St. Alphonsus Liguori: Daily Meditations for Second Week after Easter

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Friday After Low Sunday

Morning Meditation

THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST OUR HOPE

Jesus is the only hope of our salvation. Neither is there salvation in any other-(Acts iv. 12). Oh, what a secure place of refuge shall we ever find in those sacred clefts of the rock, that is to say, in the Wounds of Jesus Christ! There shall we be set free from that feeling of distrust which the sight of our sins may produce. There shall we find weapons of defence against temptations; there shall we find sufficient strength to resist the assaults of the world.


I.

Jesus is the only hope of our salvation: There is no salvation in any other but him-(Acts iv. 12). I am the only door, says He; and he that shall enter in through Me shall assuredly find life eternal: I am the door; if anyone enter by me, he shall be saved–(John x. 9). And what sinner would ever have been able to hope for pardon if Jesus had not, by His Blood and by His Death, made satisfaction to the Divine justice for us? He shall bear their iniquities-(Is. liii.). It is by this that the Apostle encourages us, saying: If the blood of goats and of oxen sanctify such as are defiled to the cleansing of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the Holy Ghost, offered himself up to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God!-(Heb. ix. 13). If the blood of goats and of bulls offered up in sacrifice removed from the Jews the outward defilements of the body, that so they could be admitted to the worship of the Sanctuary, how much more shall the Blood of Jesus Christ, Who for love offered Himself up as a satisfaction for us, remove sin from our souls to enable us to serve our God Most High!

Our loving Redeemer, having come into the world for no other end than that of saving sinners, and beholding the sentence of condemnation already recorded against us for our sins, what was it, then, He did? He, by His own Death, paid the penalty that was due to ourselves; and with His own Blood cancelling the sentence of the condemnation in order that the Divine justice might no more seek from us the satisfaction due, He nailed it to the same Cross whereon He died: Blotting out the handwriting of the decree that was against us, which was contrary to us. ..and the same he took out of the way, fastening it to the cross-(Col. ii. 14).

Christ entered once into the holy place, having found eternal redemption-(Heb. ix. 12). Ah, my Jesus, hadst Thou not found this mode of obtaining pardon for us, who would ever have been able to find it? It was with reason that David cried out, Declare his ways¬(Ps. ix. 12). Make known, O ye blessed, the loving contrivances which our God has employed in order to save us. Since then, O my sweet Saviour, Thou hast had such a love for me, cease not from exercising mercy towards me. Thou, by Thy Death, hast rescued me from the hands of Lucifer: into Thy hands do I consign my soul; it is for Thee to save it: Into thy hands I commend my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O God of truth.


II.

Little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin: but if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Just, and he is the propitiation tor our sins-(l John ii. 1). Jesus Christ did not with His Death bring to an end His intercession for us with the Eternal Father: even at the present moment He is acting as our Advocate; and it seems as if He knew not what else to do in Heaven, as St. Paul writes, but to move the Father to exercise mercy towards us: ever living to make intercession for us¬(Heb. vii. 25). And the Apostle adds that this is the end for which our Saviour is ascended into Heaven: that he may now appeal in the presence of God for us-(Heb. ix. 24}. As rebels are driven away from the presence of their king, so should we sinners have never more been deemed worthy of admission into the Presence of our God, even so much as to ask His pardon; but Jesus, as our Redeemer, makes appearance for us in the Divine Presence, and, through His merits, obtains for us the grace that we had lost: You are come to Jesus the Mediator, and to the sprinkling of blood, which speaketh better than Abel-(Heb. xii. 24}. Oh, with how much greater effect does the Blood of the Redeemer implore for us the Divine mercy, than did the blood of Abel plead for chastisement on Cain! My justice, said God to St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, is transformed into mercy by the vengeance taken on the innocent flesh of Jesus Christ. The Blood of this My Son pleads not with Me for vengeance, like the blood of Abel, but pleads only for mercy and pity; and at the sound of this voice My justice cannot but rest appeased. This Blood so binds the hands of Justice that, so to speak, it cannot stir to take that vengeance upon sins which it used to take before.

Forget not the kindness of thy surety-(Ecclus. xxix. 19}. Ah, my sweet Saviour, Jesus, I was already incapable, after my sins, of making satisfaction to the Divine justice, when Thou, by Thy Death, wert willing to make satisfaction for me. Oh, what ingratitude would mine be now were I to be unmindful of this Thy so great mercy! No, my Redeemer, never will I be unmindful of it; I desire to be ever thanking Thee for it, and to show forth my thankfulness by loving Thee, and doing all that I can to please Thee. Do Thou aid me by that grace which Thou hast, by so many sufferings, merited for me. I love Thee, my Jesus, my Love, my Hope!

Spiritual Reading

SALVE, REGINA, MATER MISERICORDIAE! HAIL, HOLY QUEEN, MOTHER OF MERCY!

IV.-HOW MUCH OUR CONFIDENCE IN MARY SHOULD BE INCREASED BECAUSE SHE IS OUR MOTHER

It is not without a meaning, nor by chance, that Mary’s clients call her Mother; and indeed they seem unable to invoke her under any other name, and never tire of calling her Mother. Mother, yes! for she is truly our Mother; not indeed carnally, but spiritually, that is of our souls and of our salvation.

Sin, by depriving our souls of Divine grace, deprived them also of life. Jesus, our Redeemer, with an excess of mercy and love, came to restore this life by His own death on the Cross, as He Himself declared: I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly-(John x. 10}. He says more abundantly; for, according to theologians, the benefit of Redemption far exceeded the injury done by Adam’s sin. So that by reconciling us with God He made Himself the Father of souls in the law of grace, as it was foretold by the Prophet Isaias: He shall be called the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace-(Is. ix. 6). But if Jesus is the Father of our souls, Mary is also their Mother; for she, by giving us Jesus, gave us true life; and afterwards, by offering the life of her Son on Mount Calvary for our salvation, she brought us forth to the life of grace.

On two occasions, then, according to the holy Fathers, Mary became our spiritual Mother.

The first, according to Blessed Albert the Great, was when she merited to conceive in her virginal womb the Son of God. St. Bernardine of Sienna says the same thing more distinctly, for he tells us that when at the Annunciation the most Blessed Virgin gave the consent which was expected by the Eternal Word before becoming her Son, she from that moment asked our salvation of God with intense ardour, and took it to heart in such a way that from that moment, as a most loving Mother, she bore us in her womb.”

In the second Chapter of St. Luke, the Evangelist, speaking of the birth of our Blessed Redeemer, says that Mary brought forth her first-born son-(Luke i. 7). Then, remarks an author, “since the Evangelist asserts that on this occasion the most Holy Virgin brought forth her first-born, must we suppose that she had afterwards other children?” But then he replies to his own question, saying, ” that as it is of Faith that Mary had no other children according to the flesh than Jesus, she must have had other spiritual children, and we are those children.” This was revealed by our Lord to St. Gertrude, who was one day reading the above text, and was perplexed and could not understand how Mary, being the Mother of Jesus only, could be said to have brought forth her first-born. God explained it to her, saying that Jesus was Mary’s first-born according to the flesh, but that all mankind were her second-born according to the spirit.

From what has been said we can understand that passage of the sacred Canticles: Thy belly is like a heap of wheat, set about with lilies-(Cant. vii. 2). This is explained by St. Ambrose, who says: “Although in the most pure womb of Mary there was but one grain of corn, which was Jesus Christ, yet it is called a heap of wheat, because all the elect were virtually contained in it”; and as Mary was also to be their Mother, in bringing forth Jesus, He was called, and truly was, the Firstborn of many brethren. And the Abbot William writes in the same sense, saying: “that Mary, in bringing forth Jesus, our Saviour and our Life, brought forth many unto salvation; and by giving birth to Life itself, she gave life to many.”

Evening Mediation

THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST

X.-HOW MUCH JESUS CHRIST DESERVES TO BE LOVED BY US ON ACCOUNT OF THE LOVE HE HAS SHOWN US IN INSTITUTING THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR

I.

In order to excite us to receive Him in the Holy Communion, Jesus not only exhorts us to do so by many invitations-Come, eat my bread; and drink the wine which I have mingled for you-(Prov. ix. 5); Eat, O friends, and drink-(Cant. v. I)-speaking of this Heavenly Bread and Wine-but He even gives us a formal precept: Take ye, and eat; this is my body. And more than this; that we may go and receive Him, He entices us with the promise of Paradise. He that eateth my flesh hath everlasting life-(John vi. 55). He that eateth this bread shall live for ever-(John vi. 59). And, still more, He threatens us with hell, and exclusion from Paradise if we refuse to communicate. Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man you shall not have life in you-(John vi. 54). These invitations, these promises, these threats, all proceed from the great desire He has to come to us in this Sacrament. But why is it that Jesus so desires that we should receive Him in the Holy Communion? Here is the reason. St. Denis says that love always sighs after and tends to union; and so also says St. Thomas: “Lovers desire to become one.” Friends who really love each other would like to be so united as to become one person. Now this is what the infinite love of God for man has done; that He should not only give us Himself in the eternal kingdom, but even in this life permit men to possess Him in the most intimate union, by giving them Himself, whole and entire, under the appearance of bread in this Sacrament. He stands as though behind a wall, and looks, as it were, through a closed lattice: Behold he standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattices-(Cant. ii. 9}. It is true we do not see Him; but He sees us, and is there really present: He is present in order that we may possess Him: but He hides Himself from us to make us desire Him: and as long as we have not reached our true country, Jesus desires to give Himself wholly to us, and to remain united with us.


II.

He could not satisfy His love by giving Himself to the human race by His Incarnation and by His Passion, dying for all men upon the Cross; but desired to find out a way whereby He might give Himself entirely to each one of us in particular; and for this end He instituted the Sacrament of the Altar in order to, unite Himself wholly to each: He that eateth my flesh, He said, abideth in me and I in him-(John vi. 57). In the Holy Communion Jesus unites Himself to the soul, and the soul to Jesus; and this is not a union of mere affection, but it is a true and real union. Hence St. Francis. de Sales says: “In no other action can the Saviour be considered “more tender or more loving than in this, in which He annihilates Himself, so to say, and reduces Himself to food, in order to penetrate our souls and to unite Himself to the hearts of His faithful.” St. John Chrysostom says that Jesus Christ, through the ardent love He bore us, desired so to unite Himself with us as to become one and the same thing with us. “He mingled Himself with us that we might be one thing; for this is the property of those who ardently love.”