Love of the Sacred Heart as illustrated by Saint Mechtilde

[Stone]

The Dealings of the Sacred Heart with Men

Chapter 49 – The Sacred Heart Itself Trains Mechtilde in Divine Praise

Saint Mechtilde had a beautiful voice, so she had charge of the choir in the Monastery of Helfta. She brought to her work both faith and zeal. Our Lord Himself deigned to install her in this important employment.

This happened on the feast of the Annunciation. After humbling herself profoundly before our Lord she begged Him to forgive her all her sins, and by the merits of His holy life to supply for all her imperfections. As soon as she had received from our Lord the precious gift of forgiveness of all her sins, she felt bold enough to rest on the breast of Jesus, her Well-beloved. She then beheld, coming from the Heart of our Lord, a golden pipe with which she celebrated the praises of God.

She understood and begged of our Lord to celebrate His own praise. At once, she heard the sweet voice of Christ, the divine Cantor, intone this canticle: “Give praise to our God, all ye His Saints” (Apocalypse 19:5). Our Lord gave her to understand that He alone, as God, was able to sing praise worthy of the Sovereign Majesty. For which reason, He would transform her into Himself, so that she might be associated with Him in the divine praise.

He placed His hands on hers, giving her all the labours and good works of His sacred Humanity. He then placed His eyes with such a sweet look on Saint Mechtilde’s eyes, giving her with the merits of His holy eyes an abundant flow of tears. He then applied His ears to those of His servant, so enriching her with the merits of His holy ears. Then placing His mouth on hers, He made her share in the words of praise, the thanksgiving of His life and His preaching, to supply for all her negligences. He then placed His most sweet Heart on Mechtilde’s, giving her a share in His meditations, His acts of devotion and love, and so enriched her abundantly with all His treasures. In this way Mechtilde’s soul was entirely absorbed in that of our Lord, melted by divine love, as wax is melted by fire. Immersed in our Lord she acquired His likeness, as though it had been engraved on her, and she became one with her Beloved. As the time for receiving Holy Communion drew near, she heard Him whom her heart loved say: “Thou in Me, and I in thee; never will I forsake thee.”

The only thing Mechtilde desired in this world was the glory of God. Seconding this desire our Lord gave her His Heart as a golden cup delicately chased, saying to her: “With My divine Heart you shalt always praise Me. Go and give My Saints to drink from My Heart a liquor of life which will plunge them into a blessed intoxication. She went to the Patriarchs and to the Prophets to whom she gave to drink saying: “Receive Him whom you have so long desired and waited for; pray that I may desire Him with all my strength and sigh ceaselessly for Him, night and day.”

She then went to the Apostles, saying to them: “Receive Him whom you have loved so ardently and with your whole heart; pray that I may also love Him fervently, above all, and with my whole heart.” Then to the Martyrs she said: “Behold Jesus. For His love you shed your blood and delivered your body to death; obtain for me that I may generously spend myself in His service.” She then came to the Confessors. “Receive Him,” she said, “for whom you left all, despising the pleasures of this world; obtain for me, that I may despise all joys for His love and attain to the summit of religious perfection.” Coming at last to the Virgins, she gave them to drink, saying: “Receive Him to whom you have consecrated your virginity, and grant that in all things I may triumph, through chastity of mind and body.”

Then having gone round the heavenly court she returned to our Lord, and He, receiving His Heart, this golden cup, placed it in Mechtilde’s breast, who was thus happily united to our Lord.

After this vision Mechtilde was able to sing the praises of God. It was no longer she who sang, but Jesus living in her. O, what a loving installation as Cantor! You who, by the beauty of your voices, glorify our Lord, beg of Jesus a similar installation and sing with the same fervour and perfection.


Chapter 50 – The Intentions of the Heart of Jesus in Divine Praise

Our Lord would repeat His instructions to the holy Benedictine on the intentions required for singing the divine praise.

She complained one day of having been unfaithful. Jesus, laying His divine Heart on hers, said to her: “Now My Heart is thine, and Your heart is Mine” – Nunc Cor meum tuum est et cor tuum meum est. And, in a sweet embrace, He drew her soul so intimately to Himself with His divine strength that in future she was only one spirit with Him.

Our Lord Himself then indicated the intention she was to have during the Office.

“At Matins, as soon as you have risen, consider respectfully how, forced by My love, I allowed Myself to be bound by wicked hands and became obedient unto death; prepare Your heart to obey all that shall be commanded thee, even if this day you had to perform all the acts of obedience accomplished by all the Saints.

“At Prime adore the humility with which I appeared before the most unworthy of judges as a most meek Lamb to be judged; then submit thyself to every creature for My sake, and be ready to perform the lowest and most degrading work.

“At Tierce consider the love which caused Me to be despised, spit upon and covered with opprobrium; then despise thyself and hold thyself in low estimation.

“At Sext, that the world may be crucified to you and you to the world, consider how I was fastened to the Cross for thee; therefore all the pleasures and joys of the world should be for you nothing but a bitter cross.

“At None die to the world and every creature. Consequently the bitterness of My death should be sweetness to Your heart, and every creature as such inspire you with contempt and disgust.

“At Vespers, the hour when I was taken down from the Cross, remember that after death and the end of Your labours, you shalt rest in a blessed repose in My Heart.

“At Compline think of that blessed union when, become one spirit with Me, you shalt enjoy Me fully. This union will begin by the submission of Your will to Mine, in prosperity as in adversity, and will be perfect on the day on which you shalt enter into the glory which shall never end.”

Mechtilde often said: “Teach me to praise Thee.” And our Lord always replied: “Consider My Heart.”


Chapter 51 – The Sacred Heart and Confession

The Sacrament of Penance is the most merciful invention of divine love. There are hidden all the treasures of satisfaction amassed by Jesus on Calvary, and when they please all sinners may come to take what they need. Whatever their crimes may be, they will return purified, holy with the holiness of Jesus Christ Himself, rich with the drops of His blood, as Magdalen was formerly at the foot of the Cross.

With this Sacrament, as with all the others, man must co-operate by his acts. Carefulness in examination, confusion and sincerity in avowal, sorrow and firm purpose in repentance all these are required of the penitent. Our Lord exacts them as an essential condition for forgiveness. We must, therefore, fulfil our own part of the Sacrament with diligent care, but also with great discretion.

Before confession we ought to strip ourselves of what is faulty in us by contrition, as Christ was stripped before the scourging and crucifixion. And if Christ was stripped to be scourged, man ought to divest himself of all sinful affections, before confessing his sins. What an excellent reason this is for us to look sincerely into our conscience and then afterwards to confess our sins honestly to Christ’s representative!

For the examination of conscience, Saint Mechtilde recommended the practice of placing the Sacred Heart and its virtues before ourselves as a mirror. So in the mirror of the humility of Jesus man might consider carefully his own humility and see if he has not stained his soul by pride or haughtiness. In the mirror of the patience of the Sacred Heart man should test his own patience and see if he discover not some impatience in himself. In the mirror of the obedience of the Sacred Heart he should examine his conduct and see if he has not been disobedient. In the mirror of the love of the Sacred Heart he should ask himself what love he has had for His Superiors, and whether he has been peaceful with his equals and full of kindness to his inferiors.

If in these, or other points, man finds some stain on his soul he must efface it with the application of the humanity of Christ; he must remember that Christ is our brother, and that in His tender goodness He forgives man his sins, as soon as they are acknowledged.

Mechtilde added a recommendation which ought to be received gratefully by scrupulous souls. Man should be careful not to wash his stains with too much eagerness that is, without considering the divine goodness; for by effacing them too eagerly he might easily injure rather than heal, his soul.

What a number of souls have been injured by their exaggerations! Let them rather go to the Sacred Heart, source of all mercy, trusting in its loving kindness, for it is Jesus Himself who forgives sin when the priest pronounces the words of absolution. Mechtilde saw our Lord one day sitting at the right hand of the divine Majesty blotting out sins. As each Sister came with a contrite heart to confess her sins, our Lord enfolded each with His right arm and by His merits effaced her sins as though they had never existed. After having purified them in this manner He presented each to His heavenly Father, who looking lovingly on them said: “The right hand of My Just One has protected you and obtained for you a sincere reconciliation.”

It sometimes happens, however, that the most calm souls are disturbed in receiving the Sacrament of Penance. They think they are quite unable to discover the depths of malice and corruption of their fallen nature. Even the priest could not descend to the depths of the perversity of their hearts. In these distressing but sanctifying circumstances Saint Mechtilde suggests the following practice:

If a person having sincerely made her confession fears to have made a bad confession, and yet finds nothing on her conscience that she has not confessed, she must make to God a confession of praise; acknowledging the failings she perceives in herself and extolling by her praises His divinity; she will confess how guilty she has been in not having shown to our Lord sufficient respect, in having so often tarnished in herself the image of God, in having filled her memory with worldly and useless things, in having used her mind to gain worldly knowledge, and in having taken pleasure in what was vile and fleeting.

In the same way, after having extolled the clear-sightedness of the divine eyes, she will mourn for having cared too much for earthly things, for having abused the use of her senses, and for not having profited by her knowledge of God.

Also, having praised the mercy of the divine ears, she will accuse herself of not having listened as she ought to the word of God, and of not having condescended to listen to others.

How many sins are committed by the tongue, by murmuring, by vain and useless words; by silence when God or His doctrine ought to have been spoken of; by silence at the time of prayer or praise.

And how often has the soul impatiently shaken off the yoke she had accepted at Baptism, because things were not to her liking! She has been either unwilling to carry it, or has carried it against the grain. And the yoke of religion which, in the presence of the Saints, she has received at her profession, promising to belong entirely to God, how often has she not broken it by refusing to obey!

In remembering with what cruelty Jesus Christ was scourged, she recognizes that her fault lies in not chastising her body, but in flattering it in its softness and in delicately nourishing it.

She has also sinned before the divine Heart in not loving God with her whole heart, in not meditating on the law of God, thinking rather of useless things. She has sinned with her hands in doing wrong, in avoiding good works, especially those of mercy and charity done in common. She has also soiled her feet spiritually that is, her affections when she has turned them from God and has not directed her aspirations towards Him and heavenly things with her whole heart.

The voice of our conscience may multiply its accusations and reproaches, the Angels and Saints themselves may witness against us, but let us listen to the voice of Jesus, more powerful than the voice of our iniquities: “O my Father, I will answer for all that is brought against each one of them, for My Heart is pierced for love of them.”

What has attracted You, O Jesus? “My own free choice; I chose them for My own, from all eternity.”

So, with the same confidence as Saint Mechtilde, relying on such a surety, let us take our crucifix into our hands saying to God the Father:

“I offer Thee, O adorable Father, Your very humble Son, who has paid all the debts I have contracted by my pride. I offer you Your most meek Son who has sacrificed for all the sins I have committed by anger. I also offer you Your most amiable Son and the love of His Heart, which has fully satisfied for all my failings. His boundless liberality has, in advance, paid for all my sins. His holy zeal has supplied for my cowardice. His perfect abstinence has atoned for my intemperance. The purity of His innocent life has obtained pardon for all the evil I have committed in thought, word, or deed. His perfect obedience, which made Him obedient unto death, has blotted out my disobediences, and His perfection has atoned for my imperfection.”


Chapter 52 – On Purity of Conscience

The holiest souls are often saddened by their failings, and sometimes their faults, though slight, become for them an obstacle to frequent Communion. They dare not receive our Lord! What is to be done?

One day Mechtilde wanted to go to confession; but there was no confessor, so she was much grieved, as she could not receive Holy Communion.

She therefore began to pray. She accused herself bitterly of all her sins to God the High Priest, of her negligences, and of all her faults, and He assured her that her sins were forgiven. Returning thanks at once for this great favour, she said to our Lord: “O my sweet Saviour, what has now become of all my sins?” He replied:

“When a powerful King comes to stay in a house, it is at once cleaned so that nothing should offend his eyes, but if he is so near that there is no time to carry away the dirt it is carefully hidden in a corner to be afterwards thrown away. In the same way, if you have the will to confess Your sins and a firm purpose not to commit them again, they are completely blotted out, and I will re member them no more, but you must remember them in the confessional. The will and desire which you have to avoid sin with all Your strength and power are bonds which attach and unite Me to you so that nothing could ever separate us.”

Jesus had spoken and yet Mechtilde hesitated. This is what so often happens to timorous souls who dare not advance even at the priest’s word. Many different reasons caused her to hesitate. She thought herself unworthy to partake of the banquet of the King of Angels; she felt it impossible to receive so magnificent a gift without preparation and confession. On the other hand, our Lord had suggested thoughts of hope and consolation.

Our Lord spoke again. “Reflect,” He said, “on this. Every desire that a soul has ever had to possess Me is inspired by Me; it is like the Holy Scriptures and the words of the Saints which proceed, and shall ever proceed, from My Spirit.”

She therefore felt more confidence, and her heart was filled with so much courage that henceforth nothing seemed capable of thwarting her desire.

She approached the heavenly banquet of the Body and Blood of Christ. Then she heard our Lord Himself say to her: “Would you know how I am in Your heart?” And at once she saw a dazzling brightness like the rays of the sun streaming from her person, and by that she understood the working of divine grace in her soul and a sure mark of God’s love for her.

Sin must therefore be washed away in the Sacrament of Penance. Our Lord has decreed that all mortal sins shall be so absolved. This is not necessary in the case of lighter sins, our daily failings; for these love suffices.

Once Mechtilde saw some sinners present themselves before our Lord. They carried their sins on their shoulders and then laid them at His feet. Their sins were then changed into golden jewels, because their sorrow was more actuated by the love of God than by fear of punishment. Those sins, carried with repentance to the feet of our Lord, had for Him the same value as the perfume of Saint Mary Magdalene, patron of penitents. Our Lord said: “What shall we do with these faults and these presents? Let them be burned in the fire of love.” His visus dominus: quid de hisfaciemus? Utroque in amore omnia concrementur – ‘Lord, open for me the furnace of Your Heart and cause all my iniquities to be burned therein.'”

One Sunday, while they were singing the Asperges, Mechtilde said to our Lord: “My Lord, with what wilt you now wash and purify my heart?” Then our Lord with inexpressible love leaned over her, as a mother over her son, took her into His arms, and said: ” I will wash you with the love of My divine Heart ” In amore divini cordis mei te lavabo. He then opened His Heart, treasury of divine mercy, and she saw therein a river of flowing water; it was the river of love, Her soul plunged into it, and at once was cleansed from all its stains.

But how are we to obtain that this living water of the Sacred Heart should reach our souls? By acts of love.

One day, Mechtilde saw flowing, with much force, a swift and pure stream from the divine Heart, It was going to purify from all their sins the souls who had prayed for her through charity, and our Lord said to her: “Acts of charity cleanse men from venial sin; but sin clings to the soul like pitch; it ought, therefore, often to be cleansed away by confession and great contrition. I guard in My Heart all works of chanty as a most precious treasure. I wait until he who has performed them comes to Me, and then I return them to him to augment his merit and graces.”


Chapter 53 – The Sacred Heart and Holy Mass

The thrice holy Sacrifice of the Cross is renewed on our Altars. Holy souls devoted to the Sacred Heart know how to find there the drops of blood fallen from this fountain during the Passion. They here offer to the infinite majesty of God all the adoration, annihilation and satisfaction of the Sacred Heart. The Heart of Jesus is the centre of the Sacrifice of the Mass. From this Heart all flows for God and for man. Mechtilde was allowed to contemplate the grandeur of this mystery.

During Holy Mass she once saw the Heart of Jesus Christ under the appearance of a lamp. It was as brilliant and transparent as a living flame. From this divine Heart overflowed on all around floods of sweetness, which filled the hearts of all who assisted at Mass. The flame signified the fire of divine love which burnt in the Heart of Christ when He offered Himself to God the Father on the altar of the Cross. The sweetness which over flowed signified the innumerable blessings and immeasurable happiness which He has bestowed on us through His divine Heart. In it we possess all that is necessary for salvation, praise and thanksgiving, as well as prayer, love, desire, satisfaction and reparation for all our negligences.

Our Divine Lord said to His servant: “At the Mass offer Your heart to God, and before beginning Your prayer purify and detach it from all terrestrial thoughts, so preparing it to receive the in-flowing of divine love which inundates and fills the hearts of those who assist. I also deliver Myself entirely, with all I possess, into the power of Your soul, and in that way you can dispose of Me as you wilt.”

One day when she was troubled with distractions and hindered from uniting herself to God during Mass, she begged our Blessed Lady to obtain for her the presence of her well-beloved Son. Through the intercession of the divine mediatrix between God and man she again saw Jesus on the Altar. She saw Him seated on a raised throne, clear as crystal. In front of this throne sprang two beautifully clear streams, one signifying the remission of sins, and the other spiritual consolation. These are the gifts given more especially and abundantly during Mass by divine providence. At the oblation of the Sacred Host our Lord, who is Himself this divine throne, seemed to elevate with His own hands his sweet Heart as a lamp which shone and was filled to overflowing. The divine oil overflowed on all sides so that it splashed up in large drops, and yet what had overflowed had not lessened what the lamp contained. From which we may understand that all receive of the abundance of our Lord’s Heart, each one according to his capacity, but that He loses nothing of the superabundance of His beatitude nor does it suffer the smallest diminution.

O marvelous treasury, never-failing source of blessings, what folly in man to neglect to avail himself of it! But in order to participate therein we must bring the necessary dispositions.

One day that Mechtilde was going to assist at Mass she saw our Lord coming from heaven clothed in white. He said to her: “When men go to Church they should prepare themselves by penance, striking their breast and confessing their sins. They may then approach My dazzling purity. This is what is signified by My white clothing.”

During the Holy Sacrifice the Sacred Heart is therefore an open treasury from which we may take all we need. But what are we to think of the Sacred Heart? With what dispositions is it offered on the altar by the hands of its humble minister? Who could tell, O Jesus, unless You reveal it?

Our Lord offers Himself to us during Mass with seven different dispositions. In the first, He comes with such humility that none is too lowly or vile for His condescension, if desirous of receiving Him. In the second, He comes with such patience as to endure any enemy or sinner and, if the sinner wished it, He would forgive him all his sins. In the third, He comes with such love as to inflame the coldest and hardest-hearted worshipper with His love and touch his heart, if it have in it any lingering spark of desire. In the fourth, He comes with such generosity as to enrich the poorest person present. In the fifth, He offers Himself to all as a sweet and satisfying food, so that there is no one so ill or so hungry as cannot be restored or fully satiated by Him. In the sixth, He comes with such light as to illumine the most blind or darkened mind with His presence. In the seventh, He comes with such sanctity and grace as to help the most cowardly and distracted to shake off his torpor, and stir him to devotion.

And we who go before this God to receive Holy Communion, with what dispositions should we present our selves to receive Him?

“While they sing the Sanctus” our Lord tells us, “let each one say a Pater, and beg of Me to prepare him, in giving him the all-powerful, wise and sweet love of My Heart, that he may receive Me worthily into his heart so that I may work and effect therein, according to My will, what I had resolved and ordained from all eternity.”

And what should be our thanksgiving? During the Communion this verse may be recited:

“I praise Thee, O love so strong!
I bless Thee, O love so wise!
I glorify Thee, O love so sweet!”

“I exalt Thee, O love full of goodness, in all the works, and for all the good that Your glorious divinity and blessed humanity have deigned to operate by Your most holy Heart, and that it will continue to operate to all eternity.

“At the priest’s benediction I will bless you thus: ‘May My power bless thee, may My wisdom instruct thee, may My sweetness fill thee, and may My goodness draw you and unite you to Me, for ever. Amen.”

Illness sometimes prevents Christians from going to the church. Mechtilde had also to bear this trial; she groaned and complained to our Lord at being thus put aside. Our Lord consoled her thus: “There where you art, I am also.”

She asked if she did not lose much in hearing Mass from so great a distance. Our Lord said to her: “It is good to be present, but, when impossible, and when illness, obedience, or any other legitimate reason prevents, then, where you art, I am also present,”

Mechtilde then said: “O Lord, give now to my soul some spiritual consolation drawn from the words of the Mass.” Our Lord replied: “At this moment they are singing the Agnus Dei three times, At the first, offer Me to God the Father with all My humility and patience for thyself: at the second, offer Me and all the bitterness of My Passion in order to obtain perfect forgiveness of Your sins: at the third, offer Me with all the love of My Heart to supply for all that man cannot do.” Our Lord added: “Verily, to him who with zeal and devotion hears Mass, I will send at his last hour as many of the greatest Saints as he has heard Masses to console, defend, and form a guard of honour to him.”

The Saints have rejoiced so much at the Masses said in their honour, that, intoxicated with joy in the Sacred Heart, they have appeared to the dying man as much to thank him as to help him. May the poor sick accept this sweet consolation from the Sacred Heart! It is with you where you are. But, even so, when you hear the tinkle of the bell which foretells the coming of Jesus on our altars, offer Him three times, as He Himself asks.

But all you who have strength and leisure, assist every day at Holy Mass, so as to increase the number of Saints who shall assemble to help you at the hour of your death, according to the promise of the Sacred Heart.

Even here below we receive numberless graces through the Sacred Heart immolated on our altars. Mechtilde saw the Sacred Heart under the form of a lamp, which overflowed all around, but she also saw the hearts of those who assisted at Mass and her own, under the appearance of lamps united by mysterious bonds to the Heart of Jesus. Some were upright, full of oil, and seemed alight, others were empty and seemed overturned. By the upright, well-lighted lamps were designated the hearts of those who assisted at Mass with fervour and devotion. The empty, overturned lamps represented the hearts of those who were negligent and did not attempt to stir up their devotion.


Chapter 54 – Invitation to Holy Communion

The most perfect union with our Lord is effected by the reception of His most holy Body and Blood in Holy Communion.

There, as at no other time, meet the Heart of Jesus and the heart of His disciple. It is, therefore, the most suitable time for pouring out our love and assuring Him of our irrevocable fidelity. A fervent soul longs eagerly for this happy time. And our Lord tells us that one of the greatest desires of His Heart desiderio desideravi is to eat this mysterious Pasch with us. This is the reason why He grieves when, through negligence, tepidity, or human respect, He sees us abstain from Holy Communion.

“My well-beloved,” He said one day to a soul guilty of this neglect, “why do you fly from Me?” Mechtilde was astonished that our Lord spoke to this person with so much tenderness; but He said to her: “I will call her my well-beloved all the days of her life.”

“But after her death,” asked Saint Mechtilde, ” will she be deprived of so tender a name?”

Our Lord replied: “She will keep it for all eternity.”

And speaking again to a timid soul, He said: “Draw near, with confidence, to the omnipotence of the Father, that He may strengthen thee; to the wisdom of the Son, that He may enlighten thee; and to the love of the Holy Ghost, that He may fill you with His sweetness.”

Again, another soul dared not approach the most Holy Communion, fearing she was not worthy. “Let her receive Me frequently,” said our Lord; “every time she comes I will receive her as My legitimate queen.”

Who could resist so sweet an invitation? Jesus treats our souls as His well-beloved, as His queen. And yet, how many still hesitate! Holy Communion is frequented, but often only at long intervals.

Mechtilde prayed for one of those souls who feared to communicate often. Our Lord said to her: “The more often a soul communicates, the purer it becomes, as we become cleaner if we wash often. The more often a soul communicates, the more I operate in it; and the more it works with Me, its actions become more holy. The more often a soul communicates, the more profoundly does it dwell in Me; and the more it penetrates into the abyss of My divinity, the more is that soul dilated and capable of containing the divinity. In the same way water falling on a certain spot of stone at length wears a cavity to fill,”

This marvelous immersion operated by Holy Communion is explained by our Lord in another way. One day after she had received Holy Communion He said to Saint Mechtilde: “I am in you and you art in Me by My power, as a fish in the water.”

Mechtilde felt obliged to say: “But, Lord, the fish are sometimes drawn by nets out of the water; what if the same happened to me?”

Our Lord calmed this fear: “No one could draw you away from Me,” He said; “thou shalt make Your nest in My divine Heart.”

“My nest in Your divine Heart, O Jesus: of what shall this nest be made?”

“It shall be formed of humility amidst the gifts and graces which I have conferred on thee. Cast thyself into the abyss of a profound humility.”

“O Lord, fish grow in the water, but shall I bear fruit in Your divine Heart?”

“Yes, and such abundant fruit that all heaven will rejoice. When you shalt offer Me to God the Father for the joy and glory of the Saints, their happiness and recompense shall be increased, as though they had received Me corporally on the earth.”

Who would “not by Holy Communion build his nest in the Heart of Jesus and in that way increase the joy of the Angels and Saints?


Chapter 55 – Preparation for Holy Communion

We must prepare carefully for Holy Communion. The Apostle says: “Let a man prove himself, and then eat of this Bread and drink of this Chalice.”

The preparation must be thorough, worthy of the Guest we are going to receive, but regulated by prudence and kept within the rules of discretion, otherwise too much solicitude about preparation might prevent us going to Holy Communion. Exaggeration, on this head, was the infernal means by which Jansenism tried to prevent frequent Communion.

Our Lord gave Saint Mechtilde some delightful instructions for our edification. One day when she ought to have received Holy Communion and thought herself unfit through want of preparation, our Lord said to her: “I give Myself entirely to thee, to be Myself Your preparation.” And He placed His Heart on that of Saint Mechtilde and laid His Head on her head. She then said: “O Lord, enlighten the face of my soul with the brightness of Your countenance.” Our Lord replied: “The face of Your soul is the image of the Holy Trinity. The soul should see this image reflected in My face as in a mirror, and see whether he finds some stain in that image.”

Mechtilde understood that we should often contemplate bur soul in this divine Mirror, the face of Jesus Christ, so as to discover any stains that might disfigure it, and wash them away before Holy Communion. Purity of conscience, then, is the first preparation, but the Sacred Heart expects more.

He gives a second lesson. “O loving Lord,” said Mechtilde, “teach me how to prepare for the royal banquet of Your adorable Body and Blood.” Our Lord answered: “What did My disciples do when I sent them before Me to prepare the Pasch which I was to eat with them the night before my Passion? They prepared a large and well-furnished hall.”

By this our Lord wishes us to remember that with repentance He desires confidence confidence in His immense bounty and liberality in lovingly receiving those who go to Him. We must have confidence in His clemency, for He will receive us kindly as a mother, guarding us from all evil; confidence in His love, which offers a sure welcome to all who communicate, enriching them with His best gifts; confidence in His tenderness, which will bestow on them faith and hope to obtain all that is necessary for salvation.

To this unlimited confidence we must join the remembrance of the Passion. Saint Mechtilde always observed this, our Lord having said: “Do this in memory of Me ” (Luke 21:9). The Holy Ghost deigned to comment on the words: “Do this in memory of Me.”

There are three things we should remember in receiving the Body of Christ. The first is the eternal love of the Father, which caused Him to love us before we were made, though He knew well all our defects and wickedness, despite which He created us to His own image and likeness, and for this we should thank Him. The second is the marvelous love which caused the Son of God, though He abounded with delight in the bosom of the Father, to come down on the earth. He left His infinite majesty and descended to our misery, to us captives in the bonds of Adam. Hunger, cold, heat, weariness, sadness, contempt, suffering and the most ignominious death, He bore with a divine patience, so as to deliver us from our miseries. The third is the unheard-of love with which He always watches over us, taking care of us in His paternal tenderness. So, after being our Creator and Redeemer, as a loving brother He intercedes always for us with the Father, regulates and directs our concerns as an attendant and faithful servant.

These three things we should always bear in remembrance, but especially when partaking of the celestial banquet, the heavenly legacy of the love of Jesus, of which we should always keep before us the remembrance.

Our Lord also deigned Himself to teach us the intention we should have in receiving Holy Communion.

It was the custom in the Community to indicate by a tablet that they intended to communicate, and this tablet bore the name of the Religious. In writing it Mechtilde said: “Write, dear Lord, my name on Your Heart and inscribe also Your sweet Name on my heart by a perpetual remembrance.” Our Lord then said to her one day: “When you wilt communicate, receive Me with an intention as strong as if you had all the desires and all the love which ever filled a human heart. Filled with the strongest love that the heart of man can contain, come to Me. I will then receive this love from thee, not such as it really is in thee, but such as you would wish it to be.”

So our Lord was faithful to His promise: “I will give Myself entirely to you to be Your preparation.”


Chapter 56 – The Five Hail Marys Before Holy Communion

Saint Mechtilde’s pious custom was to recite five Hail Marys before receiving Holy Communion, and these were her intentions:

At the first Hail Mary, she reminded our Lady of the solemn hour when she conceived a Son in her virginal womb, at the word of the Angel, and drew Him to her from heaven by her profound humility. She asked her to obtain for her a pure conscience and profound humility.

At the second Hail Mary, she reminded her of the happy moment when she took Jesus for the first time into her arms and first saw Him in His Sacred Humanity. She prayed Mary to obtain for her a true knowledge of herself.

At the third Hail Mary, she begged our Lady to remember that she had always been prepared to receive grace and had never placed any obstacle to its operation. She begged Mary to obtain for her a heart always ready to receive divine grace.

At the fourth Hail Mary, she reminded our Lady with what devotion and gratitude she received on earth the body of her well-beloved Son, knowing better than anyone the salvation to be found there by mankind. Mechtilde begged her to obtain that her heart might be filled with worthy feelings of gratitude. If men knew the blessings which flow for them from the body of Jesus Christ, they would faint with joy.

At the fifth Hail Mary, she reminded our Lady of the reception given to her by her divine Son when He invited her to take her place near Him in heaven in the midst of transports of joy.


Chapter 57 – Of Dryness in Receiving Holy Communion

One of the greatest trials of a pious soul is to feel nothing but dryness and desolation when Jesus enters their heart. If it were only a matter of sorrow and complaint, it would not be so serious, but alas! it is often made a pretext for abstaining from Holy Communion.

Our Lord gives this instruction to them for their consolation: “When you art preparing for Holy Communion and only feel your heart dry, with no desire nor love for prayer nor any of the love you ought to have, cry with all Your strength to the Lord: ‘Draw us, and we will run after you to the odour of Your ointments. And in saying this word c Draw us, think how strong and powerful was the love which drew the almighty and eternal God down to the ignominious death of the Cross. Filled with an ardent desire for Him who said * When I shall be lifted up from the earth I will draw all things unto Myself, beg of Him that He would draw Your heart and all the powers of Your soul so strongly to Himself that He will cause you to run with love and desire in the odour of the three perfumes which come from the very noble reservoir of My Heart with so great an abundance that they fill heaven and earth.

“The first perfume is the living water which divine love distilled from the noble rose of the divine Heart in the furnace of charity. With this perfume wash the face of Your soul. If after a serious examination you find any stain of sin, beg that it may be cleansed in the fountain of mercy which bathed the thief on the cross.

“The second perfume is the generous wine of the Precious Blood of the Crucified which issued with water from the wound of His Sacred Heart. Beg that the face of Your soul may be tinged with it, so as to be worthy to take a place at so great a banquet.

“The third perfume is the marvelous meekness which overflows from the divine Heart. This meekness, which the bitterness of death could not exhaust, is a perfume of balsam which surpasses every aromatic perfume and is a remedy for every infirmity of soul. Beg that this perfume may be poured into Your soul so that it may taste and see that the Lord is sweet. It will be nourished by this sweetness, it will expand and enter entirely into Him who has given Himself to you with so much love.

“When you shalt feel none of this sweetness of which we have been speaking, beg of Your Sweet and faithful Jesus, who loves thee, to draw it from Himself; beg that what is insipid in you may partake of His savour, that Your tepidity may gain fervour from Him; and that He alone may be glorified in all Your works, now and for ever.”

So, with us too, O Sacred Heart, either Your perfumes will bestow on us the sweetness of Your fervour, or our dryness fill you with joy. But we will continue always to go to Thee.


Chapter 58 – The Fruit of Holy Communion

Saint Benedict’s holy daughter is never tired of presenting the Sacred Heart to us as the source of all good, all happiness, and every virtue.

Its influence on souls is increasing, but it is never more powerful than after Holy Communion. Then our Lord not only gives graces, but Himself; and He gives Himself that He may be everything to the soul in its needs. If we are weak, He rests in our breast as a shield, to be our defense and strength against our enemies. If we aspire to practise virtue, He comes to communicate to us His own.

In this manner Saint Mechtilde saw Him give Himself one Good Friday to the Religious as buried in aromatic perfumes of delicious odour. The aromatic perfume came from all parts of His Sacred Heart and blossomed like flowers, so that this divine Heart was like a mass of flowers. But how is this marvelous union accomplished?

The Holy Fathers employ two comparisons, which our Lord Himself made use of in instructing His servant. At the moment of communicating He said to her: “Wilt you now see how I am in you and you art in Me?” In her humility she kept silence, but, at once, she saw our Lord as a transparent crystal, and her own soul as most pure and shining water flowing throughout the Body of Christ.

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem says that those who communicate are so intimately united to Jesus Christ that they have with Him but one body and soul. This wonderful union is expressed again, but with more theological exactitude. “Behold,” said Saint Mechtilde, “whilst assisting at Mass you art wholly in the hands of the priest and yet art wholly in me.” Our Lord answered: “Is not Your soul in all the different parts of Your body? If Your soul, a simple creature, has this privilege, why should not I, the Creator of all things, be in all My creatures and everywhere?”

He then caused her to rest on His Heart and said to her: “Receive My divine Heart entirely.” And Mechtilde felt the divinity dart through her like an impetuous torrent.

But what is of more importance than knowing how this union is effected is to understand the fruits it ought to produce in us, and the obligation under which we lie, with God’s help, of showing them in our lives.

Mechtilde had another day received the Sacred Body of Jesus. After sweet colloquies with Him, it seemed to her that our Lord took her heart and placed it in His divine Heart, so that the two made only one. He then said: “It is in this manner that I wished the heart of man to be united to Me in its desires, so that all its movements might be regulated by My Heart, as two winds blowing together make only one draught.

“This being so, man ought to unite himself to Me in all his actions. If, for example, he wishes to eat or to sleep, he should say: “Lord, in union with the love which caused you to make this food or this rest for me, I take this for Your eternal praise and for the needs of my body. In the same way when some work is commanded Him, he should say: Lord, in union with the love which made You work with Your hands, and causes You still to work unceasingly in my soul, in union with the love which lays this task on me, I wish to acquit myself of it for Your glory and for the interests of all, for you said: ‘Without Me you can do nothing.’ I pray of you to unite it to you and to perfect it as Your works are perfect, that it may be as a drop of water fallen into a great river, which has no other movement than that of the river.”

“The union must also be one of will, so that all may be accepted as My will in adversity as in prosperity. As two precious metals melted become one and can no more be separated, so man by love becomes one mind with Me, and this is the greatest perfection and the highest sanctity in this life.”