Holy Writ under the name of “Wisdom,” and the entire book called
“Wisdom” is occupied in praising and explaining it. For instance, its
seventh chapter says: “I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came
upon me, and I preferred her before kingdoms and thrones, and esteemed
riches nothing in comparison of her.... Now all good things came to me
together with her.... She is an infinite treasure to men, which they
that use become the friends of God, being commended for the gift of
discipline” (vii, 7-14).
Wisdom is the virtue by which we direct our acts by the best means to
the best end, which is the end for which we were created, the glory of
God. This is the spirit of our Society, “All for the Greater Glory of
God.” And this is the spirit which we must renew within us by the
exercises of the triduum. It regards the purpose or intention for which
we act, and therefore it is called “the interior spirit.”
_POINT II. What is opposed to the interior spirit?_ Two classes of
faults are opposed to this interior spirit,
1. Those by which we seek sinful gratifications,
2. Those which simply fail to direct our actions to our supernatural
end. Supposing that we are careful to avoid all wilful sin, let us
consider how we can be wanting in the interior spirit. There are various
ways: (a) We may be actuated in many of our actions by the love of
praise, not seeking to please God but to please ourselves. Of course all
that is done for a merely natural purpose is so much labor lost for
eternity: “Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen
by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in
heaven (St. Matth. vi, 1). Thus a religious, whether a Father, a
Scholastic or a Brother, may give great satisfaction to his superiors,
to his brethren and to outsiders, and yet have little merit before God.”
The country is full of able and energetic teachers, for instance, who
work only for earthly rewards.
(b) We may lead a life of mere impulsive energy, getting interested in
our work, perhaps to the neglect of higher duties, or we may be drawn by
mere natural affections: “If you love them that love you, what reward
shall you have? Do not even the publicans this?” (ib. v, 46).
(c) In many of our actions we may be doing mere routine work. If we
began the task with a good intention, though we continue it without
further thought of the same, this is not mere routine, but may be very
meritorious. The danger is that we may waste much time and energy by
merely mechanical action without any supernatural intention. Do I strive
earnestly to live for God, A.M.D.G.?
_POINT III. What means can I use for this purpose?_
1. Good daily meditations, by which I keep supernatural motives before
my mind.
2. Careful examinations of conscience, watching in particular the
motives of my actions.
3. Earnest prayer for light and grace steadily to advance in sanctity.
Such prayer is suggested in various parts of the “Book of Wisdom,” to
which we referred before; for instance, “Give me wisdom, that sitteth by
thy throne, and cast me not off from among thy children. For I am thy
servant and the son of thy handmaid, a weak man and of short time, and
falling short of the understanding of judgment and laws. For if one be
perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he
shall be nothing regarded” (ix, 4-6).
_Colloquy._ An earnest petition for grace to renew and increase our
interior spirit.
MEDITATION III
The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by Faith
_1st Prelude._ Recall the words of Christ: “Amen, amen, I say unto you,
He that believeth in me hath everlasting life” (St. John vi, 47).
_2nd Prelude._ Ask earnestly for an intense spirit of faith.
_POINT I. Consider the value of faith in the sight of God._
1. It is one of the theological virtues, which are infused into our
hearts by the Holy Ghost: and thus, coming from God they have a Divine
efficacy. Therefore whatever action is prompted by faith has
supernatural merit, that is deserves an eternal reward. Hence the
teaching of Christ: “He that believeth in me hath everlasting life.”
2. This value of faith is praised most highly by St. Paul, who devotes
to its praise the whole eleventh chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews,
showing how all the Saints of the Old Law were sanctified by their
belief in the promised Redeemer.
3. On the part of man, faith is the sacrifice of his highest faculty,
his understanding, to his sovereign Lord. By it we resign our own
judgment to accept in its place the word of God.
4. It is also the exercise of the virtue of humility, by which we
acknowledge the weakness of our intellect. Now we know that “God
resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble” (St. James iv, 6).
_POINT II. See how faith sanctifies our daily life_:
1. It keeps before us the Divine presence wherever we be; as a sponge
plunged into the sea has water all around it and within the pores of its
substance, so we are in God; “For in him we live and move and be” (Acts
xvii, 28). Aie, God is still more intimately present to us than the
water is to the sponge, for He penetrates every particle of our
substance.
2. Faith reveals to us the real presence of Christ in the Holy
Eucharist, with body and soul, humanity and Divinity, teaching us to
adore Him, to offer Him as our sacrifice and receive Him as our food.
3. Faith makes us recognize the voice of God in the words of our rules
and the directions of our superiors, and thus it makes the details of
our religious life full of merit.
4. Faith pierces the guise of misery and frailty, and makes us recognize
in every human being the hidden presence of Him who will say at the
judgment: “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my
least brethren, you did it to me” (St. Matth. xxv, 40).
Thus faith makes the religious life most meritorious.
_POINT III. Examine yourselves on the practical working of the spirit_
of faith in your daily life. Consider:
1. Whether you strive earnestly to practise the presence of God, by
frequently remembering Him and honoring Him by some ejaculatory prayer;
for instance, at the striking of the clock, or at the signal to begin or
end an exercise. If in your own room, offer each new task kneeling to
your loving Lord and His Holy Mother.
2. Do you visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently and lovingly, attend
Mass devoutly, and receive Holy Communion daily, with proper preparation
and thanksgiving?
3. Are you diligent in keeping your rules and docile to the directions
of your superiors? Or do you criticise their orders, thereby showing
that you fail to recognize in them the voice of God?
4. Do you treat all your brethren with generous charity, seeing in them
so many images of Christ? Or do you take a merely human view of them,
being very fond of some and cold towards others, as worldlings treat one
another? Do you endeavor to benefit and console all those in need or in
sorrow?
The days of the renovation of spirit offer a golden opportunity to
examine the motives of all our actions, valuing them all according to
the teachings of faith.
_Colloquy_ with our dear Lord, begging for much light and grace to lead
a life of lively faith, and thus to be thoroughly renewed in spirit.
MEDITATION IV
The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by Hope
_1st Prelude._ Recall the words of the Psalmist: “Trust in the Lord, and
do good.... Delight in the Lord, and He will give thee the requests of
thy heart” (Ps. 36).
_2nd Prelude._ Ask for a lively confidence in the help of God to lead a
holy and successful life.
_POINT I. The virtue of hope inspires lofty aspirations._ All men must
hope for such graces from God as will enable them to attain the ends to
which they are called. But as religious, and as Jesuits we are certainly
called to attain perfection for ourselves and abundant fruit in the
souls of others. Unless a Jesuit aims at these two objects, he falls
below the mark of his vocation; He is a spiritual abortion. All other
aims are trivial in comparison. That we are called to this twofold
success is declared by the second rule of the Summary; and therefore the
words of Christ are meant for us: “I have chosen you and have appointed
you that you should go and should bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain” (St. John xv, 16). This lofty aim is the spirit of our
vocation. It is fostered by the virtue of hope.
_POINT II. The virtue of hope gives us confidence of success._ The
sanctification of our own soul and of many others is certainly above the
power of any man. If therefore we had not the help of God for this
purpose, we could not attain this effect. But with the help of God we
can do wonders: “I can do all things in him who strengthened me” (Phil.
iv, 13). Two sentiments must combine in me for the purpose: an intimate
conviction of my total inability to save souls, and a firm confidence in
the power and goodness of God to effect this result through my weakness:
“The foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound
the strong; and the base things of the world and the things that are
contemptible hath God chosen, and things that are not, that he might
bring to naught things that are; that no flesh should glory in his
sight” (I Cor. i, 27-29). The more humble our opinion of ourselves and
the more lively our confidence in God, the more earnest no doubt will be
our efforts to sanctify ourselves and others, and thus the more we shall
foster in us the spirit of our vocation.
_POINT III. To attain supernatural results we must trust in the use of
supernatural means._ All the Philosophy of the world cannot convert a
Pagan; nor all theology a Protestant, nor all literature a sinner.
Conversion and sanctification are the work of grace. Now grace is
obtained by prayer, by sacrifice, self-immolation, mortification. This
lesson our dear Lord teaches us with much emphasis, saying: “Amen, amen
I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die,
itself remaineth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit”
(St. John xii, 24, 25). The minister of God is like a grain of wheat; as
the wheat must be cast into the moist and hot furrow and corrupt before
it can produce a new and fertile plant, so God’s minister must not spare
himself, but be mortified and suffer debasement before he can produce
abundant fruit in souls. Still remember that study and work, when done
for supernatural motives, become thereby supernatural means, and are
then as good as prayer, and often better than prayer. For whoever would
neglect his appointed tasks to give extra time to prayer would not
please the Lord. Hard work in the service of God is our habitual duty;
through it we must sanctify ourselves and others. One of the sayings
attributed to St. Ignatius is: “Work as if all your successes were going
to depend on your own efforts; and trust in God as if all depended on
Him, nothing on yourself.” And of course where all depends on the
infinite power and goodness of God, we may expect abundant fruit.
_Colloquy_ with our dear Lord, begging for a lively hope in His
assistance.
MEDITATION V
The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by Charity
_1st Prelude._ See the glorified members of our Society around Jesus in
Heaven, looking down on us with tender affection.
_2nd Prelude._ Beg for a liberal share of the spirit of love.
_POINT I._ Consider that _perfection consists in the love of God_;
therefore whatever increases the love of God within us increases our
perfection, fosters our interior spirit. To increase this love of God,
let us study its excellence: it makes us really friends of Christ, who
said to His Apostles, and says to all who strive to imitate their
example: “I will not now call you servants, for the servant knoweth not
what his Lord doth. But I have called you friends, because all things
whatsoever I have heard of my Father I have made known to you” (St. John
xv, 15). Has not Christ given to the true Jesuit an intimate knowledge
of Himself? Does He not treat us all as His true friends, rather than
servants? The servant is simply expected to obey orders without knowing
the why and the wherefore, without understanding what it is all about.
To us Christ has given, through the Exercises of St. Ignatius, a clear
insight into the entire plan of sanctification, which even our Brothers
and our novices soon get to understand remarkably well. Should we not
then highly appreciate this Divine light and faithfully walk in its
radiance?
_POINT II. This friendship with God has various degrees of perfection_:
1. The lowest degree of friendship is that which at least avoids all
that would so offend a friend as to sever the friendship entirely, and
rather turn it into hatred. In case of our friendship with God, this
severance is produced by any mortal sin. Of course a true Jesuit commits
no mortal sins. Any one who would commit such sins frequently has fallen
below the normal standard of religious life.
2. The second degree of friendship excludes all that offends a friend
deliberately, with full knowledge and consent, though in a matter of
minor importance. This is done by fully deliberate venial sin. This
degree of friendship with God should be the normal condition of every
good religious.
3. The third degree of friendship strives to avoid all that may
displease a friend in any matter whatever, even when there is no
question of giving offense. Such is the condition of fervent religious,
who observe all their rules with great exactness, even those that do not
bind under sin. They do so generously through the spirit of love for
their Lord.
4. A fourth degree of friendship exists in those persons who are ever
eager to give pleasures to their friends, never sparing any trouble to
do so. Examine what is your habitual, or at least predominant
disposition towards our good Lord. Do you often offend Him with full
knowledge and will? Can you be more generous in doing what will please
Him? What improvements can you make?
_POINT III. Consider how friendship is increased._
1. By thinking frequently of the good qualities of our friend, of the
favors he has done us, of the warmth of his affection for us and the
proofs he has given us of it. Therefore we meditate on the Person, the
life and the sufferings of Christ, His Blessed Mother and the Saints.
Can I make my meditations more fervent and more loving? For the same
purpose we should read spiritual books and make ourselves familiar with
devotional literature, carry on spiritual conversations when it can be
done with profit, and collect notes of edifying matters for future use.
2. By emptying our hearts of all human attachments that God may fill
them entirely. The Lord is a jealous lover. Perfect detachment from
creatures is the condition of perfect love of God.
3. By making frequent acts of perfect resignation to the Divine will.
For friendship between two persons consists mainly in union of wills.
_Colloquy._ Ask earnestly for an increase of love of God, and resolve to
avoid all that may hinder it.
MEDITATION VI
The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by the Holy Ghost
_1st Prelude._ Imagine you hear Christ say: “You shall receive the power
of the Holy Ghost coming upon you” (Acts i, 5).
_2nd Prelude._ Ask earnestly that the Holy Ghost may effect in you a
thorough renovation of spirit.
_POINT I. Consider what the Holy Ghost did for the Apostles._ Though
they had been taught by Christ for three years, they had still
understood His doctrine very imperfectly; their affections were still
earthly, set on worldly greatness; their dispositions were cowardly.
What did they need? A copious infusion of light and strength. We are in
a similar situation. They obtained this grace by earnest prayer: “All
these were persevering with one mind in prayer” (ib. 14). In due time
the effect followed: “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (ib.
ii, 4). From that moment they understood all the doctrine correctly;
and, after being scourged before the council, “They indeed went from the
presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to
suffer reproach for the name of Jesus” (ib. v, 41). This was only the
beginning of their heroic lives.
_POINT II. Consider what the Holy Ghost does in the Church to-day._ The
work of sanctification of the faithful, begun by the descent of the Holy
Ghost upon the Apostles, was to be continued till the end of time, and
is so continued in us. Just as He has given us sanctifying grace in
Baptism, and has constantly increased the same in a multitude of various
ways up to the present day, so He is determined to continue this Divine
work in our hearts, and to lead us to the practice of all the virtues
proper to our state of life.
In particular He wishes to bestow on us the Seven Gifts of the Holy
Ghost. The very name of “Gift” shows that we are not expected to acquire
those excellent qualities by our own exertions. They may be compared to
the sails attached to a boat, or to the steam or electricity propelling
a machine. It is thus the Holy Ghost makes the practice of virtue easy
for those who implore His assistance. Have we not all experienced this
in many ways? In particular in embracing the religious state? What God
has begun in us He will not desist from, provided in the future as in
the past we co-operate with His graces.
_POINT III. What co-operation does the Holy Ghost expect from us?_ We
have seen that the sanctification of the soul comes chiefly from the
Holy Ghost. Yet He ordinarily requires our co-operation. In what does
this consist?
1. In complying with the inspirations of His grace. This supposes that
we carefully avoid all wilful sins. By mortal sins we would drive Him
entirely from our souls; by deliberate venial sins we oppose His work,
turning to creatures and attaching ourselves to them, thus opposing His
efforts to unite our will with God’s, in which union sanctity consists.
By indeliberate venial sins also we resist His influence, but to a less
degree. Yet we must also strive to diminish their frequency. Then acting
on the promptings of grace, we shall perform a multitude of virtuous
acts, by which the Holy Spirit will advance us to ever higher sanctity.
2. Our co-operation consists in the second place in the fervor of our
prayers, that is in all manner of direct intercourse with God by any of
our spiritual exercises, or by aspirations after God or His gifts,
uttered in the midst of distracting occupations. For these direct
dealings with God are the ordinary means which He provides for the
supply of light and strength to the soul, enabling it to lead a fervent
and faithful life. Our prayers become all the more efficient in this
regard when they are combined with the sacramental graces derived from
confession, Holy Communion, the Holy Mass or visits to the Blessed
Sacrament.
Am I thus faithfully and fervently co-operating with the influence of
the Holy Ghost? What can be improved?
_Colloquy_ with the Holy Ghost, asking what efforts He desires on our
part, and grace to make those efforts.
TRIDUUM E
MEDITATION I
Preparation for the Triduum
_1st Prelude._ Imagine you see the graveyard of the Novitiate.
_2nd Prelude._ Ask grace to view all things as those buried there view
them at present.
_POINT I. Consider the vast amount of good done by those buried there_,
the fruit produced in countless souls by their labors in missions,
churches, colleges, parochial schools, retreats given, sermons
delivered, confessions heard, the last sacraments administered, the sick
visited, youths prepared for the priesthood and the religious life,
etc., etc. All these results are still spreading farther and wider, like
the ripples on a pond and last from generation to generation. And by
their faithful observance of rules, the labors borne, the sufferings
endured, the penance practiced, their acts of charity, humility, piety,
etc., they have also accumulated immense rewards for themselves.
_POINT II. Consider the heavenly reward now enjoyed_ by their souls in
company with the Saints and the Blessed, with Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
How light appear to them now their former sacrifices. How fully they now
realize the meaning of these words of St. Paul: “The sufferings of this
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be
revealed in us” (Rom. viii, 18). Think also of the multitudes of souls
who are now in bliss with them, and who owe their salvation to the
labors and prayers of those of our brethren whose remains lie in this
sacred ground.
_POINT III. Consider how little is known now of their individual
endowments._ To most of the present generation of our younger members
few of the names upon those tombstones recall any former memories. All
that is now appreciated by their successors is the grand cause for which
they lived and died. Their bodily forms, their more or less extensive
knowledge, their wit, their poetic power, their eloquence, their taste
for music, their talent for mathematics, even the distinguished offices
they held, the great services they rendered to the Society and to the
Church at large, all, or at least most of this is forgotten by the
present generation. And so will be the distinctions which you may
acquire during your lifetime to the generations to come. Only that which
pleases the eye of God is of real and lasting value. Reflect whether you
are not too much in love with temporal distinctions. Resolve to make a
thorough self-examination during the three days before you, weighing all
concerns in the balance of eternity.
_Colloquy._ Ask light and grace to make an excellent retreat.
MEDITATION II
The Field Ripe for the Harvest
_1st Prelude._ Imagine you hear Christ say: “Pray ye the Lord of the
harvest that he send forth laborers into his harvest” (St. Matth. ix,
38).
_2nd Prelude._ Ask grace to renew your spirit of zeal for souls.
_POINT I._ The salvation of souls is the most earnest desire of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was the purpose for which He came down to
earth, which was ever before Him during His private life, His preaching,
His sufferings and His death; and it is still the object of His
intercession for us in Heaven. For He realizes, better than any one
else, the immense interests at stake in saving souls. This is the reason
of His infinite self-humiliation, His boundless self-sacrifice.
This grand work He wishes to be continued by His ministers, to whom He
says: “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.” To do this work He has ever since
inspired His dearest friends: the Apostles, all missionaries and
pastors, numberless Saints in all ages and all lands.
_POINT II. This eagerness is as earnest with Him to-day as it ever was._
It is so in particular for this land of ours, where the fields are
certainly white for the harvest. And for this work Christ has chosen
you: “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you; and have appointed
you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and your fruit should
remain” (St. John xv, 16). It would be a deplorable blindness in us if
we failed to understand the importance of the work before us, and not
only a sad but a guilty listlessness if we were to set our minds on
selfish trifles, and not profit by the golden opportunity offered us to
do God’s work and labor generously at the salvation of souls every day
of our lives. Of course you cannot at the present stage of your
religious life, go forth and preach and give missions and bring
non-Catholics into the fold, nor are you urged to do things
extraordinary.
_POINT III. What can you do in your present circumstances to lead
zealous lives? What does God desire of you?_
1. You must acquire thoroughly the spirit of our institute. You are
still in the stage of formation to this spirit. Christ had called His
first disciples with the words: “Come after me, and I will make you
fishers of men” (St. Mark i, 17). So He has called you for the same
purpose. Yet He did not send them at once to preach; He kept them in
training, instructing and directing them. So He is doing with you. Do
not pretend to know better than those put over you; do not criticise and
murmur at any time; but pray much to obtain fully the spirit of our
Society. Do so particularly during this meditation and this whole
triduum.
2. Do the tasks entrusted to you with much zeal and devotedness. All the
labor in which any Jesuit is employed by his superiors bears, in some
way or other, on the salvation of souls. Do all your tasks in that
spirit.