Of Fervour in Meditation

Article III

Of the obstacles to meditation and the means of making it with fruit

Mental prayer or meditation is, in the opinion of the Fathers, one of the surest and most efficacious means of making rapid progress in perfection. How astonishing is it, therefore, to see so many Christians meditate daily on the holy truths of the Gospel without fruit and almost without any advancement in sanctity? Many have renounced the world and retired into asylums of piety, and nevertheless they continue slaves to the same vices. The secret is easy of solution: they do not meditate well; behold why it is that they do not improve. To remedy this evil, let us study the chief obstacles to meditation and the best means of making it with fruit.

1. The obstacles to meditation

The first is the defect of preparation. We fall into this fault:

1st. When, instead of anticipating what should form p. 139the subject of our meditation, we commence it abruptly, alighting indiscriminately on the first subject that presents itself, without having made choice of the truth we should consider, and without proposing to ourselves any end to be attained or any fruit to be derived therefrom.

2nd. When we do not select by preference a subject that is practicable and suited to our state.

3rd. When, in preparing our subject, we glance over it confusedly, instead of dividing it into points, which would facilitate it and, at the same time, render it more profitable.

‘Before prayer,’ says the Holy Ghost, ‘prepare thy soul, and be not as a man that tempteth God.’⁷³73Eccli. xviii. 23. Such should be your conduct, and yet you presume, dust and ashes as you are, to despise this divine admonition. When you desire to speak to one of the great ones of the earth, you not only study what you have to say to him, but even your very expressions; and when you wish to converse with the omnipotent God, ‘whose throne is on the Cherubim,’⁷⁴741 Kings iv. 4. you audaciously penetrate, without the least preparation, into the interior of the palace in which He resides. There are peoples of Asia who, before being admitted to an audience with the sovereign, are obliged to study the ceremonial of the reception for a whole year; and we, to treat of the most important affair with the King of kings, the Lord of lords, intrude ourselves into His presence without any preparation, our eyes still weighed down with sleep; and with a freedom which we would not presume to be guilty of in the presence of one of our fellow-creatures, we yawn, stretch upon a chair or form, as though overcome by weariness. Is not such behaviour a species of p. 140contempt towards Him before whom the Thrones and Powers prostrate themselves in reverent awe, and whose adorable face not even the burning Cherubim dare to contemplate?

The preparation for meditation consists: 1, in reading the subject of the meditation on the preceding evening; 2, in recalling it for a moment before going to sleep; 3, in revolving it in the mind in the morning, as soon as we awake.

In the evening, when reading the subject of the meditation, we must foresee: 1, the truth on which we propose to meditate; 2, the fruit to be derived therefrom; 3, the affections we should elicit; 4, the pious thought we are to select for a spiritual bouquet, and which will serve to maintain our fervour during the day. It is especially at night when retiring to rest, in the morning on awaking, before and after meals, and finally in our visits to the Blessed Sacrament, that we should recall the spiritual bouquet.

Let us examine our conscience: how have we fulfilled these conditions up to this? How do we purpose to observe them henceforward? ‘God,’ says St. Bernard, ‘will come to you according to the preparation you will have made for His reception.’

The second obstacle is to spend too much time in the operations of the mind.

Some prepare the meditation well, but during the prayer itself they attach themselves exclusively to the considerations; they wish to study the truth they meditate under every aspect, and nearly the whole hour has elapsed before they have elicited the acts of virtue proper to confirm them in the good resolutions which they should make.

This fault, as prejudicial as it is frequent, is directly at variance with the principal end of meditation; it diminishes and injures its efficacy, deprives us of several degrees of grace and glory, which we might have obtained by the vivacity and fervour of our affections. Let us, therefore, always devote more time to the affections than to the considerations, to the exercise of the will than to that of the understanding, if we would not reduce our meditation to a mere study. Let us avoid that species of spiritual avarice which would cause us to fathom and exhaust the truth proposed to us, to discover all its bearings; but, when we have found in one of its points the fruit we desire, when we recognise in a good thought the attraction of the Holy Spirit, we must pause, cease our reasoning, and yield up our heart to the divine guidance. At the close of the meditation we may read the remainder of the subject.

Those whose better-trained and more acute mind enables them at once to seize and comprehend the whole sense of the subject they have chosen, should not delay on the consideration, but pass on to the exercise of the will, and abandon themselves to the holy affections which have impressed them most. Should the will begin to relax and languor commence to manifest itself, the consideration and reasoning must be resumed, in order thence to derive new light and strength.

Let us enter into ourselves, and see with what care and attention we have observed these rules; ‘for,’ says Eusebius Emissemus, ‘in proportion to your assiduity in the things of God shall be the graces which He will bestow upon you.’

The third obstacle to meditation is our carelessness in appropriating and applying the subject, affections, and resolutions of it to the present wants of our soul. Some there are who during meditation forget themselves to think of others, who form grand projects of going into idolatrous nations, sacrificing their lives for Jesus Christ, converting and baptising infidels, leading sinners to repentance, and who, meantime, suffer their rebellious passions to reign uncurbed in their hearts. Oh, what an illusion of self-love! We forget that it is to the infirmity by which our soul is attacked that we should apply the remedy.

Others, during meditation, circumvented and urged on by the devil, beat the air, so to speak: there is no knowing how many good works they propose to themselves to accomplish in the future, while they foolishly allow the disease under which their soul actually labours to increase. Fools! it is the present evil which it is necessary to cure: abandon to the future the care of remedying evils which do not yet exist.

Finally, there are some who apply themselves to the exterior embellishment of their spiritual edifice, whilst the infernal serpent, without hindrance or molestation, devastates the interior of it by the fire of the passions. Blind that we are! we do not see that it is against the enemy that besieges and encompasses us most closely that we should combat most strenuously; that it is to our weakest member we should bring relief; that, in a word, it is for the wants of our own soul, for its actual and most pressing wants, that we should provide.

Have we acted thus? Have we made our meditation in a practical manner? Have we applied ourselves to the cure of our most dangerous spiritual infirmity? Have we not confined ourselves to sterile resolutions, good at best to be executed at some distant date? Have p. 142we not wished to apply the remedy to the evil which was lightest? Let us hasten to correct the defects discovered to us by this examen.

The fourth and last obstacle is to neglect to make resolutions, or to select such as are destitute of the requisite conditions. Of all the infernal machinations against the success of meditation this is indubitably the most insidious, since it ruins its very foundation. A meditation without a resolution is a body without a soul, a tree without fruit, a ring despoiled of its gem; and a resolution devoid of the requisite conditions is a light without heat, an ephemeral flame, a deceitful meteor, which dazzles for a moment, then vanishes for ever from our sight. Let us, then, never neglect to make a resolution accompanied by the conditions necessary to insure its accomplishment.

First condition.—Our resolution should not be vague, general, or extended to many objects; it should be simple, concentrated, and definite. Let us not propose several different things to ourselves at the same time; on the contrary, we should limit ourselves to one or, at most, to two points, resolving to avoid or to do such or such a thing. Let us foresee the choice of the means, the circumstances of the time, of the place, and of the manner, and determine within ourselves where, when, and how we will reduce our good resolution to practice.

Second condition.—Our resolution must be such that it can be accomplished that very day, or at least with the briefest delay possible. The principal fruit of meditation is to sanctify each day that is given us, by “making us live in the world piously” towards God, “justly” towards our neighbour, and “soberly”⁷⁵75Tit. ii. 12. towards ourselves; but resolutions formed with reference to a distant future p. 143are powerless against our passions and are scoffed at by hell.

Third condition.—This we have already indicated in explaining the third obstacle to meditation; however, it is so important that it will not be useless to recommend it once more. Our resolution, then, must apply a remedy to our principal defect, it must tend to correct our capital vice and to acquire the virtue in which we perceive ourselves to be most deficient.

But, “as we advance in perfection only in proportion to the strength of our resolutions,”⁷⁶76Imit. b. i. ch. 19. and as the amendment of our whole life depends in a great measure on our fidelity in keeping them, we must have recourse to efficacious means to ensure their execution.

1. When we wish to make our resolution, let us place ourselves in spirit before the throne of the Divine Majesty, and in presence of the whole court of heaven; let us represent to ourselves that the angels hear and applaud our promises; let us consecrate to the Blessed Trinity the action which we propose to perform or to avoid, specifying it by name; let us offer it with the prayers of the saints “on the golden altar which is before the throne of God.”⁷⁷77Apoc. viii. 3.

2. Let us invoke our holy patrons and the saints honoured that day as witnesses, and beg of them to be the guarantees of our promises, consenting that they should become our accusers in the event of our being faithless to them.

3. Let us resign unreservedly to God our honour, health, life, the use of our senses, and the faculties of our soul, being satisfied that His justice should immediately avenge itself upon us should we be guilty of a relapse, and that it should punish us by sickness, the loss of our reputation, or whatever other punishment it pleases.

4. Let us seal our good resolutions with the blood of Jesus Christ, let us deposit them in the wound of His adorable Side, as in sacred archives, whence our angel guardian will withdraw them at the hour of death, to produce them against us, should we have been unfaithful to them.

5. Let us by a voluntary severity impose such or such a penance on ourselves, stipulating to perform it that very day in case we fail in the engagement we have just made.

Oh, how wonderfully rapid should be our progress in virtue were our meditations always accompanied by resolutions so firm and precise! Let us examine ourselves: how have we followed these wise counsels up to this? how do we desire to practise them in future? Let us not be of the number of those who determine to be on their guard, and who, an hour afterwards, act as though they had formed no resolution.⁷⁸78Imit. b. i. ch. 22.

Like an accursed “cloud which we have ourselves set before us,” these four obstacles hinder “our prayer from passing through to heaven” and ascending to God. Like a thick and dark fog they obscure the celestial light, obstruct the heat of the Sun of Justice, and mar the growth of virtues in our soul. It is, therefore, of vital importance that we dissipate these clouds, and make the utmost efforts to resuscitate our fervour.

2. Means of profiting by meditation

Let us now come to the means which may assist us to meditate with fruit.

First means.—It consists in a prudent and invariable use of the preludes. The imagination, always volatile and untractable, goes and returns from one end of the world to the other, attaching itself to the most incongruous objects the moment we cease to curb it by a watchful vigilance; hence to restrain its restless activity, it is imperative on us to attach it to the object of the meditation by some definite ideas, to which we are to lead it back every time it begins to wander. This guard over the imagination allows the soul more facility for comprehending all the parts of the subject on which it meditates, and of drawing more solid and fervent affections from it.

There are generally three preludes.

The first is a general but rapid view of the subject of the meditation, that is to say, of the Christian truth or mystery on which we propose to meditate.

The second is a representation formed by the mind of the place and circumstances in which such a mystery has been accomplished or such a truth revealed.

The third consists in asking the fruit which we desire to reap from the present meditation.

These preludes should—1, be short, otherwise they would not differ from the meditation itself: two minutes at most suffice; 2, they should be expressive, depicting to us, as in a picture, all the circumstances of the mystery we meditate. The more vivid the representation, the less shall our soul be distracted, and the less liable to occupy itself with foreign thoughts.

However, persons whose imagination is somewhat slow should avoid fatiguing the head by seeking thus to portray to themselves the sensible circumstances of the mystery, as for instance the composition of the place p. 145where it was wrought, since this first effort, already painful to the mind, would impair the remainder of the meditation. Those even who find the method of preludes too difficult need not follow it. They may supply it by an act of faith in the presence of God, and by begging His grace to profit by their meditation.

Second means.—It consists in properly directing the exercise of the understanding, that is, to know how to consider and fathom the proposed truth, appropriate it to the state of our soul, and finally, to draw thence practical conclusions conformable to our actual wants. Many, owing to their ignorance of this method, find the exercise of the understanding painful, useless, and even disheartening, and superior to their strength; but in this they deceive themselves.

In reality, is it so difficult to apply one’s self seriously to the comprehension of a truth of religion, when it has already been prepared on the previous evening, and afterwards to examine our conscience, in order to see if our life corresponds with our faith, in other words, whether we really live as we believe we are bound to do?

Having done this, is such great heroism required to form a particular resolution, to promise to do such or such a thing at such a time and in such a place? Once again, shall we allege the impossibility of these considerations and of this resolution, when we would not fail to recur to the same expedients in temporal matters?

How persuade ourselves that we are incapable of effecting what is daily done by the agriculturist. From this proposition, to him quite certain, “Unless I cultivate the ground it will not yield me food,” he wisely concludes, “I must take care to till my fields;” then descending to details, he determines the time for the tillage, the seed-sowing p. 146and other labours. What! this simple reasoning made by a poor husbandman to insure a good harvest, we are unable to make in order to reap the fruits of virtue!

But to divest our negligence of all excuse the following are different means of applying ourselves to the exercise of the understanding:—

1. We may excite the attention of our mind and render the objects in some manner present, by asking ourselves, for instance, what ought I to believe or know on the subject I am meditating? what am I bound to do by the practical truth that results from it? have I done it up to this? what shall I do in future? How, where, when, by what means shall I do it?

2. We shall likewise find abundant matter for consideration in studying the causes, the end, the effects, and the circumstances of the proposed mystery or truth; in reflecting on the facility, the joy, the justice, the advantage, the necessity, and even the honour of keeping the resolution we have taken; in weighing the loss or gain we may expect from it, according as we shall be faithful or not in its fulfilment.

3. It will be easy for us then to continue the exercise of the understanding as long as we shall require it, by proposing to ourselves the following or other similar questions: what advice would I give a friend on this matter? what do the many favours with which God has loaded me, and even my own interest, demand of me in this conjuncture, since if I do what is right I shall increase my merits, I shall acquire a title to a greater recompense in heaven? At the hour of death, at the moment of judgment, on my entrance into eternity, what resolution shall I desire to have taken? By these means, of which habit will constantly facilitate the practice, we shall learn how to perform the exercise of the understanding without difficulty and even to continue it without aridity.

Let us remark, however: 1, that we must observe a certain limit in the exercise of the understanding, and that if we should not allow the mind to languish so as to lapse into tepidity, so, on the other hand, we should avoid all over-straining of it as extremely prejudicial. Our consideration should be calm, but not inert; tranquil, yet energetic and fervent.

2. That we must confine ourselves to one subject, and not undertake the consideration of several at a time: let us confine ourselves to one without pre-occupying ourselves with any other. One large diamond is of more value than several gems of an inferior description. Let us shun all subtlety, curiosity, and vain knowledge. All must be practical, solid, useful, directly tending to strengthen us in the resolution we proposed to ourselves in the preparation of the preceding evening.

3. That we must not prolong the exercise of the understanding too far. This defect usually destroys the whole fruit of the meditation. Those who have a cultivated mind and rich imagination often allow themselves to be seduced by the charms of novelty, and indulge at too great length the conceptions of their genius. It is not right, doubtless, to precipitate the consideration, take a mere cursory glance at the proposed dogma, and hastily relinquish it to pass with equal inattention from that to another; but neither must we dwell unrestrictedly on this part of the meditation, nor, as it were, anatomise the subject to its minutest fibres, as though fearing to lose the least particle of the substance it contains. We should rather so regulate the time of our meditation that the greater portion of it be consecrated to the affections. It is chiefly in this last point that the difficulty of the practice of meditation consists, consequently it is very important to remove the obstacles it presents.

Third means.—We should have a good method, which would teach us how to elicit acts of the different virtues. It would be well to select models of these acts from safe and esteemed works.⁷⁹79(Note of French translator.) The author recommends “Easy Way to God,” by Cardinal Bona; “The Treasury of the Affections of the Heart,” by Blasius Pasina; the Spiritual Works of Avancin, Crasset, Horstius-Merlo; and finally his work, entitled “Christianus Pie Moriens.” As it is easy to appropriate, and even perfect the labour of others, by the aid of those guides, and by adapting their method to our wants, we could easily overcome our difficulties. But should we not possess such works, let us ourselves make a selection from such good and holy thoughts as the Holy Ghost shall inspire us with, or as we shall glean from our spiritual lectures; let us commit them to a note-book, that we may use them during the time of meditation. In the following number we will indicate, in a short analysis, the Acts most appropriate to be elicited during the meditation and the order to be observed in them.

The following are some models of these acts collected from the “Christianus Pie Moriens,” and drawn from the Psalms:

Act of Faith

Thy testimonies are true (Ps. xcii. 7); Thou alone art God (lxxxv. 9); Thou wilt render to every one according to his works (li. 11); Thou art God, my Saviour (xxiv. 5).

Act of Adoration

Come, let us adore and fall down and weep before the Lord that made us; for the Lord is the great God and the p. 148great King above all gods; He is the Lord our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand (Ps. xciv. 6, 3, 7); Adore Him, all you His Angels (xcvi. 8); Let all the earth adore Thee and sing to Thee (lxv. 4).

Act of Hope

Lord, my God, in thee have I hoped (Ps. vii. 1); Thou art my protector and my refuge; my God, in Thee will I trust (xc. 2); Save Thy servant, O my God, that trusteth in Thee (lxxxv. 2); The Lord is faithful in all His words, the Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him in truth. He will do the will of them that fear Him, and will hear their prayer and save them (cxliv. 14, 19, and 20).

Act of Charity

I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength (Ps. xvii. 1); I have loved Thy Commandments above gold and topaz, they are good to me above thousands of gold and silver (cxviii. 127 and 72); Bless the Lord, O my soul: and let all that is within me bless His holy name (cii.).

Act of Fear

Lord, rebuke me not in Thy indignation, nor chastise me in Thy wrath (Ps. vi. 1); Enter not into judgment with Thy servant, for in Thy sight no man living shall be justified (cxlii. 2); Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy face? If I ascend into heaven, Thou art there; if I descend into hell, Thou art present (cxxxviii. 7 and 8).

Act of Sorrow

Lord, be Thou merciful to me, for I have sinned against Thee (Ps. xl. 5); My eyes have sent forth springs of water: because they have not kept Thy law (cxviii. p. 149136); Remember not the sins of my youth and of my ignorances (xxiv. 7); Remember, O Lord, Thy bowels of compassion and Thy mercies, and forgive me all my sins. For Thy name sake, O Lord, Thou wilt pardon my sin (xxiv. 6, 18, 11.)

Act of Resolution of Amendment

I have sworn, and am determined to keep the judgments of Thy justice. I will search Thy law; and I will keep it with my whole heart. I will think of Thy justifications, I will meditate on Thy commandments; because they are justice and Thy law is truth. Deal with Thy servant according to Thy mercy, and teach me Thy justifications. I shall always keep Thy law, for ever and ever (Ps. cxviii., cvi., xxxiv., xvi., xv., clxxii., cxlii., cxxiv., and xliv.); If I forget Thee, Lord, let my right hand be forgotten; let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember Thee (cxxxvi. 6 and 7).

Act of Humility

Lord, what is man that Thou art made known to him? or the son of man, that Thou makest account of him? (Ps. cxliii. 3); Thy eyes did see my imperfect being (cxxxviii. 16); I am needy and poor (lxxxv. 1); I have chosen to be an abject in the house of my God (lxxxiii. 11); I am a worm and no man: the reproach of men and the outcast of the people (xxi. 7); Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Thy name give glory (cxiii. 9).

Act of Patience

My heart is ready, O my God! My heart is ready (Ps. cvii. 1); Forsake me not, O Lord my God; do not Thou depart from me. Attend unto my help, O Lord, the God of my salvation (xxxvii. 22 and 23); I was made a reproach to the fool; I was dumb, and I opened not my mouth, because it was Thou hadst done it (xxxviii. 9, 12 and 13).

Act of Resignation

Thou art my aid and my deliverance (Ps. xxxix. 24); I said my lots are in Thy hands (xxx. 15); Thou art my God (lv. 10); I am Thy servant (cxv. 6); Teach me to do Thy will (cxlii. 11); I shall be protected under the covert of Thy wings; for Thou hast been my hope; a tower of strength against the face of the enemy (lx. 5, 4); The Lord is my helper (xxxix. 19).

Act of Thanksgiving

I will praise Thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify Thy name for ever: for Thy mercy is great towards me (Ps. lxxxv. 12, 13); Thou hast formed me and hast laid Thy hand upon me (cxxxviii. 5); Thou hast brought me forth from hell: Thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit (xxix. 3); Thou hast delivered my soul from death, my feet from falling (lv. 13); Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all He hath done for thee (cii. 2).

Act of Confidence

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is 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 (Ps. xxvi. 1, 2, 3); The Lord is my helper: I will not fear what man can do unto me (cxvii. 6); The Lord is my helper and protector: in Him hath my heart confided, and I have been helped (xxvii. 7); It is Thou, Lord, who hast settled me in hope (iv. 10).

Act of Desire of Heaven

I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: we shall go into the house of the Lord (Ps. cxxi. 1); My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord (lxxxiii. 3); As the hart panteth after the fountains of waters, so my heart panteth after Thee, O my God! my soul hath thirsted after the strong living God. When shall I come and appear before the face of God? (xli. 1 and 2); For Thee my soul hath thirsted to see Thy power and Thy glory (lvii. 2 and 3).

The following advice, if observed, will enable us to derive much benefit from this third part of the meditation.

1. Let us direct all our affections to this one end, the confirming ourselves in the resolution we have just taken.

2. As soon as fervour begins to abate in the exercise of the will, let us gently resume that of the understanding so as to reanimate our resolutions by new motives, or even by a reconsideration of those already meditated.

3. Let us rise superior to the too ordinary fear of being unable to maintain the fervour of the affections to the end of the meditation; for should the soul experience any enfeeblement, it may repair its strength by resuming the consideration.

4. Should one affection suffice for a considerable time, we must not feel disturbed even though the end of the meditation should arrive before we have been able to produce any other, for a single sentiment of fervour in a soul that loves avails more than all the movements of a heart that is tepid. The best thing for us to do, therefore, is to abandon ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and to rest calmly on the affection for which His grace has given us most attraction.

Fourth and last means.—We must end our meditation by a short examen in order to recognise the faults committed therein, and to render to ourselves an account of the fruit we have drawn from it. So important is this examen that the masters of the spiritual life advise us to encroach on the hour of meditation, if unable to get any other time, rather than omit it.

Mental prayer, like a resplendent sun, diffuses into the mind a divine light and inflames the heart with the fire of charity; but this luminary itself has its eclipses and sometimes exhibits dark spots. We must observe by means of the examen the cause of the dimness of its light, in order to dissipate the shadow which threatens to overspread its entire disc and veil it from our view. Before leaving meditation let us carefully endeavour to discover the faults which we may have committed, and renew the firm resolution to avoid them in the ensuing meditation.

3. The method to be observed to produce affections in meditation

We have already stated that our soul should affectionately tend and lovingly attach itself to the truth which has been manifested to it in the exercise of the understanding, that it should especially form the generous resolution of conforming its conduct thereto; but unless we possess a method to facilitate the practice of all these acts, it will be almost impossible for our will to perform them beneficially. I have deemed it expedient, therefore, to explain at the end of this chapter the suitable order and method to be observed in producing the affections after the consideration.

1. When we have meditated and understood what we should avoid or do, when, by a lively faith, we have realised to ourselves the proposed truth, we must humble ourselves profoundly in presence of the Divine Majesty, and express to Him our bitter regret for the faults of which we acknowledge ourselves guilty and for the duties we have neglected.

Our first affection, therefore, should be one of confidence and sorrow. Overwhelmed at the view of our wretchedness, we should humble ourselves beneath all creatures, and with sentiments of the deepest compunction implore pardon of God. This sorrow must necessarily produce in us a determined will to accomplish henceforward the good we have omitted, and to avoid the evil which we have done. But that our good resolutions be efficacious, persevering and calculated to confirm us in virtue they must be accompanied with the conditions⁸⁰80No. 1 of this Art. and sustained by the means⁸¹81No. 2 of same Art. already specified. It is also an excellent practice to repeat and in some way reiterate in presence of God, the chief motives by which His grace has determined us in the choice of our resolution.

2. Once confirmed in the good resolution we have just formed let us make an act of self-diffidence, of fear for our inconstancy in good, a frank avowal of our weakness, instability, and impotence: let us acknowledge that left to ourselves and deprived of grace, we could not fail to be faithless to our promises.

Let us implore the divine grace to come to our assistance and let us dispose ourselves for its reception by an act of firm hope that God’s protection will not be wanting to us for its accomplishment. To obtain it, let us ask it—1, of the Father in the name of Jesus Christ; 2, of the Son our Saviour, by His mercy, His wounds, and His death; 3, of the Holy Ghost by His love; 4, of the Blessed Virgin, our patron saints, and those whom the Church particularly honours on that day, conjuring them to unite their supplications to ours to obtain for us from the adorable Trinity the help necessary to keep the resolution we have taken.

Let us present ourselves as mendicants before the throne of Mercy, exposing to God our frailty, poverty, and misery, laying open to Him the wounds inflicted on our soul by sin; in fine, let us manifest to Him the excess of our indigence with that eloquence which want inspires. True, neither the Almighty nor the saints will experience that sensible compassion for our evils which is incompatible with eternal felicity: but our confidence, and, above all, our humility will be pleasing to them, and this vivid delineation of the miseries of our soul will impress on ourselves the necessity of a courageous watchfulness in the fulfilment of the engagements we have just entered into.

3. From this firm hope of the divine assistance naturally proceed affections of burning love for God; 1, We give this Sovereign Master an absolute preference by adjudging our love for Him the precedence over the pleasure or repugnance we experience in executing or omitting the thing to which our resolution refers; 2, We rejoice at the incomprehensible glory which the Almighty possesses in Himself, being He Who Is, and in the exterior glory which redounds to Him from the praise, honour, and adoration of the saints in heaven and of the just on earth, who cease not to proclaim His ineffable goodness; and in fine, in the glory which the fulfilment of our promise will procure for Him; 3, We excite ourselves to sorrow for having loved the infinite Beauty so late and so coldly, and having even repeatedly offended Him by our negligences in meditation; 4, We declare our determination to prove our love henceforward at least by fidelity in observing our present resolution; 5, We invite all the saints to love this great God, and we offer Him the burning love of the Seraphim to supply for our tepidity.

Fourthly.—These aspirations of love terminate in an intimate union of our heart with the heavenly Spouse, and, if I may dare so to speak, in a transformation into Him, an identification which is wrought by the divine use which we make of our senses and the faculties of the soul. We ascend by three steps to this ineffable union: 1, by banishing from our mind all worldly ideas—in order to give admittance only to eternal truths and a constant attention to the presence of God; 2, by eradicating every erroneous opinion from our mind, and by curing our will of its irregular desires, so that our mind esteem and despise, and our will love or hate only what the saints esteem or contemn, love or hate; 3, in turning away our senses from every inordinate affection, so that they neither touch, taste, hear, feel, nor see the beauty, the attraction, the sweetness, and the perfection of creatures, save in referring them to the One only “beloved chosen out of thousands,”⁸²82Cant. v. 10. and that their ardent desire to find Him in all things be such that we may truthfully exclaim with St. Paul, “I live, but now not I, it is Jesus Christ who lives, thinks, loves, feels, tastes, sees, and speaks to me.”⁸³83Gal. ii. 20.

Fifthly.—This intimate union with the heavenly Spouse produces in its turn a delightful familiarity between His Heart and ours. We speak to Him now as to our Father, our Friend, our Brother; now as to our Physician, our Judge, our Master. We ask of Him the help and consolation of which we stand in need; we expose to Him our temptations and our miseries, we consult Him in our doubts, and treat with Him concerning the affair of our salvation; in a word, we enjoy with filial respect all the sweetness of His conversation and society. Let us beware, however, of monopolising all the talk to ourselves; we must be careful to allow God to speak to us, and listen with attention and docility to His words, His threats, and His admonitions.

We should even frequently conjure Him to make known His will to us, saying with Samuel: “Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth.”⁸⁴841 Kings iii. 10. O God of my heart, what is it that displeaseth Thee in me? what defect, what sinful affection, what vice saddens Thee most? what wouldst Thou have me begin from this very moment to avoid or to do? Of what created object, of what inclination dost Thou demand the sacrifice? Then suspending for a moment the three faculties of the soul, let us listen with profound humility, in silence and peace, to the divine reply which will make itself interiorly audible to our heart. Let us have confidence: the Eternal Word will often deign to impart to us admirable secrets.

Should there be any particular business regarding ourselves or our neighbour about which we are perplexed and undecided, this is the moment in which to consult God in order to learn His will before acting. Should we have time, we may add to these affections acts of patience, conformity to the divine will, obedience, p. 154thanksgiving, and others of a similar nature conformable to the subject of the meditation and proper to confirm us in the resolution with which grace has inspired us. Let us steadfastly adhere to this method which teaches us the order and the manner to be observed in eliciting the affections; let us constantly make use of the directions for making meditation given in this article, and in a short time we shall have mastered this divine art which is not merely useful, but even necessary for our sanctification and the shortest and safest road to perfection.

“Meditation,” says St. Denis, “is the table prepared by Divine Wisdom in the house which He has built, and whereon He has placed bread and wine, the bread of life and understanding, of everlasting and solid truths; the wine of holy desires and affections of joy and gladness in the Holy Ghost.”⁸⁵85On Epis. to Titus. Let us therefore listen with avidity and gratitude to this adorable Wisdom, inviting us to His table in these words of Solomon: “Come, eat my bread and drink the wine which I have mingled for you. Forsake childishness, and walk by the ways of prudence.”⁸⁶86Prov. ix. 5, 6. Let us study them: in them we shall acquire true knowledge, we shall learn to overcome the obstacles found in the practice of meditation and to employ with fruit the means for making it well.