St. Alphonsus Liguori: Daily Meditations for Third Week after Pentecost

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Friday – Third Week after Pentecost

Morning Meditation

III.-HOW TO CONVERSE CONTINUALLY AND FAMILIARLY WITH GOD.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is sweet! Our God dwelleth in the heights of Heaven, and yet He disdains not to occupy Himself day and night with His faithful servants in their cottages or their cells. There He bestows on them His Divine consolations which surpass all the delights the world can give. Never, then, forget God’s sweet presence.


I.

By reason of His immensity, our God is in every place; but there are two places above all where He has His own peculiar dwelling. One is the highest Heaven, where He is present by that glory which He communicates to the Blessed; the other is upon earth, within the humble soul that loves Him: Who dwelleth with a contrite and humble spirit-(Is. lvii. 15). He, then, our God, dwelleth in the heights of Heaven; and yet He disdains not to occupy Himself day and night with His faithful servants in their cottages or their cells. And there He bestows on them His divine consolations, each one of which surpasses all the delights the world can give, and which he only does not desire who has no experience of them: Oh, taste and see that the Lord is sweet-(Ps. xxxiii. 9).

Friends in this world have hours in which they converse together, and other times during which they are apart; but between God and you, if you wish, there shall never be one hour of separation: Thou shalt rest, and thy sleep shall be sweet .. . the Lord will be at thy side -(Prov. iii. 24). You may sleep, and God will place Himself at your side, and watch with you continually: I will repose myself with him, and he shall be a comfort in my cares and grief-(Wis. viii. 9-16). When you take your rest the Lord departs not from your pillow; He continues thinking always of you, that when you wake in the night He may speak to you by His inspirations, and receive from you some act of love, of oblation, of thanksgiving; so as to keep up even in those hours His gracious and sweet converse with you. Sometimes also He will speak to you in your sleep, and cause you to hear His voice, that on waking you may put in practice what He has spoken: I will speak to him in a dream -(Num. xii. 6).

He is there also in the morning, to hear from you some word of affection, of confidence; to be the depository of your first thoughts, and of all the actions which you promise to perform that day to please Him; of all the griefs, too, which you offer to endure willingly for His glory and love. But as He fails not to present Himself to you at the moment of your waking, fail not you, on your part, to give Him immediately a look of love, and to rejoice when your God announces to you the glad tidings that He is not far from you, as once He was by reason of your sins; but that He loves you, and would be beloved by you: and at that same moment He gives you the gracious precept, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart-(Deut. vi. 5).


II.

Never, then, forget God’s sweet presence, as do the greater part of men. Speak to Him as often as you can; for He does not grow weary of this or disdain it, as do the lords of the earth. If you love Him, you will not be at a loss what to say to Him. Tell Him all that occurs to you about yourself and your affairs, as you would tell it to a dear friend. Look not upon Him as a haughty sovereign who will only converse with the great, and on great matters. He, our God, delights to abase Himself to converse with us, loves to have us communicate to Him our smallest daily concerns. He loves you as much, and has as much care for you, as if He had none others to think of but yourself. He is as entirely devoted to your interests as though the only end of His providence were to succour you, of His almighty power to aid you, of His mercy and goodness to take pity on you, to do you good, and gain by the delicate touches of His kindness your confidence and love. Manifest, then, to Him freely all your state of mind, and pray to Him to guide you to accomplish perfectly His holy will. And let all your desires and plans be simply bent to discover His good pleasure, and do what is agreeable to His divine Heart: Commit thy way to the Lord-(Ps. xxxvi. v.). And desire of him to direct thy ways, and that all thy counsels may abide in him-(Tob. iv. 20).

Say not: But where is the need of disclosing to God all my wants, if He already sees and knows them better than I? True, He knows them; but God makes as if He knew not the necessities about which you do not speak to Him, and for which you seek not His aid. Our Saviour knew well that Lazarus was dead, and yet He acted as if He knew it not, until Mary Magdalen had told Him of it, and then He comforted her by raising her brother to life again.

Spiritual Reading

CORAM SANCTISSIMO

TWENTY-THIRD VISIT

Many Christians submit to great fatigue, and expose themselves to many dangers, to visit the places in the Holy Land where our most loving Saviour was born, suffered and died. We need not undertake so long a journey, nor expose ourselves to so many dangers; the same Lord is near us, and dwells in the church, only a few steps distant from our homes. If pilgrims, says St. Paulinus, consider it a great thing to bring back a little dust from the Crib, or from the Holy Sepulchre in which Jesus was buried, with what ardour should we not visit the Blessed Sacrament, where the same Jesus is in person, and where we can go without encountering so much fatigue and so many dangers! A religious person, to whom God had given great love for the Most Blessed Sacrament, amongst other things wrote as follows in a letter: “I see that every good thing I have comes to me from the Most Blessed Sacrament. I have given and consecrated my whole self to Jesus in this Sacrament. I see innumerable graces which are not granted because people do not go to this divine Sacrament. I see the great desire that our Lord has to dispense His graces in this Sacrament. O holy Mystery! O Sacred Host! Where is it that God best displays His power, if it is not in this Host? For this Host contains all that God has ever done for us. Let us not envy the Blessed in Heaven, since on earth we have the same Lord, but with greater wonders of His love. Induce all with whom you speak to devote themselves to the Most Blessed Sacrament. I speak thus because this Sacrament enraptures my soul. Nor can I cease to speak of the Most Blessed Sacrament, which deserves so greatly to be loved. I know not what to do for Jesus in this Sacrament.” Thus the letter ends.

O ye Seraphim, who remain sweetly burning with love around your and my Lord, though it is not indeed for love of you, but of me, that this King of Heaven is pleased to be present in this Sacrament-O loving Angels, let me also burn with love; and do you enkindle your love in me that with you I also may burn! O my Jesus, teach me to know the greatness of the love Thou bearest to men, that at the sight of so great love my desire to love Thee and please Thee may go on always increasing! I love Thee, most amiable Lord, and I will always love Thee; and this only to please Thee.

Ejac. My Jesus, I believe in Thee, I hope in Thee, I love Thee, and I give myself to Thee!


AN ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION

My Jesus, I believe that Thou art truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love Thee above all things, and I desire to possess Thee within my soul. Since I am unable now to receive Thee sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace Thee as already there, and unite myself wholly to Thee; never permit me to be separated from Thee.


VISIT TO MARY

Most amiable Virgin, St. Bonaventure calls thee “the Mother of orphans”; and St. Ephrem, moreover, calls thee “the receiver of orphans.” Alas, these wretched orphans are no other than poor sinners who have lost God! Behold, then, I have recourse to thee, Most Holy Mary. I have lost my Father; but thou art my Mother, who must enable me to recover Him. In this my so great misfortune I call thee to my aid; do thou succour me. Shall I remain disconsolate? No; for Innocent III, speaking of thee, says: “Who ever called upon her and was not graciously heard by her?” And who ever prayed to thee, and was not heard and helped by thee? Who was ever lost who had recourse to thee? He alone is lost who has not recourse to thee. Then, my Queen, if thou desirest my salvation, enable me always to invoke and confide in thee.

Ejac. My own most Holy Mary, give me confidence in thee!


Concluding Prayer

Most holy Immaculate Virgin and my Mother Mary, to thee, who art the Mother of my Lord, and Queen of the world, the advocate, the hope, the refuge of sinners, I have recourse today I, who am the most miserable of all. I render thee my most humble homage, O great Queen, and I thank thee for all the graces thou hast conferred on me until now, particularly for having delivered me from hell, which I have so often deserved. I love thee, O most amiable Lady; and for the love which I bear thee, I promise to serve thee always, and to do all in my power to make others love thee also. I place in thee all my hopes; I confide my salvation to thy care. Accept me for thy servant, and receive me under thy mantle, O Mother of Mercy. And since thou art so powerful with God, deliver me from all temptations, or rather obtain for me the strength to triumph over them until death. Of thee I ask a perfect love of Jesus Christ. From thee I hope to die a good death.

O my Mother, for the love which thou bearest to God, I beseech thee to help me at all times, but especially at the last moment of my life. Leave me not, I beseech thee, until thou seest me safe in Heaven, blessing thee, and singing thy mercies for all eternity. Amen. So I hope. So may it be.

Evening Meditation

THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST

XXXVI.–HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST IS NEVER ANGRY WITH HIS NEIGHBOUR

I.

But there are moments when it seems absolutely necessary to check insolence with severe words. David said: Be angry, and sin not–(Ps. iv. 5). Occasions do exist, therefore, when we may be lawfully angry, provided it be without sin. But here is just the difficulty: speculatively speaking, it seems expedient at times to speak and reply to some people in terms of severity, in order to make an impression on them; but in practice it is very difficult to do this without some fault on our part; so that the sure way is always to admonish, or to reply, with gentleness, and to scrupulously guard against all resentment. St. Francis de Sales said: “I have never been angry without afterwards repenting of it.” And when, for some reason or other, we still feel angered, the safest way, as I said before, is to keep silence, and reserve the remonstrance till a more convenient moment, when the heart is cooled down.

We ought particularly to observe this meekness when we are corrected by our superiors or friends. St. Francis de Sales again writes: “To receive a reprimand willingly, shows that we love the virtue opposed to the fault for which we are corrected; and consequently this is a great sign of progress in perfection.”

Ah, my Jesus, grant that all my thoughts may be occupied in avoiding whatever may offend Thee, and in promoting whatever may contribute to Thy good pleasure. Ward off every occasion that may draw me from Thy love. I strip myself of my liberty, and consecrate it entirely to Thy good will. I love Thee, O Infinite Goodness! I love Thee, O my Delight! O Word Incarnate, I love Thee more than myself! Take pity on me, and heal whatever wounds remain in my poor soul from her past disloyalties towards Thee. I resign myself wholly into Thy arms, O my Jesus; I will be wholly Thine; I will suffer everything for love of Thee; and I ask of Thee nothing but Thyself! O Holy Virgin and my Mother Mary, I love thee, and I rely on thee; succour me by thy powerful intercession!


II.

We must besides practise meekness towards ourselves. It is a delusion of the devil to make us consider it a virtue to be angry with ourselves for committing some fault; far from it, it is a trick of the enemy to keep us in a state of trouble, that so we may be unfit for the performance of any good. St. Francis de Sales said: “Hold for certain that all such thoughts as create disquiet are not from God, Who is the Prince of peace, but proceed either from the devil, or from self-love, or from the good opinion we have of ourselves. These are the three sources from which all our troubles spring. When, therefore, any thoughts arise which throw us into trouble, we must immediately reject and despise them.”

Meekness is also more especially necessary when we have to correct others. Corrections made with a bitter zeal often do more harm than good, especially when he who must be corrected is himself excited; in such cases the correction should be put off, and we must wait until he is cool. And we ourselves ought no less to refrain from correcting while we are under the influence of ill-temper; for then our admonition will always be accompanied with harshness; and the person in fault, when he sees that he is corrected in such away, will take no heed of the admonition, considering it the mere effect of passion. This holds good as far as concerns the good of our neighbor; as concerns our personal advantage, let us show how dearly we love Jesus Christ, by patiently and gladly supporting every ill-treatment, injury, and contempt.

O my despised Jesus, O Love, O Joy of my soul, Thou hast by Thy example made contempt most acceptable to Thy lovers! I promise Thee, from this day forward, to submit to every affront for the love of Thee, Who for love of me didst submit on earth to every species of revilement from men. Do Thou grant me strength to keep this promise. Enable me to know and to perform whatever Thou desirest at my hands. My God and my All, I crave no other good than Thyself, Who art Infinite Good! O Thou Who takest my interests so much to heart, grant that my only care may be to gratify Thee!