Form of meditation for uprooting a predominant vice, such as anger

Form of meditation for uprooting a predominant vice, such as anger, for instance.

The preparatory prayer as usual.

Prelude 1. Imagine yourself to be like unto the leper, and to say—"Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean;" or as the woman of Canaan, saying —"Lord, my daughter is grievously afflicted with a devil;" or to blind Bartimæas, saying—"Jesus, Master, have mercy on us."

Prelude 2. Ask light to know the remedy whereby we may overcome anger.

Point 1. Consider the turpitude of anger, how unseemly it is in a man, and especially in a Religious, and one, too, of the Society of Jesus, who is bound to labour for his own perfection and for the edification of his neighbour. How displeasing it is to God, to those who live with us, to those who are without. How much injury it has done to me and to others, and how much it has hindered my progress in virtue.

Point 2. Consider the beauty of meekness. Represent it to thyself in the bearing of Christ, Who says— "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." Set it before thee as it was in the Saints, nay, even in thine own Fathers and Brethren whom thou hast known.

Point 3. Consider how often and how grievously thou hast been transported with anger. Look into the causes of thy falls. Do they arise from a bilious complexion, from habit, or over-quickness, or a want of thought, from pride, or pusillanimity, or from the liberty you allow yourself to blurt out whatever comes into your head.

Point 4. Consider the remedies thou hast applied, or heard of, or read; as, for instance, to hold thy peace, gentleness in action, to be so disposed that an insulting word will not provoke thee, to set aside the occupation which is to thee an occasion, to impress deeply on thy mind that wrongs can harm him that does them, and not the sufferer. Set Christ before Thyself, "Who, when He suffered, He threatened not." That it is the vice of brutes and not of men, for a man in anger divests himself of his manhood, and St. Basil calls it "a passing madness." Think how often you have insulted God, and how patiently He has borne with you.

Point 5. Set before thee the end of thy creation, from the Fundamental Exercise and the Prelude for making an Election; also the special end of thy calling, which is God's greater glory, and the edification of thy neighbour. Having, then, set thy soul in calm and serenity, beg once more for a new outpouring of light divine, whereby to know and to choose what is meetest for the end aimed at.

Point 6. Setting aside all bias, and taking into consideration the inveteracy of the habit and other circumstances, ponder which of the means given above seems to be more effectual. Conclude the election, make an offering of it to God, that He may accept and establish it, as St. Ignatius prescribes.

This method may be adapted to any vice or evil habit whatsoever. For its more perfect use, it were well to consult the teaching of Cassian, who, in his fifth Conference, admirably sets forth the turpitude of the eight capital sins.