{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_70790/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_70790","id":"gutenberg_70790","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70790","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Ignatius, of Loyola, Saint, 1491-1556. Exercitia spiritualia","Meditations","Spiritual exercises","Spiritual retreats"],"text":"The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius\n\n\n\n\n                              A. M. D. G.\n\n                        THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES\n                                   OF\n                              ST. IGNATIUS\n\n                    ADAPTED TO AN EIGHT DAYS RETREAT\n\n                                  AND\n\n                              SIX TRIDUUMS\n\n       In Preparation for The Semi-Annual Renovation of the Vows\n\n                    All for the use of Jesuits only\n\n                                   By\n                       Rev. CHARLES COPPENS, S.J.\n\n\n                               B. HERDER\n                           17 South Broadway\n                             St. Louis, Mo.\n                                  1916\n\n\n\n\n    Copyright, 1916\n    by\n    Joseph Gummersbach\n\n\n\n\n             A RECOMMENDATION BY OUR REV. FATHER PROVINCIAL\n\n\nRev. Dear Father:\n\n\nIt gives me pleasure to say a few words in praise of the new book of Fr.\nCharles Coppens on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Any new\npower that will help us to use these spiritual arms of St. Ignatius more\neffectively deserves the hearty approval of every Jesuit. The volume is\nintended for the use of Ours only, and will be found of great service in\nconducting retreats or in giving the Triduums that take place twice a\nyear before the renovation of vows.\n\nThe customary meditations are well arranged, are solid, and at the same\ntime practical. The points are proposed very clearly so as to be readily\nremembered.\n\nI bespeak for this volume the good will of all of Ours, and trust it may\nbe of great help to a more effective giving of the exercises and be in\nthe hands of all.\n\n    Yours sincerely in Christ,\n    A. J. BURROWES, S.J.\n\n\n\n\n                                PREFACE\n\n\nThe Text of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, as translated into\nEnglish from the Spanish Autograph, and edited for private circulation\nby Rev. John Morris, S. J., is printed in a small volume of only 125\npages. That little work contains all that the Saint composed in the\nGrotto of Manresa, and he never afterward wrote any additions to the\ntext. But in explaining his Exercises to his first companions, and to\nothers who made the retreat under his direction, he would adapt the\ndetails to their characters and the various circumstances. His followers\ndid the same, without writing further additions or commentaries on the\noriginal text; they followed in their practice the traditional method as\nit had come to them from their saintly founder.\n\nIn the course of time, as was natural, considerable departures from the\nfirst process took place, some of which induced the danger of gradually\nlosing the very spirit of the original Exercises. Among the learned men\nof our Society who labored most successfully to check such tendency, one\nof the most distinguished was the Father General John Roothaan, who in\n1834 addressed a circular letter to all his subjects, earnestly warning\nthem against this peril. At the same time he furnished them a masterly\nwork on the original Spanish and Latin texts, which he accompanied with\na most valuable commentary.\n\nFor those preferring a Latin guide book, whether in making the Exercises\nthemselves, or in explaining them to others, no work is more commendable\nthan that masterpiece of Father Roothaan. Still, both before and since\nits publication, many other editions of the Exercises and commentaries\non the same have been printed, both in Latin and in various modern\nlanguages, with full approbation and warm commendations of the Superiors\nof the Society; and excellent reasons appear to exist why successive\ngenerations of Jesuits should continue their efforts to enrich this\nvaluable literature. In particular the eight days retreat, which all our\nmembers perform every year, gains additional interest and impressiveness\nwhen a wider range is presented, affording a choice among a large number\nof approved guide books to direct them through this fertile region of\nspirituality.\n\nThe spirit permeating all of these must ever be the same, so too the\nmain outline of the truths proposed and the general plan of the\nExercises. Yet experience shows that there remains a wide room for\nvariety in comments, suggestions and practical applications. Therefore,\nwhen the time for each one\u2019s annual retreat comes round, there is shown\nby many Fathers an earnest desire for some late publication on the\nsubject, that will lend new zest to the familiar solid doctrine. To\nsatisfy such reasonable wishes is the chief reason why the present pages\nare modestly presented to his brethren by\n\nTHE AUTHOR.\n\n\n\n\n                           TABLE OF CONTENTS\n\n\nTHE RETREAT\n\nPreface iii\n\nPreparatory Consideration 1\n\nFIRST DAY\n\nFirst Meditation\u2014End of Man 8\n\nSecond Meditation\u2014End of Creatures 12\n\nConsideration\u2014End of the Religious Life 14\n\nThird Meditation\u2014Indifference to Creatures 20\n\nSECOND DAY\n\nFirst Meditation\u2014Sin 26\n\nSecond Meditation\u2014One\u2019s Own Sins 30\n\nConsideration\u2014Confession of the Retreat 33\n\nThird Meditation\u2014Eternal Loss 37\n\nTHIRD DAY\n\nFirst Meditation\u2014Preparation for Death 42\n\nSecond Meditation\u2014The Particular Judgment 44\n\nConsideration\u2014Purity of Conscience 48\n\nThird Meditation\u2014To Excite Perfect Contrition 53\n\nFOURTH DAY\n\nFirst Meditation\u2014The Kingdom of Christ 57\n\nSecond Meditation\u2014The Incarnation 60\n\nConsideration\u2014The Imitation of Christ 64\n\nThird Meditation\u2014The Birth of Christ 70\n\nFIFTH DAY\n\nFirst Meditation\u2014The Flight Into Egypt 74\n\nSecond Meditation\u2014The Private Life of Christ 77\n\nConsideration\u2014The Imitation of Christ\u2019s Private Life 81\n\nThird Meditation\u2014The Public Life of Christ 87\n\nSIXTH DAY\n\nFirst Meditation\u2014The Two Standards 91\n\nSecond Meditation\u2014The Three Degrees of Humility 94\n\nConsideration\u2014Temptations 97\n\nThird Meditation\u2014Three Classes of Men 102\n\nSEVENTH DAY\n\nFirst Meditation\u2014The Sufferings of Christ in the Garden 106\n\nSecond Meditation\u2014Christ\u2019s Sufferings Before His Judges 109\n\nConsideration\u2014Generosity in the Service of God 112\n\nThird Meditation\u2014The Death of Christ 118\n\nEIGHTH DAY\n\nFirst Meditation\u2014The Resurrection of Christ 121\n\nSecond Meditation\u2014Christ\u2019s Ascension into Heaven 124\n\nConsideration\u2014The Spirit of Love 127\n\nThird Meditation\u2014Divine Love 133\n\n\n\n\n                           INDEX TO TRIDUUMS\n\n\nTRIDUUM A.\n\nMeditation I\u2014On the Desire of Perfection 138\n\nMeditation II\u2014In What Perfection Consists 140\n\nMeditation III\u2014Christ the Model of Perfection 143\n\nMeditation IV\u2014The Need of Prayer to Attain Perfection 145\n\nMeditation V\u2014The Power of Prayer to Obtain Perfection 148\n\nMeditation VI\u2014The Aid of Mary to Attain Perfection 150\n\nTRIDUUM B.\n\nMeditation I\u2014On the Vows 153\n\nMeditation II\u2014On Renovation of the Vows 155\n\nMeditation III\u2014What Kind of Men Does Our Vocation Require? 157\n\nMeditation IV\u2014Christ Is Here to Help Us 160\n\nMeditation V\u2014The Holy Ghost Sanctifies Us 163\n\nMeditation VI\u2014Effects Produced by the Holy Ghost 165\n\nTRIDUUM C.\n\nMeditation I\u2014The Need of Frequent Renovations of Spirit 169\n\nMeditation II\u2014Sin the Chief Hindrance to Our Progress 171\n\nMeditation III\u2014Fidelity in Little Things 174\n\nMeditation IV\u2014The Observance of Our Rules 177\n\nMeditation V\u2014Zeal for Souls 179\n\nMeditation VI\u2014Devotion to the Blessed Virgin 181\n\nTRIDUUM D.\n\nMeditation I\u2014The Purpose of this Triduum 185\n\nMeditation II\u2014The Interior Spirit 187\n\nMeditation III\u2014The Interior Spirit Fostered by Faith 190\n\nMeditation IV\u2014The Interior Spirit Fostered by Hope 193\n\nMeditation V\u2014The Interior Spirit Fostered by Charity 195\n\nMeditation VI\u2014The Interior Spirit Fostered by the Holy Ghost 198\n\nTRIDUUM E.\n\nMeditation I\u2014Preparation for the Triduum 201\n\nMeditation II\u2014The Field Ripe for the Harvest 203\n\nMeditation III\u2014Fraternal Charity 205\n\nMeditation IV\u2014The Spirit of Sacrifice 208\n\nMeditation V\u2014Become Men of Prayer 211\n\nMeditation VI\u2014The Vine and the Branches 214\n\nTRIDUUM F.\n\nMeditation I\u2014On the Vows 217\n\nMeditation II\u2014The Vow of Chastity 219\n\nMeditation III\u2014The Vow of Obedience 222\n\nMeditation IV\u2014Strength of Character 225\n\nMeditation V\u2014Co-operation with Grace 227\n\nMeditation VI\u2014The Perfection of Our Actions 230\n\n\n\n\nTHE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF ST. IGNATIUS\n\n\n                       PREPARATORY CONSIDERATION\n\n\n                                   I\n\n\nThe days of the retreat are the most important in the year. 1. _The most\nimportant for the Exercitant_; for his principal duty and highest\ninterest are the salvation and spiritual progress of his own soul: \u201cSeek\nye first the Kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall\nbe added unto you.\u201d What would it profit any of us to convert even\nthousands, if he loses his own soul? And if any one imagines that his\nown salvation is already secured, and no longer needs his principal\ncare, he is a very ignorant or a conceited man.\n\n2. _These days are the most important for the salvation of our\nneighbor_; since, the more one becomes a man of God, as a good retreat\ntends to make him, the better he will do the work of God. And the\nsalvation of souls is pre-eminently the work of God, not that of human\ntalent or industry.\n\n3. _They are the most important for the glory of God_; since the glory\nwe render to God is in proportion to our holiness, the purity of our\nintentions, the ardor of our love and our other virtues; the increase of\nall of which is the direct purpose of the retreat.\n\n\n                                   II\n\n\nThe yearly retreat is important for all religious, whatever be the\nspiritual condition of their souls.\n\n1. _Those who are leading fervent lives_ are likely to receive during it\nspecial lights and graces enabling them to draw nearer to their Divine\nLord; _Amice, ascende superius_, \u201cFriend, come up higher.\u201d The Holy\nGhost is ever laboring at the sanctification of souls, of such\nespecially as show themselves deserving of peculiar love by their\nfaithful co-operation. Now this fidelity is most strikingly exhibited\nwhen we abandon all earthly cares to devote our whole hearts to the\nloving worship of the Lord, as we do in a retreat.\n\n2. _Such souls as are gradually allowing their fervor to cool_ amidst\nthe distracting cares of an active life stand in special need of the\nSpiritual Exercises, to arrest their downward course.\n\nWhen one runs down a hill, his descent is accelerated by his own weight,\nand he needs special help to avoid a serious fall. Such is the case of\nthose who are losing their fervor, and a good retreat provides the\nremedy.\n\n3. _If any have unfortunately already lost their balance_, and are\nhurrying along to destruction by the commission of serious faults, or by\nyielding to a no less dangerous tendency to tepidity, a good retreat is\nalmost the only way of saving them from ruin. In connection with these\nthoughts it is well to reflect that some one of our annual retreats will\nbe our last; it may be the present one. Many of those who made the\nretreat last year are now in eternity; and not a few of them saw no more\nreason then to expect so early an end than we do now.\n\n\n                                  III\n\n\nIt is very consoling for those who enter on these Spiritual Exercises to\nremember that their efficacy for good is far greater than men are apt to\nimagine; they are not merely human, but in some respects Divine; hence\ntheir extraordinary power to sanctify us.\n\n1. _These exercises are Divine in the truths they teach us_; for they\nconsist chiefly of meditations on the word of God; and the word of God\nis the seed of salvation: _Semen est verbum Dei_. It is not the learning\nof philosophers or scientists that brings us eternal life, but the\nteachings of Christ; and these are the power working in the retreat.\n\n2. _These Exercises are Divine in the principal director_ who conducts\nthem; for in them the Spirit of God instructs and enlightens the soul of\nthe exercitant and sanctifies it. The printed page containing these\nteachings, or the Father Master who explains them is not the chief power\nat work during the retreat, no more than the audible voice of Christ\nconverted and sanctified the souls of His hearers. God speaks to our\nheart in the retreat, saying, \u201cHear, O my people, and I will speak.... I\nam God, thy God\u201d (Ps. 49).\n\n3. Not only the several truths considered during these days are the word\nof God, but the _whole plan of these Spiritual Exercises is in a true\nsense Divine_. For no one who is familiar with the facts of St.\nIgnatius\u2019 life can believe that he had acquired, at the time when he\nproduced this masterpiece of sacred wisdom, such knowledge of the\nspiritual life as it exhibits on every page. When he came to Manresa, he\nwas a mere novice in spirituality. And in fact he himself always felt\nconvinced that he owed these Exercises to Divine illumination. Thus, as\nBartoli relates, \u201con one occasion the Saint confessed to Father Laynez\nthat one hour of prayer at Manresa had taught him more concerning\nspiritual things than he could have learned from the instructions of the\nwisest doctors\u201d (Life, I. p. 57).\n\nThe object which this unique book has accomplished was to reduce the\ndirection of soul to a science, that bases on certain principles of\nfaith an exact and positive method, which, guided by the rules\nprescribed, insures almost infallible success. Considering the\ncircumstances in which it was written we cannot but attribute this work\nto superhuman aid. Hence its wonderful efficiency, testified to by\ncountless witnesses, and continued in the experience of three centuries\ntill the present day.\n\n\n                                   IV\n\n\nHence the _high esteem in which these Spiritual Exercises are held_ by\nthe best judges in such matters. For instance, when the learned Pope Leo\nXIII wished to select the best means by which he might prepare himself\nand his domestic prelates to gain the plenary indulgence of the jubilee\nyear 1900, he had two of our Fathers conduct in his palace the Exercises\nof the retreat; and, at his advanced age of over 90 years, he attended\nin person nearly all the meditations. His successor, Pope Pius X, gave\nsimilar marks of his esteem for these Exercises. There exists in our\nsociety a venerable tradition, which seems to date back to the earliest\nyears of the Institute, to the effect that St. Ignatius was specially\nassisted by the Blessed Mother of God in composing his unique\nmasterpiece. The inhabitants of Manresa, some years after his death,\nembodied this tradition in a beautiful painting, which they placed in\nthe cave, representing him as kneeling before the figure of the Blessed\nMother and Child, with his eyes fixed upon her lips, and his right hand\nextended as if ready to write what she dictated to him.\n\nFather Henry Watrigant, S. J., relates that this tradition has been\nconfirmed at various times by well authenticated revelations. Thus he\nsays: \u201cThe venerable Father Louis de Ponte narrates that, when in the\nyear 1600 Ours entered on their annual retreat, his penitent, the\nvenerable Marina de Escobar, also began her retreat; and the Archangel\nGabriel appeared to her and said that the Blessed Virgin Mary had been\nas it were the foundress of those Exercises, having instructed St.\nIgnatius to put them in that form.\u201d\n\n\n                                   V\n\n\nHaving now understood what efficiency is attached to a good retreat, we\nnaturally ask ourselves _what we must do to secure these precious\nresults_. We must:\n\n1. Enter seriously into that deep recollection which is the proper\natmosphere for a retreat, avoiding during it all unnecessary intercourse\nwith the outside world.\n\n\u201cGod and I\u201d should be the only objects of my thoughts; all else is a\nhindrance to perfect success.\n\n2. We must diligently apply our mental powers to master the truths\nproposed to us; for that purpose St. Ignatius bids us occupy ourselves\nduring a full hour in each of the meditations or contemplations\nassigned. He adds that, \u201cin time of desolation, the exercitant, in order\nto go against the desolation, and to overcome the temptation, must\nalways remain a short time beyond the full hour, so as to accustom\nhimself, not only to resist the enemy, but even to overthrow him\u201d (Ann.\n13).\n\n3. In the 5th Annotation the Saint says: \u201cIt will much benefit him who\nis receiving the Exercises to enter upon them with a large heart and\nwith liberality towards the Creator and Lord, offering all his desires\nand liberty to Him, in order that His Divine Majesty may make use of his\nperson and of all he possesses according to His most holy will.\u201d He says\nelsewhere: \u201cThe more liberal one shall show himself towards God, the\nmore liberal he shall find God towards him, and the more fit he shall\ndaily be to receive in greater abundance His graces and spiritual gifts\u201d\n(Rule 19).\n\n4. Both during the meditations and at all other times of prayer, great\nfervor should be employed to obtain from the Lord those copious graces\nwhich He has in store for us, and which He desires to bestow; but it is\na general law of His providence that they must be eagerly asked for, and\nto the best of our power deserved by our efforts and co-operation.\n\nIf these means are diligently employed, we can indulge a quiet\nconfidence of great results; for the Lord does not invite us to a rich\nbanquet without providing for the full satisfaction of His guests.\n\n\n\n\n                             THE FIRST DAY\n\n\nThe first day of the retreat is mainly devoted to what St. Ignatius\ncalls \u201c_The Principle and Foundation_.\u201d\n\nChrist bids us act like \u201ca wise man that built his house upon a\nrock,\u2014and it fell not because it was founded on a rock\u201d (St. Matth. vii,\n24). The truth now considered is the rock on which the whole structure\nof our spirituality is to be built. Bartoli, in his life of St.\nIgnatius, narrates that a learned Doctor of the University of Paris,\nMartin Olave, used to say that one single hour spent in meditating on\nthis foundation had taught him more than long years of theological\nstudies. Such too has been the experience of many others. Father Everard\nMercurian spoke of this foundation as alone sufficient to effect the\nmost astonishing changes in a soul, by uprooting all its earthly\naffections and directing its desires to God alone.\n\n\n\n\n                          THE FIRST MEDITATION\n                           On the End of Man\n\n\nThe first part of the Foundation is: \u201c_Man was created to praise,\nreverence and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul._\u201d\n\nTo begin any of our meditations well, St. Ignatius bids us stand, for\nthe space of a _Pater Noster_, one or two paces from the place at which\nwe are to meditate, and with our mind raised on high, consider how God\nlooks down upon us, and then adore Him with an act of reverence and\nself-humiliation.\n\nThen follows the _Preparatory Prayer_, which is also the same for all\nthe meditations. It is to ask our Lord for grace that all the acts of\nour memory, our understanding and our will may throughout the meditation\ntend directly to the service and praise of the Divine Majesty.\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine your Blessed Saviour appears before you, looking\nlovingly on you and saying: \u201cMy son, I am now going to teach you the\nfirst truth in the spiritual life.\u201d\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg that you may understand this truth as the Saints have\nunderstood it.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider the words, \u201c_Man was created._\u201d\n\n1. \u201c_Man._\u201d What is man? Compared to God, man is a mere nothing, like a\nlittle gnat flitting in the sunshine; yet among material things man is a\nmasterpiece, endowed with the most wonderful powers and potentialities.\nMan is like a musical instrument, from which the Divine Spirit can draw\nthe most exquisite harmony, as He has done from millions of saintly\nsouls. But if not responsive to His touch, it gives out harsh and false\nsounds, marring the harmony of God\u2019s world. A man may live like an\nAngel, or like a demon or like a brute animal.\n\n2. Man was \u201c_created_,\u201d that is, made out of nothing, for so was the\nworld; now even a savage understands that the thing made belongs to the\nmaker. Therefore I belong to God; He can do with me and require of me\nwhat He pleases.\n\n_POINT II._ Consider what God requires of man. If God has made man for a\npurpose, He certainly requires of him to work for that purpose. But God\ncan do nothing without a purpose, a purpose worthy of Himself; His\nwisdom requires that. Now He alone is worthy of Himself; therefore He\ndirected all things to Himself, as the Book of Proverbs says: \u201cThe Lord\nhath made all things for Himself\u201d (xvi, 4).\n\nIt is not that God needs any creature; for being all perfect He is\nself-sufficient; but right order requires that He make all His creatures\ntend to Him.\n\nHow then must all creatures tend to God? By glorifying Him; that is by\n_praising, reverencing and serving God_.\n\n1. _Praising God._ To praise God is to show forth and proclaim His\nexcellence. The Psalms are full of such praises; for instance Psalm 116:\n\u201cPraise the Lord, all ye nations, praise Him all ye people.\u201d We must not\nlive then to exalt ourselves, or to get others to praise us, but render\nall honor to God, to whom it all belongs.\n\n2. _Reverencing God_, worshipping Him, as we do when we pray. Thus the\nAngels in Heaven ever do, crying out; \u201cHoly, Holy, Holy Lord God\nAlmighty\u201d (Ap. iv, 8). Thus we put statues of Angels on the altar to\nexpress our reverence for the Blessed Sacrament. Thus we should express\nour reverence for God whenever we speak to Him in prayer. How do I pray\nhabitually? With what reverence of bodily posture and of mental\nattitude? We should thus make our meditations practical.\n\n3. _Serving God._ To serve another is to do his bidding; we are then\ncreated to be ever at the disposal of God, to obey Him whenever He makes\nknown His will: \u201cIf you love me, keep my commandments,\u201d He says.\n\n_POINT III._ Consider the further consequences of our praise, reverence\nand service of God; \u201c_And by these means to save his soul_,\u201d that is to\nattain eternal happiness.\n\nThe good God has so wisely and bountifully ordained all things that by\nglorifying Him we glorify ourselves and reach the fulfilment of all our\ndesires. But by refusing to glorify Him we degrade and utterly ruin\nourselves.\n\nNow we are made free to do the one or the other. This freedom is a\nwonderful gift, a glorious gift in one way, making us like to God and\ncapable of securing our own bliss forever, with God\u2019s grace, of course:\nbut on the other hand putting on us a terrible responsibility. No other\npower on earth can control a man\u2019s liberty. When St. Agnes, a mere child\nof 13 years, refused to do wrong, the whole power of the Roman Empire\ncould not bend her will; on the other hand, the influence of the holiest\neducation cannot make a child virtuous without its free co-operation.\n\nCan a man then, by refusing to serve God, deprive the Creator of the\nglory that he was intended to render Him? Certainly not; but he can\nfreely choose to glorify the goodness of God by faithful service, thus\nsecuring at the same time perfect happiness for himself, or choose to\nglorify God\u2019s justice by his eternal punishment.\n\n_Colloquy_ with God Almighty, my Creator, and with Christ, my Redeemer;\nthat I may do my full duty and secure eternal bliss.\n\n\n                         THE SECOND MEDITATION\n                        On the End of Creatures\n\n\nThe second part of the foundation says: \u201c_And the other things upon the\nface of the earth were created for man, and to help him to attain the\nend for which he was created. Whence it follows that man must make use\nof them in so far as they help him to attain his end; and in the same\nway he ought to withdraw himself from them in so far as they hinder him\nfrom it._\u201d\n\nThe task of the exercitant is three-fold:\n\n1. Intellectual: he must strive to understand the truths proposed\ncorrectly, clearly and fully;\n\n2. Practical: he must apply the truths to his own conduct;\n\n3. Prayerful: so as to obtain aid from Heaven to succeed in both these\nrespects.\n\n_The Preparatory Prayer_ is the same as in the first meditation. It is\nso too in all the following meditations. It will not be necessary to\nremind the exercitant of this in the subsequent exercises.\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you behold our Dear Lord before you, who says:\n\u201cMy son, I will now teach you the second truth of the spiritual life.\u201d\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Grant, O Dear Lord, that I may understand it fully and\nlearn from it how to improve my conduct.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider these words: \u201c_The other things upon the face of the\nearth are created for man_:\u201d and man for God. Here is a clear exhibition\nof God\u2019s wisdom; the inanimate is for the vegetable world, the vegetable\nfor the animal, and all for man; inferior things are for the real good\nof superior ones. I am not then created for material enjoyment: _Ad\nmajora natus sum_, \u201cI am born for greater things,\u201d I must not degrade\nmyself by the perverse gratification of my animal nature.\n\n_POINT II._ Consider the words: \u201c_And in order to attain the end for\nwhich he was created_.\u201d How do the other things aid man to attain his\nend? In various ways.\n\nSome things need only be considered to raise man\u2019s heart to God and\nprompt him to reverence the Divine Majesty. \u201cThe heavens show forth the\nglory of God, and the firmament declares the work of his hands,\u201d etc.\n(Ps. 18).\n\nOther creatures are for the use of man, as food, drink, clothing, etc.\nOthers are to be endured, that he may practise submission to God\u2019s holy\nwill; such as excessive heat and cold, sickness, death, etc. Others are\nto be abstained from, as was the forbidden fruit in Paradise.\n\nEverything thus becomes for man a stepping stone to Heaven.\n\n_POINT III._ \u201c_Whence it follows that man must make use of them in so\nfar as they help him to attain his end; and in the same way he ought to\nwithdraw himself from them in as far as they hinder him from it._\u201d\n\nConsider how this rule may be observed or violated. For instance, (a) In\nour use of food and drink. The relish attached to the use of them is\ngood as a means to promote our health; but under its influence excess is\noften committed, by which health may be injured, disease contracted and\nlife shortened. Am I always blameless in this respect?\n\n(b) Sleep may be excessive and lead to the neglect of duty.\n\n(c) The study of nature, of the sciences and the fine arts may greatly\npromote the glory of God and indirectly the good of souls, and it may be\nwrong to neglect it; but it may also be abused; it is only a means, and\nmust not be made an end in itself, to the neglect of our true end.\n\n(d) Such too is the reading of literature or of the news of the day.\n\n(e) Such is our intercourse with superiors, our brethren and outsiders.\nThe bee gathers honey, the spider poison from the same plant.\n\n_Colloquy_, asking grace to use all things wisely.\n\n\n                             CONSIDERATION\n                    On the End of the Religious Life\n\n\n                                   I\n\n\nWhen we consider the conduct of men generally, we see at a glance that\nthe lives of vast numbers of them are not in conformity with the truths\nwe have been studying; and we are reminded of the words of Christ: \u201cWide\nis the gate and broad the way that leadeth to destruction, and many\nthere are that go in thereat. How narrow is the gate and straight the\nway that leadeth to life, and few there are that find it\u201d (St. Matth.\nvii, 13, 14). Of course the way of salvation, owing to His preaching and\nHis merits, is now much wider than when He spoke those words; but yet it\nappears to be, through men\u2019s own fault, much narrower than it should be.\nWhat is the condition of religious in this respect? It is well worth\nwhile to examine what is the effect of our religious vocation on the\nmost important of all our interests, the attaining of the end for which\nwe were created. Now it is clear that the religious life offers many\ngreat advantages for that purpose.\n\n1. We are created to _praise, reverence and serve_ God. Now the\nreligious life is entirely directed to these objects. 1. We are\nconstantly employed in the promotion of the _praise_ and glory of God:\nall our labors are directed to it; the place we live in, the occupations\nassigned us and all the circumstances of them are selected with a view\nof this purpose.\n\n2. The _reverence_ shown to God is continually fostered by a long\nsuccession of common and private prayers, Holy Masses, recitation of the\nDivine Office, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, etc., from morning till\nnight, day after day, year after year, till death.\n\n3. The _service_ of God, the accomplishment of His holy will, is not\nconfined to the observance of His Commandments and those of His Church;\nbut, by adding the rules of the Order, the will of God is made known and\naccomplished in all the details of life.\n\nThus the religious is constantly occupied with the praise, reverence and\nservice of God. His heart is not divided between different objects of\nhis love: \u201cHe that is without a wife,\u201d says St. Paul, \u201cis solicitous for\nthe things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God; but he that\nis with a wife is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may\nplease his wife; and he is divided\u201d (I Cor. vii, 32, 33).\n\nThe condition of mind in religious is _like that of the Blessed Angels_,\nwho are busy with God and the things of God. It is _like that of the\nHoly Family_ while it abode on earth; so that a religious house is a\ncopy of the Holy House of Nazareth.\n\nAnd all this is not to last for a little while only, but for a whole\nlifetime; for the religious vows give stability and permanence for all\nyears to come.\n\nTherefore this sacrifice is compared by theologians to _a holocaust_,\nthe most perfect of the ancient sacrifices, in which, namely, the whole\nvictim was consumed in the fire. Thus one religious is likely to do more\nthan a number of seculars for the praise and reverence and service of\nGod.\n\n\n                                   II\n\n\n_And by these means the religious easily saves his soul_, thus attaining\nthe second end for which he was created. The good Lord has promised this\nin so many words. For he said: \u201cEvery one that hath left house, or\nbrethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or\nlands, for my sake, shall receive a hundred fold and shall possess life\neverlasting\u201d (St. Matth. xix, 29).\n\nThe hundred fold mentioned in this promise is not to be passed over\nlightly. For although it constitutes no portion of the eternal life of\nwhich we are speaking, still it is intimately connected with it. For it\nembraces a multitude of heavenly graces: a Divine protection in dangers,\na peace of soul that the world cannot give; all of which make the\nattainment of eternal life far more easy than it usually is outside of\nthe religious state.\n\nWith this prospect of eternal bliss for ourselves is united the special\nefficiency which the good Lord deigns to bestow on religious to procure\nthe salvation of many souls. True, the exercise of the sacred ministry,\nwith the sacramental power, is the ordinary channel of sanctification\nestablished by Christ in His Church; but there is a special efficiency\nin personal virtue to bring souls nearer to God; and the direct purpose\nand effect of the religious life is to increase personal holiness. The\narchenemy of man knows well who are the most successful in saving souls,\nand those he opposes with all his power. The fact that religious are\nmore fiercely hated and opposed by the enemies of God, clearly shows\nthat they produce more fruit in souls.\n\n\n                                  III\n\n\nOf course the religious life has its hardships, it is _a life of\nsacrifice_; but that is its honor and its recommendation to a noble\nsoul: \u201cThe kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it\naway\u201d (St. Matth. xi, 12). All the Saints have led lives of sacrifice,\nlike their Divine Master: \u201cJesus said to His disciples: If any man will\ncome after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow\nme\u201d (Ib. xvi, 24).\n\nTo aid us in carrying the cross of the religious life cheerfully, let us\nreflect what _magnificent prizes_ are held out to us.\n\n1. There is the bright _crown of virginity_, with the distinguished\nprivilege of more intimate union with Jesus in Heaven. \u201cThese are they\nwho were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These follow the\nLamb whithersoever He goeth\u201d (Apoc. xiv, 4).\n\n2. There is also the glory of being seated, with Christ, on the\n_judgment seat_, when He will come in His Majesty on the clouds of\nheaven: they are to judge the world, rather than to be judged. Thus at\nleast the Venerable Bede explains the promise made by Christ to His\nApostles, which for a parity of reason, he extends to religious: \u201cAmen I\nsay to you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the\nSon of Man shall sit on the seat of His Majesty, you also shall sit on\ntwelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel\u201d (St. Matth. xix, 28).\n\n3. Another most valuable advantage of the religious life lies in the\n_protection_ it affords against dangerous temptations to sin. True, as\nlong as we live upon earth we may fall from grace, and forfeit, through\nour own grievous fault, the rich store of merit so far accumulated and\nour right to eternal bliss: \u201cHe that thinketh himself to stand, let him\ntake heed lest he fall,\u201d writes the Apostle (I Cor. x, 12). The best a\nman can do is to surround himself with such securities as lessen the\nassaults from without and strengthen the will within him. And such is\nundoubtedly the religious life. Its vows of poverty, chastity and\nobedience cut off the fiercest assaults of man\u2019s triple enemy, the\nworld, the Devil and the flesh; and its constant practices of piety and\nmortification provide a copious supply of Heavenly assistance to resist\ntemptations.\n\nTherefore _St. Bernard draws this consoling picture_ of religion: \u201cIt is\na state,\u201d he says, \u201cin which man lives with more purity, falls more\nrarely, rises more promptly, walks more securely, is more frequently\nbedewed with celestial graces, sleeps more peaceably, dies with more\nassurance, passes more quickly through Purgatory, and is more richly\nrewarded.\u201d\n\n\n                                   IV\n\n\nHowever, we must bear in mind that membership of a religious Order does\nnot necessarily secure all those advantages, and that in the same Order\nthey are _obtained by different persons in very different degrees_. The\nchief requisite to obtain them is to be a fervent religious. The more\ngenerous one shall show himself to God, says St. Ignatius, the more\ngenerous he shall find God towards him, and the more fit shall he daily\nbe to receive in greater abundance His graces and spiritual gifts. The\nrapidity of our spiritual progress is not like that of travellers in a\nship on the sea, all of whom advance at the same rate, whether they are\nwalking or sitting or lying down; but our progress is like that of men\ntravelling on a highroad, each of whom has his own rate of advancement\naccording to his own efforts.\n\nThus St. Aloysius, St. Stanislaus and St. John Berchmans advanced\nfurther in a few months than most religious do in many years.\n\nWhile we have perhaps broken strong bonds in tearing ourselves away from\nhome and kindred, let us not be attached to little things; a slender\nsilken thread is enough to keep a bird from gaining its liberty, and\nthus a little trifle may prevent us from soaring aloft to higher regions\nof sanctity. God fully deserves the love of our whole hearts, which are\ntoo small to be divided between Him and the things of earth.\n\nLet us examine ourselves during this retreat, and see whether we are\ndrawing all the profit we should from the rich treasury of our religious\nvocation.\n\n\n                          THE THIRD MEDITATION\n                      On Indifference to Creatures\n\n\nThe third part of the Foundation: \u201c_It is therefore necessary that we\nshould make ourselves indifferent to all created things, in so far as it\nis left to the liberty of our free will to do so, and is not forbidden;\nin such sort that we do not for our part wish for health rather than\nsickness, for wealth instead of poverty, for honor rather than dishonor,\nfor a long life rather than a short one, and so in all other things,\ndesiring and choosing only that which most leads us to the end for which\nwe were created._\u201d\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you see bright Angels standing before the throne\nof God, waiting to be assigned as guardians to new-born infants; they\nare perfectly indifferent to take charge of rich or poor children in any\npart of the world.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask for a like spirit of perfect indifference to all\ncreatures, caring for God alone and His holy will.\n\n_POINT I._ Let me ask myself sincerely: am I now fully convinced that I\nam in this world for no other end than to praise, reverence and serve\nGod, and thereby to save my soul? that I must use creatures only in as\nfar as they conduce to this end? This is right and just, it is highly\nuseful for me; it is necessary, the one thing necessary;\u2014all else is\nvanity; it passes away in a short time.\n\n              \u201cThe world\u2019s a stage, and men are only players,\n              They have their exits and their entrances.\u201d\n\n_POINT II._ What prevents me from always living up to that conviction?\nThe reason is that I allow myself to be influenced by various\npredilections and aversions, by my likes and dislikes for certain\nthings. If I were perfectly indifferent, as the Angels are, whose will\nhas perfect control over all their affections, then I would choose on\nall occasions only what God wills, as far as His will would be known to\nme. Can I acquire such an indifference? I cannot help feeling an\ninclination to like or dislike certain things; for it is an effect of\nthe fall of man that our passions often rebel against the spirit. But I\ncan control these promptings to a great extent, and with God\u2019s grace,\nacquire considerable power over their movements.\n\nTo strengthen this habit of control over my various inclinations is the\npurpose of the present meditation: that is meant by making myself\nindifferent to all created things.\n\nAnd still St. Ignatius wisely adds: \u201cIn as far as they are allowed me\nand not forbidden\u201d; lest the uninstructed might imagine that they might\nlawfully allow disorderly sentiments to arise within them without at\nonce driving them away.\n\nHow can I make myself indifferent? By considering the evils connected\nwith the things to which I am inclined, and the good to be derived from\nthose disliked.\n\n_POINT III._ Let me consider in detail some principal objects to which a\nman is not naturally indifferent, but he may with God\u2019s grace make\nhimself so.\n\n1. _A long life or a short life._ For all I know, my eternal salvation\nmay be much better secured if I should die soon than if I live yet many\nyears. It was so with many persons, who were holy in their youth and\nwere afterwards perverted. Therefore the Book of Wisdom says: \u201cHe\npleased God and was beloved, and living among sinners he was translated.\nHe was taken away lest wickedness should alter his understanding and\ndeceit beguile his soul\u201d (iv, 10, 11). What a blessing it would have\nbeen for a Luther or a Henry VIII to have died young. As I do not know\nwhat is best for me, I ought in all reason to leave it all to God\u2019s\ndisposal, and make myself indifferent to a long life or a short life.\n\n2. _Health or sickness._ In comparison with the salvation of my soul the\nenjoyment of health during this life is of slight importance; and common\nsense would bid me readily to resign the latter to secure the former.\nNow God alone knows when this is necessary. We read of a virtuous man in\nEngland, who made a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Thomas a\u2019 Becket to be\ncured from blindness. He was heard, and returned rejoicing to his home.\nBut he found soon after that the free use of his sight led him into many\nnew temptations. So he returned to the same shrine and begged the Saint\nthat, if it were for his greater spiritual good to be deprived of sight,\nthis might be done rather than that he should fall into mortal sin. The\nLord worked this second miracle to show what was really best for him.\n\n3. _Riches or poverty._ The young man whom the Saviour invited to sell\nall and give to the poor and then follow Him had not the courage to\nanswer the call, because he was very rich. And Jesus remarked it was\ndifficult for a rich man to save his soul. It is then very wise not to\ncare for riches, but to make one\u2019s self indifferent on this point.\n\n4. _Honor rather than dishonor._ History is full of examples of men who\nwere virtuous while in an humble station, and who, after being raised to\nhonors, became proud; now a proud man is odious in the sight of God.\n\n5. _And so of all other things._ Let me ask myself whether there is any\npoint on which I am not indifferent, and then consider how I may bend my\nmind in the opposite direction; then pray earnestly to our Lord and His\nHoly Mother to gain indifference to all created things.\n\n_POINT IV._ Let me consider what will be the good effects of attaining\nsuch indifference. They will be:\n\n1. Considerable increase in virtue; for thus my will becomes conformable\nto the will of God: I thus practise faith in His providence, and\nconfidence in His paternal care of me.\n\n2. Security from many dangers of sin, to which I should have been\nexposed if I had persisted in controlling my own fortunes.\n\n3. Quiet of mind in the happy thought that God, to whom I abandon myself\nentirely, will dispose all for the best: \u201cFor we know that to them that\nlove God all things work together unto good\u201d (Rom. viii, 28). \u201cCast thy\ncare upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee\u201d (Ps. 54). \u201cMy children,\nbehold the generations of men, and know ye that no one hath hoped in the\nLord, and hath been confounded\u201d (Ecclus. ii, 11).\n\nOn the other hand those who are not indifferent to the things of earth\nlive in constant agitation of mind, restless in the pursuit of fancied\nblessings, and disappointed when they fail to obtain them; and, what is\nstill worse, frequently exposed to the danger of sin, sometimes of\ngrievous sin, in their eagerness to obtain their desires, or in their\nreluctance to do their duty.\n\n_Colloquy._ Pray earnestly, both during the meditation, when proper\ndesires are aroused in your heart, and especially at the conclusion of\nthe meditation, that you may totally detach your affections from all\nthings created, and obtain the grace of indifference to all creatures.\n\n\n\n\n                             THE SECOND DAY\n\n\nWe have now fully understood the end, or purpose, of our creation, which\nis to praise, reverence and serve God and thereby save our souls. We\nmust next consider what will be the result if we freely refuse to live\nfor that end, and prefer to do our own will in opposition to the will of\nGod. The Lord is not going to prevent us from doing so; He will not\ninterfere with the exercise of our free will. Were a child, in the\nfervor of its first Communion, most earnestly to beseech God to let it\ndie young rather than live to commit a mortal sin, He would no doubt\ngive it additional graces to avoid sin, but He will not control the\nchild\u2019s freedom. Every one of us must carve out his own future by his\nown free choice. We know what we have to do to make that future\nsovereignly happy; and we are now to consider prayerfully what evils\nthreaten us if we refuse to do it. For this purpose we will now study\ncertain historical facts, and see how other persons have fared.\n\n\n                            FIRST MEDITATION\n                                 On Sin\n\n\nThis exercise affords a favorable opportunity to explain the ordinary\nprocess of meditation, which consists in applying to a chosen subject\nour three intellectual faculties, the memory, the understanding and the\nwill, as shall now be shown in detail.\n\n_Preparatory prayer_, as usual.\n\n_1st Prelude._ Let me imagine I behold the scene which Christ described\nsaying: \u201cI saw Satan like lightning falling from heaven\u201d (St. Luke x,\n18).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ I ask the grace to understand how severely God has\npunished the sins of others, so that I may conceive an intense dread and\nhorror of sin, especially of my own sins.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider the first sin we know of, that by which the angels\nfell. Apply to it: 1. The _memory_, recalling the facts. They were\ncreated by the same Lord that made me, and for the same end, to praise,\nreverence and serve Him, and by this means to attain eternal bliss.\nThey, like me, were put to a trial of their obedience; they were free to\nserve or no, as they chose.\n\nA multitude of the angels refused to obey: they sinned. These were cast\nout of Heaven into Hell, and punished with the direst woe forever.\n\n2. _The understanding_ takes in the striking points of analogy between\ntheir history and that of man: If they were so severely punished, what\nmust man expect when he imitates their rebellion? What a dreadful evil\nsin must be, since a good and just God hates it so. Their great number\ndid not save the angels, nor will the number of bad men be a protection;\nall men are like a little dust before the infinite God. Man\u2019s excellence\nis below that of the angels, in power, in knowledge and in all natural\ngifts. They sinned but once; perhaps I have sinned repeatedly. What must\nI think of myself? of my past? of my future?\n\n3. _My will_ is gradually moved by these and similar considerations to\ndetest sin, to dread sin, to detest myself if I have sinned, to beg God\nto spare me. I must stir up my will to hate sin more and more, to\nprotest to God my hatred of it, my self-reproach: \u201cSpare me, Oh Lord,\naccording to the multitude of thy mercies.\u201d\n\n_POINT II._ Consider the sin of our first parents. 1. _My memory_\nrecalls the facts. They were created by the same God and for the same\nend as I; they were loved by Him and placed in a garden of delights, in\nParadise, destined to enjoy the vision of God forever. They were free.\nGod allowed Satan to tempt them, as He allows him to tempt me: \u201cThe\nserpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death. For God doth\nknow that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be\nopened and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And the woman\nsaw that the tree was good, and delightful to behold: and she took of\nthe fruit thereof and did eat, and gave to her husband, who did eat\u201d\n(Gen. iii, 4-6). They were in consequence cast out of Paradise,\ncondemned to more than nine hundred years of toil and suffering, and to\ndeath, and all the evils that have befallen them and their posterity\nhave been the punishment of sin.\n\n2. _My understanding_ must weigh these facts and reason on them, so as\nto realize the boundless evil of rebelling against our sovereign Lord\nand Master. It is not only the words of God but even more His deeds that\nshow us what He is and how He acts. His severity in punishing sin in\ncreatures for which He had shown such generous love exhibits the utter\nabomination He has for moral evil.\n\n3. I must stir up _my will_ to detest that same evil, to dread my own\nweakness which exposes me to sin again, to regret my past offenses, and\nto form strong resolutions for the future, praying earnestly for God\u2019s\nhelp.\n\n_POINT III._ St. Ignatius bids us consider a third sin, namely that of\nsome person who has gone to Hell for one mortal offense. St. Liguori, in\nhis little book \u201cOn the Commandments and Sacraments,\u201d narrates a number\nof what he calls \u201cMelancholic Examples,\u201d of persons who appeared after\ndeath, and said they were damned for some one or more mortal sins which\nthey had not properly confessed. One is the case of a woman, who had\nbeen reputed to be very devout, so much so that after her death her body\nhad been treated with the greatest veneration. But the day after her\nburial she appeared to the Bishop of the place as if laid on a blazing\nfire, and she told him that she was damned on account of a mortal sin of\nthought she had concealed in confession.\n\n1. _The memory_ must recall the facts; it matters not whether they are\nwell authenticated or not, since the doctrine is certain that one mortal\nsin unpardoned is enough to damn the soul.\n\n2. _The understanding_ reasons on the case, so as to realize vividly the\nsad results of dying in sin.\n\n3. _The will_ is thus stirred up to hate sin as the greatest of all\nevils, and to avoid it at any sacrifice, according to the warning of\nChrist: \u201cIf thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from\nthee. For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should\nperish, rather than thy whole body be cast into hell\u201d (St. Matth. v,\n29).\n\n_Colloquy_ with Jesus dying for my sins upon the Cross, begging for\ngrace to repent of all past sins, and to make strong resolutions against\nfuture offenses.\n\n\n                           SECOND MEDITATION\n                           On One\u2019s Own Sins\n\n\nIt is well to remark here that, 1. The fact that St. Peter was forgiven\ndid not prevent him from mourning for his sin all the rest of his life;\n2. Many persons repine excessively under afflictions because they forget\nthat they have deserved much worse by their sins; 3. The Saints\nmortified themselves severely for small faults; 4. This meditation is\ncongenial to humble souls, like the Publican, but painful to the\nPharisee; 5. The least we can do is to detest our sins heartily and to\natone for them.\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you stand before God like the humble Publican,\nsaying: \u201cO God, have mercy on me, a sinner.\u201d\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg for an intense grief and confusion for your sins.\n\n_POINT I._ Briefly recall to memory the series of your sins, from your\nearly years, through childhood, boyhood, youth, through subsequent\nperiods of your life, noticing successive places of abode, various\noccupations, companions, etc.\n\n_POINT II._ Study to understand the evil of your sins, considering:\n\n1. _Every species of sin has its own peculiar vileness_; for instance,\nlying is so odious that its very name is offensive, stealing is still\nworse, so that one caught in a theft is disgraced for life, gluttony is\ndisgraceful, pride is odious to God and man, envy is mean, profanity is\nprovoking to the great and holy God, deceit is despicable, vanity is\nridiculous, impurity lowers a man beneath the brute, etc.\n\n2. _Every sin is an insult to God._ When a person insults his equal, he\nincurs his displeasure and deserves punishment; more so when he insults\nhis superior; and the offense is the greater in proportion as the party\ninsulted is more distinguished and the offender lower in comparison. Now\nconsider how great is God, who is insulted, compared to man, who insults\nHim:\n\na. The meanness of man. What is one man compared to a thousand men, to a\nthousand thousand, or million men? Like a little gnat flitting in the\nsunshine. And what are a million men compared to the one thousand five\nhundred millions of men now inhabiting the earth? And what are all these\ntogether compared to all the former and the future generations? And what\nare all men compared to the Angels of God?\n\nAnd what are all creatures compared to the Creator Himself? Less than a\ndrop of water compared to the vast ocean. What then am I compared to\nGod? And yet, if I have ever sinned, I have put myself above God, my\nwill above His will. If then I have often sinned, what punishment have I\nnot deserved?\n\nb. See the meanness of the body of man, which corrupts all it uses, and\nneeds constant care to keep it from becoming insupportable, even to\nitself. See how death degrades it, how even sickness degrades it. And\nthe soul of man: see how it is ever inclined to conceive and foster evil\nthoughts and desires, how it prompts to evil words and actions; so that\nSt. Ignatius, who had been a proud soldier, when he came to know himself\nbetter, looked on himself as a running ulcer flowing with corruption.\nAnd yet in sinning, this vile being, man, rises up to insult God.\n\nc. On the other hand consider the greatness of God, by comparison with\nthe littleness of man: compare His power with man\u2019s weakness, His\nknowledge with man\u2019s ignorance, His eternity with man\u2019s short span of\nlife, His bounty with man\u2019s selfishness, etc.\n\n_POINT III._ I will arouse my will to detest my sinfulness, indignant\nagainst myself, and wondering that God continues to bear with me, to\nfavor me, to have His Angels protect me, the earth support me; and He\nforbids all men to injure me, commands them to love me.\n\n_Colloquy_ with my crucified Lord, begging His mercy and His pardon.\n\n\n                             CONSIDERATION\n                    On the Confession of the Retreat\n\n\nThe direct purpose of the first days of the retreat is to purify the\nsoul of all guilt of sin and all attachment to sin. For this purpose the\nSacrament of Penance is the most efficient means, and the confession of\nsins is an integral part of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.\n\n\n                                   I\n\n\n_Confession may be of three kinds_: a general confession of one\u2019s whole\nlife, or a considerable portion of one\u2019s life; the ordinary, or weekly\nconfession; and thirdly the annual or semi-annual review, which is of\nrule in many religious institutions.\n\n1. _A general confession_ is obligatory if the preceding confessions\nhave been badly made; it is useful at the age when a child has been\nfully instructed in its religious duties; when a person enters on a\npermanent state of life, and perhaps once more, when one approaches the\nportals of eternity. The anxiety entertained by some souls to repeat\ntheir general confessions over and over again is most unreasonable; it\nfosters scrupulosity and is injurious to spiritual progress.\n\n2. _In the ordinary, or weekly, confessions_, which, in the case of\nreligious, rarely include a mortal sin, earnest care must be taken that\none or more real sins, recently or formerly committed, be confessed, so\nthat matter be presented for absolution; and also that there be elicited\nan act of supernatural contrition for those sins, or at least for some\none of them. Else the Sacrament would be invalid, for real supernatural\ncontrition is one of its essential parts.\n\n3. _An annual or semi-annual review_ of the weekly confessions affords\nmarked advantages, especially when it is made during the retreat: a.\nFaults are thus likely to be noticed which attracted little attention at\nother times. As when a ray of sunshine enters into a rather dark room,\nand reveals more dust on the furniture than was noticed before, so the\nDivine light of grace, entering the soul during the Exercises, discovers\nvarious defects of which there had been no clear perception. That is a\ngood occasion to obtain pardon for them.\n\nb. When our faults are thus seen together, they are apt to arouse more\ncontrition, and thus secure more entire pardon.\n\nc. Such a review gives us a clearer knowledge of ourselves and shows us\nwhat defects we should chiefly labor to correct.\n\n\n                                   II\n\n\n_To prepare for such a review_, we should consider those sins especially\nwhich are more likely to be committed by religious. In mentioning them\nwe shall follow the order of the Decalogue.\n\n_The First Commandment_ regards the worship of God. Under this head come\nwilful distractions or negligences in prayer, which may spoil\nconsiderable parts of our spiritual exercises; disrespectful handling of\nholy things, and the unworthy reception of the Sacraments. This last sin\nis of course rare among religious, but very grievous if it should occur;\nfor it bears the guilt of sacrilege.\n\n_The Second Commandment_ requires the observance of our vows. The vow of\npoverty is violated when a religious disposes of any temporal goods\nwithout permission of his superior, acting as if it were his own\nproperty. That of chastity attaches to the violation of the sixth and\nninth commandments the additional guilt of sacrilege. The vow of\nobedience is violated when a religious refuses or neglects to do what he\nis commanded to do under obedience, or does what he is thus forbidden.\n\n_The Third Commandment_ is not likely to be violated by religious.\n\n_The Fourth Commandment_ obliges subjects to reverence and obey their\nsuperiors when they mean to impose an obligation of conscience; and they\nmust be supposed to mean it when the good of souls or the glory of God\nrequires them thus to use their authority. A precept of obedience in\nvirtue of the vow is rarely imposed; but commands in matters of some\nimportance derive from the natural law power to oblige any subjects to\nobey their lawful superiors, independently of any vow. If serious\nconsequences are likely to follow from the violation of the command, the\nsin may be grievous.\n\n_The Fifth Commandment_ says: \u201cThou shalt not kill,\u201d and forbids all\nwilful injury to another\u2019s or to one\u2019s own body. Of course religious are\nnot likely to injure others violently; but this commandment may be\nviolated in many other ways. One may neglect his own health or injure it\nby indiscretion in the use of food and drink, thus bringing on diseases\nby which many a life is shortened. A superior or an infirmarian may\nneglect the proper care of sick or delicate persons, a pastor or teacher\nthat of school children, etc. Injury done to the souls of others by\nscandal, or bad example, may also be considered under this commandment;\nand there are very many ways of giving scandal.\n\nThe Fifth Commandment also forbids quarrelling, unreasonable anger,\nhatred and revenge. A religious teacher, for instance, must be careful\nthat, when obliged to punish children, he does not allow himself to be\nprompted by passion; and revenge is totally opposed to the spirit of\nChrist.\n\n_The Sixth Commandment_ forbids any act of impurity wilfully committed;\nand it has this peculiarity that it admits of no slight matter, but the\nsin is always grievous when the impure pleasure is sought or admitted\nwith full knowledge and full consent.\n\n_The Seventh Commandment_ forbids stealing and all injustice done to\nothers in their material possessions. The religious state is a strong\nprotection against these sins; still it does not make them impossible.\nIt may happen that a religious does not fulfill all the conditions of a\ncontract; as for instance, when a teacher neglects his class or some of\nhis pupils, so that these do not really get the value of the tuition\ncharges.\n\n_The Eighth Commandment_ enjoins both truthfulness and regard for\nanother\u2019s good name. A lie is never allowed, and mental reservations\nmust not be used but for good reasons, lest human intercourse lose the\ncharm and security of mutual confidence.\n\nAny lessening of another\u2019s good name without sufficient reason is\nsinful, and it is doubly so when the accusation is false; even a rash\njudgment or suspicion is wrong, yet it may be mistaken without being\nrash. The great rule is: \u201cSee thou never do to another what thou wouldst\nhate to have done to thee by another\u201d (Tob. iv, 16).\n\n_The Ninth and Tenth Commandments_ forbid sinful thoughts and desires in\nmatters forbidden by the Sixth and Seventh Commandments. On this point\nSt. Ignatius remarks that when an evil thought is promptly dismissed,\nthere is merit, not sin; and if it returns again and again and is always\nresisted, there is more and more merit. But a venial sin is committed\nwhen one listens to the evil suggestion so as to dwell a little on it,\nor to admit some carnal delight, or to be somewhat negligent in\nrejecting it. A grievous sin supposes that the thought or desire is\nfully consented to.\n\n\n                          THE THIRD MEDITATION\n                            On Eternal Loss\n\n\n_Remarks_: The purpose of the first days of the Exercises being to\ninspire an intense and lasting hatred of sin, it is highly proper that\nwe should meditate on the principal punishment of sin, the eternal loss\nof the soul, the pains of Hell. Many Saints have been led to Heaven by\nthe road of fear, some religious Orders acknowledge this as their chief\nspirit. No one can afford to do without the fear of God; we should all\nnourish it; so that, if ever our love of God should be too weak to keep\nus from sin, the fear of Hell may restrain us. We descend into that\nabyss in thought at present, that we may not hereafter be cast into it\nin reality.\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you see in the center of the earth a vast ocean\nof fire, in which are plunged countless souls condemned to eternal\npunishment.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg earnestly from your Sovereign Lord for an intense and\nabiding fear of those awful sufferings and for a firm purpose of never\nsinning again.\n\n_POINT I._ Recall to memory what we know of Hell; in particular:\n\n1. That its existence and its dreadful nature are as clearly revealed in\nHoly Writ as any truth whatever. For instance, Christ said: \u201cIf thy eye\nscandalize thee, pluck it out. It is better for thee with one eye to\nenter into the kingdom of God, than having two eyes to be cast into the\nhell of fire; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not\nextinguished. For every one shall be salted with fire\u201d (St. Mark ix, 46,\n48). Then there is the parable of Dives and Lazarus (St. Luke, xvi,\n19-31).\n\n2. That Hell awaits all those who die in mortal sin, whatever they may\nhave been in life, religious or seculars, bishops or priests.\n\n3. That vast multitudes go there: \u201cBroad is the way that leadeth to\ndestruction, and many there are who go in thereat\u201d (St. Matth. vii, 13).\n\nMany who were supposed to be holy. See St. Liguori, \u201cMelancholy\nExamples.\u201d\n\nMany who had begun well, as Judas had.\n\n4. That I am in danger, as long as I live, of sinning mortally, of dying\nin sin and losing my soul. Perhaps some are in Hell through my fault.\n\n_POINT II._ _What are the sufferings of the body in Hell_?\n\nAll the senses will be tormented, as for their gratification God has\nbeen offended. Chiefly the sense of touch, and that by the horrible\ntorture of fire: \u201cDepart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire\u201d (St.\nMatth. xxv, 41), \u201cWhich of you can dwell with everlasting burnings?\u201d\n(Is. xxiii, 14).\n\nGod showed St. Teresa in a vision the place the Devil had prepared for\nher in Hell. She narrates it thus: \u201cI was one day in prayer, when I\nfound myself in a moment, without knowing how, plunged apparently into\nHell. I understood that it was our Lord\u2019s will that I should see the\nplace which the devils kept in readiness for me, and which I had\ndeserved by my sins. It was but a moment, but it seems to me impossible\nthat I should ever forget it, if I were to live many years. The entrance\nseemed to be by a long and narrow pass, like a furnace, very low, dark\nand close. The ground seemed to be saturated with water, mere mud,\nexceedingly foul, sending forth pestilential odors and covered with\nloathsome vermin. At the end was a hollow place in the wall, like a\ncloset, and in that I saw myself confined. All this was even pleasant to\nbehold in comparison with what I felt there\u201d (Coleridge, \u201cLife of St.\nTeresa,\u201d Vol. I, p. 133). \u201cShe says,\u201d Father Coleridge adds, \u201cshe cannot\ndescribe what she felt. There was a fire in her soul. She suffered\nunendurably in her body. All that she had suffered in diseases, or in\nwhat Satan had been allowed to inflict upon her, was as nothing in\ncomparison; and she saw there was to be no intermission, no end to the\npain. But the pains of the body were as nothing to the pains of the\nsoul. She describes the anguish as a sense of oppression and stifling in\nthe soul, all the while tearing itself to pieces with remorse and\ndespair.\u201d\n\n_POINT III._ _What are the sufferings of the soul?_\n\n1. _The memory_ will recall the abundance of graces, by which salvation\ncould so easily have been secured; the example of companions who were\ninnocent or sincerely penitent, who are now in Heaven; the soul\u2019s own\ngoodness and happiness at the time of its first Communion and at other\nperiods of its life.\n\n2. _The understanding_ will then fully realize that one thing alone was\nnecessary while on earth, that life was given to work out salvation,\nthat all the rest was vanity, that all illusions are now dispelled, and\nthere is no happiness to be found by the creature except in God; there\nis only total disappointment, absolute loss of all satisfaction; and\nthis pain of disappointed love will then be greater than all the other\nsufferings.\n\n3. _The will_ then will desire only God, for the love and possession of\nwhom all its nature longs, because it was made for Him alone. Therefore\nthe soul will hate its own perverseness with a sovereign hatred, and\ncurse itself in its absolute despair.\n\n4. The soul will always have present to its mind _the awful sentence_\npronounced by the Supreme Judge: \u201cDepart from me into eternal fire.\u201d\n\u201cEternal\u201d: What, in comparison, are days, or nights, or months, or years\nof suffering? Ever in pain, ever in despair; no end, no hope of an end\nor of any mitigation.\n\n_Colloquy_ with Jesus crucified, dying for our sins; with Mary, the\nrefuge of sinners.\n\n\n\n\n                             THE THIRD DAY\n\n\n                          THE FIRST MEDITATION\n                        A Preparation for Death\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ A captain of infantry had been ordered by his general to\nlead his company at the first dawn of light the next morning up a\nneighboring hill where the enemy had just planted a masked battery. To\nspend the intervening night he had a log cabin allotted him. He felt it\nwas a dangerous task assigned him, as he was likely to be shot while\nascending the hill at the head of his men. Yet he faltered not, for he\nwas brave. But before lying down to rest, he lit a candle, pulled out\nhis prayer book, and knelt down to prepare himself for a good death.\n\nImagine that God gives you the present hour to prepare for your own\napproaching death.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ O Lord: give me the grace of making to-day a thoroughly\ngood preparation for death.\n\n_POINT I._ _It is absolutely certain that I shall die_, it is only a\nmatter of more or less delay; \u201cIt is appointed unto men once to die\u201d\n(Hebr. ix, 27). \u201cDust thou art and into dust thou shalt return\u201d is the\nsentence pronounced on me, as on all men. No sensible man doubts this,\nyet many try to forget it, and live as if the sentence were not for\nthem. O my Lord God! I will not be so foolish; and I accept with\nhumility the sentence of death. I have deserved it, and I will suffer it\nin punishment and expiation of my sins.\n\n_POINT II._ _All the circumstances of my death are very uncertain._ 1.\n_The time._ No one but God can assure me of another day of life. Many\nare at this moment in vigorous health who will be dead to-morrow. I may\nbe one of them: \u201cIf thou shalt not watch, I will come to thee as a\nthief, and thou shalt not know at what hour I shall come to thee\u201d (Apoc.\niii, 3). A thief comes when least expected. Many are sick for a time and\nyet expire suddenly before they realize their danger. Even many of the\nSaints were called away in the middle of their most important careers:\nSt. Francis Xavier when on the point of entering China, St. Thomas\nAquinas before he could finish his Summa of Universal Theology, St.\nBonaventure during the General Council of Lyons, etc. Am I ready? Was I\nready at any hour of last year?\n\n2. _The place_ may be anywhere; we cannot find a spot secure against the\nshafts of death.\n\n3. _The manner_; It may be sudden, whether from a latent disease which\nwe never suspected, or from any of the multitudinous accidents so common\nin the modern rush of life.\n\nOr it may be preceded by weeks of suffering in an unconscious or\nsemi-conscious condition. Even when the danger is known to others, it is\noften hidden from the patient. My Lord God! I humbly submit beforehand\nto all the circumstances Thou hast determined shall attend my death, to\nall its physical and mental sufferings, to its sudden stroke or\nlingering approach. Only grant me the grace of being well disposed when\nit shall arrive. Make known to me, I pray, what sacrifices I must make\nthat I may be well prepared.\n\n_POINT III._ _What shall be my sentiments when death is nigh?_ Some\nrejoice at its approach; like St. Paul, they wish to be dissolved and to\nbe with Christ. Many are horrified when it comes, and wish in vain that\nthey could live their lives all over again. Now is the time to prepare,\nthen it will be too late. Many again, even good Christians and\nreligious, would then wish to make some more or less important changes\nbefore expiring. Now is the time to make them.\n\nI have seen a novice dying most joyously, with these words on his lips:\n\u201cI know I am going to Heaven.\u201d I have seen a religious priest, who had\nled a pious and zealous life, bursting into tears on his deathbed,\nexplaining that he now realized how much more he could have done for God\nand the good of souls, and how bitterly he regretted his former\nnegligences. And yet he was a model pastor of souls. What shall be my\nsentiments?\n\n_Colloquy_ with Jesus and Mary, begging earnestly to know now what is\nstill wanting to me, that I may provide in good time; \u201cO Lord! make me\nknow my end\u2014that I may know what is wanting to me!\u201d (Ps. 38).\n\n\n                         THE SECOND MEDITATION\n                       On the Particular Judgment\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine that your soul has left your body and is now to\nbe judged by Christ.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask earnestly that you may understand all things now as\nyou shall then, and that you may act accordingly.\n\n_POINT I._ _Consider when that judgment will take place_: \u201cIt is\nappointed unto men once to die, and, after this, the judgment\u201d (Hebr.\nix, 27). Human tribunals delay trials to take evidence; not so God. One\nmoment we may be sinning or meriting, the next moment we are judged for\nit. No warning is given beforehand, as for a college examination. The\nrich man of whom Christ said that he was going to build new barns,\nsaying to his soul: \u201cSoul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years;\ntake thy rest, eat, drink, make good cheer,\u201d was rebuked by the Lord,\nsaying: \u201cThou fool, this night they will require thy soul from thee\u201d\n(St. Luke xii, 16-20).\n\nBe ever ready. Make frequent acts of perfect contrition. Make every\nconfession as if it were to be the last of your life.\n\n_POINT II._ _Consider the persons present_: 1. _The soul_; Father\nGaudier, S. J., describes it thus: \u201cIt receives a novel manner of\nknowing, without the body, by which its entire life is represented to it\nat a glance. It thoroughly understands what is the nature of created\nthings, its own present condition and the new aspect of things; and it\nsees itself naked, solitary and deserted by all, with nothing but its\ngood and bad works, in the presence of its Judge. Hence arises a very\ndifferent view of its own concerns and all created and external things\nfrom what it had before. Besides, its will is changed; for all love of\ncreated goods is vanished, and in its stead there is a most powerful\nimpulse towards God as its last end. This tendency, now that the\nhindrance of the body is removed, urges it most forcibly to this union\u201d\n(Introd. ad Solid. Perfect., p. 196).\n\n2. _Christ_ is now manifested to the soul. He is the God who condemned\nto eternal woe the rebel angels, Judas, and all who are in Hell, and who\nhas rewarded all the Saints with eternal bliss. As man, He is now going\nto examine what fruit the soul now before Him has produced. No other\nparties can well be expected to be present, except, perhaps the Guardian\nAngel and an evil spirit, ready to execute the sentence.\n\n_POINT III._ _Consider the account to be rendered_, of every thought,\nword, action and omission from the first dawn of reason till the last\nbreath. Even good works may contain many imperfections, as St. Paul\nexplains by this comparison. \u201cOther foundation no man can lay but that\nwhich is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this\nfoundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every\nman\u2019s work shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it,\nbecause it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man\u2019s\nwork, of what sort it is\u201d (I Cor. iii, 11-16).\n\nThe examination will embrace all the Commandments of God and of the\nChurch, the duties of one\u2019s state of life, the proper use of one\u2019s\ntalents, one\u2019s opportunities, etc.\n\na. There are _two consoling thoughts_ in this matter.\n\n1. The religious vows probably act as a second Baptism, cancelling all\nformer debts. St. Thomas attributes this effect to the perfect\ndispositions of the person making them. If this is the reason, then it\nwould seem that the renewal of vows may have the same effect, whenever\nit is made with equally good dispositions.\n\n2. Whatever has once been forgiven remains forgiven. Merit when lost may\nreturn, but forgiven sins do not return.\n\nb. Yet there are _two classes of sins that may well cause anxiety_.\n\n1. Those of which we have never truly repented, perhaps because we were\ntoo proud to admit we were to blame, and laid the blame on others\ninstead.\n\n2. Those sins which we have very often confessed, but which we have made\nno serious efforts to avoid in future, perhaps because we had no real\ncontrition for them.\n\n_POINT IV._ _The sentence_ will be just what is deserved; for a judgment\nis not an act of mercy, but of the intellect seeing the truth of things\nand pronouncing accordingly: \u201cI will judge thee according to thy ways,\nand I will lay upon thee all thy crimes. My eye shall not spare, neither\nwill I show mercy\u201d (Ezech. vii, 8, 9). \u201cThen will he (the Son of man)\nrender to every man according to his works\u201d (St. Matth. xvi, 27).\n\nIf a mortal sin be there, all is lost: \u201cIf a just man shall turn away\nfrom his justice and shall commit iniquity\u2014he shall die in his sin, and\nhis justices which he hath done shall not be remembered\u201d (Ezech. iii,\n20).\n\nThe sentence will be final, because there is no appeal to a higher\ntribunal, and we can no longer merit a change: \u201cThe night cometh when no\nman can work\u201d (St. John ix, 4).\n\nThe sufferings of Purgatory come to an end, but merit neglected to be\nacquired can never more be gained.\n\nWe may well exclaim with St. Magdalene de Pazzi: \u201cIt is a terrible thing\nto have to stand before the judgment seat of God.\u201d\n\n_Colloquy._ Ask to understand all things now as you shall realize them\nat the judgment.\n\n\n                             CONSIDERATION\n                        On Purity of Conscience\n\n\nThe main purpose of the first part of the Spiritual Exercises, or what\nSt. Ignatius calls the first week, is to purify the soul from all stains\nof sin, and to strengthen it against all temptations to sin in future.\nOf course mortal sin is the principal evil to be destroyed, it is the\ngreatest evil in the world. Since the religious life is essentially the\nway of perfection, it presupposes the destruction of mortal sin; being\nthe way of the counsels, it supposes the observance of the Commandments.\n\nYet it is quite proper that religious in their yearly retreats should\nreview the Exercises of the first week, the meditations regarding mortal\nsins and the fear of the Lord, not so much to obtain pardon of sins\ncommitted, as to strengthen their resolutions and to take precaution\nagainst committing sins in the future. In fact, as a rule, religious do\nnot commit mortal sins; and, although they must be constantly on their\nguard against temptations,\u2014because, while the spirit is willing, the\nflesh is weak,\u2014yet it is a consoling truth that they rarely fall so low.\nA religious that frequently commits mortal sins lives far below the\nnormal standard of his state of life. He is indeed greatly to be pitied,\nand is in serious danger of becoming a reprobate. Of course no one\nshould ever be discouraged, but such a person should arouse himself to\nfervent prayer and vigorous exertions; he is walking on the brink of the\nprecipice.\n\nWhoever has come to the present part of the Spiritual Exercises is\nsupposed to have conceived an intense horror of mortal sin. But we ought\nnot to be satisfied with attaining this first degree of purity of\nconscience; we ought to strive seriously to attain the second degree, or\nto confirm ourselves in the same; that is, we ought also carefully to\navoid the commission of all deliberate venial sins. We must distinguish\nbetween two kinds of venial sins, the deliberate and the indeliberate.\nBoth kinds suppose that, while committing them, we are aware that we are\ndoing something which God forbids, or omitting what He commands; else we\ndo not really displease Him. But the sin is deliberate when we fully\nnotice the evil, and do it nevertheless with full consent of our free\nwill; else it may be called indeliberate. Indeliberate sins will escape\nfrom time to time even very virtuous persons, owing to our unruly\npassions and the weakness of the human will in consequence of Adam\u2019s sin\nand of evil habits.\n\nEach of such faults, singly considered, could be avoided; for whatever\ncannot be avoided at all cannot be laid to our blame; but all cannot be\navoided together. Thus a beginner may be able to pronounce correctly\nevery word on a page of his reader, but will not proceed far without\nmaking some mistakes.\n\nSo we cannot avoid all indeliberate venial sins a long time together,\nunless God give us an extraordinary grace to do so.\n\nBut with the ordinary grace of God a virtuous person may avoid all\ndeliberate venial sins. For this purpose we must first of all convince\nourselves of the great evil contained in every wilful offense of God;\nfor by such offense a poor mortal puts his will above the will of his\nCreator and Lord. This evil is so great that no creature, nor even all\ncreatures united, could by their own power fully atone for it.\n\nThis becomes more evident when we consider some examples of the severe\npunishments inflicted by the Lord on those guilty of such offences. Thus\nwhen King David had committed an act of vanity by ordering an\nenumeration of all his subjects to see how great a monarch he had\nbecome, which seems to have been only a venial sin, the Lord sent to him\nthe prophet Gad, to give him the choice between three punishments,\nnamely three years of famine, three months of flight before his enemies\nor three days of pestilence on his people. He chose the pestilence, and\nit carried off seventy thousand men (I Paral. xxi).\n\nMoses for a venial fault was refused the honor of leading the Chosen\nPeople into the promised land, which would have been a fitting crown of\nall his labors. His sister Mary, for some murmuring against her brother,\nwas stricken with a leprosy and humiliated before all the people. In\nfact, leprosy is a striking figure of the effect of venial sin on the\nsoul; for it disfigures the soul without depriving it of life. If a\nvisible leprosy were usually the effect of wilful venial sin, men would\nbe as anxious to avoid such an evil as they are now to escape that\nbodily plague.\n\nThen there are the pains of Purgatory to be considered, which are\ndeserved by venial sins; they are worse than any pain known to us in\nthis life. For, as St. Thomas remarks, they are different in kind: the\nfire of Purgatory is not created for the service and comfort of man, but\nfor his punishment and torture. The examples of its duration which have\nbeen made known by revelations to saintly souls are proofs of the\nterrible evil such offences are in the sight of the just, all-holy God.\nFather Faber, in his \u201cAll for Jesus\u201d says: \u201cIn the revelations of Sister\nFrances of Pampeluna, we find that, among some hundreds of cases, by far\nthe greater majority suffered 30, 40 or 60 years\u201d (pp. 394, 395).\n\nThere results besides from venial sins a still worse consequence than\nany transitory suffering, namely that they expose us to the danger of\ncommitting mortal sins and losing our soul for eternity. This happens in\ntwo ways, naturally and supernaturally.\n\n1. It is _natural_ for man, when he does a good or a bad act, to become\nthereby more inclined to do the same again under similar influences and\ncircumstances; thus habits are contracted of virtue and vice. The\ncommission of venial sins therefore inclines the soul to sin more\nreadily thereafter, and to sin, not only oftener, but also more\ngrievously; and thus venial often lead to mortal sins. This is not\ntheory only, but the teaching of constant experience. For instance, a\nreligious has acquired great purity of conscience, he is a model of\nmodesty; but he begins to neglect his rules, he gets accustomed to\nglance rather freely at indelicate objects, he becomes habituated to\nindulge his curiosity. Still he would shrink from anything impure. But\nhis imagination becomes more indelicate, his passions less restrained,\nwilful venial sins multiply and grievous falls may follow sooner than he\nexpected. Mortal sins themselves may become habitual, and who can tell\nwhere the evil will end? Even if only one mortal sin were thus brought\nabout, the evil is the greatest of misfortunes. But this growing habit\nis likely to get still worse.\n\n2. _Supernaturally_ a similar process is going on. By every act of\nvirtue we obtain, along with the merit, additional actual grace to merit\nmore; but when we sin, we fail to obtain this new accession of grace;\nand thus it becomes less likely that we shall do better next time. We\nmay thus lose more and more grace by repeated venial faults; and in face\nof an unusually strong temptation, we may be so weak as to yield assent.\nNo one becomes very bad on a sudden; but many gradually lose their\nvirtue and become reprobates. History is full of such examples, and\ndaily experience ought to be a constant warning against such danger.\n\nBut even if there were no danger of mortal sin (which is, of course, a\nfalse supposition) a religious has a special reason to avoid all\ndeliberate sin in the fact that he has been made a favorite disciple of\nthe Blessed Saviour. When he wantonly offends the Lord, he deserves to\nsome extent the reproach originally addressed to the Chosen People, and\nafterwards applied to Judas: \u201cIf my enemy had reviled me, I would verily\nhave borne with it. And if he that hated me had spoken great things\nagainst me, I would perhaps have hidden myself from him. But thou a man\nof one mind, my guide and my familiar, who didst take sweetmeats\ntogether with me; in the house of the Lord we walked with consent\u201d (Ps.\n54). We would not willingly grieve or insult a friend; and is not Jesus\nour dearest and most devoted friend? Certainly it ought to be one of the\nprincipal resolutions of the retreat to strive earnestly and unceasingly\nto avoid all deliberate sins.\n\n\n                          THE THIRD MEDITATION\n                      To Excite Perfect Contrition\n\n\nIt is highly proper that we should not conclude this first part of the\nretreat without striving earnestly to arouse within our hearts a deep\nsorrow for all our sins, and that for the most perfect of motives,\nnamely because by them we have offended God, who is infinitely good in\nHimself and infinitely bountiful to us. For this purpose we are going to\nspend this hour of meditation in considering various manifestations of\nthe Divine goodness.\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you behold the return of the Prodigal Son, whom\nhis aged father clasps most affectionately to his heart.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask earnestly for an intense love of God and a perfect\ncontrition for all your sins.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider the parable of the Prodigal Son, in which the Lord\nJesus Himself has given us a most striking picture of the goodness of\nour Heavenly Father. We may read to advantage the whole parable (St.\nLuke xv, 11, etc.), but chiefly xv, 20-24: \u201cAnd rising up he came to his\nfather. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and was\nmoved with compassion; and running to him fell upon his neck and kissed\nhim. And the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and\nbefore thee, I am not now worthy to be called thy son. And the father\nsaid to his servants: Bring forth quickly the first robe, and put it on\nhim, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring hither\nthe fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; because\nthis my son was dead and is come to life again, was lost and is found;\nand they began to make merry.\u201d\n\nNot a word of reproach, no limit to the pardon, only expressions of\nhappiness, and solicitude to restore the boy\u2019s honor. Thus does God act\nwith sincere penitents.\n\n_POINT II._ As the feast prepared is to-morrow\u2019s Holy Communion, we will\nconsider in the next place how Christ _prepared_ His Apostles for their\nCommunion. \u201cBefore the festival day of the Pasch, Jesus knowing that his\nhour was come, and that he should pass out of this world to the Father,\nhaving loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.\n\n\u201cAnd when supper was done\u2014he rises from supper, and layeth aside his\ngarments and having taken a towel, girdeth himself, etc.\u201d (St. John\nxiii, 1-5).\n\nThe washing of the feet is the image of the Sacrament of Penance, in\nwhich Christ washes away our sins in His sacred blood. What a wonderful\ninvention of His infinite love: And how we ought to love Him, in return,\ninstead of offending Him by sin. Elicit an act of contrition.\n\n_POINT III._ Consider that other manifestation of Divine love, the\ninstitution of the Blessed Sacrament: \u201cWhilst they were at supper Jesus\ntook bread, and blessed, and broke, and gave to his disciples, and said:\nTake ye and eat, this is my body. And taking the chalice, he gave\nthanks, and gave to them saying: Drink ye all of this. For this is my\nblood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto the\nremission of sins\u201d (St. Matth. xxvi, 26-28).\n\nCould we conceive any greater love than that Christ should feed us with\nHis own sacred body and blood? And yet, when we sin, we turn against\nHim, as when a serpent bites its benefactor who warms it in his bosom.\nMy God, pardon me! My God, I love Thee above all things! I am most sorry\nfor having offended Thee!\n\nA consoling fact like the following may give us a more sensible\nappreciation of the favor granted us in the reception of Holy Communion.\nOn All Saints Day, 1612, St. Alphonsus Rodriguez had received the\nBlessed Sacrament with his brethren, when the good Lord showed him in a\nsensible manner His presence in the hearts of all those who had just\ncommunicated, so that he beheld the Saviour resplendent with glory,\nwhole and entire in each of the religious (Life of Bl. Alph. Rodr. by a\nLay-brother, p. 82).\n\n_POINT IV._ Imagine you visit a church or chapel at midnight. Jesus\nChrist is there then, as at every hour of night and day. He is praying\nfor you to His Heavenly Father, because he loves you, and He knows you\nneed abundant graces to lead a worthy life. It was when Blessed Margaret\nMary was adoring Him in her convent chapel that Jesus appeared to her on\nthe altar pointing to His Sacred Heart, and saying: \u201cBehold the Heart\nthat has loved man so much, and I receive nothing but coldness in\nreturn.\u201d He longs for love; and certainly we did not love Him when we\nsinned. O my Jesus! I wish to love Thee. I detest my sins.\n\n_Colloquy_ with our dear Lord, protesting to Him that I love Him\nsincerely with my whole heart and soul, that I am most heartily sorry\nfor having offended Him, because He is infinitely amiable, begging that\nI may love Him more and more.\n\n\n\n\n                             THE FOURTH DAY\n\n\nNow that we have freed our souls from every sinful affection, Christ\ncomes to offer Himself to lead us on, that by following Him we may\nestablish the Kingdom of God in our own souls and in the souls of\nothers. The study of the end of man was the foundation of a good life,\nthe study of the following of Christ is the foundation of a perfect\nlife.\n\n\n                            FIRST MEDITATION\n                         The Kingdom of Christ\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you see Christ going from town to town,\nannouncing the Kingdom of His Father.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask for grace to understand the call and to follow Him\nwith a generous heart.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider this parable: God has chosen a most noble Catholic\nprince, endowed with all the virtues that conciliate the esteem and love\nof every good and brave man; and He has appointed him to put down all\nthe enemies of Christ, to establish the Kingdom of God in all countries,\nand make the Lord reign supreme over all mankind. He is the greatest of\nheroes, accomplished in person, magnetic in influence, beyond any mortal\nthat has ever appeared on earth.\n\nThis King issues a call to all Catholic warriors (for in this parable\nonly warriors are spoken of) inviting them to rally under his standard.\nThey are going to fight for the grandest, holiest and dearest of all\ncauses. He promises them certain victory, no one of his followers shall\nperish unless it be through his own fault. Yet it will be a strenuous\ncampaign, full of hardships and fatigue for all concerned. But the King\nhimself will ever be in the midst of his soldiers, in the thickest of\nthe fight, sharing in their hardships and privations, so that no one\nwill be expected to toil and endure more than the leader; and each one\nshall share in the victory in proportion to the sacrifices he shall have\nmade in the holy cause.\n\nWhat should a brave warrior answer to such an appeal? The promises may\nappear to be excessive, impossible; but they are so in the parable only,\nnot in the real facts figured by it.\n\n_POINT II._ Now consider the application to the reality signified. The\nSon of God Himself is that King, nobler and grander than any mere human\ngenius or hero, who has truly come into this world to establish the\nKingdom of God, and who is accomplishing this appointed task.\n\nHe calls upon all men, women and children to follow Him in His contest\nagainst God\u2019s enemies; not that He needs their aid, but that they may\nshare in the glory of the victory.\n\nFor this purpose all must, in some measure, share His labors and His\nsacrifices; but He will ever be by their side, and endure more than any\nof them. Every one will share in the magnificent rewards in proportion\nto his generous exertions.\n\nWhat answer should every generous heart make to such an appeal from his\ngreat, good God, his sovereign Lord and Saviour? \u201cTo-day, if you shall\nhear his voice, harden not your hearts\u201d exclaims the Psalmist (Ps. 94).\n\n_POINT III._ Those who wish to show greater affection, and to signalize\nthemselves in the King\u2019s service, not only will offer their whole\npersons to labor, but will also act against their own sensuality, and\nsay: \u201cEternal Lord of all things, I make my oblation with Thy favor and\nhelp, in the presence of Thine infinite goodness, and in the sight of\nThy glorious Mother, and of all the Angels of Thine Heavenly court,\nprotesting that I wish and desire, and that it is my deliberate\ndetermination (provided only it be for Thy greater service and praise)\nto imitate Thee in bearing all insults and reproaches, and all poverty,\nas well actual poverty as poverty of spirit, if only Thy Divine Majesty\nbe pleased to choose and receive me to this life and state.\u201d As Jesuits,\nwe are certainly called to this close imitation of Christ. We must, not\nonly faithfully resist all temptations to sin, but also generously\nfollow our King in sacrificing lawful pleasures, trampling upon worldly\nhonors, upon self-esteem and bodily comforts, leading mortified lives,\nas worthy companions of Jesus.\n\n_POINT IV._ That war against Satan and against human depravity has been\ngoing on for nineteen centuries. Millions have been following Christ to\nvictory, and are now reigning with Him in Heaven. Our time is come; we\ntoo must make our choice. Our King has said: \u201cHe who is not with me is\nagainst me,\u201d \u201cNo man can serve two masters\u201d (St. Matth. vi, 24). Let us\noffer ourselves to be the generous and faithful followers of our Blessed\nSaviour, imitating Him on earth that we may follow Him into the glory of\nHeaven.\n\nWhat sacrifices in particular can I offer Him?\n\n_Colloquy._ Beg earnestly for light and grace to understand and follow\nthe example of Christ.\n\n\n                           SECOND MEDITATION\n                           On the Incarnation\n\n\nHere St. Ignatius begins what he calls the Second Week of his Exercises,\nin which he bids us study how the great King leads us in the grand\nenterprise of establishing the Kingdom of His Father, by considering His\ncoming on earth, His nativity, His childhood and His private life. The\nmain purpose all along is to make us know Him more intimately, love Him\nmore ardently and follow Him more faithfully. This following consists in\nmaking ourselves more and more like to Him: \u201cWhom he (God) foreknew he\nalso predestinated to be made comformable to the image of his Son\u201d (Rom.\nviii, 29). By this conformity to Christ we make God reign in our hearts\nand prepare ourselves to enter into His Heavenly Kingdom.\n\nIn this and the following exercises a change is made in the process so\nfar followed; namely, instead of recalling the facts to memory in the\nbody of the meditation, we now recall them in a special prelude, put\nbefore the two usual ones. Then in the points we do less reasoning; we\nrather look on and behold the event as it were passing before our eyes,\nnoticing in particular the persons, their words and their actions, and\ndwelling on the thoughts and the sentiments which they suggest to our\nminds. From the fact that we behold rather than reason, these exercises\nare usually called _contemplations_, rather than _meditations_, though\nthe name is of little importance, provided the process be well\nunderstood.\n\n_1st Prelude._ Recall the facts to mind, as they are related by St. Luke\n(i, 26-38).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Imagine you see the face of the earth, as it was at that\ntime, inhabited by diverse races of men, civilized and barbarian, all\nsteeped in vice and rushing on, a vast torrent, into the abyss of Hell.\nIn the little town of Nazareth the Virgin Mary at prayer, and God the\nFather, the Son and the Holy Ghost looking down from Heaven upon the\nvaried scene.\n\n_3rd Prelude._ Beg fervently that you may understand this mystery, and\nmay learn from it to know your King, Christ, more clearly, love Him more\nardently and follow Him more faithfully.\n\n_POINT I._ _Study the scene_ as it was before the descent of the Angel,\nnoticing the persons, with their words and actions.\n\n1. _The human race_, in a great variety of conditions: some rich, others\npoor; some learned, others ignorant; some refined, others rude; some\nsuffering, others rejoicing; talking of wars and of pleasure, adoring\nidols; but nearly all rushing on, like a vast torrent, into Hell.\n\n2. Then consider the _chaste Virgin Mary_, praying for the coming of the\nMessias, lowering herself in her own mind, thinking of her littleness\nbefore God. Thus the poet tells of a drop of water saying to itself:\n\u201chow little I am in the vast ocean around me;\u201d and at that moment a\nshellfish swallowed the drop, and it lay hardening in the shell, and it\nbecame the choicest pearl that ever shone on a queenly diadem. So was\nMary chosen in her humility.\n\n3. Consider the _three Divine Persons_ looking down from Heaven upon the\nscene below, seeing the mass of moral corruption, yet, instead of\nsending down avenging fire or a new deluge of water to punish the guilty\nrace, pitying its sad condition. The Son of God steps down from His\nthrone, and casts Himself at the feet of His Heavenly Father, offering\nHimself to assume our mortal nature and to atone for our sins.\n\nHere is the first step of our King, lowering Himself: _Exinanivit\nsemetipsum_: \u201cHe emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being\nmade in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man\u201d (Phil. ii, 7).\nWe are to imitate Him, to be made like to Him. This is our first lesson;\nlet us learn it well: we must be humble.\n\n_POINT II._ The Angel Gabriel is sent to Mary to announce her selection\nas the Mother of God. He comes, not to the mighty city of Rome, to its\ngilt palaces and learned scholars; the things of earth are very small in\nthe sight of God. He comes to an unknown little town in a despised\ncountry, to a poor maiden, unknown to the world.\n\n_Listen to the words spoken_: \u201cHail, full of grace, the Lord is with\nthee, blessed art thou among women.\u201d Mary is too humble to realize that\nsuch words could be suitable to her: \u201cShe was troubled at his saying.\u201d\nBut the Angel explains and dispels her fear. He adds: \u201cThou shalt\nconceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call\nhis name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the\nmost High.\u201d Now her Virgin heart is alarmed; so precious is the jewel of\nvirginity in her sight. \u201cHow shall this be done, because I know not man?\nAnd the Angel answering said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon\nthee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And\ntherefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the\nSon of God.\u201d Thus reassured, she understands that such is the will of\nGod; her answer beautifully expresses her humility: \u201cBehold the handmaid\nof the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.\u201d She does not say:\nbehold then the future queen of Heaven and earth, but the handmaid of\nthe Lord. Jesus has associated her with Himself making her, here and all\nthrough life, the model of every virtue.\n\nHer example is like that of the Redeemer: humility, humility.\n\n_POINT III._ After her consent had thus been expressed, God, who always\nrespects the free will of men, formed in her womb, from her virgin\nblood, the body of her Divine Son: \u201cAnd the Word was made flesh and\ndwelt among us\u201d (St. John i, 14). As when he formed the body of Adam out\nof the slime of the earth, He breathed into his face the breath of life;\nso now He created the soul of Christ, and united it at once with the\nembryonic body to build it up to the perfection of manhood, and at the\nsame moment God the Son assumed this humanity into substantial union\nwith His Divine Person.\n\nThis is the second step in the career of our King, again a species of\nself-annihilation: _Exinanivit semetipsum_. It is also an example of His\nlove for men, of His boundless zeal for their salvation and\nglorification. He stooped down to earth in order to raise man to Heaven.\n\n_Colloquy_ with the Lord incarnate:\u2014gratitude, love; promise to follow\nHim, to humble self, to labor for the good of souls. Ask for the help of\nMary. Our Father\u2014Hail Mary.\n\n\n                             CONSIDERATION\n                       On the Imitation of Christ\n\n\nThe main truth that St. Ignatius inculcates, both in the meditation on\nthe Kingdom of Christ and in all the subsequent portions of his\nExercises, is that man must be perfected by imitating Christ, by making\nhimself like to the Son of God made man, according to the words of St.\nPaul: \u201cWhom God foreknew he also predestinated to be made conformable to\nthe image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many\nbrethren\u201d (Rom. viii, 29).\n\nThe intense love of God, which the Saint conceived during his retreat at\nManresa, prompted him to make himself as like to Christ as, with God\u2019s\ngrace, was possible; and the zeal for the salvation of souls, which he\nlearned from the example of Christ, urged him to form a band of men like\nto himself, or rather like to the God-man, a select band to be, as it\nwere, a bodyguard of the Divine King in the holy warfare, undertaken to\nestablish the Kingdom of God. This is the spirit of the Society of\nJesus, and of all religious Orders, and to some extent of all who wish\nto attain perfection. For this purpose the principal means to be used is\nthe study of the life of Christ, which is to be the chief occupation of\nthe exercitant during this and the following days. It is not a work of\nhuman skill, but one of the direct influence of the Holy Spirit; He\nalone can produce in the heart of man the supernatural likeness to the\nSon of God. As He sanctified St. Ignatius, so He sanctifies all those\nwho faithfully and generously perform these exercises.\n\nWe may, in some respects, compare the process of sanctification to the\nwork of a painter who produces an exquisite likeness of a distinguished\npersonage on his canvas. The first outlines of the supernatural likeness\nof a child of men to the Son of God are traced by the Divine Artist in\nthe Sacrament of Baptism. The infant\u2019s soul receives the precious\nimpress as the unconscious canvas receives the colors, without its own\nco-operation. Yet already then the difference is immense between a mere\nchild of earth and an adopted child of God. But very much remains to be\naccomplished by the Holy Ghost before the likeness is perfected. And\nthis increase of sanctification is the most important work that is being\ndone on earth from generation to generation: \u201cFor the perfecting of the\nSaints\u2014for the edifying of the body of Christ\u201d (Eph. iv, 12).\n\nMost of this further sanctification is to be produced by the Holy Ghost\nin our hearts with our co-operation: He teaches us how to _make\nourselves_ like to Christ, while He aids us to do it. For His teaching\ndoes not consist in simply suggesting to us what we must do, as we teach\na child its Catechism; but He acts as does a music teacher with his\npupils, who makes them constantly practise what they are learning. It is\nby their own efforts that they are to acquire the art. So the Spirit of\nGod makes us like unto Christ by helping us to act as Christ did, to\npractise the virtues of which He has given us the example. In this\nconsists the sanctification of the soul, in the imitation of Christ.\n\nHow Christ acted during His whole career, from His incarnation to His\nascension, this is the study of the second, third and fourth weeks of\nthe Exercises. We will here call attention to some of the characteristic\ntraits of His life on earth.\n\n1. His conduct was diametrically opposed to that by which Adam and Eve\nhad forfeited their original happiness. They had aspired to rise above\ntheir own condition and become like unto God. For the Devil had said:\n\u201cGod doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes\nshall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil\u201d (Gen.\niii, 5). Christ, on the contrary, while being God, stooped down and made\nHimself man; and He continued lowering Himself more and more, becoming\nthe poorest child on earth, born in a stable, laid upon straw, \u201ca worm\nand no man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people\u201d (Ps. 21),\ncondemned to a shameful death, and, as a criminal, crucified with\nthieves. If then we wish to be like Christ, we must practise humility.\n\n2. Another characteristic trait of Christ\u2019s conduct is seen in the means\nHe used to establish the Kingdom of His Father. He could have made the\ncolossal power of Rome His tool to effect that purpose, or have employed\nthe wisdom of the philosophers or the elegance of the writers of that\nclassic age. But instead He used ignorant and timid men, and first\ngathered into His fold the poor and despised of the earth, as St. Paul\nexpressed it: \u201cFor see your vocation, brethren, that there are not many\nwise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but the\nfoolish things of the world hath God chosen that he may confound the\nwise, and the weak things of the world hath God chosen that he may\nconfound the strong, and the base things of the world, and the things\nthat are contemptible hath God chosen, and things that are not, that He\nmight bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in His\nsight\u201d (I Cor. i, 26-29).\n\nMust we then, to imitate Christ, cast all human learning to the winds?\nBy no means; but we must understand that merely natural means cannot\nproduce supernatural effects, that all the learning and all the power of\nthe world cannot save or sanctify a soul. And therefore we must trust in\nsupernatural means. As to the natural means, Christ did not need them to\naccomplish His purpose; but we must use all the means, natural and\nsupernatural, that God puts at our disposal; yet remembering all along\nthat we must put our main confidence in the supernatural, in the help of\ngrace, which is secured by the imitation of our King.\n\nWe must then ever keep our eyes upon Him, study His example, and\nreproduce His virtues in ourselves. It will often happen that to act\nthus we must do things which seem foolish in the eyes of a worldly\nwisdom, as when St. Francis Borgia resigned his office of viceroy, in\nwhich he was doing so much good, to hide himself in the religious state;\nor when the Seven Holy Founders of the Servites of Mary gave up all\ntheir riches to become poor like Christ.\n\nA beautiful illustration of the way in which we are to imitate the\nSaviour is given us in the Book of Judges, where Gedeon and his three\nhundred followers rescued their people from oppression by means\napparently most unwise, yet fully successful because they obeyed God\nwith heroic fidelity. Gedeon was designed by Divine Providence to be a\ntype of Christ. Jesus is our Gedeon, and we can learn how we must follow\nHim by studying the story of Gedeon in Holy Writ.\n\nThe Israelites in his day had been conquered by the Madianites and\nAmalekites, who were overrunning their land with a countless army, and\ndestroying all they could not carry off. The Chosen People were reduced\nto a state of slavery and starvation. So they repented of their\nidolatry, and called upon the Lord for pardon and mercy. God sent them a\nsavior in the person of the faithful Gedeon. This hero, encouraged by\nmiracles, which he had seen, destroyed the altar and the grove of Baal,\nand then gathered together 32,000 men, trusting in God that with this\nsmall force he could defeat the vast number of the foes. But God told\nhim his followers were too many; if they conquered, they would attribute\nthe victory to their own prowess. He bade him choose only 300 of them,\nand promised Gedeon that with these alone he would gain a complete\nvictory.\n\nNow notice how this was accomplished; it was by means apparently most\nrash and foolish. The Scripture narrates it thus: \u201cGedeon divided the\n300 men into three parts, and gave them trumpets in their hands, and\nempty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. And he said to them: I\nwill go into one part of the camp, and _do you as I shall do_. When the\ntrumpet shall sound, in my hand, blow you also the trumpets on every\nside of the camp.\u2014They began to sound their trumpets, and clap the\npitchers one against another\u2014And they cried out, The sword of the Lord\nand of Gedeon\u2014And the Lord sent the sword into all the camp and they\nkilled one another\u201d (Judges vii, 16-22).\n\nThe immense army of the foe was destroyed, and the country delivered by\nthe 300 unarmed men. These had simply done what they saw their leader\ndo, and God had done the rest. Christ is our Gedeon; we must simply do\nwhat He did, and God will do the rest: He will establish His Kingdom in\nour hearts, and by us, no matter how weak the instruments, effect the\nsalvation of souls.\n\n\n                            THIRD MEDITATION\n                         On the Birth of Christ\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Recall the facts to mind, by reading St. Luke i, 1-20.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ See the stable, with the Divine Infant lying on the straw\nin the manger, with Mary and Joseph kneeling in adoration.\n\n_3rd Prelude._ Ask to understand how Christ has loved you, that you may\nlove Him ardently and follow Him faithfully.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider how Mary and Joseph received the order to go from\nNazareth to Bethlehem to be enrolled there. Notice the persons, their\nwords and their actions.\n\n1. _The pagan emperor_ who ordered the census, no matter what was his\nmotive, was an agent of Divine Providence to bring the Holy Family to\nBethlehem. His order had been issued three years before; it arrived at\nNazareth just at the right time for God\u2019s purposes.\n\n2. _St. Joseph_ brings it home, knowing what inconvenience it would\ncause, but resigned to God\u2019s will.\n\n3. _Mary_, though she sees it comes at a most inopportune time, as far\nas man can judge, has only words and thoughts of cheerful submission to\nthe voice of authority. Both prepare at once for the journey, and start\nas soon as possible.\n\n_POINT II._ _See the Holy Family arriving in Bethlehem._ They have\ntraveled five days, over 110 miles, Mary perhaps riding on an ass or in\na rude cart, and Joseph leading the animal. Both now are dust begrimed\nand tired out, glad to get at last to the one inn of the town; but they\nare disappointed and find no room there to receive them. Follow them in\nimagination as they wander through the poorer streets, asking here and\nthere for a night\u2019s lodging, but refused at every door. Here now are the\nholiest persons that ever trod the earth, and see how the Lord allows\nthem to suffer for our example of patience. And the Divine Child, how\nhelpless: \u201cHe came unto his own, and his own received him not\u201d (St. John\ni, 11). Happy they, if any such there were, who spoke a kind word to\nthem, even a word of excuse for a refusal; it must have brought a\nblessing. Do I always speak kindly to the poor? Do I render every\nservice I can? God willed it all, that Jesus might be born in a stable,\nrather than in a comfortable cottage; laid on straw, rather than on a\ncushion. Our edification is all the greater on Christmas day. But their\nlot was hard. So too our sufferings shall be turned into joy.\n\n_POINT III._ _Behold the stable_, in which they have found a refuge.\nCattle were there before them, and the floor is littered with their\nleavings. Mary and Joseph patiently tidy up a spot where they may rest,\nand collect the cleanest blades of straw to lay them in the manger,\nprovident for the expected birth of the Divine Child.\n\nThere, during the night, Mary is miraculously delivered, and in an\necstasy of love and joy, presses the Son of God to her maternal breast.\nShe tenderly wraps Him in the swaddling clothes she has brought along\nfor the purpose, and reposes Him upon the straw of the manger, that she\nand Joseph may kneel before Him in humble adoration. Angels are there of\ncourse to honor the King of glory; but they appear not to the sight nor\ncharm the ear with their Heavenly song, that all may be as desolate as\npossible. He came to share our poverty and our loneliness.\n\nMeanwhile His glory is beginning to be manifested elsewhere. For a\nbright angel announces to the shepherds the birth of a \u201cSaviour, who is\nChrist the Lord in the city of David,\u201d and he adds: \u201cThis shall be a\nsign unto you; you shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes,\nand laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude\nof the heavenly army, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the\nhighest, and on earth peace to men of good will\u201d (St. Luke ii, 11-14).\n\nHe who came to assume our poverty made the poor His favorites; to them\nHe was first revealed. If we wish to enjoy His favors, let us be\nsatisfied with little, study rather with how little we can get along\nthan how much we can acquire. \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit, for\ntheirs is the kingdom of heaven\u201d (St. Matth. v, 3).\n\nThe closest followers of Christ are known by their resemblance to Him.\nAnd how is He known? The Angel has proclaimed it: by His poverty: \u201cAnd\nthis shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the infant wrapped in\nswaddling clothes, and laid in a manger.\u201d\n\n_Colloquy_ with the Divine Infant, loving Him, thanking Him, begging for\nthe spirit of poverty, humility; and with Mary and Joseph, begging of\nthem to obtain for me these precious dispositions.\n\n\n\n\n                             THE FIFTH DAY\n\n\n                          THE FIRST MEDITATION\n                        On the Flight into Egypt\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Recall the facts, as narrated by St. Matthew ii, 13-19.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ See St. Joseph quietly asleep in the night, and the Angel\nstanding before him to deliver his message.\n\n_3rd Prelude._ Ask the grace to understand the lessons taught in this\nmystery by Jesus, Mary and Joseph, so as to know your King more\nintimately, love Him more ardently and follow Him more faithfully.\n\n_Point I._ _Consider the message of the Angel_, noticing particularly\nthe persons, their words and their actions.\n\n1. _The persons._ The Angel is a faithful messenger, a model of\nexactitude when a task is entrusted to us. He addresses Joseph because\nhe is the head of the family. So God usually directs us through our\nsuperiors, even if these should be less able, even as Joseph was less\ngifted than the others. Jesus and Mary are not visited: \u201cTake the child\nand his mother.\u201d\n\n2. Consider the _words_ spoken: \u201cArise and take the child and his\nmother, and fly into Egypt, and be there until I shall tell thee; for it\nwill come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him.\u201d The\naction required implies many great difficulties; first a very long\njourney of hundreds of miles, and that through a wild country, where\nsavage animals and robbers roamed. The parable of the Good Samaritan\nshows that robbers infested those regions, and the watch kept by the\nshepherds points to the presence of wolves, bears, etc. Then they are to\nleave at once, with no provisions for so long a journey: \u201cArise, and\ntake, etc.\u201d They are not even to say a kind farewell to the neighbors\nwho had befriended them, but must leave in secret like criminals. And\nthe motive assigned by the Angel is unsatisfactory to human reason:\n\u201cHerod will seek the child to destroy him.\u201d Were there not a thousand\neasier ways to prevent this? Was not God wise and powerful enough to\nsave His Divine Son in Bethlehem? Or could they not have gone to Mary\u2019s\ncousin Elizabeth, where young John the Baptist was living in security?\nPerhaps we might have been self-opiniated enough to find such\nobjections; but Jesus, Mary and Joseph did not criticize.\n\n3. _The Actions_ of these exhibit a prompt, cheerful and perfect\nobedience. These are our models. Have we always acted thus? Is it our\nhabit now to do so?\n\n_POINT II._ _Consider the exile itself._ How the Holy Family was\nsupported during the many weeks their travel must have lasted, we cannot\nimagine. They may have suffered many severe hardships; most probably\nthey did, since Christ had come to give the example of patience under\nsufferings. But God\u2019s Providence watched over every step of theirs, and\nsupplied all their wants as far as was conformable to His designs.\n\nHe did not do so only on account of their privileged personalities, but\nHe ever does the same for all who trust in Him. \u201cI say to you, be not\nsolicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what\nyou shall put on\u2014for after all these things do the heathens seek. For\nyour Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. Seek you\ntherefore first the Kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things\nshall be added unto you\u201d (St. Matth. vi, 25-33).\n\nWe can especially trust in God\u2019s assistance when we are obeying His\ncommands, as was the Holy Family at that time. Therefore we should love\nto be directed by our superiors, who make known God\u2019s will to us. And\nagain, works done under obedience with a willing mind have a special\nblessing on them. \u201cAn obedient man shall speak of victory\u201d (Prov. xxi,\n28). The heroic virtues practised in later ages by the solitaries in\nthose deserts may well have been the fruit of the obedience then\npractised by the Holy Family.\n\nTheir stay in Egypt for several years among strangers is best\nappreciated by those persons who have themselves experienced the\nbitterness of exile. Christ knew that many of His followers would endure\nthose ills, and He wished to leave them a most consoling example.\n\n_POINT III. Consider the massacre of the Innocents._ All its cruelty was\nmeant for Christ, and cruel persecution has been continued against His\nfollowers throughout the ages, and is so to the present day. He had\nforetold it: \u201cThe disciple is not above the master, nor the servant\nabove his lord. If they have called the good-man of the house Beelzebub,\nhow much more them of his household\u201d (St. Matth. x, 24-25). We must then\nbe patient under any kind of molestation, though of course we may use\nall honest means to prevent it.\n\nThe persecution works the good of them who properly endure it. See this\nexemplified in the massacre of the innocents. It was very wickedly done,\na cruel injustice and bitter suffering to the little ones, and a still\nmore dreadful affliction to their mothers; but it resulted in eternal\nglory for the children. When a priest blesses an article of devotion, he\nmakes a cross over it; so the Lord bestows His blessings with a cross.\nEvery sorrow comes from the hand of our loving Lord, and is meant for\nthe good of those who love Him: \u201cTo them that love God all things work\ntogether unto good\u201d (Rom. viii, 28).\n\n_Colloquy._ With Jesus and Mary, begging for constant fidelity in the\nimitation of my Divine Model amid all trials, with a firm confidence in\nHis loving providence: \u201cKnow ye that no one hath hoped in the Lord and\nhath been confounded\u201d (Ecclus. ii, 11).\n\n\n                         THE SECOND MEDITATION\n                     On the Private Life of Christ\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Recall the few verses in which Holy Writ records the\nhistory of the eighteen years of Christ\u2019s private life, from His loss in\nthe temple to His entrance on His public life: \u201cAnd he went down with\nthem, and came to Nazareth; and was subject to them. And his mother kept\nall these words in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age, and\ngrace with God and men\u201d (St. Luke ii, 51-52), \u201cIs not this the\ncarpenter\u2019s son?\u201d (St. Matth. xiii, 55).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Imagine you see the modest cottage of the Holy Family at\nNazareth, where Mary is preparing a meal, while Joseph and the youthful\nSaviour are working in the adjacent carpenter shop.\n\n_3rd Prelude._ Ask grace to understand the wonderful lessons of sanctity\nhere taught, and to grow in the love and imitation of your Redeemer.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider the words: \u201c_He went down with them and came to\nNazareth._\u201d He might have moved in the midst of the world, as He had\ndone for three days when lost in Jerusalem, but He wished to give an\nexample which people generally could imitate. Nearly all persons must\nlead a private life during the greater portion, if not the whole of\ntheir career. Restlessness to be abroad is very injurious to virtue. But\nthe inner life, needed to attain perfection, is favored by retirement\nfrom the world. Hence all founders of religious orders require a retired\nnovitiate, and the Church strictly prescribes enclosure, which law has\nnot been relaxed except where charity to the neighbor demands it. It is\nnot the spirit of God that makes some priests aspire to conspicuous\noffices and functions. Nazareth was good enough for Christ, though it\nwas so obscure a town that Nathanael asked, \u201cCan anything good come from\nNazareth?\u201d (St. John i, 46). It is a bad sign when a religious is\ndispleased because applied to obscure duties.\n\n_POINT II._ Consider the words, \u201c_And He was subject to them_\u201d; that is,\nJesus was subject to Mary and Joseph. This is the chief lesson Christ\nchose to teach the world during the first thirty years of His life. It\nmust then be of the utmost importance. St. Gregory says of it:\n\u201cObedience is a virtue which, by itself alone, plants all other virtues\nin the mind and preserves them after they are once planted\u201d (L. 35 Mor.\nc. 10). St. Ignatius, in his \u201cEpistle on Obedience,\u201d quoted these words\nwith emphatic approbation; and he has made this the characteristic\nvirtue of his Society. In fact the vow of obedience belongs to the\nessence of the religious life, and some orders comprise all the\nobligation of their members under the one vow of \u201cobedience according to\ntheir rule.\u201d My perfection as a religious depends chiefly on the\nperfection of my obedience.\n\nConsider besides, in meditating on Christ\u2019s private life, who was the\nPerson that obeyed; namely God Himself in His human nature. Whom did He\nobey? His own creatures infinitely beneath Him in every respect. In what\ndid He obey?\n\nIn all the details of His life; in working for instance, under the\ndirection of Joseph, after the unskilful manner of that time. How\nperfectly do I obey my superiors? I must make myself like unto Christ,\nnot in working miracles, but in submitting to my superiors.\n\n_POINT III. Christ spent His private life in humble labor._ Such a\ncareer is intended by the Lord for the vast majority of mankind. It is\nthe sentence pronounced upon our race: \u201cIn the sweat of thy face thou\nshalt eat bread till thou return to the earth out of which thou wast\ntaken\u201d (Gen. iii, 19). Such labor fosters devotion. It has always been\nfondly cherished in learned religious bodies. During his voyage to India\nwhich lasted thirteen months, St. Francis Xavier used to wash his soiled\nlinen in the sight of his fellow-passengers, while bearing the dignity\nof Apostolic Nuncio, and he would never consent to be waited on by\nothers (Life, Bartholi and Maffei, p. 74).\n\n_POINT IV._ \u201c_And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age, and grace with God\nand men._\u201d It is by the faithful and steady exercise of the virtues\ntaught by our Divine model that Christians ever grow in sanctity; for\nsanctity consists in this. And thus there are thousands to-day, as in\nevery period of the Church, of whom it can be said with truth, as is\nhere said of the Blessed Saviour, that they are growing in wisdom as\nthey are advancing in age; and as a consequence they grow in grace with\nGod; and meanwhile they also become daily more perfect subjects of\nedification to their fellow-men.\n\nThat young religious are expected to resemble Christ in steady progress\nin virtue is of course understood by all. But this should not be\nconfined to young religious. Older religious must persevere in this\nimitation of Christ; their own welfare requires it, and the welfare of\nthe younger generation, who are naturally much influenced by the example\nof their elders. All who profess to follow Christ should therefore grow\nconstantly in wisdom and obedience, in humility and generosity, in\ncharity and devotion, and in all the virtues, of which He has given such\nbright examples.\n\n_Colloquy_ with our Divine Lord, asking earnestly that we may know Him\nmore intimately, love Him more ardently and follow Him more faithfully;\nand that we may correct the faults we have discovered in us during this\nmeditation.\n\n\n                             CONSIDERATION\n               On the Imitation of Christ\u2019s Private Life\n\n\nSince most of our progress in virtue is to be effected by our imitation\nof Christ\u2019s private life, it is worth while adding to the meditation we\nhave made on that subject some further appropriate considerations. Let\nus examine in what exactly lay the excellence of that great model.\n\n\n                                   I\n\n\nIt did not consist in the use of extraordinary austerities, such as were\npractised by St. John the Baptist, whose holiness was so highly extolled\nby the Saviour Himself. That would not have been a suitable model of\nimitation for mankind generally. Christ\u2019s sanctity was of course\ninfinitely superior; and it is the pattern on which our virtue must be\nmodeled.\n\nIn fact Christ\u2019s private life was not distinguished from the common\nlives of men by unusual bodily hardships. Millions of men and women in\nour day, and in civilized lands, toil harder and enjoy fewer material\ncomforts than did the Holy Family. See how hard is the lot of vast\nnumbers of our laboring classes. See them going to their work at early\nmorning, carrying their cold lunches in their baskets, their only\nsupport for the toils of the day. Their labor is fatiguing and\nprotracted, often quite exhausting, as is manifested by the bent forms\nand wasted frames of so many of them. All day they hear rebukes, harsh\nand gross language; and with their best efforts very many can scarcely\nearn enough to keep up their strength. And when they return at night,\nexhausted and begrimed with dirt, they have no comfortable cottage to\nrest their wearied limbs; only some room in a tenement house, or in a\ngarret or cellar, crowded together with their wives and children, amidst\na rude and often vicious crowd of associates. Compared to their life\nthat of the Holy Family was one of decent comfort.\n\n\n                                   II\n\n\n_What then made the life of Christ so very holy and so very meritorious?\nEspecially two qualities._\n\n1. Of course His Divine Person gave infinite merit to every act\nperformed by Him in His human nature. Now it is a great consolation for\nus to remember that, by the gracious dispensation of the Lord, we too\nare children of God, adopted brothers of Christ, as long as we live in\nthe state of grace; and, by the aid of the Holy spirit, who is diffused\nin our hearts, we can make our acts worthy of supernatural reward. And\nall this merit keeps on accumulating throughout our conscious life,\nunless it be lost by mortal sin. Our principal fear ought ever to be\nlest we thus foolishly lose it, and our bitterest regret if we have done\nso.\n\n2. The second source of holiness in Christ was _the perfection of his\nintention_, ever aiming purely at the glory of His Heavenly Father. This\nalso we can and we ought to imitate, with the help of grace offered us\nfor this purpose. Here lies in fact the principal means of improving our\nresemblance to Christ. And we can do so constantly, even in our\ncommonest actions, as the Apostle teaches us saying: \u201cWhether you eat or\ndrink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God\u201d (I Cor. x, 31).\n\nIt is a very appropriate occupation for the time of the yearly retreat\nto examine carefully to what extent we act habitually for a supernatural\nintention, one resting on the faith, and not merely directed to some\nnatural advantage. It is the intention that determines the true value of\nevery human act. Whatever is done for some temporal good alone can only\nclaim a temporal reward. What am I habitually working for? Is it only\nfor some material or intellectual success? Or am I actuated to a great\nextent by a merely natural impulse? Even though such impulse be not\nsinful, not opposed to reason, still it is so much time and energy\nwasted on the things of earth, and cannot add to my eternal happiness.\nTo act thus, as far as supernatural reward is concerned, is without\nresult, as one would waste his time and labor who would spend hours in\nsewing without thread, or writing without ink in his pen.\n\nPeople do not act so foolishly in the affairs of this life; but very\nmany do so in the things of eternity. Is not a great portion of my own\nlife thus habitually wasted by the want of a supernatural intention?\nWhat improvement can I make in this matter?\n\n\n                                  III\n\n\nWe are explicitly warned by our Blessed Saviour against _two copious\nsources of waste of time and labor_.\n\n1. The first regards actions which appear to be very reasonable and\nvirtuous; for instance the exercises of kindness to our friends and\nrelatives, or the practice of any other natural virtues in human\nintercourse. Of all these Christ said: \u201cIf you love them that love you,\nwhat reward shall you have? Do not even the publicans this? And if you\nsalute your brethren only, what do you do more? Do not also the heathens\nthis?\u201d (St. Matth. v, 46-47). We ought to love our friends for God\u2019s\nsake.\n\n2. The second source of waste is a very copious one among men, even\namong religious; namely doing what is quite proper, but only to gain the\nesteem of others.\n\nThis regard for the good opinion of our fellow-men is not sinful in\nitself, as is erroneously supposed by some pious writers, who would have\npenitents accuse themselves in Confession of vanity when they have said\nor done anything to attract favorable attention or gain praise. Every\nsin is essentially a violation of a law of God. But there is no law of\nGod forbidding us to seek the approbation of sensible persons. Does a\nboy sin by trying to please his parents? Does a student sin by trying to\ngain a prize? Jansenists would think so, but such is not Catholic\ndoctrine.\n\nThe desire of praise is a constant encouragement to the practice of the\nnatural virtues. Sin enters when praise is sought for doing what is\nunreasonable, or when we take all the credit of good conduct to\nourselves, forgetting that our very goodness is a gift of God. For this\nis blamed by St. Paul: \u201cWhat hast thou that thou hast not received? and\nif thou hast received, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not\nreceived?\u201d (I Cor. iv, 7). There is unfortunately plenty of sin in the\nworld; but we must avoid increasing it by forming false consciences.\n\nYet, even when reasonable praise is sought, and no sin committed, there\nmay be great evil in the loss of merit for Heaven; and the imitation of\nChrist will teach us to avoid that evil. He acted in all things for the\nglory of His Heavenly Father. \u201cI seek not my own glory,\u201d He said to the\nJews; and again: \u201cHe that sends me is with me,\u2014for I do always the\nthings that please him\u201d (St. John viii, 50, 29). By imitating the\nSaviour in this, we become more and more like unto Him, and we lay up\nabundant treasures for Heaven.\n\nBut He earnestly warns us not to lose such precious merit, saying: \u201cTake\nheed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them;\notherwise you shall not have reward of your Father, who is in Heaven\u201d\n(St. Matth. vi, 1). And speaking, in the next verse of the hypocrites\nwho gave alms that they might be seen by men, the Saviour adds: \u201cThey\nhave received their reward.\u201d\n\nBut the loss of supernatural reward is not the only evil resulting from\nthe seeking of human praise; for, though, as we have seen, seeking such\nhonor is not in itself a sin, still it is very often the cause of sin,\neven of mortal sin. For praise is very apt to affect the mind somewhat\nas intoxicants affect the body; it arouses an inordinate greed of more\nand more of the stimulant. The more we get of it, the more are various\npassions aroused within us, and we are likely to become ambitious of\nhonor and of superiority over others, conceited and contemptuous of\nothers, becoming infatuated with our supposed good qualities; in a word\nwe gradually become proud, and a proud man is an abomination to the\nLord, or, as St. Luke expresses it: \u201cThat which is high to men is an\nabomination before God\u201d (xvi, 15).\n\n\n                                   IV\n\n\nA third cause that made the life of Christ so holy was that _He did\neverything perfectly well_: \u201cHe hath done all things well\u201d (St. Mark\nvii, 37). Our goodness does not consist so much in what we do as in the\nmanner in which we do it. In fact, during the thirty years of His\nprivate life, which we are now studying, Christ did no great things\nwhatever. His occupations were of the humblest kind; millions of men are\ndoing the same day after day; but His actions derived their excellence\nfrom the perfection wherewith He did them, and our goodness consists in\nimitating His perfect manner of acting.\n\nThe excellence of a masterpiece in painting and sculpture results from\nthe excellent delicacy and appropriateness of every, even the smallest,\ndetail; the beauty of a specimen of good penmanship does not result from\nbold dashes, but from the perfection of every single letter; and so the\nexcellence of the life of Christ, and the lives of those who wish to\nbecome like unto Him, lies not in doing great things, but in doing\neverything excellently well.\n\nFew of us, if any, have occasion of doing many great things in the\ncourse of our life; but we can all, with God\u2019s grace, do a multitude of\nlittle things well, and thus resemble our Divine model. Our crown in\nHeaven will not consist of some one or two magnificent jewels, as does\nthe crown of many glorious Martyrs, but of countless little gems, each\nshining with its own peculiar lustre. These are the lessons we should\nlearn from the private life of the God incarnate.\n\n\n                          THE THIRD MEDITATION\n                      On the Public Life of Christ\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Recall the facts: Christ began His public labors for the\nsalvation of souls by leaving His Blessed Mother, by being baptized\namong sinners, then fasting forty days. Next He travelled on foot from\ntown to town during three years, in great poverty, through Galilee and\nJudea; selected ignorant men as His Apostles, instructed them most\npatiently, and predicted His sacred passion.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Behold Christ, attended by His Apostles, while He\naddresses a miscellaneous multitude.\n\n_3rd Prelude._ Ask earnestly that you may learn from Him an intense zeal\nfor souls and generosity in following His example.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider the grandeur of the work of saving souls. It is the\nnoblest occupation possible, as is expressed in the maxim attributed to\nSt. Dionysius the Areopagite: \u201cThe most Divine of all Divine works is\nthe salvation of souls.\u201d In fact the saving of one soul is a higher\nachievement than the creation of the material universe; for the value of\nan action is properly measured by the result achieved, and a glorified\nsoul is as far above all bodily substances as the knowledge, love and\nfruition of God is above mere matter. We admire the poet who composes a\ngrand epic, the painter or sculptor who produces a masterpiece of his\nnoble art, the architect who erects an imposing structure, etc.; but\nwhat is all this compared to the salvation of a soul, that will be for\neternity an ornament of Heaven. To Christ belongs the glory of all\nsalvation of souls, but He deigns to share this glory with His\nfollowers, to whom He says: \u201cI have chosen you and have appointed you\nthat you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should\nremain\u201d (St. John xv, 16).\n\nWhat a noble object to work for! And while a soul is so precious, its\nsalvation is to be effected in a short time. We may at times achieve\nthis wonderful success in a single hour.\n\n_POINT II._ Consider the example set us by the Son of God to accomplish\nthis purpose: 1. He left His Blessed Mother, and we do not read that He\never returned to her home. This ought to encourage us to make similar\nsacrifices. 2. He so humbled Himself as to be baptized among sinners;\nand, to call down the blessings of Heaven upon His sacred ministry, He\nspent forty days in fasting and prayer. By all this He taught us that\nthe supernatural work of saving souls is to be accomplished by the\nsupernatural means of humiliations and penance and prayer; mere\neloquence and logic are not sufficient. 3. He endured many privations.\nFor during those three years He and His Apostles had not the comforts of\na home: \u201cThe foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests, but the\nson of man hath not where to lay his head\u201d (St. Matth. viii, 20). They\noften spent the night in the open air, for instance in the Garden of\nOlives. They had no regular supply of food, and must often have endured\nbitter hunger. St. Matthew narrates an instance: \u201cAt that time Jesus\nwent through the corn on the Sabbath; and His disciples being hungry\nbegan to pluck the ears and to eat them\u201d (xii, 1). He travelled and\ntaught the people all day and received visitors during the night, like\nNicodemus and Joseph of Arithmathea, who were His disciples secretly for\nfear of the Jews.\n\nThe history of the Saints is full of similar hardships; for they had\nlearned to follow His example. Am I a worthy follower of my King? Do I\nmake generous sacrifices in His service? Frequently the salvation or the\nloss of a soul depends on the zeal of a priest or religious. Neglect in\nthis matter is often irreparable.\n\n_POINT III._ During His public life Jesus also gave us the example of\nearnest prayer, in which He would at times spend the entire night. St.\nLuke writes: \u201cHe (Jesus) went out into a mountain to pray, and he passed\nthe whole night in the prayer of God\u201d (vi, 12). He did not need to pray\nfor His own sake, but He wished to show us by His example the necessity\nof fervent prayer for those employed in the active duty of saving souls.\nThey need it for themselves and for the good of others. For themselves,\nbecause the sacred ministry is full of dangers; it is like striving to\nsave drowning men, in which task those who lend assistance often perish\nthemselves. Sad experience teaches that many priests, employed in\nconstant labors, neglect their own souls, and come to a miserable fall.\nAnd as far as the neighbor is concerned, it is the man of prayer, the\nman of God, that does the work of God, and not the priest of a worldly\nmind who neglects his prayer.\n\nWith what devotion do I offer the holy sacrifice of the Mass? receive\nHoly Communion? make my meditation? recite the Divine Office? The annual\nretreat is the time to consider all these things and to provide for\nimprovements.\n\n_Colloquy_ with our Dear Lord, praying for an increase of fervor in\nprayer, of zeal for souls, of generosity in the labors of the ministry.\n\n\n\n\n                             THE SIXTH DAY\n\n\nAfter we have meditated on the Kingdom of Christ, His self-annihilation,\nHis private life and His zealous labors, we must now consider the plots\nand efforts of the archenemy Satan, who opposes Him at every point. For\nlife is a continuous warfare: \u201cThe life of man upon earth is a warfare,\u201d\nsays Job; and in every war there are of course two opposing forces. St.\nAugustine in his celebrated work on \u201cThe City of God,\u201d compared together\nthe working of those conflicting powers, the impersonations of virtue\nand vice, of humility and pride. St. Ignatius here proposes a similar\nparable, for the purpose of discovering the plots and snares of Satan to\nruin souls, contrasting them with Christ\u2019s plans and labors to procure\ntheir eternal happiness.\n\n\n                          THE FIRST MEDITATION\n                          On the Two Standards\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ The figure under which the two opposing forces are\npresented by St. Ignatius is that of two armies encamped, the one near\nBabylon, the city of confusion, as the name signifies; the other near\nJerusalem, that sacred city of peace. In the former camp Satan is seen\nelevated on a throne of fire and smoke, his countenance horrible to\nbehold. He is surrounded by countless demons, whom he is instructing how\nto compass the ruin of souls. In the other camp the Blessed Saviour\nstands humbly in the midst of His followers, Angels and men, His\ncountenance beaming with kindness, while teaching them how to gain all\nhearts for virtue and happiness.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Imagine you behold these two camps with their respective\nleaders.\n\n_3rd Prelude._ Ask for light to understand the treacherous schemes of\nSatan, that you may oppose them in yourself and in others, and may lead\nall to obey Christ.\n\n_POINT I._ Study the special features of Satan\u2019s camp.\n\n1. It is near Babylon, where the tower of Babel once stood, to signify\nthe pride and the confusion which Satan ever labors to stir up in the\nhearts of men. He is elevated on a throne, to denote the ambition he\narouses in all to rise above their fellows. The throne consists of\nflames, ever restless, and smoke, darkening the mind of his miserable\ndupes. His monstrous features reflect the ugly vices of his heart.\n\n2. Listen to his address: \u201cGo into every country, every province, every\ncity, town and hamlet, enter into every house, and tempt every man,\nwoman and child to grasp for the good things of this world. Most of them\nare easily enticed to the greed of money and riches, the accumulation of\nwhich seems to them reasonable and proper.\n\n\u201cWhen they become rich, tempt them to the ambition of honor, by which\nthey are puffed up with self-esteem and the spirit of independence of\nGod.\u201d This spirit is the very essence of pride, and the subversion of\nthe moral order. The world is full of minds independent of God; they are\nthe conquests of Satan. Beginning with what appears proper enough, they\nare gradually led to the abyss of sin.\n\n3. The demon understands full well that the temptation is to be adapted\nto each one\u2019s character. With many there is from the beginning an\ninordinate love of honor and distinction; these may at once be assailed\non their weak point and more rapidly led into pride. Others are more\nreadily allured by the bait of pleasure; they may first be tempted by\ninnocent amusements, then by more inordinate enjoyment, till they cast\noff all restraint, loving self to the contempt of the Creator, which is\nbut another form of pride.\n\n_POINT II._ Now consider the opposing camp.\n\n1. There behold the gentle Saviour, not enthroned, but humbly standing\nin the midst of His followers, as it were an equal to the least. His\nserene countenance is lit by a genial smile, inspiring all with love and\nconfidence;\n\n\u201cBeautiful above the sons of men, grace is poured abroad in thy\nlips\u2014Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore God, thy God,\nhath annointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows\u201d (Ps.\n44).\n\n2. Listen to the instructions He gives to His Angels and the human\nministers of His mercy. He says: \u201cGo ye into the whole world, to every\ncountry, every province, every city, town and hamlet, enter every house,\nand induce every man, woman, and child to labor for their eternal\nhappiness, by the practice of self-restraint and moderation in all their\ndesires; let all be satisfied with a decent competency of wealth,\ndetaching their hearts from earthly possessions, so as to acquire\npoverty of spirit, and to be ready to embrace even actual poverty, if\nthe spirit of God should be pleased to lead them to that perfection.\nInduce them next to willingness to be slighted, even despised, so as to\nresemble Me more closely. The result will be true humility, which is the\nroot of all the virtues.\u201d\n\n_Colloquy_, first with your Mother Mary, asking her to obtain from her\nDivine Son, true poverty of spirit, and willingness to become actually\npoor, if God should wish it. Then ask the Saviour through His love for\nMary, as man, to obtain these graces for you from His Heavenly Father.\nLastly ask the Father to grant you the same through His love for His\nDivine Son. This triple colloquy is a powerful prayer.\n\n\n                         THE SECOND MEDITATION\n                    On the Three Degrees of Humility\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you behold Christ, who says to you: \u201cMy son, I\nwill now show you the highest point of perfection to which I desire you\nto aspire for the present.\u201d\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Speak, O Lord, Thy servant heareth. Give me the grace of\ngenerously complying with Thy invitation.\n\n_POINT I._ _The first degree_ of virtue, also called the first degree of\nhumility, consists in such a disposition of heart, such firm attachment\nto our good Lord, that nothing in the world, not even the danger of\ndeath, can make us even deliberate about committing a mortal sin. This\ndegree is necessary for all men, it is the habitual state of all good\nChristians. Weakness or passion may sometimes cause them to fall; but\nthey soon rise again, and return to this state of mind. It is in fact\nsimply the application of the words of Christ: \u201cIf thy right hand\nscandalize thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life\nmaimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into unquenchable fire\u201d\n(St. Mark ix, 42). Let us thank God that we have attained this degree at\nleast; but let us also consider whether any passion is so unrestrained\nwithin us as to expose us to a serious fall. No man is safe as long as\nhe lives; some make a sad failure in the end. They fare like the vessel\nthat came from the New World with loads of gold and silver on board, and\nwas wrecked in sight of the Golden Gate, the harbor of San Francisco,\nwhile its sailors were answering the hurrahs of welcome rising from the\ncrowd of spectators on the shore.\n\n_POINT II._ _The second degree_ consists in such an habitual state of\nmind that we would rather do or suffer anything, even rather die, than\nenter into deliberation about committing even a wilful venial sin. This\ndegree supposes considerable indifference to the good things or the\nevils of this world. It is the habitual state of fervent religious; they\nmay be surprised into venial sins, but they rarely commit them with full\ndeliberation. Let us try to establish ourselves firmly in this degree;\nand if we find difficulty in this, let us pray most earnestly for help,\nand do ourselves violence. \u201cThe Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence,\nand the violent bear it away\u201d (St. Matth. xi, 12). We should not rest\nsatisfied till, by prayer and efforts, we have confirmed ourselves in\nthis degree.\n\n_POINT III._ _The third degree_ consists in such devoted attachment to\nour Blessed Saviour that we wish to be like Him, to be in suffering and\nforgotten, or even despised by men, as He was; so that, where duty does\nnot require the contrary, we wish, even without a view to any reward, to\nshare His afflictions, for no other reason than because Christ, our\ndearest friend and Sovereign Lord endured the same.\n\nThus when a member of a decent family is in a dying condition, all the\nother members abstain from feasting or attending pleasure parties; so\ntoo, because our Lord led a poor and humble life, enduring intense\nhardships and sufferings, we wish to bear a share in His afflictions.\n\nAs an accomplished artist takes great delight in practising his art, in\nwhich a beginner finds only labor and difficulties, so those derive most\nhappiness from the practice of virtue who have attained in it uncommon\nproficiency. The sentiments of this third degree are beautifully\nexpressed in the Prayer of St. Xavier, \u201cO Deus: ego amo te,\u201d etc. (page\n132).\n\n_The colloquy_ is three-fold: 1. Begging the Blessed Virgin to obtain\nfor us from her Divine Son the grace of frequently eliciting acts of\nthis third degree. 2. Begging our Divine Lord to ask this grace for us\nfrom His Heavenly Father. 3. Begging our Heavenly Father to grant us the\nsame, through the love He has for His Divine Son.\n\n\n                             CONSIDERATION\n                             On Temptations\n\n\nIn the meditation on the Two Standards we studied the manner in which\nthe evil spirit tempts the souls of men, leading them from apparently\ninnocent beginnings to total independence of their Creator. We must now\nconsider the subject of temptations in further detail.\n\n\n                                   I\n\n\n_Why does the Devil hate men?_ Because he hates God, and as he cannot\ninjure God, he wreaks his vengeance on God\u2019s images and children. Now\nman is created in the image of God, and all men are, or at least are\ndestined to be, elevated to the dignity of children of God. Besides,\nthey are intended to occupy in Heaven the thrones which the evil angels\nhave lost. Therefore Satan envies them, and wants to ruin them by every\nmeans in his power. The chief means is mortal sin, by which a man joins\nin with the tempter in rebelling against his Sovereign Lord. If Satan\ncannot succeed in leading us into mortal sin, he will strive to impair\nat least the beauty of the soul by venial sin, and worry it to deprive\nit of the peace of God.\n\nGod allows all this to happen that man may be further ennobled by his\nvictories over temptations and be more richly rewarded; also that the\npower of the Lord may be more and more manifested, when He enables so\nweak a being as man to triumph over such powerful spirits. Thus\nProvidence draws good out of evil, and the wisdom, power, and goodness\nof God are glorified, virtue is perfected in infirmity (II Cor. xii, 9),\nand the free creature is exalted. This is beautifully explained in the\nbook of Tobias: \u201cThy counsel is not in man\u2019s power. But this every man\nis sure of that worshippeth thee, that his life, if it be under trial,\nshall be crowned; and if it be under tribulation it shall be delivered,\nand if it be under correction, it shall be allowed to come to thy mercy:\nbecause after a storm, thou makest a calm, and after tears and weeping\nthou pourest in joyfulness. Be thy name, O God of Israel, blessed\nforever\u201d (iii, 20-23).\n\n\n                                   II\n\n\n_All must expect to be tried by temptations_; for the Lord assures us:\n\u201cthe kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent bear it away\u201d\n(St. Matth. xi, 12); now our indolence tempts us to shirk this violence.\nOur Blessed Saviour allowed Himself to be tempted, and we are to be made\nlike unto Him: \u201cThe disciple is not above his master\u201d (ib. x, 24). Those\nwho aim at a closer resemblance to their Divine Master must expect to be\nmore violently tempted; and therefore Ecclesiasticus warns us: \u201cSon,\nwhen thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear,\nand prepare thy soul for temptation. Humble thy heart and endure\u201d (ii,\n1). In fact those who please God must be tempted; the two things are\ninseparable, as the Angel explained to Tobias: \u201cBecause thou wast\nacceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove thee\u201d\n(xii, 13). Read the lives of the Saints, and you will not find one who\nhad not to endure severe temptations, from St. Paul and the other\nApostles down to the latest Saint.\n\n\n                                  III\n\n\n_God will not allow us to be tempted above our strength_, as He has\ngraciously promised through St. Paul, who writes: \u201cGod is faithful, who\nwill not allow you to be tempted above that which you are able, but will\nmake also with temptation issue that you may be able to bear it\u201d (I Cor.\nx, 13). This truth is strikingly illustrated by the history of Job,\nwhich is graphically told thus, in poetic language: \u201cOn a certain day,\nwhen the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Satan also was\npresent among them. And the Lord said to him: Hast thou considered my\nservant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a simple and\nupright man, and fearing God and avoiding evil? And Satan answering\nsaid: Does Job fear God in vain? Hast thou not made a fence for him and\nhis house, and all his substance round about, blessed the work of his\nhands, and his possession hath increased on the earth? But stretch forth\nthy hand a little, and touch all that he hath, and see if he blesseth\nthee not to thy face. Then the Lord said to Satan: Behold all that he\nhath is in thy hand, only put not forth thy hand upon his person.\u201d He\nthus allowed Satan to deprive Job of his possessions, but not to go any\nfurther. We all know how Satan carried out this permission to the\nletter, and took away in one day all that Job enjoyed, his sons and\ndaughters included, so that he exclaimed: \u201cNaked came I out of my\nmother\u2019s womb, and naked shall I return thither, the Lord gave, and the\nLord hath taken away; as it hath pleased to the Lord so it is done,\u201d and\nhe added with perfect resignation: \u201cBlessed be the name of the Lord\u201d (i,\n6-22). Next, Satan obtains power from God to afflict Job in his health,\nyet so as to spare his life; God controls all. \u201cSo Satan went forth from\nthe face of the Lord, and struck Job with a very grievous ulcer, from\nthe sole of the foot to the top of his head. And he took a potsherd, and\nscraped the corrupt matter, sitting on a dunghill. And his wife said to\nhim: Dost thou still continue in thy simplicity? bless God and die, and\nhe said to her: Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women; if we\nhave received good things at the hand of God, why should we not receive\nevil? In all these things Job did not sin with his lips\u201d (ii, 7, 8).\n\nSuch is the grand example of patience that Job gave for all subsequent\nages. After his trials were ended, the Lord rewarded him abundantly in\nhis wealth and in the excellence of his later children; \u201cand Job lived\nafter these things a hundred and forty years, and he saw his children\nand his children\u2019s children unto the fourth generation, and he died an\nold man and full of years.\u201d In the New Law, in which we live, the\nrewards of patience are far more precious than those here mentioned in\nthe case of Job; for \u201cThe sufferings of this time,\u201d says St. Paul, \u201care\nnot worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed\nin us\u201d (Rom. viii, 18). And St. James writes: \u201cBlessed is the man that\nendureth temptations; for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the\ncrown of life which God hath promised to them that love Him\u201d (i, 12).\n\n\n                                   IV\n\n\nWe must remember, however, that _not all our temptations are from the\nevil spirit_. He is wicked enough to cause them all; but he need not do\nso. Of course they never come from God; for St. James says: \u201cLet no man,\nwhen he is tempted, say that he is tempted by God; for God is not a\ntempter of evils, and He tempts no man. But every man is tempted by his\nown concupiscence, being drawn away and allured\u201d (i, 13-14).\n\nAs concupiscence belongs to our fallen nature, it cannot be altogether\nsuppressed; but its power can be very much increased or diminished; and\ntherefore the temptations it causes are to a considerable extent under\nour own control. If a St. Aloysius, a St. Stanislaus and many other\nchaste youths scarcely felt any rebellions of the flesh, it was due in\ngreat part to the care with which they had from their early childhood\nguarded the gates of their senses, their eyes, their ears, their touch;\nand instead of flattering them, they had constantly mortified them in\nvarious ways. On the other hand, very many persons allow themselves\nliberties of an indelicate nature; these need not wonder why they find\nit so difficult to lead chaste lives.\n\nHowever, even the most mortified souls may be severely tempted to carnal\nsins; thus we read of St. Anthony, that, even in his frightful desert,\nhe was one day assailed by such temptations; and when the victory was\nwon, he exclaimed: Lord where wast Thou when those vile images beset my\nmind? And the Lord answered him: Anthony, I was in the midst of your\nheart. But the danger of the sin is certainly much greater when a person\nis, partly at least, the cause of such disorderly affections, when he\nheaps fuel on the fire of concupiscence.\n\nIt is well to ask oneself in a retreat: have I anything to reproach\nmyself with in this respect? How do I habitually observe modesty of the\neyes in public and in private? Is my reading always proper and prudent?\nDo I ever indulge indolence or excessive softness? am I perfectly\ntemperate in food and drink, and thus cautious not to arouse dangerous\npassions? It is necessary to ask the Lord frequently and fervently:\n\u201cLead us not into temptation\u201d; but this will be of little avail if we\nbring on temptations by our own laxity or imprudence.\n\n\n                          THE THIRD MEDITATION\n                      On the Three Classes of men\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you behold Christ before you, looking kindly upon\nyou, and saying: \u201cMy son, give me thy heart\u201d (Prov. xxxiii).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask fervently for light to understand this gracious\ninvitation, and strength to comply with it generously.\n\n_POINT I._ While this invitation is really addressed by our loving Lord\nto every man, consider how differently it is responded to by various\nclasses of men.\n\n_The first class_, which unfortunately is very numerous, turn a deaf ear\nto this appeal. They are so taken up with the vanities or the pleasures\nof the world, with the pursuit of riches or honor or friendships, that\nthey do not even stop to consider the call of grace. The turmoil of\ntheir passions drowns the still voice of conscience, and they rush on to\nthe yawning abyss of eternal loss. Let me thank the Lord that He has\nprevented me by His loving care from running along in this mad career.\n\n_POINT II._ The second class of men listen to the Divine call,\nappreciate its infinite condescension, fly from the allurements of the\ngrossest vices, and give their hearts to their Sovereign Master. Yet\nthey do not give their whole heart. A part of it is occupied by some\ncherished creature, which they will not sacrifice to their loving Lord.\nWe read that when St. Sebastian was trying to convert a Roman nobleman,\nnamed Croatius, he promised him a cure from a painful disease as soon as\nhe should receive Baptism; for Sebastian worked many miracles. But he\nrequired as a necessary condition that Croatius should destroy all the\nidols he had in his house. After the Baptism the convert complained that\nhis sickness was not removed. It was found that he had not destroyed one\nlittle idol of gold, an old heirloom in the family; and only after this\nalso was given up was the cure obtained. Thus very many souls are kept\nback from perfection by some cherished idol which they hesitate to\nresign.\n\nIn the world some men are estimable citizens, honest, charitable, but\nneglectful of religious duties; others are even practical Catholics,\nexcept that they neglect Confession. All such are in evident danger of\ndying in their sins and being lost forever; but passion blinds them to\ntheir terrible danger. Among religious no great vice is common, but many\nare held back from attaining perfection by some human attachment, or by\nsome evil habit, which they refuse, or hesitate to abandon altogether.\n\nIs there any sacrifice that I know, or at least suspect, my dear Lord\nasks of me? Is there any practice or habit of mine that may not please\nHim? If a sculptor, carving an elegant statue, would find a flaw in the\nmarble that would disfigure the countenance, he might have to reject\nthat stone and choose another. The Divine Artist is forming my soul into\nan image of Christ; happily, if He finds a flaw in my soul, He can\nremove it, but He will not do so without my consent; or rather He will\nnot remove it Himself, but aid me to remove it. Is there such a flaw?\nAre there perhaps more than one? Speak, O Lord, Thy servant heareth.\n\n_POINT III._ _The third class of men_ to whom the Lord says, \u201cSon, give\nme thy heart,\u201d answer promptly and generously: \u201cO Lord! I wish to be all\nthine\u201d; \u201cFor what have I in Heaven? and besides Thee what do I desire\nupon earth? For Thee my flesh and my heart hath fainted away; Thou art\nthe God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever\u201d (Ps. 72).\nBut of course virtue does not consist in fine sentiments alone. Docile\nto the invitation of Christ, we must so give Him our hearts that we are\nwilling to satisfy all His desires. \u201cWhat shall I render to the Lord for\nall the things that He hath rendered to me?\u201d (Ps. 115).\n\nI am now come to the end of the second week of the Exercises. Its main\npurpose was the study of Christ\u2019s private and public life, so as to make\nmyself like unto Him. This therefore is the proper time to examine\nwhether there is any trait of my Divine model which I am not yet\ndetermined to reproduce in my own soul.\n\nHere St. Ignatius introduces the election of a state of life for those\nwho have not yet entered on a permanent career; and from those who have\nhe expects a reformation of life. Now this is best accomplished by\ncomparing our own hearts with that of our Divine pattern, taking most\ngenerous resolutions to remove all flaws and supply all deficiencies.\n\n_Colloquy._ O my dear Mother Mary! I beg of thee to obtain for me from\nthy Divine Son the grace of following His example in the practice of all\nthe virtues, doing whatever He may desire of me and that at any\nsacrifice. Oh, dearest Lord! by Thy love for Thy Blessed Mother, obtain\nfor me, this precious grace from Thy Heavenly Father. And Thou, my\nSupreme Lord and Master, God the Father, grant me this entire\ndevotedness at the prayer of Thy Divine Son.\n\n\n\n\n                            THE SEVENTH DAY\n\n\nHere we begin the Third Week of St. Ignatius\u2019 Exercises; it is devoted\nto the consideration of Christ\u2019s sacred passion. These meditations, or\ncontemplations, are a tribute of love that we offer to our dear Lord;\nand they are suggestive to ourselves of generous sentiments, and earnest\nresolutions to practise even heroic virtue, in following our beloved\nKing to the height of His self-sacrifice. By the light and grace they\nimpart, they aid us to advance rapidly in the way of perfection.\n\nWe read in the Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude (p. 348) that she\nbeheld one day our Blessed Lord as He was after He had been whipped at\nthe pillar, covered with wounds, and she asked Him, tenderly: \u201cAlas,\nLord, what remedy can we find to sooth Thy agonizing pains?\u201d Our Lord\nreplied: \u201cThe most efficacious and tenderest remedy you can prepare for\nMe is to meditate on My passion, and to pray charitably for the\nconversion of sinners.\u201d It is in this spirit that all the exercises of\nthis day should be performed.\n\n\n                          THE FIRST MEDITATION\n               On the Sufferings of Christ in the Garden\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Read the 26th chapter of St. Matthew\u2019s Gospel, from the\n30th to the 57th verse.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Behold Christ prostrate in the prayer of His agony.\n\n_3rd Prelude._ Beg grace to condole with Him and to suffer patiently and\ngenerously.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider Christ\u2019s entrance into the garden.\n\n_The persons_: Christ, my Saviour, goes to suffer for me. The fact then\nregards me personally, I cannot be indifferent to its details. He\nselects Peter, John and James to witness His agony. Thus the severest\ntrials come to God\u2019s favorites. Christ has prepared them for this trial\nof their faith by the vision of His glory on Mount Thabor. Thus He\nprovides special aids for special difficulties. All the Apostles have\nbeen strengthened for the occasion by Holy Communion. A fall soon after\nreceiving Communion does not prove an unworthy Communion.\n\n_The words._ Peter said: \u201cAlthough all should be scandalized in thee, I\nwill never be scandalized.\u201d Pride goes before a fall. \u201cJesus said to\nhim: Amen, I say to thee that, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me\nthrice.\u201d Christ saith to his Apostles: \u201cMy soul is sorrowful even unto\ndeath.\u201d We should not then be discouraged if we shrink from suffering,\nand are saddened by them.\n\n_The actions._ Jesus prepares for the conflict by betaking Himself to\nprayer. I must do the same in trials.\n\n_POINT II._ _The agony._ _The words_: \u201cMy Father, if it be possible, let\nthis chalice pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou\nwilt.\u201d It is then perfectly proper to pray for deliverance from the\ncross; but we must ever add submission to God\u2019s holy will: \u201cNot my will\nbut thine be done.\u201d\n\n_The actions_: \u201cHe cometh to his disciples, and findeth them asleep.\u201d We\nare not then forbidden to seek for consolation from our fellow-men; but\nwe shall usually be disappointed; like Jesus, we must return to prayer.\nHe prayed again, \u201csaying the self-same words.\u201d We should not try to be\neloquent in prayer, but dwell on a few thoughts or sentiments. We can\nhave no better model of prayer than we have here before us. The Apostles\nneglected their opportunity; hence their cowardice.\n\n_POINT III. The treason of Judas. The persons._ The Son of God is meanly\nbetrayed by one of His own Apostles. How is the gold obscured! When\nfavorite souls fall away, they often fall the deepest. How did he come\nto this? From small beginnings, by little thefts at first. One passion\nleft unchecked is enough to ruin the noblest character. All the passions\nare in every one of us, and need constant watching.\n\n_The words._ \u201cHail Rabbi.\u201d What hypocrisy! \u201cFriend, whereunto art thou\ncome?\u201d Christ still loved the wretch, and kindly wished to bring him\nback to his duty. That is the charity of my model. Is mine like His?\n\n_The actions._ He receives the kiss of the traitor and shows no\nindignation. Then Christ lets Himself be seized and bound like a\ncriminal, and He abandons Himself into the hands of His enemies,\nrecognizing in them the executers of His Father\u2019s will. \u201cThen the\ndisciples, all leaving him, fled\u201d; and yet all of them had said with\nPeter that they were ready to go with Him even to death. It is not\nboasting, but praying we need.\n\n_Colloquy_, thanking our dear Lord for His generous love for us, asking\nthat we may know and love Him better and follow Him more perfectly.\n\n_Notice_ that the thoughts here expressed are only suggestions and need\nnot be entertained. The exercitant is apt to be most benefited by what\nhe discovers himself. And when a thought or sentiment strikes him, he\nshould dwell on it as long as it gives him devotion, and not hasten on\nto other matters.\n\n\n                         THE SECOND MEDITATION\n                On Christ\u2019s Sufferings before His Judges\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Christ was dragged from court to court, everywhere loaded\nwith false accusations; but He opened not His mouth. He was dressed in a\nfool\u2019s garment, cruelly scourged and crowned with thorns, and bore all\npatiently. Exposed to the sight of the multitude, He saw a robber\npreferred to Him, was rejected by His people and condemned to the death\nof the cross.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Behold Christ with His hands tied like a criminal,\nstanding before the tribunal of Caiphas.\n\n_3rd Prelude._ My dear Lord, grant me deep sorrow for Thy sufferings and\nfor my sins, by which I have repaid Thy infinite love.\n\n_POINT I. Christ is falsely accused._ Consider:\n\n_The persons._ The judges presume to sit in judgment on Him who has\nproved Himself to be the Son of God. Our sins, like theirs, are often\nfar more serious than we are willing to acknowledge to ourselves. We\nblind ourselves. Caiphas did so by claiming that it was \u201cexpedient that\none man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not\u201d\n(St. John xi, 50). This was true, but not in the sense the high priest\ngave to it. Do I ever judge my neighbor unjustly? perhaps even my\nsuperiors?\n\nThe witnesses little think how wicked their accusations are, leading to\nthe crime of deicide: \u201cThe tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity\u201d (St.\nJames iii, 6). Meanwhile Christ is silent, to teach us how to suffer;\nsilence under accusations, true or false, is usually better than the\nmost eloquent defense. Isaias had predicted: \u201cHe shall be dumb as a lamb\nbefore his hearers, and he shall not open his mouth\u201d (liii, 7). He only\nspoke when the honor of God required it, as when the high priest said:\n\u201cI conjure thee by the living God that thou tell us if thou be the\nChrist, the Son of God. Jesus said to them: Thou has said it.\nNevertheless I say to you, hereafter you shall see the son of man\nsitting on the right hand of the power of God and coming in the clouds\nof Heaven. They answering said: He is guilty of death\u201d (St. Matth. xxvi,\n63-66). What injustice! This is often repeated to-day by those who hate\nthe Church; we must wait patiently for the time of its glorification.\n\n_POINT II. Dressed in a fool\u2019s garment, scourged, crowned with thorns._\nBehold the humiliations, the cruel sufferings patiently endured by the\nRedeemer, as an expiation of your own sins. Try to realize the details\nof the torments heaped upon Him. That flagellation was borne to expiate\nsins of the body. Do I practise bodily mortification enough? Soft\nmembers are out of place in the mystic body of Christ. He is crowned\nwith thorns; do I look for honors and laurel crowns? He is decked in\nmockery with a rag of purple; do I delight in vain display? Lord, make\nme like unto thee.\n\n_POINT III._ Pilate shows Him to the people: \u201c_Ecco homo_,\u201d \u201cBehold the\nman.\u201d Let me observe Him well, noticing every indignity inflicted on\nHim. His head crowned with thorns, His face defiled with spittle, every\nvisible portion of His sacred body livid with bruises and stained with\nclotted blood: \u201cA worm and no man, the reproach of men and the outcast\nof the people\u201d (Ps. 21), \u201cDespised and the most abject of men, a man of\nsorrows\u201d (Is. liii, 3).\n\n_The words_: \u201cGive us Barabbas and take Jesus away.\u201d How can I complain\nwhen others are preferred to me? \u201cLet him be crucified\u201d; \u201cHis blood be\nupon us and upon our children.\u201d How fearfully has this curse been\ncarried into effect. Behold the whole Jewish race struck with spiritual\nblindness for already nineteen centuries, in the midst of nations blest\nwith the light of faith. How this ruin of His nation must have grieved\nthe heart of the Redeemer. Pilate vainly tries to disclaim his\nresponsibility for the deicide: \u201cI am innocent of the death of this just\nman.\u201d So we may deceive ourselves, wilfully. Am I always honest in my\npretences?\n\n_The actions._ Pilate delivers Christ to be crucified. This is the price\npaid for every soul, the death of Christ. How precious is a soul! The\nblood of Christ is the atonement of sin; what a terrible evil is sin!\n\n_Colloquy_ with Jesus, as He stands there condemned to an ignominious\ndeath; indulging the sentiments aroused by the meditation.\n\n\n                             CONSIDERATION\n                  On Generosity in the Service of God\n\n\nWhen we performed the meditation on the Kingdom of Christ, we imagined a\nvery noble prince, who, at the call of God, abandoned all other pursuits\nto devote himself to the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth,\nand summoned all brave souls to rally under his standard for this\nexalted purpose. We next considered that this parable was not a mere\ncreation of the fancy, but was a fit expression of a grand reality. For\nsuch a noble prince did actually appear on earth, one far nobler than we\ncould have conceived possible, the Son of God Himself, come down to\nestablish the Kingdom of His Father in the hearts of men, and thus\nprepare them to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. At this summons we\nresolved to follow Him, and we have really left all things for that\npurpose, and our highest ambition now is to follow Him most closely by\nmaking ourselves as like to Him as, with God\u2019s grace, may be possible.\n\nTo accomplish this purpose, we have been studying His example, from the\nmoment of His incarnation, through His birth, childhood, His private and\nHis public life, till we have seen Him deliver Himself into the hands of\nHis enemies, submit to the most shocking indignities and torments; and\nall this through love for us, paying the penalties of our sins in His\nown Person, to save us from Hell and make us share His glory. The most\nappropriate term to express all this devotedness is \u201cboundless\ngenerosity.\u201d This is the most striking characteristic of our glorious\nKing.\n\nAs we are earnestly striving to make ourselves like to Him, we will now\nconsider the excellence of the virtue of generosity; and we do so by\npreference on this day on which we are meditating on the sacrifices by\nwhich Christ\u2019s generosity was exhibited in the most impressive manner.\n\nAmong natural qualities in man generosity is the noblest, among the\nsupernatural virtues it is the highest, because it is the most Godlike.\nCharity, the love of God, and of the neighbor for the love of God, is\nthe most perfect virtue, and generosity is the perfection of charity.\nThe highest manifestation that God has made of Himself is twofold, the\ncreation and the incarnation with all its consequences. He created to\npour out happiness on other beings, all manners of good things on\ncreated natures; He became incarnate to bestow _Himself_ on them; and He\ndid so even after they had forfeited their primal destiny. Thus too a\nman by the practice of generosity gives of his own to others, by\nsupernatural generosity he gives himself entirely to God and to others\nfor the sake of God.\n\nWhen we give to our neighbor what we owe him, we practise the virtue of\njustice; when we give to God the honor we owe Him, we practise the\nvirtue of religion, which is a species of justice; but we practice the\nvirtue of generosity when we give more than the Lord demands of us, and\nthereby we more closely resemble God, on whom we have no claim and who\nyet gave us all we have.\n\nThe proper esteem, as well as the practice of this virtue, is taught us\nby the grand mysteries on which we meditate to-day. In fact these\nlessons have been excellently learned by the followers of Christ\nthroughout all the ages of Christianity. See how His Apostles, to a man,\ngave their whole lives and finally shed their blood, as Jesus had done,\nfor the honor of God, and the salvation of souls.\n\nThe same was done by thousands of other followers in after generations\nand is continued to be done till the present day. Countless solitaries\nof both sexes, and monks and nuns and missionaries among the heathens\nhave left all things and thus imitated the generosity of the Redeemer.\nSacrifice for the same glorious cause is written large over the history\nof the Church in every age and every land.\n\nIt is this spirit of generous sacrifice that we must to-day rekindle in\nour hearts. We should not now ask ourselves merely, as we did properly\nsome days ago, is there any sacrifice I _am bound_ to make if I want to\nsave my immortal soul? but, at the sight of Jesus mocked and scourged,\nand crowned with thorns and dying like a criminal upon the cross, and\nall this for my sins, let me ask myself generously, \u201cwhat sacrifices\n_can_ I make to God to show my gratitude?\u201d\n\nThese sentiments aroused in St. Ignatius, as under the guidance of the\nHoly Spirit he performed the Spiritual Exercises at Manresa, an ambition\nbeautifully expressed in the motto he selected for his Society _Ad\nMajorem Dei Gloriam_, \u201cFor the Greater Glory of God.\u201d For he became so\nenraptured with the love of Christ that he longed only to sacrifice\nhimself entirely for the honor of God, and to rally around him a\ngenerous band of men who should be aglow with the same Divine\nenthusiasm.\n\nThis spirit of generosity, so characteristic of St. Ignatius, is clearly\nmanifested in the Constitutions which he drew up for the guidance and\nthe government of his Society. The whole spirit of his institute is a\nspirit of generous devotion to the service of God and the good of men.\nFor instance, he wants his followers to be so little attached to their\ncountry, or to any place whatever, that they shall be willing to go and\nlive in any part of the world where there is hope of God\u2019s greater\nservice and the help of souls. They must leave father and mother,\nsisters and brothers and whatsoever they had in the world. They must so\nfar resign their right to a good name as to allow all their errors and\ndefects to be manifested to their superiors. They are even urged to wish\nto suffer reproaches, slanders and injuries, and to be treated and\naccounted as fools, so as to resemble Jesus Christ, and in all things to\nseek their greater abnegation and continual mortification. In the\nexercise of low and mean offices they must be willing to be employed in\nsuch as are more abhorrent to nature.\n\nCertainly all these rules and practices suppose an uncommon degree of\ngenerosity. And yet the Saint insists on them, and urges his followers\nto labor constantly that no point of perfection which by God\u2019s grace\nthey can attain in the perfect observance of his Constitutions, be\nomitted by them. In all things they are to seek God, casting off, as\nmuch as is possible, the love of creatures, that they may set all their\naffections on the Creator.\n\nAs to the general spirit of his Society, it is hard to conceive how this\ncould be more generous than it actually is; and no less generosity is\nseen when the rules descend to practical details. Consider, for\ninstance, the strict interpretation they put on the understanding of the\nreligious vows. They make poverty a total privation of the right to\ndispose of anything at one\u2019s will or discretion, neither allowing one to\ngive nor to receive, to lend nor to borrow any object whatever without\npermission of the superior.\n\nFor the measure and the pattern of the vow of chastity nothing less is\nproposed than the purity of the blessed Angels in Heaven. To protect\nthis virtue a Jesuit has to submit himself all the days of his life to\nsuch careful surveillance as solicitous parents exercise over their\ndaughters, who are not allowed to go outside the house without\npermission, nor, as far as circumstances allow, without the attendance\nof a discreet companion.\n\nIt is especially with regard to the vow and the virtue of obedience that\ngenerosity is carried to its highest perfection. Not only every command\nof a superior is to be obeyed, but even every hint of his will is to be\ncomplied with, every token of his wishes; and this is to be done\npromptly, without excuse, without reluctance of the will, without\ndisagreement of the judgment. And in all these observances no one can\nclaim exemption or privilege on account of high offices formerly held,\non account of great learning or unusual ability or for any other\nconsideration.\n\nWith such precepts and examples before me, what can I do better than to\nlead henceforth a life of constant generosity? Let me pause to consider\ncarefully and prayerfully what sacrifices in particular I can offer.\nSpeak, Lord! Thy servant heareth; there is nothing I will refuse. Give\nme the grace of doing what Thou desirest, and ask what Thou wilt.\n\nWhen our Divine Lord appeared to five of His Apostles after His\nresurrection, He took St. Peter aside and asked him: \u201cSimon, son of\nJohn, lovest thou me more than these? He saith to him: Yea Lord, thou\nknowest that I love thee; He saith to him: Feed my lambs\u2014Feed my sheep.\u201d\nAs if He had said: You cannot show Me your love better than by feeding\nMy lambs and My sheep. And thus we too cannot give to Christ a more\nacceptable proof of our love than that of working for the salvation of\nsouls, the lambs and sheep for which He shed the last drop of His sacred\nblood. How am I performing that holy task? The question just now is not:\nam I doing my full duty in the exercise of the sacred ministry? but, can\nI do any more than I have done so far, or than I am actually doing for\nthe good of immortal souls? Can I undertake any more work and remain\nwithin the bounds of discretion? Or at least can I perform my tasks with\nmore care and devotedness? And can I pray more fervently to draw down\nGod\u2019s blessing on my labors?\n\nThere is still another way in which we can successfully exercise our\nzeal for souls, namely by praying and working for the increase of the\nnumber of laborers in Christ\u2019s vineyard. St. Matthew tells us that,\n\u201cSeeing the multitudes Christ had compassion on them, because they were\ndistressed and lying like sheep that have no shepherd. Then he said to\nhis disciples: The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few.\nPray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he send laborers into his\nharvest\u201d (ix, 36-38).\n\nUndoubtedly such prayers are daily going up to Heaven asking for more\nsacred laborers, and in response God is constantly furnishing His Church\nwith new accessions to the number of her ministers. If our prayers were\nmore abundant and more fervent and our efforts more earnest, we could\nobtain still more. Here too is room for more generous exertions.\n\n\n                          THE THIRD MEDITATION\n                         On the Death of Christ\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Christ carried His cross a weary way up the mountain,\nfalling repeatedly beneath it. Arrived at the top, He is despoiled of\nHis garments, and stands there a pillar of bleeding flesh. He is most\nrudely nailed to the cross, which is next lifted up, and dropped with a\nshock into its socket. His hands and feet are torn around the nails. He\nexclaims: \u201cFather, forgive them,\u201d says to St. John: \u201cBehold thy mother,\u201d\nexclaims \u201cFather, into thy hands I commend my Spirit!\u201d and expires. His\nsacred Heart is pierced.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Behold Christ hanging on the cross, amid the jeers of His\ntriumphant enemies. He is praying for us all.\n\n_3rd Prelude._ Beg for a loving compassion for His pains and for a deep\nsorrow for sin.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider how Christ painfully carries His cross. He thus\nshows us the one way to Heaven, that of suffering. There would have been\nanother way, that of innocence, by which the Angels had entered; but it\nwas closed by the sin of Adam and by our own sins. Now we must all\nsuffer, here or hereafter. The lookers on were of three classes: His\nenemies, rejoicing; His friends sorrowing; the crowd, indifferent. It is\nso to-day. The falls of Christ represent our moral falls; these must\nhumble, but not discourage us. He meets His blessed Mother: sufferings\nbring us nearer to Mary. Condole with her.\n\n_POINT II._ Christ is despoiled of His garments, that He may die in the\nutmost poverty, in which He has also been born. His clothes cling to His\ntorn flesh, and are removed with no tender hands. He bleeds again at\nevery pore. He is rudely thrown down on the cross; watch the process of\nthe nailing, of the raising of the cross, of its dropping into the hole\nwith a rude shock, His sacred flesh tearing about the nails. He\nexclaims: \u201cFather, forgive them, for they know not what they do.\u201d What\ncharity! What an example for us His followers! Again He speaks: \u201cWoman,\nbehold thy son,\u201d \u201cBehold thy mother.\u201d St. John, the only one of the\nApostles present, represented the Church; in his person we were all\ncommended to Mary by her dying Son, and we were bidden to hold her as\nour Mother.\n\nAs Christ hung there on the cross, He viewed and read the hearts of all\nmen, for whom He died; He thought of me in person. He exclaimed:\n\u201cFather, into thy hands I commend my spirit!\u201d and He expired. Let me\nresign myself into the hands of God with humble, loving confidence. Let\nme thank the Lord for His most precious death, repent of my sins, which\nrequired such expiation, and pray that sinners may be converted.\n\nLet me lovingly kiss the cross, and in spirit bend my head beneath the\nstream of His sacred blood, to wash away my sins.\n\nThe sacred heart of Jesus is next pierced with a lance, to open that\nsanctuary for me and for all sinners. Let me adore that Divine Heart,\nand promise to love and honor it, and teach others to do the same.\n\n_Colloquy_ with Jesus, my loving Saviour; with Mary, the Mother of\nSorrows; pleading for pardon, protesting my love and my boundless\ngratitude.\n\n\n\n\n                             THE EIGHTH DAY\n\n\nSo far we have followed our King, Jesus Christ, through His\nhumiliations, labors and sufferings from His incarnation to His cruel\ndeath; we must now follow Him in His glorified life. There too He is\nstill our leader, by whose side we must triumph, as we have fought by\nHis side. We must now rejoice with Him. For joy at His exaltation is\nworship; and at the same time it encourages us to follow Him generously\nand lovingly and to persevere to the end. Such is the purpose of the\nFourth Week of St. Ignatius\u2019s Exercises.\n\n\n                          THE FIRST MEDITATION\n                     On the Resurrection of Christ\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ The soul of Christ, accompanied by the holy souls from\nLimbo, comes to the tomb. He arises glorious. The holy women come to\nannoint the body. \u201cHe is not here.\u201d Christ appears to His Blessed\nMother, to the penitent Magdalen, to St. Peter, to the devout women.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Behold the glorified body of the Saviour, as He arises\nfrom the tomb. Imagine the scene.\n\n_3rd Prelude._ Ask to rejoice with Him for His own sake, and to be\nthereby encouraged to suffer like Him.\n\n_POINT I._ Behold the scene of His resurrection. First see the lifeless\nbody, with its gaping wounds and discolored flesh. In union with the\nblessed souls, adore it. Then as Christ\u2019s soul enters it, behold how it\nis transformed. How different He is now from \u201cthe man of sorrows\u201d! His\nsacred countenance beams with happiness. Recall His former\ntransfiguration on Mount Thabor: \u201cHis face did shine as the sun, and His\ngarments became white as snow.\u201d On His head there is still a crown, but\nno more of thorns, but now one of glory. His sacred wounds are in His\nhands and feet and in His side, but they drip no more with blood, but\npour forth rays of light. Bow down in loving adoration, and in spirit\nhumbly kiss His feet, and adore your sovereign Lord. Ask Him to bless\nyou, and to strengthen you to follow in His footsteps.\n\n_POINT II._ Imagine you see the blessed souls proceed, in company with\nChrist, to visit the cross, on which He expiated the sins of the world.\nAdore the cross, and kiss it lovingly. Bow down and kiss the spot on\nwhich He was nailed to the tree. Next, retracing the way of the cross,\nmeditate lovingly on His various sufferings.\n\nAt last accompany the Lord in spirit as He goes to visit and console His\nBlessed Mother. There behold her still seated in the deepest affliction,\nthe Mother of Sorrows, plunged in an agony of grief, like that which had\nmade the Saviour exclaim: \u201cFather, if it be possible let this chalice\npass from me.\u201d When suddenly a soft radiance fills the room, and, as she\nlooks up, she sees before her the glorified form of her Divine Son.\nPause to share in her exceeding joy and love and gratitude. Remember\nthat thus your sufferings too will one day be exchanged for boundless\nbliss.\n\n_POINT III._ Consider how meanwhile the pious women were hastening, at\nearly dawn, on their way from the city to the tomb, carrying with them\nprecious ointments to embalm more perfectly the sacred body of their\nLord. They ask one another as they approach the sacred spot: \u201cWho shall\nroll us back the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And looking they\nsaw the stone rolled back. For it was very great\u201d (St. Mark xvi, 3).\n\nThus it is that we often see difficulties before us, and we see no way\nof escape; but a kind Providence brings us unexpected help: \u201cI can do\nall things in him who strengtheneth me\u201d wrote St. Paul (Phil. iv, 13).\nWe should not be too timid when we work for the glory of God.\n\nStill the holy women are not favored with the sight of the Saviour, but\nthey are sent by the Angel with a message to the Apostles; in due time\nJesus will reward their devotion. \u201cAnd behold Jesus met them, saying,\nAll hail, But they came up and took hold of his feet and adored him\u201d\n(St. Matth. xxviii, 9). This favor was the reward of their loving\nservice. Oh! that we could serve the Redeemer as they did! We can do so\nby honoring Him in the Blessed Sacrament, visiting Him there, adorning\nHis altars. We can also do it by serving the poor: \u201cAmen, I say to you:\nas long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to\nme\u201d (Ib. xxv, 40).\n\nThe Lord has His own sweet way of encouraging us. Before appearing to\nthose pious women, He appeared first to St. Mary Magdalen, out of whom\nHe has cast seven devils; then He appeared to Simon Peter, who had\nforesworn Him. Truly Christ had come on earth to save sinners; none of\nus should ever despond.\n\n_A loving colloquy_ with our dear Lord, adoring Him, congratulating Him\non His triumphs, in spirit embracing His sacred feet, begging for grace\nto walk in His blessed footsteps till we too partake of His glory.\n\n\n                         THE SECOND MEDITATION\n                   On Christ\u2019s Ascension into Heaven\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Read Acts, i, 1-11.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Behold the scene on Mount Olivet, Christ rising above the\ncrowd of His disciples, every one of whom looks lovingly upwards,\nenraptured by the sight of His triumph.\n\n_3rd Prelude._ Beg to rejoice for Christ\u2019s sake, and to be encouraged to\nfollow your King faithfully to the end.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider 1. _The Persons_: Christ, the former \u201cMan of\nSorrows,\u201d now the conqueror of death, the glorified Lord of Heaven. He\nis still our King, leading the army of His followers into the Kingdom of\nHis Father. I must follow Him on earth, that I may follow Him into\nHeaven. By His side stands His blessed Mother, how exultant now in His\ntriumph! There is the Magdalen, rapt in an ecstasy of joy; St. Peter,\nSt. John, all His dearest friends, rejoicing at the blissful vision.\n\n2. _The actions._ Christ is ascending Heavenwards, going to take\npossession of His Kingdom. All His disciples raise their eyes and their\nhands towards His ascending form, and experience a foretaste of that\nhappiness which is to be their eternal reward.\n\n3. _The circumstances._ Where does Christ ascend? In sight of Calvary.\nWhen? But a few weeks after His dreadful death. So too will our trials\ncome to an early end, much earlier perhaps than we anticipate.\n\n_POINT II._ Consider Christ\u2019s entrance into Heaven amid the adoring and\nexulting choirs of the entire angelic host, and proceeding to occupy the\nmost magnificent of all thrones, prepared for Him at the right hand of\nHis Father. Then began a bliss not less real than His sufferings had\nbeen, with a joy ever ancient and ever new, and destined to last for all\neternity. Happy souls, redeemed by His sacred death, and purified in His\nprecious blood, are flocking in from every clime, and are received to\nHis loving embrace. What ecstasy! Shall I ever reach that goal? It is\ndestined for me. Jesus is the King whom I am serving. He knows me, He\nloves me, He beckons me on.\n\n_POINT III._ Look around that blissful abode. Who are there? All the\ntruly good of every generation. There, on that bright throne nearest to\nJesus is His Blessed Mother Mary, the queen of Heaven and earth, the\nrefuge of sinners, the help of Christians, my loving Mother. Kneeling in\nspirit at her feet I will ask for perseverance in her service. There are\nmy blessed patrons, whom I have honored on earth, now ready to welcome\nme to their happy company. Holy Saints of God, pray for me! There are\nmany blessed souls whom I knew in the days of their own trials on earth,\nmy parents and relatives and fellow-religious, and some perhaps whom I\nhave benefited in life, or after their death in Purgatory.\n\nAll look down on me with loving eyes, and bid me persevere and improve\nfurther in fervor of life; for \u201cThe sufferings of this time are not\nworthy to be compared with the glory to come, which shall be revealed in\nus\u201d (Rom. viii, 18).\n\n_POINT IV._ Consider the words of the two Angels: \u201cWhy stand you looking\nup to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven shall so\ncome as you have seen him going into heaven.\u201d For this second coming of\nthe Lord we must now prepare by active work. The days of the retreat\nwill soon be past, we must return to the daily drudgery of life; but we\nmust do so with a renewed spirit of genuine devotion. We must prepare\nlike the Prudent Virgins: \u201cAt midnight there was a cry made: Behold, the\nbridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him\u2014And they that were ready went\nin with him to the marriage\u201d (St. Matth. xxv, 6-10).\n\n_Colloquy._ Address our dear Lord lovingly, joyfully, congratulating Him\non His triumph, and begging for a generous spirit of sacrifice in His\nservice.\n\n\n                             CONSIDERATION\n                         On the Spirit of Love\n\n\nThe ultimate purpose of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, is to\nmake us serve God in the most perfect manner possible, and therefore in\nthe spirit of love, or charity: \u201cNow there remain faith, hope, and\ncharity; these three, but the greater of these is charity\u201d (I Cor. xiii,\n13). Love is the most excellent homage that the creature can render to\nthe Creator. Behold the bee in the springtime issuing from its hive and\nsoaring afar over the sunny fields. It is in quest of honey: Honey is\nall it cares for. It passes by the velvet pansy, the flaming tulip, and\nlights with eagerness on the humble clover, because it finds honey\nthere. Thus too some men prize and seek nothing but riches, others only\nhonor, others pleasure, etc.\n\nWhat can there be in this vast material universe that God would deign to\ncare for? It is love of the human heart. It is His delight to be with\nthe children of men, as He tells us in the Book of Proverbs: \u201cMy\ndelights to be with the children of men\u201d (viii, 31). And what does the\nLord desire from men? He states it further on: \u201cMy son, give me thy\nheart\u201d (Ib. xxiii, 26); that is, of course, thy love; for the heart of\nman is the emblem of love. Without love nothing has value in God\u2019s eyes,\nas the Apostle proclaims so eloquently in his First Epistle to the\nCorinthians: \u201cIf I should distribute all my goods to the poor, and I\nshould deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth\nme nothing\u201d (xiii, 3). This charity is so pleasing to Heaven because it\ncomes from Heaven; it is Divine: \u201cThe charity of God is poured forth in\nour hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us\u201d (Rom. v, 5). Of\ncourse, our love of God is no benefit to Him, no more than the love of a\nlittle child for its parents is any profit to them. The infant causes\nany amount of inconvenience and trouble in the home. Its loving looks\nand tender caresses are all it can give in return for the kindness shown\nit; but this is sufficient in the eyes of affectionate parents. We are\nlike infants before the Lord, we can give Him nothing that He stands in\nneed of, all He desires of us is that we love Him; and this very love He\nturns to our own advantage, for He rewards it most richly.\n\nBesides this reward, there is another advantage derived from loving God,\nnamely that love lightens all burdens of life. Why does a young mother,\nformerly rapped up in the pursuit of pleasure, now sit so patiently for\nhours by the bedside of her ailing child, forgetful of all worldly\namusements,\u2014except because she loves that infant. Love makes all efforts\npleasing; as Thomas \u00e0 Kempis puts it: _Facile equitat quem gratia Dei\nportat_, \u201cHe rides along with ease who is borne up by the grace of God.\u201d\nSo if we are animated by the love of God, we rejoice in serving Him, we\nhunger and thirst after justice. And this cheerful service on our part\nvastly increases the love God has for our persons; \u201cFor God loveth a\ncheerful giver\u201d (2 Cor. ix, 7).\n\nAnd thus by the practice of Divine love the bond that unites the human\nsoul with our Blessed Lord grows stronger and stronger. Therefore, while\nthe worldling sees nothing but hardships in the religious state, the\ninmates of the cloister would consider it the saddest misfortune if they\nwere compelled to leave their happy homes and return to the world.\n\nThis love of God is that sacred fire of which Christ said: \u201cI am come to\ncast fire on the earth, and what will I but that it be kindled?\u201d (St.\nLuke xii, 49). It shone with a most refulgent light when, on the day of\nPentecost, the Holy Ghost appeared in the form of fiery tongues and\nfilled the minds and hearts of the disciples. And see how the Divine\nlove, then received, transformed the Apostles into new men. Before, they\nhad been very dull of comprehension, some of them asking the Saviour on\nthe day of His ascension whether He was then going to restore the\nKingdom of Israel; then they became at once the infallible teachers of\nthe world. Before, they had been cowardly men, locked up in the upper\nroom for fear of the Jews; then they were suddenly changed into heroes,\nrejoicing, when they had been publicly whipped, that they were allowed\nto suffer for the name of Jesus. All of them were glad to die for their\nLord. Countless martyrs were enkindled with the same fire of love; men,\ntimid women, little boys, tender maidens, astonishing the Pagans by\ntheir heroic fortitude.\n\nWhen the early persecutions were past, thousands of solitaries retired\nfrom the allurements of the world, and were led by the spirit of Divine\nlove into frightful solitudes to spend their lives in penance and\nprayer, thinking of God alone. Every subsequent age in the history of\nthe Church is replete with similar exhibitions of the love of Jesus.\nHundreds of thousands of Christians left home and country, and\nsacrificed their lives to rescue from the hands of Pagans the tomb of\nthe Redeemer. Others, during the Ages of Faith, devoted their riches or\ntheir personal labor to erect magnificent cathedrals, and provide a rich\nsupply of gold and silver vases, of precious vestments and ornaments for\nthe house of their beloved Lord.\n\nWhen the charity of many had grown cold, the Blessed Saviour knew how to\nrekindle its fires by means of the devotion to His Sacred Heart. He\nappeared to His humble servant Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque, and said\nto her: \u201cBehold the heart that has loved men so much, and yet I receive\nnothing but ingratitude in return.\u201d The whole purpose of this beautiful\ndevotion is to elicit the love of human hearts for their loving Saviour,\nso as to unite God and men together by the golden bond of love.\n\nTo promote this devotion Jesus has been liberal in His promises. For\nthose who practise it fervently He promised that He would be their\nsecure refuge during life and above all in death, that He would bestow a\nrich blessing on all their undertakings, that by it tepid souls would\nbecome fervent, and fervent souls would mount quickly to a high\nperfection, that He would give to priests the gift of touching the\nhardest hearts, that He would write in His sacred Heart the names of\nthose who would zealously promote this devotion and He would never allow\nthem to be blotted out.\n\nIt is conformable to the sweet ways of Providence to make the remedy of\nan evil reach further than the disease. Thus, when our race had been\ndisgraced by the sin of Adam, God far more than repaired the harm done;\nwhich makes holy Church exclaim with gladness: \u201cOh, happy fault, which\nmerited to have such a Redeemer!\u201d And so it has been with the devotion\nto the Sacred Heart. It was instituted by the Lord that men might learn\nto appreciate more highly His love for us, and return Him a more ardent\nlove than was given Him before, to atone also for the coldness and the\nsins of others, and to induce all to receive more frequently His Sacred\nbody and blood. It is truly wonderful how successfully all this has been\naccomplished. Now millions of persons of all ages and conditions in\nlife, have formed the excellent habit of daily giving their first\nthoughts to elicit an act of love for Jesus, and offering all their\nactions and sufferings at the opening of each day for the intentions of\nthe Sacred Heart. And it is probably no exaggeration to say that, since\nChrist\u2019s desire of frequent Communions was whispered by Him to Blessed\nMargaret Mary, the number of Holy Communions daily received has\nincreased, not only a hundred but a thousand fold.\n\nAnd while such devout practices have thus multiplied beyond all\ncalculation, the main purpose of it all has been attained to a most\nconsoling extent. For while the age in which we live is becoming more\nand more indifferent and often hostile to the Lord, His true friends\nlong more ardently than before to return to Him love for love, and to\ninduce countless souls to serve Him in the spirit of love. This spirit\nno doubt animates our own hearts. It has now been enkindled anew in the\nSpiritual Exercises; and it ought to be the dominant note in the new\nlife for which this retreat has been a preparation. Let us do our\nutmost, with the help of Divine grace, to do all things henceforth in\nthe spirit of the love of God. This spirit of love is beautifully\nexpressed in the\n\n\n                       HYMN OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER\n\n\n                   My God, I love Thee! not because\n                     I hope for Heaven thereby;\n                   Nor because those who love Thee not\n                     Must burn eternally.\n\n                   Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didst me\n                     Upon the Cross embrace!\n                   For me didst bear the nails and spear,\n                     And manifold disgrace,\n\n                   And griefs and torments numberless,\n                     And sweat of agony,\n                   Yea, death itself\u2014and all for one\n                     That was Thine enemy.\n\n                   Then why, O Blessed Jesus Christ,\n                     Should I not love Thee well?\n                   Not for the hope of winning Heaven\n                     Nor of escaping Hell;\n\n                   Not with the hope of gaining aught,\n                     Not seeking a reward;\n                   But as Thyself hast loved me,\n                     O everlasting Lord!\n\n                   E\u2019en so I love Thee, and will love,\n                     And in Thy praise will sing\u2014\n                   Solely because Thou art my God,\n                     And my eternal King.\n\n                   Translation of E. CASWALL.\n\n\n                          THE THIRD MEDITATION\n                             On Divine Love\n\n\nAfter our consideration on the value and excellence of Divine love and\nits connection with the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are\nnow to meditate on some striking manifestations of God\u2019s love for us,\nand on various ways in which we can manifest our love for Him.\n\nWe begin, with St. Ignatius, by remarking that genuine love does not\nconsist in a mere feeling, or sentiment, but in the will to please or\nbenefit the person loved, even at the cost of sacrifice on our part. For\ninstance, imagine two boys, coming home for vacation from a boarding\nschool, differing greatly in the manifestation of their affection for\nparents and kindred, whom both were glad to meet again. One of them was\nvery demonstrative of his tender feelings; you would have thought that\nhis love for all was far greater than that of his less effusive brother.\nAfter a few days however their father had a task for them to do which\nrequired a little sacrifice on their part. Then the affectionate lad had\nall manner of excuses to evade the trouble, without giving a thought to\nhis father\u2019s needs, while his brother quietly volunteered to do the work\nof both. His love was genuine; such should be our love for God.\n\nA second remark of St. Ignatius is that love between two persons is\nincreased by the frequent interchange of kindly services. The more we do\nfor God, and the more we consider what He has done for us, the more\ndevoted we shall become to Him, and the more pleasing in His sight.\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you behold Jesus before you, looking benignly\ndown upon you as upon a loved child.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg fervently for an increase of love for Him.\n\n_POINT I._ Recall to mind the principal benefits you have received from\nGod, from your birth till the present day, both those common to you and\nall others, and particularly those peculiar to yourself, tracing the\nwonderful ways in which a benign Providence has guided you to your\npresent state. Render hearty thanks to the Lord, and make Him the\nfollowing offering in return: \u201cAccept, O Lord, all my liberty, accept my\nmemory, my understanding and my will. Thou hast given me all these\npowers; I restore them all to Thee, and I deliver them entirely into Thy\nhands that Thou mayest direct them. Only give me Thy love and Thy grace;\nthese are all I desire.\u201d\n\n_POINT II._ See how God is most intimately present to you, not only as\nthe water of the ocean is about a sponge, before it and behind, above\nand below, right and left of it and within every pore, but He penetrates\nyour entire body and soul, and His delight is to be with the children of\nmen.\n\nOn your part resolve to keep yourself constantly in the presence of God,\ncultivating the habit of thinking lovingly about God, speaking with Him\nwhen not otherwise employed. This need not cause a strain of mind; it\nonly gives an excellent direction to our thoughts and affections, which\nwould otherwise be wasted upon useless or perhaps even unworthy objects.\nLovingly offer this resolution to your dear Lord, and ask Him to bless\nand prosper it.\n\n_POINT III._ Consider how God is unceasingly working for you, as a\nloving father works for the support of his children. He causes the earth\nto produce whatever you need for food and raiment and lodging; in far\ndistant climes He makes the fruits and the spices grow which are to\nrefresh and to cheer you. Resolve, in return, to labor strenuously for\nwhatever will promote the glory of God. The field of zealous labors for\nthe honor of God and the good of souls, the children of God, is vast and\nvaried. Christ bids us pray the Lord of the harvest that he may send\nlaborers into His harvest (St. Luke x, 2). Offer yourself to be a\ndevoted laborer, ask for toils and even hardships in this noble service.\nSee what special efforts you can make in this matter, and offer your\nresolves to the Lord.\n\n_POINT IV._ Every trait of goodness, whatever is amiable or admirable in\nany creature, is but a faint reflection of an infinite perfection in the\nCreator. A bright flower, a vast prospect, a noble deed, an affectionate\nheart and a thousand other charms found on earth are able, each of them,\nto raise our minds to the thought of the beauty, the grandeur, the\ninfinite loveliness of our dear Lord. Thus the sight of a pretty flower\nsometimes threw St. Ignatius into an ecstasy of Divine love.\n\nResolve, that, whenever any charm on earth arouses your love or\nadmiration, you will take occasion from it to raise your heart to God,\nand to elicit an act of love for Him who is the source and the pattern\nof all that can duly delight the human heart.\n\n_Colloquy._ Finish this last meditation of the retreat with a generous\nconsecration of yourself and of all you have to the love and service of\nyour dear Lord and Master, either in your own words or in those of St.\nIgnatius quoted in the first point of this exercise, or in the loving\nrenovation of your religious vows.\n\n\nTHE END OF THE EIGHT DAYS RETREAT.\n\n\n\n\n                              SIX TRIDUUMS\n       In Preparation for the Semi-Annual Renovation of the Vows\n\n\n                               TRIDUUM A\n\n\n                              MEDITATION I\n                      On the Desire of Perfection\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Hear Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount, saying to His\ndisciples: \u201cBe ye perfect as also your heavenly Father is perfect\u201d (St.\nMatth. v, 48).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg for an earnest desire of perfection.\n\n_POINT I._ _One great hindrance to attain perfection_ is the want of\ndesire to attain it, a want of proper appreciation of this exalted\nprivilege. This state of mind is:\n\n1. _Very unreasonable, unwise._ It is like the deplorable disposition of\nmany college boys, whom we blame and despise, because they have not\nsense enough to value their opportunity to acquire an education. Their\nfault is palliated by their youth; they will be sorry afterwards. There\nis no such excuse for religious. They ought to know better. Striving\nafter perfection is the main duty of their state.\n\n2. _Very inexpedient for their happiness even in this world._\n\n\u201cThe heart of man is made for God! nothing but God can make it happy,\u201d\nsays St. Augustine. A lax religious is less happy than a fervent one; he\ndoes not enjoy that peace of mind which the world cannot give; he\nworries, frets at many things, unlike the fervent.\n\n3. _Inexpedient for the next life_, causing immense loss of merit and\nfuture glory, exchanged for trifles.\n\n4. _Injurious to our neighbor_, whose salvation depends to a great\nextent on our holiness.\n\n_POINT II. A second hindrance to the attainment of perfection_ consists\nin a want of confidence of attaining it. Some imagine that perfection,\ndesirable as it is in itself, is out of the question for them, they are\nunworthy of aspiring to it. Now distrust of self is excellent, but we\nmust not distrust God, either His power or His love for us. God is not\nlike the man condemned in the Gospel who began to build and could not\ncarry the building to completion. He has invited us to aim at\nperfection; for that is the nature of the religious life. We have\naccepted His invitation; it is now for Him to furnish us copious means\nto attain perfection. The die is cast; we are pledged to strive after\nperfection, and God has pledged Himself to provide. Father Lallemant, so\nenlightened in spiritual matters, has left written that the holiness to\nwhich every Jesuit is called surpasses all imagination, and that, if any\none could see the amount of grace that God has prepared for each of us,\nhe would conclude they were destined for no less a Saint than an\nIgnatius or a Xavier (Spiritual Doctrine, page 29).\n\nWe ought confidently to say with St. Paul: \u201cI can do all things in him\nwho strengtheneth me,\u201d _Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat_ (Phil. iv,\n13), and with the Psalmist: \u201cIf armies in camp should stand together\nagainst me, my heart shall not fear,\u201d \u201c_Si consistant adversum me\ncastra, non timebit cor meum_\u201d (Ps. 26).\n\n_POINT III. Some religious say they know not how to attain perfection._\nThe way is plain enough, if only we make up our mind to follow it. It\nrequires:\n\n1. _The faithful observance of our rules_: whoever observes them\nperfectly is a real saint. We all observe most of them; let us observe\nall of them.\n\n2. _Much good prayer_, performing our spiritual exercises faithfully and\nfervently. In particular let us perform this triduum to the best of our\npower.\n\nWhat is required for this purpose?\n\na. Silence and recollection;\n\nb. Earnest meditations;\n\nc. Spiritual readings that speak to our hearts;\n\nd. Careful examinations of our spiritual progress.\n\n_Colloquy_ with our dear Lord, asking for a thorough renovation of\nSpirit.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION II\n                      In What Perfection Consists\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ See God enthroned in Heaven, and all the Saints lovingly\nlooking up to Him.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg grace to understand in what perfection really\nconsists.\n\n_POINT I._ A thing is good if it answers fairly well the purpose for\nwhich it is made; it is perfect if it answers that purpose as well as is\ndesirable. Thus a pen is perfect if it is every way suitable to write\nwith, a watch is perfect if it always keeps time. Now man is made to\nlove God; he is therefore perfect if he devotes himself entirely to the\nlove of God. That perfection consists formally in Charity is expressly\nstated by St. Paul, who writes to the Colossians: \u201cAbove all things have\ncharity, which is the bond of perfection\u201d (iii, 14).\n\nTo attain perfection, therefore, we must accustom ourselves to be\ntotally taken up with God and God\u2019s interests, for God\u2019s sake. This is\nthe main purpose aimed at by Father Faber in his excellent book \u201cAll for\nJesus.\u201d Read for instance, pages 48, 49. Much of this may be in many men\nmerely sentimental, or poetical. To make it actual in us, real in our\nconduct and the dispositions of our will, seeking God in all things, is\ntrue sanctity. At this we must steadily aim. It is in fact the motto of\nour Society: _Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam_, \u201cTo the Greater Glory of God.\u201d A\nperfect man is a man of one idea, the idea of the greater glory of God.\n\n_POINT II. Such devotedness to God requires detachment from all\ncreatures_; this detachment is not itself perfection, but it is a\nnecessary condition to attain this entire devotedness, in which\nperfection consists. We must act like the man who had found a treasure\nhidden in a field, who to secure it _went and sold all he had_ to buy\nthat field; and like him who, to buy the precious pearl, _went and sold\nall he had_ (St. Matth. xiii, 44-46). We must be detached. Our hearts\nare so narrow that we cannot give a part of them to one object without\ndetracting from our love for another, except only if we love the former\nsolely for the sake of the latter. Thus we should love all for God.\nTherefore we start on the road to perfection by leaving all things to\nfollow Him. It must not prevent us from taking interest in many things,\nelse we become wooden saints. With a St. Ignatius, a St. Francis Xavier,\na St. Catherine of Sienna, etc., we must cherish eager desires of many\nprojects, but only in as much as they promote God\u2019s glory and the\nsalvation of souls.\n\n_POINT III. In particular the study of perfection requires constant\nefforts_: 1. To adorn our soul with more and more virtue, 2. To correct\nour faults, 3. For this purpose, to labor earnestly at our particular\nexamen, our confessions, 4. To direct our spiritual readings and\nmeditations to the purposes of the illuminative way, returning to the\npurgative way if there arises some special need of it. Keep weeding,\nplanting, binding. The chief point in this triduum is to see whether we\nhave been of late seriously laboring at the acquisition of perfection as\nwe now understand it: in particular whether we are attached to any\ncreature so as to retard our progress, or habituated to commit any\nfaults, which must be corrected; also how we profit by our Holy\nCommunions, our meditations, etc., so as to promote steady progress in\nvirtue.\n\n_Colloquy._ Ask for the special graces of which you see a present need.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION III\n                     Christ the Model of Perfection\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ See Christ carrying His cross, and saying: \u201c_If any man\nwill come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and\nfollow me_\u201d (St. Matth. xvi, 24).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask for grace to follow Christ faithfully.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider the consoling truth that _Christ has really made\nHimself our guide_. He is such by word and example. We could not have a\nnobler nor safer guide. He has led millions before us to the highest\nhappiness. In this text _He invites us to follow Him_. Let us thank Him\nfor this gracious offer and eagerly accept it. He is to us what the\nAngel Raphael was to Tobias. True, Tobias could see the Angel, but he\ndid not know who he was; we cannot see Christ, but we know who He is and\nhow He has acted. Our Society undertakes to follow Him in all the\ndetails of our lives. In this following consists perfection. We are\nactually following Him; but how earnestly? how generously? Can we not\nimprove in many respects?\n\n_POINT II._ Consider the words: \u201c_Let him deny himself._\u201d Christ denied\nHimself: His ease, His health and life, His honor. In trying to follow\nHim we made a good beginning when we left our parents and all earthly\npossessions; to crown the work we must leave ourselves: _1st. Our ease_,\nby hard work, without repining, with joy and perseverance. Many seculars\nwork much harder than we do, but many do so grudgingly. Not so Christ;\nwe must do like Him.\n\n_2nd, Our health and life_, leaving all this in God\u2019s hands, with proper\ncare indeed, but no solicitude. Oh, if we could die in His service! It\nwould be the greatest happiness. We may have that good fortune if we\nnever shirk any duty. _3, Our honor._ Christ willingly made Himself \u201cA\nworm and no man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people\u201d (Ps.\n21). The lowest on earth at first, He is now the highest in Heaven, and\nHe invites us to follow Him. When we experience loss of ease, of health,\nof honor, how do we take it?\n\n_POINT III._ Consider the words: \u201c_and take up his cross_.\u201d What is our\ncross? It is not so heavy as Christ\u2019s. Our cross is: _1st, Our daily\ntasks_. Perform them faithfully, zealously, cheerfully. _2nd, Our\nafflictions, sufferings, failures, disappointments._ Be patient, do not\ndespond: \u201cSufficient for the day is the evil thereof\u201d (St. Matth. vi,\n34). Trust in God: \u201cNo one hath hoped in the Lord and hath been\nconfounded\u201d (Ecclus. ii, 11).\n\n_3rd, Our passions_; we must keep them in check by unremitting efforts.\n\n_4th, The conduct of others_: \u201cBlessed are ye when they shall revile\nyou\u2014Be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven\u201d (St.\nMatth. v, 11). \u201cThe sufferings of this time are not worthy to be\ncompared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us\u201d (Rom.\nviii, 18).\n\n_POINT IV._ Consider the words: \u201c_And follow me_.\u201d Keep your eyes on\nJesus carrying His cross. Notice: 1. His exterior behavior. Do we\nproperly observe our rules of modesty? 2. His interior sentiments. Like\nHis Sacred Heart, is our heart at peace? Kind to all? Conformable to\nGod\u2019s will? \u201cTake up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am\nmeek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest to your souls\u201d (St.\nMatth. xi, 29).\n\n_Colloquy._ \u201cMaster, I will follow thee whithersoever thou shall go\u201d\n(St. Matth. viii, 19).\n\n\n                             MEDITATION IV\n                The Need of Prayer to Attain Perfection\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ See the Apostles around Christ, and saying: \u201cLord teach\nus to pray\u201d (St. Luke xi, 1).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg earnestly to become a man of prayer.\n\n_POINT I. No perfection is attainable without much fervent prayer._ For\nperfection consists in charity, the love of God, and this love is not\nnatural to man. Men naturally view everything as related to themselves,\nto their earthly advantages of business, ease, pleasure, honor, etc.\nPerfection substitutes God for self. This, being altogether\nsupernatural, requires much grace, and the ordinary means to obtain\ngrace is prayer.\n\nThose who enter on the way to perfection must be trained to the pursuit\nof it. All religious Orders use for this purpose a copious supply of\nprayer. Our Society in particular has constant recourse to this means:\nthe long retreats, the yearly octiduums, the triduums, the daily\nmeditations, holy masses, holy communions, daily litanies, examinations\nof conscience, the Divine Office, the beads, visits to the Blessed\nSacraments, etc. Most of these exercises are to be continued during\nlife.\n\nBy all this prayer we get to realize practically what worldlings know\nonly in theory: God\u2019s love, mercy, majesty, holiness, justice, eternity,\nprovidence, etc., His incarnation, the Blessed Sacrament, the power and\nlove of Mary, etc.\n\n_POINT II._ _When are we men of prayer?_ When we have learned to refer\nall things explicitly to God. Cardinal Bellarmin points out three\ndegrees of prayer:\n\n1st, Some speak to God, but hear no answer, like the populace in the\nstreet crying to a distant king.\n\n2nd, Others receive some token that they are attended to, like men\nadmitted to an audience and allowed to file a petition.\n\n3rd, Others converse with God and He with them; they hear more than they\nsay, and, like courtiers, can approach their Lord frequently. How is it\nwith us? Are we accustomed to turn to God readily, confidently,\nlovingly? Some have the gift of prayer before they enter the novitiate,\nsome get it during their early years of religious life and ever increase\nit, some partly lose it amid active duties, some get it at their\nordination, some during their third year of probation, while others\nnever acquire it to any great extent. It can be obtained by earnest\npetition and fidelity in the practice of devout prayer.\n\n_POINT III._ _What difference does it make in a man?_ He may be a\nreligious, but not a good one unless he becomes a man of prayer; nor is\nhe safe meanwhile. For one cannot lead the life of a fervent and\nfaithful religious unless he possess considerable command over his\npassions, and he cannot maintain this self-mastery without much good\nprayer. Yet he may do so without attaining the third degree of prayer.\nBut when he reaches that, he becomes a different man, a special friend\nof God, enlightened, strengthened, not impeccable, yet pretty safe; a\npowerful means for the salvation of souls. Such have been all the models\nproposed by holy Church for our imitation.\n\n_POINT IV._ _What chance have we Jesuits of becoming men of prayer?_ An\nexcellent chance. The third degree of prayer is a common gift of God in\nour Society. It is the obvious tendency of our frequent retreats. The\nSpiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius aim directly to produce this fruit,\nand the Lord has entrusted the direction of them to our Fathers, whose\nduty it is to give them to priests and the laity, even to members of the\nmost contemplative Orders. Many of our ascetic writers exhibit this gift\nin a conspicuous degree. Am I a man of prayer? What can I do to improve\nin this important matter?\n\n_Colloquy._ Earnest petition for the gift of prayer, and for light and\ngrace to take the proper measures to procure progress.\n\n\n                              MEDITATION V\n                The Power of Prayer to Obtain Perfection\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you are listening to Christ at the Sermon on the\nMount while He says: \u201cAsk and it shall be given you, seek and you shall\nfind, knock and it shall be opened to you\u201d (St. Matth. vii, 7).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask earnestly to obtain great confidence in prayer.\n\n_POINT I._ _Prayer is a spiritual gold mine._ When gold is discovered on\na piece of arid land, the owners have at once at their disposal the\nmeans of becoming very rich. Similarly the soul that begins to\nunderstand the efficacy of prayer can obtain by its means a copious\nsupply of actual graces, by which Heaven and perfection are easily\nsecured. For Providence has so disposed that grace is readily obtained\nby prayer, and some holy Doctors therefore call it the key to the\ntreasury of God. The riches of that treasury are inexhaustible. They are\nintended for us and put at our disposal. It was by prayer that a St.\nAloysius, a St. Stanislaus and countless others became saints in their\nchildhood, that St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier, etc., etc., were led\nfrom a worldly to a holy life. All of us have the same means at our\ndisposal.\n\n_POINT II._ _Listen to Christ\u2019s own invitation and promises._\n\nRead St. Matth. vii, 7-11, St. John xvi, 23, 24.\n\nNotice that these promises do not suppose great virtue in him who prays.\nFor Christ addresses them to sinners, saying: \u201cIf you being evil know\nhow to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father\nwho is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?\u201d (St. Matth.\nvii, 11). We are most readily heard when we ask for spiritual favors.\nThis is clearly stated by the Saviour, for He says: \u201cHow much more will\nyour Father from heaven give _the good Spirit to them_ that ask him?\u201d\n(St. Luke xi, 13).\n\n_POINT III._ Why are we not always heard in prayer? Because we do not\nfulfil the required conditions. 1. We must ask what is really good for\nus. For St. James writes: \u201cYou ask and receive not; because you ask\namiss, that you may consume it on your concupiscences\u201d (iv, 3).\n\n2. We must ask with great confidence. We go to draw the waters of grace\nfrom a rich fountain, but the vessel of our confidence may be so small\nthat we can carry off but little. While the multitudes pressed upon\nJesus on all sides, one afflicted woman was cured because she touched\nHim with great confidence; and He said: \u201cSomebody hath touched me, for I\nknow that virtue is gone out from me.... But He said to her: Daughter,\nthy faith hath made thee whole\u201d (St. Luke viii, 46-48).\n\n3. We must ask with proper reverence and attention.\n\nFor how could we expect God to mind our petitions if we do not attend to\nthem ourselves? If we pray thus He may say: \u201cThis people honoreth me\nwith their lips, but their heart is far from me\u201d (St. Matth. xv, 8).\n\n4. We must pray with perseverance, as Christ teaches by the parable of\nthe importunate man who came to ask for aid during the night, and\nobtained it because he persevered in his importunity (St. Luke xi, 5-8).\n\n5. We must pray with resignation to God\u2019s will, as Christ Himself did in\nHis agony, saying: \u201cMy Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass\nfrom me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt\u201d (St. Matth. xxvi,\n39). We must be full of confidence that no good prayer ever goes up to\nHeaven which does not obtain a grace; but God knows best what grace will\nbenefit us most, and He deals with us as a loving father with his\nchildren.\n\n_Colloquy._ Ask eagerly for great confidence in the power of prayer.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION VI\n                  The Aid of Mary to Attain Perfection\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ See the Blessed Virgin Mary in Heaven, surrounded by the\nSaints of our Society.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask for a fervent devotion to her.\n\n_POINT I. Consider what part God has assigned to her, in the salvation\nand sanctification of mankind._\n\nThe first promise of the Redeemer referred to her as destined to crush\nthe serpent\u2019s head. The work of the redemption began with her at the\nAnnunciation. At her voice Elizabeth and her child were filled with the\nHoly Ghost. As through Mary Jesus was given to the world, so through her\nHe is given to His servants individually. As she was with Jesus all\nthrough His life on earth, so Mary is ever ready to aid each one of us\nall through our earthly pilgrimage. On Calvary all of us were committed\nto her care in the person of St. John. In her company the disciples\nreceived the Holy Ghost. She has been bodily taken up to Heaven to\nintercede for us with the Lord, and to beckon us on to follow her. She\nis daily co-operating for the sanctification of numberless souls through\nher multifarious religious Orders and Congregations, her Rosary and\nScapular Societies and divers other Confraternities, etc., St. Liguori\nand various other Doctors say that every grace given to men passes\nthrough her hands and that a true child of Mary is never lost.\n\n_POINT II._ _Consider what the Blessed Virgin Mary has been to our\nSociety in particular._ She appeared to St. Ignatius at Loyola, set the\nseal on his conversion and freed him once for all from temptations of\nthe flesh; she made him her devoted Knight at Mont-Serrat; she aided him\nin composing his Spiritual Exercises at Manresa; she received the first\nvows of the little band at Montmartre on the feast of her Assumption.\nShe figures most conspicuously in the lives of all our Saints; of St.\nStanislaus, St. Aloysius, St. John Berchmans, St. Alphonsus, Blessed\nBaldinucci, etc., etc. She has given us the direction of her Sodalities,\nand by its means has helped us to promote piety and purity among\ncountless numbers of her clients. Thank her warmly for all she has done\nin our favor, and ask an increase of sanctity for yourself and for all\nyour religious brethren.\n\n_POINT III._ _Let each one consider what favors he personally owes to\nthe Blessed Virgin._ Retrace in mind your practices of devotion to her\nfrom your early childhood to the present day. Offer once more all you\nhave ever done in her honor. Think of the protection she has afforded\nyou with a mother\u2019s love, her probable influence on your vocation to the\nSociety, on your novice fervor, on all your religious life up to the\npresent day. Is there any devotion which you ever practised in her honor\nand which you have since discontinued? With what fervor do you daily\nhonor her? Could you do more to honor or to please her? either by your\nown conduct or by your influence over others?\n\n_Colloquy._ Speak to Mary confidently and lovingly, asking for light and\ngrace to improve further in your zeal for her glory.\n\n\n                               TRIDUUM B\n\n\n                              MEDITATION I\n                              On the Vows\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine the scene of your first vows.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask light and grace to prepare for a fervent renovation.\n\n_POINT I._ What did we do when we first took our vows?\n\nWe offered ourselves to God as a holocaust\u2014with parents, home,\npossessions, prospects\u2014body and soul\u2014understanding and will,\u2014to belong\nto God alone, to devote our entire life to His service and glory. If we\nhad died then, what would have been our reward? Life everlasting (St.\nMatth. xix, 29). That reward is still due us; it cannot be forfeited or\neven diminished except by mortal sin. And if thus lost, it is regained\nby penance in its entirety. Thank the Lord warmly for such a treasure,\nask grace to be ever faithful, and to profit by this triduum to increase\nyour fervor.\n\n_POINT II._ _What has been our life ever since?_ The gradual\nconsummation of the great sacrifice, the accomplishment of our spiritual\nmartyrdom. Then we entered the prison, the exile; now we are leading the\nmartyr\u2019s life, dying the martyr\u2019s death. If we do not find it hard, it\nis because grace supports us: \u201c_Facile equitat quem gratia Dei portat_\u201d,\n\u201cHe rides along with ease who is borne up by the grace of God,\u201d says\nThomas \u00e0 Kempis. Still our life may be at times unsatisfactory; it is a\nmartyr\u2019s life, above the power of mere human nature, full of merit,\ndoing honor to God, hated by the enemies of God, salutary to ourselves\nand to the neighbor. This life is never at a standstill, but ever moving\nonward and upward; therefore it is up-hill work. And because it is a\ncombat against sensual inclinations, it has its alterations of successes\nand reverses; its progress heavenward is not represented by a straight\nbut by a curved line. When it gets below a certain level, or tends\ndownwards at all, we must beware.\n\n_Facilis descensus Averni_, \u201cThe descent to Hell is easy.\u201d This is the\nvery reason for the need of such triduums as the present. Thank God, ask\npardon, resolve.\n\n_POINT III._ _Compare your former with your present dispositions_\nregarding your general spirit of fervor, your faithful observance of\nrules, even the most minute, your obedience, even of will and judgment,\nyour earnestness in prayer, your self-distrust, your charity to the\nneighbor, your unworldliness, your zeal for souls, your patience. Above\nall avoid all wilful faults.\n\n_Colloquy._ Ask earnestly for a thorough renovation of spirit, and offer\nyour resolutions to the Lord.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION II\n                       On Renovation of the Vows\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine God says to you: \u201cMy son, give me thy heart\u201d\n(Prov. xxiii, 26).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask grace to do so most earnestly.\n\n_POINT I._ _Consider the origin of this renovation._\n\nIt was begun by St. Ignatius and his first companions while they were\nstudents at Paris, where they met every year in the Church of\nMontmartre, on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, the\nanniversary of their first vows, to quit all things and live for God\nalone. The practice was afterwards incorporated in the Constitution of\nour Society, and has been adopted by numerous religious Congregations.\nIt has been found so productive of good results that it ought to\nencourage all to perform the same most fervently.\n\n_POINT II._ _What are the purposes of this renovation?_\n\n1. It confirms and reasserts the total dedication of ourselves to the\nservice of God; as Holy Church invites her children, when they have\nattained the age of discretion, to renew by their own act the promises\nmade in their name by their sponsors at Baptism. If any hindrance\ninterfered with the validity of our first vows, the obstacle being now\nremoved, the renovation of the vows gives them permanent force.\n\n2. It may often be more meritorious than the first vows had been, since\nit is made after the hardships of the religious life have been\nexperienced and are therefore more fully realized than before. As the\nsoldier who reenlists in an army shows more devotedness to its cause\nthan he did by first joining the ranks of the army.\n\n3. Since the vows act as a second Baptism, removing all sin and all\npunishment due to sin, and this precious effect is ascribed by St.\nThomas Aquinas to the perfect charity which the vows imply, the same\nresults may naturally be expected whenever the vows are renewed with the\nsame good will. And this same good will is most apt to be present at the\nsemi-annual renovation of the vows.\n\n4. As the religious vows entitle the soul to a rich supply of actual\ngraces that it may be faithful to their observance, so the earnest\nrenovation of the same secures a new supply of such Divine aid to\nadvance steadily in the pursuit of sanctity.\n\n5. Every act of virtue increases the measure of our eternal happiness,\nespecially acts of heroic virtue; the loving renovation of the vows is\nsure to add each time a rich jewel to our heavenly crown. Taking the\nreligious vows generously has always a touch of the heroic about it.\n\n6. Each renovation of the vows strengthens our resolves, and clamps us\nmore firmly to God. It often takes many a blow to drive in a nail and\nmake it stick with firmness, so with our virtuous resolutions.\n\n_POINT III._ _What are we expected to do during this triduum?_\n\nWe must aim at a thorough renovation of the religious spirit; and for\nthis purpose generous souls will devise various means. But to a certain\nextent our Society undertakes to direct our efforts by describing\ncertain definite practices, which must be faithfully used by all. They\nare clearly marked out in the Letter of Father Vincent Caraffa: 1.\nAvoiding all unnecessary intercourse with the outside world; 2.\nObserving a strict silence, even during the times of the ordinary\nrecreations; 3. Half an hour\u2019s reading daily of a practical spiritual\nbook. 4. Making two earnest meditations daily, one of them before the\nBlessed Sacrament exposed; 5. Examining one\u2019s spiritual progress for\nhalf an hour every day; 6. A general confession of the last six months;\n7. A public self-accusation of faults in the refectory; 8. A clear\naccount of conscience to the superior. If all this is observed and\nperformed in the right spirit, much profit will result.\n\n_Colloquy._ Offer good resolutions, and ask further light and grace to\ncorrect all faults.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION III\n              What Kind of Men Does Our Vocation Require?\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine Christ says to you: \u201cI have given you an example\u201d\n(St. John xiii, 15).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Pray to understand this great truth and to imitate that\nglorious model.\n\n_POINT I._ _Consider that the men required by our vocation are to be\nlike to Christ_: \u201cWhom God foreknew he also predestinated to be made\nconformable to the image of his Son\u201d (Rom. viii, 29). A parable will\nexplain this. A very rich man had an only son, a model of every virtue\nand adorned with every human accomplishment. He devoted a large portion\nof his fortune to educate a number of other boys that should be fit\ncompanions for that son as like to him as possible. Thus God is treating\nall His elect, and in particular the members of the Society of Jesus.\nThat is the very purpose for which St. Ignatius was inspired to found\nour Society and to give us his Constitution. We are destined to be\nperfect images of Christ.\n\n_POINT II._ _Consider some special points of resemblance that the Lord\nrequires of us._ We must be: 1. _Like Christ in our outward behavior_,\nso that He may appear reflected or reproduced in each one of us. That is\nthe purpose of our Rules of Modesty, to which St. Ignatius was taught by\nthe Holy Ghost to attach more than usual importance. Do we observe them\nfaithfully? If we do not, it is because we fail to realize fully the\nideal of our founder, which was nothing less than the image of the Son\nof God.\n\n2. _Like Christ in our inner sentiments_, in compliance with His own\ninvitation: There is so much meaning in His words inviting us to this\nspecial manner of imitation: \u201cLearn of me because I am meek and humble\nof heart\u201d (St. Matth. xi, 29). These two virtues are so conspicuous in\nour Divine model.\n\n_Meekness_ is emblemized by the gentlest of animals, the tender lamb;\nand Christ was figured in the Old Testament by the sacrifice of the\nlamb, and proclaimed in the New Testament by St. John the Baptist with\nthe words: \u201cBehold the Lamb of God\u201d (St. John i, 29). This is not the\ncharacteristic virtue of a warrior, such as St. Ignatius had been; but\nhe had laid aside that garment of his youth and instead had put on\nChrist, as St. Paul teaches us to do, saying:\n\n\u201cPut ye on the Lord Jesus Christ\u201d (Rom. xiii, 14). We must do the same.\n_Humility_ is most conspicuous throughout the life of Christ; it must be\nthe foundation of all our spiritual life: \u201cHe emptied himself, taking\nthe form of a servant\u201d (Phil. ii, 7).\n\n3. _Like Christ in our practical reason_, taking God\u2019s view of all\nthings, in opposition to the views of the world. The whole outlook on\nlife of a good religious is very different from the outlook of the\nworldling. Therefore the world hates us: \u201cIf you had been of the world,\nthe world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but\nI have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you\u201d (St.\nJohn xv, 19). How can we acquire this unworldly spirit, which is the\nspirit of Christ? By meditation, spiritual reading, all manner of\nprayer, recollection, spiritual conversation, etc. Are we making earnest\nefforts on these lines? Do we avoid profane reading as far as our labors\nallow? Novels and newspapers are full of the spirit of the world, and so\nis unnecessary conversation with most seculars.\n\n4. _Like Christ in our wills_, which should be ever intent on promoting\nthe glory of God and ever zealous to procure the salvation of souls. Our\nzeal should cause us to labor hard, wherever an opportunity can be found\nto further the great purpose of our Society, the greater glory of God.\n\n_Colloquy_ with our dear Lord, asking for light and grace to make\nourselves more like unto Himself.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION IV\n                       Christ Is Here to Help Us\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Realize the fact that Christ is present on the altar, and\nhear Him say: \u201cBehold, I am with you all days\u201d (St. Matth. xxviii, 20).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask for a lively faith in Christ\u2019s presence in our midst,\nand a firm confidence in His loving assistance.\n\n_POINT I._ _In what sense is Christ present on the altar?_\n\n1st. _Substantially_, personally, body and soul, God and Man. Make a\nfirm act of faith, adore Him, lovingly thank Him.\n\n2nd. _As our helper_: \u201cCome to me, all ye that labor and are burthened,\nand I will refresh you\u201d (St. Matth. xi, 28). He will help us in\nattaining the purpose for which He has brought us to the Society, to\nperfect our souls and to save others; in particular to bless the work of\nthis renovation of spirit. In Him we can do all things: \u201cI can do all\nthings in him who strengtheneth me\u201d (Phil. iv, 13). Ask eagerly for a\nthorough renovation. Examine whether your visits are fervent enough.\n\n_POINT II._ _What treasure do we possess in the holy Mass?_\n\nNo one but God could have conceived the blessing granted to the faithful\nof being present in their successive generations at the mystical\nrenovation of the sacrifice of the cross. There, before us, day after\nday, the same Redeemer of the world who made Himself the victim of\nexpiation of our sins on Calvary, makes Himself a victim again in the\nsame sacrifice, and offers Himself to His eternal Father, as truly as He\ndid then, to obtain for those present in particular the graces they\ndesire from His liberality. No prayer could be more powerful than the\nholy Mass. If only we duly enter into the spirit of it, a spirit of deep\nreverence, of eager supplication, of lively confidence, the daily Mass\ncannot fail to be for us a copious source of the choicest blessings.\nWhenever we find ourselves in some special need of God\u2019s assistance, let\nus offer or hear Mass for that purpose. The result will not always be\nvisible, but it will probably often be so, and it will always be very\nreal.\n\nHow do we profit daily by this wondrous grace? It will be an important\ngain towards the renewing of spirit if we improve our manner of\nattendance at holy Mass.\n\n_POINT III._ _What do we receive in Holy Communion?_\n\nWe receive God Himself, no greater gift is possible. And we receive Him\nas our food; that is, coming to do for our soul what food does for the\nbody, giving it strength and growth, and keeping it from corruption.\nEach worthy Communion increases in us sanctifying grace, gives us an\nadditional supply of actual grace to lead holy lives, and, as the\nCouncil of Trent declares, it frees us from venial sins and preserves us\nfrom falling into mortal sins.\n\nBut the amount of grace received in Holy Communion depends in great part\non our own dispositions. We can greatly increase it by making careful\npreparation for the reception of our Lord, by fervor at the moment of\nreception, reciting firm acts of faith in the Divine presence, humble\nacts of adoration, acts of ardent love and of eager desire and petitions\nfor Divine graces. The time of thanksgiving after Holy Communion\ncontains some of the most precious moments of the day. How do I profit\nby this golden opportunity to enrich my poor soul? Can I improve my ways\nin this respect? We read in the Life of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez written\nby a lay brother (pp. 81, 82), that on All Saints\u2019 Day, 1612, after he\nhad received Holy Communion amid the Scholastics and Brothers of the\ncommunity, Christ \u201cshowed him in a sensible manner His presence in the\nhearts of all those who had just received Him, so that he perceived the\nSaviour resplendent with glory whole and entire in each religious.\u201d Thus\nChrist is really present in each of us during those precious moments.\nCan we not give Him a more loving and honorable reception than we often\ndo?\n\n_Colloquy_ with our dear Lord, asking eagerly for light and grace, and\nlaying before Him special resolutions and earnest supplications that we\nmay improve.\n\n\n                              MEDITATION V\n                      The Holy Ghost Sanctifies Us\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Listen to the words of Christ: \u201cI will ask the Father and\nhe shall give you another Paraclete\u201d (St. John xiv, 16).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ \u201cCome, O Holy Ghost, replenish the hearts of Thy\nfaithful.\u201d\n\n_POINT I._ It is a great consolation to us to remember that we are not\nexpected to work out our perfection by our own power.\n\n_The Holy Ghost is to be the principal agent in this work of\nsanctification_; for St. Paul wrote: \u201cThe charity of God (and this is\nsanctity) is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given\nto us\u201d (Rom. v, 5). See what He did in the Apostles, in the early\nChristians generally, what he has done in all the Saints, in the\nfaithful throughout the ages, and in particular in religious, whom He\nhas selected and separated from the world to make them masterpieces of\nholiness. Conceive eager desires of His gifts and a firm confidence in\nHis assistance. Beg earnestly for His light and grace to advance in\nvirtue.\n\n_POINT II._ _How does the Holy Ghost sanctify us?_ Not in a miraculous\nway, in which He sanctified the Apostles, but by a gradual process: 1.\nBy the Sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance He has\nbeen working in our souls from our early infancy. Make earnest acts of\nthanksgiving, for these Divine graces already received. 2. By our\nspiritual exercises, our meditations, attendance at Mass, examinations\nof conscience, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, spiritual readings,\nvocal prayers of various kinds; during which the Spirit of God\nenlightens us, suggests holy resolutions, encourages and strengthens us\nto make generous sacrifices.\n\nThus we have gradually been formed, to some extent, into spiritual men.\nIf we are not yet more spiritual, it is because we did not sufficiently\ncomply with the inspirations of the Holy Ghost, but resisted His efforts\nto sanctify us further, like those to whom St. Stephen said: \u201cYou always\nresist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so you do also\u201d (Acts vii,\n51). 3. The Spirit of God sanctifies us by assisting all our efforts to\nadvance in virtue, aiding us to believe, to hope, to love God, to\npractise charity to the neighbor, humility, prudence, mortification,\netc.\n\n_POINT III._ _All this influence of the Holy Ghost requires our\ncooperation._ The best teacher cannot make a scholar of a careless boy.\nCardinal Manning in his Internal Mission of the Holy Ghost has a passage\nexplaining this point very forcibly. He says: \u201cNo grace that God gives\never fails of its effect, except through our fault. The seed that falls\nupon the barren sand can bear no fruit; that which is cast upon the sea\ncannot cast a root; that which falls upon a mind which is like the\ntroubled sea, or upon a heart which is like the barren sand, will bear\nno spiritual fruit. Nevertheless the grace of God in itself is always\nfruitful; it never fails of its effect unless we mar it. Are you then\ncorresponding with the exuberant graces which God is always bestowing\nupon you?... Learn then to have a delicate conscience, to understand\npromptly, and to correspond, if you can, proportionately; not to receive\ngreat graces languidly, and squander one-half of them, and correspond\nfaintly with the rest. Try with your whole soul and strength to rise up\nand to obey, when the grace of God calls you to any higher state or to\nany better action\u201d (Pages 32 and 33). Yet, whatever our natural\ndisposition may be, by the aid of the Holy Ghost we may become diligent\nand fervent in the pursuit of every virtue; for, as St. Paul says: \u201cThe\nSpirit also helpeth our infirmity. For we know not what we should pray\nfor as we ought; but the Spirit himself asketh for us with unspeakable\ngroanings\u201d (Rom. viii, 26). Let us carefully consider what we must\nimprove on this occasion.\n\n_Colloquy_ with the Holy Ghost, the Sanctifier, begging for light and\ngrace to advance rapidly in holiness.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION VI\n                   Effects Produced by the Holy Ghost\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you behold the scene of the descent of the Holy\nGhost on the Apostles, as narrated in Acts ii, 1-4.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask for a liberal infusion of the Gifts of the Holy\nGhost. We will consider the principal effects produced by the Holy Ghost\nin the soul as they are expressed in four verses of the _Veni Creator_.\n\n_POINT I._ _Accende lumen sensibus_, \u201cEnlighten our minds.\u201d See what a\nchange the Holy Ghost produced in the minds of the Apostles. They had\nfailed to understand the teaching of the Blessed Saviour. He had said to\nthem: \u201cBehold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be\naccomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of\nman. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and\nscourged and spit upon. And after they have scourged him, they will put\nhim to death, and the third day he shall rise again.\u201d And St. Luke adds:\n\u201cAnd they understood none of those things, and this word was hid from\nthem, and they understood not the things that were said\u201d (xviii, 31-34).\nAnd a little while before Christ\u2019s ascension into Heaven the Apostles\nasked Him: \u201cLord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to\nIsrael?\u201d (Acts i, 6). They were still so blinded that they only looked\nfor earthly power. But the Holy Ghost came down upon them, and at once\nthey understood all the meaning of Christ\u2019s doctrine.\n\nEver since that day the same Divine Spirit has been teaching the Church,\nenlightening the minds of its members, enabling them, not only to give a\nmental assent to the doctrines proposed, but habitually to take God\u2019s\nview of things. This is done by the faithful generally, even very simple\nsouls, \u201cThou hast revealed them to little ones\u201d (St. Luke x, 21). This\nshould be done by us, religious, especially, and it should characterize\nour teaching and the tone of our conversations; while on the other hand,\n\u201cThe sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of\nGod; for it is foolishness to him and he cannot understand\u201d (I Cor. ii,\n14).\n\n_POINT II._ _Infunde amorem cordibus_, \u201cInfuse Thy love into our\nhearts.\u201d The Love of God is sanctity, and it is a gift of the Spirit of\nGod. \u201cThe charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost\nwho is given to us\u201d (Rom. v, 5). It is the most precious of all gifts\nand, like every good gift, it is to be obtained by fervent and constant\nprayer. For \u201cEvery best gift and every perfect gift is from above,\ncoming down from the Father of lights\u201d (St. James i, 17). We are\nespecially encouraged to ask this gift from God, by the fact that Christ\nHimself assures us that the Lord loves to bestow this treasure on those\nwho eagerly ask for it; for he says:\n\n\u201cHow much more will your Father from heaven give the Good Spirit to them\nthat ask him?\u201d (St. Luke xi, 13). Pray for it fervently, on this\noccasion in particular.\n\n_POINT III._ _Infirma nostri corporis virtute firmans perpeti_,\n\u201cStrengthen the weakness of our bodies with lasting power.\u201d Give us the\nvirtue of fortitude, an abiding willingness to do and to suffer whatever\nthe service of God may require. This willingness is the test of our love\nfor Him and the chief means of our sanctification. We exercise this\nwillingness by patiently toiling along, suffering checks and\ncontradictions, meeting with disappointments without being disheartened\nby them, enduring fatigue, pain, regret, shame, etc. We may meet all\nthese trials in the sacred ministry, in the classroom, in humble labor,\nanywhere; and that not occasionally, but daily, hourly, yet without\nfretting or murmuring, but cheerfully, joyously, buoyantly, scarcely\nnoticing them, but treating them as matters of course in a life of\ngenerous sacrifice. St. Augustine points out three degrees of patience.\nIn the lowest degree are those who would rather endure their sufferings\nthan commit sin to escape from them. Those are in the second degree who\naccept willingly what God sends, simply because God wills it. We ascend\nto the third degree when we desire to suffer that we may more closely\nresemble our suffering Lord. This is a special gift of the Holy Ghost,\nour third degree of humility.\n\n_Colloquy._ Ask earnestly that the Divine Spirit may increase in you all\nthese precious effects.\n\n\n                               TRIDUUM C\n\n\n                              MEDITATION I\n             On the Need of Frequent Renovations of Spirit\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ St. Paul writes to the Ephesians: \u201cBe renewed in the\nspirit of your mind\u201d (iv, 23).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask grace to increase greatly your spirit of fervor.\n\n_POINT I._ It is one of the infirmities of our fallen nature that we are\nconstantly drawn down to sensual and other selfish gratifications; and,\nto rise heavenward in our desires, we need the exertion of ever renewed\nefforts. As truly as the clock needs repeated winding up, so the soul\nneeds frequent remindings of the vital truths which cause our lives to\nbe supernatural. For this purpose, St. Ignatius has wisely provided\nthese semi-annual renovations of spirit. If we did not care to renew our\nspirit of fervor at the proper time, the Lord might do it for us by\nmeans far more painful than we imagine. Bitter afflictions brought on\nindividual persons or upon entire bodies of men, even such as are\nfavorites of God, are often intended by Him to purify them from moral\nstains. Thus, some years before the suppression of our Society, Father\nParadiso was instructed by the Lord to inform Father Ricci, then our\nFather General, that the calamities which were going to overwhelm us\nwere intended to renew the spirit of humility, of faith and piety in the\nwhole Church. (See B. N.\u2019s \u201cThe Jesuits and Their History,\u201d Vol. II,\nPage 179.)\n\n_POINT II._ Another reason for this semi-annual renovation of the spirit\nof fervor is that our life calls for men of uncommon virtue. The whole\nhistory of our Order proves this truth. Every generation of our members\nhas had numerous heroes, conspicuous for their spirit of self-sacrifice.\nEvery generation has had much need of solid virtue on the part of all\nits members to perform the difficult tasks imposed on them. For the\npresent we are passing through a crisis in the world\u2019s history, which\ncalls for the most patient endurance of ills, and the most generous\nspirit of sacrifice, that can be expected from brave and faithful men\nsupported by the grace of God. Such virtue as you shall need during your\nlifetime, if you do not want to disgrace the name you bear, can only be\nacquired by leading a life of prayer, and by the ever faithful\nperformance of your duties, no matter what sacrifices they may require.\n\n_POINT III._ The purpose for which we have entered on this career is\nwell worthy of all the sacrifices it may demand of us. No grander\npurpose can be conceived. God Himself never holds out a higher aim than\nthat which we are vowed to labor for, namely most perfect happiness for\nourselves and for a countless multitude of other souls. In fact, the aim\nof our lives is identical with that for which the Son of God came down\nfrom Heaven, and toiled and suffered upon earth, namely the procuring of\nthe greater glory of God; _Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam_.\n\nWe could not have entered upon this grand career if the Lord had not\ngiven us extraordinary graces to do so. He has deigned to make the\nsacrifices implied in it comparatively easy and full of consolations;\nand if only we keep up our trust in Him, He will make the rest of our\nlives flow on in the same even current of loving worship. They will not\nbe lives of ease and earthly comforts; far from it. They will be\nsuccessions of sacrifices, as was the life of Christ. But he rides\nsmoothly along whom the grace of God carries onward, _facile equitat\nquem gratia Dei portat_; and we shall be cheered on at every step by the\nprospect of eternal bliss: \u201cThey that sow in tears shall reap in joy.\nGoing they went and wept, casting their seeds; but coming they shall\ncome with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves\u201d (Ps. 125).\n\n_Colloquy._ Ask earnestly for a thorough renovation of the spirit of\ngenerous service, which is to be the fruit of this triduum.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION II\n                Sin the Chief Hindrance to Our Progress\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine Christ speaks to you from the tabernacle and\nsays: \u201cYou are my friends if you do the things that I command you\u201d (St.\nJohn xv, 14).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask for copious light and grace to observe God\u2019s\ncommandments perfectly.\n\n_POINT I. Consider how much we ought to hate even the smallest sin._\n\nIn our first meditation we considered the grand purpose for which we\nlive, the attainment of eternal bliss for ourselves and others and the\ngreater glory of God. Now sin is the greatest obstacle in our way; it\nbars our road to Heaven and directly insults our Lord. The condition of\nChrist\u2019s friendship is the observance of His commandments: \u201cYou are my\nfriends if you do the things that I command you.\u201d To sin is to break\nthose commandments. If it does not always turn us against God, it at\nleast displeases Him. Even a venial sin is a greater evil than any\ntemporal loss. We should rather die than wilfully commit one.\n\nThis disposition is the second degree of humility, on which we resolve\nto live in every good retreat. To it Christ lovingly invites us, saying:\n\u201cHe that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me;\nand he that loveth me shall be loved by my Father; and I will love him,\nand will manifest myself to him.... If any one love me, he will keep my\nword, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our\nabode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my word\u201d (St. John\nxiv, 21-24).\n\n_POINT II. Consider the principal causes of sins._\n\n1. One general cause is our thoughtlessness; we are unmindful of the\ngreat truths of religion, the supernatural light of which is allowed to\ngrow dim amid the distractions of a busy or a frivolous life.\nEcclesiasticus warns us, saying: \u201cIn all thy works remember thy last\nend, and thou shalt never sin\u201d (vii, 40). Now the remedy of this\nthoughtlessness is provided for us in our spiritual exercises: our\nmeditations, examinations of conscience, spiritual readings, etc. The\nreligious who is accustomed to perform these faithfully and fervently is\nnot likely to commit many sins, and he will gradually become more and\nmore virtuous.\n\n2. Another copious source of sins consists of unmortified passions. When\nany passion is aroused, it blinds us to the dictates of reason and the\nwhisperings of grace. You see this in the conduct of an angry man: he\nsays and does things which he is afterwards ashamed of and sorry for. It\nis so with all unrestrained passions. Consider what are your most\nfrequent faults and what are their causes. What passions need\nparticularly to be watched and checked. The triduum is just the time for\nself-introspection, examinations of conscience, and for the ordering of\nour spiritual exercises.\n\n_POINT III. Consider some faults in particular_, against which a\nreligious should be guarded.\n\n1. Violation of fraternal charity, whether in word or thought; ever\nremember the words of Christ: \u201cAmen, I say to you, as long as you did it\nto one of these my least brethren, you did it to me\u201d (St. Matth. xxv,\n40).\n\n2. Irreverence in prayer: disrespectful posture, wilful or careless\nwandering of the mind, want of proper preparation, etc.\n\n3. Sensuality in food and drink, or in the indulgence of superfluous\nsleep.\n\n4. Immodesty of touch or look, effeminate softness of manner or\nlanguage, imprudent familiarity.\n\n5. Human respect, more anxiety to please men than to please the Lord,\nand therefore doing or saying what is unlawful or imprudent, or omitting\nto do what conscience dictates to be our duty.\n\n_Colloquy._ Earnestly beg pardon for faults committed and resolve to\navoid the occasions of sin.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION III\n                       Fidelity in Little Things\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Behold Christ occupied in simple manual labor.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask the grace of understanding the value in God\u2019s sight\nof perfect fidelity in even the least observances.\n\n_POINT I. What is meant by fidelity in little things?_ It means such\nfidelity in doing God\u2019s will on all occasions as to neglect no details,\neven the least important. What is there in those details that makes them\nprecious? It is their conformity to the will of God. That is what Christ\nvalued in them. The greatest things on earth are insignificant trifles\nin the sight of God; but the least act of conformity to God\u2019s will has a\nDivine worth, and therefore is more precious than any merely natural\nperformance. Faith teaches us to appreciate this truth; Christ came to\nenforce it by the example of His private life. How do I act in this\nmatter? Am I habitually faithful in observing all my rules, even those\nwhich seem to be of less importance?\n\n_POINT II. Consider the importance of such fidelity._\n\n1. This fidelity is a necessary precaution against the commission of\ngreat faults. For Ecclesiasticus tells us: \u201cHe that contemneth small\nthings shall fall by little and little\u201d (xix, 1). And our Blessed\nSaviour teaches: \u201cHe that is faithful in that which is least is faithful\nalso in that which is greater; and he that is unjust in that which is\nlittle is unjust also in that which is greater\u201d (St. Luke xvi, 10). Thus\nsmall faults in the matter of charity, poverty, sensuality, chastity,\netc., gradually lead to grievous sins. No one becomes at once a great\nsinner or a great saint.\n\n_Nemo repente fit summus_, says the old proverb. Before Judas sold our\nLord for thirty pieces of silver, he had accustomed himself to lesser\nacts of injustice, as St. John tells us, saying of him that \u201che was a\nthief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein\u201d\n(xii, 6).\n\n2. Our lives are mostly made up of minor acts, as were the private lives\nof Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and countless Saints. A Martyr\u2019s crown in\nHeaven may consist of one brilliant gem, the ruby of his heroic death;\nbut the crowns of most Saints are made up of countless sparkling little\ndiamonds, each the reward of fidelity in a little thing. Thus too in\nhuman things, in which perfection depends on minor details. For\ninstance, the politeness of the man who is to the manner born is not\ndisplayed in extraordinary actions, but in that delicate tact which\nmakes him know his place, so that he never acts amiss, and always says\nthe right word and does the right thing at the right time. This fidelity\nis, in spiritual things, what good taste is in literature and the other\nfine arts. Masterpieces differ from common works in the perfection of\nthe least details; for instance, in sculpture, painting, etc., etc.\n\n_POINT III._ It is by fidelity in minor matters that we acquire the\nsolid virtues needed to perform heroic deeds when the occasion calls for\nthem. This is brought about in two ways.\n\n_1. Naturally._ Our conduct on all occasions, even the most important,\ndepends to a great extent on the good or evil habits we have acquired.\nNow habits are acquired by the frequent repetition of acts. It is only\nin little things that actions can be frequently repeated; for few of us\nhave numerous opportunities to do great things. Therefore our habits,\ngood or bad, are ordinarily the result of our fidelity or infidelity in\nlittle things.\n\n_2. Supernaturally._ Acts of virtue practised by us obtain for us\nadditional actual graces to practise yet more acts of virtue: and thus\nfaithful souls constantly strengthen the chain of graces which binds\nthem ever more closely to God. Unfaithful souls forfeit these additional\nhelps of grace that were in store for them; and thus their chain of\ngraces is gradually weakened, so that temptations may occur which cause\nthem serious falls into sin. Examine your daily conduct of fidelity to\ngrace.\n\n_Colloquy_, according to the sentiments evoked by these considerations.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION IV\n                      The Observance of Our Rules\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you see St. Ignatius, as he is often painted,\nwith the book of his Constitutions in his hands.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg through his intercession for a high appreciation of\nour rules.\n\n_POINT I. What are the rules of our Society?_ They are a summary of\nthose wonderful Constitutions which the Holy Ghost has used for the\nconversion and sanctification of countless multitudes of souls during\nthe last four centuries, namely:\n\n1. Of the numerous members of our Society during the successive\ngenerations, so many of whom have given evident proofs of having\nattained heroic sanctity.\n\n2. Of vast numbers of other persons of the clergy and the laity who have\nbeen saved and sanctified by the virtues and the labors of the members\nof our Society.\n\n_POINT II. Why are these rules so productive of sanctity?_\n\n1. Because they are not merely human work; for St. Ignatius, in writing\nhis Constitutions, obtained by fervent prayer the special assistance of\nthe Holy Ghost. This is evident from the history of the Saint. (For\ninstance, Genelli\u2019s \u201cLife of St. Ignatius,\u201d p. 248).\n\n2. Because they lead the way to the perfect imitation of Christ. By his\nSpiritual Exercises St. Ignatius makes us conceive the most lofty\nambition that can be aroused within the human heart, namely to make\nitself comformable to the heart of Jesus; and by his rules he guides us\nthrough all the details of our earthly career to the realization of this\nlofty purpose.\n\n_POINT III. How do our rules accomplish this end?_ By animating all our\nactions with the spirit of the three highest virtues: of Faith, Hope and\nCharity.\n\n1. They aid us to lead _a life of faith_. For whenever we observe a\nrule, we thereby elicit an act of faith, accepting the letter of the\nrule or the word of our superior as the expression of the Divine will.\nOur life is thus made to consist of a succession of supernatural acts.\n\n2. They make us live _a life of hope_. He that follows his own judgment\nleans on a fragile reed; but he that acts because the rules prescribe a\ncertain course thereby trusts God more than his own reasoning and thus\nhopes in the help of God. He shall not be disappointed.\n\n3. They perfect in us _the love of God_. For they constantly prescribe\nwhat tends to the greater glory of God: _Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam_.\n\nDo I observe all my rules faithfully? Does any of them cause me a\nspecial difficulty? Perhaps I do not understand it well; all of them, if\nrightly understood, are most reasonable.\n\n_Colloquy_ with our dear Lord, asking for great fidelity to observe all\nour rules.\n\n\n                              MEDITATION V\n                             Zeal for Souls\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Hear Christ saying: \u201cI am come to cast fire on the earth;\nand what will I but that it be kindled?\u201d (St. Luke xii, 49).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask earnestly that this fire be enkindled in your heart\nand that you may help to spread it far and wide.\n\n_POINT I. That fire is Divine Charity._ It is poured forth into the\nhearts of men by the Holy Spirit who is given to us (Rom. v, 5). It\nmakes us lead a supernatural life, the life of children of God, and in\nthis sense a Divine life. As the vegetable life transforms the clod of\nearth into the fairest flower and the most luscious fruit; as animal\nlife turns the food into the wonderful organism of the human body; so\nthe life of grace gives to our acts a heavenly value. By it sinners\nbecome saints, true children of God. Christ shows intense earnestness in\nspreading this fire, which is really His greatest work: the most Divine\nof all Divine works is the salvation of souls. The Angels are\nministering spirits to aid in this task. All human efforts are\nchildren\u2019s play in comparison with this. To save a soul is a grander\nachievement than to conquer an empire.\n\n_POINT II. This sublime work is done chiefly through the agency of men._\nIts great promoter was the God-man Himself, the Son of God incarnate.\nBut He has deigned to associate to Himself the Apostles and their\nsuccessors, the bishops and priests of His Church, till the end of time;\nto whom He has said: \u201cGoing therefore teach ye all nations ... and\nbehold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world\u201d\n(St. Matth. xxviii, 19, 20). With these the Lord has associated in a\nspecial manner, through the mission of His Church, various apostolic\nOrders of religious, our own Society in particular: \u201cI have chosen you\nand have appointed you that you should go and should bring forth fruit,\nand that your fruit should remain\u201d (St. John xv, 16).\n\nWhen Christ first addressed these words to a few poor fishermen, how\nunlikely it was that the promise should be fulfilled? Yet it has been\nmost wonderfully verified. So it will be in our case also if we trust in\nGod. Yet two thirds of mankind are still pagans. Zeal is needed.\n\n_POINT III. What must we do to spread the love of God?_ We need not do\nany novel thing; we must follow the beaten path, travel along the\nhighroad of our religious life. _Age quod agis_; perform your daily\nduties; but do everything well, to the best of your power.\n\nIn particular realize in your conduct that,\n\n1. _You are to be the light of the world._ For this purpose you must\nform your intellect upon the teachings of Christ. Master His views of\ntime and eternity, by earnest meditations, sound readings, recollection,\nmuch prayer. Do not contract false views of life by following false\nguides, reading worldly authors extensively, imbibing their spirit. The\nlight that is in you, your intimate convictions, will necessarily shine\naround you, through your language, through your conduct. If you are\nthoroughly religious, real Jesuits, it will be the light of Christ, and\nwill truly enlighten the portion of the world where Providence will\nplace you. If your views are false, you will not do God\u2019s work.\n\n2. _You are the salt of the earth_; incorrupt yourselves, you must keep\nothers from corruption. This requires pure and holy affections of the\nheart, soundness of the will. If we Jesuits, with our training do not\nlive innocent and holy lives, what remedy can we find? \u201cIf the salt lose\nits savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more\nbut to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men\u201d (St. Matth. v, 13).\nThese words were spoken by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, when He\nwas laying down the platform of His campaign for the conquest of the\nworld to the Kingdom of His Father. We are soldiers in that campaign.\nHow worthy is our conduct of such a cause and such a King.\n\n_Colloquy_ with our Divine Lord, promising fidelity and zealous\nexertions in this lofty vocation.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION VI\n                     Devotion to the Blessed Virgin\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ See the Blessed Virgin exalted in Heaven, surrounded by\nthe Saints and the Blessed of our Society.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg for an increase of devotion to her, invoking her\nunder the title of Queen of the Society of Jesus.\n\n_POINT I. Why is all the Church so devoted to Mary?_ Because God wishes\nto be honored by man especially in connection with the grandest\nexhibition of His love for man, the mystery of the Incarnation. Now in\nthis mystery Mary holds a most prominent place; she is the key to the\nproper understanding of it. Besides, as Jesus was given to mankind\nthrough Mary, so through her He is given to individual souls. Therefore\nthe Church salutes her as \u201cMother of Divine Grace\u201d; and many holy\nwriters say that every grace comes to all individual souls through her\nintercession.\n\n_How do we know that God is pleased with so great a devotion to Mary?_\n\n1. From the constant teaching of the Church, which has applied to her\nsuch texts as these: \u201cHe that shall find me shall find life and shall\nhave salvation from the Lord\u201d (Prov. viii, 35); \u201cThey that work by me\nshall not sin\u201d (Ecclus. xxiv, 30); etc.\n\n2. From the Doctors of the Church, who have exhausted all their\nresources of learning to inculcate this devotion. Such are Sts.\nAugustine, Bernard, Liguori, Anthoninus, Bonaventure, etc.\n\n3. From the workings of the Holy Ghost, who has fostered this devotion\nin the lives of numberless Saints and of other highly favored servants\nof God, as well as in the practice and prayers of the Church itself, and\nthe unanimous teachings of her theologians.\n\n4. From so many miracles performed through the invocation of the Blessed\nVirgin in every land.\n\n_POINT II. What part has our Society taken in fostering this devotion?_\n\n1. A most conspicuous part. For instance St. Ignatius ascribes his\nconversion to the vision he had of her, he made himself her Knight at\nMontserrat, he makes us meditate on her and pray to her in our retreats.\n\n2. In the life and death of St. Stanislaus, St. Berchmans, St.\nAlphonsus, St. Francis Hieronymo and, in fact, all her Saints and her\ngreat men generally.\n\n3. In her zeal to propagate devotions to Mary by means of her\nSodalities, her devotions of the month of Mary, and countless writings\nof her ablest men. No one is considered as a worthy member of our Order\nwho has not a marked devotion to Mary. How do I strive to honor her? Is\nthere any practice that I used to perform in her honor that I have\ngradually abandoned? What improvement can I make in this respect?\n\n_POINT III. In what does devotion to Mary chiefly consist?_ It is an\nacquired habit, the result of countless acts of ours in compliance with\nthe grace of God. Such are:\n\n1. The devout celebration of her festivals, preparing for them by\nnovenas and continuing them by the celebration of their octaves;\n\n2. The daily recitation of the Rosary, or at least of the third part of\nit, the Beads, of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin and the Office of her\nImmaculate Conception;\n\n3. The wearing of her scapular of Mount Carmel, and of medals blessed in\nher honor;\n\n4. The recitation of set prayers to her at rising in the morning and\nretiring at night, at the sound of the Angelus bell, morning, noon and\nnight;\n\n5. Fervent invocations during the day, especially at the approach of\ntemptations;\n\n6. Reading and meditation on her prerogatives;\n\n7. Conversing on the same, or in any way promoting her devotion. We can\nrender no greater service to any one than to make him devout to the\nBlessed Virgin Mary. Are we doing as much as we can in this respect?\n\n_Colloquy_ with Mary, asking her guidance to learn to love her more and\nto lead many others to love her.\n\n\n\n\n                               TRIDUUM D\n\n\n                              MEDITATION I\n                      The Purpose of This Triduum\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Vividly picture to yourself St. John Berchmans at his\nprayer.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg for copious grace to imitate his spirit of fervor.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider that in the sight of God _men differ from one\nanother only according to their interior dispositions_: _Omnis gloria\nfiliae regis ab intus_, \u201cAll the glory of the King\u2019s daughter is within\u201d\n(Ps. 44). It matters nothing whether a person be rich or poor, learned\nor ignorant, man or woman, old or young, refined or uncultured, etc. We\nare apt to forget this and to trust in some natural superiority, as the\nworld does. The Lord said to His prophet Samuel: \u201cI do not judge\naccording to the look of man; for man seeth those things that appear,\nbut the Lord beholdeth the heart\u201d (I Kings xvi, 7). The right view of\nourselves will be one of the great disillusionments at death. Let us now\nstrive to view ourselves as we are in God\u2019s sight.\n\n_POINT II. Consider this truth in special examples_, comparing a St.\nAlphonsus Rodriguez with an ordinary Jesuit, a Brother, a Father or a\nScholastic. How similar outside. How different within. Compare a St.\nJohn Berchmans, a St. John Francis Regis with a Passaglia, a Tyrrell,\netc., a mere boy, like St. Stanislaus, with a veteran religious of the\nordinary cast. This interior proper disposition of which the Psalmist\nsings is apt to promote devotion, which St. Francis De Sales describes\nas follows: \u201cDevotion is nothing else but that spiritual agility and\nvivacity by which charity works in us, or we by her, with alacrity and\naffection; and as it is the business of charity to make us observe all\nGod\u2019s commandments generally and without exception, so it is the part of\ndevotion to make us observe them cheerfully and with diligence....\nDevotion is the pleasure of pleasures, the queen of virtues, and the\nperfection of charity. If charity be milk, devotion is the cream; if\ncharity be plant, devotion is the flower; if charity be a precious\nstone, devotion is its lustre; if charity be a rich balm, devotion is\nits fragrance, yea the odor of sweetness which comforts men and rejoices\nAngels\u201d (\u201cDevout Life,\u201d chapter 1, 2). Do I cultivate this disposition\nin my heart with proper earnestness?\n\n_POINT III. Consider that the purpose of the triduum is to renew this\ndevotion within our hearts_, its purity and its energy. Consider that\nGod Himself affords this opportunity, and invites you to profit by it.\nHis grace is ready to help you. What must you do during these three\ndays? Our Society lays the observances before you which you are expected\nto follow. In her name Father Vincent Caraffa says to you: \u201cLet each\none, leaving alone all literary studies (except the work prescribed)\napply himself exclusively to the improvement of the spirit. Certain\npractices in particular are pointed out, namely perfect silence as far\nas possible, half an hour daily of truly devout reading, half an hour\nlikewise of earnest examination of conscience, special meditations on\nthe renewal of the spirit of piety, a manifestation of conscience, a\nconfession of the faults committed since the last renovation and a\npublic accusation of defects.\u201d\n\nRemember in all this the saying of St. Ignatius: \u201cThe more generous we\nshall show ourselves towards God, the more generous we shall find God\ntowards us, and the more fit we shall daily be to receive in greater\nabundance His graces and spiritual gifts.\u201d\n\n_Colloquy._ Ask eagerly and confidently for the grace of making a\nfervent triduum.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION II\n                          The Interior Spirit\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine Christ speaks to you from the tabernacle,\noffering to be your teacher in the spiritual life.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg of our dear Lord to teach you in what consists the\ninterior spirit which is to be renewed during the triduum.\n\n_POINT I. In what consists that interior spirit?_ It is described in\nHoly Writ under the name of \u201cWisdom,\u201d and the entire book called\n\u201cWisdom\u201d is occupied in praising and explaining it. For instance, its\nseventh chapter says: \u201cI called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came\nupon me, and I preferred her before kingdoms and thrones, and esteemed\nriches nothing in comparison of her.... Now all good things came to me\ntogether with her.... She is an infinite treasure to men, which they\nthat use become the friends of God, being commended for the gift of\ndiscipline\u201d (vii, 7-14).\n\nWisdom is the virtue by which we direct our acts by the best means to\nthe best end, which is the end for which we were created, the glory of\nGod. This is the spirit of our Society, \u201cAll for the Greater Glory of\nGod.\u201d And this is the spirit which we must renew within us by the\nexercises of the triduum. It regards the purpose or intention for which\nwe act, and therefore it is called \u201cthe interior spirit.\u201d\n\n_POINT II. What is opposed to the interior spirit?_ Two classes of\nfaults are opposed to this interior spirit,\n\n1. Those by which we seek sinful gratifications,\n\n2. Those which simply fail to direct our actions to our supernatural\nend. Supposing that we are careful to avoid all wilful sin, let us\nconsider how we can be wanting in the interior spirit. There are various\nways: (a) We may be actuated in many of our actions by the love of\npraise, not seeking to please God but to please ourselves. Of course all\nthat is done for a merely natural purpose is so much labor lost for\neternity: \u201cTake heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen\nby them; otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in\nheaven (St. Matth. vi, 1). Thus a religious, whether a Father, a\nScholastic or a Brother, may give great satisfaction to his superiors,\nto his brethren and to outsiders, and yet have little merit before God.\u201d\n\nThe country is full of able and energetic teachers, for instance, who\nwork only for earthly rewards.\n\n(b) We may lead a life of mere impulsive energy, getting interested in\nour work, perhaps to the neglect of higher duties, or we may be drawn by\nmere natural affections: \u201cIf you love them that love you, what reward\nshall you have? Do not even the publicans this?\u201d (ib. v, 46).\n\n(c) In many of our actions we may be doing mere routine work. If we\nbegan the task with a good intention, though we continue it without\nfurther thought of the same, this is not mere routine, but may be very\nmeritorious. The danger is that we may waste much time and energy by\nmerely mechanical action without any supernatural intention. Do I strive\nearnestly to live for God, A.M.D.G.?\n\n_POINT III. What means can I use for this purpose?_\n\n1. Good daily meditations, by which I keep supernatural motives before\nmy mind.\n\n2. Careful examinations of conscience, watching in particular the\nmotives of my actions.\n\n3. Earnest prayer for light and grace steadily to advance in sanctity.\n\nSuch prayer is suggested in various parts of the \u201cBook of Wisdom,\u201d to\nwhich we referred before; for instance, \u201cGive me wisdom, that sitteth by\nthy throne, and cast me not off from among thy children. For I am thy\nservant and the son of thy handmaid, a weak man and of short time, and\nfalling short of the understanding of judgment and laws. For if one be\nperfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he\nshall be nothing regarded\u201d (ix, 4-6).\n\n_Colloquy._ An earnest petition for grace to renew and increase our\ninterior spirit.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION III\n                The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by Faith\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Recall the words of Christ: \u201cAmen, amen, I say unto you,\nHe that believeth in me hath everlasting life\u201d (St. John vi, 47).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask earnestly for an intense spirit of faith.\n\n_POINT I. Consider the value of faith in the sight of God._\n\n1. It is one of the theological virtues, which are infused into our\nhearts by the Holy Ghost: and thus, coming from God they have a Divine\nefficacy. Therefore whatever action is prompted by faith has\nsupernatural merit, that is deserves an eternal reward. Hence the\nteaching of Christ: \u201cHe that believeth in me hath everlasting life.\u201d\n\n2. This value of faith is praised most highly by St. Paul, who devotes\nto its praise the whole eleventh chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews,\nshowing how all the Saints of the Old Law were sanctified by their\nbelief in the promised Redeemer.\n\n3. On the part of man, faith is the sacrifice of his highest faculty,\nhis understanding, to his sovereign Lord. By it we resign our own\njudgment to accept in its place the word of God.\n\n4. It is also the exercise of the virtue of humility, by which we\nacknowledge the weakness of our intellect. Now we know that \u201cGod\nresisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble\u201d (St. James iv, 6).\n\n_POINT II. See how faith sanctifies our daily life_:\n\n1. It keeps before us the Divine presence wherever we be; as a sponge\nplunged into the sea has water all around it and within the pores of its\nsubstance, so we are in God; \u201cFor in him we live and move and be\u201d (Acts\nxvii, 28). Aie, God is still more intimately present to us than the\nwater is to the sponge, for He penetrates every particle of our\nsubstance.\n\n2. Faith reveals to us the real presence of Christ in the Holy\nEucharist, with body and soul, humanity and Divinity, teaching us to\nadore Him, to offer Him as our sacrifice and receive Him as our food.\n\n3. Faith makes us recognize the voice of God in the words of our rules\nand the directions of our superiors, and thus it makes the details of\nour religious life full of merit.\n\n4. Faith pierces the guise of misery and frailty, and makes us recognize\nin every human being the hidden presence of Him who will say at the\njudgment: \u201cAmen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my\nleast brethren, you did it to me\u201d (St. Matth. xxv, 40).\n\nThus faith makes the religious life most meritorious.\n\n_POINT III. Examine yourselves on the practical working of the spirit_\nof faith in your daily life. Consider:\n\n1. Whether you strive earnestly to practise the presence of God, by\nfrequently remembering Him and honoring Him by some ejaculatory prayer;\nfor instance, at the striking of the clock, or at the signal to begin or\nend an exercise. If in your own room, offer each new task kneeling to\nyour loving Lord and His Holy Mother.\n\n2. Do you visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently and lovingly, attend\nMass devoutly, and receive Holy Communion daily, with proper preparation\nand thanksgiving?\n\n3. Are you diligent in keeping your rules and docile to the directions\nof your superiors? Or do you criticise their orders, thereby showing\nthat you fail to recognize in them the voice of God?\n\n4. Do you treat all your brethren with generous charity, seeing in them\nso many images of Christ? Or do you take a merely human view of them,\nbeing very fond of some and cold towards others, as worldlings treat one\nanother? Do you endeavor to benefit and console all those in need or in\nsorrow?\n\nThe days of the renovation of spirit offer a golden opportunity to\nexamine the motives of all our actions, valuing them all according to\nthe teachings of faith.\n\n_Colloquy_ with our dear Lord, begging for much light and grace to lead\na life of lively faith, and thus to be thoroughly renewed in spirit.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION IV\n                The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by Hope\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Recall the words of the Psalmist: \u201cTrust in the Lord, and\ndo good.... Delight in the Lord, and He will give thee the requests of\nthy heart\u201d (Ps. 36).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask for a lively confidence in the help of God to lead a\nholy and successful life.\n\n_POINT I. The virtue of hope inspires lofty aspirations._ All men must\nhope for such graces from God as will enable them to attain the ends to\nwhich they are called. But as religious, and as Jesuits we are certainly\ncalled to attain perfection for ourselves and abundant fruit in the\nsouls of others. Unless a Jesuit aims at these two objects, he falls\nbelow the mark of his vocation; He is a spiritual abortion. All other\naims are trivial in comparison. That we are called to this twofold\nsuccess is declared by the second rule of the Summary; and therefore the\nwords of Christ are meant for us: \u201cI have chosen you and have appointed\nyou that you should go and should bring forth fruit, and that your fruit\nshould remain\u201d (St. John xv, 16). This lofty aim is the spirit of our\nvocation. It is fostered by the virtue of hope.\n\n_POINT II. The virtue of hope gives us confidence of success._ The\nsanctification of our own soul and of many others is certainly above the\npower of any man. If therefore we had not the help of God for this\npurpose, we could not attain this effect. But with the help of God we\ncan do wonders: \u201cI can do all things in him who strengthened me\u201d (Phil.\niv, 13). Two sentiments must combine in me for the purpose: an intimate\nconviction of my total inability to save souls, and a firm confidence in\nthe power and goodness of God to effect this result through my weakness:\n\u201cThe foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound\nthe strong; and the base things of the world and the things that are\ncontemptible hath God chosen, and things that are not, that he might\nbring to naught things that are; that no flesh should glory in his\nsight\u201d (I Cor. i, 27-29). The more humble our opinion of ourselves and\nthe more lively our confidence in God, the more earnest no doubt will be\nour efforts to sanctify ourselves and others, and thus the more we shall\nfoster in us the spirit of our vocation.\n\n_POINT III. To attain supernatural results we must trust in the use of\nsupernatural means._ All the Philosophy of the world cannot convert a\nPagan; nor all theology a Protestant, nor all literature a sinner.\nConversion and sanctification are the work of grace. Now grace is\nobtained by prayer, by sacrifice, self-immolation, mortification. This\nlesson our dear Lord teaches us with much emphasis, saying: \u201cAmen, amen\nI say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die,\nitself remaineth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit\u201d\n(St. John xii, 24, 25). The minister of God is like a grain of wheat; as\nthe wheat must be cast into the moist and hot furrow and corrupt before\nit can produce a new and fertile plant, so God\u2019s minister must not spare\nhimself, but be mortified and suffer debasement before he can produce\nabundant fruit in souls. Still remember that study and work, when done\nfor supernatural motives, become thereby supernatural means, and are\nthen as good as prayer, and often better than prayer. For whoever would\nneglect his appointed tasks to give extra time to prayer would not\nplease the Lord. Hard work in the service of God is our habitual duty;\nthrough it we must sanctify ourselves and others. One of the sayings\nattributed to St. Ignatius is: \u201cWork as if all your successes were going\nto depend on your own efforts; and trust in God as if all depended on\nHim, nothing on yourself.\u201d And of course where all depends on the\ninfinite power and goodness of God, we may expect abundant fruit.\n\n_Colloquy_ with our dear Lord, begging for a lively hope in His\nassistance.\n\n\n                              MEDITATION V\n               The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by Charity\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ See the glorified members of our Society around Jesus in\nHeaven, looking down on us with tender affection.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg for a liberal share of the spirit of love.\n\n_POINT I._ Consider that _perfection consists in the love of God_;\ntherefore whatever increases the love of God within us increases our\nperfection, fosters our interior spirit. To increase this love of God,\nlet us study its excellence: it makes us really friends of Christ, who\nsaid to His Apostles, and says to all who strive to imitate their\nexample: \u201cI will not now call you servants, for the servant knoweth not\nwhat his Lord doth. But I have called you friends, because all things\nwhatsoever I have heard of my Father I have made known to you\u201d (St. John\nxv, 15). Has not Christ given to the true Jesuit an intimate knowledge\nof Himself? Does He not treat us all as His true friends, rather than\nservants? The servant is simply expected to obey orders without knowing\nthe why and the wherefore, without understanding what it is all about.\nTo us Christ has given, through the Exercises of St. Ignatius, a clear\ninsight into the entire plan of sanctification, which even our Brothers\nand our novices soon get to understand remarkably well. Should we not\nthen highly appreciate this Divine light and faithfully walk in its\nradiance?\n\n_POINT II. This friendship with God has various degrees of perfection_:\n\n1. The lowest degree of friendship is that which at least avoids all\nthat would so offend a friend as to sever the friendship entirely, and\nrather turn it into hatred. In case of our friendship with God, this\nseverance is produced by any mortal sin. Of course a true Jesuit commits\nno mortal sins. Any one who would commit such sins frequently has fallen\nbelow the normal standard of religious life.\n\n2. The second degree of friendship excludes all that offends a friend\ndeliberately, with full knowledge and consent, though in a matter of\nminor importance. This is done by fully deliberate venial sin. This\ndegree of friendship with God should be the normal condition of every\ngood religious.\n\n3. The third degree of friendship strives to avoid all that may\ndisplease a friend in any matter whatever, even when there is no\nquestion of giving offense. Such is the condition of fervent religious,\nwho observe all their rules with great exactness, even those that do not\nbind under sin. They do so generously through the spirit of love for\ntheir Lord.\n\n4. A fourth degree of friendship exists in those persons who are ever\neager to give pleasures to their friends, never sparing any trouble to\ndo so. Examine what is your habitual, or at least predominant\ndisposition towards our good Lord. Do you often offend Him with full\nknowledge and will? Can you be more generous in doing what will please\nHim? What improvements can you make?\n\n_POINT III. Consider how friendship is increased._\n\n1. By thinking frequently of the good qualities of our friend, of the\nfavors he has done us, of the warmth of his affection for us and the\nproofs he has given us of it. Therefore we meditate on the Person, the\nlife and the sufferings of Christ, His Blessed Mother and the Saints.\nCan I make my meditations more fervent and more loving? For the same\npurpose we should read spiritual books and make ourselves familiar with\ndevotional literature, carry on spiritual conversations when it can be\ndone with profit, and collect notes of edifying matters for future use.\n\n2. By emptying our hearts of all human attachments that God may fill\nthem entirely. The Lord is a jealous lover. Perfect detachment from\ncreatures is the condition of perfect love of God.\n\n3. By making frequent acts of perfect resignation to the Divine will.\nFor friendship between two persons consists mainly in union of wills.\n\n_Colloquy._ Ask earnestly for an increase of love of God, and resolve to\navoid all that may hinder it.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION VI\n           The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by the Holy Ghost\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you hear Christ say: \u201cYou shall receive the power\nof the Holy Ghost coming upon you\u201d (Acts i, 5).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask earnestly that the Holy Ghost may effect in you a\nthorough renovation of spirit.\n\n_POINT I. Consider what the Holy Ghost did for the Apostles._ Though\nthey had been taught by Christ for three years, they had still\nunderstood His doctrine very imperfectly; their affections were still\nearthly, set on worldly greatness; their dispositions were cowardly.\nWhat did they need? A copious infusion of light and strength. We are in\na similar situation. They obtained this grace by earnest prayer: \u201cAll\nthese were persevering with one mind in prayer\u201d (ib. 14). In due time\nthe effect followed: \u201cAnd they were all filled with the Holy Ghost\u201d (ib.\nii, 4). From that moment they understood all the doctrine correctly;\nand, after being scourged before the council, \u201cThey indeed went from the\npresence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to\nsuffer reproach for the name of Jesus\u201d (ib. v, 41). This was only the\nbeginning of their heroic lives.\n\n_POINT II. Consider what the Holy Ghost does in the Church to-day._ The\nwork of sanctification of the faithful, begun by the descent of the Holy\nGhost upon the Apostles, was to be continued till the end of time, and\nis so continued in us. Just as He has given us sanctifying grace in\nBaptism, and has constantly increased the same in a multitude of various\nways up to the present day, so He is determined to continue this Divine\nwork in our hearts, and to lead us to the practice of all the virtues\nproper to our state of life.\n\nIn particular He wishes to bestow on us the Seven Gifts of the Holy\nGhost. The very name of \u201cGift\u201d shows that we are not expected to acquire\nthose excellent qualities by our own exertions. They may be compared to\nthe sails attached to a boat, or to the steam or electricity propelling\na machine. It is thus the Holy Ghost makes the practice of virtue easy\nfor those who implore His assistance. Have we not all experienced this\nin many ways? In particular in embracing the religious state? What God\nhas begun in us He will not desist from, provided in the future as in\nthe past we co-operate with His graces.\n\n_POINT III. What co-operation does the Holy Ghost expect from us?_ We\nhave seen that the sanctification of the soul comes chiefly from the\nHoly Ghost. Yet He ordinarily requires our co-operation. In what does\nthis consist?\n\n1. In complying with the inspirations of His grace. This supposes that\nwe carefully avoid all wilful sins. By mortal sins we would drive Him\nentirely from our souls; by deliberate venial sins we oppose His work,\nturning to creatures and attaching ourselves to them, thus opposing His\nefforts to unite our will with God\u2019s, in which union sanctity consists.\nBy indeliberate venial sins also we resist His influence, but to a less\ndegree. Yet we must also strive to diminish their frequency. Then acting\non the promptings of grace, we shall perform a multitude of virtuous\nacts, by which the Holy Spirit will advance us to ever higher sanctity.\n\n2. Our co-operation consists in the second place in the fervor of our\nprayers, that is in all manner of direct intercourse with God by any of\nour spiritual exercises, or by aspirations after God or His gifts,\nuttered in the midst of distracting occupations. For these direct\ndealings with God are the ordinary means which He provides for the\nsupply of light and strength to the soul, enabling it to lead a fervent\nand faithful life. Our prayers become all the more efficient in this\nregard when they are combined with the sacramental graces derived from\nconfession, Holy Communion, the Holy Mass or visits to the Blessed\nSacrament.\n\nAm I thus faithfully and fervently co-operating with the influence of\nthe Holy Ghost? What can be improved?\n\n_Colloquy_ with the Holy Ghost, asking what efforts He desires on our\npart, and grace to make those efforts.\n\n\n                               TRIDUUM E\n\n\n                              MEDITATION I\n                      Preparation for the Triduum\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you see the graveyard of the Novitiate.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask grace to view all things as those buried there view\nthem at present.\n\n_POINT I. Consider the vast amount of good done by those buried there_,\nthe fruit produced in countless souls by their labors in missions,\nchurches, colleges, parochial schools, retreats given, sermons\ndelivered, confessions heard, the last sacraments administered, the sick\nvisited, youths prepared for the priesthood and the religious life,\netc., etc. All these results are still spreading farther and wider, like\nthe ripples on a pond and last from generation to generation. And by\ntheir faithful observance of rules, the labors borne, the sufferings\nendured, the penance practiced, their acts of charity, humility, piety,\netc., they have also accumulated immense rewards for themselves.\n\n_POINT II. Consider the heavenly reward now enjoyed_ by their souls in\ncompany with the Saints and the Blessed, with Jesus, Mary and Joseph.\nHow light appear to them now their former sacrifices. How fully they now\nrealize the meaning of these words of St. Paul: \u201cThe sufferings of this\ntime are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be\nrevealed in us\u201d (Rom. viii, 18). Think also of the multitudes of souls\nwho are now in bliss with them, and who owe their salvation to the\nlabors and prayers of those of our brethren whose remains lie in this\nsacred ground.\n\n_POINT III. Consider how little is known now of their individual\nendowments._ To most of the present generation of our younger members\nfew of the names upon those tombstones recall any former memories. All\nthat is now appreciated by their successors is the grand cause for which\nthey lived and died. Their bodily forms, their more or less extensive\nknowledge, their wit, their poetic power, their eloquence, their taste\nfor music, their talent for mathematics, even the distinguished offices\nthey held, the great services they rendered to the Society and to the\nChurch at large, all, or at least most of this is forgotten by the\npresent generation. And so will be the distinctions which you may\nacquire during your lifetime to the generations to come. Only that which\npleases the eye of God is of real and lasting value. Reflect whether you\nare not too much in love with temporal distinctions. Resolve to make a\nthorough self-examination during the three days before you, weighing all\nconcerns in the balance of eternity.\n\n_Colloquy._ Ask light and grace to make an excellent retreat.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION II\n                     The Field Ripe for the Harvest\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you hear Christ say: \u201cPray ye the Lord of the\nharvest that he send forth laborers into his harvest\u201d (St. Matth. ix,\n38).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask grace to renew your spirit of zeal for souls.\n\n_POINT I._ The salvation of souls is the most earnest desire of the\nSacred Heart of Jesus. It was the purpose for which He came down to\nearth, which was ever before Him during His private life, His preaching,\nHis sufferings and His death; and it is still the object of His\nintercession for us in Heaven. For He realizes, better than any one\nelse, the immense interests at stake in saving souls. This is the reason\nof His infinite self-humiliation, His boundless self-sacrifice.\n\nThis grand work He wishes to be continued by His ministers, to whom He\nsays: \u201cFeed my lambs, feed my sheep.\u201d To do this work He has ever since\ninspired His dearest friends: the Apostles, all missionaries and\npastors, numberless Saints in all ages and all lands.\n\n_POINT II. This eagerness is as earnest with Him to-day as it ever was._\nIt is so in particular for this land of ours, where the fields are\ncertainly white for the harvest. And for this work Christ has chosen\nyou: \u201cYou have not chosen me, but I have chosen you; and have appointed\nyou that you should go and bring forth fruit, and your fruit should\nremain\u201d (St. John xv, 16). It would be a deplorable blindness in us if\nwe failed to understand the importance of the work before us, and not\nonly a sad but a guilty listlessness if we were to set our minds on\nselfish trifles, and not profit by the golden opportunity offered us to\ndo God\u2019s work and labor generously at the salvation of souls every day\nof our lives. Of course you cannot at the present stage of your\nreligious life, go forth and preach and give missions and bring\nnon-Catholics into the fold, nor are you urged to do things\nextraordinary.\n\n_POINT III. What can you do in your present circumstances to lead\nzealous lives? What does God desire of you?_\n\n1. You must acquire thoroughly the spirit of our institute. You are\nstill in the stage of formation to this spirit. Christ had called His\nfirst disciples with the words: \u201cCome after me, and I will make you\nfishers of men\u201d (St. Mark i, 17). So He has called you for the same\npurpose. Yet He did not send them at once to preach; He kept them in\ntraining, instructing and directing them. So He is doing with you. Do\nnot pretend to know better than those put over you; do not criticise and\nmurmur at any time; but pray much to obtain fully the spirit of our\nSociety. Do so particularly during this meditation and this whole\ntriduum.\n\n2. Do the tasks entrusted to you with much zeal and devotedness. All the\nlabor in which any Jesuit is employed by his superiors bears, in some\nway or other, on the salvation of souls. Do all your tasks in that\nspirit.\n\nThe military recruit, while in training in the barracks, is already\nserving his country. His duty is to do it well. You are in the service\nof Christ the King. For His sake do all to the best of your power. If He\nintrusts to you some care of your neighbor, as He did to His Apostles\nand the seventy-two disciples during their time of training, remember it\nis God\u2019s work you are doing, as aids to Christ, for the salvation of\nprecious souls. Do it all carefully, faithfully, making generously the\nsacrifices involved in the performance of your duties.\n\n3. Pray for God\u2019s help and His blessings on your labors and on the\nlabors of your brethren. St. Francis Xavier ascribed his wonderful\nsuccess in pagan lands to the prayers of his brethren in Europe; and no\ndoubt the missionaries of the present day are likewise assisted by the\nprayers of the whole Society. This is the very Spirit of the Apostleship\nof Prayer, the zealous exercise of which is sufficient to make you all\napostles of the Lord.\n\n_Colloquy._ Lord, what wilt Thou have me do for the great work of saving\nsouls? Speak, O Lord; Thy servant heareth.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION III\n                           Fraternal Charity\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you hear Christ saying: \u201cBy this shall all men\nknow that you are my disciples if you have love for one another\u201d (St.\nJohn xiii, 35).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask grace to realize fully the importance of practising\nfraternal charity.\n\n_POINT I. Consider our strict obligation to observe fraternal charity._\n\n1. Without it there is no sanctifying grace in the soul. St. John\nwrites: \u201cWe know that we have passed from death to life because we love\nthe brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death. He that hateth his\nbrother is a murderer\u201d (St. John iii, 14-15).\n\n2. Christ has chosen this commandment as distinctly His own: \u201cA new\ncommandment I give unto you. Love one another as I have loved you\u201d (St.\nJohn xiii, 34), and again: \u201cThis is my commandment that you love one\nanother as I have loved you\u201d (ib. xv, 12).\n\n3. He makes its observance the distinctive mark of His disciples: \u201cBy\nthis shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one\nfor another\u201d (ib. xiii, 34).\n\n4. Without a delicate fraternal charity many religious communities would\ncontain some very unhappy members. And our Society in particular has\nalways shown the greatest solicitude to protect and foster this virtue.\n\n_POINT II. How may fraternal charity be violated?_\n\nAmong religious, violations of charity are not so often committed by\nactions as they are among seculars, but they are not seldom committed by\nword or thought. St. James writes: \u201cIn many things we all offend. If any\nman offendeth not in word, the same is a perfect man\u201d (iii, 2), and\nagain: \u201cThe tongue no man can tame, an unquiet evil, a deadly poison\u201d\n(ib. 8). By calling it a deadly poison, he clearly indicates that the\ntongue is often the cause of grievous wrong. Now wilfully to inflict a\ngrievous wrong on a neighbor is a grievous sin. But even when the wrong\ndone is of less moment, it is always sinful to some extent. Charity is\nviolated in many ways.\n\n1. By needlessly saying in the hearing of another words that give him\npain; and that whether he be our equal or our inferior, and still more\nif he be our superior.\n\n2. By needlessly making known another\u2019s secret faults.\n\n3. By imputing to another a fault he has not committed; this is called\ncalumny, or slander, and is a twofold sin, adding the violation of truth\nto that of charity.\n\n4. By putting an unfavorable interpretation on a neighbor\u2019s conduct,\nexpressing it in words.\n\n5. By condemning him in our minds only, beyond the evidence of the\nfacts; such a judgment is rash, even if it be not false.\n\n6. By needlessly suspecting evil of which there is no good proof.\n\n_POINT III. How we should practise fraternal Charity._\n\nWe must earnestly make up our minds, and act on the conviction all our\nlives, that the practice of charity is not a mere devotion, highly\nrecommended but not essential for the attainment of solid virtue. St.\nPeter writes: \u201cBefore all things have a constant mutual charity among\nyourselves\u201d (I Pet. iv, 8). Our Divine Lord in His vivid description of\nthe Last Judgment lays the chief stress on the duty of charity, and\nsays: \u201cAs long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did\nit to me\u201d (St. Matth. xxv, 40). Again He says: \u201cLove your enemies, do\ngood to those who hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them\nthat calumniate you.... As you would that men should do to you, do you\nalso to them in like manner\u201d (St. Luke vi, 27-31). And He has made our\ngenerous disposition to forgive others the condition of our own pardon,\nteaching us to pray in the Our Father: \u201cForgive us our trespasses as we\nforgive them who trespass against us.\u201d Through St. Peter He tells us\nthat: \u201cCharity covers a multitude of sins.\u201d And what is better still,\ncharity prevents us from committing a multitude of sins. If you can\naccustom yourself never to say an unkind word of or to another, nor\nthink evil of any one, you are on the highroad to sanctity.\n\n_Colloquy._ Beg of our dear Lord the grace of a generous, delicate and\nuniversal charity.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION IV\n                        The Spirit of Sacrifice\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Behold the scene on Calvary, as Jesus exclaims: \u201cIt is\nconsummated.\u201d\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask eagerly for the spirit of sacrifice.\n\n_POINT I. Consider that all our blessings have been the result of\nsacrifices._ When Adam had ruined our race by selfish indulgence, the\nSon of God restored us to favor by the most tremendous spirit of\nsacrifice. His blessings to mankind were propagated from land to land\nand from age to age by men distinguished for the spirit of sacrifice;\nthe Apostles, the Martyrs, the missionaries, the founders of religious\nOrders, the saintly bishops and priests, to the present day. If we wish\nto take our share of this glorious task of saving souls, it can only be\ndone by making sacrifices. The minister of Christ who shirks the toils\nand the privations of his vocation produces little fruit: \u201cUnless the\ngrain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remaineth alone; but\nif it die it bringeth forth much fruit.... If any man minister to me,\nlet him follow me\u201d (St. John xii, 24-26).\n\n_POINT II. The spirit of sacrifice is necessary for our salvation and\nsanctification._\n\n1. For our salvation. For a person who is not accustomed to refuse\nhimself many, even lawful, indulgences is very likely to fall into\ntemptations and grievous sins. Therefore Holy Job said: \u201cI made a\ncovenant with my eyes that I would not so much as think upon a virgin\u201d\n(xxxi, 1). On the other hand, Solomon said of himself: \u201cWhatsoever my\neyes desired, I refused them not; and I withheld not my heart from\nenjoying every pleasure, and delighting itself in the things which I had\nprepared\u201d (Eccles. ii, 10). The result was that Solomon, \u201cthe wise man\u201d\nby excellence, the special favorite of God at first, fell afterwards\ninto most grievous sins: \u201cAnd when he was now old his heart was turned\naway by women to follow strange gods ... he worshipped Astarthe .. and\nMoloch,\u201d etc. (3 Kings xi, 4-8); and it is not certain that he saved his\nsoul. History and constant experience teach, by frequent examples, that\nthe spirit of sacrifice is necessary to secure our salvation. And our\nDivine Lord declares in express terms that \u201cThe kingdom of heaven\nsuffereth violence, and the violent bear it away\u201d (St. Matth. xi, 12).\n\n2. This violence, or the spirit of sacrifice, is still more necessary to\nwork out our sanctification. For this is to be achieved by the imitation\nof Christ, who says: \u201cIf any one will come after me, let him deny\nhimself, and take up his cross and follow me\u201d (St. Matth. xvi, 24). And\nit is an axiom of the spiritual life that one advances in virtue in\nproportion to the violence he does to himself. Therefore the religious\nlife, which is the school of perfection, calls at every step for\ngenerous sacrifices in the observance of that multitude of rules whose\nvery purpose is the sanctification of the soul by the spirit and the\npractice of sacrifice.\n\n_POINT III. How should we practise the spirit of sacrifice?_\n\n1. By carefully observing all our rules. This observance of the rules\nimplies a multitude of self-sacrifices; so that St. John Berchmans\ndeclared that the common life was his greatest mortification; and the\noration of this Saint\u2019s Office exalts him for his fidelity in the\nservice of God.\n\n2. By hard labor in performing the duties imposed on us, especially when\nthese are of an unpleasant kind; for then they require more sacrifice.\n\n3. By rendering all the services we can, even when they are not imposed\non us, making ourselves as useful as possible. It is a common saying\nthat what is every man\u2019s business is no one\u2019s business, and thus many\nservices are neglected. But a good religious rather says: this ought to\nbe done, and no one in particular is appointed to do it; so I must do\nit.\n\n4. By making all sacrifices cheerfully: \u201cFor God loveth a cheerful\ngiver\u201d (2 Cor. ix, 7).\n\n_Colloquy._ Ask earnestly for a cheerful spirit of sacrifice.\n\n\n                              MEDITATION V\n                          Become Men of Prayer\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Behold Christ rapt in prayer: \u201cHe passed the whole night\nin the prayer of God\u201d (St. Luke, vi, 12).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Earnestly ask the grace of becoming a man of prayer.\n\n_POINT I. Consider the importance of praying well._\n\n1. Our life is, or at least ought to be, so very supernatural that it\nneeds an uncommon amount of grace to lead it properly. Now the ordinary\ncondition that God requires to impart His grace is prayer, not so much\nlong prayer as good prayer. If we pray well, we shall undoubtedly\nreceive much grace.\n\n2. Our days are filled up with distracting occupations, so that long\nhours pass in worldly cares or with profane objects of thought, whose\nnatural tendency is to engross our hearts with worldly affections, and\nturn them from the Creator to the creature. Prayer, fervent prayer, is\nthe most efficient means to counteract this tendency. Without it we soon\nlose sight of our highest interests and commit at least venial sins.\n\n3. The good we shall do to the souls of others depends chiefly on\nprayer; for as St. Ignatius teaches us, it is from the interior that\nforce must flow to the exterior for the end proposed to us (Summary,\nrule 16).\n\n_POINT II. What aids have we to become men of prayer?_\n\n1. We have the Holy Ghost, who helps us to pray, crying in our hearts\n\u201cAbba, Father\u201d (Gal. iv, 6). He is certainly ever ready to help us to\nbecome men of prayer; for we Jesuits are called to this, since it is our\nvocation to teach others how to pray, and thus to form spiritual men.\n\n2. We possess a most perfect system of prayer, given us through St.\nIgnatius in his Spiritual Exercises. This has been a most rich and\ninexhaustible source of spirituality, as is shown in the works of our\nwriters, and the lives of our Fathers, Scholastics and Brothers through\nall the periods of our history.\n\n3. All we need to become men of prayer ourselves is diligent application\nto its practice. To obtain distinguished success in any art or science\nwe need special diligence and a sort of enthusiasm in the practice of\nthat pursuit. He who earnestly wishes to become a man of prayer,\u2014and we\nought all to desire this,\u2014should make it his special ambition to perform\nall his spiritual exercises to the best of his power, and constantly to\nask the Lord for the gift of prayer. What is my conduct in this respect?\nAm I really in earnest to acquire that science of the Saints? What\nimprovements am I going to make in this matter?\n\n_POINT III. What hinders us from being men of prayer?_\n\nNot our duties, as is the case with most worldlings. For, although, as\nwe have stated before, our outward duties are apt, to some extent, to\nturn our minds and hearts from God to creatures, enough time for prayer\nis left us to repair our spiritual strength day by day, provided we\nperform our meditations, examinations of conscience, etc., with becoming\nfervor. In fact, our outward labors, if animated by the proper\nintention, which our spiritual exercises constantly inspire, will be\nhelpful to bring us nearer to God, just as bodily labor helps the food\nto promote bodily health. But what hinders us from becoming men of\nprayer is:\n\n1. Indolence, which manifests itself in various ways. We may not prepare\nthe points of meditation over night with proper diligence, or neglect to\ncall them to mind before falling asleep and again at rising in the\nmorning. We may fail to rise promptly and neglect the morning visit to\nthe Blessed Sacrament. We may assume a listless posture during\nmeditation and at other times of prayer, etc.\n\n2. Inordinate passions; such as ambition, vain glory, sensual\nattachments to persons, etc., which keep the imagination and the heart\nbusy with other things during the time of prayer.\n\n3. Neglect of direct conversation with God while He is giving us an\naudience. Prayer supposes that we speak to Him, by acts of adoration,\nhumility, thanksgiving, petition, contrition, intercession, etc. We need\nnot say many things but yet we should speak earnestly all along the time\nof the exercise, often repeating the same sentiments.\n\n_Colloquy._ Ask for an increase of fidelity and fervor in prayer.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION VI\n                       The Vine and the Branches\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine that Christ speaks to you from the altar, and\nsays: \u201cI am the vine, you the branches; he that abideth in me and I in\nHim, the same beareth much fruit\u201d (St. John xv, 5).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Beg to acquire an intimate union with Christ.\n\n_POINT I. Consider how powerless we are of ourselves to save our souls,\nand those of other men._ For Christ says: \u201cAs the branch cannot bear\nfruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you unless\nyou abide in me\u201d (Ib. xv, 4). The dogma is this: we can do nothing\nprofitable for Heaven, unless we possess sanctifying grace and be helped\nby actual grace. Now both of these come to us from Christ, who is like\nthe vine that sends forth its sap into the branches and thus gives life\nand fertility. So too we cannot save the souls of others by human\nlearning or skill, unless Christ co-operates with us by His grace.\nOtherwise we are but like sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. If we do\nnot constantly foster this union with God, we waste much labor, as we\nshall, no doubt, find at our death we have often done.\n\n_POINT II. Consider on the other hand how powerful we are when assisted\nby the grace of God._ For Christ says: \u201cHe that abideth in me and I in\nhim, the same beareth much fruit.\u201d How so? By the Divine power which\nthen makes use of us to do its peculiar work of sanctification for\nourselves and others. Christ adds: \u201cIn this is my Father glorified, that\nyou bring forth very much fruit\u201d (ib. xv, 8). \u201cI have chosen you and\nhave appointed you, that you should go and should bring forth fruit and\nyour fruit should remain\u201d (ib. v, 16).\n\nOur labors thus become His labors, as the sap of the vine produces the\nfruit in the branches. Besides, when our will is one with Christ\u2019s will,\nour prayers become most powerful, as He adds, saying: \u201cIf you abide in\nme and my words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it\nshall be done unto you\u201d (ib. xv, 7).\n\n_POINT III. How do we strengthen this supernatural union with Christ?_\nHe has deigned to tell us this also, saying: \u201cIf you keep my\ncommandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my\nFather\u2019s commandments, and do abide in his love\u201d (xv, 10).\n\nHow consoling all this doctrine is! He adds again: \u201cYou are my friends\nif you do the things that I command you\u201d (xv, 14). All we need do then\nto achieve the most glorious results for our salvation and that of\nothers is to be obedient to His voice.\n\n_POINT IV. Consider the absolute necessity of this union with Christ._\nFor He assures us of this, saying: \u201cIf any one abide not in me, he shall\nbe cast forth as a branch and shall wither; and they shall gather him up\nand cast him into the fire, and he burneth.\u201d This is the lot of all who\ndie in mortal sin, no matter how holy they may have been before. Read\nthe 15th chapter of Ezechiel.\n\n_Colloquy._ O Jesus, may this triduum unite me more firmly with Thee.\nWhat wilt Thou have me do?\n\n\n\n\n                               TRIDUUM F\n\n\n                              MEDITATION I\n                              On the Vows\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine the scene of your first vows\u2014the ceremony is very\nsimple, the meaning very solemn.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask a full appreciation of the meaning.\n\n_POINT I. Consider the choice made by Jesus._\n\n1. While on earth Jesus chose His Apostles: \u201cCome ye after me, and I\nwill make you to be fishers of men\u201d (St. Matth. iv, 19); meaning: I will\nmake you my co-laborers in the grandest of all works; \u201cI have chosen\nyou, that you should go and that you should bring forth fruit, and your\nfruit should remain\u201d (St. John xv, 16), fruit for eternity. The Apostles\ncould not then realize the honor offered them.\n\n2. Christ meant to make their hearts like to His own in holiness,\nfilling them with love for God and men, generosity, humility, mildness,\nfidelity, etc.\n\n3. He meant to make them ornaments of Heaven, the twelve great\nconstellations of the celestial Paradise. Then consider that the same\nBlessed Saviour has chosen you for the same three purposes. Acts of\nthanks, self-abasement: \u201cI, although most unworthy, prostrate before the\nfeet of thy Divine majesty, etc.\u201d\n\n_POINT II. Consider what were your sentiments at the time of your first\nvows._ They were most earnest and sincere. You were of age, you knew the\nreal meaning, you had been tried, you had full liberty to accept\nChrist\u2019s offers or to refuse them, you were enlightened by the grace of\nGod and supported by His aid.\n\nYours were solemn words: \u201cI do vow before the most sacred Virgin Mary,\nand the whole court of Heaven, to Thy Divine Majesty, perpetual Poverty,\nChastity and Obedience, etc.\u201d These vows effected a solemn consecration\nof your person, made you sacred, like chalices, their violation a\nsacrilege. These days are to prepare in you proper sentiments to renew\nthis pledge of a sacred Knighthood, like St. Ignatius\u2019s _night watch of\narms_ at Mont Serrat, really espousals with the Son of God. The breaking\nof such a contract is horrible before God and men. An unfaithful\nreligious is like a false coin\u2014apparently gold, really brass.\n\n_POINT III. Have we been faithful?_ There can be no doubt of our\noriginal sincerity. Our self-immolation was sincere and generous; God\nsupported us. Have we been living up to the lofty ideals with which we\nstarted out? Thousands before us have done so; thousands are doing so\nto-day; thousands are being prepared by the Holy Spirit to do the same.\n\nThese days are assigned us by our Society to examine carefully how we\nstand. If we find defects, we are now to correct them. We must begin the\ntask by a careful self-examination. This is a visit, not of a Father\nProvincial or Father General, but of the Holy Ghost Himself to the\nhearts of all.\n\nNo doubt you are faithful in many things; see whether you are faithful\nin all things. Imagine the Holy Spirit addresses you in the words spoken\nin the Apocalypse to the Bishop of Ephesus, saying: \u201cI know thy works\nand thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them that\nare evil.... And thou hast patience, and hast endured for my name, and\nhast not fainted. But I have somewhat against thee.\u201d Then consider\nwhether you find really in your conduct something that needs special\nlooking after during these three days.\n\n_Colloquy_, according to the sentiments thus excited in your mind.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION II\n                          The Vow of Chastity\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ See Christ in Heaven surrounded by a bright crowd of\nintimate friends (Apoc. vii, 9).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask for the most delicate purity of heart.\n\n_POINT I._ Chastity is a most precious treasure. It was bestowed on Adam\nand Eve in Paradise: \u201cThey were both naked, to wit Adam and Eve, and\nthey were not ashamed\u201d (Gen. ii, 25). On the other hand, when \u201cAll flesh\nhad corrupted its way\u201d (Gen. vi, 12) the Deluge showed the indignation\nof God; and, soon after, to punish impurity, \u201cThe Lord rained upon Sodom\nand Gomorha brimstone and fire ... and he destroyed these cities\u201d (Gen.\nxix, 24, 25).\n\nWhen the Son of God was about to come down and become a child of this\nsin-stained race, He prepared for Himself a temple of purity in the\nBlessed Virgin Mary. His favorite friends were chaste virginal souls,\nSt. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, St. John the Apostle; and His other\nApostles too left their wives and all things to follow Him. One of His\nfirst teachings was: \u201cBlessed are the clean of heart\u201d (St. Matth. v, 8).\nTo teach the sanctity becoming the human body, it is anointed with\nsacred oil at Baptism and Confirmation, fed with the Divine Bread at\nHoly Communion, incensed at Solemn Mass and at burial, and laid in\nconsecrated ground to rise again in glory. How we ought to respect this\nvessel of election!\n\n_POINT II._ We have been selected from among thousands to constitute the\nvirgin band of Christ\u2019s intimate friends. These are Divine nuptials of\nJesus with the consecrated virgin soul, united together into closest\nunion. To this holiness impurity is diametrically opposed. As adultery\nis the grossest sin against the sacred bond of matrimony, so is impurity\nthe most degrading vice against the religious state; and as in St.\nMatthew\u2019s Gospel (xix, 9) marital infidelity is a just cause for\nrejection of the guilty party, so Jesus rejects the impure. The Book of\nWisdom also declares that \u201cWisdom will not dwell in a body subject to\nsins\u201d (i, 4).\n\n_POINT III. Means to protect and perfect purity._\n\n1. _Prayer._ The Book of Wisdom says: \u201cAs I knew that I could not\notherwise be continent except God gave it, and this also was a point of\nwisdom to know whose gift it was, I went to the Lord and besought him\u201d\n(viii, 21). This is one strong reason why religious should do so much\nmore praying than seculars, that they are vowed to a life of perpetual\npurity. In particular there is need in this matter of habitual recourse\nto prayer at every assault of temptation.\n\n2. _The practice of mortification_; for to the spirit of impurity apply\nthe words of Christ: \u201cThis kind can go out by nothing but by prayer and\nfasting\u201d (St. Mark ix, 28).\n\n3. Modesty of all the senses, especially of the eyes: \u201cI made a covenant\nwith my eyes, that I would not so much as think upon a virgin,\u201d said\nHoly Job (xxxi, 1), clearly indicating that the source of evil thoughts\nlies chiefly in the objects presented to the eyes.\n\n4. _Avoiding the occasions_ of temptations; for, while many other\npassions are best subdued by direct resistance to their promptings, that\nof lust must be overcome by flight. Therefore Ecclesiasticus warns us\nthat \u201che that loveth danger shall perish in it\u201d (iii, 27). Few servants\nof God had shown such heroic proofs of fidelity to duty amid multiplied\nand protracted trials as had King David; and yet the imprudence with\nwhich he exposed himself to an impure temptation made him in a few days\nan adulterer, a tyrant and a murderer, and filled his remaining years of\nlife with bitter sufferings.\n\nWe must carefully consider in every retreat how faithfully we make use\nof these various protections of angelic chastity; for \u201cWe have this\ntreasure in earthen vessels\u201d (2 Cor. iv, 7).\n\n_Colloquy_ with our dear Lord and His Holy Mother.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION III\n                          The Vow of Obedience\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Behold Christ learning a trade from St. Joseph.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask for high appreciation of obedience.\n\n_POINT I. Consider that all human beings must obey._ A wise God must\nestablish order in all His works; hence the maxim: \u201cOrder is Heaven\u2019s\nfirst law.\u201d The material universe obeys the law of gravitation, the\nmoral universe obeys the law of subordination of wills of inferiors to\nsuperiors, that is the law of obedience. Common sense teaches all\nmankind that children must obey their parents, servants their masters,\nsubjects their lords, etc. When God came to share your nature, He put\nHimself to obey, and carried this virtue to the highest perfection,\n\u201cbecoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross\u201d (Phil.\nii, 8). In positive legislation God has made this law universal. The\nFourth Commandment directly enforces it (Ex. xx, 12). The law of\nDeuteronomy is still more forcible, saying: \u201cHe that will be proud and\nrefuse to obey the commandment of the priest who ministereth at the time\nto the Lord thy God, and the decree of the judge, that man shall die,\nand thou shalt take away the evil from Israel\u201d (xvii, 12); and laying\ndown the law for sacred services, God inflicted a sudden and disgraceful\ndeath on two young priests for using common instead of sacred fire\n(Levit. x, 1-3). He wished to set an example for all future ages.\n\n_POINT II. Obedience is the characteristic virtue of our Society._ At\nthe time of the Protestant Reformation there was a widespread spirit of\nrebellion against the authority of God; independence replaced obedience.\nThe Holy Ghost then inspired St. Ignatius to institute a religious Order\nwhose characteristic virtue should be that of obedience. He had been a\nbrave soldier, and he wished to assemble a band of men, a company\nobeying orders with the promptness, punctuality and generosity of\nsoldiers ever in active warfare. \u201cEspecially I desire,\u201d he writes, \u201cto\nsee you most perfect in the virtue of obedience.\u201d His letter on\nObedience is the greatest masterpiece written on this matter, and his\nInstitute is the most perfect exhibition of this virtue in action. It\nis, in fact, a close imitation of the obedient life of the God\nIncarnate. None but very obedient men are true Jesuits. Father\nFranciosi, in his work \u201cThe Spirit of St. Ignatius,\u201d has collected\nthirty pages of eulogies pronounced by the Saint on this his favorite\nvirtue (pp. 61 to 92). He calls it \u201cthe noblest and most beautiful\nvirtue,\u201d \u201cthe sweetest sacrifice, most pleasing to the Divine Majesty,\u201d\n\u201ca kind of martyrdom.\u201d He writes: \u201cObedience ennobles and elevates man\ngreatly above his condition, causing him to put off self and to put on\nGod, the sovereign good, who is accustomed to fill the soul so much the\nmore as He finds it less occupied with self-will; so that those who have\nreached this state may truly, provided they obey from the bottom of\ntheir hearts, say with the Apostle: \u2018I live, now not I, but Christ\nliveth in me.\u2019\u201d\n\n_POINT III. How perfect ought our obedience to be?_\n\nI. _In the execution_, it must be prompt, leaving even a letter\nunfinished; exact, rendered with military precision; generous, shirking\nno difficulty; universal in all things commanded and even at a mere sign\nof a superior\u2019s will without an express command; without show of\nreluctance, as a corpse is moved or an old man\u2019s staff employed.\n\n2. _In the will_, which is exchanged for the will of the superior, so\nthat there can be no conflict of wills.\n\n3. _In the judgment_, \u201cas far as a devout will can bend the\nunderstanding,\u201d says St. Ignatius, which can always be done when there\nis no compelling evidence to the contrary. Hence never any criticism,\nbut such docility as the child Jesus showed when taught by St. Joseph\nthe rules of his trade without suggesting any improvement.\n\n_Colloquy_ with our dear Lord, asking for perfect obedience.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION IV\n                        On Strength of Character\n\n\n_1st Prelude. Recall the words of St. Paul_: \u201cBe not overcome by evil,\nbut overcome evil by good\u201d (Rom. xii, 21).\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask to improve in vigor of character.\n\n_POINT I. What is strength of character?_ It is power of the will to\ncontrol one\u2019s own actions, independently of one\u2019s inclinations and of\nthe opinions of men. A weak character is led by mere feelings. These\nmust be brought under control, conquered by the strength of the will and\nmade to obey the dictate of reason. For this purpose we must resist our\ninclinations: \u201c_Vince teipsum_,\u201d \u201cConquer thyself\u201d; \u201c_Tantum profeceris\nquantum tibi vim intuleris_,\u201d \u201cYour progress will be proportioned to\nyour self-victories,\u201d are undoubted maxims. And Christ says in the\nApocalypse: \u201cTo him that shall overcome I will give to sit with me in my\nthrone\u201d (iii, 21).\n\nWhat must we overcome? Whatever we find during the triduum to be\ndisorderly in our daily conduct. Examine your rising at the first\nsignal, your morning visit, meditation, hearing of Mass, reception of\nHoly Communion, and all the successive actions of the day. Resolve to\ncorrect what is faulty, to supply what is wanting, etc. Mere wishes are\nworthless; you must set to work.\n\n_POINT II. Whence comes strength of character?_\n\n1. It is of course, like every precious power, a gift of God: \u201cEvery\nbest gift, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the\nFather of light\u201d (St. James i, 17). Like all other gifts of God, it can\nbe increased by earnest and persevering prayer. Many are fond of\nfrequently repeating the petition: \u201cLord, grant me the grace of doing\nwhat Thou commandest, and then command what Thou wilt.\u201d\n\n2. But it is not all a gift of God. Our will is free; nothing is so\ntruly our own as our will. Even God will not control it. Being an\nimmaterial power, it is not affected by sickness nor old age, as is\nevident from the heroism of the Martyrs.\n\n3. A person\u2019s character may undergo great changes. Thus we read of St.\nFrancis of Sales that his gentleness of temper was the result of\nstrenuous and continuous efforts. In St. Ignatius \u201cUnalterable calmness\nwas the result of his vigorous perseverance in combatting the\nirascibility to which his constitution much inclined him\u201d (Franciosi,\nSpir. of St. Ign., p. 149).\n\n4. Often men of strong passions make most progress in virtue, as St.\nIgnatius found in Peter Ribadineira and Edmund Auger, who triumphed over\ngreat defects of character (Ib., p. 141).\n\n_POINT III. How is strength of character increased or diminished?_ This\nis chiefly effected by the successive acts of our free will. Every\nvirtuous act strengthens our power of doing such virtuous acts again,\nand every yielding to our passions strengthens those passions, and in\nthe same proportion weakens our power of resistance to their promptings.\nFor habits are formed by the repetition of acts, and habits become like\na second nature. We are all bundles of habits; the habits determine the\ncast of character.\n\nIt is proper for each one to examine during the triduum whether he is\nnow different from what he was at former times; for instance, at the\ncompletion of his novitiate or his entrance on more active duties\u2014better\nor worse. We cannot long remain just the same. The religious life is\nlike rowing against the current of a river: if we cease rowing, we are\ncarried back. What is my present condition of fidelity to duty, of zeal,\ncharity, obedience, piety, etc.?\n\n_Colloquy_, as the occasion suggests.\n\n\n                              MEDITATION V\n                       On Co-operation with Grace\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Imagine you see the thousands of happy souls in Heaven\nwho worked out their salvation in our Society while on earth.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask for abundant grace to follow in their footsteps.\n\n_POINT I. What manner of men were they on earth?_\n\nThey were very much like ourselves. They had the same human passions to\ncontrol, the same rules to observe, the same labors to perform, the same\nsacrifices to make, etc. And to help them along they had the same aids\nthat we have: the same loving Lord, who had called them from amid the\ndangers of the world, as He has called us; the same training by the\nSpiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, the same holy Sacraments, the same\neverything; not of course in the same proportion for every individual\nsoul; but enough of grace for all to live up to our grand vocation, and\nin due time to be with our blessed brethren in Heaven, as we are now\ntheir associates in the Society of Jesus on earth.\n\n_POINT II. To what do those happy souls owe their success?_\n\nThe same grace of God in their case and in ours being presupposed, they\nowed their success to their faithful co-operation. The grace of God is\nin the matter of sanctification, what the spring is in a watch. All the\nmovements of the wheels and the hands come from the spring; when that\nbreaks all the other parts come to a perfect standstill. The powers of\nour body and soul are like the wheels of the watch which must work along\nwith the spring to indicate the correct time. And of them one is free,\nnamely our will. When our free will co-operates with grace, we lead holy\nlives. The spring of God\u2019s grace never fails; the only fear of failure\nregards our own free will. Now the purpose of this triduum is to examine\nhow faithfully our will is seconding the promptings of grace. In this\nmeditation we must ask God\u2019s light to understand the real condition of\nour soul, and next examine our conduct with care, to see whether our\nlives are up to the standard of faithful and fervent religious. How is\nGod pleased with us? How are our superiors and our brethren in religion\nsatisfied? Has any one a right to complain of us? What improvement can\nwe make?\n\n_POINT III. How can we obtain an increase of grace?_ By prayer and\nfaithful co-operation.\n\n1. _Prayer_ is the universal means by which all blessings can be\nobtained: \u201cAsk and you shall receive, that your joy may be full\u201d (St.\nJohn xvi, 24). But of course we must pray fervently and perseveringly;\ncareless prayer leads to tepidity and loss of grace, rather than its\nincrease. How fervently have I been praying of late?\n\n2. Co-operation with graces given me is the most efficient means of\nobtaining a further supply of grace. And in proportion as graces abound\nthe service of God is facilitated, and thus again further graces are\nsecured: _Facile equitat quem gratia Dei portat_, \u201che rides along with\nease who is carried up by the grace of God,\u201d is a familiar axiom. On the\nother hand, the want of co-operation with the grace given us makes us\nunworthy of a future liberal supply of God\u2019s help, and gradually leads a\nsoul into tepidity, with all its serious consequences. We may be much\nencouraged to improve ourselves in these two means of sanctification,\nnamely prayer and co-operation with grace, by frequently recalling to\nmind the examples set us by the Saints of our Society. These two means\nmade them Saints and the same means will make us Saints, if we employ\nthem with the same earnestness and perseverance as they did. Pray like\nthe Saints, co-operate with the grace of God as the Saints habitually\ndid, and you will soon be holy yourselves.\n\n_Colloquy_ with Jesus and Mary, to obtain great progress in the\nimitation of the Saints.\n\n\n                             MEDITATION VI\n                     The Perfection of Our Actions\n\n\n_1st Prelude._ Behold our Divine Lord as a youth occupied in humble\nlabor.\n\n_2nd Prelude._ Ask for light and strength of will to do all things well.\n\n_POINT I. The life of Christ is summed up in the words, \u201cHe hath done\nall things well,\u201d Bene omnia fecit_ (St. Mark vii, 37).\n\nFor Jesuits these words contain a most safe, most effective and most\ncomprehensive rule of action. This follows from the fact that our life\nis directly intended to be a close imitation of the life of Christ\nHimself. Such was certainly the grand ideal of our founder, St.\nIgnatius. The perfection he teaches is the imitation of Christ; and the\nentire life of Christ is described in this statement, \u201cHe did all things\nwell.\u201d Any one of Ours who aims steadily at this practise is on the\nhighroad to perfection; and one who does so throughout his life is a\nreal saint. To such persons applies the saying of Father Isidore\nBoudreaux, S.J., which is quoted in our Menology: \u201cThe good novice makes\nthe good scholastic and the good scholastic makes the good priest.\u201d\nWithout this aim the pursuit of perfection is an illusion.\n\n_POINT II. In this pursuit of sanctity we have no time to lose._ See how\nmuch was done in a short time by our young Saints, Aloysius, Stanislaus,\nBerchmans, and really by all our great models. For instance, St. Francis\nhad only ten years given him to accomplish his grand success in India\nand Japan. Very many of the Saints fulfilled a long space in a short\ntime; a St. Catherine of Sienna, who benefited the Church so\nconspicuously, died at the age of 33 years. The career of any of you may\nbe much briefer than you expect; but no matter how brief it be, it will\nbe a very successful one if you do all things well.\n\n_POINT III. What is required to do all things well?_ It requires:\n\n1. A good motive on all occasions; for the end specifies the act,\ndetermines its moral nature. In all your actions seek purely God\u2019s\nglory, the good of souls, the will of God, or any purpose that the faith\nproposes to us. \u201cWhether you eat or drink, or whatever else you do, do\nall to the glory of God,\u201d wrote St. Paul (I Cor. x, 31). It is not so\nmuch the offering of our actions to God that is here recommended, but\nrather the aiming in all we do at a supernatural effect. This higher aim\nrenders our acts pleasing to God and meritorious for ourselves.\n\n2. Attention to the least details of what you do, striving to impart to\nit the highest perfection you can. Thus the perfection of any work of\nart depends, not on the general outline only, but rather on the beauty\nimparted to every portion of the production, be it a painting, a statue,\na literary composition, etc.\n\n3. Careful avoidance of all negligent or defective work. For indulgence\nin carelessness not only spoils the task actually in hand, but also\nrenders us less disposed to act well on subsequent occasions. Every\nmoral fault we commit fosters an evil habit. Let me examine with care\nwith what perfection I have lately been accustomed to perform my\nactions, and resolve to amend all that needs correction.\n\n_Colloquy_, according to the present condition of my soul.\n\n\nTHE END OF THE TRIDUUMS\n\n\n\n\n \u25cf Transcriber\u2019s Notes:\n    \u25cb Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).","title":"The spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius : $b adapted to an eight days retreat and six triduums in preparation for the semi-annual renovation of the vows, all for the use of Jesuits only","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":59126}