St. Anthony Mary Claret: The Golden Key to Heaven

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Meditation 18. Jesus Christ's Hidden Life and His Admirable Obedience

Preparatory Prayer as on page x

Composition of Place — Imagine that you see Jesus toiling in a carpenter shop, obeying the holy Virgin, His Mother, and St. Joseph.

Prayer of Petition — O Jesus, I know that all the evils in the individual and in society come from disobedience, and on the contrary, all blessings come from obedience. Therefore Thou hast taught and urged it with such earnestness and have practised it unto death with such heroism, even to the death of the Cross. Grant me grace to imitate Thee, Lord, and to be obedient unto death.



First Point

My soul, before you, Jesus Christ saw all the difficulties which perfect obedience brings with it, and He overcame them all out of love for His Eternal Father and for you. To live one's life through to death according to the judgment and will of another, is something subject to many great difficulties. What would you do, O my soul? All these difficulties are an effect of Divine Providence, and Jesus Christ encountered them all before you did, and for your sake.

Let us reflect — The first difficulty which obedience presents is the burdens and duties which are assigned to us according to the responsibilities and state in which we live. Let us imagine, if you please, that a task has been allotted us which is too lowly to suit our taste. We are persuaded that persons who have been preferred to us have less talent than we. We flatter ourselves that we have enough talent to fulfill any role.

Now, what do I hear, O my soul? That this assignment is too lowly for you? Cast a glance at Christ. Who is this Man? He is King of kings, God of hosts, Supreme Ruler of the universe. What are His talents? He has so much Wisdom that doubtless with no difficulty He could convey the knowledge of His Divinity to all men. He possesses the power to fill the world with miracles. He has enough eloquence to be able to move all hearts to love Him, enough virtue and resourcefulness to be able with no effort to convert everyone.

Yet what is the assignment this great Lord is filling? Oh, wonder above all wonders! For a period of about thirty years He is employed in a workshop in the status of carpenter's helper, and in this lowly employment He obeyed His foster-father in everything. Turn, then, your eyes to this workshop. Observe the Divine Workman there; and after that, complain of your occupation, if shame does not hinder you.

The second difficulty which obedience presents, arises from the superiors who direct us. It is quite certain that in the period of a lifetime, either in our home or at work or in social life, we will have superiors whose directions seem troublesome. One superior will lack the discernment needed to know the abilities of his subjects, and he will not know how to manage things rightly. Another superior will lack the charity to sympathize, the kindness to show due concern about others. One superior will not be meek nor use politeness and kindness to win the hearts of others and sweeten the yoke of obedience to him. Another superior will not be impartial with everyone.

One who wants to practise true obedience must raise his heart above all these weaknesses. For this, our model is Jesus Christ. See Him standing before Pilate's tribunal. Pilate pronounces the sentence and condemns Him to die. What could it have cost Christ to escape this sentence? He could have overwhelmed everyone with full proof of the injustice of this sentence. He could have hurled Pilate from the tribunal into hell. As He did on other occasions, He could have made Himself invisible and so escape His captors. (Cf. Lk. 4:30 and John 8:59). But Jesus does not avail Himself of any of these ways.

He accepts the sentence of death from Pilate's lips as coming from the lips of His Eternal Father. He promptly obeys, and obeys to the point of suffering death, even the death of the Cross. Now who then, should have it in him to complain about superiors, after Christ offered such heroic obedience to the most unjust judges in the world?

The third difficulty that obedience presents arises from the nature of obedience. In the home and elsewhere many things are commanded which do not agree with our opinions and which seem to us neither useful nor necessary nor wise. Things are commanded for which we feel a natural dislike.

Many things will be commanded, probably, which completely oppose our taste and which are in themselves difficult, especially if they are to last a long time, or for the rest of our life. But tell me, my soul, how Jesus acts in His role as your model and for love of you? Do you think it was easy for Him to spend thirty years in a workshop and obey every suggestion of a carpenter? Do you think it was not wearying for Him to travel three years, walking from place to place amid continuous mockery and much other ill-treatment and persecution, while people were continually seeking to put Him to death?

Was it something agreeable for Christ to hear the sentence of death, a sentence to die in disgrace on the Cross? In all these things He obeyed, and obeyed without contradicting, without delaying, without resentment, and with perfect compliance... Ah! What is our obedience compared with that of Jesus Christ?


Affective Acts

(1) Humiliation — From whatever aspect I look at my soul, I cannot find it resembling Thee at all, Who are the Model of Holiness. My duty is to rid myself completely of self-will. I should look on my superiors with a lively faith, O my Divine Guide, and lean on all their directions, and not only should I avoid taking with ill feelings what they order, but I must carry out orders well, even with joy. That is the way I must obey; for my state as son in a household, or as a citizen in a community requires it, just as the glorious example of Christ presented to me requires it of me. But have I behaved this way?

O my Jesus, Thou knowest how many sins I have committed in this matter. I know not how to count them — how many sins from a stubborn mind, how many instances of a rebellious will, how many faults of grumbling and other such faults from selfish interests, and how many times, when I did manage to obey, I fulfilled things badly. Would these sins alone not be enough? Yet have I not others that will come before Thy tribunal?

(2) Repentance — Now I know my unfaithfulness, O my Jesus, and I repent of it with all my heart. Oh, how tragic in Thy sight have been the sins which have seemed trivial to me up to now! In the authority of my parents and superiors I should have recognized an authority that was not mere men's, but Thine. Therefore it is not a man whom I have offended by my disobedience, but Thy Supreme Majesty. As many times as I preferred my judgment to my parents' and superiors', I have likewise made light of Thy Infinite Wisdom.

As often as I have, inwardly or outwardly, criticized my parents' or superiors' orders, I have cheaply regarded the provisions and wishes of Thy Infinite Goodness and Love. "He that heareth you, heareth Me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me..." (Lk. 10:16). These are Thy words, O my Jesus, and by them I realize the evil I have done. Oh, how blind I have been! How little notice I have taken of these sins! Now I know them and repent of them with all my heart, my Jesus.



Second Point

God wills obedience — God demanded this virtue of our first parents in paradise. He demands this virtue of obedience of all children, that they show it toward their parents, who stand in the place of God. He sets this requirement before soldiers, that they show obedience to their officers. It is for subjects to practise toward civil powers, for all the faithful to practise it toward the Church. When obedience is practised perfectly, all runs in good order, everything is peaceful and happy. But if it is lacking, all is disorder, confusion, anarchy and ruin.

By word and example Jesus Christ has chosen to teach this virtue of obedience. Oh, what wonderful advantages a soul has which acts with obedience in everything! An exception would be what opposes God's Law; for that is sinful, and one who commands sin does not represent God,¹ but satan.

You have seen, O my soul, the obedience of Jesus Christ. Consider now the blessings that this virtue brings with it.

First Blessing — An obedient soul is sure of doing God's Will at every moment. Suppose that by a special Divine Decree your Guardian Angel (who otherwise would assist you invisibly) accompanies you visibly day and night, and in all circumstances informs you what God wants of you, and what God does not want of you. Could there be a better fortune than this? O my soul, is your faith alive? Then realize that by wisely obeying,¹ you are always and at every moment sure of doing God's Will. This is as sure as it would be if an angel who was accompanying you in visible form, assured you of it. It is as sure that you would be doing God's Will, as it is that Christ did it at Nazareth. You can be as sure of this as the Apostles were who received their orders from the lips of Jesus Christ.

Second Blessing — An obedient soul elevates his works, making them have an immense value before God. Nothing in the world has a value equal to obedience. Every work, even the least, that is done from obedience, becomes very great before God; whereas those works, no matter how great, that are done against obedience, lose all value before God.

To eat and drink moderately out of obedience is something so precious in God's sight, that thereby one gains a merit beyond all calculation. Fasting on bread and water undertaken against the will of one who rules us, though it lasted a whole year, does not earn the Divine pleasure; rather God regards it with contempt. It is a little thing to wash a dish, to sweep a floor, and quite great thing to travel over the world preaching the Gospel.

Yet God values highly that washing, that sweeping, when done from obedience, and counts that preaching as nothing if done against obedience. The only rule for measuring the excellence of a deed is God's Will. Whenever God Wills something, though it be no more than weaving baskets like the anchorites of old, it is a deed so great that no man on earth and no angel in Heaven can do anything greater.

Look again, my soul, at Saint Joseph's workshop. See Jesus Christ there, and you should know that the lowly office He performs there is so noble that one cannot speak of anything nobler. Why is this? It is because He does the Will of His Eternal Father.

Third Blessing — Infallibly and in a short time an obedient soul obtains perfect holiness for two reasons: The first is that obedience is the very essence of holiness and perfection. For if holiness means nothing else than fulfilling God's Will in the way God wishes, an obedient soul, as one who does only what God Wills, when he sleeps or works, meditates or does anything else, by occupying in this way every moment of the day and night in fulfillment of the Divine Good Pleasure, he must necessarily reach a perfect holiness and reach it in a very short time.

The second reason is that the Lord has so ordered things. Because God loves an obedient soul, He carries it in the bosom of His Providence as a mother carries her tender baby, nourishes it, coaxes it, and takes special care of all that pertains to it. Thus even all hell and all the world can be roused up against it, even its superiors can, of set purpose, strive to oppress it; and all their efforts will be absolutely in vain; for this soul enjoys the protection of a God of Wisdom, Power, and Infinite Love, Who will infallibly lead it in this life to that degree of holiness which He wants it to reach, and in the next life will raise it to that throne of glory which He has destined for it from Eternity.


Affective Acts

(1) Faith — It is true that superiors² do not rule us except in the name of Jesus Christ. I ought to gladly accept the orders they give me, not because it is their will, but because it is the Will of Jesus Christ. The Lord's words are very clear, and one who does not put complete trust in them treats Jesus Christ as a liar. "He who hears you, hears Me; he who despises you, despises Me." (Lk. 10:16) I submit my mind to this, Thy word, O my Jesus. I believe that the will of my superiors is Thy will. I believe that what they order, Thou dost order. I believe that I cannot withdraw myself from their bidding without separating from Thy Providence.³ This I believe, my Jesus, and I believe it on Thy word.

(2) Hope and Confidence — As alive as my faith is, O my Jesus, so great is my trust. I have promised obedience, and I have perpetually and entirely surrendered my will and liberty. Thou — so I hope — hast accepted this sacrifice and have chosen and promised to rule and guide me by the voice of my superiors. I surrender myself, then, to the bosom of Thy Providence and am living on in safety. Thou art Infinite Wisdom and know what my superiors' directions are, and that they are the most suitable for me. Thou art Infinite Goodness, and will take care that my superiors always provide what is more profitable for me. I hope and trust in Thee, my Jesus. Thou will arrange things so that my superiors always do what is more serviceable toward my last End, and so that, thanks to Thy Providence, I may attain that degree of glory in paradise which Thou hast prepared for me from eternity.

3. Let us make the Act of Oblation which Saint Ignatius made: Lord, receive all my freedom. Take the whole of my memory, understanding and will. Whatever I have or hold, Thou hast given me. I give it all back to Thee and surrender it completely to the guidance of Thy Will. With Thy love and with Thy Grace I am rich enough. Give me but that and I ask for nothing more. Amen.

Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.

Footnotes

¹Note — As St. Peter said, "We ought to obey God rather than man." (Acts 5:29) Thus, we must not obey civil authorities if they command us to do something that is against the law of God. For example, many Nazi officers were rightly condemned to punishment at the Nuremberg trials after World War II, even though these officers claimed that they were merely "obeying" the orders of their superiors. No one may transgress the law of God, claiming obedience to human superiors. What is true in the civil order also holds true within the Church. A Catholic has the duty to resist orders from ecclesiastical superiors, even from the highest authorities, if they command anything contrary to the traditional teaching and practice of the Church.

In Sacred Scripture, Paul "upbraided Peter (the first Pope) to his face because he walketh not in truth." (Gal. 2:11-20). St. Thomas Aquinas, basing himself on this scriptural passage, speaks of the duty for an "inferior" to resist and correct a superior who commands anything contrary to the law of Christ. (See *Summa theologiae*, II-II, q. 33, a. 4, and *Super Epistulas S. Pauli, Ad Galatas*, 2, 11-14, lec. II, n. 77 & nn. 83f).

Likewise, the great theologian, Cardinal Juan de Torquemada (1388-1468), citing the doctrine of Pope Innocent III, says that even if the Pope should command something that is incompatible with the law of Christ, then that Pope must not be blindly obeyed:

Torquemada writes, "By disobedience, the Pope can separate himself from Christ despite the fact that he is head of the Church, for above all, the unity of the Church is dependent on its relationship with Christ. The Pope can separate himself from Christ either by disobeying the law of Christ, or by commanding something that is against the divine or natural law. By doing so, the Pope separates himself from the body of the Church because the body is itself linked to Christ by obedience. In this way the Pope could, without doubt, fall into schism... Especially is this true with regard to the divine liturgy as for example, if he did not wish personally to follow the universal customs and rites of the Church.... Thus it is that Pope Innocent III states (*De Consuetudine*) that, it is necessary to obey the Pope in all things as long as he himself does not go against the universal customs of the Church, but should he go against the universal customs of the Church, 'he need not be followed...'"

Many other saints and theologians, including St. Robert Bellarmine (see *De Romano Pontifice*, lib. II, chap. 29, in *Opera omnia*) teach the same important distinction in regard to true obedience.

²Note — Since obedience is the tool used by enemies infiltrated into the Church to destroy her from within, it must be noted that superiors have limited jurisdiction. So if a superior commands something beyond his jurisdiction, even if it is not sinful in itself — one does not sin by refusing the order even if it is against the wishes or "orders" of the person who is one's superior in other matters.

In this matter, since he does not have jurisdiction, he is not a superior. This is clearly the teaching of the Church. By promulgating the Code of Canon Law wherein the limits of jurisdiction are spelled out — the Church clearly teaches who has authority — in what matters.

³Moralists would further point out that some disobedience is not always a Mortal Sin.

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Meditation 19. The Public Life of Jesus Christ: His Admirable Charity and Meekness towards His Neighbor



Preparatory Prayer as on page x

Composition of Place — Imagine you see Jesus Christ in the company of His Apostles, journeying about Palestine, teaching His heavenly doctrine, arousing all to the practice of virtue.

Prayer of Petition — Grant me, my Jesus, light to understand Thy heavenly teaching and grace to imitate Thy example.


First Point

Before we have had to bear them, Jesus Christ had borne all those annoyances which make the practice of charity and meekness toward our neighbor so burdensome and bitter. My soul, let us try to consider a virtue which, just as it is most essential to holiness, is likewise the most subject to annoyances and difficulties. Reflect on the example which Jesus Christ gave us, and resolve to suffer what He suffered before you and for love of you.

The first annoyance is the necessity of dealing with people for whom one is wasting his efforts and all his toil. Ah, my soul! How much did Jesus not weary Himself in order to convert the Hebrews! For three years He journeyed from one city to another, one village to another; He preached to them; He was bountiful in bestowing benefits on them; He moved them with miracles; and like a loving Father He invited all to the bosom of His Mercy. And what fruit came of it? Some belittled Him, calling Him son of a Carpenter. Others ridiculed His heavenly doctrine. Pharisees mocked Him as a man who lived a bad life and broke the law. The high priests publicly condemned Him for false doctrine, and took every care that the people not let themselves be taught by His Words; and they went so far as to expel from the synagogue those who would follow Him.

Thus it came about that of the many who heard Him, only a few were converted, the others remaining obstinate and rendering His labors fruitless. Must it not have been rather a hard thing for the Heart of Jesus to love that kind of people? Not even the tenderest, most affectionate father can look upon his son with favorable eyes who, disregarding all his admonitions, continually offers him new occasions of displeasure.

The second annoyance is to have to deal with persons who, out of hatred and envy, interpret everything in an unfavorable way. During the whole time of His preaching Jesus met this harassment. Frequently on the Sabbath day He would cure some sick person out of compassion for his ailments, and people of ill will would attribute it to the devils, because Jesus (they said) was not keeping the Sabbath.

He sat at table with public sinners to draw them to repentance by sweetness and charity, and people criticized Him as being a glutton who wanted to satisfy His hunger at other people's expense. He worked miracles to lead men to a knowledge of His Divinity, and they said this came not from His power, but from that of the devil, who was working them through Him. In brief, there was nothing which they would not interpret unfairly and unfavorably.

The third annoyance is having to deal with persons who show no appreciation for acts of charity extended to them and return evil for good... Jesus went to Nazareth. He preached in the synagogue. He showed the most refined and sincere charity to His countrymen. What thanks did He receive from all this? Just what could be expected from a person who returns evil for good? They took Him to the edge of a cliff in order to throw Him over. "But Jesus," according to St. Luke (4:30), "passing through the midst of them, went His way."

He also preached in Jerusalem. He said that He was the Son of God and the promised Messiah Whom they had long awaited. But in return for the truth which He preached to them, they took Him to be a blasphemer. They took up rocks in order to stone Him on the spot.

The fourth annoyance is living in the midst of insincere, hypocritical people. Jesus knew what was in Judas' heart and all the bad will that he possessed, that he was the one who would sell Him one day for a few pieces of silver and deliver Him over to death.

The fifth annoyance is having to deal with persons whose extreme hatred is recognized. For quite some time in advance the high priests and scribes had condemned Jesus to death in a secret council. It had been publicly declared that all who adhered to His doctrine were cut off from the synagogue. It had been decreed that He was to be arrested as a seducer and put into their custody; and they had plotted other similar evils against Him.

See, then, my soul, the number and kind of harassments which Jesus' Charity had to outmatch to enable Him to love this kind of people, who deserved God's eternal hatred rather than His Fatherly love. But in the midst of such great provocation, how did Jesus conduct Himself? You will hear it shortly. For the present I will only tell you this: that with all these harassments, He loved them and loved them very tenderly.


Affective Acts

(1) Shame — O my Jesus, how ardent, how solid is Thy love! And how weak and cold mine is! Thou had to deal with persons who outraged Thee and vomited out injury and insult into Thy Face; persons who, using a veil of friendship, sought a way to deliver Thee over into the hands of Thy enemies; persons who, in effect, had resolutely determined not to rest until they had put Thee on the Cross. Oh, the intolerable outrages! But all this could not extinguish Thy love. Thou didst love them even to the Cross, even to death.

Alas! How little of the meekness and charity of Jesus Christ there is in me! An unfriendly look from someone, a slighting word, a refusal, a trivial offense, is enough to extinguish my love and change my meekness into anger and indignation... This is as far as I have advanced, O my Jesus, after so many graces that Thou hast granted me; and after Thou hast supplied me with so many means of advancement, this is the progress that I have made. What a showing I will make one day before Thy divine tribunal, with my scarcity of virtue!

(2) Resolution — Will it always be this way, O my Jesus? Will this heart of mine always remain so hard and cold? Will I always surrender myself to a pampered life? Will a time not come when I will have the consolation of possessing true love and true meekness? Oh, what ruin it would be for me if that time were never to come! Thou hast called me, O my Jesus, to Thy school, and as my teacher Thou tell me that I should learn from Thee, that Thou art meek and humble of Heart. How will I appear before Thy Judgment, when I find myself so poor in this virtue? What account shall I render Thee for all the graces I have received and used so poorly? Ah! My Jesus! I turn to Thee with my whole heart...



Second Point

Consider the admirable qualities of the love with which Jesus loved men — Endeavor now, my soul, to penetrate the interior of Jesus' Heart and learn how to love.

(1) First Property — The charity and meekness of Jesus' Heart was always affectionate and ardent. Jesus, with His Infinite Powers, daily saw thousands of persons who hated Him, who considered Him to be a seducer, a blasphemer, and a sorcerer. He saw many others who were tearing His reputation apart with lies against Him, with insulting and over-critical remarks, and who would mock Him. He saw thousands of others who were anxiously seeking to crucify Him. All this was quite evident to Him; for nothing could be hidden from Him. But yet He was never resentful nor did He hold back in His supremely earnest love for all. How would your heart be disposed if there were a hundred persons who considered you a villain, who defamed you everywhere with calumnies and false charges and even endeavored to put you to death?

(2) Second Property — The charity and meekness of Jesus Christ showed itself always to be affable, sweet and resourceful, in His words as well as in His manners and actions, in spite of all the outrages. Recall again the case of Judas, my soul. Jesus knew his soul well, and knew that in the end Judas would betray Him... Yet this was not enough to hinder His charity toward the man. For three full years He always had him at His side. He treated Judas with the same affection as He did the other Apostles.

He bestowed on Judas along with the others the gift of performing miracles; also He washed Judas' feet along with the feet of the others. Thus even at the Last Supper the Apostles were not able to learn Judas' wicked design. And when Judas delivered Jesus into the hands of His enemies Jesus called him His friend and gave him a kiss. Is it possible that Jesus treated His beloved Apostle John more affectionately?

(3) Third Property — The charity and meekness of Jesus Christ was always generous and benevolent, returning good for evil to those who treated Him the worst. Every day among the ungrateful Jews, a fury and rage against Jesus was growing; and a magnanimity on Jesus' part toward them would appear the most liberal at every turn. Each day He directed ardent sighs to His Eternal Father for their salvation.

Every day He multiplied more His miracles so that they would recognize His Divinity. Daily He loaded them with new favors to soften their stony hearts. Not content with that, He showed them a favor the very moment they outrageously wronged Him. Was not Malchus a very perverse man? He was one of those who went to seize Jesus in the garden; and in the instant in which He is carrying this out, Jesus stretches out His Divine hand, and restoring the man's ear, cures it perfectly.


Affective Acts

(1) Repentance — Now I know what it is to love, O my Jesus. To love those by whom we are loved, those who are very fond of us and who do good to us — that is, to love in the way the Jews and pagans do. To love those who do not love us, who murmur against us and wrong us — is to love in the way Thou hast loved. How, then, have I loved until now? Alas! My heart has within it so much corruption! How defective is my love! I have generally loved as the Jews loved.

Rarely have I loved as Jesus loved... I have gone astray then. I have erred in that virtue which makes up the essence of Christianity, which is the substance of a true disciple of Jesus Christ, which is the core of holiness and perfection... I recognize my mistake and I repent. O my Jesus, I detest with all my heart all that I have done contrary to this virtue which is so pleasing to Thee. By the merits of Thy Precious Blood I humbly beg forgiveness.

(2) Act of Love — Henceforth my greatest endeavor, my most conscientious concern, will be to love God with my whole heart and above all things, and my neighbor as myself for the love of God. These are the two chief Commandments which Thou hast taught us in Thy discourse and have shown us by example. I humbly submit myself to both. From this very moment my will is to carry them out.

I love Thee; I embrace Thee, O my Jesus, with all my heart, preferring Thee above all creatures of Heaven and earth. With so much love and earnestness do I love Thee that I stand ready now to give my life and shed my blood for Thee. And as I love Thee for Thyself, so do I love all men, because Thou command me to love them all. Therefore I love them and love them as myself. I beseech Thee, O my Jesus, to have pity on them all, granting each one all the temporal and eternal benefits that I desire for myself.

(3) Resolution — This affection I have expressed is indeed holy. To prevent it from remaining within the limits of my heart, it must show itself; for love must operate and cannot be idle. Otherwise it would not be love. How, then, shall I deal with my neighbor? I will do for him what I wish done for me. I want everyone to have a good opinion of me. Therefore I will never admit into my mind a suspicion or judgment which could mean disesteem or contempt for my neighbor. I want everyone to be kind and agreeable with me.

I, too, will be that way with everyone and will endeavor not to say or do anything that can cause my neighbor unhappiness or bitterness. I want everyone to patiently bear with my defects and weaknesses, and I desire that no one speak ill of me. I will do this, too; I will pleasantly bear with the faults of others. I will never talk about another's defects¹... I want others to do me favors according to charity; I will do the same for them.

O Jesus, Who art True Love in its Essence, grant me so much grace that henceforth I may love Thee as Thou hast loved me...

Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.



Footnote

¹Note — Unless this law of God requests it for the common good.

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Meditation 20. Conclusion of Meditations in the Third Section and the Practice of the Virtues Contained Therein

Preparatory Prayer as on page x

Composition of Place — Imagine you see Jesus crucified on Calvary, the Model of all virtues, and that you hear the Heavenly Father's voice saying: See, and do according to the example that has been put before you on Mount Calvary. (Cf. Ex. 25:40)

Prayer of Petition — O my Jesus, with Thy Grace I can do all things. Without it I can do nothing. Therefore I beg Thee to help me in order that I may follow and imitate Thee.


First Point

Having thus far considered, O my soul, the exalted virtues and example of Jesus Christ, let us now see in what way we should and can imitate this Model.

(1) The more one has of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the more one realizes virtue and perfection. If you want to know, my soul, what progress you have made in perfection, you can easily estimate it by how much or how little you have of the spirit of Jesus Christ. If in you there is little of this spirit, then little would be your perfection. If there is much, then there will likewise be in you much genuine sanctity. If all that is in you agrees with the spirit of Jesus Christ, you will have reached true and perfect sanctity. He is the highest sanctity and is the Model of all holiness. The more you become like that Model, the more perfect and the more holy you will be.

(2) The more one possesses His humility, obedience, meekness and charity, the more one possesses the Spirit of Jesus Christ. There are no virtues, certainly, that failed to shine forth with supreme perfection in Jesus Christ. It is likewise certain that He exemplified no virtues more gloriously than the four just named. He has urged two of these on us with as much zeal and resourcefulness as if they contained the whole substance of His Spirit and the most sublime element of His Holiness. "Learn of Me," He said, "for I am Meek and Humble of Heart."

(3) One will discover the reason why there are so few who arrive at sanctity, in this observation: The majority of rather devout people are content with those practices that present no great opposition to corrupt nature. They give themselves to meditation and prayer; with a good intention they carry out the tasks entrusted to them; and they fulfill the duties of their state. They perform works of penance, submit to other restraints which their director assigns them.

But as for renouncing their own will, as for being receptive with holy indifference to the bidding of superiors, as for uprooting every tender sprig of vainglory, willingly accepting contempt, vigorously suppressing their anger and dealing in a friendly and sincerely affectionate way with those who oppose them, returning good for evil and laying aside all selfishness — these are the practices that few have the will to undertake. Only those do it who have a heroic heart. And because of this (ungenerous) behavior, the heart never becomes free of its disordered inclinations nor adorned with those virtues that are so acceptable to God.

It then follows that God never shares Himself much with these persons, and He lets them live and die in their mediocrity.

Therefore, my soul, if you desire in all sincerity to attain perfection and union with God, and do not want to rest until you reach this, it is absolutely necessary to follow in the footsteps which Jesus Christ has left imprinted for us and to imitate His virtues.

I will now explain briefly the practice or way of doing this. (We will speak first of obedience, then of humility, and last of meekness and charity.)

Obedience (1) In God's presence let one put himself in a complete indifference regarding all that superiors may dispose, without desiring or seeking or rejecting anything.

(2) Continually see God in the superiors in all circumstances, firmly believing that their legitimate orders express God's Will.

(3) Receive all orders with reverence and fulfill them with care.


Second Point

Humility (1) Surrender before God every desire for honor and worldly glory so that one does not admit within himself any vain self-esteem or vain satisfaction with himself, and so that in his outward conduct he says not a word and does nothing, on the prompting of vainglory.

(2) Let one put his honor and reputation in God's Hands in such wise that the soul is ready to suffer contempt at every quarter of an hour if this should please God.

(3) Accept in good spirit every contempt and humiliation from wherever these things may come, and bear them cheerfully with a truly light regard for self.


Third Point

Meekness and Charity (1) Have a heart so affectionate toward all that one never advertently and deliberately admits any suspicion, judgment, contempt, anger or resentment that is uncharitable to his neighbor.

(2) In outward conduct in all circumstances deal with all in a friendly way and with sincere affection.

(3) Bear in silence any offense our neighbor does us, and if we can, return good for evil.

These are the points, my soul, that embrace the whole spirit of Jesus Christ and the true imitation of His virtues. Are you now willing to follow this Model and become a living likeness of Jesus Christ? If you are, kneel at His feet, consecrating yourself to Him and say the following:

Affective Acts

Colloquy with Jesus — What does this spirit of Thine, my Jesus, consist in? Does it not consist in shrinking from honor and loving contempt, in renouncing self-will, in obedience to another, in treating everyone with love, and silently bearing all weakness and offenses, in loving everyone wholeheartedly and in returning good for evil?

Indeed, my Jesus, this is certainly Thy spirit. Thy conduct was just that, and mine ought to be likewise, if I want to live according to Thy spirit. And not only is this Thy spirit, but it is the only road that leads to Thy love and union with Thee. Thou art Holiness itself, and Thou dost not take Thy pleasure in dwelling in a heart uncleansed of all bad inclinations and not adorned with Thy virtues.

Thanksgiving — Oh, what ardent love, what intimate familiarity, what close union I would be having with Thee, my Jesus, during these hours if I had been willing to die to selfishness and live according to Thy spirit! Alas! What immense benefits I have deprived myself of! But may thanks and infinite praise and blessing be given Thee, O my Jesus, my Supreme Good! For all is not yet lost.

Now, thanks to Thy loving kindness and mercy, I know Thy spirit and the way that leads to Thee. . . There is yet time to purify my heart of all the uncleanness of my disorderly affections; I can still come to have an inner familiarity with Thee and experience other effects of Holy love. I can still come to the possession of an intimate union with Thee.

O my Jesus! Oh, sweet is the hope that I can yet reach an intimate union with Thee! Yes, I, O my Jesus — I who have offended Thee so many times, I who for so many years have closed my ears to Thy loving invitations! Oh what kindness! What Mercy! May it, then, be so. I come to Thee, O my Jesus. I want to practise those virtues. So be it.


Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.

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Meditation 21. The Two Standards — One of Christ Our Lord, the Sovereign Commander; The Other — of Lucifer, Mortal Enemy of Our Human Nature


Preparatory Prayer as on page x

First Prelude

Consider how Christ Our Lord calls us, and wants everyone under His Standard; and Lucifer, on the other hand, would have everyone under his.


Second Prelude

Composition of Place — With your imagination see a vast plain extending over the whole region of Jerusalem, where the Commander-in-Chief of upright souls is Christ Our Lord. See another plain in the region of Babylon, where the enemy's chieftain is Lucifer.

Prayer of Petition — O my Lord and my God, I ask Thee for knowledge of the snares of the evil chieftain and for the valor to escape them. I beg Thee to acquaint me in good time with the upright and holy life which our Commander-in-Chief and true Captain teaches us with His doctrine and example.

Words of Saint Ignatius — "The first point is to picture the chieftain of all the enemy forces in that great plain of Babylon seated on a great throne of fire and smoke — a horrible, frightening sight.

"The second point is to consider how he issues a summons to innumerable demons, and how he scatters them, some into such and such a city and others to another, and thus throughout the world, not missing a province, a place, a class, nor a single person.

"The third point is to consider the discourse he makes to them, how he admonishes them to have their snares and chains ready. They are to first present the temptation for a greed of riches — according to their usual practice — so that more easily men will taste the empty esteem of the world and then reach greater pride. From these three steps he lures everyone to the other vices.

"Then picture the true Commander-in-Chief, Who is Christ Our Lord.

"First, consider how Christ Our Lord takes His stand in a great plain in the Jerusalem region, assuming His humble, beautiful, gracious manner.

"Second, consider how this Lord of all the world chooses so many persons as Apostles, so many as Disciples, etc., and sends them throughout the world, spreading His holy teaching among all kinds and classes of persons.

"Third, consider the discourse which Christ Our Lord gives to all His servants and friends whom He sends on this errand, charging them to seek to help all. They should thus encourage men to embrace the highest poverty of spirit, and in cases where it pleases His Divine Majesty to choose men for it, they should also encourage them to embrace actual poverty.

"Secondly, they should encourage men to have a hunger for insult and contempt, because from these two, humility develops. Thus there are to be three steps: first, poverty against riches; second, insult and contempt against worldly honor; third, humility as opposed to pride; and with these three steps let them lead men to all other virtues."

Explanation — This meditation has as its object the following of Jesus Christ, whereby one acts and suffers for love of Him. As one cannot follow Jesus Christ, live according to His Spirit, and practise His Virtues, without encountering very many difficulties, objections and reverses which can be overcome only by a truly generous and magnanimous heart, at this point Saint Ignatius presents us with the example of Jesus Christ in order that we do not refuse to suffer for God what God has suffered for us.

Hence the present meditation aims at bringing it about that we resolve effectively and at all costs, to follow Jesus Christ more closely and live according to His spirit. The saint directs our thoughts to these two leaders, Jesus Christ and Lucifer, noting how each undertakes to draw every man under his standard to become a follower.


First Point

If we have to follow either Jesus Christ or Lucifer, let us realize it so that we may set these two leaders before our minds. What now, is the end each of them has?

The aim of Jesus Christ is to persuade all men to be His followers so that in this way they can come hereafter to praise and bless His Heavenly Father forever and gain the eternal bliss of Heaven. A two-fold love burning in His Heart presses Him on to all this. Of these the first is the very devoted love He has for the Father. From this comes His desire that we love, honor and praise His Father with all our hearts, just as He loves His Father. The second love is His tender affection for man. From this comes the desire He has to obtain our salvation, so that with Him we can have that eternal happiness with which He Himself is happy.

Lucifer's goal is to enlist all men under his standard so that, by abandoning God, men may dishonor God and plunge themselves into damnation. A two-fold hatred burning within him spurs him on to this.

The first is an implacable hatred for God because he was once cast out of paradise by a very just Divine judgment. From that time on he conceived against God a supreme and incomparable hatred which ceaselessly agitates him so that he cannot bear to see God praised, honored and loved by any man.

The second hatred is a furious loathing for men; for, knowing that God has appointed for them that infinite glory and bliss from which he and his whole company have been forever excluded, he is beside himself with rage and undertakes to cause men to lose that happiness and to hurl themselves into damnation with him. . .

Now, my soul, what will you do? Which of these two leaders will you follow, Jesus Christ or Lucifer? When the young Tobias was waiting to learn the way to a far-away country, the Archangel Saint Raphael appeared to him in the form of a young man and offered himself as companion and guide.

Now let us suppose that two young men had appeared before Tobias; the Archangel Saint Raphael disguising himself as the first; and Lucifer as the second, and that both offered to be Tobias' guide. If Tobias, turning his back on the Archangel, had chosen Lucifer as his guide, would he not, by his own act, have plunged himself into the greatest misfortune that can be imagined? O my soul, you are now on a journey to eternity and Jesus Christ and Lucifer are offered as guides. . . To which one will you entrust yourself? Which one do you want to follow? Choose . . .


Affective Acts

Oh! How important this decision is! I am on a journey to eternity. The way is unfamiliar to me and it has many hazards and snares. Two guides are offered — Jesus Christ and Lucifer — Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of the Eternal Father; Jesus, Holiness by nature; Jesus, Who deeply loves me; Jesus, Who seeks my happiness with all His Heart. Oh, how secure one is in following such a guide! The second is Lucifer — Lucifer, God's greatest enemy; Lucifer, a damned spirit; Lucifer, who regards me with extreme hatred; Lucifer, who seeks nothing else than my eternal ruin. . . What shall I do? Ah! I am ashamed to ask such a question. What, then?

Will I be so utterly lacking in judgment as to want to abandon Jesus and follow Lucifer? Will I hate myself so much as to want to quit the road to Heaven and take the one that leads to hell? Ah, no! Never will I do that! Thou, O my Jesus, art the Way, the Truth and the Life — the Way that leads securely to the Father, the Truth that enables me to discover all snares and deceits, the Life where one finds everlasting blessedness. . . Recruit me under thy standard, O my Jesus. . . I will follow Thee and follow Thee even until death.


Second Point

By the goals to which Jesus and Lucifer lead us, we can know which of the two should be followed. The difference is scarcely less than infinite, first, between the invitations of Jesus and those of Lucifer, and second, between the outcome which Jesus leads one to, and that which Lucifer leads to. Let us ponder them both attentively.

The invitations which Jesus Christ proposes to us for fighting under His standard have as their object some practices that are difficult and bitter to fallen nature. The principal ones are these: voluntary poverty; obedience; the continuous denial of one's selfish inclinations; humility and patience in bearing contempt and wrongs; silence when being tyrannized and persecuted; blessing God in our pains and bitter experiences. This is what the spirit of Jesus Christ is. It is to this that Jesus invited everyone who would follow Him; likewise it is to this that you must adjust yourself, my soul, if you want to fight under His standard.

There is no doubt that a life appears bitter which must adjust and conform to these practices. But, oh how sweet and desirable afterward is the outcome to which this leads! And what is this outcome? I will tell you briefly — but, my soul, reflect upon it continually as long as you live. The outcome, the end to which Jesus Christ leads, is the deliverance from an infinite evil, that is, from hell; and it is the obtaining of an Infinite Good, that is, Heaven; and both last forever!

All the invitations by which Lucifer calls us to follow beneath his standard, present things that are pleasing to fallen nature.

He promises his followers temporal goods, riches, honors, worldly glory, the esteem of men, comforts, pleasures of the senses, an easy life, one that gets rid of restraints against all the desires of the flesh. This is the spirit of Lucifer. To this he invites all who would follow him. But what is the outcome that this crafty and evil spirit leads one to hereafter with these invitations? Ah, my soul! Do not let yourself be misled. The outcome is the loss of an Infinite Good, namely, Heaven, and the incurring of an infinite evil, namely, hell; and both outcomes last forever.

Pause here a little, my soul, and turn your gaze upward. Picture the Heavens opening up. See Jesus Christ seated there at the right hand of His Eternal Father, and at His side a multitude of elect in immense glory and splendor. . . Now who are they that are so close to Jesus Christ?

They are the Apostles, men who saw themselves obliged to flee from one city to another, who were dragged from prison and persecuted everywhere. . . They are monks, hermits, apostolic men who, amid a thousand persecutions, insults and scoffing, promoted God's Glory. They are virgins who, for love of Jesus Christ, silently and patiently suffered temptations, injuries and similar troubles. . . All of them, because in this life they stayed close to Jesus in suffering, are now close to Jesus in Glory. . .

Continuing your reflection, my soul, take a look downward. Picture the earth opening up before you. See Lucifer there in the midst of a deep pool of fire, surrounded by a multitude of people who are damned and are suffering unspeakable torment and pain. . .

Who are they that are so close to Lucifer? O my soul, how different are things of this world from those of the next! . . . These people are most influential lords and ladies who during life came barely short of being adored. Their great share of riches and temporal goods has hurled them into this fire. . . They are lords and ladies who in this world enjoyed splendor and greatness. Their high position has condemned them to these flames. . . They are men and women who, unwilling to contradict in certain things the cravings of the flesh for comfort and pleasure, have come to find themselves in this state. On earth they were next to Lucifer in joy, and now they are next to him in hell. . .


Affective Acts

O my Jesus, the more I look at Thee and contemplate Thee, the more clearly I come to realize that till now I have had little knowledge of truth in my mind, and little love of virtue in my will! In this world Thou didst not prize anything other than poverty and frugality, contempt and injury, pain and fatigue. . . Thou regarded all this as the means best suited to holiness, as the surest signs and safest pledges of an eminent glory in Heaven.

On the other hand, as for temporal goods, riches, worldly honor and splendor, bodily pleasures and comforts — all this Thou despised and regarded as the strongest inducements to cause us to plunge into hell. This is Thy way of judging, O my Jesus, and this is Thy doctrine. This is Thy spirit and it is the attitude of Thy Heart. . . But what are my attitudes and sentiments?

Oh, what good reason I have for blushing with shame! I dare not raise my eyes to look upon the Cross. What Thou dost cherish, I despise. What Thou cravest, I flee from. What Thou lovest, I abhor. What Thou dost embrace, I push aside. Thy invitations become always distasteful to me. . . Could my heart resemble Thine less if I had made a formal, express resolve to serve not Thee, but Lucifer?

What shall I do, then, O my Jesus? Oh! It is necessary that I go to Thee and look upon Thee as the Model of True Holiness, that I love what Thou hast loved, and that I hate what Thou hast hated.


Third Point

If one must follow Jesus Christ or follow Lucifer, let him make his decision according to the final end for which God created us and called us to the Faith. Turn back a little in your thoughts, my soul, and bring to mind your last End. You are a Christian, a disciple of Christ, Who teaches you that you are to be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. You ought to serve and love God in this world with perfection in order to enjoy Him eternally in the other world with an eminent glory. But how would this be possible without imitating Jesus Christ faithfully? In order to make plainly evident the impossibility of any other alternative, reflect attentively on the following truths:

First truth — Perfection is a precious, most particular gift of God. God is Infinite Power, Infinite Wisdom, and the Inexhaustible Source of All Good. But even though He has all these perfections, He cannot give me a more sublime and precious gift than perfect love and union with Himself. This is the gift of all gifts, the grand total of all mercies and the most precious jewel of all His treasures. Once a soul has reached perfection, it finds itself in a state so outstanding that not only do all monarchs of the world lose importance by comparison, but, by eternal values, many thousands of millions of men of any and all times, rank together as less important.

Second truth — No one can obtain grace except by those means that God has appointed. That a soul rise to perfection is a pure mercy of God. He is no more obliged to grant it such a grace than a king is to pick a poor laborer's daughter for his bride and have her sit on a throne at his side. Therefore it is quite legitimate for God to prescribe for you some conditions that you must fulfill, certain means which you must put into practice, if you want to obtain such a grace.

Third truth — These means consist in one thing — in the total and perfect following of Jesus Christ. . . I am the door, says This Most Lovable Redeemer. If anyone enter by Me, he will be saved, and can go in and out at will, and will find pasture. This is My Beloved Son, says the Eternal Father, in Whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him.

Heed Him well, my soul. The one Model of holiness sent by the Eternal Father is Jesus. . . By entering through this door, you will find perfection, pure love, and intimate union with God. But remember that there is no more than the one door, and aside from it there is no hope of entry.


Affective Acts

(1) Faith — I well know, my Jesus, how different Thy judgments are from mine. But because Thou art Eternal Truth I believe that true riches consist in suffering poverty, true glory in suffering contempt, true peace in suffering persecution, true liberty in submitting to authority. The true road to sanctity is found in imitating Thee and it consists of a universal mortification and the love for adversities. This I believe, O my Jesus, because Thou hast made it so. And thus by laboring, by loving, and by suffering, as Thou did, I will have Thy Spirit and can hope that even during my life that blessed hour will come in which Thou will admit me into a familiar communion with Thyself, O my Jesus. . . Any other road one might take is no more than a mirage, an imposture, a pretense, a vanity, which cannot be acceptable in Thy Divine Judgment.

(2) Desire to unite with God — Yes, my Jesus, Thou art my one and Sovereign Good, in which consists all my happiness. I sigh for Thee and desire Thee with all the powers of my heart. . . I wish to love Thee whole-heartedly in this life and love Thee perfectly. I wish to enjoy Thee in an unhindered way hereafter in that glory which Thou hast destined for me from eternity. . . I see that the way is distasteful — the total denial of selfish inclinations, a continual silence when bearing contempt, an affectionate treatment of persons who oppose me.

All these are practices which demand great spiritual strength. But be that as it may, and though nature cry out and complain as much as it pleases, I have decided upon Thy way. Indeed, my Jesus, I want to follow Thee. . . And how could I refuse? Could it be too burdensome for me that I obey a man for love of Jesus after Jesus has obeyed a most unjust judge for love of me? Should it be unbearable for me to bear contempt for love of Jesus, after Jesus let Himself be nailed to a Cross between two criminals for love of me?

Should it be too much that I, for love of Jesus, love persons who dislike me, after Jesus, crucified for love of me, loved those who crucified Him? How can man ever refuse to suffer for God what God has suffered for men?

"God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ; by Whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal. 6:14).

O my Jesus, I love Thee, I unite myself to Thee. At this moment I wish to follow Thy footsteps, I wish to do what Thou did. I wish to suffer as Thou suffered. . . Ah! Deign to grant me Thy spirit, the spirit of subordination, the spirit of meekness, the spirit of love.


Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.

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Meditation 22. Three Classes of Men

Preparatory Prayer as on page x

Composition of Place — Picture Jesus Christ, seated and crowned with thorns as a mock king and saying to you, "Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of Heart; and thus you will find rest for your soul." Indeed, you will find rest in this world and in the next world.

Prayer of Petition — O my Jesus and my Master, instruct me, teach me, enlighten me, and make me teachable so that I will succeed well in Thy school.


First Point

The first class of men consists of those who want to aspire to perfection and follow Jesus Christ, but only in speech and not in their heart. If you would know about this class of men, come with me to a sick man's house. See there a man half consumed with the heat of fever. His ailment is getting worse by the moment and he is near death.

A physician comes to him in this condition. After examining him, the physician says, "The sickness is very dangerous, but if the patient will make use of the medications I will prescribe, he can still recover his health."

Now this is just what the sick man does not like. "With all my heart I want to recover," he says, "but do not oblige me to take medications; for by no means can I nor will I take them." Now tell me, does this sick man have a true desire to get well?

From this man who is sick in his body, let us pass on to the home of someone sick in his soul. See a person stretched out, as it were, in the abandoned throes of habitual lukewarmness. He is told that his ailment can still be remedied, that it requires no more than that he resolve to make his prayers with fervor, that he conduct himself in a spirit of love and with the pure intention of pleasing God, that he walk in God's presence, uniting himself to Him frequently by means of holy affections, that he zealously mortify himself, that every day he offer God this sacrifice, which is so acceptable to Him; that by doing this, the road that leads to sanctity is still open to him.

But, ah! This is just what the man does not want. "With all my heart I want to gain perfection," he says; "but to put these means of reaching it into practice is something too hard and difficult for me."

Now tell me, does this soul have a serious will to attain perfection? On the other hand, alas! many are the evils that threaten it; for —

(1) A will so lukewarm moves God to let it fall into grave sins — The Lord Himself explains this in two parables. The first is that of the barren plot of ground. The plot that is watered with frequent rains and yields no fruit is close to being cursed. The second parable takes its lesson from lukewarm water which one cannot retain in his stomach without it inducing nausea. "I would that thou wert cold, or hot," He says; "but because thou art lukewarm. . . I will begin to vomit thee. . ." (Apoc. 3:15-16). My soul, who is it that spoke thus? Of whom did He speak?

(2) God allows a soul possessing such a lukewarm will, to finally come to ruin — The Lord also declares this truth with two parables. The first takes its lesson from a tree planted in a field. Having found on it nothing more than leaves, the Lord cursed it with these meaningful words: "May no fruit grow on thee hence forward forever." . . . (Mt. 21:19). The second parable is taken from a tree in a garden. As it had borne no fruit, it was condemned to the axe, with directions to the gardener to cut it down: "Cut this tree down. Why does it uselessly cumber the ground?" (Cf. Lk. 13:7).

I repeat my question: Who said this, my soul? Of whom did He speak?


Affective Acts

(1) Fear — What fear, what alarm seizes me, my God, when I consider these truths that have come from Thy mouth! I, even I, can be damned — I, who have been called by God to the Faith and to perfection! I, whom God has favored with so many graces! . . . I, who have been chosen by God for an eminent glory in Heaven! Yes, I can be damned, and just for my lukewarmness! . . . Ah, lukewarmness! Accursed lukewarmness! What a great evil you must be when you can cause such nausea to the Heart of the most Merciful God so as to constrain Him to cast me from His mouth!

(2) Repentance — Have still a little patience with me, O my Jesus! With all my heart I detest and hate all my negligence, and the abuse I have made of all the graces and means which in Thy kindness Thou hast given me. Until now I have spent my life without having any care either for the glory of Thy Holy Name, or for the salvation of my soul. Thou, by a feat of Thy Mercy, have this day enlightened me to know my sinfulness. Again, I detest it, I hate it, and I earnestly resolve to endeavor henceforth to be upright and perfect, as Thou art asking me to be.


Second Point

The second class of men consists of those who have a true will to aspire to perfection, but it is not an all-inclusive, generous will . . . Let us return to the example of sick persons. Behold, my soul, another sick man very different from the first one. He desires to regain his health, and to achieve this he is ready to take medications and other remedies. But he is unwilling to take the iron or the caustic medications, nor other similar disagreeable remedies. (He will take whatever medicine is prescribed, provided it does not taste bad.) Thus he, too, is unwilling to have all treatments that are necessary. What should be said of this sick man? It is true that he has a good will, but it lacks strength, whole-heartedness, and generosity.

A disposition resembling that of this sick man is that in which we find many spiritual people. They want to acquire perfection, and to obtain it they are ready to take some of the means, but not all. To bear up for many years with interior desolation and grave trials, to suffer humiliation and contempt without having given any occasion for it, and other things distasteful to corrupt nature, seems to these souls too great a burden for their shoulders. What should be said of these souls? One will say that they have some good will, but it is like that of the sick man unwilling to take all treatments that are necessary. What will follow for a will that holds back this way? Note this well, my soul, and impress it well in your heart. . . Realize that:

(1) A soul in this disposition will always lack consolation and peace — As it lacks holy indifference of will and complete, unreserved resignation to the Divine Will, the evil inclinations in it will never die. Pride and vainglory, caprice and attachment to one's will and judgment, carelessness of speech, anger, melancholy, and harshness towards one's neighbor, will continue after many years of spiritual reading, mental prayer, frequenting of the Sacraments, and works of mercy. These faults will be as lively as when one began his pursuit of virtue. Rather, they will keep growing with the years and will develop like a sturdy tree which every year always gains more height and firmness. The burden of obedience to superiors will every day weigh more heavily on such a soul, and each experience of contempt will be harder to bear. One's conversation will each time become less restrained, less controlled, and his treatment of his neighbor will become more discourteous and offensive. What peace, what consolation, could ever be found in a heart so ill disposed? One unmortified attachment is to a soul like a snake on a man's body, who has rest when the serpent is asleep and does not bite or poison him; but the instant it wakes up, it bites and torments the unhappy man. This soul will not otherwise enjoy peace and quiet, except when its passions are not provoked. But if they are awakened, either by an offense done to him or some slight that he receives, or by a command that is not pleasing to him — oh, the storm, the torment he must suffer! Yet we are so blind that we do not see the source of our misery; and when we could easily discover it in our own heart, we turn everywhere else to try to find it.

(2) This soul will go through life without making any progress in perfection — It is God Himself Who thus explains the matter, and one may not expect Him to retract . . . "One . . . that doth not renounce all . . . cannot be My disciple." (Lk. 14:33). This means: One who does not renounce all creatures that capture the heart and does not completely abandon himself, without any reservations, to My Way of disposing matters, will never be able to attain to My Love nor become one with Me. And why? Listen to the reasons for this, my soul.

(1) God is Infinite Authority. It is a matter for God's choice to grant the particular graces that are necessary for reaching perfection. Now His established way is not to grant them to a soul that holds back and does not submit completely to His Majesty. Can God be criticized, perhaps, for this procedure?

(2) God is Infinite Worthiness. To Him belongs the right that one's whole heart be given Him with all its affections. It will never be possible for Him to surrender this right nor admit to union with Him a soul that fails to give itself to Him unreservedly.


Affective Acts

(1) Confession — This sick man is a vivid image of my soul, O my Jesus. He wants to regain his health, but without labor, without suffering, and without taking unpleasant remedies. This is exactly the disposition of my soul. I would like to have perfect humility, but without bearing contempt; perfect obedience, but without painful commands; a perfect charity and meekness, but without undergoing ill treatment. That is, I want to be holy, but without suffering. . . Is not this to directly oppose the Will of the Heavenly Father, the doctrine and example of Jesus Christ, the designs and interior inspirations of the Holy Spirit? Oh what a fool I am! There has not been anyone before me nor will there be anyone afterwards, who became holy without suffering and without following the footsteps of Jesus Christ. It is absolutely necessary to suffer, to die to self, to give up all useless, selfish pursuits, if one wants to acquire perfection. Yes, this is Thy doctrine, O my Jesus. This is the road that leads to holiness. And so I wish to suffer with Thee, and to suffer even until all disorders disappear from my heart and all my perverse impulses have been mortified.

(2) Resolution — And why should it not be thus? Will I be so foolish as to want to get rid of a lesser cross to thereby come burdened with another greater one, without gaining anything? Ah, my God, enlighten me! Make me know and see what till now I have not seen nor known. A little pride causes in the heart more unrest, more disturbance than the sting felt in the most humbling experience, the most humble behavior. . . A little wrath rouses up in the heart far greater troubles than any pinch we might feel from practising the most heroic meekness. . . A small resentment voluntarily harbored, torments the heart much more than the stress and strain of the most heroic meekness . . . It is necessarily so, then, that one must suffer, either for virtue or for vice, and there is no escape. I wish to suffer for virtue. I want to suffer for Heaven. I want to suffer for Thee, O my Jesus. . .


Third Point

The third class of men consists of those who have an earnest, generous will to strive for perfection. I mean that they are ready and willing not only to carry out whatever God wants, but also to suffer all that His designs provide, in order to acquire perfection. The advantages that a soul should promise itself in this state are the following:

(1) This soul infallibly arrives at perfection — The measure with which God gives Himself to a man is exactly the same as that with which the man gives himself to God. Therefore when the soul surrenders itself entirely and without reserve to God in this state of which we speak, so that it is ready to do and suffer all that pleases God, God also, on His part, communicates Himself totally and without reserve to the soul, and in a very short time raises it to this perfection . . .

(2) The soul that has this disposition certainly reaches union with God — Union and intimate familiarity with God is the reward promised for perfect charity. "If any one love Me," says the Divine Redeemer, ". . . My Father will love him: and We will come to him and will make Our abode with him." (Jn. 14:23). Now who is it that has perfect charity, to which is attached the promise of such an outstanding grace? It is beyond doubt one who surrenders himself entirely to God.

(3) This soul infallibly obtains from God many other very sublime graces — If God is infinitely liberal, He will not fail to pour down His Graces superabundantly and will pour them assuredly on my heart which submits completely to Him. These graces consist in a very sweet, quiet peace and joy of heart, in a very tender devotion and affection for God and in other gifts which are properly from the Holy Spirit. This is that very blessed hundredfold which Jesus Christ promised those who, for love of Him, deny themselves and entirely surrender to Him without holding back.


Affective Acts

(1) Fear — O my God, how liberal and merciful Thou art with me! It is purely an effect of Thy Grace that I now know the road which leads to Holiness, that I certainly know I can attain it, provided I abandon myself entirely into Thy Hands. Oh, what Goodness! Oh, what Mercy! Oh, what Grace! But these very graces make one tremble, O my God. Thy words are, ". . . Unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required." . . . (Lk. 12:48).

And one to whom a great deal has been lent, must likewise restore a great deal. Oh, what a disaster it would be for me, if the very abundance of grace that ought to raise me to a very high level of glory in Heaven, were to plunge me into the depths of hell! This is certain, that for many souls there is no middle state; but they will either be elevated to a very high place in paradise, or they will fall most disastrously into the eternal pit of hell. Could I be one of these? I do not know. Oh frightening thought! I do not know! . . .

(2) Resolution — I will promptly look after my soul's welfare and begin walking the way that Thou, O my Jesus, hast made known to me today. Yes, at this moment I surrender myself entirely to the ways Thou hast designed. One single grace I ask of Thee, and it is that Thou make me worthy of Thy love and let me arrive at an intimate union with Thee. Everything else I leave to Thy Most Holy Will. Whatever troubles befall me, I will look upon as something designed by Thy Fatherly Providence, and will embrace it with perfect submission as the means of my sanctification. My Jesus, preserve this will in me.


Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.

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Meditation 23. Third Degree of Humility

Preparatory Prayer as on page x

Composition of Place — Imagine, my soul, that you see Jesus, after He has been whipped, crowned with thorns, rejected in favor of Barabbas. And now, after He has been taken by Pilate to a balcony, all the people cry, "Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"

Prayer of Petition — O My Jesus, grant me grace to love to be belittled and humbled. When I find myself humbled, grant that I will be quiet and only say, "It is good for me, Lord, that Thou hast humbled me, that I may in this way learn Thy very just precepts." (cf. Ps. 118:71).


First Point

Fairness and justice demand that we love to be treated as of little account — We are so blind and self-esteem is so deep-rooted in our hearts that we think our life is very wretched when we are treated as of little importance and when we are in any way looked down upon. Yet we should be certain that nothing is more suited for us than contempt and that all men together could never manage to belittle us as much as we deserve. Listen with attention, my soul, to some truths which are very plain.

(1) God can and should punish sin — Faith teaches us this. God is Infinite Justice. Now, just as He would not be Infinite Goodness if He did not reward uprightness, neither would He be Infinite Justice if He did not punish evil. Do you believe this, my soul? Let us proceed.

(2) God can punish sin in the way He wishes — Just as God is Infinite Justice, He is likewise Infinite Authority. He can punish sin with bodily pain, or by grief and affliction of soul; but belittlement or contempt seems to be the punishment most proper for sin. For, as sin is a belittlement of God, it rightly deserves to be punished by contempt, and one who has had the boldness to belittle God, may rightly be belittled.

(3) God can use whatever He wishes to punish sin — God punished David for sin by means of a son of David. God punished the disobedient prophet by means of a wild beast which fatally mauled him on his journey. God punished the impious Heliodorus by an angel who gave him a bloody whipping. He punished our sins in Jesus Christ by an Apostle who sold him. God can, then, punish me too, and send me contempt in the way that suits His good pleasure.

(4) No matter how much God punishes sin in this life, He always punishes it less than it deserves — If God prolonged my life to the day of Judgment and I spent it suffering continuous hardships, ill treatment and insults, all this could never satisfy for the contempt that I have shown His Divine Majesty by a single venial sin. Gather your thoughts, my soul, and answer me: Have you committed a sin at any time? Alas! Not only have I committed one sin, but a hundred and a thousand! Can God not punish you and inflict contempt as punishment if He wishes? The fact is undeniable. No matter how many instances of contempt you suffer, they will never equal in number or quality as much as you deserve for a single venial sin.

Consider how true this is! What conclusion follows? It follows that you can have no reasonable cause for complaint for any contempt you receive; for it will never give grounds for complaint. It follows that in the midst of contempt, of whatever sort it is, you ought to praise God and bless Him, inasmuch as it is always less than what you deserve. It follows that it is a proper and right thing that throughout your life you be always shown contempt and disregard.


Affective Acts

(1) Confession and humiliation — It is fair, O my God! I admit it is fair and very just that I live in the midst of contempt and that I regard contempt in no other way than as an effect of Thy Mercy toward me. Alas! What is all the contempt from men in comparison with what I have deserved? O my Jesus, if Thou hadst treated me according to the strictness of Thy Justice, where would I now be? O Infinite Wisdom, Thou knowest the answer. I would be in hell. I would be despised by all the saints for all eternity, by all the angels of Heaven and by all men on earth. Thou hast preserved me from this eternal contempt, O my Jesus, out of Thy pure Mercy, and instead of letting me experience that contempt, Thou hast been satisfied to let me suffer the contempt that comes to me in this life. Is it not right that I look upon these things as effects of Thy Mercy? Should I not regard them with imperturbable peace?

(2) Resolution — This I will do with Thy help, O my Jesus! I will not allow this thought to escape me. I have sinned and I have deserved to be mocked and despised for all eternity by Heaven and earth, by angels, by men, by the saints and by the damned. I will always keep this imprinted in my memory on every occasion, and in the midst of contempt and insult I wish to praise and bless Thy Infinite Goodness and Mercy.


Second Point

It is to our best interest that we love contempt — Certainly nothing is to be found in contempt except what appears bitter and disagreeable. But consider, my soul, that we appreciate and value many things which are distasteful to nature because we know they are good for us. When a sick man is tormented with bitter pain, one cannot do anything better for him than provide him with a remedy, even if it is distasteful, if it is sure to rid him of his trouble or at least relieve it. And why can we not love an experience of contempt as we reflect on the great and special advantages it brings with it? Now what are these? I will present to you the principal ones.

First Advantage — To be belittled and discredited destroys pride in us. The worst evil and the greatest hindrance that a soul can meet on the road of perfection is pride and vainglory. As long as the smallest selfish regard, the slightest self-satisfaction or petty ambition for human praise lives in the heart, it will never come about that God enters and lives in it with satisfaction. He looks upon such a heart with horror; He shuns it, and leaves it deprived of His heavenly lights, of Holy affections, of devout impulses, of choice graces, and it will lack the very special care of His Providence. Can a greater evil be imagined for a soul that desires perfection? But is there no remedy for such a great evil? Yes, there is, my soul. Believe this as an undeniable truth. The surest remedy, the most effective, most efficient remedy is the experience of contempt. To put out a great fire, nothing is more suitable than a heavy rain from Heaven. To uproot pride, there is nothing more powerful than to receive contempt and belittlement.

Oh, how few are they who, without this means, arrive at true humility! Should you not, then, my soul, wholeheartedly desire contempt? And in the midst of it, should you not be transported with joy, and praise, bless and thank God? We thank a surgeon because, by cutting away an abscess with a momentary pain for us, he delivers us from continuous pain. Should you not thank God Who, by subjecting you to a small ill such as contempt, delivers you from a far worse evil, which is pride?

Second Advantage — Contempt produces humility in us. The best disposition for gaining perfection is humility. As soon as God discovers it in a heart, He quickly enters it and fills it with an abundance of His Grace. The humble heart is like a valley; for just as the waters that run down the mountain all gather in the valley and make it pleasant and fertile, so Divine Grace, which departs from the arrogant and proud heart, symbolized by the mountain, gathers in the humble heart and greatly enriches it. Could a more profitable treasure ever be imagined than this? But what is the means for acquiring a virtue so pleasing to God? Turn your gaze to Jesus, my soul, and from Him learn to acquire it. This dear Redeemer has been our example for all virtues and has taught us also the most effective means of acquiring them. But what means has Jesus given us for gaining humility? No other than the observance of continual silence when we receive contempt and are disregarded. If you, O my soul, learn to be silent during contempt and love contempt, then without doubt He will give you the spirit of humility, which is His spirit, and you will enter into the possession of it when you begin to practice it.


Affective Acts

Ah, my Jesus, my Redeemer and my All! Now I know perfectly what displeases Thee in my heart and what keeps Thee from making it Thy dwelling place. It is that desire to be honored and esteemed by men, that pursuit of praise and honor, that ambition to be preferred to everyone in everything. That is what it is, O my God, that makes Thee hate to live in my heart. O accursed ambition! Of how many graces you have deprived me! How many heavenly lights you have prevented me from gaining! Of how many Divine consolations you have cheated me! Oh, how much you have withdrawn me from God! And how many other evils you can still bring on me! I will weary myself in vain and will gain no access to Thee, O my Jesus, if I do not uproot from my heart this very bad inclination which has planted such deep roots in it. A God so humble and a creature so proud cannot have familiar and mutual friendship. O my Jesus, Thou must change Thy Heart, in the future loving haughtiness and pride; or else I must change mine, from now on, loving humiliation and contempt. Forgive my simplicity, O my Jesus. I know well that it is I who must change. I will do it, indeed, my beloved Jesus! But if Thou do not strengthen me with Thy grace, all my resolutions will be in vain. I do not dare go forth trusting in my promises. This accursed ambition is so rooted in my heart that I do not find the strength to uproot it. I have detested it a thousand times, and even so it would sprout forth more vigorous than before. I should not put the blame on anyone but myself; for my resolves have been no more than empty words with which I have deceived myself and have made myself the more guilty before Thee. If I were to sincerely resolve upon this, I would have to give thanks, with hands joined, to the one who despises me, and gladly embrace all occasions that are allotted me to be humbled. But the truth is, O my Jesus, that here there are roots that no one can pull up except Thy Almighty Hand. Turn, then, Thine Eyes toward me, O loving Jesus! Uproot in me every desire for vainglory. Let only Thy Spirit and the love for contempt reign in my heart.


Third Point

Contempt is deserving of our love on account of its excellence and preferability — If you but knew, my soul, how valuable in God's eyes belittlement is, oh with what eagerness and what pleasure you would go hunting for it, no matter how distasteful it might be to frail nature! Therefore consider with attention the excellent qualities that are contained in itself, in an instance of contempt borne with patience.

First excellent quality — To bear contempt in silence is the most worthy sacrifice that we can make of ourselves to God in this life.

The desire to be prominent and gain respect and honor from men is a passion so common and universal that perhaps no man is always completely free from it. There are some people who have no difficulty in depriving themselves of convenience and weakening their bodies with fasts and other austerities; there are others who love solitude and spend many hours in prayer; there are those who, no matter how afflicted they appear to be with aches and sickness, show an immovable patience and who seem to have an unquenchable thirst for suffering. But even though all these people appear so advanced in virtue, few know how to bear in silence a contemptuous affront, a calumny, or even a disrespectful word. Here is where their virtue falls short and where ordinary holiness fails, because this evil appetite is so deeply rooted in the human heart and so hard to uproot. And so, since an extraordinary effort and violence is necessary in order to conquer it, who does not see what an excellent sacrifice one offers to God if he makes this effort and proves victorious?

Second excellent quality — To bear contempt in silence is the marrow, the essential part, of the following of Jesus Christ. If you give attention to the actions of Jesus Christ, my soul, you will find that throughout His Life and at every age of His lifetime He underwent contempt. He was made light of at His birth in the stable at Bethlehem; despised in His Infancy as He fled to Egypt; despised in His youth at the workshop in Nazareth; despised during His manhood as He preached and suffered death on a Cross.

He was despised in Himself and in all His works. He was despised in His divinity and humanity; despised in His virtues; despised in His doctrine; despised in His miracles. Whatever He said or did was given a bad interpretation and was despised.

He was despised by all sorts of people. He was despised by His fellow citizens and by foreigners; despised by priests and lay persons, by royalty, by nobles, by common people; despised by soldiers and by civilians.

Educated people despised Him. Seeing that He had not been taught by them, they would say, "Where did He get such wisdom, since this Man has not even learned His letters?" But Jesus kept silent and made no comeback to save His Honor; for He could have told them that He was the uncreated Wisdom, that He knew all things and had no need to learn anything, that He was sent to be Teacher of all and was to be no one's pupil.

The rich despised Him. The Lord Jesus is owner of the world and all that there is in it. Yet, for love of contempt He chose poor parents, poor companions, poor food, poor clothing, a poor occupation, a poor home, and in everything He loved poverty and abjection. That is why He earned the contempt of the rich, who love wealth, high living and vanity.

His young countrymen despised Him. Hebrews were accustomed to marry at nineteen years of age. On seeing Jesus young, elegant, handsome and genteel, but not caring about women nor about things of the world, on seeing Him live a life withdrawn from bad companions and youthful amusements, what sport they made of Him, what mockery!

With the exception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, His relatives despised Him on noticing that He did not marry nor try to make any fortune. They criticized Him and considered Him as a man deserving contempt. As soon as He began to gather disciples and preach, some of His relatives came to seize Him, for they said He had gone mad (Mk. 3:21). Jesus did not trust them, nor would He go to Jerusalem to the feast with them. Considering how He appeared despised by relatives and countrymen, He went so far as to say, "There is no prophet without honor except in his own country and among his own people," and, "The chief enemies of a man are those of his own household."

After all that has been said, should you not admit this, my soul: To suffer contempt with patience and silence, to love to be disregarded — this is the essence of the spirit of Jesus Christ, and one cannot acquire His Spirit without loving contempt.

Third excellent quality — To suffer contempt in silence is the key to Jesus' Heart and the means of uniting with Him. You will waste your efforts, my soul, if you search for Jesus without searching for contempt. Prayers, sighs, fasts, night vigils and other devout exercises are not enough. It is necessary for you to die, and that you die under blows of contempt. I mean it is necessary for you to put on Jesus Christ by loving contempt as He did, if you want to gain entrance into His Divine Heart. It is the souls that do this, whom Jesus loves. He enlightens them to know the secrets of His Greatness and Majesty. He consoles them and lets them taste the sweetness of His Love. He deals familiarly with them and admits them to union with Him. They are the ones in whom He fulfills even in this life the promise He made with these words: "Lo, I stand at the gate knocking; if anyone hear My Voice and open to Me, I will enter and will dine with him and he with Me." Tell me now, O my soul, are we not completely blind and should we not deplore our folly with bitter tears, when we grieve over contempt? Should we not sigh with ardent longing for a good which Jesus has loved so much? Should we not even rate it above everything we have? Should we not embrace it with great joy? Oh, that we should so hate ourselves as to deprive ourselves of a good so valuable which has no equal on earth! Ah! We are that sick man who wanted to be cured, but would not use the remedy.


Affective Acts

Oblation — O my dear Jesus, I am well enough aware that as long as love for worldly glory takes up room in my heart, that Thou wilt never come to me nor can I ever familiarly approach Thee. It is necessary to remove the desire for honor and make every effort to put in its place the love for contempt. This I resolve upon, my most loving Jesus, and from this moment I offer myself in sacrifice. Vouchsafe to hear my prayer and grant me strength to fulfill the following resolves:

(1) I detest, I abhor, with all my heart, all desire for honor, and I surrender it at Thy feet. I do not want there to be a man in the world who gives me a thought, who esteems me, who loves me and honors me, not even for a moment. And if, against my will, this should happen, it is my intention to detest all satisfaction arising therefrom as something loathsome in Thy sight.

(2) I love and embrace contempt with all my heart — Whatever happens to me by Thy Mercy, I will bear in silence for love of Thee. I will even praise and bless Thee for it as a great favor and benefit coming from Thy Hand.

(3) From this moment on, I surrender all claim I might have before the world for reputation and honor — I submit it all to Thy will. From now on I will care no more about all this and will look upon it as another's property and not mine. Be good enough to accept this, O my Jesus! Just as Thy Eternal Father for His glory availed Himself of the claim Thou had to good repute, allowing Thee to be despised and belittled, so do Thou avail Thyself of the claim I might have to a good reputation. This, O my Jesus, is the sacrifice I choose to make. I will renew it each day and hope to live and die living up to it outwardly and inwardly.

Petition for the spirit of humility — But who will grant that my heart stay in these happy dispositions? Thou, alone, O my Jesus, Thou alone can do it. Without Thee, my good desires will vanish like smoke. Without Thee, my good resolves will never be worthily carried out. Without Thee, my good intention cannot last even an hour. Turn Thy merciful eyes to me, O Dearest Jesus! Grant me a heart that will completely agree with Thine. Grant that I may love what Thou hast loved, may hate what Thou hast hated. Grant that I may hate all vanity and esteem from men, just as Thou hast hated it. This grace I beg of Thee. This favor I long for.


Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.

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Meditation 24. Interior Suffering of Jesus Christ

Preparatory Prayer as on page x

Composition of Place — Imagine, my soul, that you see Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, sorrowful, afflicted, in agony, sweating blood.

Prayer of Petition — O my Jesus, grant me constancy, silence, and patience so that I will suffer according to God's Will all the pains that it serves Thy interest to send me.


First Point

Jesus Christ has suffered before we have, all the interior pains that we are met with on the road to perfection.

O my soul, with lively attention let us suppose you see your Divine Redeemer in the garden of Gethsemane. In your imagination try to penetrate deep into His Heart and understand those terrific pains with which He was oppressed . . . But bear in mind that the Divinity offered no relief to His Holy Humanity in this suffering, just as a holy soul that has gone to Heaven gives no aid to its body which it has abandoned to rot in the grave. Jesus suffered just as He would have suffered if He had been purely human and created as we are. With these thoughts, begin our meditation.

The first suffering of Jesus Christ was an immense sorrow — There were two causes of this. The first was His burning Love. There was never a mother so devoted, who loved an only son with such tenderness as Jesus Christ loved each and every human being in particular. The second cause was His Infinite Knowledge. The Lord knew that, in spite of His Passion, the majority of men would come to perish eternally.¹

From this came a sorrow which was enough to cause Him death, even if there had been no other pains. To conceive an idea of this, suppose, my soul, there is a mother who has left her little children, whom she loves devotedly, playing in a field. Suppose she turns to see them all mangled by a beast which has come out of a nearby forest, and after the horrible slaughter, tender members of their bodies are left scattered here and there, clawed and torn to pieces. Could one ever sufficiently understand the pain of that devoted mother at the sight of her dear little ones so tragically slain?

Enter now, O my soul, into Jesus' Heart and see if you cannot find a similar pain there at the sight of so many souls purchased by the shedding of all His Precious Blood and lost forever in hell.

The second interior suffering of Jesus Christ was fear — There is nothing that more cruelly crushes a man's heart than fear of death close at hand. Not seldom has it happened that persons told of approaching death — even young, robust persons — have broken down overnight so as to appear aged and very feeble. What impression would fear of approaching death not make on Jesus' Heart — a death He plainly foresaw with all the terrible circumstances that made it so bitter to Him?

The third interior suffering of Jesus was the battle waged within Him — Nature and grace joined in Jesus' Heart to bring on this battle. Nature made His Passion unbearable in view of the horror of the death and the bitter pangs experienced from man's ingratitude; therefore He turned to His Father with these words: "Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me." Grace called for the great sacrifice and induced Him to add: "Father, not My Will, but Thine be done . . ."

Who will explain the violence of this battle waged within Him? It is enough to know that His Sacred Humanity could not stand it and was forced to sweat an abundance of His Blood through all His pores.

The fourth interior suffering of Christ was His mortal agony — A man's greatest trial and torment is surely his death agony. Imagine, my soul, that you see a dying man. His forehead yields a cold sweat caused by the struggle within him, which is most bitter. His hands and feet are limp and cool. Only with the greatest effort can he breathe. His heart pounds and putters. One pulsation does not yield place to another, for all is continually irregular and abnormal. The mere sight of him is pitiful. Consider now, my soul, your Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, reduced by inner pain to this agonizing state, and have no doubt that He would have died if an angel who had been sent from Heaven, had not comforted Him in that crisis so that He could complete His Sacrifice.


Affective Acts

(1) Shame — O my Jesus, how great are Thy Sufferings, and how great is Thy fortitude in the midst of them! Thou art abandoned in a sea of bitterness, of anguish and sorrow. Weariness, horror, affliction, desolation without relief, and mortal agony, are like great ocean waves stirring up Thy Heart. But in the midst of this terrible storm Thy unconquerable constancy lets itself be seen.

Yes, Thou dost continue at prayer and even make Thy prayer all the longer. Thou conform Thy Will with that of the Eternal Father. Thou dost not turn back at the sight of torment, nor dost Thou even refuse the death of the Cross. Oh, this indeed is true charity! This is true faithfulness to God! This is perfect fulfillment of the Divine good pleasure.

Compared to Thy Suffering, what is mine, O afflicted Jesus? Ah! My suffering, compared to Thine, is very slight. Yet any suffering, however small, is enough to make me quit what I had started well. Distaste and sadness at time of prayer, lack of mortification, fickleness about good resolutions, dissipation of mind, faint-heartedness, mistrust — these are the unhappy results from the pains which you offer me so that I may be approved and gain merit. Oh, how I should blame myself and be filled with shame in Thy presence! Thou, Who are Innocence Itself, submitted to pain; and I, who am a sinner, want only consolation.

(2) Resolution — What a shame to the eyes of all the Heavenly Court! Jesus is afflicted unto death, without having any sin; and I want to have consolation until death, after so many sins! I know my foolishness, O my Jesus, and I detest it. Never any more will I grumble at my inner pain. The desolation which Jesus suffered for love of me, I want to suffer also for love of Him. It is enough for me that I please Him. Him alone do I choose to seek. Him alone do I choose to love, in darkness as well as in light, in affliction as well as in consolation. This I resolve upon, O my Jesus. This I will do, by Thy Grace.


Second Point

The state of desolation is far more to our advantage than that of consolation. O my soul, in what peace you could live in the midst of darkness and desolation, if you knew the advantages which desolation brings with it! From the following truths you can form a fair concept:

First Truth — The state of desolation is more suitable for our offering God an acceptable sacrifice, than is the state of consolation. Oh, my soul, how we deceive ourselves, even in spiritual things! If by luck one enjoys a bit of inner peace, if he experiences a little more tender devotion in his heart, if his eyes moisten with sweet tears, he counts the day on which this occurs a happy one. But, oh how much more valuable beyond compare is a day of desolation!

For on the day which you call fortunate, God gives you something; but you give nothing to God. When He has feasted you at His table and given you a taste of His Sweetness, it is a generosity that is all His. Nothing comes from you for Him. Ah! How many there are who show themselves faithful to God in time of consolation; but how few there are who show themselves equally faithful in time of desolation!

When one finds oneself without any light and zest, and with his emotions stirred up in rebellion, and assaults of temptation of every kind at every turn, and yet he continues faithfully in silence, in prayer, in recollection, in mortification, and in all other virtuous practices, then we have the sacrifice which is the most acceptable to God, the gift of ourselves which His Majesty regards with eyes of most devoted satisfaction.

Second Truth — The state of desolation leads the soul to perfect love for God more securely than does the state of consolation.

To love God perfectly is nothing but to seek solely and purely His good pleasure, and outside of this to care about nothing else, neither on earth nor in Heaven. He that reaches this state enters in an instant into the possession of the most perfect love for God and becomes perfected in His Divine Presence. How to arrive at this, the surest way one can take is the road of desolation; for when a faithful soul in this state is without all consolation from the outside world and God withdraws all inner sweetness, he becomes practically crucified and little by little he dies to self and to all creatures. As he finds no satisfaction in anything else but the Divine good-pleasure, in this he finds rest and in God he finds perfect Divine Love.

Third Truth — In preference to the state of consolation, it is the state of desolation which leads a soul more surely and more promptly to close union with God. You should know, my soul, that just as fire purifies gold, and as it rids it of all impurity and leaves it beautiful and shining, so the state of desolation purifies the soul, and as it burns up within it all affections that do not refer to God, it very promptly makes it pleasing to God and puts it in immediate readiness for close union with the Supreme Good, enlightening it with His Heavenly Light and inflaming it with a holy love for Him.

The same thing happens to it as happens to a room which the sun brightens and warms only when the shade which is blocking the passage of its rays is lifted. One cannot say this of the state of consolation; for as it agrees so much with selfishness, out of a thousand souls in that state there will scarcely be one which reaches union with God. Therefore how much more desirable is the state of desolation!


Affective Acts

(1) Oblation — What, then, will I do? I see Jesus in the state of desolation. He is sorrowful even unto death. (Mt. 26:38). I realize that this state is supremely profitable to me, as it is the one which brings me to union with God. Why, then, am I unwilling to experience it? Ah! No! I am not unwilling.

At this moment I bow, kneeling at Thy Most Holy Feet, O my Jesus, and I consecrate and dedicate myself entirely to Thy Divine Will. My heart is ready to be left without any light, without any consolation, without any satisfaction, to suffer darkness, to be forsaken, as Thou were in the garden. I am ready to experience grief, temptation, and whatever else Thou wish me to suffer, my God.

Henceforth my only contentment and consolation will be the fulfillment of Thy Divine good-pleasure. My only joy, my only relief is in being deprived for Thy sake and in Thy company, of all consolation and rest, and in knowing that in this way Thy Holy Will is fulfilled in me.

(2) Prayer to obtain fortitude — But here is where I see that I must raise my hands, my eyes, and my heart to Thee, O my Jesus, to beg Thy Sweet Mercy on my behalf. To see no relief in creatures and to be faithful to Thee; to have our mind clouded with heavy darkness, our will distressed with painful dryness, our heart afflicted with continual desolation and yet not falter; to bear the attack of horrible temptation, to have our mind harassed with frightening thoughts, but not yield to discouragement; to experience feelings of bitterness, anxiety, rebellion, when it seems that all our wild impulses are let loose on us, and yet to remain constant in God's service — this is virtue without equal. (For we know it is one thing to experience wayward tendencies, another thing to consent to them.)

Herein lies true self-denial, complete detachment from all creatures, true faithfulness, pure love, and the surest pledge of union with God. But for an achievement so generous, no less is required than a powerful and effective grace from Heaven. Therefore I appeal to Thee with all my strength, O my Jesus. Do Thou help me, Lord.


Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.


Footnote

¹ This does not say a majority of free creatures; and we know, according to the holy Fathers, that angels vastly outnumber men and that just a third of them were lost. (Apoc. 12:4). Nor does this say a majority of all human beings, including infants; and we know that the majority of human deaths are of infants and fetuses, and an especially large majority when times are very wicked. "God bears up with men," writes Saint Alphonsus Liguori, "but He does not bear forever. Were God to bear forever with sinners, no one would be damned: but the most common opinion is that the greater part of adults, even among Christians, are lost." "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat." (Mt. 7:13).

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Meditation 25. The External Sufferings of Christ

Preparatory Prayer as on page x

Composition of Place — Imagine, my soul, that you see Jesus after being nailed to the Cross and shortly before He died, that you hear Him say, "O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be any sorrow like to My Sorrow. . ." (Lam. 1:12).

Prayer of Petition — O my Jesus, grant that I may ever meditate on Thy Sorrows, keeping them ever in mind.


First Point

During this life in these bodies of ours we will never suffer as much as Jesus Christ did in His. In order to conceive an idea of the cruelty of the pain Christ suffered in His Passion, consider with attention, my soul, the following circumstances:

First Circumstance — Christ's pains were all-extensive, so that no part of His Body was exempt. Direct your gaze to Christ, my soul, and observe His Members one by one and tell me if you can find even one that is exempt from great pain.

See His Cheeks, swollen and blue from beating. His Mouth is tormented with thirst and soured with gall. His Hair and Beard have been cruelly yanked from the roots. His Eyes are covered with blood. His Head is pierced with rough thorns. His Flesh, Nerves, Back, Chest, Abdomen, Sides, right and left, are pitilessly mangled. His Skin has been ripped and torn; His Veins cut, and they discharge blood; the arteries are wounded; muscle fibers are exposed; and His Body is so cut up that one sees even bones. His feet and hands have been pierced through with rough nails, and His whole Sacred Body has become one wound.

Isaias, who saw Him long before, described Him as follows: "There is no beauty in Him, nor comeliness . . . a Man of Sorrows . . . Surely He hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought Him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted." (Is. 53:2-4).

Second Circumstance — Jesus' pains were supremely cruel, and incomparably greater than all any man could ever endure. This was due, first, to the tenderness and delicacy of His Most Holy Body; for, as Saint Bonaventure teaches, He had a Body so tender and delicate, so fine and sensitive — which was a work of the Holy Spirit — that a pain in the sole of His Divine feet became more perceptible to Him than an injury to the pupils of the eyes would be for other men.

It was due, secondly, to His being tormented in His most sensitive parts. What torture did He not feel as men pressed on His Head a crown of rough, sharp thorns which went through not just the skin, but the skull-bone and temples as well, and drew blood that streamed down His cheeks and eyes! . . . What pain He surely suffered when, swinging their hammers, men drove rough nails into His feet and hands, tearing flesh, bursting veins, passing through nerves . . . What a martyrdom did He not surely suffer, with His Body suspended between Heaven and earth, when He hung by the nails driven into a wretched cross, and found no relief in any position to which He might turn Himself.

Third Circumstance — Jesus' pains were without relief. He had been hanging on the Cross several hours, He had shed His Blood, and none of it remained but a few drops in His Veins, when, tormented by an unbearable thirst, He asked for a drink. Might not one give a God-Man the bit of relief of a cup of water when His Strength is wasting away and He is dying in a sea of affliction?

However, not even that was granted Him. Instead, they gave Him vinegar mingled with gall to torment Him more, and so that His final pains might be without relief, as were all the other pains which He suffered.


Affective Acts

(1) Thanksgiving — I know not what to say nor what to think at the sight of such a tragedy, O my Jesus. If You had committed as many sins as I have, and if Thy Heavenly Father had been as offended as He has been by me, or Thou had deserved hell as I have, could Thou have suffered more or done a penance more rigorous than the one Thou did? Ah! Thou submitted to such terrible pains not because of any sins Thou had committed (for being Holiness by nature, Thou could not sin), but it was because of my sins.

Yes, faith tells me that His whole Body was cut up with lashes; for my sins He was mocked as a fool; for my sins He was to die, and die as a criminal on a cross. O Jesus! O most lovable Jesus! What kindness, what mercy Thou dost show!

Would that I had a thousand tongues so that I could praise and bless Thee as I would like! My boundless thanks be to Thee for all the drops of Blood Thou shed for love of me, for all the blows and lashes Thou suffered for me, for all the insults, mockeries and abuses Thou endured for love of me, for all the aches and pains Thou bore on the Cross for my sake. . .

(2) Resolution — But this is not enough. Jesus was not satisfied to just appeal on my behalf. He also wanted to suffer for me. From this I should detect the need to suffer. In this way I want to respond to Jesus' love for me . . . I know how right it is in absolute justice, and I want to carry it out. And so I offer myself, from this time on, in a sacrifice from which I desire never to withdraw myself. . .

First, Thou knowest all the pains, ailments, and other misfortunes which Thy Eternal Father has determined to send me. From this moment on, I adore and humbly accept all these decisions and I desire that they be perfectly fulfilled in me. Second, Thou likewise knowest, my Jesus, the manner and the time that the Eternal Father has determined to call me to Himself out of this world by means of death. I also profoundly adore this decree, and agree to it with all my soul. I wish to suffer and die, and to suffer and die for the sake of pure love, just as Thou didst suffer and die for me . . .


Second Point

Just as Jesus Christ's pains were extreme and cruel, all the more so was His patience very marvellous and astonishing. These are the circumstances whereby you can conceive some idea of this, my soul:

First Circumstance — Jesus endured His sufferings in silence and without complaining. The Holy Spirit, speaking of Jesus Christ, compares Him to a lamb. This is because, being a guileless, harmless animal, it allows itself to be shorn and led away to the slaughterhouse without bleating nor offering the least resistance. Likewise Jesus allowed Himself to be extremely mistreated without resisting or even uttering a complaint.

Yes, He was whipped and His whole body torn, and He held His peace. He was crowned with rough, sharp thorns, and kept silent. He went through the greatest agony and, though He was extremely weakened, men burdened His shoulders with a heavy cross, and He kept quiet. . . They pierced His Hands and Feet with nails and crucified Him on a cross with unheard of cruelty, and He remained silent. "I . . . (was) as a dumb man not opening his mouth." (Ps. 37:14). He Himself says by the Royal Prophet. Thus did Jesus conduct Himself during His extreme sufferings. . . How do I conduct myself?

Second Circumstance — Jesus bore His Sufferings with unswerving meekness. There has not been a man in the world who has had such good grounds for being angry as Jesus had on the cross. The grounds were:

(1) The hatred that was all around Him. Before His eyes there was a countless multitude of people of all classes, and He saw into the depths of their hearts. Now what did He discover therein? Nothing but hate, ill-will, animosity, with satisfaction and glee at His sufferings and death, and a wish and hope that His Name disappear from the world and be wiped from everyone's memory.

(2) The mockery, the blasphemy, the insults with which the scribes and Pharisees abused Him, wagging their heads in harsh sarcasm, saying, "Bah, Thou that destroyest the temple . . . and in three days dost rebuild it: . . . He saved others: Himself He cannot save." (Mt. 27:40, 42). "If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the Cross." (Mt. 27:40).

In the face of these cutting taunts that men made at the height of His suffering, did Jesus Christ not have good grounds for showing anger? Yet He shows none, but suffers everything with complete resignation, with a marvellous love that forgets the wrongs and the pains, and only shows a care for the salvation of His enemies. That is why, instead, He had spoken to the women these words that showed His compassion: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over Me; but weep for yourselves and for your children." (Lk. 23:28)

Third Circumstance — Jesus endured His pains with fortitude and a desire to suffer more. Jesus is hanging on the Cross. His strength is now exhausted. His pain has reached its height. His Body, drained of its Blood, can no longer resist the power of death. . . What, then, does He do? O my soul, take an inward gaze, and marvel at His astonishing fortitude! Two loves with which He burned, ignited in Him two desires . . . He loves His Heavenly Father, and out of this arises the desire to live longer so as to be able to suffer more for the sake of love . . . He also loves us men, and from this there springs the desire to live longer so that He can, out of His love, suffer yet a longer time. . . This is just what He meant when He showed His thirst, and when addressing His Father, He said, "Father, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" As though He would say, "O Father, why dost Thou not give Me strength to live longer and to suffer more for love of Thee and for love of men?"


Affective Acts

(1) Shame — Oh, the fear, the shame I should feel, O my Jesus, at the sight of Thy body hanging on the cross! Ah! how hast Thou sinned, venerable head of my Redeemer, that Thou should be wounded with such rough thorns? What hast Thou done wrong, O beautiful eyes, to be so sunken, so clotted with blood? O all-powerful hands and feet, how hast Thou offended, that Thou shouldst be bored through with rough nails? What hast Thou done, O most loving Heart, that Thou should be pierced with an unmerciful lance? But indeed Jesus is innocent! How the flower of innocence fully shines out in Him! . . . And why, then, do so many and such cruel torments afflict this Innocent One? Alas for me! Jesus suffers not for His sins, but for mine. My sins brought Him to this unhappy plight. My sins nailed Him to the Cross. My sins brought on His death.

(2) Confession and Resolution — And I, guilty of much sin, feel unwilling to suffer. And — all the worse for me! — I do not want to believe that many times I have deserved to suffer. But eternal praise to Thee, O my Jesus! For at present I am convinced of this: That there is no pain nor torment in hell that I have not deserved by my sins. No matter how much I have suffered up to now or will suffer in the future, it is not enough to wipe away even one of my many sins nor make up to Thee in the least for them. Oh, how unjust it is for me to complain in my troubles! No matter how much I suffer, I will always suffer less than I deserve. Is it not quite right, then, that I surrender to Thy Most Holy Will in everything, and that in the midst of my troubles I praise and bless Thee for all Thy loving designs concerning me? Yes, it is quite right; and I resolve to do so in the future.


Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.

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Meditation 26. The Insults and Pains which Jesus Suffered

Preparatory Prayer as on page x

Composition of Place — Imagine you see Jesus at the tribunals and palaces of Annas, Caiphas, Herod and Pilate. Note the patience with which He bore horrible insults and atrocious pains.

Prayer of Petition — O my Jesus, grant me the grace I need in order to bear with silence and humility the degradations and pains that I must undergo in this world.


First Point

There has not been and will never be a man who has suffered or had to suffer such great wrongs and degradations as Jesus Christ suffered. It is not possible to combine in a single meditation all the degradations to which Jesus Christ submitted. Therefore we will only consider some of them. These alone, my soul, will be enough to make you ashamed of your pride.

The first kind of degradation was the false charges and the calumnies — There is nothing that more keenly wounds a man of noble and sincere heart than piling up false charges against him of things he would not even dream of doing. Enter, O my soul, into the tribunal of Annas and Caiphas and hear the outrageous crimes that are charged against Jesus.

The witnesses are lined up and here are the charges they make: They say He is a lover of wine; that He likes to eat with publicans and sinners; that He is ruled by an intolerable pride, going so far as to claim to be Divine; that He would destroy the temple in Jerusalem; that He spreads impious doctrine and is introducing the people to idolatry; that He is a sorcerer and works prodigies with the help of the devil, with whom He has a secret compact; that He is a seducer and astutely plots the ruin of the chosen people. . . They charge Jesus with all these crimes in the tribunals of the High Priest and of Pilate. These charges are circulated among the people and are spread in the neighborhoods and public squares of Jerusalem.

The second kind of degradation was the scoffing and mockery — The wickedness of calling Jesus a blasphemer and criminal was not enough. It was also necessary to call Him a senseless fool. See Him in Herod's presence. Because He makes no answer to repeated questions but in His Infinite Wisdom keeps silent, men call Him a fool, at the prompting of the king and courtiers, and, like a fool He is covered with a white robe, and amid the mockery and laughter of insolent people they lead Him through the public streets to Pilate.

After this insult another follows of which I would not know whether to call it more savage or more contemptuously insulting, this time in the palace of the Roman Prefect. Incited to do so by the Jews, the soldiers decide to make sport of Jesus in a way no one but the devil could suggest. They throw a purple robe over His shoulders. Then they place a reed in His hand. Weaving together a crown out of rough, sharp thorns, they press it down on His head in order to make fun of Him as a make-believe king.

Their mockery does not stop here. To ridicule Him more, they bend their knees to Him in mock reverence; then they spew their filthy spittle into His Face and give Him a cruel beating. While the Heavens darken at the sight of this and the angels are bitterly weeping, a countless throng pauses to look at the unusual spectacle, and add to the injury and mockery in their festive way by their applause.

The third kind of injury that was done to Jesus was the passage of the death sentence with all its bad implications — Pilate, who was perfectly aware of Jesus' uprightness and innocence, in order to deliver Him, placed Him before the people, who had gathered beneath the balcony of his palace. They were there to choose a man sentenced to die whom Pilate would do the favor of sparing in honor of the Pasch.

They were to choose between Jesus and Barabbas. And who would believe it? Against Pilate's expectations the choice fell on Barabbas, as all the people cried out that Barabbas should go free and Jesus should be condemned. Now how is it that people want Jesus condemned and Barabbas released? Who is Barabbas? He is a criminal found guilty of sedition and murder.

And ought he be released and Jesus condemned?

"Indeed, that is what we wish. Let Barabbas live and let Jesus die!" What evil has Jesus done? . . . Now if Jesus must die, what kind of death should He be sentenced to? It would be very harsh to put Him to the sword.

Even so, He must die the most bitter kind of death and at the same time the one most disgraceful. He must die nailed to a cross — the way the most infamous, the most wicked criminals are accustomed to suffer death. And He must die in between two criminals, so that all may know that He surpassed everyone in wickedness. This was what the people wished and was the sentence Pilate gave Him.

Thus Jesus was led to His death on the Cross amid the festive joy of the high priests, amid the blasphemous insults of the scribes and pharisees, and amid the harsh mockeries of an immense throng. It was exactly then that was fulfilled the prediction of the Prophet who, in the person of Jesus Christ, testified, "I am a worm and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people." (Ps. 21:7).

Pause here a little, my soul, and answer the questions that I am going to ask. First, I ask: Did the Eternal Father give an unjust sentence when He decreed such great, such shocking degradations for His Only-Begotten Son? No, my soul, certainly not. Jesus had taken on Himself the liability for our sins by His own choice, and our sins called for this payment . . .

Secondly, I ask: Would the Eternal Father do you any wrong to allow against you insults and disgraces as great as the ones that He willed for His Only-Begotten Son to undergo? No, for sin deserves as much; and rightly do you come to realize this from the outrages and insults done to Jesus, and rightly does your conscience accuse you of being guilty of many sins.

Thirdly, I ask: If you believe that sin is something that deserves such ill treatment, knowing as you do that you have sinned, would your pride not be intolerable if you refused to bear even a slight contempt? What could be the ingratitude if you were unwilling to suffer a bit of offensive treatment for love of Jesus, after He has suffered such great wrongs and such extraordinary offenses for love of you?


Affective Acts

(1) Admiration of the humility of Jesus — O my beloved Jesus, my Redeemer, what astonishing wonders are put before my eyes by Thy humility! Thou, Who art Infinite Wisdom and govern Heaven and earth, are declared a dull-witted fool! Thou art mocked as a make-believe king and people spit in Thy Face as though Thou were the vilest man in the world! Thou, Who are Holiness Itself, from whom come all gifts and Heavenly Graces, are counted a hypocrite and a lover of wine!

Thou art charged with being a seducer and blasphemer; Thou art called a Samaritan and a sorcerer, and are counted worse than a murderer and an assassin! All this Thou suffer, and suffer it with awesome silence without the least complaint, with a meekness beyond comparison, without bitterness and with full resignation, without any regret that Heaven decreed this. . . Oh, what humility! Oh, the reticence of my Jesus! This is truly a sacrifice which, of itself, is enough to give infinite pleasure to the Eternal Father and to give the hearts of all men a lesson of humility . . .

(2) Shame — But this humility of Thine, oh, how hateful it makes my pride appear in Thy sight. O my Jesus! I, a lowly little mortal with a mind so very ignorant, so darkened — I want to be counted wise and prudent; while Jesus, Who is Wisdom Itself, is led in the garment of a fool through the public streets to be the laughing-stock of all the people! I, a sinner, want to be counted blameless, while the blameless Jesus is being counted as a seducer, a blasphemer and a sorcerer!

I, poor in every virtue and full of evil ways, endeavor to win preference above all others; while Jesus, Who is Holiness Itself, is ranked below Barabbas and sentenced to die on the disreputable Cross! Oh, how hateful, how abominable my intolerable pride must seem in my Redeemer's eyes! O my Jesus, have mercy on me and grant that in my mind I may have an entirely different outlook, and in my will my sentiments shall be quite contrary to what they have been up to now.


Second Point

There has not been a man in the world who has borne degradations and outrages as Jesus bore them. The royal Prophet describes the truly awesome humility with which Jesus bore insult and outrage, and he uses these words: "I, as a deaf man, heard not: and as a dumb man not opening his mouth." (Ps. 37:14). Ponder these brief words, my soul, and wonder at the immense humility that is hidden beneath the awesome silence.

(1) Jesus was blameless — and could never be charged with anything that was not upright, and He could never be rightly rebuked. The crimes with which men charged Him were evil inventions of His enemies. If Jesus had chosen to speak, in a moment He could have made His innocence very obvious to everyone. He could have silenced His enemies before all the people and could have covered them with shame and embarrassment.

(2) Jesus was All-Powerful — One word of His was enough to cause bolts of fire to shoot down from the clouds upon all His enemies and hurl them all into the abyss of hell. With just a word He could have caused all men to know His Divinity and He could have caused all Jerusalem to adore Him as the long-awaited Messias.

(3) Jesus was Infinite Wisdom — He knew that His enemies would become abusive on the occasion of His silence, and that they would not rest until they had seen Him die a disreputable death on a Cross. He knew that from His silence His beloved Mother and the Apostles would suffer extremely. . .

He knew that when He would hold His peace as He did, men would make it an occasion to discredit the miracles He had worked, to condemn His teaching as erroneous and to vent their rage against His newly founded Church. He knew all this. Nevertheless these considerations were not powerful enough arguments to draw one word from His mouth to prove His innocence. He wanted to keep silent, and to keep silent up to His last breath.

O Jesus, my wonderful Jesus, how astonishing and how eloquent is this silence of Thine! How sublime is this lesson of Thine! But alas! How few there are who imitate it! Where are those souls who, when they suffer insult and reproach and outrage, know how to join Jesus in keeping silent? There may indeed be men who know how to adapt themselves to other difficulties and mortifications, above all if they are undertaken through their own decision. But to be quiet when people disparage us, to love our cross of insult and calumny, to avoid explaining away unjust accusations against us — Ah! This is a burden few backs would carry! . . . But meantime it will always be an undeniable truth that Jesus Christ's example is the only road to holiness, and one who does not imitate Him will never be very worthy in His sight and will have no hope of reaching perfection at any time.¹


Affective Acts

(1) Esteem and appreciation for contempt — Oh how wonderful is Thy teaching, my Jesus! How far it outmatches all the wisdom of the world! In suffering unkind criticism, contempt, and ill treatment, Thou found only the beauty and desirability of these things. When with a single word Thou could draw on Thyself as much honor as there was contempt that Thou received, Thou preferred contempt rather than honor. So far removed were Thy affections from being set on honor, that Thou showed a desire for the humiliations.

Now why should I not have the same sentiments that Thou had and why should I not love what Thou loved? Indeed, my Jesus, in the future I will regard contempt as something that overthrows my fiercest enemy, which is pride, as something that opens for me the entrance into the Heart of Jesus, as something that ought to form the loveliest part of my glory in paradise.

(2) Contrition and Resolution — Ah how blind I have been in the past, my Jesus! I have desired to be able to love Thee as Thou art loved by the Seraphim in Heaven and especially I have wanted to be able to show Thee my love by offering Thee a sacrifice that Thou would like and accept. And what other sacrifice could be more agreeable to Thee but that of forsaking my high rating of self, by bearing humiliation and insult in silence? And why have I not conducted myself in that way?

Ah, the most beautiful moment of my life was not when my heart was penetrated with a tender, sentimental affection for God and felt carried away with love for His Infinite Goodness. No; rather the loveliest instant was when my actions were being unfairly interpreted and discredited, and the most beautiful occasion of offering God a perfect sacrifice was when people downright despised me and ceremoniously mocked me.

I was wrong, then, O my Jesus; I was wrong in grieving when I should have rejoiced, and in running from what I should have sought, and in grumbling when I should have kept quiet. Now that I know my mistake, what should I do, O my Jesus? I should do just what Thou did when the hour approached for Thee to suffer disgrace. "That the world may know, that I love the Father: . . . Arise, let us go hence." (John 14:31). This is how Thou spoke when, full of fervor, Thou submitted Thyself to Thy enemies, from whom Thou could hope for nothing but ill treatment and slanderous insult. When an occasion comes to me to suffer contempt and humiliation, I, likewise, will lift up my heart, saying: That Heaven may know that I love Jesus, come, my soul, let us proceed to embrace these things gladly for love of Him. . .


Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.


Footnote

¹ This point deserves a clarification. Even though Christ did not answer all of Pilate's questions, He did respond truthfully when Pilate asked Our Lord if He was King. (Matt. 17:11). Further, Our Lord proclaimed His innocence and defended Himself during His trial before the high priest. When He was struck by the officer at the Temple, He said: "If I have spoken evil, give testimony to the evil; but if well, why strikest thou Me." (John 18:23). At this trial, Our Lord proclaimed His Divinity to the high priest (Matt. 26:63-64). Also, during Our Lord's public life, He gave testimony to His sinlessness: "Which of you shall convict Me of sin?" (John 8:46). Hence, St. Anthony Mary Claret is actually speaking here about the holy and meritorious virtue of remaining silent in the face of detractions and calumnies, that is, when we are attacked personally. But if we see the rights of God under attack, then we may not be silent. We must publicly and steadfastly defend the rights of God at all times. Pope Leo XIII reiterated this truth when he said, "About the rights of man, people have heard enough. It is time they should hear of the rights of God." (Encyclical Letter Tametsi, Nov. 1, 1900).

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Meditation 27. Jesus Proves on the Cross His Love for His Enemies

Preparatory Prayer as on page x

Composition of Place — Envision Jesus nailed to the Cross and enduring His greatest pains. You hear Him pray to His Father on behalf of those who crucify Him.

Prayer of Petition — O my Jesus and my Master! I beg of Thee the grace not only to forgive my enemies, but to love them and do good to them.


First Point

Jesus showed an astonishingly great love for His enemies. Go back in your thoughts, my soul, to Calvary, and ponder with attention Jesus' Love for His enemies. See Him suspended from three nails on an infamous gibbet. He is wounded all over, dripping with blood, plunged in a sea of pain, and is close to breathing His last. See, also, the throng of people of every age, condition, and state — young and old, lords and ladies and common people, Hebrews and Gentiles, scribes and pharisees, elders of the people and high priests — and these people, instead of having pity (which only a few show at the sight of pain), are all burning with an implacable mortal hatred for Him. As we ponder the more noteworthy circumstances of this hatred, consider whether it should have been hard and difficult for Him to love a people so savage and inhuman.

The first circumstance was the triumphant glee of His enemies — Here, my soul, you should not consider Jesus as a mere man, but as both God and Man (as indeed He was), to Whose gaze everyone's heart lay bare, as He saw even their most secret thoughts. As He hung suffering on the Cross, what evil did He not find in the hearts of those cruel people? He perceived some who rejoiced at the sight of Him nailed to the Cross, who were congratulating themselves on the arrival, at last, of the hour they had hoped for — the hour of seeing the One they accused of being a seducer, an impostor, a deceiver, hanging from a Cross. He perceived that others were approving the sentence passed against Him, and were judging that it was quite just (because they thought He was a scoundrel and blasphemer) to be assigned no other execution than one on a cross. He saw that these men took great delight and danced, as it were, with glee at seeing Him suffer, at seeing Him refused the smallest relief for His thirst, at seeing men rather increase His thirst and add to His torments by giving Him gall and vinegar to drink. He perceived others impatiently awaiting His death and wanting His Name blotted out from everyone's memory. All of this Jesus saw, and saw it in the hearts of the very ones for whom He came down from Heaven to earth, leaving an immensely happy condition and submitting to human miseries. Yes, He saw these things in the hearts of those on whose behalf He had worked so many miracles and for whom He was dying. At the sight of all this, what must have been the quality of His love for such people?

The second circumstance was the jeers and insults of His enemies — When someone is in his death agony, having been turned over to an executioner to be put to death, it is an act of compassion to show him sympathy . . . something that is not refused even the most wayward criminal. When a criminal is presented on the gallows, no matter how deserving of death he may be, a great silence is observed by everyone, and even the hardest hearts show him some indications of pity and compassion; and the more painful the execution to which the man is condemned, the more apparent is this sympathy. But Jesus was not counted worthy of this much. The more cruel His pains were and the more savage the execution procedures, so much the more bitter were the jeers, so much the more cutting was the mockery with which He was insulted by His enemies.

"Bah!" some were saying, "If You boasted that You would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, show Your Power now and rescue Yourself from the Cross!" Others argued, "If You made such a boast of being the Son of God and of always trusting in Him, why does He not come now to deliver You?"

The third circumstance was His enemies' stubbornness — It would not have been difficult for Jesus to love His enemies if in the end they had recognized and detested their sin; but the obstinacy of these wicked people was too great. The elements, even though they were lifeless, bore witness to Jesus' innocence. The sky shrouded itself with mourning. The sun grew dark. Boulders cracked in pieces. The veil of the temple ripped into two parts. The earth trembled and quaked. The people were eyewitnesses of these astounding events; but in spite of them, they did not stop abusing Him. Rather, becoming even more furious against the Lord, they kept mocking Him, cursing Him and blaspheming Him. They did not cease tormenting Him until they saw that He was dead. And yet Jesus bore it all with an heroic patience. And even forgetting His Pains and the many abuses they were vomiting forth against Him into His very Face in His agonizing condition, turning to His Eternal Father He pleaded with Him and took up their defense, so that He might obtain pardon for their wicked behavior . . .

Could a love be found that resembles this? It would not have been hard for Jesus to love His enemies if He had foreseen that they would stop hating Him, at least after His death. But He could not even have this consolation. He foresaw that most of them would make a joke of all those miracles which would be worked on His behalf after His Resurrection. He foresaw that they would persecute even to death His Apostles, who were to proclaim His Name. He foresaw that they would continue in their obstinacy until death and that they would blaspheme forever in hell even more than the demons do. It surely must have been a very hard thing for Jesus to love a people so unjust and evil. But in spite of all this, instead of giving Himself over to anger and seeking vengeance for His extremely painful, degrading death, He ceased not from loving even the most sinful ones, nor from wishing that His Divine Blood might give life to those who had shed it so brutally . . .

My soul, enter within yourself here, and see who those persons are whom you find it difficult to love. Are they, by any chance, false witnesses who have falsely accused you in court? Are they cruel characters who have sometimes made you drink the gall and vinegar of pain, hardship, privation and injustice? Are they assassins who are thirsty for your blood and want to nail you, like Jesus, to a cross?

Ah! There may be someone perhaps who gives you an unpleasant look. There may be someone who lets a thoughtless word escape from his mouth. And will you have difficulty loving these persons, after seeing Jesus love even His unmerciful persecutors? Compare well your enemies with those of Jesus.


Affective Acts

(1) Shame — O Jesus! O most lovable Jesus! I marvel at Thy generous charity, and at the sight of it I know how weak mine is. In Thy Heart Thou preserved a love that remained steadfast in the midst of every outrage. With Thy vision Thou dost perceive those who harbor for many years in their hearts a hatred for Thee that is more than diabolical. Thou dost recognize those who curse and blaspheme Thee as if Thou were the greatest criminal in the world. Thou knowest those who make a boast of reducing Thee to this condition in which Thou become unrecognizable, and those who jeer at Thee and mock Thee when Thou art in the throes of the most horrible torment.

With Thy Own eyes Thou seest them; with Thy Own Ears Thou hearest them; and all the hate and raving of their hearts is quite known to Thee. But all this is not enough to cool off Thy Love, nor does Thy Heart yield to a shadow of irritation, nor do Thy lips utter one word of grumbling, nor do Thy hands make any move to take revenge. Instead, Thou lovest them all. Thou dost press them all to Thy bosom. Thou didst shed Thy Precious Blood for them all. Not one dost Thou shut out from Thy Heart. This is how strong and generous Thy love is, O my Jesus. And mine? Ah, it is a love that does not deserve to be called love, because any petty injury is enough to cripple it, and sometimes it manages to extinguish it and perhaps to change it into hatred.

(2) Repentance — In this light, I am a man truly lacking love! Oh, what a sad, distressing thought! — That I am a man who is poor and needy as regards love! And yet, who am I? I am a soul chosen from among thousands and thousands to follow Jesus. I am a Christian soul who spends so much time daily meditating on the example of Jesus Christ, Who even loved those who crucified Him. In spite of all this, I am a creature poor and needy with regard to love! This is so, after so many years of my life as a Christian have passed, after so many insights, graces, and interior inspirations, after so many aids and opportunities! Ah! What reason I have to detest my sluggishness!


Second Point

In view of the circumstances in which He loved His enemies, Jesus' love was something astonishing. Up to now the circumstances we have considered have been the hate, the rabidness and the unheard of savagery that His enemies displayed against Jesus. Now, my soul, ponder the circumstances of that love Jesus showed them at the very time of their rage. I do not doubt that a consideration of these two points will supply the weightiest motives for admiring a love so immense.

The first circumstance was the time in which He prayed for those who were crucifying Him — Jesus needed to say a number of things from the Cross: to His Eternal Father, to commend His Spirit to Him; to His beloved Mother, to entrust Her to His Disciple John; to John, to charge him with the care of His afflicted Mother; to bystanders, to ask relief in His extreme thirst. But for whom did He give first attention when He spoke? Ah! His sorrowful Mother would wait, the faithful disciple would hold off; Jesus' personal affairs would be forgotten; and the first words would be directed to His Eternal Father in favor of His enemies, begging pardon for them: "Father, forgive them." (Lk. 23:34). What love! What wonderful love!

The second circumstance was His enemies' malice — This was growing more and more on each occasion, the more ardent Jesus' love appeared to be. One might think that, before setting about to obtain the pardon of His enemies, Jesus would wait until they first recognized the enormous misdeed they had committed and with humility and regret begged for pity and mercy. But His Charity was of another quality, which did not allow Him to wait until they recognized their great fault; but He at once became their Mediator with the Eternal Father to obtain their forgiveness. I love them, Jesus said; and because I love, I intercede. I love and I intercede at the very moment in which I hear their ridicule and blasphemy, and I see their hate and experience all the effects of their rage and fury. I love them and I intercede for them and I offer all My Blood for them . . .

What do you say, my soul, at the sight of a love of this fine quality?

The third circumstance was the reason which Jesus presented in His prayer — It is undeniable that the Jews had committed against Jesus an injustice of the most horrible, abominable kind, choosing for Him the most cruel kind of death. The miracles that He had worked and which they had seen with their own eyes, the blamelessness of His life, known even to the Gentile prefect (Pontius Pilate), the very accusations which they had invented and had produced at the trial — all in an evident way proved their bad will. In spite of this, Jesus prayed for them, and to excuse them He pointed to their ignorance, saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Lk. 23:34). It was as if He wanted to say, "Father, I do not say that they have not sinned. I only say that their impiety can be pardoned, that ignorance plays a great part in it. Otherwise they would never have treated Me this way. Therefore I beg Thee, My Father, to forgive them as I forgive them, and that Thou love them as I love them. . ."

Oh, the wonderful love of Jesus for His enemies, which moved Him to love them with such love! My soul, you, too, learn to love the person that has offended you, and, if you please, look at your enemies with those eyes with which Jesus looked at His enemies from the Cross and it will become very easy for you. What did Jesus find in His enemies that could incline His Heart to love them? Ah! He saw in them the weakness of fallen nature that is prone to evil from birth. He saw in them precious souls fashioned to His Own Image and Likeness and called to share His Glory. He saw in them the most profound designs of His Heavenly Father, Who, by the very hands of His enemies, offered Jesus the chalice which He, the Father, had prepared. Finally, He saw that very great number of sins for which He had freely obliged Himself to make due payment to Divine Justice and which that Justice was punishing in Him by means of His enemies. These reasons were the strongest ones that persuaded Him to earnestly plead and intercede with His Eternal Father, to win for them the forgiveness of the great crimes that they had committed.


Affective Acts

(1) Repentance — Ah, my Jesus! Now I understand the true cause of the difficulty I have always experienced in loving people by whom I have been offended. The cause is that I have never looked at them with those eyes with which Thou looked at Thy enemies; and this is also the true cause of my bad state. If only I had always regarded people who offended me as persons by whose hands my Heavenly Father was offering me the chalice He had prepared for me; if only I had always regarded them as persons whom Divine Justice was using to punish my sins — ah! — how many perfect acts of love might I not have made up to now, and how closely my heart would come to resemble Thy loving Heart! But now — what is the state of my heart? What kind of charity do I have? Ah, my beloved Redeemer, let me be silent and hide myself from Thy eyes, because the great shame I feel restrains me from talking to Thee and looking at Thee. But what would be the benefit of being silent and hiding from Thee? It is better that I sincerely confess my folly and humbly beg the forgiveness of Thy Mercy. Ah, my Jesus! I have certainly reflected on the outstanding ways in which Thou hast been an example of love. I have admired this and have praised it. But when have I taken up the task of imitating it?

(2) Resolution and Prayer of Petition — Then, will I always behave as I have, O my Jesus? No, please! For the attitude I now feel is, by Thy Grace, different, and my heart feels changed. What I propose is to love those who have offended me with all my heart, to bear meekly and silently the injuries that are done to me, and I will make it a special endeavor to return good for evil. This is the way Jesus loved. It is the way I, too, should love, and indeed, choose to love. But how will I do it without a light to clear up my mind and a powerful impulse, a help, to give strength to my courage? I turn to Thee, my Beloved, my Crucified, my only Teacher of Love. I call upon Thee by that wonderful meekness with which Thou forgave Thy enemies, by that affectionate prayer Thou made on their behalf, by that Precious Blood which Thou shed for them. Grant me a charity that extends to all men, a charity that gives me strength to patiently suffer and bear everything, a charity that is always moving me to react to the evil done to me, by rendering some good turn that matches it. Amen.


Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.