Part II
Of the Principal Means of Attaining Solid Virtue
The chief obstacles to solid virtue being once removed, we must adopt the most efficient means of cultivating and consolidating it in our souls. Of these I shall mention six, which are: the perfection of our ordinary actions, mental prayer or daily meditation, interior recollection, frequent communion, the particular examen, and spiritual retreats. These holy practices are ‘the wings’ of the soul, by whose aid it rapidly ascends to the pinnacle of perfection.
The faithful accomplishment of our ordinary actions imparts perfection to our whole life. Meditation is the spiritual oil which feeds the flame of piety; recollection is the trusty guardian of fervour and good resolutions; and finally, the Blessed Eucharist is the fruitful source whence we may copiously draw the divine grace, which alone is capable of preserving in us the virtues we acquire by means of the particular examen and retreat. By these holy practices we can attain to the perfection of virtue; and as all this Second Part tends to excite us to observe them, it follows that it corresponds to the illuminative way.
