on reason, then perfection is not for you.” Whilst St.
Peter Martyr was complaining in prison of being con­
fined unjustly, he received that celebrated answer from
the Crucifix: our Lord said to him, “And what evil have
I done, that I suffer and die on this cross for men ?” Oh,
what consolation do the saints derive in all their tribu­
lations from the ignominies which Jesus Christ endured !
St. Eleazar, on being asked by his wife how he contrived
to bear with so much patience the many injuries which
he had to sustain, and that even from his own servants,
replied: “I turn my looks 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.”
In fine, affronts, poverty, torments, and all tribulations,
serve only to estrange further from God the soul that
does not love him; whereas, when they befall a soul in

428

Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.

love with God, they become an instrument of closer
union and more ardent love of God : Many waters
cannot quench charity.' However 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.
But wherefore does Almighty God load us with so
many crosses, and take pleasure in seeing us afflicted, re­
viled, persecuted, and ill-treated by the world ? Is he,
perchance, a tyrant, whose cruel disposition makes him
rejoice in our suffering? No: God is by no means a
tyrant, nor cruel; he is all compassion and love towards
us; suffice it to say, that he has died for us. He indeed
does rejoice at our suffering, but for our good; inasmuch
as, by suffering here, we are released hereafter from the
debt of torments justly due from us to his divine justice;
he rejoices in them, because they detach us from the
sensual pleasures of this world: when a mother would
wean her child, she puts gall on the breast, in order to
create a disgust in the child; he rejoices in them, because
we give him, by our patience and resignation in bear­
ing them, a token of our love ; in fine, he rejoices in
them, because they contribute to our increase of glory in
heaven. Such are the reasons for which the Almighty,
in his compassion and love towards us, is pleased at our
suffering.
Let us now draw this chapter to a conclusion. That
we may be able to practise patience to advantage in all
our tribulations, we must be fully persuaded that every
trial comes from the hands of God, either directly, or in­
directly through men; we must therefore render God
thanks whenever we are beset with sorrows, and accept,
with gladness of heart, of every event, prosperous or ad­
verse, that proceeds from him, knowing that all happens
1 “ Aquæ multæ non potuerunt exstinguere charitatem.” — Cant.
viii. 7.

CHAP. X.]

III.

429

by his disposition for our welfare: To them that love God all
things work together unto good? In addition to this, it is
well in our tribulations to glance a moment at that hell
which we have formerly deserved: for assuredly all the
pains of this life are incomparably smaller than the aw­
ful pains of hell. But above all, prayer, by which we
gain the divine assistance, is the great means to suffer
patiently all affliction, scorn, and contradictions; and is
that which will furnish us with the strength which we
have not of ourselves. The saints were persuaded of
this; they recommended themselves to God, and so over­
came every kind of torments and persecutions.
Affections and Prayers.

O Lord, I am fully persuaded that without suffering, and suf­
fering with patience, I cannot win the crown of Paradise. David
said : From Him is my patience? And I say the same ; my
patience in suffering must come from Thee. I make many pur­
poses to accept in peace of all tribulations ; but no sooner are
they at hand than I grow sad and alarmed ; and if I suffer, I
suffer without merit and without love, because I know not how
to suffer them so as to please Thee. O my Jesus, through the
merits of Thy patience in bearing so many afflictions for love of
me, grant me the grace to bear crosses for the love of Thee ! I
love Thee with my whole heart, O my dear Redeemer ! I love
Thee, my sovereign good ! I love Thee, my own love, worthy of
infinite love. I am grieved at any displeasure I have ever caused
Thee, more than for any evil whatever. I promise Thee to re­
ceive with patience all the trials Thou mayest send me ; but I
look to Thee for help to be faithful to my promise, and especi­
ally to be enabled to bear in peace the throes of my last agony
and death.
O Mary, my Queen, vouchsafe to obtain for me a true resig­
nation in all the anguish and trials that await me in life and
death.
1 “ Diligentibus Deum omnia cooperantur in bonum.”—28.
s “ Ab ipso patientia mea.”—Ps. Ixi. 6.

43θ

Practice of the Love offcsus Christ,

CHAPTER XL
CHARITY BELIEVETH ALL THINGS.

(Charitas omnia credit.}

He that loves Jesus Christ believes all His Words.
Whoever loves a person, believes all that proceeds
from the lips of that person; consequently, the more a
soul loves Jesus Christ, the more lively and unshaken is
her faith. When the good thief beheld our Redeemer,
though he had done no ill, suffering death upon the
cross with such patience, he began at once to love him;
under the influence of this love, and of the divine light
which then broke upon his soul, he believed that this
was truly the Son of God, and begged not to be for­
gotten by him when he should have passed into his kingd o m.
Faith is the foundation of charitv ; but faith afterwards receives its perfection from charity. His faith is
most perfect whose love of God is most perfect. Charity
produces in man not merely the faith of the understand­
ing, but the faith of the will also: those who believe only
with the understanding, but not with the will, as is the
case with sinners who are perfectly convinced of the
truths of the faith, but do not choose to live according
to the divine commandments,—such as these have a very
weak faith; for had they a more lively belief that the,
grace of God is a priceless treasure, and that sin, because
it robs us of this grace, is the worst of evils, they would
assuredly change their lives. If, then, they prefer the
miserable creatures of this earth to God, it is because
they either do not believe, or because their faith is very
weak. On the contrary, he who believes not only with
J

CHAP. XL]

Faith.

4SI

the understanding, but also with the will, so that he not
only believes, but has the will to believe in God, the re­
vealer of truth, from the love he has for him, and rejoices
in so believing,—such a one has a perfect faith, and con­
sequently seeks to make his life conformable to the truths
that he believes.
Weakness of faith, however, in those who live in sin,
does not spring from the obscurity of faith; for though
God, in order to make our faith more meritorious, has
veiled the objects of faith in darkness and secresy, he
has at the same time given us so clear and convincing
evidence of their truth, that not to believe them would
argue not merely a lack of sense, but sheer madness and
impiety. The weakness of the faith of many persons is to
be traced to their wickedness of living. He who, rather
than forego the enjoyment of forbidden pleasures, scorns
the divine friendship, would wish there were no law to
forbid, and no chastisement to punish, his sin; on this ac­
count he strives to blind himself to the eternal truths of
death, judgment, and hell, and of divine justice; and be­
cause such subjects strike too much terror into his heart,
and are too apt to mix bitterness in his cup of pleasure, he
sets his brain to work to discover proofs, which have at
least the look of plausibility; and by which he allows
himself to be flattered into the persuasion that there is
no soul, no God, no hell, in order that he may live
and die like the brute beasts, without laws and without
reason.
And this laxity of morals is the source whence have
issued, and still issue daily, so many books and systems
of Materialists, Indifferentists, Politicists, Deists, and
Naturalists; some among them deny the divine exist­
ence, and some the divine Providence, saying that God,
after having created men, takes no further notice of
them, and is heedless whether they love or hate him
whether they be saved or lost; others, again, deny the

432

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

goodness of God, and maintain that he has created
numberless souls for hell, becoming himself their tempter
to sin, that so they may damn themselves, and go into
everlasting fire, to curse him there forever.
Oh, ingratitude and wickedness of men ! God has
created them in his mercy, to make them eternally
happy in heaven; he has poured on them so many lights,
benefits, and graces, to bring them to eternal life; for the
same end he has redeemed them at the price of so many
sorrows and sufferings; and yet they strive to deny all,
that they may give free rein to their vicious inclinations !
But no: let them strive as they will, the unhappy beings
cannot wrest themselves from remorse of conscience,
and the dread of the divine vengeance. On this subject
I have latterly published a work, entitled The Truth of
Faith, in which I have clearly shown the inconsistency
of all these svstems
of modern unbelievers. Oh,1 if theyJ
*
would but once forsake sin, and apply themselves
earnestly to the love of Jesus Christ, they would then
most certainly cast away all doubts about things of
faith, and firmly believe all the truths that God has re­
vealed !
The true lover of Jesus Christ keeps the eternal truths
constantly in view, and orders all his actions according
to them. Oh, how thoroughly does he who loves Jesus
Christ understand the force of that saying of the Wise
Man, Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity f that all earthly
greatness is mere smoke, dirt, and delusion; that the
soul’s only welfare and happiness consists in loving its
Creator, and in doing his blessed will; that we are, in
reality, no more than what we are before God; that it is
of no use to gain the whole world, if the soul be lost;
that all the goods in the world can never satisfy the hu­
man heart, but only God himself; and, in fine, that we
must leave all in order to gain all.
1 “Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas.”—Eccles, i. 2.

CHAP. XL]

FaitII.

Charity bchcveth all things.1 There are other Christians,
—though not so perverse as the class we have men­
tioned, who would fain believe in nothing, that they may
give full scope to their unruly passions, and live on un­
disturbed by the stings of remorse,—there are others, I
say, who believe, indeed, but their faith is languid; they
believe the most holy mysteries of religion, the truths of
Revelation contained in the Gospel, the Trinity, the Re­
demption, the holy Sacraments, and the rest; still they
do not believe all. Jesus Christ has said : Blessed are
the poor; blessed are the sorrowful; blessed arc the mortified;
blessed are those whom men persecute, calumniate, and curse.
Blessed are the poor; blessed arc they that hunger; blessed
are they that suffer persecution; blessed are you when men
shall revile you, and shall say all manner of evil against you.1
This is the teaching of Jesus Christ in the Gospel. How,
then, can it be said, that those believe in the Gospel
who say: “Blessed are those who have money; blessed
are those who suffer nothing; blessed are those who can
take their amusements; pitiable is the man that suffers
persecution and ill-treatment from others"? We must
certainly say of such as these, that either they do not
believe the Gospel, or that they believe only a part of
it. He who believes it all esteems it his highest for­
tune, and a mark of the divine favor in this world, to be
poor, to be sick, to be mortified, to be despised and illtreated by men. Such is the belief, and such the lan­
guage, of one who believes all that is said in the Gospel,
and has a real love for Jesus Christ.

Affections and Prayers.
My beloved Redeemer, O life of my soul, I firmly believe that
Thou art the only good worthy of being loved. I believe that
1 “Charitas omnia credit.”
- “ Beati pauperes.—Beati qui lugent.—Beati qui esuriunt.—
Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur. —Beati estis cum maledixerint
vobis, ... et dixerint omne malum adversus vos.”—Matt. v. 3-11.
28

434

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

Thou art the greatest lover of my soul, since through love alone
Thou didst die, overwhelmed with sorrows for love of me. I
believe there is no greater blessing in this world, or in the next,
than to love Thee, and to do Thy adorable will. All this I be­
lieve most firmly; so that I renounce all things, that I may
belong wholly to Thee, and that I may possess Thee alone.
Help me, through the merits of Thy sacred Passion, and make
me such as Thou wouldst have me to be. I believe in Thee, O
infallible truth! I trust in Thee, O infinite mercy! I love
Thee, O infinite goodness ! O infinite love, I give myself wholly
to Thee, who hast wholly given Thyself to me in Thy Passion,
and in the holy Sacrament of the Altar.
And I recommend myself to Thee, O Mary, refuge of sinners,
and Mother of God !

CHAPTER XII.
CHARITY HOPETH ALL THINGS.

(Charitas omnia sperat.}

He that loves Jesus Christ hopes for all Things from Him.
Hope increases charity, and charity increases hope.
Hope in the divine goodness undoubtedly gives an in­
crease to our love of Jesus Christ. St. Thomas says, that
in the very moment when we hope to receive some benefit
from a person, we begin also to love him.’ On this ac­
count, the Lord forbids us to put our trust in creatures :
Put not your trust in princes? Further, he pronounces a
curse on those who do so : Cursed be the man that trusteth
in man? God does not wish us to trust in creatures,
1 4‘ Ex hoc enim quod per aliquem speramus nobis posse provenire
bona, movemur in ipsum sicut in bonum nostrum, et sic incipimus
ipsum amare."—i. 2, q. 40, a. 7.
2 “ Nolite confidere in principibus."—Ps. cxlv. 2.
? “ Maledictus homo qui confidit in homine.”—Jer. xvii. 5.

CHAP. XII.]

435

because be does not wish us to fix our love upon them.
Hence St. Vincent of Paul said: “ Let us beware of re­
posing too much confidence in men; for when God be­
holds us thus leaning on them for support, he himself
withdraws from us.” On the other hand, the more we
trust in God, the more we shall advance in his holy
love: I have run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou
didst enlarge my heart.' Oh, how rapidly does that soul
advance in perfection that has her heart dilated with
confidence in God ! She flies rather than runs; for by
making God the foundation of all her hope, she flings
aside her own weakness, and borrows the strength of
God himself, which is communicated to all who place
their confidence in him: They that hope in the Lord shall
renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, they shall
run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint? The
eagle is the bird that soars nearest the sun: in like man­
ner, the soul that has God for her trust becomes detached
from the earth, and more and more united to God by
love.
Now as hope increases the love of God, so does love
help to increase hope; for charity makes us the adopted
sons of God. In the natural order we are the work of
his hands; but in the supernatural order we are made
sons of God, and partakers of the divine nature, through
the merits of Jesus Christ; as the Apostle St. Peter
wri tes: That by these you may be made partakers of the Divine
nature? And if charity makes us the sons of God, it
consequently makes us heirs of heaven, according to
1 "Viam mandatorum tuorum cucurri, cum dilatasti cor meum.”
—Ps. cxviii. 32.
2 " Qui autem sperant in Domino, mutabunt fortitudinem, assument
pennas sicut aquilæ, current et non laborabunt, ambulabunt et non
deficient.”—Is. xl. 31.
3 " Ut per hæc efficiamini divinæ naturæ consortes.”—2 Pet. i. 4.

-

Kar

43^

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

St. Paul : And if sons, heirs also) Now a son claims the
right of abiding under the paternal roof; an heir is en­
titled to the property; and thus charity increases the
hope of Paradise : so that the souls that love God cry out
incessantly, “ Thy kingdom come, Thy kingdom come !”2
Moreover, God loves those who love him : I love them
that love Me) He showers down his graces on those that
seek him by love : The Lord is good to the soul that seeketh
Him) Consequently, the soul that loves God most has
the greatest hope in his goodness. This confidence pro­
duces that imperturbable tranquillity in the saints which
makes them always joyful and full of peace, even amid
the severest trials; for their love of Jesus Christ, and
their persuasion of his liberality towards those who love
him, leads them to trust solely in him; and thus they
find a lasting repose. The sacred spouse abounded with
delights, because she loved none but her Spouse, and
leaned entirely on him for support; she was full of con­
tentment, since she well knew how generous her beloved
is towards all that love him; so that of her it is written :
Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with de­
lights, leaning upon her Beloved 16 These words of the Wise
Man are most true : All good things come to me together with
her) With charity, all blessings are introduced into the
soul.
The primary object of Christian hope is God, whom
the soul enjoys in the kingdom of heaven. But we must
not suppose that the hope of enjoying God in Paradise
is any obstacle to charity; since the hope of Paradise is
1 “ Si autem filii, et hæredes.”—Roni. viii. 17.
s “ Adveniat, adveniat regnum tuum.”
3 “ Ego diligentes me diligo.”—Prov. viii. 17.
4 “ Bonus est Dominus. . . . animæ quærenti illum.”—Lam. iii 25.
‘ “ Quæ est ista quæ ascendet de deserto, deliciis affluens, innixa
super Dilectum suum ?”—Cant, viii,- 5.
6 “Venerunt autem mihi omnia bona pariter cum illa.”—Wisd.
vii. ii.

CHAP. XII.]

437

inseparably connected wilh charity, which there receives
its full and complete perfection. Charity is that infinite
treasure, spoken of by the Wise Man, which makes us
the friends of God : An infinite treasure to men, which they
that use become the friends of God) The angelic Doctor
St. Thomas says, that friendship is founded on the mu­
tual communication of goods; for as friendship is nothing
more than a mutual love between friends, it follows that
there must be a reciprocal interchange of the good which
each possesses? Hence the saint says: “ If there be no
communication, there is no friendship.” On this account
Jesus Christ says to his disciples : I have called you
friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of My
Father I have made known to you) Since he had made them
his friends, he had communicated all his secrets to them.
St. Francis de Sales says: “If, by a supposition of
what is impossible, there could be an infinite good (that
is a God) to whom we belonged in no way whatever,
and with whom we could have no union or communica­
tion, we should certainly esteem him more than our­
selves; so that we might feel great desire of being able
to love him; but we should not actually love him, be­
cause love is built upon union; for love is a friendship,
and the foundation of friendship is to have things in
common; and its end is union.”4 Thus St. Thomas
teaches us that charity does not exclude the desire of the
reward prepared for us in heaven by Almighty God; on
the contrary, it makes us look to it as the chief object of
our love, for such is God, who constitutes the bliss of
1 “ Infinitus enim thesaurus est hominibus, quo qui usi sunt, par
ticipes facti sunt amicitiae Dei.”—Wisd. vii. 14.
’“Amicitia super amorem addit mutuam redamationem cuin
quadam communicatione mutua.”—1. 2, q. 65, a. 5.
3 “ Vos autem dixi Amicos, quia omnia, quaecumque audivi a Patre
meo, nota feci vobis.”—John, xv. 15.

438

Practice of the Love oj Jesus Christ.

paradise; for friendship implies, that friends rejoice with
one another.'
The Spouse in the Canticles refers to this reciprocal
interchange of goods, when she says : My Beloved to me
and I to Him.'1 In heaven the soul belongs wholly to
God, and God belongs wholly to the souk according to
the measure of her capacity and of her merits. But
from the persuasion which the soul has of her own noth­
ingness in comparison with the infinite attractions of
Almighty God, and aware consequently that the claims
of God on her love are beyond measure greater than her
own can be on the love of God, she is therefore more
anxious to procure the divine pleasure than her own en­
joyment ; so that she is more gratified by the pleasure
which she affords Almighty God by giving herself en­
tirely to him, than by God’s giving himself entirely to
her; but at the same lime she is delighted when God
thus gives himself to her, inasmuch as she is thereby
animated to give herself up to God with a greater inten­
sity of love. She indeed rejoices at the glory which
God imparts to her, but for the sole purpose of referring
it back to God himself, and of thus doing her utmost
to increase the divine Oglorv.
At the sight
of God in
J
O
heaven the soul cannot help loving him with all her
strength ; on the other hand, God cannot hate any one
that loves him : but if (supposing what is impossible)
God could hate a soul that loves him, and if a beatified
soul could exist without loving God, she would much
rather endure all the pains of hell, on condition of being
allowed to love God as much as he should hate her,
than to live without loving God, even though she could
1 “ Amicorum est quod quærant invicem perfrui; sed nihil aliud est
merces nostra, quam perfrui Deo videndo ipsum; ergo charitas, non
solum non excludit, sed etiam facit habere oculum ad mercedem.”—
In 3 Sent, d 29, q. I, a. 4.
* “ Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi."—Cani. ii. 16.

Cii AP. XII.]

Hope.

439

enjoy all the other delights of Paradise. So it is ; for
that conviction which the soul has of God’s boundless
claims upon her love gives her a greater desire to love
God than to be loved by him.
Charity hopeth all things.' St. Thomas, with the Master
of the Sentences, defines Christian hope to be a “sure
expectation of eternal happiness.” 3 Its certainty arises
from the infallible promise of God to give eternal life to
his faithful servants. Now charity, by taking away sin,
at the same time takes aways all obstacles to our ob­
taining the happiness of the blessed; hence the greater
our charity, the greater also and firmer is our hope .
hope, on the other hand, can in no way interfere with
the purity of love, because, according to the observa­
tion of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, love tends natu­
rally to union with the object beloved; or, as St. Augus­
tine asserts in stronger terms, love itself is like a chain
of gold that links together the hearts of the lover and
the loved. “ Love is as it were a kind of bond uniting
two together.”3 And as this union can never be effected
at a distance, the person that loves always longs for the
presence of the object of his love. The sacred spouse
languished in the absence of her beloved, and entreated
her companions to acquaint him with her sorrow, that
he might come and console her with his presence : I ad­
jure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my Beloved,
that you tell Him that I languish with love.' A soul that
loves Jesus Christ exceedingly cannot but desire and
hope, as long as she remains on earth, to go without de­
lay and be united to her beloved Lord in heaven.
1 “ Charitas omnia sperat.”
2 “ Spes est certa exspectatio ocatltudinis.”—In 3 Sent. d. 26.
3 “ Amor est quædam vitta duo aliqua copulans.”—De 7'>in. 1. 8,
c. 10.
4 “ Adjuro vos, filiæ Jerusalem, si inveneritis Dilectum meum, ut
nuntietis ei quia amore langueo.”—Cant. v. 8.

440

Practice of the Love offesus Christ.

Thus we see that the desire to go and see God in
heaven, not so much for the delight which we shall ex­
perience in loving God, as for the pleasure which we
shall afford God by loving him, is pure and perfect love.
Nor is the joy of the blessed in heaven any hindrance
to the purity of their love ; such joy is inseparable from
their love ; but they take far more satisfaction in their
love of God than in the joy that it affords them. Some
one will perhaps say : But the desire of a reward is
rather a love of concupiscence than a love of friendship.
We must therefore make a distinction between temporal
rewards promised by men and the eternal rewards of
paradise promised by God to those who love him : the
rewards given by man are distinct from their own per­
sons and independent of them, since they do not bestow
themselves, but only their goods, when they would re­
munerate others; on the contrary, the principal reward
which God gives to the blessed is the gift of himself :
I am thy reward exceeding great) Hence to desire heaven
is the same thing as to desire God, who is our last end.
I wish here to propose a doubt, which may rise in the
mind of one who loves God, and strives to conform him­
self in all things to his blessed will. If it should be ever
revealed to such a one that he would be eternally lost,
would he be obliged to bow to it with resignation, in
order to practise conformity with the will of God ? St.
Thomas says no ; and further, that he would sin by con­
senting to it, because he would be consenting to live in
a state that involves sin, and is contrary to the last end
for which God created him ; for God did not create
souls to hate him in hell, but to love him in heaven : so
that he does not wish the death even of the sinner, but
that all should be converted and saved. The holy Doc­
tor says that God wishes no one to be damned except
1 “ Ego . . . merces tua magna nimis.”—Gen. xv. i.

CHAP. XII.]

44I

through sin ; and therefore, a person, by consenting to
his damnation, would not be acting in conformity with
the will of God, but with the will of sin.1 But suppose
that God, foreseeing the sin of a person, should have
decreed his damnation, and that this decree should be
revealed to him, would he be bound to consent to it?
In the same passage the saint says, By no means; be­
cause such a revelation must not be taken as an irrevo­
cable decree, but made merely by way of communication,
as a threat of what would follow if he persists in sin.
But let every one banish such baneful thoughts from
his mind, as only calculated to cool his confidence and
love. Let us love Jesus Christ as much as possible here
below ; let us always be sighing to go hence and to be­
hold him in paradise, that we may there love him per­
fectly ; let us make it the grand object of all our hopes,
to go thither to love him with all our strength. We are
commanded even in this life to love God with our whole
strength : Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole
heart, with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength f but
the angelical Doctor1 says that man cannot perfectly
fulfil this precept upon earth ; only Jesus Christ, who
was both God and man, and the most holy Mary, who
was full of grace and free from original sin, perfectly
fulfilled it. But we miserable children of Adam, infected
as we are with sin, can not love God without some im­
perfection ; and it is in heaven alone, when we shall see
God face to face, that we shall love him, nay more, that
we shall be necessitated to love him with all our strength.
Behold, then, the scope of all our desires and aspira­
tions, of all our thoughts and ardent hopes ; to go and
1 " Unde, velle suam damnationem absolute, non esset conformare
suam voluntatem divinæ, sed voluntati peccati.”—De Ver. q. 23, a. S.
3 “ Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota ani­
ma tua. et ex omnibus viribus tuis.”—Luke, x. 27.
3 In 3 Sent. d. 27.

442

Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.

enjoy God in heaven, in order to love him with all our
strength, and to rejoice in the enjoyment of God. The
blessed certainly rejoice in their own felicity in that
kingdom of delights; but the chief source of their hap­
piness, and that which absorbs all the rest, is to know
that their beloved Lord possesses an infinite happiness ;
for they love God incomparably more than themselves.
Each one of the blessed has such a love for him, that he
would willingly forfeit all happiness, and undergo the
most cruel torments, rather than that God should lose
(if it were possible for him to lose) one, even the least
particle of his happiness. Hence the sight of God’s in­
finite happiness, and the knowledge that it can never
suffer diminution for all eternity, constitutes his para­
dise. This is the meaning of what our Lord says to
every soul on whom he bestows the possession of eternal
glory : Enter into the joy of thy Lord)
It is not the joy
that enters into the blessed soul, but the soul that en­
ters into the joy of God, since the joy of God is the ob­
ject of the joy of the blessed. Thus the good of God
will be the good of the blessed ; the riches of God will
be their riches, and the happiness of God will be their
happiness.
On the instant that a soul enters heaven, and sees by
the light of glory the infinite beauty of God face to face,
she is at once seized and all consumed with love. The
happy soul is then as it were lost and immersed in that
boundless ocean of the goodness of God. Then it is
that she quite forgets herself, and inebriated with divine
love, thinks only of loving her God : They shall be ine­
briated with the plenty of Thy House)
As an intoxicated
person no longer thinks of himself, so a soul in bliss can
only think of loving and affording delight to her beloved
Lord ; she desires to possess him entirely, and she does
1 “ Intrain gaudium Domini tui.”—Matt. χχν. 21.
9 “ Inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuæ. ”—Ps. χχχν. g.

CHAP. XIIIJ

443

in fact possess him, without fear of losing him any more;
she desires to give herself wholly to him, at every mo­
ment, and she does indeed possess him for every moment
she offers herself to God without reserve, and God re­
ceives her in his loving embraces, and so holds her, and
shall hold her in the same fond embraces for all eter­
nity.
In this manner the soul is wholly united to God in
most perfect and complete, and though necessarily finite,
since a creature is not capable of infinite love, it neverthat she desires nothing more. On the other hand, Al­
mighty God communicates himself, and unites himself
wholly to the soul, filling her with himself proportion­
ately to her merits ; and this union is not merely by
means only of his gifts, lights, and loving attractions, as
is the case during the present life, but by his own very
essence. As fire penetrates iron, and seems to change it
into itself, so does God penetrate the soul and fill her
with himself; and though she never loses her own being,
yet she becomes so penetrated and absorbed by that
immense ocean of the divine substance, that she remains,
as it were, annihilated, and as if she ceased to exist.
The Apostle prayed for this happy lot for his disciples
when he said: That you maybe filled unto all the fulness
of God:
And this is the last end, which the goodness of God
has appointed for us in the life to come Hence the soul
can never enjoy perfect repose on earth; because it is
only in heaven that she can obtain perfect union with
God. It is true that the lovers of Jesus Christ find peace
in the practice of perfect conformity with the will of
God; but they cannot in this life find complete repose;
1 “ Ut impleamini in omnem plenitudinem Dei.”—Eph. iii. 19.

444

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

this is only obtained when our last end is obtained; that
is, when we see God face to face, and are consumed with
his divine love; and as long as the soul does not reach
this end, she is ill at ease, and groans and sighs, saying:
Behold, in peace is my bitterness most bitter.' Yes, O my
God, I live in peace in this valley of tears, because such
is Thy will; but I cannot help feeling unspeakable bit­
terness at finding myself at a distance from Thee, and
not yet perfectly united with Thee, who art my centre,
myall, and the fulness of my repose !
For this reason the saints, though they were all in­
flamed with the love of God, did nothing but sigh after
paradise. David cried out: Wo is me, that my sojourn­
ing is prolonged! '12
34 I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall
appear? St. Paul said of himself: Having a desire to be
with Christ? St. Francis of Assisi said :
“ I look for such a meed of bliss,
That ah my pain seems happiness.”5

These were all so many acts of perfect charity. The
angelic Doctor teaches us, that the highest degree of
charity that a soin can reach upon earth, is to desire in­
tensely to go and be united with God, and to enjoy him
in heaven.® But, as we have already seen, this enjoy­
ment of God in heaven does not consist so much in the
fruition of the delights there lavished on her by Al­
mighty God, as in the pleasure she takes in the happi­
ness of God himself, whom she loves incomparably more
than herself.
1 “ Ecce in pace amaritudo mea amarissima.”—Is. xxxviii. 17.
2 “ Heu mihi, quia incolatus meus prolongatus est.”—Ps. cxix. 5.
3 “ Satiabor cum apparuerit gloria tua.”—Ps. xvi. 15.
4 “Desiderium habens dissolvi, et esse cum Christo.”—Phil. i. 23.
1 Apophth. tgj.
* “Tertium autem studium est ut homo ad hoc principaliter intendat,
ut Deo inhaereat et eo fruatur; et hoc perlinet ad perfectos, qui cupi­
unt dissolvi, et esse cum Christo.”—2. 2, q. 24, a. 9.

Hope,

CHAP. XII ]

445

The holy souls in purgatory feel no pain more acutely
than that of their yearning to possess God, from whom
they remain still at a distance. And this sort of pain
will afflict those especially who in their lifetime had but
little desire of paradise. Cardinal Bellarmine 1 also says,
that there is a certain place in purgatory called, prison
of honor/ where certain souls are not tormented with
any pain of sense, but merely with the pain of privation
of the sight of God; examples of this are related by St.
Gregory, Venerable Bede, St. Vincent Ferrer, and St.
Bridget; and this punishment is not for the commission
of sin, but for coldness in desiring heaven. Many souls
aspire to perfection; but for the rest, they are too in­
different whether they go to enjoy the sight of God, or
continue on earth. But eternal life is an inestimable
good, that has been purchased by the death of Jesus
Christ; and God punishes such souls as have been remiss
during
o life in their desires to obtain it.

Affections and Prayers.
O God, my Creator and my Redeemer, Thou hast created me
for heaven ; Thou hast redeemed me from hell to bring me into
heaven ; and I have so many times, in Thy very face, renounced
my claim to heaven by my sins, and have remained contented
in seeing myself doomed to hell ! But blessed forever be Thy
infinite mercy, which, I would fain hope, has pardoned me, and
many a time rescued me from perdition. Ah, my Jesus, would
that I had never offended Thee ! would that I had always loved
Thee ! I am glad that at least I have still time to do so. I love
Thee ! O love of my soul, I love Thee with my whole heart ; 1
love Thee more than myself! I see plainly that Thou wishest
to save me, that I may be able to love Thee for all eternity in
that kingdom of love. I thank Thee, and beseech Thee to help
me for the remainder of mv* life, in which 1 wish to love Thee
most ardently, that I may ardently love Thee in eternity. Ah,
my Jesus, when will the day arrive that shall free me from all
1 De Purg. 1. 2, c. 7.

5 “Career honoratus.”

44-6

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

danger of losing Thee, that shall consume me with love, by un­
veiling before my eyes Thy inimité beauty, so that I shall be
under the necessity of loving Thee? Oh, sweet necessity! oh,
happy and dear and most desired necessity, which shall relieve
me from all fear of evermore displeasing Thee, and shall oblige
me to love Thee with all my strength ! My conscience alarms
me, and says : “ How canst Thou presume to enter heaven?"
But, my dearest Redeemer, Thy merits are all my hope.
O Mary, Queen of Heaven, thy intercession is all-powerful
with God, in thee 1 put my trust !

CHAPTER XIII.
ft
CHARITY’ BEARETH ALL THINGS.

(Chantas omnia sustinet.)

He that loves Jesus Christ with a Strong Love does not cease
to love Him in the midst of all Sorts of Temptations and
Desolations.
It is not the pains of poverty, of sickness, of dishonor
and persecution, which in this life most afflict the souls
that love God, but temptations and desolations of spirit.
Whilst a soul is in the enjoyment of the loving pres­
ence of God, she is so far from grieving at all the afflic­
tions and ignominies and outrages of men, that she is
rather comforted by them, as they afford her an oppor­
tunity of showing God a token of her love; they serve,
in short, as fuel to enkindle her love more and more.
But to find herself solicited by temptations to forfeit the
divine grace, or in the hour of desolation to apprehend
having already lost it, oh, these are torments too cruel
to bear for one who loves Jesus Christ with all her heart!
However, the same love supplies her with strength to
endure all patiently, and to pursue the way of perfection,
on which she has entered. And, oh, what progress do

CHAP. XIII.]

/. Temptations.

447

those souls make by means of these trials, which God is
pleased to send them in order to prove their love!

I.
Temptations.
Temptations are the most grievous trials that can
happen to a soul that loves Jesus Christ ; she accepts
with resignation of every other evil, as calculated only
to bind her in closer union with God; but temptations
to commit sin would drive her, as we said above, to a
separation from Jesus Christ; and on this account they
are more intolerable to her than all other afflictions.
J Thy God permits Temptations.
We must know, however, that although no temptation
to evil can ever come from God, but only from the devil
or our own corrupt inclinations: for God is not a tempter
of evils, and he tempteth no man; 1 nevertheless. God does at
times permit his most cherished souls to be the most
grievously tempted.
In the first place, in order that from temptations the
soul may better learn her own weakness, and the need
she has of the divine assistance not to fall. Whilst a
soul is favored with heavenly consolations, she feels as if
she were able to vanquish every assault of the enemy,
and to achieve every undertaking for the glory of God.
But when she is strongly tempted, and is almost reeling
on the edge of the precipice, and just ready to fall, then
she becomes better acquainted with her own misery and
with her inability to resist, if God did not come to her
rescue. So it fared with St. Paul, who tells us that God
had suffered him to be troubled with a temptation to
sensual pleasure, in order to keep him humble after the
revelations with which God had favored him: And lest the
*

1 “ Deus enim intentator malorum est, ipse autem neminem tentai.’1
-James, i. 13.

44^

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

greatness of the revelations should exalt me, there was given me
a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan to buffet me.1
Besides, God permits temptations with a view to de­
tach us more thoroughly from this life ; and to kindle in
us the desire to go and behold him in heaven. Hence
pious souls, finding themselves attacked day and night
by so many enemies, come at length to feel a loathing
for life, and exclaim: IVo is me, that my sojourning is pro­
longed '234 And they sigh for the moment when they can
say: The snare is broken and we are deliveredd The soul
would willingly wing her flight to God; but as long as
she lives upon this earth she is bound by a snare which
detains her here below, where she is continually assailed
with temptations; this snare is only broken by death: so
that the souls that love God sigh for death, which will
deliver them from all danger of losing him.
Almighty God, moreover, allows us to be tempted, to
make us richer in merits, as it was said to Tobias: And
because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary that temp­
tations should prove thee.' Thus a soul need not imagine
herself out of God’s favor because she is tempted, but
should make it rather a motive of hope that God loves
her. It is a delusion of the devil to lead some pusillani­
mous persons to suppose that temptations are sins that
contaminate the soul. It is not bad thoughts that make
us lose God, but the consenting to them; let the sugges­
tions of the devil be ever so violent, let those filthy im­
aginations which overload our minds be ever so lively,
they cannot cast the least stain on our souls, provided
only we yield no consent to them; on the contrary, they
1 “ Et ne magnitudo revelationum extollat me, datus est mihi stimu­
lus carnis meæ, angelus Satanæ, qui me colaphizet.”—2 Cor. xii. 7.
4 “ Heu mihi, quia incolatus meus prolongatus est.”—Ps. exix. 5.
3 “ Laqueus contritus est, et nos liberati sumus.”—Ps. cxxiii. 7.
4 “ Et quia acceptus eras Deo, necesse fuit, ut tentatio probaret te."
— Tob. xii. 13.

CHAP. XIII.]

I. Temptations.

449

make the soul purer, stronger, and dearer to Almighty
God. St. Bernard says, that every time we overcome a
temptation we win a fresh crown in heaven: “As often
as we conquer, so often are we crowned.” 1 An angel
once appeared to a Cistercian monk, and put a crown
into his hands, with orders that he should carry it to one
of his fellow-religious, as a reward for the temptation
that he had lately overcome.
Nor must we be disturbed if evil thoughts do not
forthwith disappear from our minds, but continue ob­
stinately to persecute us; it is enough if we detest them,
and do our best to banish them. God is faithful, savs
the Apostle; he will not allow us to be tempted above
our strength: God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that which you are able; but will make also with
temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it? Thus a per­
son, so far from losing anything by temptations, derives
great profit from them. On this account God frequently
allows the souls dearest to him to undergo the severest
temptations, that they may turn them into a source of
greater merit on earth, and of greater glory in heaven.
Stagnant water soon grows putrid; a soul left at case,
without any struggle or temptation, stands in great
danger of perishing from some self-conceit of her own
merit; she perhaps imagines herself to have already at­
tained to perfection, and therefore has little fear; and
consequently takes little pains to recommend herself to
God and to secure her salvation; but when, on the con­
trary, she is agitated by temptations, and sees herself in
danger of rushing headlong into sin, then she has recourse
to God; she goes to the divine Mother; she renews her
resolution rather to die than to sin; she humbles herself,
1 “ Quoties restiteris, toties coronaberis.”—In Quadr. s. 5.
2 “ Fidelis autem Deus est. qui non patietur vos tentari supra id
quod potestis, sed faciet etiam cum tentatione proventum.' —1 Cor.
x. 13·
29

450

Practice of the Love offesus Christ.

and casts herself into the arms of the divine mercy: in
this manner, as experience shows us, the soul acquires
fresh strength and closer union with God.
This must not, however, lead us to seek after tempta­
tions; on the contrary, we must pray to God to deliver
us from temptations, and from those more especially by
which God foresees we should be overcome; and this is
precisely the object of that petition of the Our Father:
Lead us not into temptation;' but when, by God’s permis­
sion, we are beset with temptations, we must then, with­
out either being alarmed or discouraged by those foul
thoughts, rely wholly on Jesus Christ, and beseech him
to help us; and he, on his part, will not fail to give us
the strength to resist. St. Augustine says: “Throw
thyself on him, and fear not; he will not withdraw to
let thee fall.” 3

Remedies against Temptations.
Let us come now to the means which we have to em­
ploy in order to vanquish temptations. Spiritual mas­
ters prescribe a variety of means; but the most necessary,
and the safest (of which only I will here speak), is to
have immediate recourse to God with all humility and
confidencè, saying: Incline unto my aid, O God; O Lord,
make haste to help meC This short prayer will enable us
to overcome the assaults of all the devils of hell; for
God is infinitely more powerful than all of them. Al­
mighty God knows well that of ourselves we are unable
to resist the temptations of the infernal powers; and on
this account the most learned Cardinal Gotti remarks,
“ that whenever we are assailed, and in danger of being
1 “ Et ne nos inducas in tentationem.”—Matt. vi. 13.
2 “ Projice te in eum, noli metuere; non se subtrahet, ut cadas.”—
Conf. B. 8, c. il,
3 “ Deus, in adjutorium meum intende; Domine, ad adjuvandum
me festina.”—Ps. Ixix. 2.

chap,

xiii.]

/. Temptations,

451

overcome, God is obliged to give us strength enough to
resist as often as we call upon him for it.”’
And how can we doubt of receiving help from Jesus
Christ, after all the promises that he has made us in the
Holy Scriptures? Come lo Me, all you that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will refresh you? Come to me, ye who
are wearied in fighting against temptations, and I will
restore your strength. Call upon Me in the day of trouble:
I will deliver thee, and thou shalt honor Me? When thou
seest thyself troubled by thine enemies, call upon me,
and I will bring thee out of the danger, and thou shalt
praise me. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear:
thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am? Then shalt
thou call upon the Lord for help, and he will hear thee:
thou shalt cry out, Quick, O Lord, help me! and he will
say to thee, Behold, here I am; I am present to help thee.
Who hath called upon Him, and He despised him?' And
who, says the prophet, has ever called upon God, and
God has despised him without giving him help? David
felt sure of never falling a prey to his enemies, whilst he
could have recourse to prayer; he says: Praising, I will
call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my enemies? For
he well knew that God is close to all who invoke his aid:
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him? And St.
‘“Respondeo, . . . cum tentamur, nobis ad Deum confugientibus,
per gratiam a Deo paratam et oblatam, vires adfuturas, qua possimus
resistere et actu resistamus.”—De Div. Grat. q. 2, d. 5. § 3.
2 “ Venite ad me omnes, qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego re­
ficiam vos.”—Matt. xi. 2S.
3 “ Et invoca me in die tribulationis; eruam te, et honorificabis me."
—Ps. xlix. 15.
4 “Tunc invocabis, et Dominus exaudiet; clamabis, et dicet: Ecce
adsum.”—Is. Iviii. 9.
1 “ Quis invocavit eum, et despexit illum?—Ecclus. ii. 12.
6 “ Laudans invocabo Dominum, et ab inimicis meis salvus ero.”—
Ps. xvii. 4.
’ “ Prope est Dominus omnibus invocantibus eum.”—Ps. exliv. 18.

45 2

Practice of the Love offestes Christ.

Paul adds, that the Lord is by no means sparing, but
lavish of graces towards all that pray to him: Rich unto
all that call upon Him.1
Oh, would to God that all men would have recourse
to him whenever they are tempted to offend him; they
would then certainly never commit sin ! They unhappily
fall, because, led away by the cravings of their vicious
appetites, they prefer to lose God, the sovereign good,
than to forego their wretched short-lived pleasures. Ex­
perience gives us manifest proofs that whoever calls on
God in temptation does not fall; and whoever fails to
call on him as surely falls: and this is especially true of
temptations to impurity. Solomon himself said that he
knew very well he could not be chaste, unless God gave
him the grace to be so; and he therefore invoked him by
prayer in the moment of temptation: And as I knew that I
could not otherwise be continent, except God gave it, . . . I went
to the Lord and besought HimP In temptations against
purity (and the same holds good with regard to those
against faith), we must take it as a rule never to strive
to combat the temptation hand to hand; but we must
endeavor immediately to get rid of it indirectly by mak­
ing a good act of the love of God or of sorrow for our
sins, or else by applying ourselves to some indifferent
occupation calculated to distract us. At the very instant
that we discover a thought of evil tendency, we must
disown it immediately, and (so to speak) close the door
in its face, and deny it all entrance into the mind, with­
out tarrying in the least to examine its object or errand.
We must cast away these foul suggestions as quickly as
we would shake off a hot snark from the fire.
If the impure temptation has already forced its way
1 “ Dives in omnibus qui invocant illum.”—Rom. x. 12.
* “ Et ut scivi quoniam aliter non possem esse continens, nisi
Deus det,
. . adii Dominum, et deprecatus sur' illum.”—IVisd.
viii 2Τ.

CHAP. XIII.]

I. Temptations,

453

into the mind, and plainly pictures its object to the im­
agination, so as to stir the passions, then, according to
the advice of St. Jerome, we must burst forth into these
words: “ O Lord, Thou art my helper.” 1 As soon, says
the saint, as we feel the sting of concupiscence, we must
have recourse to God, and say: “ O Lord, do Thou assist
me;” we must invoke the most holy names of Jesus and
Mary, which possess a wonderful efficacy in the suppres­
sion of temptations of this nature. St. Francis de Sales
•says, that no sooner do children espy a wolf than they
instantly seek refuge in the arms of their father and
mother; and there they remain out of all danger. Our
conduct must be the same: we must flee without delav
for succor to Jesus and Mary, by earnestly calling upon
them. I repeat that we must instantly have recourse to
them, without giving a moment’s audience to the temp­
tation, or disputing with it. It is related in the fourth
paragraph of the Book of Sentences of the Fathers
*
that one
day St. Pacomius heard the devil boasting that he had
frequently got the better of a certain monk on account
of his lending ear to him, and not turning instantly to
call upon God. He heard another devil, on the contrary,
utter this complaint: As for me, I can do nothing with
my monk, because he never fails to have recourse to God,
and alwavs
* defeats me.
Should the temptation, however, obstinately persist in
attacking us, let us beware of becoming troubled or
angry at it; for this might put it in the power of our
enemy to overcome us. We must, on such occasions,
make an act of humble resignation to the will of God,
who thinks fit to allow us to be tormented bv these
abominable temptations; and we must say: O Lord, I
deserve to be molested with these filthy suggestions, in
*

’ “ Statim ut libido titillaverit sensum, erumpamus in vocem· D<un
inus auxiliator meus t”—Ej>i$t. ait Eust.
9 Vita Pair. 1. 3. n. 35.

454

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

punishment of my past sins; but Thou must help to free
me. And as long as the temptation lasts, let us never
cease calling on Jesus and Mary. It is also very profit­
able, in the like importunity of temptations, to renew our
firm purpose to God of suffering every torment, and a
thousand deaths, rather than offend him; and at the same
time we must invoke his divine assistance. And even
should the temptation be of such violence as to put us in
imminent risk of consenting to it, we must then redouble
our prayers, hasten into the presence of the Blessed
Sacrament, cast ourselves at the feet of the crucifix, or of
some image of our Blessed Lady, and there pray with in­
creased fervor, and cr)r out for help with groans and tears.
God is certainly ready to hear all who pray to him; and
it is from him alone, and not from our own exertions,
that we must look for strength to resist; but sometimes
Almighty God wills these struggles of us, and then he
makes up for our weakness, and grants us the victory.
It is an excellent practice also, in the moment of tempta­
tion, to make the sign of the cross on the forehead and
breast. It is also of great service to discover the tempta­
tion to our spiritual director. St. Philip Neri used to
say, that a temptation disclosed is half overcome.
Here it will be well to remark, what is unanimously
admitted by all theologians, even of the rigorist school,
that persons who have during a considerable period of
time been leading
o a virtuous life,
j / and
* live habitually in
the fear of God, whenever they are in doubt, and are not
certain whether they have given consent to a grievous
sin, ought to be perfectly assured that they have not
lost the divine grace; for it is morally impossible that
the will, confirmed in its good purposes for a consider­
able lapse of time, should on a sudden undergo so total
a change
o as at once to consent to a mortal sin without
clearly knowing it; the reason of it is, that mortal sin i
so horrible a monster that it cannot possible enter a sou.

CHAP. XIII.]

I. Temptations.

455

by which it has long been held in abhorrence, without
her being fully aware of it. We have proved this at
length in our Moral Theology.1 St. Teresa said : Noone
is lost without knowing it; and no one is deceived with­
out the will to be deceived/
Wherefore, with regard to certain souls of delicate con­
science, and solidly rooted in virtue, but at the same
time timid and molested with temptations (especially if
they be against faith or chastity), the director will find it
sometimes expedient to forbid them to discover them or
make any mention of them; because, if they have to
mention them they are led to consider how such thoughts
got entrance into their minds, and whether they paused
to dispute with them, or took any complacency in them,
or gave any consent to them; and so, by this too great
reflection, those evil imaginations make a still deeper
impression on their minds, and disturb them the more.
Whenever the confessor is morally certain that the peni­
tent has not consented to these suggestions, the best way
is to forbid him to speak any more about them. And I
find that St. Jane Frances de Chantal acted precisely <n
this manner. She relates of herself, that she was for
several years assailed by the most violent storms of
temptation, but had never spoken of them in confession,
since she was not conscious of having ever yielded to
them; and in this she had only followed faithfully the
rule received from her director. She says, “ I never had a
full conviction of having consented.” 3 These words give
us to understand that the temptations did produce in her
some agitation from scruples; but in spite of these, she
resumed her tranquillity on the strength of the obedience
imposed by her confessor, not to confess similar doubts.
With this exception, it will be generally found an ad1 Lib. 6, n. 476.
s Life, addit,
8 Mém. de la M. de Chaugy, p. 3. ch. 27.

>

45 6

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

mirable means of quelling the violence of temptations to
lay them open to our director, as we have said above.
But I repeat, the most efficacious and the most neces­
sary of all remedies against temptations, is that remedy
of all remedies, namely, to pray to God for help, and to
continue praying as long as the temptation continues.
Almighty God will frequently have decreed success, not
to the first prayer, but to the second, third, or fourth. In
short, we must be thoroughly persuaded that all our wel­
fare depends on prayer: our amendment of life depends
on prayer; our victory over temptations depends on
prayer; on prayer depends our obtaining divine love,
together with perfection, perseverance, and eternal sal­
vation.
i
There may be some who, after the perusal of my
spiritual works, will accuse me of tediousness in so often
recommending the importance and necessity of having
continual recourse to God by prayer. But I seem to
myself to have said not too much, but far too little. I
know that day and night we are all assailed with temptatipns from the infernal powers, and that Satan lets slip
no occasion of causing us to fall. I know that, without
the divine help, we have not strength to repel the assaults
of the devils; and that therefore the Apostle exhorts us
to put on the armor of God: Put you on the armor of God,
that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil.
For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against
principalities and potvers, against the rulers of the world of
this darkness.1 And what is this armor with which St.
Paul warns us to clothe ourselves in order to conquer our
enemies? Behold of what it consists: By all prayer and
supplication, praying at all times in the spirit, and in the same
1 “ Induite vos armaturam Dei, ut possitis stare adversus insidias
diaboli; quoniam non est nobis colluctatio adversus carnem et san­
guinem, sed adversus principes et potestates, adversus mundi rectores
tenebrarum harum.”—Eph. vi. n, 12.

CHAP. XIIL]

7. Temptations.

457

watching with all instance) This armor is constant and
fervent prayer to God, that he may help us to gain the
victory. I know, moreover, that in every page of the
Holy Scriptures, both in the Old and the New Testa­
ment, we are repeatedly admonished to pray: Call upon
Me, and I will deliver thee) Cry to Me, and I will hear thee)
We ought always to pray, and not to faint) Ask, and you
shall receive) Watch and pray) Pray without ceasing) So
that I think, far from having spoken too much on prayer,
I have not said enough.
I would urge it on all preachers, to recommend nothing
so much to their audience as prayer; on confessors, to
insist on nothing so earnestly with their penitents as
prayer; on spiritual writers, to treat on no subject more
copiously than on prayer. But it is a source of grief to
my
* heart,9 and it seems to me a chastisement of our sins,
that so many preachers, confessors, and authors speak so
little of prayer. There is no doubt that sermons, medi­
tations, Communions, and mortifications are great helps
in the spiritual life; but if we fail to call upon God by
prayer in the moment of temptation, we shall fall, in
spite of all the sermons, meditations, Communions, pen­
ances, and virtuous resolutions. If, then, we really wish
to be saved, let us always pray, and commend ourselves
to Jesus Christ, and most of all when we are tempted;
and let us not only pray for the grace of holy persever­
ance, but at the same time for the grace to pray always.
Let us. likewise, take care to recommend ourselves to the
divine Mother, who, as St. Bernard says, is the dispenser
1 “ Per omnem orationem et obsecrationem orantes omni tempore
in spiritu, et in ipso vigilantes in omni instantia.”—Eph. vi. i8.
2 “ Invoca me . . . eruam te.”—Ps. χϋχ. ις.
3 “ Clama ad me. et exaudiam te.”—fer. xxxiii. 3.
4 “ Oportet semper orare et non deficere.”—Luke, xviii. 1.
6 “ Petite, et dabitur vobis.”—Matt, vii. 7.
6 “Vigilate et orale.”—Matt. xxvi. 41.
1 “Sine intermissione orate.”—1 Thess. v. 17.

45$

Practice of the Love offcsus Christ.

of graces: “ Let us seek for graces, and let us seek them
through Mary.” 1 For the same saint assures us that it
is the will of God, that not a single grace should be dealt
to us except through the hands of Mary: “God has
willed us to receive nothing that has not passed through
the hands of Marv.
* ”2
Affections and Prayers.
O Jesus, My Redeemer, I trust in Thy blood, that Thou hast
forgiven me all my offences against Thee; and I fondly hope to
come one day to bless Thee for it eternally in heaven : The
mercies of the Lord I will sing forever? I plainly see now
that I have over and over again fallen in times past, from the
want of entreating Thee for holy perseverance. I earnestly beg
Thee at this present moment to grant me perseverance : “ Never
suffer me to beseparated from Thee.”4 And I purpose to make
this prayer to Thee always; but especially when I am tempted
to offend Thee. I indeed make this resolution and promise;
but what will it profit me thus to resolve and promise, if Thou
dost not give me the grace to run and cast myself at Thy feet?
By the merits, then, of Thy sacred Passion, oh, grant me this
grace, in all my necessities to have recourse to Thee.
O Mar}'·, my Queen, and my Mother, I beseech thee, by thy
tender love for Jesus Christ, to procure me the grace of always
fleeing for succor, as long as I live, to thy blessed Son and to
thee.

II.

Desolations.
St. Francis de Sales says: “ It is a mistake to estimate
devotions by the consolations which we feel. True
devotion in the way of God consists in having a deter­
mined will to execute all that is pleasing to God.”5 Al1 “ Quaeramus gratiam, et per Mariam quaeramus.”
2 “ Nihil nos Deus voluit habere, quod per Mariae manus non tran­
siret.”—In Vig. Nat. s. 3.
3 “ Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.”—Ps. Ixxxviii. 2.
4 “ Ne permittas me separari a te.”
5 In trod. ch. 13.

chap,

xiii.]

//. Desolations.

459

mighty God is wont to make use of aridities in order to
draw closer to him his most cherished souls. Attach­
ment to our own inordinate inclinations is the greatest
obstacle to true union with God; and when, therefore,
God intends to draw a soul to his perfect love, he endeav­
ors to detach her from all affection to created goods.
Thus his first care is to deprive her of temporal goods,
of worldly pleasures, of property, honors, friends, rela­
tives, and bodily health; by the like means of losses,
troubles, neglects, bereavements, and infirmities, he ex­
tirpates by degrees all earthly attachment, in order that
the affections may beset on him alone.
With a view to produce a fondness for spiritual things,
God regales the soul at first with great consolations, with
an abundance of tears and tenderness; she is thus easily
weaned from the gratifications of sense, and seeks further
to mortify herself with works of penance, fasts, hair­
cloths, and disciplines; at this stage the director must
keep a check on her, and not allow her to practise mor­
tifications—at least not all those for which she asks per­
mission—because, under the spur of this sensible devo­
tions, a soul might easily ruin her health by indiscretion.
It is a subtle artifice of the devil, when he beholds a per­
son giving himself up to God, and receiving the conso­
lations and caresses which God generally gives to begin­
ners, to do his utmost to plunge him into the performance
of immoderate penances, so as utterly to destroy his
health; so that afterwards, by reason of bodily weakness,
he not only gives up the mortifications, but prayer, Com­
munion, and all exercises of devotion, and eventually
sinks back into his old way of living. On this account,
the director should be very sparing in allowing mortifi­
cations to those who are only just entering upon the
spiritual life, and who desire to practise bodily mortifi­
cations; let him exhort them to practise rather interior
mortification, by bearing patiently with affronts and

460

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ.

contradictions, by obedience to Superiors, by bridling
the curiosity to see, to hear, and the like; and let him
tell them, that when they have acquired the good habit
of practising these interior mortifications, they will then
be sufficiently perfect to proceed to the external ones. For
the rest, it is a serious error to say, as some say, that exter­
nal mortifications are of little or no use. Without doubt,
interior mortification is most requisite for perfection; but
it does not follow from this that external mortifications
are unnecessary. St. Vincent of Paul declared that the
person who does not practise external mortificationswill
be neither mortified interiorly nor exteriorly. And St.
John of the Cross declared that the director who despised
external mortifications was unworthy of confidence, even
though he should work miracles.
But to come back to our point. The.soul then, in the
commencement of her conversion to God, tastes the
sweetness of those sensible consolations with which God
seeks to allure her, and bv them to wean her from
earthly pleasures ; she breaks off her attachment to
creatures, and becomes attached to God. Still, her at­
tachment is imperfect, inasmuch as it is fostered more
by that sensibility of spiritual consolations than by the
real wish to do what is pleasing to God ; and she de­
ceives herself by believing that the greater the pleasure
she feels in her devotions, the more she loves Almighty
God. The consequence of this is, that if this food of
spiritual consolations is stopped, by her being taken
from her ordinary exercises of devotion, and employed
in other works of obedience, charity, or duties of her
state, she is disturbed, and takes it greatly to heart :
and this is a universal defect in our miserable human
nature, to seek our own satisfaction in all that we do. Or
again, when she no longer finds this sweet relish of devo­
tion in her exercises, she either forsakes them, or lessens
them ; and continuing to lessen them from day to day,

chap,

xiii.]

If, Desolations.

461

she at length omits them entirely. And this misfortune
befalls many souls who, when called by Almighty God to
love him, enter upon the way of perfection, and as long
as spiritual sweetness lasts, make a certain progress;
but alas ! when this is no longer tasted, they leave off
all, and resume their former ways. But it is of the high­
est importance to be fully persuaded that the love of
God and perfection do not consist in feelings of tender­
ness and consolation, but in overcoming self-love, and
in following the divine will. St. Francis de Sales says :
“ God is as worthy of our love when he afflicts us as
when he consoles us.”
Amid these consolations, it requires no remarkable
degree of virtue to forego sensual delights, and to en­
dure affronts and contradictions. The soul in the midst
of these sweetnesses can endure all things; but this en­
durance comes far more frequently from those sensible
consolations than from the strength of true love of God.
On this account the Lord, with a view to give her a solid
foundation in virtue, retires from her, and deprives her
of that sensible devotion, that he may rid her of all at­
tachment to self-love, which was fed by such consola­
tions. And hence it happens, that whereas formerly she
felt a joy in making acts of offering, of confidence, and
of love, now that the vein of consolations is dried up,
she makes these acts with coldness and painful effort ;
and finds a weariness in the most pious exercises, in her
prayers, spiritual readings, and Communions ; she even
finds in them nothing but darkness and fears, and all
seems lost to her. She prays and prays again, and is
overwhelmed with sadness, because God seems to have
abandoned her.
Let us come now to the practice of what we are to do
on our part in the like circumstances. When Almighty
God in his mercy deigns to console us with his loving
visitations, and to let us feel the presence of his grace.

462

Practice oj the Love ofJesus Christ»

it is not good to reject the divine consolations, as some
false mystics advise: let us thankfully receive them;
but let us beware of settling down on them, and seeking
delight in those feelings of spiritual tenderness. St.
John of the Cross calls this a “ spiritual gluttony,’’ which
is faulty and displeasing to God. Let us strive in such
moments to banish from our mind the sensible enjoy­
ment of these sweetnesses : and let us be especially on
our guard against supposing that these favors are a
token of our standing
God than others; for
O better with
/
such a thought of vanity would oblige God to withdraw
himself from us altogether, and to leave us in our miserries. We must certainly at such times return most fer­
vent thanks to God, because such spiritual consolations
are signal gifts of the divine bounty to our souls, far
greater than all the riches and honors of this world ;
but let us not seek then to regale ourselves on these sen­
sible sweetnesses, but let us rather humble ourselves by
the remembrance of the sins of our past life. For the
rest, we must consider this loving treatment as the pure
result of the goodness of God ; and that perhaps it is
sent as the forerunner of some great tribulation soon to
befall us, in order that we may be strengthened by these
consolations to endure all with patience and resignation.
We should therefore take the occasion of offering our­
selves to suffer every pain, internal or external, that may
happen to us,—every illness, every persecution, every
spiritual desolation, saying : O my Lord, I am here be­
fore Thee; do with me, and with all that belongs to me,
whatever Thou wilt ; grant me the grace to love Thee
and perfectly to accomplish Thy holy will, and I ask no
more !
When a soul is morally certain of being in the grace
of God, although she may be deprived of worldly pleas­
ures, as well as of those which come from God, she
nevertheless rests satisfied with her state, conscious, as

CHAP. XIII.]

II. Desolations.

463

she is, of loving God, and of being loved by him. But
God, who wishes to see her purified and divested of all
sensible satisfaction, in order to unite her entirely to
himself by means of pure love, what does he do? He
puts her in the crucible of desolation, which is more
painful to bear than the most severe trials, whether in­
ternal or external ; she is left in a state of uncertainty if
she be in the grace of God or not, and in the dense dark­
ness that shrouds her, there seems no prospect of her
evermore finding God. Almighty God, moreover, will
sometimes permit her to be assailed by violent sensual
temptations, accompanied by irregular movements of
the inferior part, or perhaps by thoughts of unbelief, of
despair, and even of hatred of God, when she imagines
herself cast off by him, and that he no longer hears her
prayers. And as, on the one hand, the suggestions of
the devil are vehement, and the motions of concupis­
cence are excited, and, on the other, the soul finds her­
self in this great darkness, she can no longer sufficiently
distinguish whether she properly resists or yields to the
temptations, though her will resolutely refuses all con­
sent. Her fears of having lost God are thus very much
increased ; and from her fancied infidelity in struggling
against the temptations, she thinks herself deservedly
abandoned by God. The saddest of all calamities seems
to have befallen her,—to be able no longer to love God,
and to be hated by him. St. Teresa passed through all
these trials, and declares that during them solitude had
no charms for her, but, on the contrary, filled her with
horror ; while prayer was changed for her into a per­
fect hell.
When a soul that loves God finds herself in this state,
she must not lose courage ; and neither must he who di­
rects her become alarmed. Those sensual movements,
those temptations against faith, those feelings of dis­
trust, and those attacks which urge her to hate Almighty

464

Practice of the Love ofJesus Christ,

God, are fears, are tortures of the soul, are efforts of the
enemy; but they are not voluntary, and therefore they
are not sins. The sincere lover of Jesus Christ resists
valiantly on such occasions, and withholds all consent
to such suggestions ; but because of the darkness which
envelops her, she knows not how to distinguish, her
soul is thrown into confusion, and the privation of the
presence of divine grace makes her fearful and sad. But
it can be soon discovered that in these souls, thus tried
by God, all is dread and apprehension, but not truth :
only ask them, even in their state of desolation, whether
they would willingly commit one single deliberate venial
sin ; they will answer, that they are ready to suffer not
one, but a thousand deaths, rather than be guilty of such
displeasure to Almighty God.
It is necessary, therefore, to make this distinction, that
it is one thing to perform an act of virtue, such as to
repel a temptation, to trust in God, to love God, and to
will what he wills ; and it is another thing to have the
consciousness of really making these good acts. This
consciousness of doing good contributes to our pleasure;
but the profit consists in the first point, that is, in ac­
tually doing good. With the first God is satisfied,
and deprives the soul of the latter—that is, of the con­
sciousness of doing good, in order thus to remove from
her all self-satisfaction, which adds nothing to the merit
of the action ; for our Lord seeks more our real advan- ’
tage than our own satisfaction. St. John of the Cross
wrote the following
o words of comfort to a desolate soul:
“You were never in a better state than at present; for
you were never so deeply humbled, and so cut off from
all attachment to this world, and at the same time Jyou
were never so thoroughly impressed with the conviction
of your own wickedness. Neither were you ever so di­
vested and purified of all self-seeking as now.” 1 Let us,
1 Lettre

8.

chap,

II. Desolations.

xiii.i

465

then, not believe that when we feel a greater tenderness
of devotion we are more beloved by God; for perfection
does not consist in that, but in the mortification of our
own will, and in its union with the will of God.
Wherefore, in this state of desolation the soul must not
heed the devil, when he suggests that God has aban­
doned her; nor must she leave off prayer. This is the
object at which the devil is aiming, in order afterwards
to drag her down some precipice. St. Teresa writes :
“The Lord proves his true lovers by dryness and temp­
tations. What though the dryness should be of life­
long duration, let the soul never relax in prayer; the
time will arrive when all will be abundantly repaid.” 1
In such a state of suffering, a person should humble him­
self by the reflection that his offences against God are
undeserving of any milder treatment : he should humble
himself, and be fully resigned to the divine will, saying:
O my Lord, behold me at Thy feet; if it be Thy will
that I should remain thus desolate and afflicted for my
whole life, and even for all eternity, only grant me Thy
grace and the gift of Thy love, and do with me whatever
Thou wilt.
It will be useless then, and perhaps a source of greater
disquiet, to wish to assure yourself that you are in the
grace of God, and that what you experience is only a
trial, and not abandonment on the part of God. At such
times it is not the will of God that *vou should have this
assurance; and he so wills-it for your greater advantage,
in order that you may humble yourself the more, and
increase your prayers and acts of confidence in his
mercy. You desire to see, and God wills that you
should not see. For the rest, St. Francis de Sales says :
“ The resolution not to consent to any
* sin, however
small, is a sure sign that we are in God’s grace.”2 But
1 Life,
30

ch. ii.

s Sfirit,

ch. 4.

466

Practice of the Love offesus Christ.

a soul in profound desolation cannot even clearly dis­
cern this resolution; nevertheless, in such a state she
must not aim at feeling what she wills; it is enough to
will with the point of the will. In this manner she
should entirely abandon herself into the arms of the di­
vine goodness. Oh, how do such acts of confidence and
resignation ravish the heart of God, when made in the
midst of the darkness of desolation ! Ah, let us simply
trust in a God, who (as St. Teresa says) loves us far bet­
ter than we love ourselves.
Let these souls, then, so dear to God, and who are reso­
lutely determined to belong entirely to him, take com­
fort, although at the same time they see themselves
deprived of every consolation. Their desolation is a
sign of their being very acceptable to God, and that he
has for them a place prepared in his heavenly kingdom,
which overflows with consolations as full as they are
lasting. And let them hold for certain, that the more
they are afflicted in the present life, so much the more
they shall be consoled in eternity: According to the multi­
tude of my sorrows in my heart, Thy comforts have given joy to
my soul.1

Example.
For the encouragement of souls in desolation, I will
here mention what is related in the life of St. Jane
Frances de Chantal.
For the space of forty years, she was tormented by the
most fearful interior trials, by temptations, by fears of
being in enmity with God, and of being even quite for­
saken by him. Her afflictions were so excruciating and
unremitting, that she declared her sole ray of comfort
came from the thought of death. Moreover she said:
‘‘I am so furiously assaulted, that I know not where to
1 “Secundum multitudinem dolorum meorum in corde meo, con­
solationes tuæ laetificaverunt animam meam.”—Ps. xciii. 19.

CHAP. XIII.]

ΖΛ Desolations.

467

hide my poor soul. I seem at times on the point of los­
ing all patience, and of giving up all as utterly lost.”
“The tyrant of temptation is so relentless,” she says,
“that any hour of the day I would gladly barter it with
the loss of my life; and sometimes it happens that I can
neither eat nor sleep.” ’
During the last eight or nine years of her life, her
temptations became still more violent. Mother de Chatel
said that her saintly Mother de Chantal suffered a con­
tinual interior martyrdom night and day, at prayer, at
work, and even during sleep; so that she felt the deepest
compassion for her. The saint endured assaults against
every virtue (except chastity), and had likewise to con­
tend with doubts, darkness, and disgusts. Sometimes
God would withdraw all lights from her, and seem in­
dignant with her, and just on the point of expelling her
from him; so that terror drove her to look in some other
direction for relief : but failing to find any, she was
obliged to return to look on God, and to abandon herself
to his mercy. She seemed each moment ready to yield
to the violence of her temptations. The divine assist­
ance did not indeed forsake her; but it seemed to her to
have done so, since, instead of finding satisfaction in
anything, she found only weariness and anguish in
prayer, in reading spiritual books, in Communion, and
in all other exercises of piety. Her sole resource in this
state of dereliction was to look upon God, and to let him
do his will.
The saint said: “In all my abandonments my mere
life is a new cross to me, and my incapability of action
adds considerably to its heaviness.” And it was there­
fore that she compared herself to a sick person over­
whelmed with sufferings, unable to turn from one side to
the other, speechless, so as not to be able to express his
1 Mém. de la M. de Chaugy, p. 3. ch. 27.

468

Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.

ills, and blind, so as not to discern whether the attend­
ants are administering to him medicine or poison. And
then, weeping bitterly, she added, “I seem to be without
faith, without hope, and without love for my God.”
Nevertheless, the saint maintained throughout her seren­
ity of countenance and affability in conversation, and
kept her looks fixedly bent towards God, in the bosom
of whose blessed will she constantly reposed. Wherefore
St. Francis de Sales, who was her director, and knew
well what an object of predilection her beautiful soul
was to Almighty God, wrote thus of her: “ Her heart
resembled a deaf musician, who, though he may sing
most exquisitely, can derive no pleasure from it himself.”
And to herself he wrote as follows: “ You must endeavor
to serve your Saviour solely through love of his blessed
will, utterly deprived of consolations, and overwhelmed
by a deluge of fears and sadness.” 1 It is thus that the
saints are formed:
“ Long did the chisels ring around,
Long did the mallet’s blows rebound,
Long work'd the head and toil’d the hand,
Ere stood thy stones as now they stand.” 2

The saints of whom the Church sings are precisely these
choice stones, which are reduced to shapeliness and
beauty by the strokes of the chisel,—that is, by tempta­
tions, by fears, by darkness, and other torments,internal
and external,—till at length they are made worthy to be
enthroned in the blessed kingdom of Paradise.
1 Lw of God, B. 9, ch. ii.
2 “ Scalpri salubris ictibus
Et tunsione plurima,
Fabri polita malleo,
Hanc saxa molem construunt,
Aptisque juncta nexibus
Locantur in fastigio.”—Offre. Dedic. eccl.

CHAP. XI1I.J

II. Desolations.

469

Affections and Prayers.
O Jesus, my hope, my love and only love of my soul, I deserve
not Thy consolations and sweet visitations ; keep them for those
innocent souls that have aiways loved Thee; sinner that I am,
I do not deserve them, nor do I ask for them : this only do I
ask, give me grace to love Thee, to accomplish Thy adorable
will during my whole life; and then dispose of me as '1 hou
pleasest ! Unhappy me ! far other darkness, other terrors, other
abandonments would be due to the outrages which I have done
Thee: hell were my just award, where, separated from Thee for­
ever, and totally abandoned by Thee. I should shed tears eter­
nally, without ever being able to love Thee more. But no. my
Jesus, I accept of every punishment ; only spare me this. Thou
art deserving of an infinite love; Thou hast placed me under an
excessive obligation of loving Thee; oh. no, I cannot trust my­
self to live and not love Thee! I do love Thee, my sovereign
good ; I love Thee with my whole heart ; I love Thee more
than myself ; I love Thee, and have no other desire than to love
Thee. I own that this my good-will is the pure effect of Thy
grace; but do Thou, O my Lord, perfect Thy own work; with­
draw not Thy helping hand till death ! Oh, never fora moment
leave me in my own hands; give me strength to vanquish
temptations and to overcome myself; and for this end give me
grace always to have recourse to Thee! I wish to belong
wholly to Thee; I give Thee my body, my soul, my will, and
my libertv ; I will no longer live for myself, but for Thee alone,
my Creator, my Redeemer, my love, and my all : my God and
my all? I desire to become a saint, and I hope this of Thee.
Afflict me as Thou wilt, deprive me of all ; only deprive me not
of Thy grace and of Thy love.
O Mary, the hope of sinners, great is thy power with God ; I
confide fully in thy intercession : I entreat thee by thy love of
Jesus Christ, help me, and make me a saint !
1 “ Deus meus et omnia?’

Abstract of the birtnes treated of in this tüork, to be
H
Practised bj]
wljo
£odcs Jesns Œijrist

We must patiently endure the tribulations of this life
—ill-health, sorrows, poverty, losses, bereavement of
kindred, affronts, persecutions, and all that is disagree­
able. Let us invariably look on the trials of this world
as signs of God’s love towards us, and of his desire to
save us in the world to come. And let us, moreover, be
fully persuaded that the involuntary mortifications which
God himself sends us are far more pleasing to him than
those which are the fruit of our own choice.
V
In sickness let us endeavor to resign ourselves entirely
to the will of God; no devout exercise is more acceptable
to him than this. If at such times we are unable to
meditate, let us fix our eyes on our crucified Lord, and
offer him our sufferings in union with all that he endured
for us upon the cross. And when we are told that we
are about to die, let us accept the tidings with tranquility
and in the spirit of sacrifice; that is, with the desire to
die, in order to give pleasure to Jesus Christ: it was the
like desire that gave all the merit to the death of the
martyrs. We should then say: O Lord, behold me here
with no other will but Thine own blessed will; I am
willing to suffer as much as Thou pleasest; I wish to die
whenever Thou wilt. Nor should we then wish to have
our life prolonged, in order to do penance for our sins;
to accept death with perfect resignation outweighs all
other penance.
We must likewise practise conformity to the will of
God in bearing poverty and the various inconveniences

Abstract of Virtues to be Practised.

471

which accompany it: cold, hunger, fatigue, contempt,
and scorn.
Nor should we be less resigned to losses, whether of
property or of relatives and friends, on whom our ease
and happiness depended. Let us acquire the good habit
of saying in every adversity: God hath so willed it, and
sc I will it likewise. And at the death of our relatives,
instead of wasting time in fruitless tears, let us employ
it in praying for their souls; and offer to Jesus Christ, in
their behalf, the pain of our bereavement.
Let us, moreover, force ourselves to endure scorn and
insult with patience and tranquillity. Let us answer
terms of outrage and injury with words of gentleness;
butas longas we feel ourselves disturbed, the best plan
is to keep silence, till the mind grows tranquil. Meanwhile let us not be fretfully speaking to others of the
affront we have received, but in silence offer it to Jesus
Christ, who endured so much for us.
7

1

j·
I

er

Behave kindly to all, to Superiors and inferiors, to th&
high-born and peasant, to relatives and strangers; but
more especially to the poor and infirm, and, above all, to
those who regard us with an evil eye.
Gentleness in the correction of faults is more effica­
cious than any other means or reasons that may be em­
ployed. Be therefore on your guard against correcting
in a fit of passion; for then harshness is sure to be
mingled with it, either in word or action. Beware likewise of correcting the person in fault while he is excited;
for in like cases the result is exasperation instead of im­
provement.

Envy not the great on<
honors, dignities, or applai

|
j

;
I
I

I

|
I
I

472

Abstract of Virtues to be Practised.

envy rather those who most love Jesus Christ, who un­
doubtedly enjoy greater happiness than the first mon­
archs of the earth. Return thanks to the Lord for en­
lightening you to discover the vanity of all wordly
things, for the sake of which so many unhappily perish.
IV.

In all our actions and thoughts let us seek only the
pleasure of Almighty God, and not our private satisfac­
tion; and leL us therefore lay aside all disquietude when
our efforts are attended with failure. And when we suc­
ceed, let us be no less cautious against seeking the
thanks and approbation of men; should they murmur
against us, let us pay no attention to this; our consola­
tion will be to have striven to please God, and not
men.
v.

The chief means of perfection are:
1. To avoid all deliberate sin, however small. Should
we, however, happen unfortunately to commit a fault,
let us refrain from becoming angry and impatient with
ourselves: we must, on such occasions, quietly repent of
it; and while we make an act of love to Jesus Christ,
and beg his help, we must promise him not to repeat the
fault.
2. To have an earnest desire to acquire the perfection
of the saints, and to suffer all things to please Jesus
Christ; and if we have not this desire, to beseech Jesus
Christ, through his bounty, to grant it us; since, as long
as we do not feel a sincere desire of becoming saints, we
shall never make one step forward in the way of perfec­
tion.
3. To have a firm resolution of arriving at perfection:
whoever is wanting in this resolution, works but lan­
guidly, and in the occasion does not overcome his re­

Abstract of Virtues to be Practised.

473

pugnances; whereas a resolute soul, by the divine aid,
which never fails her, surmounts every obstacle.
4. To make daily two hours’ or at least one hour’s
mental prayer; and, except in case of urgent necessity,
never to relinquish it for the sake of any weariness,
dryness, or trouble that we may experience.
5. To frequent Holy Communion several times a week,
*it is well to seek the counsel of our director, “in order
that the practice may be carried out with greater pru­
dence and more abundant merit.”* The same rule holds
good with regard to external mortifications, such as fast­
ing, wearing the cilice, taking the discipline, and the rest;
mortifications of this kind, when practised without
obedience to our spiritual director, will either destroy
health or produce vainglory. Hence it is necessary for
each one to have his own director, so that all may be
regulated in obedience to him.
6. To pray continually, by having recourse to Jesus
Christ in all our necessities, by invoking likewise the in­
tercession of our Angel Guardian, of our Holy Patrons,
and most particularly of the Mother of God through
whose hands Almighty God bestows all graces upon us.
It has already been shown, at the end of Chapter IV., that
our welfare entirely depends on prayer. We must es­
pecially not pass a day without begging God to grant us
the gift of perseverance in his grace; whosoever asks
for this perseverance obtains it, but he that does not
ask for it obtains it not, and is damned: we must pray,
too, that Jesus Christ may grant us his holy love and per­
fect conformity with his divine will. Neither should we
forget to pray for every grace through the merits of Jesus
Christ. AVe must first make these prayers when we rise
in the morning, and afterwards repeat them in our medi­
tation, at Holy Communion, at the visit to the Blessed
Sacrament, and again in the evening at the examination
of conscience. We must particularly cry to God for help

474

Abstract of Virtues to be Practised.

in the time of temptation, and more especially in tempta­
tions against purity, when we should not cease to call
for succor on the holy names of Jesus and Mary. He
that prays, conquers; he that prays not, is conquered.
VI.

With respect to humility, not to pride ourselves on
riches, honors, high birth, talents, or any other natural
advantage, and still less on any spiritual gift, reflecting
that all are the gifts of God. To consider ourselves the
worst of all, and consequently to delight in being de­
spised by others; and not to act as some do, who declare
themselves the worst of men, and at the same time wish
to be treated as the best. Moreover, to receive correc­
tions humbly, and without attempts to excuse ourselves,
and this even though blamed wrongfully; except when
to defend ourselves would be necessary in order to pre­
vent others being scandalized.
Much more ought we to banish all desire of appearing
in public, and of being honored by the world. The
maxim of St. Francis should never be out of our sight:
“We are just what we are before God.” It would be
still worse for a religious to covet posts of honor and
superiority in his community. The true honor of a re­
ligious is to be the most humble of all; and he is the
humblest of all who most joyfully embraces humiliations.
VII.

Detach your heart from all creatures. Whoever con­
tinues bound by the slightest fondness to things of earth
can never rise to a perfect union with God.
To detach ourselves especially from an undue affection
for our relatives. It was said by St. Philip Neri, that
“ whatever affection we bestow on creatures is so much

Abstract of Virtues to be Practised.

475

taken from God.” 1 In deciding on a state of life, we
must be quite unbiased by the advice of parents, who
generally keep their own interests in view, rather than
our real welfare.
Cast away all considerations of human respect, and of
the vain esteem of men ; and, above all, be detached
from self-will. We must leave all, in order to gain all.
“ All for all,” 2 writes Thomas à Kempis.
VIII,

Not to give way to anger, whatever happens; but if
perchance the sparks of passion are suddenly lighted in
our breasts, let us call on God, and refrain from acting
or speaking till we are sure that our anger is appeased.
We shall find it of great service to arm ourselves in
prayer against every chance of irritation that may befall
us, in order not then to give way to culpable resentment;
we should always remember that saying of St. Francis
de Sales: “ I never remember to have been angry with­
out afterwards regretting it.”
IX.

All sanctity consists in loving God, and all love of God
consists in doing his blessed will. We must, therefore,
bow with resignation to all the dispositions of divine
Providence without reserve; and so cheerfully submit to
the adversity as well as prosperity which God sends, to
the state of life in which God places us, to the sort of
health which God bestows on us: and this should be the
grand aim of all our prayers, namely, that God would
enable us to fulfil his holy will in all things. And in
order to be certain of the divine will, the religious must
depend on obedience to his Superior, and those who are
in the world to their confessor; for nothing is more cer1 Bacci, 1. 2, ch. 15.
9 “.Totum pro toto.”—Imit. Chr. 1. 3, c. 37.

4/6

Abstract of Virtues to be Practised.

tain than that saying of St. Philip Neri: “ We shall have
no account to render to God of what is done through
obedience.” Which is to be understood, of course, as
long as there is no evident sin in the command.

x.
There are two remedies against temptations: resigna­
tion and prayer. Resignation, for though temptations do
not come from God, yet he permits them for our good.
Wherefore beware of yielding to vexation, however an­
noying the temptations may be; be resigned to the will
of God, who allows them ; and take up the arms of
prayer, which are the most powerful and the most cer­
tain to overcome our enemies. Bad thoughts, however
filthy and abominable, are not sins; it is only'· the con­
senting to them which makes the sin. We shall never
be overcome as long as we call on the holy names of
Jesus and Mary. During the assaults of temptation, it
is of service to renew our resolution to suffer death
rather than to offend God; it is also a good practice re­
peatedly to sign ourselves with the sign of the cross, and
with holy water; it is of great help, too, to discover the
temptation to the confessor. But prayer is the most
necessary remedy, and continual cries for help to Jesus
and Mary.
XI.

Then as to spiritual desolations, there are two acts in
which we ought principally to exercise ourselves: ist, to
humble ourselves, with the sincere avowal that we de­
serve no better treatment; 2d, to resign ourselves to the
will of God, and to abandon ourselves into the arms of
his divine goodness. When God favors us with consola­
tions, let us prepare ourselves for coming trials, which
generally follow consolations. If it please God to leave
us in desolation, let us be humble and fully resigned to

Abstract of Virtues to be Practised.
his divine will, and we shall thus reap far greater ad­
vantage from desolations than from consolations.
XII.

In order to live always well, we must store up deeply
in oar minds certain general maxims of eternal life, such
as the following:
All passes away in this life, whether it be joy or sor­
row; but in eternity nothing passes away.
What good is all the greatness of this world at the
hour of death ?
All that comes from God, whether it be adverse or
prosperous, all is good, and is for our welfare.
We must leave all, to gain all.
There is no peace to be found without God.
To love God and save one’s soul is the one thing need­
ful.
We need only be afraid of sin.
If God be lost,all is lost.
He that desires nothing in this world is master of the
whole world.
He that prays is saved, and he that prays not is
damned.
Let me die, and give God pleasure.
God is cheap at any cost.
Every pain is slight to him who has deserved hell.
He bears all who looks on Jesus crucified.
Everything becomes a pain that is not done for God.
Whoever wishes for God alone is rich in every good.
Happy the man who can say: “ My Jesus, I desire
Thee alone, and nothing more!”
He that loves God, finds pleasure in everything; he
that loves not God, finds no true pleasure in anything.

Νουΐ'πα to tl)£ £joln Spirit;
Consisting of Meditations for each Day of the Novena, be­
ginning with the Feast of the Ascension, till the Eve of
Pentecost inclusively.

The Novena to the Holy Spirit is the chief of all the
Novenas, because it was the first that was ever cele.
Ί
brated, and that by the holy Apostles and the most holy
Mary in the supper-room, and distinguished by so many
remarkable wonders and gifts ; principally by the gift
of the same Holy Spirit, a gift merited for us by the
Passion of Jesus Christ himself. Jesus himself made
this known to us, when he said to his disciples, that if he
did not die, he could not send us the Holy Ghost : If I
go not, the Paraclete will not come to you ; but if I go, I will
send Him to you I We know well by faith that the Holy
Ghost is the love that the Father and the Eternal Word
bear one to the other ; and therefore the gift of love,
which the Lord infuses into our souls, and which is the
greatest of all gifts, is particularly attributed to the
Holy Ghost, as St. Paul says : The charity of God is poured
forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given to usl In
this Novena, therefore, we must consider, above all, the
great value of divine love, in order that we may desire
to obtain it, and endeavor, by devout exercises, and
specially by prayer, to be made partakers of it, since God
has promised it to him who asks for it with humility :
1 “Si autem non abiero, Paracletus non veniet ad vos; si autem
abiero, mittam eum ad vos.”—John, xvi. 7.
2 “ Charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum Sanc­
tum. q,ui datus est nobis.”—Roni. v. 5.

Meditation I.

479

Your Father from heaven will give the good Spirit to them
that ask Him.1
MEDITATION I.

Love is a Fire that inflames the Heart.
God had ordered, in the ancient law, that there should
be a fire kept continually burning on his altar: The fire
on the altar shall always burn? St. Gregory 3 says, that
the altars of God are our hearts, where he desires that
the fire of his divine love should always be burning ;
and therefore the Eternal Father, not satisfied with hav­
ing given us his Son Jesus Christ, to save us by his death,
would also give us the Holy Ghost, that he might dwell
in our souls, and keep them constantly on fire with love.
And Jesus himself declared, that he had come into the
world on purpose to inflame our hearts with this holy
fire, and that he desired nothing more than to see it
kindled : I am come to cast fire upon the earth ; and what
will I but that it be kindledV Forgetting, therefore, the
injuries and ingratitude he received from men on this
earth, when he had ascended into heaven he sent down
upon us the Holy Spirit. O most loving Redeemer,
Thou dost, then, love us as well in Thy sufferings and
ignominies as in Thy kingdom of glory ! Hence it was
that the Holy Ghost chose to appear in the supper-room
under the form of tongues of fire : And there appeared to
them parted tongues, as it were of fire? And hence the
Church teaches us to pray : “ May the Holy Ghost, we
1 “ Pater vester de coelo dabit Spiritumbonum petentibus se.”—
Luke, xi. 13.
2 “ Ignis autem in altari semper ardebit.”—Lev. vi. 12.
3 Mor. 1. 25, c. 7.
4 “ Ignem veni mittere in terram; et quid volo, nisi ut accendatur? ’
—Luke, xii. 49.
5 “ Et apparuerunt illis dispertitæ linguæ tanquam ignis.”—Acts,
• ·

11. 3·

480

Novena to the Holy Spirit.

beseech Thee, O Lord, inflame us with that fire which
our Lord Jesus Christ came to cast upon the earth, and
which he ardently•z desired should be enkindled.”1*
This was the holy fire which has inflamed the saints to
do so great things for God, to love their enemies, to de­
sire contempt, to deprive themselves of all earthly goods,
and to embrace with delight even torments and death.
Love cannot remain idle, and never says, “It is enough.”
The soul that loves God, the more she does for her be­
loved, the more she desires to do, in order to please him,
and to attract to herself his affections the more.
This holy fire is enkindled by mental prayer : In my
meditation a fire shall flame out? If, therefore, we desire
to burn with love towards God, let us love prayer ; this
is the blessed furnace in which this divine ardor is
enkindled.
Affections and Prayers.

O my God. hitherto I have done nothing for Thee, who hast
done such great things for me! Alas! my coldness deserves
that Thou shouldst “ vomit me out of Thy mouth.” O Holy
Spirit, I beseech Thee, “ warm what is cold,”3 deliver me from
this coldness, and enkindle within me an earnest desire of
pleasing Thee. I now renounce all my worldly gratifications ;
and I will rather die than give Thee the least displeasure.
Thou didst appear in the shape of fiery tongues ; I consecrate
my tongue to Thee, that it may never offend Thee more.
Thou didst give it me, O my God, to praise Thee with ; and I
have made use of it to offend Thee, and to draw others also into
sinning against Thee. I repent of this with my whole soul.
Oil, for the love of Jesus Christ, who. during his life on earthf
honored Thee so much with his tongue, grant that I also may
from this day forth honor Thee constantly, by celebrating Thy
1 “ Illo nos igné, quæsumus. Domine, Spiritus Sanctus inflammet,
quem Dominus noster Jesus Christus misit in terram, et voluit vehe­
menter accendi.”—In Sabb. Pent.
* “ In meditatione mea exardescet ignis.”—Ps. xxxviii. 4.
3 “ Fove quod est frigidum.”

Medilation II,

481

praises, by frequently invoking Thy aid, and by speaking of
Thy goodness and the infinite love which Thou deservest ! I
love Thee, my sovereign good, I love Thee, O Godoflove ! Ο
Mary, thou art the most dear spouse of theHoly Ghost, obtain
for me this holy lire !

I
I
||
J

MEDITATION II.

H

Love is a Light that Enlightens the Soul.

■

One of the greatest evils that the sin of Adam has
produced in us, is that darkening of our reason by
means of the passions which cloud our mind. Oil, how
•
miserable is that soul that allows itself to be ruled by
any passion ! Passion, is as it were, a vapor, a veil
which prevents us from seeing the truth. How can he
fly from evil, who does not know what is evil ? Besides,
this obscurity increases in proportion as our sins increase. But the Holy Spirit, who is called “most bless­
ed light,” 1 is he who not only inflames our hearts to
love him, through his divine splendor, but also dispels
our darkness, and shows us the vanity of earthly things,
the value of eternal goods, the importance of salvation,
the price of grace, the goodness of God, the infinite love
which he deserves, and the immense love which he bears
us. The sensual manpcrceiveth not those things that arc op
the Spirit of Godi1 A man who is absorbed in the pleas­
ures of earth knows little of these truths, and therefore,
unfortunate that he is, he loves what he ought to hate,
and hates what he ought to love. St. Mary Magdalene
of Pazzi exclaimed : O love not known ! O love not
loved ! ” And therefore St. Teresa said that God is
not loved because he is not known. Hence the saints
were always seeking light from God : Send forth Thy

1 “ Lux beatissima.”
* “ Animalis homo non percipit ea quæ sunt Spiritus Dei.”—i Cor

ii. 14.

3

I
|

I

I

|

I

I
I

I

I

482

Novena to the Holy Spirit.

light p illuminate my darkness p open Thou my eyesI Yes :
because without light we cannot avoid precipices, nor
can we find God.

Affections and Prayers.
0 holy and divine Spirit, I believe that Thou art really God,
but one only God with the Father and the Son. I adore Thee,
and acknowledge Thee as the giver of all those lights by which
Thou hast made known to me the evil which I have committed
in offending Thee, and the obligation which I am under, of
loving Thee. I thank Thee for them, and I repent with my
whole heart of having offended Thee. I have deserved that
Thou shouldst abandon me in my darkness; but I see that
Thou hast not yet forsaken me. Continue, O eternal Spirit, to
enlighten me, and to make me know more and more Thy in­
finite goodness ; and give me strength to love Thee for the fu­
ture with my whole heart. Add grace to grace ; so that I may
be sweetly overcome, and constrained to love none other but
Thee. 1 implore this of Thee, through the merits of Jesus
Christ. I love Thee, my sovereign good ; I love Thee more
than myself. I desire to be entirely Thine; do Thou accept
me, and suffer me not to be separated from Thee any more. O
Mary, my Mother, do thou always assist me by thy interces­
sion !
MEDITATION III.

Love is a Fountain that Satisfies.
Love is also called a living fountain : “a living foun­
tain, fire, and charity.”4 Our Blessed Redeemer said to
the Samaritan woman : But he that shall drink of the water
that I will give him shall not thirst for ever? Love is the
1 “ Emitte lucem tuam.”—Ps. xlii. 3.
’ “ Illumina tenebras meas.”—Ps. xvii. 29.
3 “ Revela oculos meos.”—Ps. cxviii. 18.
4 “ Fons vivus, ignis, charitas.”
6 “ Qui autem biberit ex hac aqua quam ego dabo ei, non sitiet in
æternum.”—John, iv. 13.

Meditation III.

483

water which satisfies our thirst ; he who loves God
really with his whole heart neither seeks nor desires
anything else ; because in Godr he finds every good,
Wherefore, satisfied with God, he often joyfully ex­
claims, “ My God and my all ! ” My God, Thou art my
whole good.
But the Almighty complains that many souls go about
seeking for fleeting and miserable pleasures from creat­
ures, and leave him, who is the infinite good and foun­
tain of all joy : They have forsaken Me, the fountain of liv­
ing water, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cis­
terns, that can hold no water! Wherefore God, who loves
us, and desires to see us happy, cries out and makes
known to all : If any thirst, let them come to med He who
desires to be happy, let him come to me ; and I will
give him the Holy Ghost, who will make him blessed
both in this life and the next. He that bclievcth in Me
(he goes on to say), as the Scripture saith, Out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living waterd He therefore, that be­
lieves in Jesus Christ, and loves him, shall be enriched
with so much grace, that from his heart (the heart, that
is, the will), shall flow many fountains of holy virtues,
which shall not only serve to preserve his own life, but
also to give life to others. And this water was the Holy
Ghost, the substantial love which Jesus Christ promised
to send us from heaven after his ascension : How this He
said of the Spirit, which they should receive who believed in
Him, for as yet the Spirit was not given, because fesus was
not yet glorified.4
1 " Me dereliquerunt fontem aquæ vivæ, et foderunt sibi cisternas,
cisternas dissipatas, quæ continere non valent aquas.”—Jcr. ii. 13.
’ “ Si quis sitit veniat ad me, et bibat.”—John, vii. 37.
3 ' Qui credit in me, sicut dicit Scriptura, flumina de ventre ejus
flutat aquæ vivæ.”—Ibid. 38.
4 “ Hoc autem dixit de Spiritu quem accepturi erant credentes in
ev.m ; nondum enim erat Spiritus datus, quia Jesus nondum erat
glorificatus.”—Ibid. 39.

4S4

Novena to the Holy Spirit,

The key which opens the channels of this blessed
water is holy prayer, which obtains every good for us in
virtue of the promise, Ask. ami you shall receive.'1 We are
blind, poor, and weak; but prayer obtains for us light,
strength, and abundance of grace. Theodoret said :
“Prayer, though but one, can do all things.”3 He who
prays receives all he wishes. God desires to give us his
graces ; but he will have us pray for them.

Affections and Prayers.
Lord, give me this water.5 0 my Jesus, with the Samaritan
woman, I beseech Thee, give me this wate- of Thy love, which
may make me forget the earth, to live only for Thee, O amiable,
infinite one. “Water that which is dry.’’ My soul is a barren
soil, which produces nothing but the weeds and thorns of sin;
oh, do Thou water it with Thy grace, so that it may bring forth
some fruits to Thy glory, before death takes me out of this
world. O fountain of living water, O sovereign good, how
many times have I left Thee for the puddles of this earth, which
have deprived me of Thy love! Oh, would that I had died be­
fore I offended Thee! But for the future I will seek after nothing but Thee, O my God. Do Thou assist me, and enable me
to be faithful to Thee. Mary, my hope, do thou keep me always
under thy protection !
MEDITATION IV.

Love is a Dew which fertilizes.
Thus does Holy Church teach us to pray: “ May the
infusion of the Holy
*'
y Ghost cleanse our hearts, and fe
tilize them by the interior sprinkling of his dew.”**
Love fertilizes the good desires, the holy purposes, anc
1 “ Petite et accipietis.”—John, xvi. 24.
2 “Oratio, cum sit una, omnia potest.”—Ap. Rodr. p. I, tr. 5, c.
14.
3 “ Domine da mihi hanc aquam.”—John, iv. 15.
4 “ Sancti Spiritus corda nostra mundet infusio, et sui roris intima
aspersione fœcundet ”

Méditation /K

485

the good works of our souls: these are the flowers and
fruits which the grace of the Holy Spirit produces.
Love is also called clew, because it cools the heart of bad
passionsand of temptations. Therefore the Holy Ghost
is also called refreshment and cooling in the heat: “In
heat refreshment and pleasing coolness.”1 This dew
descends into our hearts in the time of prayer. A quarter of an hour’s prayer is sufficient to appease every passion of hatred or of inordinate love, however ardent it
may be: He brought me into the cellar of wine, He set in
order charity in me? Holv meditation is this cellar where
love is set in order, so that we love our neighbor as ourselves, and God above everything. He who loves God
loves prayer; and he that loves not prayer will find it
morally impossible to overcome his passions.

I

•

I
II
I
II
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I

I
I
I
I

Affections and Prayers.

11

O holy and divine Spirit, I will no longer live to myself; but
I will spend all the days that remain for me in this Iice in loving
Thee and pleasing Thee. Therefore I beseech Thee to grant
me the gift of prayer. Do Thou descend into my heart, and
teach me to pray as I ought. Give me strength not to leave it
off through weariness in times of aridity; and give me the spirit
of prayer, that is to say, the grace constantly to pray to Thee,
and to use those prayers which are dearest to Thy Sacred Heart.
I was once lost through my sins; but I see, from all the kindnesscs I have received from Thee, that Thou wiliest that I
should be saved and become a saint ; and 1 desire to become a
saint to give Thee pleasure, and that I may love Thy infinite
goodness more and more. I love Thee. O my sovereign good,
my love, my all ; and because I love Thee I give myself entirely
to Thee. O Mary, my hope, do thou protect me!

I
11

I
I
I
|I
jI
II

’I
I
I

;

I

1 “In æstu temperies, dulce refrigerium.”
2 “ Introduxit me in cellam vinariam ; ordinavit in me charitatem.
— Cant. ii. 4.

I

I

486

Nονend to the Holy Spirit.

MEDITATION V.

Love is a Repose that refreshes.
Love is also called, “in labor rest, in mourning com­
fort.” 1* Love is repose that refreshes; because the prin­
cipal office of love is to unite the will of the lover to that
of the beloved one. To a soul that loves God, in every
affront that it receives, in every sorrow that it endures,
in every loss that happens to it, the knowledge that it is
the will of its beloved that it should suffer these trials is
enough to comfort it. It finds peace and contentment
in all tribulations by merely saying, This is the will of
my God. This is that peace which surpasses all the
pleasure of sense: The peace of God which surpasseth ail
understanding? St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi, by merely
saying, “The will of God,” was always filled with joy.
In this life every one must carry his cross ; but St.
Teresa says, that the cross is heavy for him that drags
it, not for him that embraces it. Thus our Lord knows
well how to strike and how to heal: He woundeth, and
cureth, says Job.34 The Holy Spirit, by his sweet unction,
renders even ignominies and torments sweet and pleas­
ant: Yea, Lord; for so hath it seemed good in Thy sight?
Thus ought we to say in all adversities that happen to
us : So be it done, Lord, because so hath it pleased Thee.
And when the fear of any temporal evil that may befall
us alarms us, let us alwavs
J sav:
* “ Do what Thou wilt,1
my God; whatever Thou doest, I accept it all, hence­
forth.” And thus it is a very good thing to offer one’s
self constantly during the day to God, as did St. Teresa.
1
8
3
4

“ In labore requies, in fletu solatium.”
“ Pax Dei, quæ exsuperat omnem sensum.”—Phil. iv. 7.
“Ipse vulnerat, et medetur.”—Job, v. 18.
“Ita, Pater! quoniam sic fuit placitum ante te.”—Matt xi. 26.

Meditation VI.
Affections and Prayers.
O my God, how often, for the sake of doing my own will,
have I opposed myself to Thy will and despised it! I regret
this evil more than every other evil. O Lord, from this day
forward I will love Thee with my whole heart: Speak, Lord ;
for Thy servant hcarethl Tell me what Thou wouldst have me
to do, I will do it all. Thy will shall be my only desire, my only
love. O Holy Spirit, help my weakness. Thou art goodness
itself; how can I love any other but Thee? Oh, do Thou draw
all my affections to Thyself by the sweetness of Thy holy love.
I renounce everything, to give myself entirely to Thee. Do
Thou accept me and help me. O Mary, my Mother, I trust in
thee !
MEDITATION VI.

Love is the Virtue which gives us Strength.
Love is strong as death! As there is no created strength
that can resist death, so there is no difficulty for a loving
soul that love cannot overcome. When there is question
of pleasing its beloved, love conquers all,—losses, con­
tempt, and sorrow: “Nothing is so hard, but that the
fire of love can conquer it.” ’
This is the most certain mark whereby to know if a
soul really loves God, if it is as faithful in love when
things are adverse as when they are prosperous. St.
Francis de Sales said, that “God is quite as amiable when
he chastises as when he consoles us, because he does all
for love.”4 Indeed, when he strikes us most in this life,
then it is that he loves us most. St. John Chrysostom4
esteemed St. Paul in chains more fortunate than St.
Paul rapt up into the third heaven.
1 “ Loquere, Domine, quia audit servus tuus.”—I Kings, iii. io.
3 “ Fortis est ut mors dilectio.”—Cant. viii. 6.
3 “Nihil tarn durum, quod amoris igne non vincatur.”—De Mor.
Eccl. Cath. c. 22.
4 Love of God, B. 9, ch. 2.
5 In Eph. horn. 8.

zj-SS

Novena lo the Holy Spirit.

Hence the holy martyrs, in the midst of their torments,
rejoiced and thanked the Lord, as for the greatest favor
that could fall to their lot—that of having to suffer for
his love. And other saints, where there were wanting
tyrants to afflict them, became their own executioncis,
by the penances which they inflicted upon themselves in
order to please God. St. Augustine says, that “Forthat
which men love, either no labor is felt, or the labor itself
is loved.”1
Affections and Prayers.
O God of my soul, I say that I love Thee ; and yet what do I
do for Thy love ? Nothing. This shows, therefore, that either
I do not love Thee, or I love Thee too little. Send inc there­
fore, O my Jesus, Thy Holy Spirit, that he may come and give
me strength to suffer for Thy love, and to do something for the
love of Thee before death overtakes me. O mv beloved Re­
deemer, let me not die cold and ungrateful as I have hitherto
been to Thee. Grant me strength to love suffering, after so
many sins whereby I have deserved hell. O my God, who art
all goodness and love, Thou desirest to dwell in my heart from
which I have so often expelled Thee; come, then, dwell within
it, take possession of it, and make it entirely Thine. I love
Thee, O my Lord , and if I love Thee, Thou art already with
me, as St. John assures me: He that abideth in charity abideth
in God, and God in him.'1 Since, therefore, Thou art with me,
increase the flames, increase the chains, so that I may neither
seek nor love anything else but Thee ; and thus bound, may
never be separated from Thy love. 1 desire to be Thine, O my
Jesus, and entirely Thine. O Mary, my Queen and Advocate,
obtain for me love and perseverance !
MEDITATION VII.

Love causes God to dwell in our Souls.
The Holy Ghost is called “ Sweet guest of the soul.”
This was the great promise made by Jesus Christ to
1 “In eo quod amatur, aut non laboratur, aut ct labor amatur.”—
De Bono vid. c. 21.
9 “ Qui manet in charitate, in Deo manet, et Deus in eo.”—i John,
iv. i6.

Meditation VII.

489

those who love him, when he said: If you love Me, I will
pray My Father, and lie will send you the Holy Spirit, that
He may always dwell in you. IJ you love Me, keep My com­
mandments. And I will ask the Father, and He shall give
you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you forever.'
For the Holy Spirit never forsakes a soul, says the Coun­
cil of Trent, if he is not driven away from it: “He does
not forsake, unless he be first forsaken.”2
God, then, dwells in a soul that loves him; but he de­
clares that he is not satisfied if we do not love him with
our whole heart. St. Augustine tells us, that the Roman
senate would not admit Jesus Christ into the number of
their gods, because they said that he was a proud god,
who would have none other beloved but himself. And
so it is: he will have no rivals in the heart that loves him;
and when he sees that he is not the only object loved, he
is jealous (so to say), according to what St. James writes,
of those creatures who divide with him the heart which
he desires to have all to himself: Do you think the Scrip­
ture saith in vain: To envy doth the spirit covet which dwelleth
in you?2 In short, as St. Jerome says, “Jesus is jealous.”*
Hence the heavenly Spouse praises that soul which, like
the turtle-dove, lives in solitude and hidden from the
world: Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtlc-dovcs.b Because
he does not choose that the world should take a part of
that love which he desires to have all to himself, there­
fore he also praises his Spouse by calling her “ a garden
enclosed:’’ My sister, My spouse, is a garden enclosed.
*
A
1 “ Si diligitis me. mandata mea servate. Et ego rogabo Patrem,
et alium Paracletum dabit vobis, ut maneat vobiscum in æternum.”—
John. xiv. 15.
2 “ Non deserit, nisi deseratur.”—Sess. vi. c. 11.
8 “ An putatis quia inaniter Scriptura dicat: Ad invidiam concupis­
cit Spiritus qui habitat in vobis?”—James, iv. 5.
4 “Zelotypus est Jesus.”—Epist. ad Eust.
6 “ Pulchræ sunt gente tuæ sicut turturis.”—Cant. i. 9.
6 “Hortus conclusus, soror mea sponsa.”—Ibid. iv. 12.

490

Novena to the Holy Spirit.

garden closed against all earthly love. Do we doubt
that Jesus deserves our whole love? “He gave himself
wholly to thee,” says St. John Chrysostom; “ He left
nothing for himself.”1 He has given thee all his blood
and his life; there remains nothing more for him to give
thee.
Affections and Prayers.
O my God, I see that Thou desirest to have me entirely for
Thine own. I have oftentimes driven Thee from my soul, and
yet Thou hast not disdained to return to me and reunite Thy­
self to me again. Oh, do Thou now take possession of my
whole self. I give myself this day entirely to Thee ; accept of
me, O my Jesus, and let me never forthe future live one moment
deprived of Thy love. Thou seekest me, and I seek none other
but Thee. Thou desirest my soul, and my soul desires none
but Thee. Thou lovest me, and I love Thee ; and since Thou
lovest me, bind me to Thyself, so that I may never more be
separated from Thee. O Queen of heaven, I trust in thee !
hI
z
MEDITATION VIII.

Love is a Bond which binds.
As the Holy Spirit, who is uncreated love, is the in­
dissoluble bond which binds the Father to the Eternal
Word, so he also unites the soul to God. “ Charity is
a virtue,” says St. Augustine, “uniting us to God.”2
Hence, full of joy, St. Laurence Justinian exclaims: O
love, thy bond has such strength, that it is able to bind
even God, and unite him to our souls: “O love, how
strong is thy bond, which could bind God!”3
The bonds of the world are bonds of death; but the
bonds of God are bonds of life and salvation: Ider bonds
are a healthful binding.
*
Yes, because the bonds of God
1 “ Totum tibi dedit, nihil sibi reliquit.”
3 “ Charitas est virtus conjungens nos Deo.”
3 “ O charitas ! quam magnum est vinculum tuum, quo Deus ligari
potuit!”—Lign. v. de Char. c. 6.
4 “Vincula illius, alligatura salutaris.”—Ecclus. vi. 31.

Meditation VIH.

49’

by means of love unite us to God, who is our true and
only life.
Before the coming of Jesus Christ men fled away from
God, and being attached to the earth, refused to unite
themselves to their Creator; but the loving God has
drawn them to himself by the bonds of love, as he prom­
ised by the prophet Osee: I will draw them with the cords
of Adam, with the bands of love? These bands are the
benefits, the lights, the calls to his love, the promises of
paradise, which he makes to us; but above all, the gift
which he has bestowed upon us of Jesus Christ in the
Sacrifice of the Cross and in the Sacrament of the Altar,
and finally, the gift of his Holy Spirit. Therefore the
prophet exclaims: Loose the bonds from off thy neck, O captive
daughter of Zion? O my soul, thou who art created for
heaven, loose thyself from the bonds of earth, and unite
thyself to God by the bonds of holy love: Have charity,
which is the bond of perfection? Love is a bond which
unites to herself all other virtues, and makes the soul
perfect. “ Love, and do what you will,” 4 said St. Augus­
tine. Love.God, and do what thou wilt; because he who
loves God tries to avoid causing any displeasure to his
beloved, and seeks in all things to please him.
Affections and Prayers.

My dearest Jesus, how much hast Thou not done to oblige me
to love Thee, and how much hath it cost Thee to gain to Thy­
self my love! Ah, I should be too ungrateful if I loved Thee
little, or divided my heart between Thy creatures and Thyself,
after Thou hast given me Thy blood and Thy life. I will de­
tach myself from everything, and in Thee alone will I place all
my affections. But I am weak in carrying out this my desire;
1

2
3

4

In funiculis Adam traham eos, in vinculis charitaiis.”—Os. xi. 4.
Solve vincula colli tui, captiva filia Sion.”—Is. lii. 2.
Charitatem habete, quod est vinculum perfectionis.”—Coi. iii.

Ama, et fac quod vis.”

492

Novena to the Holy Spirit,

O Thou who hast inspired me with it, do Thou give me strength
to execute it. Pierce my poor soul, O dearest Jesus, with the
sweet dart of Thy love, so that I may ever languish with desire
of Thee, and be dissolved with the love of Thee; that I may
seek Thee alone, desire only Thee, and find none but Thee. My
Jesus, I desire Thee, and Thee alone. Make me repeat con­
tinually in this life, and especially at the hour of my death,
“ Thee alone do I desire, and nothing else.” O Mary, my Mother,
obtain for me that henceforth I may desire nothing but God.
MEDITATION IX.

Love is a Treasure containing every Good.
Love is that treasure of which the Gospel says that we
must leave all to obtain it; yes, because love makes us
partakers of the friendship of God: An infinite treasure to
men, which they that use become the friends of God.1 O man,
says St. Augustine, wherefore, then, goest thou about
seeking for good things? seek that one good alone in
which all other good things are contained. But we
cannot find God, who is this sovereign good, if we do
not forsake the things of the earth. St. Teresa writes,
“ Detach thy heart from creatures, and thou shalt find
God.”23*
He that finds God finds all that he can desire: Delight
in the Lord, and He will give thee the requests of thy heartI
The h□ man heart is constantly seeking alter good things
that may render it happy; but if it seeks them from
creatures, how much soever it may acquire, it will never
be satisfied with them; but if it seeks God alone, God
will satisfy all its desires. AVho are the happiest people
7

O

O

7

1 “ Infinitus enim thesaurus est hominibus, quo qui usi sunt, partici­
pes facti sunt amicitias Dei.”—IVisd. vii. 14.
* Avis 36.
3 “Delectare in Domino, et dabit tibi petitiones cordis tui.”—Ps.
xxxvi. 4.

Meditation IX.

493

in this world, if it be not the saints ? And why ? Because
they desire and seek only God.
A certain prince, as he was going out bunting, saw a
solitary who was running about in the forest, and asked
him what he was doing in that desert. The solitary re­
plied, ‘‘And thou, O prince, w’hat art thou seeking?”
The prince said, “I am going out in search of wild
beasts.” “And I,” said the hermit, “am going out in
search of God.” The tyrant offered gold and gems to
St. Clement, in order to persuade him to renounce Jesus
Christ; the saint exclaimed, with a sigh, “Alas, is God
put into competition with a little dirt ? Blessed is he
who knows this treasure of divine love, and strives to
obtain it. He who obtains it will of his own accord
divest himself of everything else, that he may have
nothing else but God." “ When the bouse is on fire,”
says St. Francis de Sales, “ all the goods are thrown out
of the window.” ’ And Father Paul Segneri the Younger,
a great servant of God, used to say, that love is a thief,
which robs us of all earthly affections; so that wecan say,
“And what else do I desire, but Thee alone, O my

Affections and Prayers.
O my God. hitherto I have not sought Thee, but myself and
my own pleasures ; and for the sake of these I have turned my
back upon Thee, my sovereign good. But I am comforted by
these words of Jeremias, The Lord is good to the soul that seeketh
Him} They tell me that Thou art all goodness towards him
who seeks Thee. My beloved Saviour, 1 know the evil that I
have committed in forsaking Thee, and I repent of it with my
whole heart. I know that Thou art an infinite treasure. I will
not abuse this light ; I will forsake all, and choose Thee for my
only love. My God, my love, my all, I love Thee, I desire Thee,
I sigh after Thee. Come, O Holy Spirit, and destroy in me by
1 Spirit, ch. 27.
9 ‘‘Bonus est Dominus . . . aniniæ quærenti illum.”—Lam. iii. 25.

494

Novena to the Holy Spirit.

Thy sacred fire every affection which has not Thee for its ob­
ject. Grant that I may be all Thine, and that I may conquer
everything to please Thee. O Mary, my advocate and Mother,
do thou help me by thy prayers!
MEDITATION X.

The Means of loving God and of becoming a Saint.
The more we love God, the more holy do we become.
St. Francis Borgia says that it is prayer that introduces
divine love into the human heart; and it is mortification
that withdraws the heart from the earth, and renders it
capable of receiving this holy fire. The more there is of
the earth in the heart, the less room there is for holy
love : IVisdom is not to be found in the land of them that live
in delights} Hence the saints have always sought to
mortify as much as possible their self-love and their
senses. The saints are few; but we must live with the
few, if we will be saved with the few: “ Live with the
few,” writes St. John Climacus, “if you would reign
with the few.” 2 And St. Bernard says, “ That cannot be
perfect which is not singular.” 3 He who would lead a
perfect life must lead a singular life.
But before all, in order to become saints, it is necessary
to have the desire to be saints; we must have the desire
and the resolution. Some are always desiring, but they
never begin to put their hands to the work. “ Of these
irresolute souls,” says St. Teresa, “ the devil has no
fear.” On the other hand, the saint said, “God is a
friend of generous souls.” The devil tries to make it
appear to us to be pride to think of doing great things
for God. It would indeed be pride in us, if we thought
of doing them, trusting in our own strength; but it is
J “Sapientia vero ubi invenitur? . . . Nescit homo pretium ejus,
nec invenitur in terra suaviter viventium.”—Job, xxviii. 12, 13.
s “ Vive cum paucis, si vis regnare cum paucis.”
3 “ Perfectum non potest esse, nisi singulare.”

Meditation X.

495

not pride to resolve to become saints, trusting in £od,
and saying, I can do all things in Him who strengthened
me.1
We must therefore be of good courage, make strong
resolutions, and begin. Prayer can do everything. What
we cannot do by our own strength, we shall do easily
with the help of God, who has promised to give us what­
ever we ask of him: You shall ask whatever you will, and it
shall be done unto you?

Affections and Prayers.

My dearest Redeemer, Thou desirest my love, and commandest me to love Thee with my whole heart. Yes, my Jesus,
I desire to love Thee with my whole heart. O my God, I will
say to Thee, trusting in Thy mercy, my past sins do not make
me fear, because I now hate them and detest them above every
other evil ; and I know that Thou dost forget the offences of a
soul that is penitent and loves Thee. Indeed, because I have
offended Thee more than others, I will also love Thee more than
others, with the help that 1 hope to obtain from Thee. O my
Lord, Thou desirest that I should be a saint; and I desire to
become a saint to please Thee. I love Thee, O infinite good­
ness. To Thee do I give myself entirely. Thou art my only
good, my only love. Accept of me, O my beloved, and make
me entirely Thine, and suffer me not to offend Thee any more.
Grant that I may be wholly consumed for Thee, as Thou hast
wholly consumed Thyself for me, O Mary, the most loving and
most beloved spouse of the Holy Spirit, obtain for me love and
fidelity !
1 “ Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat.”—Phil. iv. 13.
s “ Quodcumque volueritis petetis, et fiet vobis.”—John, xv. 7.

496

Pious Exer rise to obtain

Pions (Exercise to obtain the Seven (Sifts of the §olg
*
(Sl)ost.
Spiritus Sancti gratia illu­
minet sensus et corda nostra.
Amen.

May the grace of the Holy
Spirit enlighten our minds and
hearts. Amen.

Veni, Creator Spiritus!

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator,
come.
From Thy bright heavenly
throne ;
Come, lake possession of our
souls,
And make them all Thy own.

Mentes t uoruni visita ;
Imple, superna gratia,

Qua tu creasti pectora.
Qui diceris Paraclitus,

Altissimi Donum Dei ;
Fons vivus, Ignis, Charitas,

Et spiritalis Unctio.
Tu septiformis munere,
Digitus Patentee dexterce ;
Tu rite Promissum Patris,
Sermone ditans guttura.

Thou who art called the Para­
clete,
Best gift of God above ;
The living spring, the living
fire,
Sweet unction and true love.
Thou who art sevenfold in Thy
grace,
Finger of God’s right hand ;
His promise teaching little
ones
To speak and understand.

* Pope Pius VI., by a brief, May 26, 1796, granted to all the faith­
ful who, once or oftener in the day, with at least contrite heart and
devotion, shall say in Latin or in any other language the hymn Veni
Creator Spiritus, or the sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus, an indulgence of
three hundred days during the octave of Pentecost, and of one hun­
dred days at any other time ; and. moreover, a plenary indulgence
each month, on the usual conditions. These indulgences are appli­
cable to the souls in purgatory.—Ed.

the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost.
Accende lumen sensibus,

Infunde amorem cordibus ;
Infirma nostri corporis,
Virtute firmans perpeti.

Hostem repellas longius,
Pacemque dones protinus ;
Ductore sic te prœvio,

Vitemus omne noxium.

Per te sciamus da Patrem ;
Noscamus atque Filium,

Teque, utriusque Spiritum,
Credamus omni tempore.

Ileo Patri sit gloria,
Et Filio, qui a mortuis
Surrexit, ac Paraclito,
In saeculorum saecula.
Arnen.

497

Oh! guide our minds with Thy
blest light,
With love our hearts in­
flame ;
And with Thy strength, which
ne’er decays,
Confirm our mortal frame.
Far from us drive our hellish
foe,
True peace unto us bring;
And through all perils lead us
safe,
Beneath Thy sacred wing.

Through Thee may we the
Father know ;
Through Thee th’ Eternal
Son,
And Thee, the Spirit of them
both ;
Thrice blessed Three in One.
All glory while the ages run,
Be to the Father and the Son,
Who rose from death; the
same to Thee,
O Holy Ghost, eternally.
Amen.

Send forth Thy Spirit, and they
shall be created.
And Thou shalt renew the
face of the earth.
Let us pray.
Oremus.
Adsit nobis, queesumus, Dom­
Assist us, O Lord, we be­
ine, virtus Spiritus Sancti, qua seech Thee, with the power of
et corda nostra donenter expur­ Thy Holy Spirit,that our hearts
get et ab omnibus tueatur ad­ may be purified according to
versis. Per Christum Dom­ Thy mercy, and we be defend­
inum nostrum. Arnen.
ed from all adversities. Amen.
Emitte Spiritum tuum, et
creabuntur.
Et renovabis faciem terrae.

32

49§

Pious Exercise to obtain

Deus, in adjutorium meum
intende.—Domine, ad adjuvan­
dum me festina.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spi­
ritui Sancto.—Sicut erat in
principio, et nunc, et semper, et
in sœcula sœculorum. Arnen.

Incline unto my aid, O God !
—O Lord ! make haste to help
me.
Glory be to the Father, and
to the Son, and to the Holy
Ghost.—As it was in the be­
ginning, is now, and ever shall
be, world without end. Amen

First Prayer to obtain the Gift of the Fear of the Lord.
Holy Spirit, divine consoler ! I adore Thee as my true
God, just as I adore God the Father and God the Son.
I bless Thee by uniting myself to the blessings that Thou
dost receive from the angels and the seraphs. I offer
Thee my whole heart, and I render Thee heartfelt thanks
for all the benefits that Thou hast bestowed and dost
unceasingly bestow upon the world. Thou who art the
author of all supernatural gifts, and who didst enrich with
immense favors the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the
Mother of God, I beseech Thee to visit me by Thy grace
and Thy love, and to grant me the gift of Thy holy
Fear in order that it may prevent me from falling any
more into my past infidelities, for which I now ask you a
thousand times to forgive me.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Glory be to the
Father three times.

Second Prayer to obtain the Gift of Piety.
Holy Spirit, divine consoler ! I adore Thee as my true
God, just as I adore God the Father, and God the Son.
I bless Thee by uniting myself to the blessings that
Thou dost receive from the angels and the seraphs. I
offer Thee my whole heart, and I render Thee heartfelt
thanks for all the benefits that Thou hast bestowed and ·
dost unceasingly bestow upon the world.
Thou who
art the author of all supernatural gifts, and who didst

the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost.

499

enrich with immense favors the soul of the Blessed Vir­
gin Mary, the Mother of God, I beseech Thee to visit
me by Thy grace and Thy love, and to grant me the
gift of piety, in order that I may in future serve Thee
with greater fervor, follow with greater promptness Thy
holy inspirations, and observe with greater exactness
Thy holy precepts.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Glory be to the
Father three times.
/

J’

\ f * Η

,. τ . 1

Third Prayer to obtain the Gift of Knowledge.
Holy Spirit, divine consoler, I adore Thee as my true
God, just as I adore God the Father and God the Son.
I bless Thee by uniting myself to the blessings that Thou
dost receive from the angels and the seraphs. I offer Thee
my whole heart, and I render Thee heartfelt thanks for
all the benefits that Thou hast bestowed and dost unceas­
ingly bestow upon the world. Thou who art the author
of all supernatural gifts, and who didst enrich with im­
mense favors the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the
Mother of God, I beseech Thee to visit me by Thy grace
and Thy love, and to grant me the gift of Knowledge in
order that I may be able to know well the things of God,
and that enlightened by Thy holy instructions I may
steadily walk in the way of my eternal salvation.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Glory be to the
Father three times.

Fourth Prayer to obtain the Gift of Fortitude.
Holy Spirit, divine consoler ! I adore Thee as my true
God, just as I adore God the Father and God the Son.
I bless Thee by uniting myself .to the blessings that Thou
dost receive from the angels and seraphs. I offer Thee
my whole heart, and I render Thee heartfelt thanks for
all the benefits that Thou hast bestowed and dost unceas-

500

Pious Exercise to obtain

ingl}’ bestow upon the world. Thou who art the author
of all supernatural gifts, and who didst enrich with im­
mense favors the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the
Mother of God. I beseech Thee to visit me by Thy
grace and Thy love, and to grant me the gift of Forti
tude, in order that I may be able courageously to over­
come all the attacks of the devil, and escape all the
dangers of the world that stand in the way of my eternal
salvation.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Glory be to tht
Father three times.

9
Fifth Prayer to obtain the Gift of Counsel.

Holy Spirit, divine consoler ! I adore Thee as my true
God, just as I adore God the Father and God the Son.
I bless Thee by uniting myself to the blessings that
Thou dost receive from the angels and seraphs. I offer
Thee my whole heart, and I render Thee heartfelt thanks
for all the benefits that Thou hast bestowed and dost
unceasingly bestow upon the world. Thou who art the
author of all supernatural gifts, and who didst enrich
with immense favors the soul of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, the Mother of God, I beseech Thee to visit me
by Thy grace and Thy love, and to grant me the gift of
Counsel in order that I may be able to choose what is
most suitable to my spiritual advancement, and to dis­
cover all the snares and artifices of the evil spirit who
tempts me.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Glory be to the
Father three times.

Sixth Prayer to obtain the Gift of Understanding.
Holy Spirit, divine consoler! I adore Thee as my true
God, just as I adore God the Father and God the Son.
I bless Thee by uniting myself to the blessings that Thou

the Seven Gifts oj the Holy Ghost.

501

dost receive from the angels and the seraphs. I offer
Thee my whole heart,and I rênderThee heartfelt thanks
for all the benefits that Thou hast bestowed and dost
unceasingly bestow upon the world. Thou who art the
author of all supernatural gifts, and who didst enrich with
immense favors the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the
Mother of God. I beseech Thee to visit me by Thy
grace and Thy love, and to grant me the gift of Under­
standing, in order that I may be able to understand the
divine mysteries, and by the contemplation of heavenly
things may detach my thoughts and affections from all
the vanities of this miserable world.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Glory be to the
Father three times.
Seventh Prayer to obtain the Gift of Wisdom.

Holy Spirit, divine consoler ! I adore Thee as my true
God, just as I adore God the Father and God the Son.
I bless Thee by uniting myself to the blessings that Thou
dost receive from the angels and the seraphs. I offer
Thee my whole heart, and I render Thee heartfelt thanks
for all the benefits that Thou hast bestowed and dost
unceasingly bestow upon the world. Thou who art the
author of all supernatural gifts, and who didst enrich
with immense favors the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
the Mother of God. I beseech Thee to visit me by Thv
grace and Thy love, and to grant me the gift of Wisdom,
in order that I may be able to direct all my actions by
referring them to God as my last end, so that by loving
and serving Thee in this life as I ought to do, I may
have the happiness of eternally possessing Thee in the
next.
One Our Father, one Jia il Mary, and the Glory be to the
Father three times.

502

Pious Exercise io obtain

Humble Supplication.
Holy Spirit, divine Paraclete, Father of the poor, con­
soler of the afflicted, light of hearts, sanctifier of souls !
behold me prostrate in Thy presence ; I adore Thee with
the most profound submission, and I repeat a thousand
times with the seraphs who are before Thy throne :
Holy, Holy, Holy !
I firmly believe that Thou art
eternal, consubstantial with the Father and the Son. I
hope that by Thy goodness Thou wilt sanctify and save
my soul. I love Thee, O God of love ! I love Thee more
than all the things of this world ; I love Thee with all
my affections, because Thou art infinite, goodness that
alone dost merit all love ; and since, insensible as I have
been to Thy holy inspirations, I have been so ungrateful
as to offend Thee by so many sins, I ask Thee a thousand
pardons for them, and I supremely regret having ever
displeased Thee, O sovereign good ! I offer Thee my
heart cold as it is, and I supplicate Thee to let a ray
of Thy light and a spark of Thy fire enter therein to
melt the hardened ice of my iniquities. Thou who hast
filled with immense graces the soul of Mary, and in­
flamed with a holy zeal the hearts of the apostles, vouch­
safe also to set on fire my heart with Thy love. Thou
art a divine Spirit; fortify me against evil spirits: Thou
art a fire ; enkindle in me the fire of Thy love : Thou
art a light ; enlighten me so that I may know eternal
things : Thou art a dove ; give me great purity of heart :
Thou art a breath that is full of sweetness; dissipate the
storms that my passions raise up against me: Thou art
a tongue; teach me the manner of praising Thee without
ceasing: Thou art a cloud ; cover me with the shadow
of Thy protection : and if, finally, Thou art the author
of all heavenly gifts, ah, I beseech Thee to grant them
to me : vivify me by Thy grace, sanctify me by Thy

the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost.

503

charity, govern me by Thy wisdom, adopt me by Thy
bounty as Thy child, and save me by Thy infinite mercy,
so that I may never ce^se to bless Thee to praise Thee,
to love Thee, at first during my life on this earth, and
afterwards for all eternity in heaven. Amen.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus !
Et emitte cœlitus.
Lucis tua radium.
Veni, Pater pauperum !

Veni, Dator munerum !
Veni, Lumen cordium !

Holy Spirit! Lord of light !
From Thy clear celestial
height,
Thy pure, beaming radiance
give.

Come, Thou Father of the
poor !
Come, with treasures which
endure !
Come, Thou light of all that
live !

Consolator optime,
Dulcis Hospes anima,
Dulce Refrigerium !

Thou, of all consolers best,
Visiting the troubled breast,
Dost refreshing peace be­
stow.

In labore Requies,
In astu Temperies,
In fietu Solatium.

Thou in toil are comfort sweet ;
Pleasant coolness in the heat·,
Solace in the midst of woe.

O Lux beatissima !
Reple cordis intima

Tuorum fidelium.

Light immortal ! light divine!
Visit Thou these hearts of
Thine,
And our inmost being fill.

Sine tuo nomine,
Nihil est in homine,
Nihil est innoxium.

If Thou take Thy grace away,
Nothing pure in man will stay ;
All his good is turn'd to ill.

Lava quod est sordidum,

LIcal our wounds—our strength
renew ;
On our dryness pour Thy dew ;
Wash the stains of guilt
away.

Riga quod est aridum,
Sana quod est saucium.

504

Pious Exercise.

Flecte quod est rigidum,
Fove quod est frigidum,
Rege quod est devium.

Bend the stubborn heart and
will ;
Melt the frozen, warm the
chill ;
Guide the steps that go
astray.

Da tuis fidelibus,
In te confidentibus,
Sacrum septenarium.

Thou, on those who evermore
Thee confess and Thee adore,
In Thy sevenfold gifts de­
scend ;

Da virtutis meritum

Give them comfort when they
die ;
Give them life with Thee on
high;
Give them joys which never
end. Amen.

Da salutis exitum,

Da perenne gaudium. Arnen.
Emitte Spiritum tuum et cre­
abuntur.
Et renovabis faciem terree.

Domine exaudi orationem
meam.
Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

Send forth Thy Spirit, and
they shall be created.
And Thou shalt renew the
face of the earth.
O Lord, hear my prayer.
X

And let my cry come unto
Thee.

Oremus.
Let us pray.
Deus qui charitatis dona per
O God, who by the grace of
gratiam Sancti Spiritus tuo­ the Holy Spirit bast infused
rum cordibus fidelium infudis­ the gifts of charity into the
ti ! da famulis tuis, pro quibus hearts of Thy faithful ! give to
tuam deprecamur clementiam, Thy servants, for whom we im­
salutem mentis et corporis, ut te plore Thy clemency, health of
tota virtute diligant, et, quee soul and of body, in order that
tibi placita sunt, tota dilectione they may love Thee with all
perficiant. Per Christum Do­ their strength, and may accom­
minum nostrum. Arnen.
plish with all their heart what
is pleasing to Thee. Through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hymn.

505

HYMN.
To the Holy Ghost.
THE SOUL ALL FOR GOD.

Begone, ye vain hopes, ye attachments of earth;
Give your joys to such souls as no higher can soar;
Away, far away from my mem’ry begone,
For I seek you no longer, esteem you no more;
O God of my heart ! make me love Thee alone.

Adieu, every creature; I leave you with joy;
I no longer am yours—nay, I am not my own :
I belong but to God, from all else I am free;
I am thine, dearest Jesus,—all Thine,—Thine alone
My best beloved good ! let me cling but to Thee.
O amiable Lord ! let Thy sweet holy love
Now possess my whole being and reign over me;
Let Thy love in my heart every passion restrain ;
In that heart which was once so rebellious to Thee,
O amiable Lord ! come, establish Thy reign.

O heavenly dew ! that so sweetly dost fall.
Of passions unholy Thou calmest the glow ;
Ah ! make me forever enamour’d of Thee,
And live to seek only my God here below.
O heavenly dew ! descend gently on me.
O fire all divine! who with heavenly flames
Dost those souls where Thou giowest make holy and blest,
Come Thou to my heart, make it worthy to burn
With Thy holiest ardors ; inflame my breast ;
O fire all divine! for Thy ardors 1 yearn.
O infinite love ! Ah, how blessed is he
Who beholds Thy sweet f;jce there in heaven above !
Oh ! when shall I too come Thy beauty to see,
And enjoy Thee forever in transports of love !
O infinite love ! haste to draw me to Thee.

INDEX.

A.
Alacoque, Saint Margaret Mary, vision relative to the Sacred Heart
of Jesus. 113, 230.
Aloysius, St., his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, 115; his con­
tentment to die in order to escape the dangers of this world, 420.
Alvarez, Father Balthasar, vision of glory that one acquires by
patience in sickness, 419.
Avila, Venerable John, his sentiments of love and of confidence
towards Jesus Christ, 270, 290; his humility, 360.

B.
Berchmans, Saint Brother John, his devotion to the Blessed

Virgin, 120.
Bernardine of Sienna, St., his devotion to the Blessed Virgin, 120.

C.
Communion, love that Jesus Christ has shown us in instituting it, 275;
desire that he has to be united to us through this sacrament, 278.
Effects of Communion, 281. Frequent Communion, 347. Coun­
sel as to preparation, 68, 347; as to thanksgiving, 75, 349. Acts
before, 71; after, 77. Aspirations of love before, S3; after, 93.
Hymns, 105. Meditations, 213. Spiritual Communion, its utility,
121; acts to make it well, 124, 351.
Confession, pious exercise to dispose one’s self well for it, 61.
Confessors, counsel about timid persons, 454; prayer, 457; spiritual
consolation. 458; desolation, 463.
Confidence that we should have in Jesus Christ, 2S5.
Conformity to the will of God, its necessity, 4°°! happiness that it
procures, 403. One surely does God’s will by practising obedi­
ence, 409, 475Consolations, interior, they are not true devotion, 45S ; behavior
in regard to them, 461.
Contrition, motives and acts, 63.

5oS

Index.
D.

Death, we must prepare for it and desire it above all in sickness,

420.

Divine love makes it desirable, 444.
Desolation, spiritual, 45S, 476.
Detachment from earthly affection, necessary to find God, 371, 474;
from human respect and from self-will, 387; from relatives above
all in regard to vocation, 379.
Diaz, Mary, her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, 173.
Du Pont, Father Louis, makes a vow never to manifest his sufferings,
416.
E.

Eleazar, St., fortifies himself in patience by looking at the outraged

Jesus, 427.
Eucharist, see A/ass, Communion, Blessed Sacrament.
F.

Faith, it is the foundation of charity, but it is charity that perfects it,

430; a bad life is an enemy of faith, 431; many believe without
believing all, 433.
Feri a, Countess of, a nun of St. Clare, her devotion to the Blessed
Sacrament, 127.
Francis of the Infant Jesus, Brother, his devotion to the Blessed
Sacrament, 173.
Francis of Assisi. Si . his tenderness towards Jesus suffering, 273; he
thanks God for being able to suffer, 416.
Francis de Sales, St., his meekness, 316 ; his submission to the divine
will, 321 ; his patience in sickness, 416; how he triumphed over
the two passions, an^er and love. 395.
Friendship, it presupposes a communication of goods, 437.
G.

God, his love for us. his benefits, 264; he loves to see us suffer, but

this is for our good, 42S.

H.
Heart of Jesus, apparition to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. 113.

Devotion to the Heart of Jesus, 229. Meditations, 235. Affec­
tions, 256. Hymns, 258.
Henry Suso. Blessed, learns by revelation the trials that await him,
426.

Index.

509

Holy Ghost, our divine love, novena, 478; effects that he produces

in souls, meditations, 479; pious exercise to obtain his gifts, 496;
hymn, 505.
Hope, it augments charity, 434.
Humility, its necessity and its merit, 358: the practice of it, 361; we
must avoid vainglory, 366.
I.

«I

.

Intention, pure, to please God, necessary in all our actions, 323;

which are signs of it, 326.

JJane Frances de Chantal, St., her interior trials. 466.
Jesus Christ, love that he has shown us by suffering for us, 265; by

i

instituting the Blessed Sacrament, 275; desire that he has to be
united to us, 279; confidence with which this love of our Saviour
should inspire us, 2S5; how much wc are obliged to love him,
293; how we should love him, 299; he wishes to be loved alone
without a competitor, 372.
John of the Cross, St., chooses a house in which he has more to suffer,
427.
Jonas, St., Martyr, his resignation sustained by the remembrance of
Jesus crucified, 418.
Joseph, St., de Leonissa, his courage in a painful operation, 41S.

j
j
;
I

'

La Nusa, Father Louis, his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, 114.
Lidwine, St., her resignation in sufferings, 41S; thereby she com­

pleted her crown, 419.
Love, divine, its excellence. 297; its marks, 300; the practice of it,
305; it perfects faith, 430; and makes hope increase, 435. See
Holy Ghost and Perfection.
Lukewarmness, unavoidable, 330; lukewarmness that one can and
should avoid, 331; remedies against this vice, 334, 472, 477.

;

•

M.
Margaret of the Cross, Sister, prefers a poor habit to the purple,

428.
Mary, Mother of God, how we should honor her, visits, 118. Indulgenced prayer for the visits, 125. Visits for every day in the
month, 129.

*

,

5æ

Index.

Mass, the same sacrifice as that of the Cross, 25: its four ends, 5S.

Explanation of the prayers of Mass, 28. Instruction on the
manner of hearing Mass, 58. Offering of the Mass to obtain the
remission of sins, 66.
Meekness, its excellence, the practice of it, 316, 392, 471, 475.
Mortifications, those that come from God or from our neighbor
are preferable to those of our own choice, 313; exterior mortifi­
cations are necessary, 460. Interior mortification, see Detach­
ment.
%
%

o.

Obedience, sure means to fulfil God’s will, 409; it should subject

the will and the judgment, 412. Seculars practise obedience by
submitting to their confessor, 412.
Orders, holy, sanctity required for receiving them, 382.

P.
Paradise, we should desire it in order to love God perfectly; in this

consists the happiness of the soul, 440.
Patience, its necessity and its merit, 305; it renders us happy even
in this life, 310. Patience in sickness, 415; in poverty, 421; in
the loss of relatives and friends, 425; in contempt, 426, Practi­
cal summary, 470.
Perfection, it consists solely in the love of God, 263, 299; or in
humility, mortification, and conformity to the divine will, 406;
means to attain it and persevering in it, 272, 334, 472, 494.
Peter, Martyr, St., Jesus crucified appears to him in prison, 427.
Philip Neri, St., prefers the house in which he has more to suffer,
426.
Poverty, we should patiently bear it and even love it, 421.
Prayer, its necessity and efficacy, 351; especially against tempta­
tions, 450, 476. The Lord’s prayer, explanation, 48. Mental
prayer, its utility and importance, 342; subjects for meditation,
346.
Purgatory, the greatest pain that one suffers there, and particular
pain for those that have but little desire for heaven, 445.

S.
Sacrament, Blessed, worship that we owe it, visits, 113.

Indulgenced prayer for the visits, 123. Visits for every day in the
month, 127. Aspirations of love, 83. Hymns, 209. Meditations,
213.

Index.

SU

Sacrifices of the Old Law, four kinds, 16; five conditions requisite,

18; the sacrifice of Jesus Christ fulfils these conditions and real­
izes the figures, 21. See Mass.
Salesius, Father, his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, 166.
Sickness, with what patience one should bear it, 415.
Soul, its happiness and its union with God in heaven, 442.
Sufferings, their utility, 305. See Patience.
Superior, what should be his meekness, 317.

T.
Temptations, pains that they cause a soul that loves Jesus Christ,

and why God permits them, 447; means to be adopted to con.
quer them, 450, 476.
Teresa, St., Jesus encourages her to suffer, 418.
V.
Vincent de Paul, his meekness, 320; his patience in sickness, 415,

417.
Vocation, one is not obliged to obey one’s parents when there is

question of following it, 3S1; signs of vocation to the ecclesias­
tical state, 382.

W.
Wenceslaus, St., his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, 116.

-