St. Alphonsus Liguori: Daily Meditations for the Week after the Ascension

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Sunday Within the Octave of Ascension



Morning Meditation

DIVINE LOVE A FOUNTAIN THAT SATISFIES

“Riga quod est aridum.”

God, who loves us and desires to see us happy, cries out and makes known to all: If any man thirst, let him come to me. I will give him the Holy Ghost Who will make him blessed in this life and in the next. Riga quod est aridum! O my Jesus, I beseech Thee, give me the water of Thy love which will make me forget the earth, and live for Thee alone Who art the infinitely amiable One!

I.

Love is called a living fountain, fire, Charity. Fons vivus, ignis, Charitas. Our Blessed Redeemer said to the Samaritan woman: But he that shall drink of the water that I shall give him, shall not thirst for ever (John iv. 13). Love is the water which satisfies our thirst; for he that truly loves God with his whole heart, neither seeks nor desires anything else: because in God he finds every good. Hence, happy in possessing God. he frequently exclaims with joy: My God and my All! Almighty God complains of many who seek for fleeting, miserable pleasures from creatures, and leave Him, Who is Infinite Goodness, and the Fountain of all joy: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water-(Jer. ii.. 13) Meanwhile God, Who loves us and desires to see us happy, cries out and makes known to all: If anyone thirst, let him come to me-(John vii. 37). He who desires to be happy, let him come to Me, and I will bestow upon him the Holy Ghost, Who will make him blessed, both in this life and in the next.

Domine, da mihi hanc aquam! Lord, give me of this water!-(John iv. 15). O Jesus, with the Samaritan woman I beseech Thee, give me of this water of Thy love, which will make me forget the earth, and live only for Thee alone, Who art the infinitely amiable One. Riga quod est aridum! My soul is a barren soil, which produces nothing but the weeds and thorns of sin. Oh, water it with Thy holy grace, that it may yield some fruit to Thy glory, before it leaves this world in death!


II.

He, then, that believes in Jesus Christ, and loves Him, shall be enriched with so many graces, that from his heart shall spring up fountains of holy virtues, which shall not only preserve his life, but also give life to others. And indeed this water is the Holy Ghost, the sustaining love which Jesus Christ promised to send from Heaven, after His Ascension: Now this he said of the Spirit, which they should receive who believed in him: for as yet the Spirit was not given, because Jesus was not glorified-(John vii. 39).

The key which opens the channels of this blessed water is holy prayer, which obtains all good things in virtue of the promise: Ask and you shall receive. We are weak, and blind, and poor, and miserable, but prayer will obtain for us strength, and light, and wealth, and happiness. Theodoret says: “Prayer, though, but one, can effect all things.” He who prays receives all he asks for. God desires to give us His graces, but He desires that we should pray for them.

O Fountain of living water, O sovereign Good, how often have I deserted Thee for the defiled waters of the earth, which have deprived me of Thy love! O that I had rather died than offend Thee! But for the future I will seek after nothing but Thee, my God. Succour me, and make me always faithful to Thee. Mary, my hope, keep me always under thy holy protection.

Spiritual Reading

THE SUBLIME DIGNITY OF THE PRIESTHOOD

In his Epistle to the Christians of Smyrna, St. Ignatius, Martyr, says that the priesthood is the most sublime of all created dignities: “The apex of dignities is the priesthood.” St. Ephrem calls it an infinite dignity: “The priesthood is an astounding miracle, great, immense, and infinite.” St. John Chrysostom says, that though its functions are performed on earth, the priesthood should be numbered among the things of Heaven. According to Cassian, the priest of God is exalted above all earthly sovereignties, and above all celestial heights -he is inferior only to God. Innocent III says that the priest is placed between God and man; inferior to God, but superior to man.

St. Denis calls the priest “a divine man.” Hence he has called the priesthood “a divine dignity.” In fine, St. Ephrem says that the gift of the sacerdotal dignity surpasses all understanding. For us it is enough to know, that Jesus Christ has said that we should treat His priests as we would His own person: He that heareth you, heareth me; he that despiseth you, despiseth me-(Luke x. 16). Hence St. John Chrysostom says, that “he who honours a priest, honours Christ, and he who insults a priest, insults Christ.” Through respect for the sacerdotal dignity, St. Mary of Oignies used to kiss the ground on which a priest had walked.

The dignity of the priest is estimated by the exalted nature of his office. Priests are chosen by God to manage on earth all His concerns and interests. “Divine,” says St. Cyril of Alexandria; “are the offices confided to priests.” St. Ambrose has called the priestly office “a divine profession.” A priest is a minister destined by God to be a, public ambassador of the whole Church, to honour Him, and to obtain His graces for all the faithful. The entire Church cannot give to God as much honour, nor obtain so many graces, as a single priest by celebrating a single Mass; for the greatest honour that the whole Church without priests could give to God would consist in offering to Him in sacrifice the lives of all men. But of what value are the lives of all men compared with the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which is a Sacrifice of infinite value? What are all men before God but a little dust? As a drop of a bucket . . as a little dust-(Is. xl. 15, 17). They are but a mere nothing in His sight. All nations are before him as if they had no being at all. Thus, by the celebration of a single Mass, in which he offers Jesus Christ in Sacrifice, a priest gives greater honour to the Lord, than if all men by dying for God offered to Him the sacrifice of their lives. By a single Mass he gives greater honour to God than all the Angels and Saints, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary, have, given or shall give to Him; for their worship cannot be of infinite value, like that which the priest celebrating on the altar offers to God.

Moreover, in the holy Mass the priest offers to God an adequate thanksgiving for all the graces bestowed even on the Blessed in Paradise; but such a thanksgiving all the Saints together are incapable of offering to God. Hence it is that on this account also the priestly dignity is superior even to all celestial dignities. Besides, the priest, says St. John Chrysostom, is an ambassador of the whole world, to intercede with God and to obtain graces for all creatures. The priest, according to St. Ephrem, “treats familiarly with God.” To priests every door is open.

Jesus has died to institute the priesthood. It was not necessary for the Redeemer to die in order to save the world; a drop of His Blood, a single tear, or prayer, was sufficient to procure salvation for all; for such a prayer, being of infinite value, would be sufficient to save not one but a thousand worlds. But to institute the priesthood, the Death of Jesus Christ has been necessary. Had He not died, where should we find the Victim that the priests of the New Law now offer? Where find a victim altogether holy and immaculate, capable of giving to God an honour worthy of God? As has been already said, all the lives of men and Angels are not capable of giving to God an infinite honour like that which a priest offers to Him by a single Mass.

Evening Meditation

THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST

III.-HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST AVOIDS LUKEWARMNESS AND SEEKS PERFECTION

I.

The evil of tepidity arises from the little love men have for Jesus Christ. They who are puffed-up with self-esteem; those who frequently take to heart occurrences that fall out contrary to their wishes; who practise great indulgence towards themselves on account of their health; who keep their heart open to external objects, and the mind always distracted, with an eagerness to listen to, and to know, so many things that have nothing to do with the service of God, but merely serve to gratify private curiosity; who are ready to resent every little inattention from others, and consequently are often troubled, and grow remiss in prayer and recollection who one moment are all devotion and joy, the next all impatience and melancholy, just as things happen according to or against their humour; all such persons do not love Jesus Christ, or love Him very little, and cast discredit on true devotion.

But suppose anyone should find himself sunk in this unhappy state of tepidity, what has he to do? Certainly, it is a hard thing for a soul grown lukewarm to resume her ancient fervour; but our Lord has said, that what man cannot do, God can very Well do. The things that are impossible with man, are possible with God-(Luke xviii. 27). Whoever prays and employs the means is sure to accomplish his desire.

Now, the first means is the desire of perfection. Pious desires are the wings which lift us up from earth; for, as St. Laurence Justinian says, desire “supplies strength, and lightens pain.” It gives strength to walk towards perfection, and lightens the fatigue of the journey. He who has a real desire of perfection fails not to advance continually towards it; and so advancing, he must finally arrive at it. On the contrary, he who has not the desire of perfection will always go backwards, and always find himself more imperfect than before. St. Augustine says, that “not to go forward in the way of God is to go backwards.” He that makes no effort to advance will find himself carried backwards by the current of his corrupt nature.


II.

They, then, who say, “God does not wish us all to be saints,” make a great mistake. Yes; for St. Paul says, This is the will of God, your sanctfication-{1 Thess. iv. 3). God wishes us all to be saints, and each one according to his state of life: the Religious as a Religious; the secular as a secular; the Priest as a Priest; the married as married; the man of business as a man of business; the soldier as a soldier; and so of every other state of life. Most beautiful, indeed, are the instructions which my great patroness, St. Teresa, gives on this subject. She says, in one place, “Let us enlarge our thoughts; for hence we shall derive immense good.” Elsewhere: “We must beware of having poor desires; but rather put our confidence in God, in order that, by forcing ourselves continually onwards, We may by degrees arrive where, by the Divine grace,so many Saints have arrived.” And in confirmation of this she quoted her own experience, having known how courageous souls make considerable progress in a short period of time. “Because,” said she, “The Lord takes as much delight in our desires, as if they were put into execution.” In another place she says: “Almighty God does not confer extraordinary favours, except where His love has been earnestly sought after.” Again, in another passage, she remarks: “God does not fail to repay every good desire even in this life, for He is the Friend of generous souls, provided only they do not trust in themselves.” This Saint herself was endowed with just such a spirit or generosity; so that she once even said to our Lord, that were she to behold others in Paradise enjoying Him more than herself, she would not care; but were she to behold anyone loving Him more than she should love Him, this she declared she knew not how she could endure.

We must, therefore have great courage: The Lord is good to the soul that seeketh him-(Lam. iii. 25). God is surpassingly good and liberal towards a soul that heartily seeks Him. Neither can past sins prove a hindrance to our becoming Saints, if only we have the sincere desire to become so. St. Teresa remarks: “The devil strives to make us think it pride to entertain lofty desires, and to wish to imitate the Saints; but it is of great service to encourage ourselves with the desire of great things, because, although the soul has not all at once the necessary strength, yet she nevertheless makes a bold flight, and rapidly advances.” , The Apostle writes: To them that love God, all things work together unto good (Rom. viii. 28). And the Gloss adds “even sins”; even past sins can contribute to our sanctification, inasmuch as the recollection of them keeps us more humble, and more grateful, when, we witness the favours God lavishes upon us, after all our outrages against Him. I am not capable of anything, the sinner should say, nor do I deserve anything; I deserve nothing but hell; but I have to deal with a God of infinite bounty, Who has promised to listen to all that pray to Him. Now, as He has rescued me from a state of damnation, and wishes me to become holy, and now proffers me His help, I can certainly become a saint, not by my own strength, but by the grace of my God, Who strengthens me: I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me-(Phil. iv. 13). Once, thus, we have good desires, we must take courage, and trusting in God, endeavour to put them into execution; but if afterwards we encounter any obstacle in our spiritual enterprises, let us repose quietly on the will of God. God’s will must be preferred before every good desire of our own. St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi would sooner have remained without perfection than possess it without the will of God.

O Holy and Divine Spirit, I will no longer live to myself. I will spend all the days that remain to me of life in loving and pleasing Thee.