Rule of Life

“He that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved.”

1. Daily Conduct.—Have a fixed hour for rising in the morning; bless yourself with holy water, and as soon as possible after your toilet recite devoutly your morning prayers. During the day, make at least a short meditation and a spiritual reading. Hear Mass; make a visit to the Most Blessed Sacrament and to Mary, the divine Mother. If you cannot go to church, make your visit and adoration at home, turning towards the nearest tabernacle and receiving holy communion spiritually. Say the beads. In the evening, examine your conscience and recite your evening prayers.

2. Confession and Communion.—Receive the holy sacraments frequently—once a week or, certainly, once a month. Go as often as you can to holy communion, with the advice of your spiritual director. Choose a good, learned, and pious confessor, and be directed always by him in all affairs of importance; do not leave him without a good reason. When you commit any sin, make an act of contrition immediately and resolve to amend; if it is a mortal sin, confess it as soon as possible.

3. Occasions of Sin.—Avoid idleness, bad companions, drinking-saloons, low theatres and public balls, round dances, immoral books, sensational newspapers, salacious literature, foolish novels and romances, games of chance, and every occasion of sin. In temptations, bless yourself, invoke the most holy names of Jesus and Mary, and think of death. “He that loveth danger shall perish in it.”

4. Sundays.—“Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath-day.” Be not satisfied with hearing a Low Mass on Sundays. Hear sermons as often as possible, and listen attentively to the word of God. No matter how poor an orator or preacher a priest may be, no matter how plain his language or how unattractive his delivery, remember that he is the representative of Christ, and that you can always find in every sermon sufficient matter for reflection and application to your own life and circumstances. Belong to some sodality or confraternity; faithfully attend the meetings and never absent yourself unnecessarily from afternoon or evening services and Benediction.

5. Pious Practices.—Remain in constant union with Jesus in the tabernacle, by making acts of love, adoration, and praise frequently during the day. Often say: “O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament divine! All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine”; or such ejaculations as these: “O Jesus, my Lord, my God, and my All!” “My Jesus, all things for Thee!” “Sweetest heart of Jesus, be my love! Sweetest heart of Mary, be my salvation!” “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I offer you my heart and my life.” Say the Angelus morning, noon, and night. Collect pious books. Read daily from the “Lives of the Saints.” Keep holy water in your room and use it at least morning and night; have, also, a crucifix and holy pictures in your room. Wear a cross, medal, and scapular. Say prayers before and after meals. Pray for the living and the dead every day, especially for the Holy Father, the Church, and your deceased relatives. Support your parish priest and your parish church in all good works. Help the sick and the poor, the widow and the orphans, according to your means. Join the Tabernacle Society and aid in furnishing poor churches and missions with decent vestments and the requisites for divine worship. Often think piously, practically, and earnestly about eternity, heaven, hell, purgatory, the goodness and mercy of God, the passion of Our Lord, and the love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Repeat the resolution frequently of becoming more perfect in the practice of virtue, and strive earnestly to become a great saint. “This is the will of God—your sanctification.”

6. Resignation to the Will of God.—In the trials of life, in adverse circumstances, on occasions of sickness or death in the family, losses and persecutions, unite yourself to the will of God, saying: “This is the will of God; may His holy will be done.”

7. Blessed Virgin Mary.—“Behold thy Mother.” Be most devout to her and daily practise acts of piety in her honor. Acquire the habit of saying devoutly and reverentially: “Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us, who have recourse to thee.”

8. Retreat.—Make a holy, spiritual retreat, if possible, once a year.

9. Spiritual Communion.—An act of spiritual communion like the following should be made every day, and especially at Mass: “My Jesus, I believe that Thou art truly present in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar. I adore Thee. I praise Thee and thank Thee for all Thy blessings. I am sorry that I have offended Thee by my sins. By this act I wish to make reparation to Thee for all the insults and injuries committed against Thee in the sacrament of Thy love. I love Thee with my whole heart. Come to my pour soul; unite Thyself to me. . . ✠ . . . I thank Thee, my good Jesus. Oh! never, never leave me.”

10. In the Hour of Death.—When you are dying, make acts of contrition and of love. Pronounce the sweet and holy name of “Jesus.”

The Means of Arriving at the Interior and Perfect Life.

1. Purity of heart, which means entire detachment from all created objects, the goods, pleasures, and honors of life. “Create a clean heart in me, O God!”

2. Purity of conscience or a great horror of sin, of every imperfection, and of all unfaithfulness.

3. Purity of spirit—that is, an assiduous and constant attention to keep far from the mind foolish anxiety and all useless reflections about the present, the past, and the future.

4. Purity of action—that is, fidelity to duty, confidence in God, labor for His divine pleasure, and resignation to His holy will.

5. Spirit of penance, of recollection, and mortification.

6. Modesty and simplicity in dress, in furniture, in conversation, in walking, and in one's whole deportment.

7. Corporal penance; mortification of the appetite and all the senses.

8. Regularity in daily actions—that is, care in regulating, though in a spirit of holy liberty, all the hours of the day, the hour of rising, of going to rest, of labor, of recreation, of prayer, of taking food, of pious and charitable exercises, and of every individual action.

9. Exactness in devotional exercises, in prayer and meditation every morning; in the particular examen at midday upon some predominant fault or upon some special virtue; in the recital of the Rosary towards evening and in the reading of some devout book; in the visit to the Most Holy Sacrament at some time during the day; in saying grace before and after meals: in all things guarding against acting from habit, or with undue anxiety, or without reflection.

10. Reverential familiarity with our divine Lord; doing everything in His presence: often conversing with Him familiarly; speaking to Him from our hearts, simply and lovingly; consulting Him with confidence in all our affairs.

11. The spirit of recollection and tender piety.

12. Frequent offering and consecration of the heart to Jesus in the tabernacle, sincerely protesting again and again that you will never consent to any sin or to anything which may displease His sovereign goodness.

13. Filial trust in Divine Providence, and a spirit of cheerful serenity.

The Week Sanctified.

Devout souls consecrate each day of the week by the following devotions:

Sunday . . . . To the Holy Trinity.
Monday . . . . To the Holy Ghost and to the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
Tuesday . . . . To the Holy Angels.
Wednesday . . . . To St. Joseph.
Thursday . . . . To the Blessed Sacrament.
Friday . . . . To the Passion of Our Lord or to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Saturday . . . . To the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Consecration of the Whole Month. Proper Devotions for

January . . . . The Holy Infancy.
February . . . . The Holy Trinity.
March . . . . St. Joseph.

April . . . . The Holy Ghost.
May . . . . Blessed Virgin Mary.
June . . . . The Blessed Sacrament and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
July . . . . Precious Blood of Jesus.
August . . . . Most Pure Heart of Mary.
September . . . . The Holy Cross.
October . . . . The Holy Angels and the Holy Rosary.
November . . . . The Holy Souls in Purgatory.
December . . . . The Immaculate Conception.

N. B.—In our visits to Jesus in the tabernacle it is advisable to connect these devotions sometimes with those which we practise directly in honor of the Blessed Sacrament.