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

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Tuesday – Fourth Week after Pentecost

Morning Mediation

VII.–HOW TO CONVERSE CONTINUALLY AND FAMILIARLY WITH GOD

To long but little for Heaven is to set small value on the great good of the eternal Kingdom our Redeemer purchased for us by His death. St. Teresa so greatly desired death in order to see God, that she was dying with the desire to die, and so composed that loving Canticle of hers: I die because I do not die.


I.

It is said that in Purgatory those souls who in this life have had but little longing for Heaven are punished with a particular suffering, called the pain of languor; and with reason; because to long but little for Heaven is to set small value on the great good of the eternal Kingdom our Redeemer purchased for us by His death. Forget not, therefore, devout soul, frequently to sigh after Heaven. Say to your God that it seems to you an endless time till you go and see Him, and love Him face to face. Long ardently to depart out of this banishment, this scene of sinning, and danger of losing His grace, that you may arrive in that land of love where you may love Him with all your powers. Say to Him again and again: Lord, so long as I live on this earth, I am always in danger of forsaking Thee and losing Thy love. When will it be that I quit this life, wherein I am ever offending Thee, and come to love Thee with all my soul, and unite myself to Thee, with no danger of losing Thee again? Saint Teresa was ever sighing in this way, and used to rejoice when she heard the clock strike, because another hour of life, and of the danger of losing God, was past and gone. For she so greatly desired death in order to see God that she was dying with the desire to die; and so she composed that loving Canticle of hers, I die, because I do not die.


II.

In a word, if you desire to delight the loving Heart of your God, be careful to speak to Him as often as you are able, and with fullest confidence that He will not disdain to answer and speak with you in return. He does not, indeed, make Himself heard in a voice that reaches your ears, but in a voice that your heart can well perceive, when you withdraw from converse with creatures, to occupy yourself in conversing with your God alone: I will lead her into the wilderness, and I will speak to her heart-(Osee ii. 14). He will then speak to you by such inspirations, such interior lights, such manifestations of His goodness, such sweet touches of your heart, such tokens of forgiveness, such experience of peace, such hopes of Heaven, such rejoicings within you, such sweetness of His grace, such loving and close embraces-in a word, such voices of love-as are well understood by those souls whom He loves, and who seek for nothing but God alone.

Spiritual Reading

CORAM SANCTISSIMO

TWENTY-SEVENTH VISIT

The holy Church sings in the Office of the Most Blessed Sacrament: There is no other country, however great, whose gods are nigh as our God is nigh to us -(Deut. iv. 7). When the Gentiles heard how far our God carried His works of love, they exclaimed: “Oh, how good a God is the God of the Christians! And, indeed, although the Gentiles imagined their gods according to their own caprices-yet, if you read history, you will never find in all their fables, and among the many gods they invented, that they went so far as even to imagine a god so enamoured of men as is our true God, Who, to show His love for His adorers, and to enrich them with graces, has worked such a prodigy of love as to become their constant Companion, and to remain night and day concealed on their altars, seeming as if He knew not how to separate Himself from them, even for a moment: He hath made a remembrance of his wonderful works-(Ps. cx. 4).

Thou, then, my most sweet Jesus, hast been pleased to work the greatest of Thy miracles in order to satisfy the excessive desire Thou hast to remain always near and present to us. Why, then, do men fly from Thy presence? And how can they live for so long a time at a distance from Thee, or visit Thee So seldom? How is it that when in Thy presence they get so weary that a quarter of an hour appears an age? Oh, patience of my Jesus, how great art thou! Yes, my Lord, I understand Thee; Thy patience is great, because the love Thou bearest to men is great: and this it is which, so to say, forces Thee to dwell always in the midst of such ungrateful creatures.

Ah, my God, Who, because Thou art infinite in perfections art also infinite in love, permit not that I should for the future be, as I have hitherto been, of the number of those ungrateful ones. Grant me a love equal to Thy merits and to my own obligations. At one time I also was weary of Thy presence, either because I loved Thee not, or because I loved Thee too little; but if by Thy grace I am enabled to love Thee much, I shall no longer find it tedious to remain even for whole days and nights at Thy feet in the Most Holy Sacrament. O Eternal Father, I offer Thee Thine own Son Himself; accept Him for me, and through His merits give me so ardent and tender a love towards the Most Blessed Sacrament that, constantly turning towards some church in which Jesus dwells, I may think of, and desire with loving anxiety, the time when I may be able to go and entertain myself in His presence.

Ejac. My God, for the love of Jesus, give me a great love for the Most Blessed Sacrament.


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

Mary is that Tower of David, of which the Holy Ghost says in the sacred Canticles: It is built with bulwarks; a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armour of valiant men-(Cant. iv. 4). A tower built with a thousand fortresses, and containing a thousand shields and weapons, for the benefit of those who have recourse to it. Thou art, then, according to an expression of St. Ignatius the Martyr, O most holy Mary, a most powerful defence for all those who are engaged in battle. Oh, how constantly are my enemies attacking me in order to deprive me of the grace of God and of thy protection, my most dear Lady! But thou art my strength. Thou, indeed, dost not disdain to battle for those who trust in thee; for St. Ephrem calls thee “the bulwark of all who confide in thee.” Do thou, then, defend me and fight for me who have such great hope and confidence in thee.

Ejac. Mary, Mary, thy name is my defense!


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

XL.-HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST WISHES WHAT JESUS CHRIST WISHES

I.

Many fabricate a sort of sanctity according to their own inclinations; some, inclined to melancholy, make sanctity consist in living in seclusion; others, of a busy temperament, in preaching and in making up quarrels; some, of an austere nature, make sanctity consist in penitential inflictions and macerations; others, who are naturally generous, in distributing alms; some in saying many vocal prayers; others in visiting Sanctuaries; and all their sanctity consists in such or the like practices. External acts are the fruit of the love of Jesus Christ; and true love itself consists in a complete conformity to the will of God; and as a consequence of this, in denying ourselves and preferring what is most pleasing to God, and solely because He deserves it.


II.

Others wish to serve God, but it must be in that employment, in that place, with those companions, and in such circumstances; or else they either neglect their duty, or at least do it with a bad grace: such as these are not free in spirit, but are slaves of self-love, and on that account reap little merit even from what they perform; moreover, they live in perpetual disquiet, since their attachment to self-will makes the yoke of Jesus Christ become heavy to them. The true lovers of Jesus Christ love only that which is pleasing to Jesus Christ, and for the sole reason that it does please Him; and they love it when it pleases Jesus Christ, where it pleases Him, and how it pleases Him; whether He chooses to employ them in honourable functions, or in the mean and lowly occupations; in a life of fame in the world, or in one hidden and despised. This is what is meant by the pure love of Jesus Christ; hence we must labour to overcome the cravings of our self-love, which seeks to be employed in those works only that are glorious, or that are according to our own inclinations. And what will it profit us to be the most honoured, the most wealthy, the greatest in the world, without the will of God? The Blessed Henry Suso said, “I would rather be the vilest insect on earth by the will of God than a Seraph in Heaven by my own will.”