Divine Intimacy: Meditations on the Interior Life for Everyday of the Year

[Stone]

217. FIRM CONFIDENCE
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Lord, make me understand that I am nothing, that I can do nothing by myself, and that only in You can I accomplish anything.


MEDITATION

1. Two ideas dominate the liturgy of today’s Mass: great confidence in God and an acute awareness of human misery and insufficiency. These two ideas are closely connected, for it is the consciousness of our nothingness which leads us to put all our confidence in God, and the greater this confidence becomes in us, the more convinced we are of our nothingness. The Mass begins with a cry of unshakable hope: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Introit). The Lord is with me in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, the Lord comes to me in Holy Communion. What can separate me from Him? What can make me fear?

Yet I know my weakness; I have ever before my eyes the remembrance of my failures and infidelities. How great, then, is my need to humbly repeat the beautiful prayer of the Gradual: “Save us, O Lord, and pardon our sins.... Help us, O God, our Savior, for the glory of Your Name.” Yes, in spite of the continual help of divine grace, in spite of so many confessions and communions, I have to acknowledge new failures every day; daily, I must begin anew. The struggle is arduous and painful, but in today’s Epistle (Rom 8, 18-23), St. Paul reminds us that “the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us.” This thought is one of consolation, hope and confidence; it does not, however, prevent us from longing for freedom and complete redemption. This is what the Apostle experienced when he said : “ We also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body in Christ Jesus.” The more we suffer because of our wretchedness, the more we should run to Jesus, with full confidence in the power of His Redemption.


2. Today’s Gospel (Lk 5,1-11) is a practical demonstration of the words of Jesus: “Without Me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15,5). Simon and his companions had been fishing all night and had caught nothing; that is all they had been able to do by themselves. If we have had some little experience in the spiritual life, we will recognize that this is often our situation too. How many efforts we have made to rid ourself of this or that attachment, to forget injuries, to adapt ourself to our neighbor’s way of doing things, to subject our will to another’s! And yet, after all these attempts, we find our hands empty, like Peter’s nets. Let us not be discouraged; if we can humbly acknowledge our failure instead of feeling annoyance because of it, the failure itself will turn into victory. So it happened to Peter after he had admitted publicly that he had “taken nothing.” St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus comments: “Had the Apostle caught some small fish, perhaps our divine Master would not have worked a miracle; but he had caught nothing, and so through the power and goodness of God his nets were soon filled with great fishes. Such is Our Lord’s way. He gives as God, with divine generosity, but He insists on humility of heart” (L).

In spite of our good will to advance in virtue, Our Lord will not permit us to have any success until He sees that we are thoroughly convinced of our own weakness and inability; to give us this conviction, He lets us, as He let Peter, “work all night without catching anything.” But afterwards, as He sees our growing awareness of our poverty and our willingness to admit it openly, He will come to our aid. We must, then, have great faith in Him, never allowing ourselves to give up through lack of success. Every day, relying “on His word,” we must begin anew. If we have learned not to trust in our own strength, we must also learn to have complete confidence in the divine aid. If we have caught nothing until now, perhaps it is our lack of unshakable confidence that is the cause, and this deficiency, besides being displeasing to Jesus, paralyzes our spiritual life. Then let us repeat with Peter in a similar cry of confidence: “in verbo tuo laxabo rete,” Lord, at Thy word, I will let down the net. And let us repeat it every day, every moment, without ever growing weary.


COLLOQUY

“O Lord, You are my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? You are the protector of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?... If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I be confident. One thing do I ask of You, O Lord, that I may dwell in Your house all the days of my life.... Then, in the day of evils, You will protect me in the secret place of Your tabernacle, You will exalt me upon a rock....

“Hear, O Lord, my voice with which I have cried to You: have mercy on me and hear me.... Turn not away Your face from me; decline not in Your wrath from Your servant; be my helper, forsake me not; do not despise me, O God my Savior. Although my father and my mother should abandon me, I am sure that You will never abandon me.... O my soul, expect the Lord, do manfully, and let your heart take courage, and wait for Him” (Ps 26).

“O Lord, You have done great things in me, and the greatest of all is that you have shown me my littleness, and how of myself I am incapable of anything good.

“Lord, You see how often I fail, but I am never astonished at it... I enter into myself and say: ‘ Alas, I am once more at the first step as before!’ But I say this in great peace without sadness, because I know that You know perfectly how fragile is our nature and You are always ready to help us. What, then, shall I fear? As soon as You see me fully convinced of my nothingness, You stretch out Your hand to me; but if I should try to do something great, even under the pretext of zeal, You desert me. So all I have to do is to humble myself, to bear with meekness my imperfections. Herein lies, for me, true holiness” (T.C.J. St, 9 — NV - C).

218. ABIDING IN CHRIST

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus, teach me not only how to live with You, but how to live in You, to abide in You.


MEDITATION

1. On the evening of the Last Supper Jesus said: “Abide in Me and I in you” (Jn 15,4) and shortly afterwards He instituted the Eucharist, the Sacrament whose specific purpose is to nourish our life of union with Him. When Jesus comes to us, He does not depart without leaving on our soul “the impress of grace, like a seal pressed on hot wax. ..which leaves its impression after it has been removed. Thus the virtue of this sacrament, the warmth of divine charity, remains in the soul” (St. Catherine of Siena). Jesus said, “I am come to cast fire on the earth, and what will I but that it be kindled?” (Lk 12,49), and where will He light the fire of His love if not in the soul of the communicant who has the great privilege of giving Him hospitality? Each time we approach the Eucharistic table, Jesus, through the power of this Sacrament, rekindles in us the fire of His love and leaves the imprint of His grace; by this love and grace we remain spiritually united to Him. Even if we do not think of it, this reality is accomplished and is, of itself, very precious. However, Jesus wishes us to be aware of it, that we may live our union with Him in its fullness. Note that in speaking of our union with Himself, Jesus always presupposes our action before His own: “He that eateth My Flesh ...abideth in Me and I in Him,” “ Abide in Me, and I in you” (Jn 6,57 — 15,4); not that our action is the more important—for Jesus always precedes us with His grace, without which any union with Him would be impossible—but He would have us understand that we shall be united to Him in proportion to our correspondence with grace. Each Communion, of itself, brings us a new grace of union with Christ and therefore offers us the possibility of greater intimacy with Him, but we will live this union only according to the measure of our good will and our interior dispositions.


2. If we wish to “abide” in Christ throughout the day—having been nourished by Him in Holy Communion— we must, first of all, keep our heart recollected. If as soon as we leave the Church we forget that we have received the Lord and we submerge ourselves in “other business and occupations and worldly hindrances” says St. Teresa of Avila (Way, 34), we will never be able to remain united to Christ. Further, the Saint would tell us that by acting in such a way we seem “to be making all possible haste to prevent the Lord from taking possession of the house which is His own” (ibid.). The state of grace suffices, it is true, to keep us spiritually united to Christ, but how much more fruitful this union would be for us, if we tried to live it actually! Therefore, even in the midst of our daily occupations, let us try to remain under the influence of our morning Communion, that is, under the influence of Jesus, of His love, and His unceasing action in our soul.

We should return often, at least in spirit, to the tabernacle to keep ourselves in contact with the Eucharist. If our duties oblige us to go out, let every church we pass or see from a distance, be a sweet reminder of the Lord we have received that day or will receive on the following day; let it be the occasion for a quick but fervent impulse of our heart toward Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, or a rapid return to the sanctuary of our soul, there to renew our interior contact with the Lord. We should try to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament every day, in such a way that it will be a real heart-to-heart visit with Jesus. If we truly hunger after Him we should feel an urgent need of keeping ourselves under the influence of the Eucharist; we should make use of all possible means to profit as much as we can from the grace of union with Christ, which has been offered to us in Holy Communion. By doing this, our sacramental Communion will be prolonged throughout the day by means of a continual spiritual Communion with Jesus. Then we will be really living by Him, for as He said, “ He that eateth Me, the same also shall live by Me ” (Jn 6,58).


COLLOQUY

“O Jesus, unite my heart to Yours, and consume everything in it that is displeasing to You; unite all that I am to all that You are, that You may supply for everything I lack. Unite my prayers and praises to those You address to Your Father from the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, so that Your prayer may supply for the deficiencies of mine.

“In order to make myself like You, who on the altar are obedient to every priest, good or bad, I will obey promptly and will put myself in the hands of my superiors as a victim to be immolated, so that dying to all my own wishes, inclinations, passions, and repugnances, I can be disposed of by my superiors as they see fit, without showing any repugnance. And as Your life in the Blessed Sacrament is completely hidden from the eyes of creatures, who see nothing but the poor appearance of the bread, so I shall strive, for love of You, to live so hidden that I shall always be veiled under the ashes of humility, loving to be despised, and rejoicing to appear the poorest and most abject of all.

“In order to be like You, who are always alone in the Blessed Sacrament, I shall love solitude and try to converse with You as much as possible. Grant that my mind may not seek to know anything but You, that my heart may have no longings or desires but to love You. When I am obliged to take some comfort, I shall take care to see that it be pleasing to Your Heart. In my conversations, O divine Word, I shall consecrate all my words to You so that You will not permit me to pronounce a single one which is not for Your glory.... When I am thirsty, I shall endure it in honor of the thirst You endured for the salvation of souls... .If by chance, I commit some fault, I shall humble myself, and then take the opposite virtue from Your Heart, offering it to the eternal Father in expiation for my failure. All this I intend to do, O Eucharistic Jesus, to unite myself to You in every action of the day” (cf. St. Margaret Mary).

219. FROM THE EUCHARIST TO THE TRINITY

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus, lead me to the Trinity; help me to live with the Trinity.


MEDITATION

1. Jesus came to us from the bosom of the Father to bring us to the Trinity; this was the purpose of the Incarnation and it is also that of the Eucharist, which prolongs the mystery of the Incarnation in time. In the Eucharist Jesus continues to be the Mediator between the three divine Persons and ourselves, holding out His hand to lead us to Them. It is by coming to us in Holy Communion that He continually puts us in more direct contact with the Blessed Trinity; for He then comes in the integrity of His Person as God and Man, humanity and divinity; and as God, as the Word, He is always indissolubly united to the Father and to the Holy Spirit. Jesus can repeat from the consecrated Host what He once said while He was on earth: “He that sent Me is with Me, and He hath not left Me alone,” and more explicitly: “I am in the Father and the Father [is] in Me” (Jn 8,29 — 14,11).

Therefore, when He comes to us in Holy Communion, He does not come alone, but with Him come the Father and the Holy Spirit, because the three divine Persons, although distinct one from another, are inseparable. The presence of the Trinity in our soul is not limited to the moments when Jesus is sacramentally present within us, for the three divine Persons dwell permanently in a soul that is in the state of grace. It is true, however, that the Trinity is present in a very special way in Christ, the Incarnate Word, the one Man personally united to the Trinity and in whom dwells all the fullness of the divinity: “In quo habitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis” (Litany of the Sacred Heart). Hence, it is certain that wherever Christ is—and therefore in our soul at the time of Communion—there the Trinity is also present in a very special way.


2. The Blessed Trinity is never so fully present to our souls as in the few moments when we have the sacramental presence of Jesus within us. The three divine Persons are not only present there but are pleased to remain there. The Father takes pleasure in His beloved Son who dwells within us and whom He has given to us in the Eucharist; the Word takes delight in the sacred humanity of Jesus which is wholly and forever His; the Holy Spirit rejoices in Christ, His chosen temple and, because of Him, is pleased to dwell within us. The entire Trinity, finding Jesus in us, abides in our soul with joy, looks on us with special love, and each Person diffuses Himself into us more fully. Thus each Communion nourishes our life of union not only with Jesus, but also with the entire Trinity; each Communion increases Our capacity to welcome the three divine Persons and to live in “company” with Them in an increasingly intimate and profound relationship. The prayer of Jesus: “As Thou, Father, in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us...I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one” (Jn 17,21.23), finds its most perfect realization in the precious moments when Jesus in the Eucharist is living within us. But even when His sacramental presence has gone, its effect remains; namely, this more intimate union with the Blessed Trinity.

Furthermore, we are never able to offer the Trinity a more worthy dwelling place than our soul during the moments when Jesus is sacramentally present within it; and not only a dwelling place, for we can also offer gifts, praises, supplications, and adoration worthy of God’s infinite Majesty. In fact, we can offer Jesus present within us, because it is the Trinity, the three divine Persons Themselves, who have given Him to us, and He has given Himself to us with His whole substance: Jesus, the perfect praise of the Blessed Trinity, the beloved Son in whom the three divine Persons take all Their delight and complacency. Together with Him, we offer the love, the adoration, supplication, praise, and reparation of His Sacred Heart. How rich we are when we have Jesus within us! By Him and in Him we can fittingly honor, exalt, and glorify the Most Holy Trinity.


COLLOQUY

“O Jesus Christ, true God and true Man! My soul rejoices to find You in the Blessed Sacrament, You, the uncreated God who became man, a creature! In this Sacrament, O Christ, I find both Your humanity and Your divinity; from Your humanity I rise to Your divinity, and from it I go back to Your humanity. I see Your ineffable divinity which contains all the treasures of wisdom, of knowledge, of incorruptible riches. [see the inexhaustible fountain of delights which alone can satisfy our intelligence. I see Your most precious soul, O Jesus, with all the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit, a holy and unspotted oblation; I see Your sacred Body, the price of our redemption; I see Your Blood, which purifies and vivifies us; in brief, I find treasures which are so precious and so great that I cannot comprehend them.

“This Sacrament really contains You, O my God, You whom the Angels adore, in whose presence the Spirits and mighty Powers tremble. Oh! if we could only see You as clearly as they do, with what reverence would we approach this Sacrament, with what humility would we receive You.

“O Most Holy Trinity, You instituted this Sacrament in order to obtain the object of Your love, that is, to attract to Yourself the soul of Your creature, and detaching it from all earthly things, to unite it to Yourself, the uncreated God. In doing this, You make it die to sin and give it spiritual life, eternal life. O Blessed Trinity, this Sacrament was instituted by Your infinite goodness that we might be united to You
and You to us; that we might receive You into ourselves and be received by You; that at the same time we might hold You within ourselves and be held by You” (St. Angela of Foligno).

220. THE MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY

PRESENCE OF GOD - O my God, Trinity whom I adore, teach me to know You and to love You.


MEDITATION

1. We had no right, as creatures, to know the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity, which is the mystery of God’s intimate life. However, God has made it known to us, for He did not wish to leave us in our natural state, that of a simple creature, but willed to raise us to the dignity of sons, of friends. The Son of God said, “I will not now call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of My Father, I have made known to you” (Jn 15,15). The “all things ” is precisely the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity which Jesus, the Son of God, has seen and heard in the bosom of the Father.

In the Old Testament we find some references to this mystery, but its perfect revelation belongs to the New Testament, to the Testament of Love; and we might say that God wanted to reserve this manifestation for Himself. He did not reveal it to us by the prophets but by His only-begotten Son, who is one with Him. “No man hath seen God at any time,” says the Evangelist; “the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him” (jn 1, 18). Jesus came to reveal to us the mystery of the intimate life of God; He spoke of Himself as the Son of God, equal to the Father in all things: “He that seeth Me, seeth the Father also, ” because “ I am in the Father and the Father [is] in Me” (ibid. 14,9.11). He spoke to us of the Holy Spirit, without whom we cannot attain eternal life: “Unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God ” (ibid. 3,5), and He promised us that He Himself, with the Father, would send us the Spirit who proceeds both from Him, the Word, and from the Father: “It is expedient to you that I go. For...if I go, I will send Him to you” (ibid. 16,7); “I will ask the Father and He shall give you another Paraclete...the Spirit of truth” (ibid. 14,16). Jesus often repeated these ideas, thus teaching us that it is good for us to fix our gaze on the sublime mystery of the Blessed Trinity: to admire, to praise, and to return love to this One Triune God, who loves us so much that He wishes to bring us into the secrecy of His own intimate life.


2. God, the sovereign, infinite Good, is self-sufficient. He finds all His happiness in knowing and loving Himself. Because He is the infinitely perfect Being, knowledge and love are essentially fruitful in Him, and from this fecundity comes the mystery of His intimate life, the mystery of the Trinity. The Father knows Himself perfectly from all eternity, and knowing Himself, He generates the Word, the substantial Idea in which the Father expresses, and to whom He communicates, His whole essence, divinity and infinite goodness. Thus the Word is “the brightness of the glory and the figure of the substance” of the Father (Heb 1,3); but He is a substantial brightness and figure, because He possesses the same nature and the same perfections as the Father. From all eternity, the Father and the Son contemplate and love each other infinitely, by reason of the infinite, indivisible perfection which they have in common.

In this eternal love, there is a mutual attraction, a mutual giving of Themselves, one to the other, diffusing Their whole nature and divine essence into a third Person, the Holy Spirit, who is the terminus, the pledge, and the substantial gift of Their mutual love. Thus the same nature, the same divine life circulates among the three divine Persons from the Father to the Son, and from the Father and the Son to the Holy Spirit. The mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity is therefore the mystery of the intimate life of God, a mystery surging from the most perfect operations of knowledge and love by which God knows and loves Himself.

More than any other mystery, that of the Trinity shows us our God as the living God, as One whose life is essentially fruitful, so fruitful that the whole divine nature and essence can be communicated by the Father to the Son, and from the Father and the Son to the Holy Spirit without any loss or diminution, all Three thereby possessing the same infinite perfection. This mystery, above all others, reveals to us the perfection of God’s goodness. It tells us that God is good, not only because He is the infinite Good, but also because this infinite good that He is is communicated: from the Father to the Son, and from the Father and the Son to the Holy Spirit. Whereas in works outside Himself God communicates His good only partially, in the bosom of the Trinity He communicates it integrally and necessarily, so that His intimate life consists precisely in this eternal, necessary and absolute communication of His whole good, His whole Being. The mystery of the Trinity teaches us that in God there is a boundless, inexhaustible ocean of goodness, love, fruitfulness and life. Precious knowledge this, because more than any other, it enables us to develop a sense of the infinite greatness of God.


COLLOQUY

“O incomprehensible God, Your greatness is eternal, and Your goodness ineffable. I see the three divine Persons flowing one into another in an indescribable, inscrutable way, and I rejoice in this sight. The Father flows into the Son, the Son into the Father, and the Father and the Son flow into the Holy Spirit. Eternal God, You are unspeakably good, You who, out of goodness, communicate to a creature, aware of its nothingness, some knowledge of Your eternal Being; but although this communication is wonderful, it might be called in all truth a mere nothing, in comparison with what You really are ” (cf. St. Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi).

“O sovereign, eternal good, what has moved You, O infinite God, to enlighten me, Your finite creature, with the light of Your truth? You Yourself, O Fire of Love, You are the cause. For it is love which has constrained You and which always constrains You to be merciful to us, giving immense and infinite graces to Your creatures. O goodness which surpasses all goodness! You alone are He who is sovereignly good! You have given us the Word, Your only-begotten Son, that He might dwell among us who are nothing but wretchedness and darkness. What is the reason for this gift? Love, for you loved us before we ever were.

“O eternal Trinity!’ Who can reach You to thank You for the immeasurable gifts and unlimited favors You have showered upon me, as well as for the doctrine of the truth You have taught me? Answer me, O Lord!... Enlighten me with Your grace, so that by this very light, I may thank You” (St. Catherine of Siena).

221. IN THE PRESENCE OF THE TRINITY

PRESENCE OF GOD - The knowledge of Your mystery, O Most Holy Trinity, creates in me profound humility, blind faith, and ardent love.


MEDITATION

1. What Jesus has revealed to us, and what the Church, relying on His word, teaches us about the Trinity, is sufficient to prove the existence of this mystery, but it does not suffice to enable us to understand it. Furthermore, it is the mystery of our faith which is least accessible to human reason, making us realize more than ever the infinite disproportion between our intelligence and the divine mysteries, giving us a vivid awareness of the vast distance which separates us, mere creatures that we are, from God, the Supreme Being, the Most High. All this is good—very good—because it makes us take, with regard to God, an attitude truly proper to creatures: an attitude of humility, of humble acknowledgement of our insufficiency, of respectful self-abasement, of reverent adoration. Thus, when we put ourselves in the presence of the great mystery of the Trinity, we feel the need to repeat humbly, “Nihil sumus, nihil possumus, nihil valemus.” We are nothing, we can do nothing, we are worth nothing (St. John Eudes), while at the same time praising the
inaccessible greatness of our God: “Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth!” Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts! Thou only art holy, Thou only art almighty, Thou only art worthy, Thou alone art He who is.

Unaided reason is blinded by the greatness of the mystery, but this same reason enlightened by faith is not misled. It admits its limitations, and submitting itself to divine revelation, it believes. This act of faith is all the more meritorious and supernatural, the less it leans on human reasoning. It gives greater honor to God the more blind its adherence to His word. St. Teresa of Jesus says, “The less of a natural foundation these truths had, the more firmly I held them and the greater was the devotion they inspired in me. I saw I had every reason for praising God” (Life, 19). This is the faith of a humble soul in the presence of the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity.


2, Consideration of the mystery of the Trinity inspires us not only with an attitude of humble reverence and blind faith, but also with one of deep filial love. “This is the characteristic of friendship,” says St. Thomas, “that the friend confides his secrets to another.” This is also characteristic of the love of God for us, because by revealing to us the mystery of the Trinity, He has unveiled to us the secret of His intimate life, toward which we had no right to turn our gaze. If we had no other proofs of the love of friendship which God has for us, the revelation of this mystery would be more than enough to convince us of it. He has confided to us the secrets of His Heart; He has opened to us the mystery of His personal life and has admitted us into intimacy with Himself. All this justly strengthens our conviction of the exceeding charity with which God has loved us, especially since, not being satisfied to reveal this mystery, the three Persons of the glorious Trinity willed to give Themselves to us as well! The Father gave Himself to us by bringing us into existence and by sacrificing His only-begotten Son for our salvation; the Son gave Himself to us by becoming Incarnate, by dying for us on the Cross and by making Himself our Food; the Holy Spirit gave Himself to us by coming to dwell in our souls, by infusing grace and charity in us. If the three divine Persons have offered Themselves to us to this degree, it is to elevate us to the status of sons and to bring us, as sons, into Their divine family.

All through the Gospels we see the entire Trinity bending over man to redeem him and to make him share in Their divine nature and eternal beatitude. We see the Father enveloping us in His paternal mercy and providence; the Son becoming man and shedding His Blood for us; the Holy Spirit sanctifying our souls by filling them with grace and love. Yes, in the presence of the Trinity, we always remain tiny creatures, infinitely distant from the divine Majesty; yet, the Trinity has stooped to us and drawn us, loving us with an eternal love. “In caritate perpetua dilexi te, ideo attraxi te miserans tui,” I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee (Fer 31,3).


COLLOQUY

“My faith invokes You, O Blessed Trinity, with a clear, sincere voice, that faith which has been nourished by You since my birth, illumined unceasingly by the light of Your grace, and increased and confirmed in me by the doctrine of our Mother, the Church.

“T call upon You, O supremely happy Trinity, one, blessed, and glorious, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; God, Lord, and Paraclete; charity, grace, and communication.

“O three divine Persons, equal and co-eternal; One, true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, dwelling alone in eternity and in inaccessible light. By Your power You created the world, and by Your prudence You rule the terrestrial orb; holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts, terrible and mighty, just and merciful, admirable, lovable, and worthy of all praise!

“I implore You, one, indivisible Trinity, open to me who invoke You.... I am knocking at Your door, O sovereign Father. You have said. ‘ Knock, and it shall be opened to you ’; bid that it be opened for me. I am knocking at Your door, O most merciful Father, by the desires of my eager heart, my cries, and my tears. O Father of mercies, hear the groaning of Your child and hold out to me Your helpful hand.... I know, O Lord, I know and I confess, that I am unworthy to be loved by You but You are indeed worthy to be loved by me. I am not worthy to serve You, but You are most worthy to be served by Your creature. Give me, then, O Lord, what You are worthy of, and I shall be made worthy of that which I do not now deserve.

“I beseech You, O Blessed Trinity, come to me and make me a temple worthy of Your glory. I pray to the Father through the Son, and to the Son through the Father; I pray to the Holy Spirit through the Father and the Son, to take away all my vices and to implant all the virtues in me” (St. Augustine).

222. THE TRINITY WITHIN US

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Most Holy Trinity, who art pleased to make my soul Your dwelling place, deign to share with me Your divine life.


MEDITATION

1. Jesus came not only to reveal the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, but also to establish ties of the closest friendship between our souls and the three divine Persons. He is not only the Revealer of the Trinity, but the Mediator, the Way, the Bridge, leading us to the Triune God and uniting us with Him. In the beginning God willed to give Himself to our first parents who had been created in the state of grace, as Creator, and even more, as Trinity. However, sin cut off this intimate communication of friendship, by which God would have wished to treat man not only as a creature, but as a son, a friend for whom He would unveil the mystery of His intimate life in order to share it with him. All this would indeed be given back to man, but only after the Incarnation of the Word, when Jesus, as the God-Man, would restore what had been lost by becoming the Mediator between God and man. By cleansing us in His precious Blood, Jesus endowed our souls anew with the capacity of receiving the divine gift of sanctifying grace.

We could once again participate in the divine nature and life; thus Jesus restored us to our original dignity as living temples of the glorious Trinity. Because He redeemed us, He could make this wonderful promise : “ If anyone love Me...My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him” (Jn 14,23). These words reveal to us the mystery of the indwelling of the Trinity in our souls, an indwelling which implies a very special presence of God within us. It is realized only in a soul who loves, in a soul who lives in charity and grace, because, as St. John says, “He that abideth in charity abideth in God, and God in him ” (1 Jn 4,16).

God dwells in a soul in the state of grace as friend delighting to be with friend, conversing with him in sweet familiarity. “Behold,” says the Lord, “I stand at the gate and knock; if any man shall hear My voice and open to Me the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Ap 3,20).


2. If we are in the state of grace, God not only dwells in us, but since He is the living God, He lives in us : He lives His intimate life, the life of the Trinity. The Father is living in us, continually generating His Son; the Father and the Son are living in us, and from Them the Holy Spirit unceasingly proceeds. Our soul is the little heaven where this magnificent divine life, the life of the Blessed Trinity, is always unfolding. Why do the three divine Persons live in us, if not to give us a share in Their life, bringing us into this endless stream of divine life? The Father begets His Son in us and gives Him to us in order to make us share in His divine Sonship, to make us His adopted child; and He does this because of His only-begotten Son who became incarnate for us. The Father and the Son breathe forth the Holy Spirit within our soul, and give Him to us, so that He who is the terminus and bond of Their love and union, may also be the bond of our love and union with Them.

The divine Persons are within us; we receive Them and participate in Their divine life through faith and charity. By faith we believe in Them, by charity we are united to Them. When we are one with the Father, He receives us into His paternal embrace, sustains us by His almighty power, and draws us with Himself to contemplate and love His Son, according to the words of Jesus Himself: “No man can come to Me except the Father draw him” (Jn 6,44). When we are joined to the Son, He clothes us with His splendor, penetrates us with His infinite light, teaches us to know the Father, and covers us with the merits He acquired for us by becoming Incarnate. He takes us with Him to love and praise the Father, thus verifying His word: “No man cometh to the Father but by Me” (ibid. 14,6). When we are united with the Holy Spirit, He infuses within us the grace of the adoption of the children of God, and pours into our soul an ever-increasing participation in the divine life. He thus draws us with Him into an ever more intimate communion with the Father and the Son, so that, as Jesus said, we may be “ made perfect in one” (ibid. 17,23). “O souls created for these grandeurs and called thereto! What are you doing?” exclaimed St. John of the Cross. “Wherein do you occupy yourselves?” (SC, 39,7). The Most Blessed Trinity desires to share Its divine life with us, and shall we turn our gaze elsewhere?


COLLOQUY

“O eternal Trinity, One God, One in essence and Three in Persons, You created man to Your image, so that by the three powers of his one soul he would resemble Your Trinity and Unity. Through this likeness he is united with You; that is, by His memory, he is joined to and resembles the Father, to whom power is attributed; by his intellect, he resembles and is united to the Son, to whom wisdom is attributed; by his will, he resembles and becomes one with the Holy Spirit, the love of the Father and the Son, to whom mercy is attributed.

“O Father, grant that I may unite my memory to You by always remembering that You are the beginning from which all things proceed. O Son, unite my intellect to Yours and grant that I may perfectly judge all things according to the order established by Your wisdom. O Holy Spirit, grant that I may unite my will to You by loving perfectly that mercy and love which are the reason for my creation and for every grace given to me, without any merit on my part.

“O mighty, eternal Trinity, may You be thanked for all the love You have shown us in forming and sweetly endowing our soul with its powers: an intellect to know You, a memory to remember You, a will to love You above all things! It is reasonable that knowing You, O Infinite Goodness, I would love You; and this love is so strong that neither the devil nor any other creature can take it from me against my will.

“O power of the eternal Father, help me; wisdom of the Son, illumine the eye of my intellect; sweet mercy and love of the Holy Spirit, inflame my heart and unite it to Yourself.

“O eternal Trinity, my sweet Love, You who are Light, give me light; You who are Wisdom, give me wisdom; O supreme Fortitude, give me strength. O eternal God, You are the calm ocean where souls dwell and are nourished, and where they find rest in the union of love” (St. Catherine of Siena).

223. EFFUSION OF THE TRINITY IN THE SOUL

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Most Holy Trinity, deign to renew Your visit to my soul.


MEDITATION

1. At the very moment of our Baptism, the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity take up Their abode in our soul. Yet the Church teaches us in the “Veni, Sancte Spiritus,” Come, Holy Spirit, to ask continually for the coming of the Holy Spirit and consequently, of the Blessed Trinity; for, by reason of Their indivisible unity, no one of the three divine Persons comes to us without the others. But, if the three divine Persons are within us already, how can They come again? A soul needs to have only a single degree of grace in order to have God—who is already present in it as Creator—present also as Friend, inviting it to live in intimacy with Himself. However, this friendship, this intimacy, has different degrees. It becomes closer and more profound according as the soul, growing in grace and charity, acquires a greater capacity for entering into a deeper relationship with the Blessed Trinity. Something similar is effected between two persons who are friends, and who live in the same house. When their mutual affection increases, their friendship becomes more intense; thus, although they were already present to each other, their reciprocal presence takes on a new aspect, one that is proper to the presence of a very dear friend. Likewise, the Trinity already inhabits the souls of the just, but the presence of the divine Persons can always be made stronger in terms of a more intimate affection; that is to say, They can always enter into deeper relations of friendship with the soul. This is realized progressively as the soul acquires additional degrees of grace by advancing in charity. Since these new effusions of the Trinity in the souls of the just present aspects and produce effects which are always new, we can rightly call them new comings, new visits of the divine Persons. But, in reality, They are always present in the soul; Their visit does not come from without but from within the soul itself, where They dwell and give Themselves; and even, to a certain degree, reveal Themselves to the soul according to the words of Jesus: “He that loveth Me, shall be loved of My Father and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him” (Jn 14,21). Never are we given a better opportunity to understand the great reality contained in the words of the Gospel: “The kingdom of God is within you” (Lk 17,21), than when we are in the presence of this ineffable mystery.


2. The first visit or effusion of the Blessed Trinity in our soul took place on the day of our Baptism. The Father sent us His Son; the Father and the Son sent us the Holy Spirit, and because of the indissoluble unity of the Three, without being sent the Father Himself came. Now this visit is renewed every time we acquire an additional degree of grace—through the reception of a Sacrament or by advancing in charity. The promise of Jesus: “If anyone love Me...We will come to him and will make Our abode with him” (Jn 14,23), is never exhausted; it is always new, always ready to be actualized every time the conditions for it are renewed, that is, every time we love more intensely. This divine gift which is offered so generously to us, ought to spur us on to generosity and to constant progress in love, for only thus can we have full fruition of it. The Blessed Trinity will set no limits to the effusion of charity and grace in our soul, provided we place no obstacle to their development. Our horizon is broad and boundless, because the model proposed to us by Jesus for our life of union with the Blessed Trinity, is that very union that exists between the three divine Persons Themselves. Even in His priestly prayer on the evening of the Last Supper, Jesus asked His Father to give us a like union: “As Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us ” (ibid. 17,21). It is evident that as creatures we can never be united to the Trinity as the three divine Persons are united to one another; yet, Jesus did not hesitate to offer us, and to ask for us, a similar union, in order to urge us on to ever higher levels, and to make us understand that if we do not fail in our correspondence to grace, the three Persons of the Holy Trinity will never cease to diffuse Themselves into our souls nor to unite us to Themselves until we are made “ perfect in one ” (ibid. 17,23). Only in heaven where we shall contemplate the Trinity unveiled, face to face, will our union with the divine Persons be perfect; but here on earth, we must hasten by faith and love toward the wonderful goal which will be our happiness for all eternity.


COLLOQUY

“O Trinity, most high God, merciful, beneficent, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, my hope is in You. Teach me, direct me, sustain me.

“O Father, by Your infinite power, fix my memory in You and fill it with holy and divine thoughts.

“O Son, enlighten my intellect with Your eternal wisdom, give me the knowledge of Your supreme truth and of my wretchedness.

“O Holy Spirit, Love of the Father and the Son, by Your incomprehensible goodness, draw my will to Yourself and inflame it with the fire of Your charity which can never be extinguished.

“O my Lord and my God, O my beginning and my end, O sovereignly simple, calm, and lovable Essence! O abyss of sweetness and delights, O my amiable light, supreme happiness of my soul, ocean of ineffable joy, perfect plenitude of all good things, my God and my All, what is lacking to me when I possess You? You are my one, immutable treasure. I do not have to seek or desire anything outside of You. You alone do I seek and desire. Lord, draw me to You. I knock, O Lord: open to me. Open to a little orphan who implores You. Plunge me into the abyss of Your divinity. Grant that I may be one spirit with You, so that I may possess Your delights within me” (St. Albert the Great).

“O holy Father, by that love with which You cast on me a reflection of the light of Your countenance, give me grace to advance in You by holiness and virtue.

“O my Lord Jesus Christ, by the love which induced You to redeem me with Your Blood, clothe me with the purity of Your most holy life.

“O divine Paraclete! You, whose power equals Your holiness, by the love which made You bind me to Yourself, grant me the grace to love You with my whole heart, to adhere to You with my whole soul, and to use all my strength to love and serve You, so that I may live according to Your inspirations ” (St. Gertrude).