The Catholic Prayer Book and Manual of Meditations/Short Meditations for Each Day of the Month
Short Meditations for each Day of the Month.
FIRST DAY. — ON FAITH.
ALL that Faith teaches is grounded on the authority of the word of God. It is from Christ himself that the Church has learned whatever she proposes to the faithful as the object of their belief. When truth itself is the guide, one cannot go astray; and there is nothing more reasonable than to submit reason to the truth which is revealed by God.
2. Of what use is faith to a Christian if it be not the rule of his conduct? If it be the most consummate folly to doubt of a doctrine which God has revealed, which so many martyrs have sealed with their blood, and which the devils themselves have so often confessed, is it not downright madness to believe this doctrine, and yet live as if it were supposed to be false? Not to live conformably to our belief is to believe as the damned do.
3. Faith, then, shall henceforth be the sole principle of my actions, and the only rule of my life. Whatever it condemns, I, also, absolutely condemn. In spite of every natural repugnance, I will oppose the maxims of the Gospel to those of the world, as often as the occasion presents itself. What does the world say? Follow the natural bent of your inclinations: suffer nothing, &c. But what doth Jesus Christ say? quite the contrary. Who is right, Jesus Christ or the world?
[Thank God for being incorporated with his Church, and recite the Creed slowly, as a solemn profession of your faith.]
“Lord increase my faith.”— Luke xvii.
“What does it avail to believe like a Catholic., and yet to live like a heathen? St. Peter Damian.
SECOND DAY.—ON THE END OF MAN.
1. God alone is our last end: he created us for himself. Our hearts tell us that we were made for him: we cannot disown it without belying ourselves.
2. Every one should have what justly belongs to him: let us then give ourselves to God, since it is he who has a right to us. If we be not his children of our own accord, we must be his slaves in despite of us. We must of necessity live under the dominion of his justice or of his bounty. Which choice shall we make?
3. Everything should tend to its proper object and act according to its nature. If the sun, which is made to shine, refused its light to the world it would be a monster in the universe: nor is that heart less monstrous, which, being made for God, still refuses to belong to him. Do I behave myself as a creature which belongs to God? Are my thoughts and all my actions directed to him? Ah, how little do I do that may be called truly done for God! What does all the business in this world avail me, if I forget the only affair for which I am come into it?
[Make here a firm resolution of seeking God alone, and of depriving him of nothing which he has a right to.]
"Thou are my Lord and my God."—John xx.
"He requires you entirely, who hath made you entirely." — St. Austin.
THIRD DAY.—CONTEMPT OF THE WORLD.
1. From the moment we are attached to the world, we cease, in some measure, to be Christians. This profane world, so passionately fond of grandeur, of pleasure, of everything that can flatter self-love, is the capital enemy of Jesus Christ: their maxims, their commandments, their interests are quite opposite; they cannot be both obeyed; we must break off with one or the other.
2. We cannot take part with the world without a breach of the promises we made at our baptism. When we renounced Satan and his pomps, we bound ourselves by solemn promise to trample under foot whatever is greatest in the esteem of worldlings. What perfidy! what sacrilege! to prefer the goods of the earth to those of heaven, and to become idolaters of vanity.
3. The world has nothing worthy of an immortal soul: it has not even wherewithal to requite its most devoted servants. Its treasures, its amusements, its honours, may indeed occupy and disturb the heart of man, but they can never satisfy it. They are, in reality, but false goods, vain shadows, and illusions, and very frequently become real evils. They often make a man wicked; they can never make him happy. The most brilliant fortune is not only frail and dangerous, but is often a source of the most painful uneasiness. There are sighs and sufferings upon the throne, as well as in chains and dungeons.
[Beg of God to destroy in you the spirit of the world, and to give you strength to despise its allurements.]
“The figure of the world passeth away."— 1 Cor. vii.
“Woe to those who adhere to what is transitory; because with those things they themselves must pass away."
FOURTH DAY. — ON DEATH.
1. A Christian, who does not lead the life of a Christian, has great reason to be afraid of death. What a dreadful account he must give after a worldly and sensual life. What bitter regret to have lost the opportunities of saving himself, and to die an enemy to God. O dismal death! O dreadful moment, which concludes the pleasures of time, to begin the pains of eternity!
2. What would we wish to have done at the hour of death! Let us do at present what we would then be glad to have done. There is no time to lose: every moment may be the last of our lives. The longer we have lived, the nearer we approach to the grave. Our death is not the less distant the more the thought of it has been put off.
3. What will our notion of this earth be, when we are forced to quit it? Let us now take advice from death, it is a faithful counsellor; it will not deceive us. What will become of this beauty, this money, this pleasure, this honour? What will be our thoughts of them at the hour of death? In our lifetime appearances often deceive us; but, at our death, we shall see things as they really are. Man, whilst alive, esteems the world: man, when dying, despises it. But which should we reasonably believe — man living, or man at the point of death? Ah, how trifling will the world appear by the light of that torch which faintly glimmers near the bed of death! but, alas, it will then be, perhaps, too late to undeceive ourselves.
[Think seriously on what you chiefly apprehend, were you this moment to die, and regulate it immediately. Accustom yourself to perform every act ion as if you were to die instantly after. Above all things, observe this practice in the use of the Sacraments.]
“Death and I are divided but by a single step." — 1 Kings xx.
“There is no to-morrow for a Christian." — Tertullian.
FIFTH DAY. — ON THE LAST JUDGMENT.
1. I must one day appear before the tribunal of Jesus Christ , to be there judged for the good or evil I shall have done. There is nothing more formal or express in the Gospel than this truth; I believe it as firmly as if the last trumpet had already sounded to call up all the dead to judgment.
2. What shall we say at the sight of so many bad thoughts, of so many criminal actions, of so many graces despised? O what a terrible day is the day of God’s wrath! where the inmost recesses of the heart shall be openly exposed — where every fault shall be strictly examined, if the just themselves shall be hardly found just, what will become of unhappy sinners?
3. What sentence must an impenitent sinner expect from an offended and inexorable God? O tremendous condemnation! Depart , ye accursed , &c. Alas! where shall these miserable wretches go, to whom you thus give your malediction? To what part of the world shall they retire when they withdraw from you? Where can there be so miserable a dwelling? To be banished the presence of God ! to be accursed of God ! O what a shocking destiny!
[Imagine yourself now before the tribunal of Christ. What are you most ashamed of at this very moment? Reflect seriously on it, and remember that all your secret sins shall be exposed at theday of judgment, if you do not here efface them by a sincere repentance.]
"Who shall be able to stand before the face of his wrath?"— Nahum i.
“ Woe even to the praiseworthy life, if without mercy, O God, thou shalt examine it." — St. Austin.
SIXTH DAY. — ON HELL.
1. How great would be our horror if the shrieks of the damned, if their groans and blasphemies could reach us! They roar like wild beasts — they accuse themselves of their sins — they bewail, they detest them. But it is too late: their tears but add new strength to the fire that torments them. O repentance of the damned! how rigorous art thou ! — but, ah ! how fruitless !
2. Never to see God — to be burning in flames for ever — the blood boiling in our veins, the marrow in our bones— to be trampled on by the devils — to have all that is hideous for ever before our eyes — to have rage, anguish, and despair eternally rooted in our hearts, without comfort or mitigation1. O what a life!
3. These unhappy souls are full of anguish at having had so many opportunities of salvation, and for having neglected them. The recollection of their past pleasure is one of their most sensible torments. Hut nothing more keenly gnaws them than the impossibility of forgetting that God, whom, by their own fault, they have miserably forfeited.
[Go down in spirit into hell, and inquire of the damned what it is that has made them fall into it. Question them upon their present state, and learn from them to fear God and your own danger.]
“Which of you can dwell with devouring, flames?”— Isaias xxxiii.
“ The impious pass from one punishment to another— from the burnings of concupiscence to the dames of hell.”- St. Augustine.
SEVENTH DAY. — ON THE ETERNAL TORMENTS OF THE DAMNED.
1. Can the wrath of God go farther than punishing pleasures, which are so soon over, by tortures which will never have an end? To be miserable while ever God is God!— can any misery be like it? Is it not enough that the evils of the damned are extreme? Must they still, besides this, be eternal? To be hurt by the point of a pin is trifling in itself; yet, were this pain to last always, it would become insupportable. What shall it be then , &c.
2. O Eternity! When a damned soul shall have shed tears enough to make up all the rivers and seas in the world, did he shed but one teat in every hundred years, he shall not be more advanced, after so many millions of ages, than if he had only just begun to suffer. He must begin again as if he had as yet suffered nothing; and, when he shall have begun, as often as there are grains of sand on the sea-shore, atoms in the air, or leaves on the trees, he shall still be as far off from the end of his sufferings as ever.
The damned must not only suffer during eternity, but suffer every moment an eternity entire. Eternity is always present to them — it enters into their punishment; their mind is incessantly struck with the endless duration of their torments. O cruel thought! O deplorable condition ! — to rage for an eternity! to bum for an eternity! Ah, that we could conceive this as those damned souls conceive it.
[Make an Act of Faith upon the duration of the punishment which the justice of God indicts for mortal sin. We must at least believe what we are not able to conceive. It is a great misfortune for a Christian not to be persuaded of this eternity but by his own sad experience.]
"Those who do not obey the Gospel shall suffer eternal punishment." — 2 Thes, i.
"Momentary is that which delights, eternal is that which tortures." — St. Chrysostom.
EIGHTH DAY. — ON HEAVEN.
1. Heaven, thou glorious state — no heart can conceive, no tongue can describe what thou art! Exemption from all that is evil — assemblage of all that is good — purchased with the blood of Jesus — and more than man can desire.
2. To see God clearly, and as he is in his glory; to love God without measure; to possess God without ever fearing to lose him; to be happy in the felicity of God himself — such is the object of my hope. But a day or two of pilgrimage and exile, and then I shall be with him for ever.
3. What matters it how we fare here below, provided we be with Jesus for all eternity? Can I justly complain that a never-ending happiness should cost me so little? The martyrs purchased heaven
- it the price of their blood, and thought it was given
them for nothing. Shall not I then sacrifice my corrupt will for it? O happy eternity! if men only knew what thou art worth !
[Excite within yourself a great desire of heaven; and behold the earth with a proportionable contempt. Were you filled with a proper sense of it, nothing here below could allure or disturb you.]
“I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear.” — Psalm xvi.
“ If the labour terrifies, the reward invites." — St. Bernard.
NINTH DAY. — ON THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
1. God at this moment beholds me as if I were alone in the world; or, rather, he is within me as an eye infinitely enlightened, which observes me constantly, and which nothing can escape. He sees me as clearly as he comprehends himself.
2. Ought I not to be infinitely more ashamed that my sins should appear in his sight, than that they should be exposed to the eyes of the whole world? Would I commit in the presence of a servant, what I dare commit before the King of kings? O what blindness ! to fear so much the eyes of men, and so little the eyes of God.
3. The most obscure darkness can never conceal me from light itself: the most distant and solitary retreats are always filled with the Divine Majesty. Let me shun, as much as I please, the sight and the company of men, I will find God everywhere.
[Put yourself in the presence of God. and see whether there be anything in you that may offend his eyes. The most, powerful. remedy against sin is to say frequently within yourself, “God beholds me." There needs no more to restrain you in the greatest violence of temptation.]
“ All things are clear and open to his eyes." — Heb. vi.
“ If you be determined to commit sin, seek first a place where God will not see you, and then do what you please." — St. Austin.
TENTH DAY. — CARE OF OUR SALVATION.
1 . The affair of salvation is, properly speaking, the only business of man; every other concern, when compared with it, should be accounted as nothing. The enterprises of kings, their negotiations, etc., are as amusements and the triflings of children. The important and the only affair, therefore, is to serve God, and thereby save our souls: the whole good, the whole perfection of man consists in this. It would be irrational, and therefore degrading to man, to neglect an affair whose consequences are so great, whose success is so uncertain, and whose loss is irreparable. What blindness ! what folly ! to think only of living, and not to think of living \yell! to apply so much time to make our fortune, and so little to the saving of our souls! “ What doth it avail a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul?”
2. All creatures are made but for our salvation — they become useless when not employed for that great end: so that from the moment a man ceases to labour for his salvation, the sun also should cease to shine, the planets should stop in their course, the earth should no longer support him, the angels should abandon him; he should fall back into his original nothing. He is unworthy of life when he liveth not for God.
3. However, the greater part of mankind think less of saving themselves than of anything else. Every other business is carefully attended to, except the affair of salvation. All other concerns are turned to account. This sum of money must be put out to interest; this held must be tilled; these lands must be let at a more considerable rent. All other losses are bewailed except the one without resource. Great expenses are incurred for the body, and nothing at all is done for the soul. From the manner in which we live, it should seem that our souls do not really belong to us, or rather that we have souls merely to destroy them.
[Make now a resolution to save your soul, let It cost you what pain it will; be of the same sentiment with a certain Pontiff, who, when a king had asked something of him. which could not be granted without sin, replied, “ If I had two souls I would give one of them to thee, O prince; but, as I have only one, I do not choose to forfeit it.”]
“ Moreover, one thing is necessary.”— Luke x.
"Where there is loss of salvation, there, surely, there can be no gain.”— St. Eucharitu .
ELEVENTH DAY. — ON THE ENORMITY OF SIN.
1. How great a loss is the loss of God. Men think themselves unfortunate when they lose all their possessions at law, or by some other cause. What is it then to lose an infinite God ! Unhappy the soul which loses its God by sin; but far more unhappy the soul that considers this loss as nothing.
2. O sin ! how common art thou among men ! but how little, at the same time, art thou known to them! Playing and amusing themselves, they become the execration of God. And what play, what amusement is this? God, who is all love, detests sin with infinite hatred: should anything, therefore, be so shocking in our eyes as this hellish monster?
3. A soul in the state of grace is beautiful beyond expression: it is a brilliant image of God himself; the Holy Ghost dwells in it. But when mortal sin is allowed to infect it, its beauty is lost, its light is extinguished, the Divine Spirit departs, the devil takes possession: all then is darkness, filth, and deformity. If a God-man, dying, was a dreadful spectacle, mortal sin is yet more dreadful; for Christ died but to atone for sin, and sin can daily frustrate all his merits: he is crucified over and over — his blood is trampled upon by ungrateful sinners.
[Oh! detest, at this moment, all your sins. Lament from your heart the loss of God’s grace: there is no loss so much to be lamented; it is the only loss which sorrow can repair.]
“ What fruit had you in those things, of which you are now ashamed?”- -Romans vi. 21.
“ Woe to that daring soul which hoped that having retired from you, she might still find something better.” — St. Austin.
TWELFTH DAY. — ON REPENTANCE.
1. Repent, and believe the Gospel. ( Mark i. 14.) Our Lord here joins faith and repentance together, in order to teach us that the rigours of penance, and the profession of Christianity, are inseparable. During his mortal life he was ever occupied in doing penance; expiating our sins, to appease the justice of his eternal Father. Surely we should follow his example. If the Holy of Holies fasted, prayed, and wept, what should not be done by so vile wretches as we?
2. Sin must necessarily be punished either by him who commits it, or by God, against whom it is committed. If sinners do not punish themselves in time, the Divine Justice will punish them in eternity. The flames of hell must punish what the waters of penance have not effaced. Is it not, therefore, better to weep for a few days than to bum for an eternity?!
3. To be reconciled with God, it is not enough to prostrate ourselves before a priest, to cover our heads with ashes, and our whole bodies with haircloth. If we have not a sincere sorrow for our sins, if we do not entirely renounce our criminal attachments, we are impostors, and not penitents. Prayers, alms, fasting, and macerations of the flesh, are but the outsides of repentance, the hatred of sin is its very spirit and essence.
[Implore God’s mercy for haring hitherto led a life so opposite to the Gospel; and beg of him the grace to live for the future as the first Christians did, in the constant practice of penance.]
“ Unless you do penance, you shall all likewise perish.” — Luke xiii. 3.
“ To penitents I say, to what purpose Is it that you be humbled, if with this you be not changed.” — St. Austin.
THIRTEENTH DAY. — ON DELAY OF CONVERSION.
1. By deferring so long to give myself up to God, it should seem as if I intended to escape out of his hands. Is it then a misfortune to belong to him? To-morrow — to-morrow ! Why not to-day? Why not this very moment? Will my chains be more easily broken to-morrow? Will my heart be less hard? No, certainly. Time, that weakens everything else, adds new strength to bad habits. By putting off the remedy, the complaint becomes incurable.
2. What is it that prevents our obeying the voice that calls us to repentance? What is it that terrifies us? That there is great difficulty in changing our lives must certainly be granted; but what should not a Christian do who adores a crucified God, and who looks up to heaven? If we have anything to fear, it should be the abuse of God’s graces.
3. There is time to come. But can I call it mine? Is it a possession of which I am master? God waits for me, it is true: the Scripture tells me so; but still it doth not tell me how long I am to live. He that hath promised pardon to those who repent, has not promised another day to those who continue in their vices. Perhaps I shall have time; and perhaps I shall not. Must I not have lost my senses to trust my salvation to a mere perhaps?
[Reflect now upon the time you have been deferring your conversion to God, and tremble at the sight of your danger.]
“I said, Now I have begun.” — Psalm lxix.
“ We cannot be too cautious where eternity is at stake.”— St. Gregory.
FOURTEENTH DAY.— ON HUMAN RESPECT.
1. What will the world say? Let it say what it will. Should the talk of fools hinder you from being wise? What will my acquaintances say? They will say that you fear God more than you fear man; the greatest libertines will secretly admire you, and acknowledge within themselves that you are doing right. But what matters it, after all, what people may say of you, provided you do your duty, and that God be satisfied?
2. Oh! what cowardice to blush at the Gospel! To wear the livery of a prince is held honourable: is it then shameful to wear that of Jesus Christ? The lowest mechanics make open profession of the trades they follow; and yet Christians in the Church, blush at being thought Christians! The Son of God will deny before his Father in heaven the Christians who shall have denied him before men.
3. What, then! is there anything in Jesus that you should be ashamed of? Is his name infamous? Is it shameful to follow his maxims and example? But let people say what they will, the man that is most esteemed is he who serves God with most fidelity, and who openly professes himself to be a follower of Christ.
Ask yourself seriously whether this phantom of the world doth not frighten yon. and prevent your fulfilling the obligations which the Christian religion imposes.]
“ I do not blush at the Gospel.” — Romans i.
“ Why should you fear or be ashamed, when armed with the sign of the cross? ” — St. Austin ,
FIFTEENTH DAY. — DIFFIDENCE IN OURSELVES.
1. We have nothing to fear so much as ourselves. Our own weakness is more alarming than the united powers of hell. A thought, a word, a single look, is enough to overcome us. Angels have rebelled; Adam hath fallen; Solomon hath bowed to idols; Peter hath denied his Master. When cedars have yielded, how shall the reed stand?
2. Our own heart is our most dangerous enemy. Our senses and our passions are always conspiring against us; we are vanquished almost without a struggle. Let us, then, never be so weak or foolish as to trust to ourselves. Many, whom torments could not shake, have wretchedly perished in a slight temptation: they were victorious over tyrants, but vanquished by concupiscence.
3. There is no man, how exemplary soever in conduct, that should not tremble at the justice of God, because he cannot be certain whether he be worthy of love or hatred. Sanctity may be lost in a single moment, and the saint may be transformed into an odious reprobate. We should all, therefore, cry out with St. Philip of Neri: "Watch me, O Lord, this day; for, abandoned to myself, I shall surely betray thee.”
[Beware of the occasions of sin; the most dangerous are often what you are least afraid of.]
“Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.” — 1 Cor.iv.
“ Though you be in a place of safety, do not on that account think yourself secure."— St. Bernard.
SIXTEENTH DAY. — USE OF DIVINE GRACE.
1. Whatever grace we have was dearly purchased. Our Saviour gave his blood for it. Wherefore, to reject a pious thought, to resist a holy inspiration, is, in fact, to undervalue the merits of Christ, and to frustrate, to a certain extent, the ends he proposed to himself in dying for us.
2. We are accountable to God, not only for the graces we have received, but also for those he intended to confer on us, provided we ourselves had not put an obstacle to them. His sun shines, but we shut our eyes against it. Are we the less indebted to him for its light? No; for we may, if we please, make use of it.
3. Many years, perhaps, has God been inviting us in vain; soliciting, reprehending, and threatening us, to no manner of purpose. But let us remember that he is a creditor who will not be thus put off, and that the longer our debt is unpaid, the heavier will become our obligation. There is possibly a measure of sins, which may force him at last to abandon us.
[Thank the Almighty now for all his gifts and graces. Beg pardon for having been unfaithful to them, and resolve to correspond with docility to all the suggestions of his graces forth© future.]
“ From him, to whom much hath been given, much will be required.” — St. Luke xii.
"Grace Is followed by judgment.”— St. Basil.
SEVENTEENTH DAY. — GOOD USE OF TIME.
1. The loss of time is one of the greatest misfortunes in the world. This life so short! all its moments so precious ! yet we live as if it were never to end, or as if we had nothing to fear hereafter.
2. Alas! if a damned soul had but one single moment of the time we now squander away, what good use would he make of it? Every instant of our life we may purchase a happy eternity. The opportunity of enriching or amusing ourselves, we never miss; but the means of salvation appear to us indifferent.
3. The day which is best employed is not always the one that has most forwarded our temporal affairs, but that which has added most to our merits, and which God has been best pleased with. Let us always so regulate our time, that God and our salvation may be our constant object.
[Renew the resolution you have taken to serve God faithfully; and be firmly persuaded that the time which is not employed for God, is no more than so much time lost for ever.]
“ God hath given to no person time for sinning." — Eccles. xx.
“ You have leisure to become a philosopher; you have none to become a Christian.” — St. Paulinus.
EIGHTEENTH DAY. — USE OF THE SACRAMENTS.
1. The Sacraments are the channels of divine grace: through them the merits of Christ abundantly flow into our souls. We must, therefore, take care to approach them worthily; for otherwise his merits will not avail us, nor will our salvation, of course, be possible.
2. The abuse of the Sacraments is an evil of the first magnitude. They were instituted as the means of eternal life; but, when perverted, they lead to eternal death. There is no medium: they must be either our food or our poison. How dreadful, then, must it be to reflect, that after so many confessions we should be so little improved — that after repeated communions we should still follow the same sinful course.
3. The unworthy communicant receives his own condemnation, and becomes, as it were, incorporated with his own ruin. What answer can he give, when called to account for his baseness? How shall he hope to escape, when arraigned for so daring profanations?
[Examine yourself carefully upon the use you have made of the Sacramento, and receive them, for the future, as if death were immediately approaching.]
“Let a man prove himself." — 1 Cor.
“ There are bad Christians who are called by the name of Faithful, and who are not such; by whom the Sacraments of Christ are dishonoured and profaned.”— St. Austin.
NINETEENTH DAY.— ON THE MASS.
1. A Sacrifice is an exterior or visible offering made by a lawful minister to God alone, in testimony of his supreme dominion. Our absolute dependence upon God, and the homage we owe him, render sacrifice essential to religion. Hence from the beginning of the world, it has been always offered. Abel, Noe, Melchisedech, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have sacrificed to the Almighty; and a variety of sacrifices were prescribed in the written law of Moses.
2. All these, however, were only weak figures of the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross: for sin was too great an evil, its guilt was of too black a die, to be ever removed by the blood of sheep and oxen. No other atonement could compensate for its enormity than the sufferings of a God, therefore did he come. “ In the beginning of the book it was written of him, that he should do the will of his Father.” By the one oblation of himself he paid off all our debts: he closed up the abyss of separation, cancelled the handwriting of sin that lay against us; and the sanctified he perfected for ever.
3. Was this not enough? Most undoubtedly it was; nay, one drop of his blood was fully adequate to all these purposes. Why, then, is the same sacrifice daily renewed in the Mass? why is he still immolated upon our altars? why is his body mystically drained of his blood, by the separate consecration of the two species? Because his love for us would have it so: he would leave us a standing memorial of his death;* he would daily apply to our souls the infinite merits thereof, just as he prays for us still, though his prayer on the cross was already heard for us; he would, as a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchisedech, continue to the end of time the same unbloody sacrifice; he was willing that his faithful on earth, united not only in spirit, but in outward ties of religion, should ever have this sacrifice before them, as the strongest bond of love, and the perfect act of adoration.
[Make a resolution to hear Mass, if possible, every day, and to hear it with the devotion which so august a sacrifice requires. For this purpose go to the church as you would to Mount Calvary: adore Jesus Christ in this s’ ate of humiliation; pay him your homage with fervour at the foot of the altar. It is shameful in us, and most displeasing to him, that he should he so much deserted in the midst of our churches; and that his court should be so empty, whilst earthly kings have their levees crowded.]
“ In every place there is a sacrifice, and a pure victim is offered to my name.”— Malac. i.
“ He will then be our victim indeed, when we sacrifice ourselves to him.” — Gregory.
TWENTIETH DAY. — ON ALMS-DEEDS.
1. We minister to Christ when we relieve the poor. He abides in the Eucharist to receive our adoration, and to become our nourishment: he abides in the poor to excite our compassion, and to be fed by us in turn. Happy the man who gives alms to Jesus! but wretched is he who refuses to assist him ! — Shall we let Christ famish with hunger!
2. What we give to the great ones of the earth may, in a great measure, be considered as forfeited: but what we present to God is always attended with advantage. He gives it back with interest. He repays with liberality the crumbs that are given for his sake: his rewards are laid up even for a cup of cold water. Play, luxury, extravagance, have ruined innumerable families, but alms have impoverished none.
3. Men, at the day of judgment, shall be accountable for their alms: but what answer can the unfeeling rich ones make when the poor shall accuse them? when Jesus Christ himself shall reproach them with their insensibility? “ Go, ye cursed, into eternal fire. I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat; I was naked, and you did not clothe me,” &c. A heart that is hard to the poor is in* danger of becoming the heart of a reprobate; but, on the contrary, a soul that is truly charitable bears a strong mark of predestination. What can our judge say against us when he shall see our clothes upon himself, when he shall see our bread and our money in his own hands? We shall approach his awful tribunal with confidence, provided the poor be our advocates.
[Consider seriously how you behave to the poor; whether you treat them as members of Jesus Christ, by doing them all the good in your power.]
“He gives at interest to the Lord who has pity on the poor.” — Prov. xix.
“ Give unto all, lest he whom you refuse should be Jesus Christ.” — St. Austin.
TWENTY-FIRST DAY. — ON BAD EXAMPLE.
1. Bad example has been the means of damning more souls than the preaching and good example of all the saints together have been the means of saving.
2. Were the gates of hell to be laid open, scarcely would any one be found that would not say, It is such or such a one that has damned me. Oh, what a reproach! We are commanded to love our enemies, why, then, should we destroy those souls which have never done us an injury? A man who has been unfortunate enough to ruin souls redeemed by the blood of a God, has much reason to fear for his salvation. What can we reasonably hope from Jesus Christ, after having torn from him what he had so dearly purchased? O fathers and mothers, who do not live as Christians ought to live, it were far better for your children that they had never been born ! — you have given them life only to put them to death — that dreadful death which is eternal! When they shall require of you the heaven they have lost, what will you be able to answer them?
3. Let us clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ, according to the words of the Apostle: let his conduct, his virtues, and his spirit shine forth in us, so that he may be remembered when we are seen. We contribute not less to our neighbour’s salvation by an edifying life, than we do to his damnation by a scandalous one.
[Be very careful to do nothing that may scandalize your neighbour; and humbly beg pardon of God for the sins you have committed.]
“ Wo be to the man by whom scandal cometh.” — Matt . xviii.
“The scandalous sinner must answer for the crimes which his bad example hath caused to be committed.”— Salvian.
TWENTY-SECOND DAY. — ON MORTIFICATION.
We are not Christians to be rich, and so live at our ease. It was not necessary to institute Christianity for that purpose; the world might have been left as it was, under the empire of passion and opinion. The life of a Christian is a crucified life; unless the cross be embraced, faith must be renounced.
2. What does the Gospel say? “ Blessed are those who weep: wo be to you, O rich, who have your consolation in this world ! ” Such is the language of the Holy Ghost. But it is now looked on as nonsense, to believe that felicity consists in tears, and that the rich are unhappy.
3. The Son of God died on the cross that he might take possession of his glory; the saints have arrived at heaven only by the path of sufferings. Shall we, then, imagine that what the Son of God and the saints have so dearly purchased, shall be given to us for nothing? No; the cross is the distinctive mark and portion of the elect; a soul which suffers nothing, and is resolved to suffer nothing, bears the strongest character of a reprobate. We must, of necessity, suffer either in this world or in the next.
[Adore Christ crucified, and beg of him the grace to participate now in his suffering life, that you may be one day a partaker in his life of glory.]
Whoever doth not carry his cross is not worthy of me.” — Luke xiv.
"What a shame, to be a delicate member of a head crowned with thorns.” — St. Bernard.
TWENTY-THIRD DAY. — ON CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD.
1. The greatest happiness of a rational creature is, to will that which its Creator willeth. The saints are saints only because their will corresponds with the will of God. Whatever virtue we may possess, if we have not that of conformity to the Divine Will, we are not truly virtuous.
2. A soul that is not satisfied with the will of God seems to doubt, in some measure, of his authority. To desire that what he ordains and permits in this world should go on otherwise than it does, is to desire that God should not be master. Everything that happens to us happens by his order; and is it not just to acquiesce in whatever is ordained by infinite wisdom?
3. All things but sin fall out by God's appointment. Though his arm be raised to strike, we are sure that his hand is conducted by his heart. What have we to fear from a heart that loves us? We will, then, desire nothing but what he pleases; we will not complain of losses, sickness, troubles, &c. The name and the nature of these things are changed as they pass through the hands of God. What the world calls misfortune, affliction, dishonour, is an advantage, a grace, and a favour from heaven, when considered in the order of Providence.
[Renounce your oxen will, and beg of God that his may be accomplished in you.]
"Be it so, Father, because it is thy will.” — Matt. xi.
“ He is pleasing to God, to whom God is pleasing.”— Austin.
TWENTY-FOURTH DAY. — CONFIDENCE IN GOD.
1. God is the great parent of mankind; our Lord Jesus Christ has taught us to call him Father . Not a hair can even fall from our heads without his knowledge. His providence reaches from end to end, disposing all things sweetly. What madness, therefore, to doubt of his protection, or be slow in trusting ourselves to his guidance.
2. The insects are an object of his care — how much more we, who are created to his image, and redeemed by the blood of his only begotten Son. If God feeds the infidel, who knows him not — if he heaps favours on the impious, by whom he is blasphemed — what will he not do for Christians who honour and love him?
3. Our affairs are much better off when in his hands than they can be in our own; let us, therefore, leave them all at his disposal. He is, at the same time, our Father and our Creator. The tenderness he has for his children obliges him to take care of them. He has promised us his protection — he will then be as good as his word. Sooner shall the heavens and the earth be destroyed than that the man should perish who places his confidence in God.
[Examine your heart, and see whether your confidence be worthy of the goodness of God, and the merits of Jesus Christ.]
“ Thou art my God; my lot is in thy hands.” — Psalm xxx.
“ Throw yourself upon him; he will not withdraw to let yon fall.” — St. Austin.
TWENTY-FIFTH DAY. — ON THE LOVE OF GOD.
1. God has loved us to such a decree as to give us his only Son. Had he anything better he would have given it to us; is it not buying our love too dearly, to purchase it at such a rate? A trifling bounty from a fellow-creature is entitled to our love. Why, then, shall we not love a bounty that is infinite? What! doth its being infinite render it less amiable?
2. God has strictly enjoined us to love him. Is a commandment rigorous which orders us to love what is infinitely worthy of our affections? He commands us to love him with all our heart. Is a heart so small as mine too much for a God so great? But in saying all, he admits of no exception. Whatever share I give him, if I give him not all, I give him nothing.
3. If eternity could have an end, the torments of the damned in hell, even to the day of judgment, would not be too much to obtain this heavenly love. There is not one of these miserable souls that would not think itself happy, provided, after ages of suffering, it could love that infinite beauty. We can love God if we please; every moment invites us to it. Not to do so, while it can be done, is a monstrous insensibility.
[Disclaim every love but that of God alone, and endeavor to love him above all things.]
“If I have not charity, I am nothing.” — 1 Cor. xiii.
TWENTY-SIXTH DAY. — LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST.
1. Nothing was ever purchased at so dear a rate as my soul. A divine life was given to redeem it. I deserved hell: justice cried out for punishment; but Christ would listen only to the love he bore me; it pleaded in my behalf, and I obtained forgiveness. If I return him not life for life, the least I can do is to return him love for love.
2. The dog that I feed, watches, caresses, and attends me. Jesus has given his blood for me, and continues to give me himself; yet I am still insensible. Learn, then, ungrateful soul— learn, I say, thy duty from a brute ! If his example make not an impression on thy heart, thou art more insensible to benefits than he is.
3. We can feel for our friends; we are not insensible of the good they do us; we pique ourselves upon gratitude. Shall we then be ungrateful only to Christ? Shall he alone find us hard-hearted? Had we ever a friend that sacrificed himself for us?
[Beg the love of Jesus, from Jesus himself. Without his grace we shall never be able to love him.]
“ If any one love not the Lord Jesus, let him be accursed " — i Cor. vi.
“If I belong to him entirely for having created me, what shall I add for having redeemed, and redeemed mo in so excellent a manner.”— Bernard.
TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY. — LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOUR.
1. If we love not our neighbour we cannot love God. Whatever good we do is to no purpose, if we do not love our brethren. Even martyrdom itself will not avail us without charity.
2. “ This is my commandment,” said Jesus, “ that you love one another as I have loved you.” Had mankind nothing else than Christ’s love to endear them to each other, they are objects of esteem for that very reason. Since our Saviour has loved them, shall we refuse to do so? •
3. Do we love all men as Christ has loved them? Do we thirst for their salvation as he did? Do we unto them as we would have them do unto us?
[Excite yourself to love those whom our Lord Jesus Christ has loved so tenderly; firmly purpose to promote their salvation, and never to do what may offend against charity.]
“He that loveth his neighbour hath fulfilled the law.”— Rom. xiii.
“ By charity alone the children of God are distinguished from the children of Satan.”— St. Austin.
TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY.— LOVE OF OUR ENEMIES.
1. So essential is charity to the Christian religion, that we are obliged to love even our enemies: Christ hath given the commandment, and set the example.
God orders it, and shall we find it hard to obey? A God forgives his very executioners, and shall we refuse to pardon a brother?
2. “ He that will not forgive, shall not be forgiven.” God will not pardon us, but on the condition that we pardon others. If we seek revenge, we call down God’s anger upon us. We must either love our enemies, or bate ourselves.
3. It should seem that two Christians who hate each other are not really professors of the same religion: for how can they approach the altar — eat the same spiritual food — seek the same heaven — and hop3 to be together eternally? Mutual hatred is allowed but to the devils — it belongs to them alone. There is not a more formal sign of reprobation, than that of refusing to pardon an enemy: and a soul in such a disposition may be looked upon as marked for hell.
[Examine your heart before the crucifix; and if you feel a hatred for any person, take sentiments of charity from the wounds of Jesus.]
“ He that hates his brother is a murderer.” — 1 John iii. 15.
“You a Christian, and yet desire to be revenged! but Christ hath not yet taken vengeance.” — St. Austin .
TWENTY-NINTH DAY. — IMITATION OF CHRIST.
1. The Son of God, when he united his divinity to our human nature, became the model for Christians. He is the head of the predestined; we are therefore bound to resemble him.
2. The manners of the world are carefully studied; but the life of Jesus Christ is hardly thought upon. Courtiers form themselves after the model of their prince, philosophers have been imitated, even in their faults. Hid we ever seriously strive to imitate Jesus? Have we taken any pains to follow his example, or to copy after the virtues of his holy life?
3. What shall we say for ourselves at the awful tribunal of Divine Justice, when we shall be compared to our model? when the life of Jesus shall be opposed to our life? his humility to our pride? his wounds to our delicacy? his sweetness to our anger and impatience? &c. Ah! what a monster is a Christian without Christianity ! baptized, and a slave to the devil! under the banners of the Cross, yet a follower of the flesh and of the world! We must, then, renounce our Baptism, or conform to the life of the Saviour.
[See whether you bear any resemblance to the Son of God, and whether you may be truly considered as a disciple of a crucified Jesus.]
“Master, I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest.” — St. Matt.
“ In vain am I a Christian if I follow not Christ.”— Bernard.
THIRTIETH DAY. — ON FERVOUR IN THE SERVICE OF GOD.
1. Let us have as much zeal for God as he has for us. He acts exteriorly but for the perfection of our souls. All the desires of his heart — all the cares of his providence — all the tenderness of his mercy — are referred to this. Oh! what a subject of confusion for tepid souls!
2. Were we to judge of God by our own indifference, it might be said that he does not deserve our services, and that his rewards are very trifling. What idea can be had of a master whose servants attend him carelessly, and without the smallest affection? We dishonour God, we cry down his services, as often as we perform negligently what he requires of us. Wo be to the man who does the work of God without attention!
3. An action done for God, how trifling soever it may be, is of far greater value than the most renowned exploits of heroes. If we pique ourselves upon so much courage in labouring for vanity, what' should be done when we are employed for eternity ! What! the servants of the devil spare no pains — they do not complain of what they go through — they are ever indefatigable. Is Jesus Christ less deserving of consideration than the devil? Is paradise less valuable than hell? Hell then shall be, as it were, our instructor: we are to love God as much as the damned hate him: we are to serve God as much as the world serves the devil. Is this too much?
[Examine your conduct with respect to the service of God: consider the actions, in which you are most remiss, and excite yourself to perform them henceforth with a fervour worthy your Master.]
“ Fervent in spirit serving the Lord.”— Romans.
“ Let the ardour you formerly had for the world, be now entertained for him who created it.”— St. Austin. THIRTY-FIRST DAY. — ON DEVOTION TO THE MOTHER OF GOD.
1. A more pure, excellent, or more amiable being than this glorious Virgin, was never yet created. God having, from all eternity, destined her to be the Mother of his Son, it was proper she should be embellished with every created excellence, and that her dignity and influence in heaven should far surpass the dignity and influence of all the other saints. Most justly, then, is she entitled to our veneration, respect, and esteem.
2. Let us place ourselves under her protection; let us recommend ourselves to her prayers. How great soever our wickedness, or how numerous soever our faults may have been, let us always have recourse to her, and hope through her prayers for the grace of our conversion. Her charity is so great, her interest is so powerful, that she must always plead successfully for the repenting sinner.
3. But, let us never forget, that to honour her properly is to imitate her virtues — that to persevere in sin upon the hopes of her future intercession, is equally absurd, impious, and detestable. Her hatred of this error should be always before our eyes. Her purity, her mildness, her patience, should be ever present to us.
“ Hail, full of grace.” — Luke i.
"O Name! under which no one should despair.’' — St. Anstin.
CONCLUSION.
Which may he read with great profit every Sunday.
1. As Christians, it would be very profitable for us to reflect, every morning, that we have on that day a God to glorify, a Saviour to imitate, our souls to save, our bodies to mortify, virtues to acquire, sins to satisfy for, heaven to seek after, hell to avoid. eternity to meditate on, time to improve, temptation to overcome, the devil to resist, our neighbour to edify, our passions to subdue, the world to guard against, and, perhaps, death and judgment to undergo. Reflect seriously on all these important truths, and they will not only incite you to begin the day well, but also, in the course thereof, to make the affair of your eternal salvation your principal study.
2. As it is also a duty of the greatest consequence to conclude the day properly, nothing can prove a more powerful incitement thereto than the serious consideration of the many spiritual and temporal blessings which God has bestowed on you, the various evils from which his providence has hitherto preserved you, and the absolute uncertainty whether you shall ever unclose your eyes to behold the next morning. Thousands, who had as good a right to expect it as you, were nevertheless disappointed. The very bed on which you lie is a memento mori or kind of sepulchre, and sleep, the image of death. What unaccountable rashness, then, must it be, for a sinner to compose himself to sleep in a state of mortal sin, without first endeavouring to appease the wrath of God by an act of contrition, or some other spiritual exercise of piety or devotion; since that very night perhaps his soul may be required of him.
3. Let us, then, guard against this danger, by a faithful discharge of every Christian duty: let us frequently exclaim, with the prophet, "Enlighten mine eyes, O Lord, that I may never sleep in death, lest the enemy, at any time, may say — I have prevailed against him.”
"He that desires to make any progress in the service of God, must begin every day with fresh ardour: he must, as much as possible, keep himself in the presence of God, and, in all his actions, have no other object in view but that of promoting the divine honour." — St. C. Borromeo.
On the Lord's Prayer.
THE Lord’s prayer consists of a preamble or preface, and seven petitions; seven being a mysterious or mystical number in the sacred writings: it is the most dignified and perfect of all prayers, and excels every other for six principal reasons: viz., by reason,
| 1st. Of its Author, | Being God. |
| 2nd. Its Brevity, | A compendium of the Gospel.— Tertullian. |
| 3rd. Order, | 1st. Proposing God’s glory. 2nd. Our own necessities |
| 4th. Efficacy, | Christ’s own words, consequently most efficacious. |
| 5th. Necessity, | All being bound to know and recite It. |
| 6th. Of its comprising the Acts of the divine and Moral Virtues, | First, expressing the divine; second, the moral virtues. |
A PARAPHRASE ON THE LORD’S PRAYER.
Our Father, who art in Heaven.
O ALMIGHTY Lord, maker of heaven and earth, infinite in Majesty, is it possible that thy love and goodness for us should be so great, as to suffer so poor worms as we are to call thee Father? O make us ever dutiful children to such a parent! O my soul, ever remember this dignity to which thou art raised, of being a child of God: and see thou never degenerate by making thyself a slave to sin and the devil. O most holy Father, who dwellest in heaven and heavenly souls, raise my heart to thee; and teach me, by thy interior grace, to pray to thee this day with due attention, devotion, humility, and faith.
Hallowed be thy name.
The first thing I beg of thee, O heavenly Father, is the greater honour and glory of thy name. I rejoice with all my soul that in thyself thou art infinitely happy, infinitely glorious, and that thou art eternally adored, praised, and glorified by all thy angels and saints. But, alas! O Lord, how little art thou known in this miserable world ! how little art thou loved here! how little art thou served! How is thy name blasphemed all the day, even by those who call themselves Christians! How many millions of souls, in all parts of the world, though made to thy own image and likeness, and redeemed by the precious blood of thy only Son, live and die in infidelity, error, and vice, to the great dishonour of thy holy name. O when shall so great an evil be remedied! O that I could do anything to remedy it! O that I could worthily promote the honour and glory of thy name ! O that I could make it known to all nations! O that, like the blessed in heaven, we were all happily united in praising, blessing, and loving thee ! But this must be the work of thy grace, O Lord: and this grace I beg of thee this day, that so both I and all the world may ever adore, praise, and love thee; and not only in words, but much more in our actions, show forth the glory of thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Heaven is the seat of thy eternal kingdom, O Lord, where thou livest and reignest for ever. But whilst we are here in this mortal life, thy kingdom is within us, as long as thou reignest within our souls, by thy grace and by thy love. I earnestly beg both for myself and for all others, a share in thy eternal kingdom, that we may there be witnesses of thy glory, and see, love, praise and enjoy thee for ever. In the meantime, I beg that the kingdom of thy grace, and of thy love, may come into our souls; that thou mayst ever reign in us without control, and make us all according to thy own heart; that nothing in us may any more presume to rebel against thee, the true king of hearts; but that we may be ever faithful servants and subjects of thy love.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The blessed in heaven have no other will, O Lord, but thine. This will of thine they ever adore; this they eternally embrace and love; this they readily and cheerfully obey. Oh, that we, poor banished children of Adam here upon earth, did in like manner adore, embrace, and love thy will! Oh, that we obeyed it in like manner! Lord, it is my sincere desire and hearty prayer, that from henceforward thy holy will may be done by us in all things. Oh, grant that from this moment thy will may be the rule of our actions; and that in all our deliberations, like St. Paul, after his conversion, we may ever cry out to thee, O Lord , what wouldst thou have me to do? Oh, grant that in all our sufferings we may ever have a perfect conformity to thy holy will.
Give us this day our daily bread.
The bread of our souls, which is to support us during this day of our mortality, and to feed and nourish us to life everlasting, is no other, O Lord, than thy Son, who hast said, I am the living Bread, that came down from heaven; he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever; And the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world . This bread of life we earnestly beg of thee. This we desire often to receive sacramentally, this we desire daily to receive spiritually, for the nourishment of our souls with heavenly grace from this fountain of grace. Oh, come, dear Jesus, into our poor famished souls, satisfy our hunger here this day with this heavenly bread, till we come to the more happy day of eternity, where all veils being withdrawn, we shall for ever feast upon thy divinity. In the meantime, as to the necessities of this life, grant us what, in thy wisdom, thou seest best for us, and most conducive to thy honour and our eternal welfare.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.
Our sins, Lord, are innumerable, the debt that we owe thee is infinite; and we are poor and miserable, unable of ourselves to discharge the least part of this debt, or to make satisfaction for the least of these sins. But, prostrate in spirit before thee, we humbly implore thy mercy. We desire to offer thee the sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart. We offer thee the death and passion of thy only Son, which he has made over to us for the discharge of our debts. And, as he has promised forgiveness to those that % forgive, we here from our hearts forgive all that have offended us, and hope through him to obtain forgiveness from thee.
Lead us not into temptation.
Alas ! O Lord, man’s life upon earth is a continual temptation. We are encompassed on all sides with mortal enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil, are ever attacking us with united forces. Our only hope in all these dangers and conflicts is in thy strength and protection. O stand thou - for us, and we care not who is against us. We believe that thou art faithful, and volt not suffer us to be tempted above our strength. O never suffer us to forsake thee, and we know thou wilt never forsake us. Let not the devil circumvent us by his frauds and deceits; nor ever glory that he has prevailed over us: arm us both against the terrors and flatteries of the world, and all the dangers of our passions and concupiscences. And whatever trials thou art pleased to send us, let thy supporting grace ever carry us through them, with advantage to our souls. That by thy favour and mercy, we may be faithful unto death, and so receive the crown of life.
But deliver us from evil.
O Sovereign Goodness, the fountain of all our good, deliver us from all our evils: from our sins and the punishments we deserve for them; from wars, plagues, famine and such like scourges, which thy justice and our impenitence give us too much reason to apprehend are hanging over our heads: from heresy and schism, and all that blindness of soul which self-conceit and pride expose us to: in fine, from a hardened heart, from final impenitence, and everlasting damnation. From all these evils, for thy own goodness’ sake, O Lord, deliver us.