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| St. Ignatius and the Spiritual Exercises: History & Background | The Spiritual Exercises Welcome Page, Guide & Introduction |
| SPIRITUAL EXERCISES FOR WEEK ONE | SPIRITUAL EXERCISES FOR WEEK TWO |
| SPIRITUAL EXERCISES FOR WEEK THREE | SPIRITUAL EXERCISES FOR WEEK FOUR |
| St. Ignatius and the Spiritual Exercises: History & Background | The Spiritual Exercises Welcome Page, Guide & Introduction |
| SPIRITUAL EXERCISES FOR WEEK ONE | SPIRITUAL EXERCISES FOR WEEK TWO |
| SPIRITUAL EXERCISES FOR WEEK THREE | SPIRITUAL EXERCISES FOR WEEK FOUR |
WEEK 2 : DAY 1
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE REIGN OF CHRIST THE KING
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE REIGN OF CHRIST THE KING
THE INTENTION OF THE SECOND WEEK AND SOME RECOMMENDATIONS PROPER TO IT
The aim of the first week is to know how far we have wandered from the path which leads to our last end, to deplore so great an error, and to conceive an ardent desire to return to this path, never more to quit it.
The purpose of the second week is to propose to ourselves Jesus Christ as the true way, as He Himself says: " I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by Me " (John xix. 6). Jesus Christ is, in fact, the Divine model whose example must reform and regulate our lives. And as the life of our Saviour is the very perfection of holiness, it follows that the more faithfully we imitate Him, the more perfect our lives will be; and as perfection is our end, to approach nearer to our end, is to be nearer repose and happiness. Thus, the more our life resembles that of Jesus Christ, the happier it will be.
The recommendations proper to this week are
(1) To undertake the Exercises with great courage and a sincere desire to follow the way of God, as it shall be manifested to us. This disposition is so necessary for the fruit of the Exercises, that it would be better to interrupt them than to continue them with an undecided will.
2. After the meditations, any spare time may be employed in reading some useful work, but one more calculated to nourish piety than give rise to curiosity, such as some of the works of St. Bernard, of Louis of Granada, the Imitation of Christ, the Lives of the Saints, and the Holy Gospels. It must be observed, however, in order to avoid distraction, that if the work treats of the mysteries of our Saviour, we must not stop to dwell upon any other mystery than the one on which we are to meditate then or during the day.
3. In the observance of the additions there must be the following modifications:
(1) On waking you must recall the subject of meditation, and excite in yourself a great desire to know more particularly the mystery of the Word incarnate, that you may love Him with more ardour, and serve Him with more fidelity.
(2) During the day you must frequently recall some event in the life of our Saviour, from the time of His incarnation to that of the mystery which is the subject of the present meditation.
(3) In the time of meditation, make use of light, or of obscurity, according as the one or the other appears most suitable to the sentiments and affections we desire to excite in ourselves. With regard to corporeal mortifications, they must be regulated according to the mystery we are meditating on; for some of the mysteries should excite us to penitence, some to other virtues.
When meditation has for its immediate object the mysteries of Jesus Christ, it naturally takes the form of contemplation. It is therefore necessary here to trace out the method of contemplation and the application of the senses.
CONTEMPLATION OR MANNER OF MEDITATING ON SENSIBLE OBJECT
In this Exercise, where the mysteries of our Saviour are the object, we fix on persons, listen to words, consider actions; and from each of these we endeavour to draw some fruit for the soul.
I. BEFORE THE CONTEMPLATION
The same thing is to be observed as in the meditations, only adding a prelude. It is a sort of representation of the mystery intended to be meditated upon, and which consists in recalling the history in brief. This prelude should be placed after the preparatory prayer, and before the construction of place.
II. DURING THE CONTEMPLATION
(1) Consider first, the persons, with whatever they present in themselves of good or bad.
(2) The words, interior or exterior, the thoughts, the affections.
(3) The actions, praiseworthy or blamable, going back to their cause in order to draw more spiritual profit from them.
Each of these points we must consider as regards ourselves, and apply the reflections suggested by the different objects contemplated. We may also meditate on the mysteries, reflecting on all the circumstances, the causes, the end, the effect, the time, the place, the manner of their accomplishment.
End by one or more colloquies and the Pater.
III. AFTER THE CONTEMPLATION
The same review as after the meditation.
CONTEMPLATION ON THE REIGN OF CHRIST
Preparatory Prayer
First prelude. Represent to yourself the synagogues, villages, cities of Judea, and the different places, the scenes of the preaching of Jesus Christ.
Second prelude. Ask of God the grace not to be deaf to the calls of His divine Son, but prompt to obey Him and follow Him.
FIRST POINT
Let us suppose that the bounty of Heaven has sent on Earth a monarch who unites in himself all the moral and Christian virtues, all the heroic qualities, every title of legitimacy, all the gifts of valor and fortune that can render a general or a king formidable to his enemies and dear to his subjects―a prince wiser than Solomon, greater than Charlemagne, more pious than St. Louis, more fortunate in war than Bonaparte in the days of his greatest prosperity―a sovereign to whom the Lord has given in an authentic manner, and acknowledged by all Christian people, the title of universal monarch, which Henry IV, Charles V, and Napoleon aspired in vain to be; in fine, a king to whom all the princes of Europe would willingly become tributary, and who had incontestable rights over the states of the infidels.
Suppose, moreover, that this great man, this invincible general, this supreme monarch, should one day call around him all these princes―formerly independent, but now considering themselves more fortunate in being his generals and his officers―and should speak to them thus:
“Kings, my friends and my subjects, who enjoy with so much happiness the peace that reigns throughout Christian Europe, you are not ignorant of the evils that weigh on a part of humanity still barbarous and savage. In one place absurd divinities exact and receive human sacrifices, in another place cannibals feed on the hearts of their enemies, or even on the yet living flesh of their parents. Elsewhere, unhappy widows are obliged to burn themselves on their husband's funeral pile; officers and courtiers are buried alive with their dead prince. There are chiefs of tribes who punish with death any unfortunate being who should by chance cross their shadow, or cast a single look on them. Almost everywhere, the child who is too great a burden on its parents is condemned to perish at its birth, and the Chinese seas daily swallow up thousands of children. There and elsewhere the laws of natural morality, of the rights of man, of modesty, of humanity, are unknown or violated. Nowhere is there liberty, security, instruction, order, or true prosperity.
“By the announcement only of our approach, by the mere view of our armies, by the reputation of knowledge, wisdom, and strength that Europe has acquired in the world, these unhappy people will feel that their subjugation will be their happiness, and will submit to us without striking a blow. As they are our subjects by the order of divine power, we must spare their blood as we should spare that of our own soldiers. Thence we must take more precautions and run more perils; but I will be there at your head to set you the example of clemency and bravery; in so splendid an enterprise, I wish to undergo myself the greatest part of the privations and sufferings. No one in the army shall have anything to do, or to suffer, that I have not done and suffered before him.
“This, then, is the condition I impose on those who wish to take part in this great expedition; to accompany me in the midst of hazards and dangers, or rather to follow me into them, suffer with me, but always less than myself. And behold the prize that I promise to the conquerors, and which shall be proportioned to the services rendered: I shall soon have a great number of crowns to distribute; the smallest reward I shall give to my brave and faithful companions will be a throne―a throne to occupy for the liberation, the civilization, the happiness of a whole people.”
With what enthusiasm would this discourse be received! with what unanimous applause! The enterprise is so glorious; the end proposed so noble, so useful; the example of the monarch so encouraging; the rewards promised so magnificent! What generous ambition would fire every heart, and how on every lip would be heard the cry of our fathers marching to the conquest of the Holy Sepulcher: “God wills it! God wills it!” And if it happened that one of these princes, preferring an ignoble repose to this glorious labor, should dare to reply, without dying of shame: “For me, I prefer remaining in the midst of my idleness, enjoying the delights of the court,” what a general hoot, what exclamations of disapprobation and contempt, would follow this cowardly and indolent refusal!
SECOND POINT
And now compare with this great monarch and his noble expedition another monarch―the King of kings, Jesus Christ, and the enterprise which brought Him from Heaven upon Earth.
(1) Son of God, Creator and Savior of all mankind, King of the whole Earth, He receives all nations as His inheritance; He is the way, the truth, and the life; and no one arrives at the Father but through Him; there is no salvation possible to mortals but in Him and through Him alone. Full of grace and truth, He unites in Himself all virtues, all perfections, divine and human. And this is the discourse He addresses to all those who have become His subjects by baptism, and His soldiers by confirmation: “My will, the most just of all wills, is from the height of My cross to draw all to Me; to enter into the possession of My domain, the world; to subjugate all My enemies for their salvation; and as a peaceful conqueror and master, universally obeyed by all the Earth, to introduce with Me into the glory of My Father all these men redeemed by My blood. Let those who would share My crown accompany Me, follow Me; their eternal reward will be proportioned to their labors and their efforts.”
(2) Let us reason and understand that it would be folly to refuse to Jesus Christ the generous and fervent offer of our entire selves. Let us, moreover, conceive that we must not only offer to follow Him in bodily works and fatigues, but that we owe Him a more worthy and precious service―the struggle and the victory against our flesh, our senses, our self-love, the love of the world. Let us say, weighing all the circumstances of this sublime vocation:
(a) Who is it that calls us? It is a God who has every right to our submission. The right of His infinite perfections. We cannot belong to ourselves; we must belong to God or to our passions. We have only the choice of the one yoke or the other. Which appears the most honorable? The right of creation. What are we? What have we? All that we are, all that we have, comes from God, and consequently belongs to God. Shall we disown, violate, towards Him alone that right of property which reason and justice consecrate in human society? The right of redemption. A thing belongs to us if we buy it with our money, still more if we purchase it by long and hard labor; yet more would it appear so if bought with our blood. But what are we with regard to Jesus Christ? We are the price of all His wealth, the price of all His sufferings, the price of His blood and His death: “Know you not that you are not your own? For you are bought with a great price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The right of our vows and promises. What more sacred than an oath dictated by gratitude and justice, sworn in the fullness of liberty and reflection, renewed so often and so solemnly in the face of Heaven and Earth? This is the oath which binds us to Jesus Christ.
(b) To what enterprise does Jesus Christ call us? To the most noble and most heroic that can be proposed. In this enterprise all is great. Consider: The enemies to be combated―the devil, the world, our own hearts. The weapons―faith, prayer, humility, patience, self-denial, charity, zeal. Our companions in the battle―the most illustrious that the world ever saw; the apostles, the martyrs, the penitents, in one word, all the saints. Our leader―Jesus Christ Himself; but Jesus Christ who combats in us by His grace, and who, already a conqueror in so many saints, wishes to conquer in each one of us and in the hearts of all mankind. Lastly, the motive and end of the combat―to bestow on all the captives of Jesus Christ liberty, glory, happiness; to restore them to the way, the truth, and the life.
(c) What are the conditions of the enterprise? To partake in the labors of Jesus Christ, that we may afterwards partake of His glory. But let us remark well, that the sacrifices which Jesus asks of us He has first accomplished Himself. If He asks humility of us, He first humiliated Himself; if He asks renouncement of us, He first renounced Himself. He has done more, He has gone beyond what He asks of us; He humbled Himself even to annihilation; He renounced Himself even to the cross. The sacrifices which Jesus Christ demands are sweetened by the unction of His grace. The cross has been without alleviation for Him alone; for His servants He lightens the weight by consolations. He alone could say in the full force of the words: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death!” (Matthew 26:38). He enables His servants to say: “I exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulations” (2 Corinthians 7:4). The sacrifices that Jesus Christ asks of us are only passing. A short period of combat, an eternity of reward.
(d) Let us consecrate ourselves generously to the service of so great and magnificent a master, and say to Him: “Behold me at Thy feet, supreme Monarch of the universe. Without doubt I am unworthy to march after Thee; but full of confidence in Thy grace and protection, I consecrate myself to Thee without reserve. All that I am and all that I possess I submit to Thy holy will. I declare before Thy infinite goodness, in presence of the Virgin-Mother of my Savior, and of all the heavenly court, that my desire, my unalterable resolution, my determined will, is to follow Thee as nearly as possible, detached in spirit from the things of the Earth, and, if Thou shouldst will it, really poor; humble of heart, and, if that also is Thy will, partaking in all Thy humiliations and all Thy ignominies; living and dying at the post where the interests of Thy glory and my salvation and Thy divine call may have placed me.”
“As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth: in what place soever thou shalt be, my lord king, either in death or in life, there will thy servant be” (2 Kings 15:21).
The aim of the first week is to know how far we have wandered from the path which leads to our last end, to deplore so great an error, and to conceive an ardent desire to return to this path, never more to quit it.
The purpose of the second week is to propose to ourselves Jesus Christ as the true way, as He Himself says: " I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by Me " (John xix. 6). Jesus Christ is, in fact, the Divine model whose example must reform and regulate our lives. And as the life of our Saviour is the very perfection of holiness, it follows that the more faithfully we imitate Him, the more perfect our lives will be; and as perfection is our end, to approach nearer to our end, is to be nearer repose and happiness. Thus, the more our life resembles that of Jesus Christ, the happier it will be.
The recommendations proper to this week are
(1) To undertake the Exercises with great courage and a sincere desire to follow the way of God, as it shall be manifested to us. This disposition is so necessary for the fruit of the Exercises, that it would be better to interrupt them than to continue them with an undecided will.
2. After the meditations, any spare time may be employed in reading some useful work, but one more calculated to nourish piety than give rise to curiosity, such as some of the works of St. Bernard, of Louis of Granada, the Imitation of Christ, the Lives of the Saints, and the Holy Gospels. It must be observed, however, in order to avoid distraction, that if the work treats of the mysteries of our Saviour, we must not stop to dwell upon any other mystery than the one on which we are to meditate then or during the day.
3. In the observance of the additions there must be the following modifications:
(1) On waking you must recall the subject of meditation, and excite in yourself a great desire to know more particularly the mystery of the Word incarnate, that you may love Him with more ardour, and serve Him with more fidelity.
(2) During the day you must frequently recall some event in the life of our Saviour, from the time of His incarnation to that of the mystery which is the subject of the present meditation.
(3) In the time of meditation, make use of light, or of obscurity, according as the one or the other appears most suitable to the sentiments and affections we desire to excite in ourselves. With regard to corporeal mortifications, they must be regulated according to the mystery we are meditating on; for some of the mysteries should excite us to penitence, some to other virtues.
When meditation has for its immediate object the mysteries of Jesus Christ, it naturally takes the form of contemplation. It is therefore necessary here to trace out the method of contemplation and the application of the senses.
CONTEMPLATION OR MANNER OF MEDITATING ON SENSIBLE OBJECT
In this Exercise, where the mysteries of our Saviour are the object, we fix on persons, listen to words, consider actions; and from each of these we endeavour to draw some fruit for the soul.
I. BEFORE THE CONTEMPLATION
The same thing is to be observed as in the meditations, only adding a prelude. It is a sort of representation of the mystery intended to be meditated upon, and which consists in recalling the history in brief. This prelude should be placed after the preparatory prayer, and before the construction of place.
II. DURING THE CONTEMPLATION
(1) Consider first, the persons, with whatever they present in themselves of good or bad.
(2) The words, interior or exterior, the thoughts, the affections.
(3) The actions, praiseworthy or blamable, going back to their cause in order to draw more spiritual profit from them.
Each of these points we must consider as regards ourselves, and apply the reflections suggested by the different objects contemplated. We may also meditate on the mysteries, reflecting on all the circumstances, the causes, the end, the effect, the time, the place, the manner of their accomplishment.
End by one or more colloquies and the Pater.
III. AFTER THE CONTEMPLATION
The same review as after the meditation.
CONTEMPLATION ON THE REIGN OF CHRIST
Preparatory Prayer
First prelude. Represent to yourself the synagogues, villages, cities of Judea, and the different places, the scenes of the preaching of Jesus Christ.
Second prelude. Ask of God the grace not to be deaf to the calls of His divine Son, but prompt to obey Him and follow Him.
FIRST POINT
Let us suppose that the bounty of Heaven has sent on Earth a monarch who unites in himself all the moral and Christian virtues, all the heroic qualities, every title of legitimacy, all the gifts of valor and fortune that can render a general or a king formidable to his enemies and dear to his subjects―a prince wiser than Solomon, greater than Charlemagne, more pious than St. Louis, more fortunate in war than Bonaparte in the days of his greatest prosperity―a sovereign to whom the Lord has given in an authentic manner, and acknowledged by all Christian people, the title of universal monarch, which Henry IV, Charles V, and Napoleon aspired in vain to be; in fine, a king to whom all the princes of Europe would willingly become tributary, and who had incontestable rights over the states of the infidels.
Suppose, moreover, that this great man, this invincible general, this supreme monarch, should one day call around him all these princes―formerly independent, but now considering themselves more fortunate in being his generals and his officers―and should speak to them thus:
“Kings, my friends and my subjects, who enjoy with so much happiness the peace that reigns throughout Christian Europe, you are not ignorant of the evils that weigh on a part of humanity still barbarous and savage. In one place absurd divinities exact and receive human sacrifices, in another place cannibals feed on the hearts of their enemies, or even on the yet living flesh of their parents. Elsewhere, unhappy widows are obliged to burn themselves on their husband's funeral pile; officers and courtiers are buried alive with their dead prince. There are chiefs of tribes who punish with death any unfortunate being who should by chance cross their shadow, or cast a single look on them. Almost everywhere, the child who is too great a burden on its parents is condemned to perish at its birth, and the Chinese seas daily swallow up thousands of children. There and elsewhere the laws of natural morality, of the rights of man, of modesty, of humanity, are unknown or violated. Nowhere is there liberty, security, instruction, order, or true prosperity.
“By the announcement only of our approach, by the mere view of our armies, by the reputation of knowledge, wisdom, and strength that Europe has acquired in the world, these unhappy people will feel that their subjugation will be their happiness, and will submit to us without striking a blow. As they are our subjects by the order of divine power, we must spare their blood as we should spare that of our own soldiers. Thence we must take more precautions and run more perils; but I will be there at your head to set you the example of clemency and bravery; in so splendid an enterprise, I wish to undergo myself the greatest part of the privations and sufferings. No one in the army shall have anything to do, or to suffer, that I have not done and suffered before him.
“This, then, is the condition I impose on those who wish to take part in this great expedition; to accompany me in the midst of hazards and dangers, or rather to follow me into them, suffer with me, but always less than myself. And behold the prize that I promise to the conquerors, and which shall be proportioned to the services rendered: I shall soon have a great number of crowns to distribute; the smallest reward I shall give to my brave and faithful companions will be a throne―a throne to occupy for the liberation, the civilization, the happiness of a whole people.”
With what enthusiasm would this discourse be received! with what unanimous applause! The enterprise is so glorious; the end proposed so noble, so useful; the example of the monarch so encouraging; the rewards promised so magnificent! What generous ambition would fire every heart, and how on every lip would be heard the cry of our fathers marching to the conquest of the Holy Sepulcher: “God wills it! God wills it!” And if it happened that one of these princes, preferring an ignoble repose to this glorious labor, should dare to reply, without dying of shame: “For me, I prefer remaining in the midst of my idleness, enjoying the delights of the court,” what a general hoot, what exclamations of disapprobation and contempt, would follow this cowardly and indolent refusal!
SECOND POINT
And now compare with this great monarch and his noble expedition another monarch―the King of kings, Jesus Christ, and the enterprise which brought Him from Heaven upon Earth.
(1) Son of God, Creator and Savior of all mankind, King of the whole Earth, He receives all nations as His inheritance; He is the way, the truth, and the life; and no one arrives at the Father but through Him; there is no salvation possible to mortals but in Him and through Him alone. Full of grace and truth, He unites in Himself all virtues, all perfections, divine and human. And this is the discourse He addresses to all those who have become His subjects by baptism, and His soldiers by confirmation: “My will, the most just of all wills, is from the height of My cross to draw all to Me; to enter into the possession of My domain, the world; to subjugate all My enemies for their salvation; and as a peaceful conqueror and master, universally obeyed by all the Earth, to introduce with Me into the glory of My Father all these men redeemed by My blood. Let those who would share My crown accompany Me, follow Me; their eternal reward will be proportioned to their labors and their efforts.”
(2) Let us reason and understand that it would be folly to refuse to Jesus Christ the generous and fervent offer of our entire selves. Let us, moreover, conceive that we must not only offer to follow Him in bodily works and fatigues, but that we owe Him a more worthy and precious service―the struggle and the victory against our flesh, our senses, our self-love, the love of the world. Let us say, weighing all the circumstances of this sublime vocation:
(a) Who is it that calls us? It is a God who has every right to our submission. The right of His infinite perfections. We cannot belong to ourselves; we must belong to God or to our passions. We have only the choice of the one yoke or the other. Which appears the most honorable? The right of creation. What are we? What have we? All that we are, all that we have, comes from God, and consequently belongs to God. Shall we disown, violate, towards Him alone that right of property which reason and justice consecrate in human society? The right of redemption. A thing belongs to us if we buy it with our money, still more if we purchase it by long and hard labor; yet more would it appear so if bought with our blood. But what are we with regard to Jesus Christ? We are the price of all His wealth, the price of all His sufferings, the price of His blood and His death: “Know you not that you are not your own? For you are bought with a great price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The right of our vows and promises. What more sacred than an oath dictated by gratitude and justice, sworn in the fullness of liberty and reflection, renewed so often and so solemnly in the face of Heaven and Earth? This is the oath which binds us to Jesus Christ.
(b) To what enterprise does Jesus Christ call us? To the most noble and most heroic that can be proposed. In this enterprise all is great. Consider: The enemies to be combated―the devil, the world, our own hearts. The weapons―faith, prayer, humility, patience, self-denial, charity, zeal. Our companions in the battle―the most illustrious that the world ever saw; the apostles, the martyrs, the penitents, in one word, all the saints. Our leader―Jesus Christ Himself; but Jesus Christ who combats in us by His grace, and who, already a conqueror in so many saints, wishes to conquer in each one of us and in the hearts of all mankind. Lastly, the motive and end of the combat―to bestow on all the captives of Jesus Christ liberty, glory, happiness; to restore them to the way, the truth, and the life.
(c) What are the conditions of the enterprise? To partake in the labors of Jesus Christ, that we may afterwards partake of His glory. But let us remark well, that the sacrifices which Jesus asks of us He has first accomplished Himself. If He asks humility of us, He first humiliated Himself; if He asks renouncement of us, He first renounced Himself. He has done more, He has gone beyond what He asks of us; He humbled Himself even to annihilation; He renounced Himself even to the cross. The sacrifices which Jesus Christ demands are sweetened by the unction of His grace. The cross has been without alleviation for Him alone; for His servants He lightens the weight by consolations. He alone could say in the full force of the words: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death!” (Matthew 26:38). He enables His servants to say: “I exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulations” (2 Corinthians 7:4). The sacrifices that Jesus Christ asks of us are only passing. A short period of combat, an eternity of reward.
(d) Let us consecrate ourselves generously to the service of so great and magnificent a master, and say to Him: “Behold me at Thy feet, supreme Monarch of the universe. Without doubt I am unworthy to march after Thee; but full of confidence in Thy grace and protection, I consecrate myself to Thee without reserve. All that I am and all that I possess I submit to Thy holy will. I declare before Thy infinite goodness, in presence of the Virgin-Mother of my Savior, and of all the heavenly court, that my desire, my unalterable resolution, my determined will, is to follow Thee as nearly as possible, detached in spirit from the things of the Earth, and, if Thou shouldst will it, really poor; humble of heart, and, if that also is Thy will, partaking in all Thy humiliations and all Thy ignominies; living and dying at the post where the interests of Thy glory and my salvation and Thy divine call may have placed me.”
“As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth: in what place soever thou shalt be, my lord king, either in death or in life, there will thy servant be” (2 Kings 15:21).
WEEK 2 : DAY 2
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE INCARNATION
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE INCARNATION
FIRST EXERCISE ON THE INCARNATION
MEDITATION
Preparatory Prayer
First prelude. Recall the mystery―“The angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin called Mary. The angel being come in, said unto her: ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! Thou shalt bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus!’ Mary said: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word!’” (Luke 1:26-38).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself Nazareth, and the humble house of Mary, where the mystery of the Incarnation was accomplished.
Third prelude. Ask the grace of knowing well the infinite charity of the Word incarnate, that you may love Him with more ardor and serve Him with greater zeal.
FIRST POINT
Consider the state of the human race before the Incarnation of the Word. With the exception of a few faithful souls, men lived in a profound forgetfulness of their last end. The devils had altars among all the people; pride, voluptuousness, love of riches, reigned in all hearts; the knowledge of God disappeared gradually from their hearts: “Truths are decayed from among the children of men” (Psalm 11:2). The Jews themselves were, for the most part, scarcely nearer to God and salvation than idolatrous nations.
Witness the reproaches addressed to them by the Baptist―“Ye brood of vipers, who hath showed you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7). And after him Our Lord―“You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44). In a word, God was scarcely any longer known, or loved, or served on earth. And souls fell into the abyss every day in such numbers that hell was obliged to enlarge its precincts―“Hell hath enlarged her soul, and opened her mouth without any bounds” (Isaias 5:14).
Could man in this state of degradation and misery reasonably hope that God would deign to pity him and save him? For should not God thrice holy, God infinitely just, turn away His eyes with horror from the human race, of whom it is written, “To God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful”? (Wisdom 14:9.) “Thy eyes are too pure to behold evil, and Thou canst not look on iniquity” (Habacuc 1:13). Should He not treat man as He had treated the rebel angels, and deliver him up for ever to all the rigors of His vengeance?
Did not God, infinitely great, owe it to His glory not to pardon criminals, whose ingratitude He foresaw, and who would only receive His mercy with indifference, contempt, resistance, and hardness? Where would mankind be, where should we be, if God had only consulted the interests of His greatness or His justice? Let us, then, recognize the infinite need we have of His mercy, and return thanks to Him for not having abandoned us in our misery.
SECOND POINT
Consider the intention of the eternal Word in the Incarnation. His design is to repair the glory of the Father by bringing man back to his end―that is, to the knowledge, love, and service of God.
(1) The Word became man to bring men back to the knowledge of God. Consider that the Incarnation is the plainest proof of the Divine perfections. It reveals to us the grandeur of God, which cannot be worthily adored except by a Man-God―His wisdom, which knew how to invent this wonderful union of Divine and human nature for His glory and our salvation―His holiness, the offence to which can only be repaired by the satisfactions of a God―His mercy, which, instead of abandoning guilty man to eternal reprobation, takes pity on him and saves him―His love, which, not content with the gifts bestowed on man in the order of creation, wishes also to present him with a God as a Savior.
(2) The Word becomes incarnate to recall men to the love of God. Consider that creatures, instead of leading man to God, usurped all the affections of his heart. What does the Divine Word do to restore this heart to the empire of charity? Because man is under the dominion of his senses, He appears in a sensible form; because he is smitten with the love of creatures, He makes Himself one of them―He becomes man; and that He may more irresistibly captivate the human heart, He gives the first example of the love He asks. Recall the great precept of charity, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength” (Mark 12:30). Recall also the whole life on earth of the Word incarnate. See Him bestowing on our redemption all His thoughts, all His affections, all His works, His humanity, His entire divinity―and say, has He not fulfilled the precept of charity in its full extent towards man?
3. The Word became incarnate to recall man to the service of God. Consider that precepts no longer sufficed to teach man how God should be served. It was because of this that the Divine Word came to instruct us, not only by words, but by example. His whole life is only a practical lesson of devotion to His Father's service. What do we see in it in fact?
(a) A Man-God, who, from the first moment of His conception, offers Himself to His Father. This is to teach us that there is not a single moment of our lives that does not belong to God. “When He cometh into the world He saith Sacrifice and oblation Thou wouldst not; but a body Thou hast fitted to Me; then said I, Behold I come to do Thy will, O God” (Hebrews 10:5-9).
(b) A God who fulfilled all the details and observances of the law, which could not bind Him. This was to teach us that He wishes to be served with a religious obedience to all His commandments.
(c) A God who devotes Himself to every sacrifice, even to death upon the cross. This is to teach us that God merits to be served, however much it may cost to nature.
Meditate attentively on the great end that the Word proposed to Himself in the Incarnation, and ask of Him the grace to correspond to it faithfully.
THIRD POINT
Consider how the Incarnation of the Word was accomplished. An angel is sent to Mary, a virgin, the spouse of a poor artisan. He comes to announce to her that the Word has chosen her for His mother, and to ask her consent to the great mystery which was to be accomplished in her. Meditate on each of these circumstances.
(1) A God who incarnates Himself; that is to say, a God who makes Himself man, who makes Himself flesh, who unites Himself so closely to this vile flesh, subject to so many infirmities, which is common to us with the beasts, and which He assumes in a state of feebleness and humiliation in the state of infancy. From this annihilation of the Son of God learn the necessity and excellence of humility.
(2) A God who becomes incarnate in the womb of a virgin mother. Admire the privilege of virginity: it is to it that the greatest honor is granted that God could do to a creature, the honor of the Divine maternity. From this conduct of God, who chose a virgin for His mother, and the purest of virgins, learn the necessity and the value of purity.
(3) A God who becomes incarnate in the womb of a poor mother. The Son of God could have chosen a rich mother, and one of elevated rank according to the world. He fixes His choice on the spouse of a poor artisan. Engaged by His promises to be born of the race of David, He waits to be born of her until this royal race had fallen into obscurity and almost indigence. Learn from this the necessity and value of detachment.
(4) A God who makes His incarnation depend on the consent of His creature. Learn from this the dignity and power of Mary. God willed that men should, as it were, owe Jesus Christ, and with Jesus Christ their redemption, to the free-will of this blessed Virgin. Conceive, then, a great respect and confidence for the Mother of God, and never forget that the Word incarnate having only come into the world through Mary, it is only by Mary that we can go to Him.
COLLOQUY WITH THE THREE PERSONS OF THE ADORABLE TRINITY
Adore the infinite charity of God, who deigns to save men, notwithstanding their unworthiness and their ingratitude. Render thanks to the Word incarnate. Address yourself to Mary, and beg of her to obtain for you the grace of a tender love and faithful imitation of her divine Son.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
SECOND EXERCISE ON THE INCARNATION
CONTEMPLATION
Preparatory Prayer
First prelude. Recall the mystery,"The angel Gabriel," etc., as in the first Meditation.
Second and third preludes also as before.
1. CONTEMPLATE THE PERSONS
(1) Men spread over all the universe, almost all opposed in manners, characters, passions, interests, and yet almost all agreeing on one point; that is, in forgetting their last end, in offending God, in serving the devil, in dying as sinners and reprobates, and precipitating themselves for ever into hell
(2) The Holy Trinity, which suffices to itself, which finds its happiness in its own perfections, without having need of creatures, and which, instead of overwhelming criminal men with its justice, casts upon them looks of pity and mercy.
(3) The Blessed Virgin Mary, retired in the humble house at Nazareth, and absorbed in prayer.
(4) The Angel Gabriel descending from heaven and saluting Mary, as Mother of God, full of grace, blessed among women.
Practical reflections and affections.
2. LISTEN TO THE WORDS
(1) On Earth and among men words of hatred, of scandal, imprecations, blasphemies.
(2) In Heaven, words of clemency and charity―the august Trinity, which decrees the incarnation of the Word; the Word, who offers Himself to the Father for His glory and the salvation of man.
(3) At Nazareth, the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary: “Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:28, 35). The answer of Mary, who humbly submits to the will of the Lord: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).
Practical reflections and affections.
3. CONSIDER THE ACTIONS
(1) On Earth. The diverse crimes of men―the sacrilegious worship paid to idols and demons; the disorders of their plays, feasts, pleasures; their endeavors to supplant and even to destroy each other.
(2) In Heaven. The charity of the three Divine Persons towards man; with what love the Father gives us His own Son; the Word consents to became incarnate; the Holy Ghost forms the union of the Divine and the human nature.
(3) At Nazareth. The respect of the angel in the presence of the Blessed Virgin; the trouble of Mary on hearing the words of Gabriel; her love for virginity, which she prefers to the honor of the Divine maternity; her humility and obedience to the will of Heaven.
Practical reflections and affections.
COLLOQUY WITH THE THREE PERSONS OF THE ADORABLE TRINITY
Adore the infinite charity of God, who deigns to save men, notwithstanding their unworthiness and ingratitude. Render thanks to the Word incarnate. Address yourself to Mary, and beg of her to obtain for you the grace of a tender love and faithful imitation of her Son.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
MEDITATION
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. “It came to pass that in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, to be enrolled with Mary his spouse. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:1-7).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem, its length, its windings, its roughnesses. Then this cave where the Saviour was born, representing it according to your imagination, as wide or narrow, on a level with the road or in a hollow, as commodious or incommodious, etc.
Third prelude. The same as in the preceding meditation.
Since the fall of our nature by sin, a triple disorder keeps the heart of man away from his final end―pride, love of riches, attachment to the pleasures of sense. The birth of Jesus Christ opposes to these disorders His humility, His poverty, His sufferings.
MEDITATION
Preparatory Prayer
First prelude. Recall the mystery―“The angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin called Mary. The angel being come in, said unto her: ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! Thou shalt bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus!’ Mary said: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word!’” (Luke 1:26-38).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself Nazareth, and the humble house of Mary, where the mystery of the Incarnation was accomplished.
Third prelude. Ask the grace of knowing well the infinite charity of the Word incarnate, that you may love Him with more ardor and serve Him with greater zeal.
FIRST POINT
Consider the state of the human race before the Incarnation of the Word. With the exception of a few faithful souls, men lived in a profound forgetfulness of their last end. The devils had altars among all the people; pride, voluptuousness, love of riches, reigned in all hearts; the knowledge of God disappeared gradually from their hearts: “Truths are decayed from among the children of men” (Psalm 11:2). The Jews themselves were, for the most part, scarcely nearer to God and salvation than idolatrous nations.
Witness the reproaches addressed to them by the Baptist―“Ye brood of vipers, who hath showed you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7). And after him Our Lord―“You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44). In a word, God was scarcely any longer known, or loved, or served on earth. And souls fell into the abyss every day in such numbers that hell was obliged to enlarge its precincts―“Hell hath enlarged her soul, and opened her mouth without any bounds” (Isaias 5:14).
Could man in this state of degradation and misery reasonably hope that God would deign to pity him and save him? For should not God thrice holy, God infinitely just, turn away His eyes with horror from the human race, of whom it is written, “To God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful”? (Wisdom 14:9.) “Thy eyes are too pure to behold evil, and Thou canst not look on iniquity” (Habacuc 1:13). Should He not treat man as He had treated the rebel angels, and deliver him up for ever to all the rigors of His vengeance?
Did not God, infinitely great, owe it to His glory not to pardon criminals, whose ingratitude He foresaw, and who would only receive His mercy with indifference, contempt, resistance, and hardness? Where would mankind be, where should we be, if God had only consulted the interests of His greatness or His justice? Let us, then, recognize the infinite need we have of His mercy, and return thanks to Him for not having abandoned us in our misery.
SECOND POINT
Consider the intention of the eternal Word in the Incarnation. His design is to repair the glory of the Father by bringing man back to his end―that is, to the knowledge, love, and service of God.
(1) The Word became man to bring men back to the knowledge of God. Consider that the Incarnation is the plainest proof of the Divine perfections. It reveals to us the grandeur of God, which cannot be worthily adored except by a Man-God―His wisdom, which knew how to invent this wonderful union of Divine and human nature for His glory and our salvation―His holiness, the offence to which can only be repaired by the satisfactions of a God―His mercy, which, instead of abandoning guilty man to eternal reprobation, takes pity on him and saves him―His love, which, not content with the gifts bestowed on man in the order of creation, wishes also to present him with a God as a Savior.
(2) The Word becomes incarnate to recall men to the love of God. Consider that creatures, instead of leading man to God, usurped all the affections of his heart. What does the Divine Word do to restore this heart to the empire of charity? Because man is under the dominion of his senses, He appears in a sensible form; because he is smitten with the love of creatures, He makes Himself one of them―He becomes man; and that He may more irresistibly captivate the human heart, He gives the first example of the love He asks. Recall the great precept of charity, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength” (Mark 12:30). Recall also the whole life on earth of the Word incarnate. See Him bestowing on our redemption all His thoughts, all His affections, all His works, His humanity, His entire divinity―and say, has He not fulfilled the precept of charity in its full extent towards man?
3. The Word became incarnate to recall man to the service of God. Consider that precepts no longer sufficed to teach man how God should be served. It was because of this that the Divine Word came to instruct us, not only by words, but by example. His whole life is only a practical lesson of devotion to His Father's service. What do we see in it in fact?
(a) A Man-God, who, from the first moment of His conception, offers Himself to His Father. This is to teach us that there is not a single moment of our lives that does not belong to God. “When He cometh into the world He saith Sacrifice and oblation Thou wouldst not; but a body Thou hast fitted to Me; then said I, Behold I come to do Thy will, O God” (Hebrews 10:5-9).
(b) A God who fulfilled all the details and observances of the law, which could not bind Him. This was to teach us that He wishes to be served with a religious obedience to all His commandments.
(c) A God who devotes Himself to every sacrifice, even to death upon the cross. This is to teach us that God merits to be served, however much it may cost to nature.
Meditate attentively on the great end that the Word proposed to Himself in the Incarnation, and ask of Him the grace to correspond to it faithfully.
THIRD POINT
Consider how the Incarnation of the Word was accomplished. An angel is sent to Mary, a virgin, the spouse of a poor artisan. He comes to announce to her that the Word has chosen her for His mother, and to ask her consent to the great mystery which was to be accomplished in her. Meditate on each of these circumstances.
(1) A God who incarnates Himself; that is to say, a God who makes Himself man, who makes Himself flesh, who unites Himself so closely to this vile flesh, subject to so many infirmities, which is common to us with the beasts, and which He assumes in a state of feebleness and humiliation in the state of infancy. From this annihilation of the Son of God learn the necessity and excellence of humility.
(2) A God who becomes incarnate in the womb of a virgin mother. Admire the privilege of virginity: it is to it that the greatest honor is granted that God could do to a creature, the honor of the Divine maternity. From this conduct of God, who chose a virgin for His mother, and the purest of virgins, learn the necessity and the value of purity.
(3) A God who becomes incarnate in the womb of a poor mother. The Son of God could have chosen a rich mother, and one of elevated rank according to the world. He fixes His choice on the spouse of a poor artisan. Engaged by His promises to be born of the race of David, He waits to be born of her until this royal race had fallen into obscurity and almost indigence. Learn from this the necessity and value of detachment.
(4) A God who makes His incarnation depend on the consent of His creature. Learn from this the dignity and power of Mary. God willed that men should, as it were, owe Jesus Christ, and with Jesus Christ their redemption, to the free-will of this blessed Virgin. Conceive, then, a great respect and confidence for the Mother of God, and never forget that the Word incarnate having only come into the world through Mary, it is only by Mary that we can go to Him.
COLLOQUY WITH THE THREE PERSONS OF THE ADORABLE TRINITY
Adore the infinite charity of God, who deigns to save men, notwithstanding their unworthiness and their ingratitude. Render thanks to the Word incarnate. Address yourself to Mary, and beg of her to obtain for you the grace of a tender love and faithful imitation of her divine Son.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
SECOND EXERCISE ON THE INCARNATION
CONTEMPLATION
Preparatory Prayer
First prelude. Recall the mystery,"The angel Gabriel," etc., as in the first Meditation.
Second and third preludes also as before.
1. CONTEMPLATE THE PERSONS
(1) Men spread over all the universe, almost all opposed in manners, characters, passions, interests, and yet almost all agreeing on one point; that is, in forgetting their last end, in offending God, in serving the devil, in dying as sinners and reprobates, and precipitating themselves for ever into hell
(2) The Holy Trinity, which suffices to itself, which finds its happiness in its own perfections, without having need of creatures, and which, instead of overwhelming criminal men with its justice, casts upon them looks of pity and mercy.
(3) The Blessed Virgin Mary, retired in the humble house at Nazareth, and absorbed in prayer.
(4) The Angel Gabriel descending from heaven and saluting Mary, as Mother of God, full of grace, blessed among women.
Practical reflections and affections.
2. LISTEN TO THE WORDS
(1) On Earth and among men words of hatred, of scandal, imprecations, blasphemies.
(2) In Heaven, words of clemency and charity―the august Trinity, which decrees the incarnation of the Word; the Word, who offers Himself to the Father for His glory and the salvation of man.
(3) At Nazareth, the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary: “Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:28, 35). The answer of Mary, who humbly submits to the will of the Lord: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).
Practical reflections and affections.
3. CONSIDER THE ACTIONS
(1) On Earth. The diverse crimes of men―the sacrilegious worship paid to idols and demons; the disorders of their plays, feasts, pleasures; their endeavors to supplant and even to destroy each other.
(2) In Heaven. The charity of the three Divine Persons towards man; with what love the Father gives us His own Son; the Word consents to became incarnate; the Holy Ghost forms the union of the Divine and the human nature.
(3) At Nazareth. The respect of the angel in the presence of the Blessed Virgin; the trouble of Mary on hearing the words of Gabriel; her love for virginity, which she prefers to the honor of the Divine maternity; her humility and obedience to the will of Heaven.
Practical reflections and affections.
COLLOQUY WITH THE THREE PERSONS OF THE ADORABLE TRINITY
Adore the infinite charity of God, who deigns to save men, notwithstanding their unworthiness and ingratitude. Render thanks to the Word incarnate. Address yourself to Mary, and beg of her to obtain for you the grace of a tender love and faithful imitation of her Son.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
MEDITATION
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. “It came to pass that in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, to be enrolled with Mary his spouse. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:1-7).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem, its length, its windings, its roughnesses. Then this cave where the Saviour was born, representing it according to your imagination, as wide or narrow, on a level with the road or in a hollow, as commodious or incommodious, etc.
Third prelude. The same as in the preceding meditation.
Since the fall of our nature by sin, a triple disorder keeps the heart of man away from his final end―pride, love of riches, attachment to the pleasures of sense. The birth of Jesus Christ opposes to these disorders His humility, His poverty, His sufferings.
WEEK 2 : DAY 3
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
MEDITATION
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. “It came to pass that in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, to be enrolled with Mary his spouse. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:1-7).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem, its length, its windings, its roughnesses. Then this cave where the Savior was born, representing it according to your imagination, as wide or narrow, on a level with the road or in a hollow, as commodious or incommodious, etc.
Third prelude. The same as in the preceding meditation.
Since the fall of our nature by sin, a triple disorder keeps the heart of man away from his final end―pride, love of riches, attachment to the pleasures of sense. The birth of Jesus Christ opposes to these disorders His humility, His poverty, His sufferings.
FIRST POINT
THE HUMILITY OF JESUS CHRIST IN HIS BIRTH
(1) He humbles Himself, even to acknowledging Himself the subject of an idolatrous prince. To obey the edict of Augustus―an edict dictated by pride, -He wills that His Holy Mother should take Him to a strange country, where at His birth He should be in poverty and want.
(2) He is the Messias promised to the world; foretold by the prophets many ages before; expected by the people; whose coming the earth has sighed after, and to Whom it has cried, “Oh, that Thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down!” (Isaias 44:1). And at His coming He would remain unknown; He allows His people to treat Him as a stranger, and that His own should deny Him like a mendicant who begs for public charity: “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:11).
(3) He intentionally hides the greatness of His birth; He who is of the royal race and of the blood of David wills to be born as the son of a poor artisan; nay, He wills to be born as even the children of the poor are not born,-in a stable, in a manger, in the society of vile animals.
(4) Not only does He hide His divinity under the guise of humanity, but He debases His humanity itself to the infirmities arid weaknesses of infancy. What a humiliation ! This God-Man becomes like little children; like them, deprived of the use of speech, of the liberty of movement; dependent in everything on the will of those around Him!
Let us look in upon ourselves. How opposed are the maxims of the world, and the maxims of our corrupt nature, to the example of Jesus Christ! Let us beg of the Divine Infant to change our hearts by His grace; let us ask of Him that we may understand and love the way of humility.
SECOND POINT
The poverty of the birth of Jesus Christ
(1) He is born in a strange country, out of His mother's house, where He would have found what is never wanting even to the most neglected of poor children, a roof to shelter Him and a cradle to rest in.
(2) He is born in the most miserable place in the little city of Bethlehem. Whilst the poorest around Him have an asylum, He is banished to a wretched building, open to the wind and rain.
(3) His cradle is a little straw in a manger, so that His birth resembles that of the lowest animals. He is reduced to such misery that He can say with truth even now, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head” (Luke ix. 58).
(4) Everything around Him participates in His poverty―His parents, who scarcely possess a few coarse garments to clothe Him with; the poor shepherds, who at the voice of the angels leave their flocks to come and adore Him.
Consider that this wretchedness of the Son of God was not necessary and compulsory, like the poor in the world; it is free and of His own choice. Conceive a high idea of this poverty, which appeared so precious to our Lord, that to espouse it He quitted heaven and His glory. Above all, understand the necessity of detachment, and be persuaded that disengagement from creatures is the only true way which leads to God.
THIRD POINT
The sufferings of Jesus Christ from His birth
Consider that the sufferings of Jesus commenced with His life; that they begin in His cradle, never more to leave Him but with His last sigh on the cross.
(1) He suffers in His sacred body; for He is born in the depth of winter; at the hour when the cold is the most piercing; in a place where He is exposed, thinly clothed, to all the inclemency of the weather.
(2) He suffers above all in His soul, which has the full exercise of its faculties. He suffers from the rebuffs He experiences in His tribe, and even in His own family, where none know Him. He suffers yet more for the troubles of Mary and Joseph, whom He sees repulsed with contempt from all the houses in Bethlehem, and inconsolable not to find any other asylum for Him but a stable.
(3) He suffers, with the intention of suffering during His whole life, toil, hunger, thirst, perpetual poverty, the most profound humiliations, the scourges, and the cross; and all this for me. Let me, then, seek to penetrate the motives which induce Him to suffer so much for love of me, and seek it for my instruction, and above all, for my edification.
COLLOQUIES WITH JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH
Adore Jesus Christ in His cradle; beg Him to be born in our hearts; ask Him to come to us with the virtues He teaches us in the manger,-with humility, detachment, spirit of sacrifice. Beg the powerful intercession of Mary and Joseph to support our prayer.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
CONTEMPLATION
Preparatory Prayer
First prelude. The same as in the preceding meditation.
Second prelude. Represent to yourself a ruinous stable, and at the end of it a manger, where Mary and Joseph are adoring the Son of God, who is lying in it between two animals.
Third prelude. Ask a grace conformable to the present mystery, and to your spiritual want; for example, humility or detachment.
FIRST POINT
Contemplate the persons
The Holy Virgin, St. Joseph, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is just born, the angels who surround the manger, the shepherds who have hastened to the crib of the new-born Child. Represent to yourself the Divine beauty of the Savior: the modesty, meekness, and humility imprinted on the features of Mary; the simplicity and recollection of Joseph; the rapture of the angels; the joy of the shepherds.
Imagine that you are beside the manger with Mary and Joseph, to contemplate Him, to serve Him. Consider what spiritual fruit you ought to draw from this sight; and to this end ask yourself, Who is this that is just born? Why did He choose for Himself, and for all that were dearest to Him in the world,-that is, Mary and Joseph,-humiliation, poverty, pain? What is that treasure of graces which God has hidden in detachment from all things? etc.
SECOND POINT
Listen to the words
(1) The conversations of Joseph and Mary during the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem―how they beg an asylum at the inns, and in what terms they are refused; what they say to each other at the sight of the stable where they are obliged to take shelter; their effusion of heart beside the crib where Jesus reposes.
(2) The words of the angels. One of them says to the shepherds, “I bring you tidings of great joy that shall be to all people; for this day is born to you a Savior in the city of David." And the others sing in concert, “Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will” (Luke ii. 10-14).
(3) The conversation of the shepherds among themselves: “Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass” (ib. v. 15) ; their expressions of faith and admiration at the sight of Jesus Christ; their conversation with Mary and Joseph.
THIRD POINT
Consider the actions
(1) In Joseph and Mary―The fatigue of the journey; the contempt and the rebuffs they suffer at Bethlehem, their solicitude and trouble to find an asylum; their cares to provide a more convenient and worthy cradle for the Divine Child: and in all this the admirable virtues which they practise―their patience, their interior peace, their union with God, their lively faith, and their ardent love towards the Savior.
(2) In the shepherds―The contrast of their docility with the hardness of the inhabitants of Bethlehem; their adoration, and their homage to the new-born Child.
(3) Above all, in Jesus Christ―The extreme deprivation in which He chooses to be born; in which henceforth we shall see Him live and die. If we again ask ourselves, why these deprivations of the Son of God?―Ah! It is for us; for our instruction, and for our salvation!
Colloquies with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, as in last meditation.
ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
APPLICATION OF THE SENSES
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
These remarks or explanations are given here because they are so placed by St. Ignatius, and because, though the application of the senses is employed from time to time during the first week, it becomes of daily use in the second.
(1) By the imagination, the soul can render an object present, and as it were see it, hear it, taste it, etc. So that to apply this faculty of the soul and the five senses to a truth of religion (according as it is susceptible of it), or to a mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ, is what is called application of the senses.
(2) The application of the senses differs from meditation in this: that in the one the intelligence proceeds by reasoning, discoursing on the attributes of God, and the causes and effects of mysteries; while in the other, it is confined solely to sensible objects―to what can be seen, heard, touched, etc. It is not that the application of the senses, in order to be useful, does not require some reasoning and reflections, but they should be short, simple, and rapid.
(3) This exercise generally contains five points; or four only, when the senses of smell and taste are joined together. The following is the method:
First point. Represent to yourself the different persons, together with all their circumstances, and endeavour to draw some spiritual fruit from each.
Second point. Listen to their words, or to what it may be supposed they say.
Third point. Taste interiorly the sweetness, or bitterness, or any other sentiment, of the person you are considering.
Fourth point. Respire as it were, the perfume of the virtues, or the infection of the vices, the sulphur of hell, the corruption of dead bodies, etc.
Fifth point. Touch interiorly the objects; for example, the eternal flames, the vestments of our Savior; kiss His footsteps, the manger, etc.
After two meditations or contemplations, it is usual to repeat the two together twice, and then to follow with the application of the senses to the same truths or mysteries.
APPLICATION OF THE SENSES
ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
The preparatory prayer and the three preludes as in the preceding meditation.
(1) Sight. Contemplate the stable which is falling in ruins; the manger where Jesus Christ reposes on a little straw; the coarse swaddling-clothes in which He is wrapped; the animals which warm Him with their breath; the Divine Infant Himself, who fixes His eyes on us, and extends His arms to us; Mary and Joseph praying before the manger; the shepherds coming to adore the new-born Child whom the angel has announced to them; all heaven attentive to the great event which is being accomplished at Bethlehem; and, at the same time, the profound indifference of the rest of men to the coming of the Son of God.
Practical reflections and affections.
2. Hearing. Listen to the discourse of the strangers going to Bethlehem; to the conversations of Mary and Joseph during the journey; to the words of the inhabitants of Bethlehem, who repulse them; to Jesus Christ, who speaks to His heavenly Father, who speaks to us by His cries and His tears; to the angels singing in the heavens, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace”; to the shepherds making inquiries from the Holy Family about the birth of Jesus.
Practical reflections and affections.
3. Taste. Taste interiorly the bitterness of the hearts of Mary and Joseph; the peace of their souls; their joy at the sight of the new-born God. Unite yourself in spirit to the abasement, the tears, the poverty, the prayer, all the virtues of our Savior in His birth.
Practical reflections and affections.
4. Touch. Kiss respectfully the walls of the stable, the straw in the manger, the swaddling-clothes, the sacred hands and feet of Jesus Christ.
Practical reflections and affections.
Colloquies as in the preceding contemplation.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
MEDITATION
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. “It came to pass that in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, to be enrolled with Mary his spouse. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:1-7).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem, its length, its windings, its roughnesses. Then this cave where the Savior was born, representing it according to your imagination, as wide or narrow, on a level with the road or in a hollow, as commodious or incommodious, etc.
Third prelude. The same as in the preceding meditation.
Since the fall of our nature by sin, a triple disorder keeps the heart of man away from his final end―pride, love of riches, attachment to the pleasures of sense. The birth of Jesus Christ opposes to these disorders His humility, His poverty, His sufferings.
FIRST POINT
THE HUMILITY OF JESUS CHRIST IN HIS BIRTH
(1) He humbles Himself, even to acknowledging Himself the subject of an idolatrous prince. To obey the edict of Augustus―an edict dictated by pride, -He wills that His Holy Mother should take Him to a strange country, where at His birth He should be in poverty and want.
(2) He is the Messias promised to the world; foretold by the prophets many ages before; expected by the people; whose coming the earth has sighed after, and to Whom it has cried, “Oh, that Thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down!” (Isaias 44:1). And at His coming He would remain unknown; He allows His people to treat Him as a stranger, and that His own should deny Him like a mendicant who begs for public charity: “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:11).
(3) He intentionally hides the greatness of His birth; He who is of the royal race and of the blood of David wills to be born as the son of a poor artisan; nay, He wills to be born as even the children of the poor are not born,-in a stable, in a manger, in the society of vile animals.
(4) Not only does He hide His divinity under the guise of humanity, but He debases His humanity itself to the infirmities arid weaknesses of infancy. What a humiliation ! This God-Man becomes like little children; like them, deprived of the use of speech, of the liberty of movement; dependent in everything on the will of those around Him!
Let us look in upon ourselves. How opposed are the maxims of the world, and the maxims of our corrupt nature, to the example of Jesus Christ! Let us beg of the Divine Infant to change our hearts by His grace; let us ask of Him that we may understand and love the way of humility.
SECOND POINT
The poverty of the birth of Jesus Christ
(1) He is born in a strange country, out of His mother's house, where He would have found what is never wanting even to the most neglected of poor children, a roof to shelter Him and a cradle to rest in.
(2) He is born in the most miserable place in the little city of Bethlehem. Whilst the poorest around Him have an asylum, He is banished to a wretched building, open to the wind and rain.
(3) His cradle is a little straw in a manger, so that His birth resembles that of the lowest animals. He is reduced to such misery that He can say with truth even now, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head” (Luke ix. 58).
(4) Everything around Him participates in His poverty―His parents, who scarcely possess a few coarse garments to clothe Him with; the poor shepherds, who at the voice of the angels leave their flocks to come and adore Him.
Consider that this wretchedness of the Son of God was not necessary and compulsory, like the poor in the world; it is free and of His own choice. Conceive a high idea of this poverty, which appeared so precious to our Lord, that to espouse it He quitted heaven and His glory. Above all, understand the necessity of detachment, and be persuaded that disengagement from creatures is the only true way which leads to God.
THIRD POINT
The sufferings of Jesus Christ from His birth
Consider that the sufferings of Jesus commenced with His life; that they begin in His cradle, never more to leave Him but with His last sigh on the cross.
(1) He suffers in His sacred body; for He is born in the depth of winter; at the hour when the cold is the most piercing; in a place where He is exposed, thinly clothed, to all the inclemency of the weather.
(2) He suffers above all in His soul, which has the full exercise of its faculties. He suffers from the rebuffs He experiences in His tribe, and even in His own family, where none know Him. He suffers yet more for the troubles of Mary and Joseph, whom He sees repulsed with contempt from all the houses in Bethlehem, and inconsolable not to find any other asylum for Him but a stable.
(3) He suffers, with the intention of suffering during His whole life, toil, hunger, thirst, perpetual poverty, the most profound humiliations, the scourges, and the cross; and all this for me. Let me, then, seek to penetrate the motives which induce Him to suffer so much for love of me, and seek it for my instruction, and above all, for my edification.
COLLOQUIES WITH JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH
Adore Jesus Christ in His cradle; beg Him to be born in our hearts; ask Him to come to us with the virtues He teaches us in the manger,-with humility, detachment, spirit of sacrifice. Beg the powerful intercession of Mary and Joseph to support our prayer.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
CONTEMPLATION
Preparatory Prayer
First prelude. The same as in the preceding meditation.
Second prelude. Represent to yourself a ruinous stable, and at the end of it a manger, where Mary and Joseph are adoring the Son of God, who is lying in it between two animals.
Third prelude. Ask a grace conformable to the present mystery, and to your spiritual want; for example, humility or detachment.
FIRST POINT
Contemplate the persons
The Holy Virgin, St. Joseph, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is just born, the angels who surround the manger, the shepherds who have hastened to the crib of the new-born Child. Represent to yourself the Divine beauty of the Savior: the modesty, meekness, and humility imprinted on the features of Mary; the simplicity and recollection of Joseph; the rapture of the angels; the joy of the shepherds.
Imagine that you are beside the manger with Mary and Joseph, to contemplate Him, to serve Him. Consider what spiritual fruit you ought to draw from this sight; and to this end ask yourself, Who is this that is just born? Why did He choose for Himself, and for all that were dearest to Him in the world,-that is, Mary and Joseph,-humiliation, poverty, pain? What is that treasure of graces which God has hidden in detachment from all things? etc.
SECOND POINT
Listen to the words
(1) The conversations of Joseph and Mary during the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem―how they beg an asylum at the inns, and in what terms they are refused; what they say to each other at the sight of the stable where they are obliged to take shelter; their effusion of heart beside the crib where Jesus reposes.
(2) The words of the angels. One of them says to the shepherds, “I bring you tidings of great joy that shall be to all people; for this day is born to you a Savior in the city of David." And the others sing in concert, “Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will” (Luke ii. 10-14).
(3) The conversation of the shepherds among themselves: “Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass” (ib. v. 15) ; their expressions of faith and admiration at the sight of Jesus Christ; their conversation with Mary and Joseph.
THIRD POINT
Consider the actions
(1) In Joseph and Mary―The fatigue of the journey; the contempt and the rebuffs they suffer at Bethlehem, their solicitude and trouble to find an asylum; their cares to provide a more convenient and worthy cradle for the Divine Child: and in all this the admirable virtues which they practise―their patience, their interior peace, their union with God, their lively faith, and their ardent love towards the Savior.
(2) In the shepherds―The contrast of their docility with the hardness of the inhabitants of Bethlehem; their adoration, and their homage to the new-born Child.
(3) Above all, in Jesus Christ―The extreme deprivation in which He chooses to be born; in which henceforth we shall see Him live and die. If we again ask ourselves, why these deprivations of the Son of God?―Ah! It is for us; for our instruction, and for our salvation!
Colloquies with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, as in last meditation.
ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
APPLICATION OF THE SENSES
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
These remarks or explanations are given here because they are so placed by St. Ignatius, and because, though the application of the senses is employed from time to time during the first week, it becomes of daily use in the second.
(1) By the imagination, the soul can render an object present, and as it were see it, hear it, taste it, etc. So that to apply this faculty of the soul and the five senses to a truth of religion (according as it is susceptible of it), or to a mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ, is what is called application of the senses.
(2) The application of the senses differs from meditation in this: that in the one the intelligence proceeds by reasoning, discoursing on the attributes of God, and the causes and effects of mysteries; while in the other, it is confined solely to sensible objects―to what can be seen, heard, touched, etc. It is not that the application of the senses, in order to be useful, does not require some reasoning and reflections, but they should be short, simple, and rapid.
(3) This exercise generally contains five points; or four only, when the senses of smell and taste are joined together. The following is the method:
First point. Represent to yourself the different persons, together with all their circumstances, and endeavour to draw some spiritual fruit from each.
Second point. Listen to their words, or to what it may be supposed they say.
Third point. Taste interiorly the sweetness, or bitterness, or any other sentiment, of the person you are considering.
Fourth point. Respire as it were, the perfume of the virtues, or the infection of the vices, the sulphur of hell, the corruption of dead bodies, etc.
Fifth point. Touch interiorly the objects; for example, the eternal flames, the vestments of our Savior; kiss His footsteps, the manger, etc.
After two meditations or contemplations, it is usual to repeat the two together twice, and then to follow with the application of the senses to the same truths or mysteries.
APPLICATION OF THE SENSES
ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
The preparatory prayer and the three preludes as in the preceding meditation.
(1) Sight. Contemplate the stable which is falling in ruins; the manger where Jesus Christ reposes on a little straw; the coarse swaddling-clothes in which He is wrapped; the animals which warm Him with their breath; the Divine Infant Himself, who fixes His eyes on us, and extends His arms to us; Mary and Joseph praying before the manger; the shepherds coming to adore the new-born Child whom the angel has announced to them; all heaven attentive to the great event which is being accomplished at Bethlehem; and, at the same time, the profound indifference of the rest of men to the coming of the Son of God.
Practical reflections and affections.
2. Hearing. Listen to the discourse of the strangers going to Bethlehem; to the conversations of Mary and Joseph during the journey; to the words of the inhabitants of Bethlehem, who repulse them; to Jesus Christ, who speaks to His heavenly Father, who speaks to us by His cries and His tears; to the angels singing in the heavens, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace”; to the shepherds making inquiries from the Holy Family about the birth of Jesus.
Practical reflections and affections.
3. Taste. Taste interiorly the bitterness of the hearts of Mary and Joseph; the peace of their souls; their joy at the sight of the new-born God. Unite yourself in spirit to the abasement, the tears, the poverty, the prayer, all the virtues of our Savior in His birth.
Practical reflections and affections.
4. Touch. Kiss respectfully the walls of the stable, the straw in the manger, the swaddling-clothes, the sacred hands and feet of Jesus Christ.
Practical reflections and affections.
Colloquies as in the preceding contemplation.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
WEEK 2 : DAY 4
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE HIDDEN LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST AT NAZARETH
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE HIDDEN LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST AT NAZARETH
THE HIDDEN LIFE OF JESUS AT NAZARETH
MEDITATION
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Jesus having been found in the Temple by Mary and Joseph, left Jerusalem and returned with them to Nazareth, and was subject to them; and He advanced in wisdom and grace with God and man (Luke 2:51-52).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the humble house at Nazareth, the workshop of St. Joseph, etc.
Third prelude. Ask of God a grace conformable to the present mystery and to your wants; for example, the love of a retired life, of retreat, of labor, of prayer, of obedience, etc.
The Gospel only teaches us three things regarding the life of Jesus at Nazareth:
(1) That He obeyed: “He was subject to them” (Luke 2:52).
(2) That He worked with His hands, and at the work of an artisan: “Is not this the son of the carpenter?” (Mark 6:3)
(3) That “He grew in wisdom, in age, and in grace before God and before men” (Luke 2:52).
FIRST POINT
At Nazareth Jesus obeyed
Consider the obedience of Jesus Christ in all its circumstances.
(1) Who is He that obeys? It is He who is reason by essence; He whose will is sovereignly wise and independent; it is the WORD OF GOD.
(2) Whom does He obey? His creatures. He obeys Joseph and Mary, whom He infinitely surpasses in light and in sanctity; who derive, and can only derive, light and holiness from Him. He obeys even strangers, who command Him like a mercenary; that is to say, He submits His will, the most noble and most upright that ever was, to wills full of weakness, of ignorance, and of caprice―wills only made to obey Him.
(3) In what does He obey? In everything that was commanded Him; consequently in the most trifling things, even in the meanest things―for example, in all the details of care required by a poor household, and the station of a mechanic who earns his bread by the sweat of his brow.
(4) How long does He obey? For thirty, years, that is, not only during His childhood, when obedience is both a necessity and a duty for man, but also in the strength of age, when, according to the ordinary laws of nature and society, every man is arrived at the time when he has a right to govern himself.
(5) How did He obey? In the most perfect way that can be conceived. By obedience of action, which executes promptly and to the letter; obedience of mind, which does not reason on the motives of the order or its nature; obedience of heart, which submits with love to the orders of man as to the orders of the Divine will.
Let us examine ourselves, our thoughts, our feelings, our conduct, with regard to obedience. Let us beg our Lord to teach us by His example the value, the necessity, the practice of this virtue.
SECOND POINT
At Nazareth Jesus worked
Represent to yourself what passes in a poor family. A carpenter engaged in manual labor; his wife occupied in the lowest domestic offices; a child sharing the toils of both, first assisting his mother, and then, as his strength increases with his age, helping his father in the labors of his trade―this is a faithful image of what took place at Nazareth.
Consider attentively
(1) The dignity of Him who thus labors. How is the condition of a workman regarded by the world? What pity is inspired by the misfortune of a man who is obliged, by reverse of fortune, to descend to this condition? From this conclude how little suitable such a condition is to Jesus Christ; to the descendant of David; the Messiah who might labor in public with such success in the promulgation of the Gospel; to a GOD.
(2) The painful and humiliating circumstances of this work. It is the work of a carpenter, working in wood; using rough tools; his time and toil hired out to any master who will pay him; recommencing each day the same fatigues, scarcely interrupted by hasty meals and a short sleep; living unknown and despised, like those poor artisans, whose fate is never pitied, who often think themselves fortunate in meeting with persons to hire their services. Such is the position of Jesus Christ―thus is accomplished what the prophet said of Him: “I am poor and in labors from my youth” (Psalm 87:16).
(3) In what manner Jesus Christ works. Enter into the heart of Jesus Christ. Prayer is constantly united in it to the work of the hands. In the midst of bodily fatigues, Jesus blesses the justice of His Father, that has condemned man to water the earth which gives him bread with the sweat of his brow (Genesis 3:19). When He receives orders, He adores in creatures the supreme dominion of His Father; when He receives payment, He returns thanks to His providence, which gives subsistence to all men; when He suffers disdain and rebuffs, He accepts them as a reparation to His glory outraged by sin.
(4) The motive of the labor of Jesus Christ. Among so many different professions, why did Jesus Christ choose one so laborious and so low? It is to teach men that since original sin they have two great disorders to combat―pride and luxury―and that the only way to arrive at their final end is by the path of humiliation and suffering.
(5) The merit of the labor of Jesus Christ; a merit so excellent that it fixes the looks and complaisance of His celestial Father. At the same time that Jesus Christ hides Himself at Nazareth, there are in the world famous politicians, celebrated orators and poets, captains of high renown; but the eyes of the Lord are turned from all these men, and rest on Nazareth, a city so despised, and of which it was said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46.) They are fixed on the Son of the carpenter; Him alone the celestial Father points out to His angels, saying, “Behold My beloved Son” ―how He obeys, how He humbles Himself, how He annihilates Himself, for My glory and My love.
THIRD POINT
At Nazareth Jesus Christ grew in grace and wisdom before God and before men
Jesus Christ could not grow interiorly in virtue, since from the first moment of His conception the plenitude of grace dwelt in Him, and therefore the words of the Gospel signify that each day He produced new acts and allowed new marks of holiness to appear.
Represent our Savior to yourself in spirit as if you contemplated Him with your eyes; follow Him in all the details of this life, so simple and so common; study all the virtues that were developed in Him with age:
(1) Humility, which makes Him prefer to the labors of an apostolic life obscurity, retreat, a hidden life in the workshop of a mechanic.
(2) Detachment, which makes Him support with joy the most painful privations in His dwelling, His dress, His food; in a word, all the wants of the poor.
(3) Charity, which fills his heart with an immense compassion for the miseries of men; above all, with a burning zeal for their salvation.
(4) Modesty, which regulates admirably His looks, His words, all His movements, all His steps.
(5) Recollection, which, in the midst of conversation, work, or recreation, always keeps His holy soul elevated and united to the Divinity.
(6) Perfection in the commonest actions; so that it is written of Him “that He did all things well” (Mark 7:37). Recall to yourself that holiness of life depends on the sanctity of ordinary actions; consequently, that it is by the perfection or imperfection of the actions of common life that we approach our end or go farther from it. Take, then, Jesus Christ for your model, and learn from the example of His private life to do all things well.
COLLOQUY
Let us adore Jesus Christ as our master and model; humble ourselves for having followed His example so little; beg of Him, through the intercession of Joseph and Mary, to give us the intelligence to understand and the strength to practice what He teaches us.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
HIDDEN LIFE OF JESUS AT NAZARETH
CONTEMPLATION
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Jesus having been found in the Temple by Mary and Joseph, left Jerusalem and returned with them to Nazareth, and was subject to them; and He advanced in wisdom and grace with God and man (Luke 2:51-52).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the humble house at Nazareth, the workshop of St. Joseph, etc.
Third prelude. Ask of God a grace conformable to the present mystery and to your wants; for example, the love of a retired life, of retreat, of labor, of prayer, of obedience, etc.
FIRST POINT
Contemplate the persons
(1) In this world, men, thinking only of advancing themselves:-the learned, the rich, the great―all occupied with thoughts of fortune, elevation, celebrity; the poor, who envy them, who cannot resign themselves to indigence and degradation.
(2) At Nazareth, Mary in silence and prayer, attending to the cares of a poor household; Joseph working with his hands in an obscure workshop; Jesus associating Himself with the troubles and labors of His parents; the grace spread over all His sacred person― “Grace is poured abroad in Thy lips” (Psalm 44:3) ; the modesty of His countenance and demeanor; the recollection which keeps His mind and heart constantly united to His Father.
(3) Finally, in heaven, the angels, who look on this scene with admiration; and the celestial Father, whose looks dwell with complacency on His beloved Son.
SECOND POINT
Listen to the words
They are few. Charity or necessity alone interrupt occasionally the silence of this family, whose conversation is in heaven. They are always regulated by humility, by meekness, by zeal, in a word, by the Spirit of God. They are always holy and perfect. St. Joseph speaks little; Mary still less; the Infant God scarcely ever. In the holy house at Nazareth they converse little with men, but they converse constantly with the heavenly Father. Recollect yourself profoundly, and listen to these holy conversations, which ravish the angels.
THIRD POINT
Consider the actions
The painful toil to which the Son of God voluntarily submits―how he assists Mary in her domestic cares; how He shares with Joseph the rude and humble trade of a carpenter; with what simplicity and zeal He obeys the least wish of His parents; with what patience He bears the fatigues of His condition; with what humility He resigns Himself to the caprices, the repulses, the disdain of strangers, who command Him as a hireling; His charity in His relations with His neighbor; His fervor in prayer; His divine perfections in the smallest actions, etc.
COLLOQUY WITH THE THREE PERSONS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
Adore Jesus Christ in the humble exercise of His hidden virtues, and beg of Him to fill us with His spirit. Ask, through the intercession of Joseph and Mary, the grace to imitate after them the examples of the Divine Savior.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
HIDDEN LIFE OF JESUS AT NAZARETH
APPLICATION OF THE SENSES
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Jesus having been found in the Temple by Mary and Joseph, left Jerusalem and returned with them to Nazareth, and was subject to them; and He advanced in wisdom and grace with God and man (Luke 2:51-52).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the humble house at Nazareth, the workshop of St. Joseph, etc.
Third prelude. Ask of God a grace conformable to the present mystery and to your wants; for example, the love of a retired life, of retreat, of labor, of prayer, of obedience, etc.
(1) Sight. Consider St. Joseph, the holy Virgin, our Lord Jesus Christ, at their work, their repasts, their prayers, their intercourse with their neighbors; the angels, who look with love on this holy house; the heavenly Father, who takes delight in His Son; etc.
(2) Hearing. Listen to the words of Jesus, of Mary, of Joseph; their silence, their recollection; their conversations, regulated by meekness, humility, modesty, etc.
(3) Taste. Taste the peace which fills their souls, their interior joy, their bitterness, etc.
(4) Smell. Respire the sweetness, and, as it were, the perfume of their virtues, obedience, charity, fervor, care in little things, love of a hidden life, etc.
(5) Touch. Kiss inwardly the walls, witnesses of the virtues of Jesus Christ; the rude tools of His trade; the earth sanctified by His steps and His labors.
COLLOQUY WITH THE THREE PERSONS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
Adore Jesus Christ in the humble exercise of His hidden virtues, and beg of Him to fill us with His spirit. Ask, through the intercession of Joseph and Mary, the grace to imitate after them the examples of the Divine Savior.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
MEDITATION
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Jesus having been found in the Temple by Mary and Joseph, left Jerusalem and returned with them to Nazareth, and was subject to them; and He advanced in wisdom and grace with God and man (Luke 2:51-52).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the humble house at Nazareth, the workshop of St. Joseph, etc.
Third prelude. Ask of God a grace conformable to the present mystery and to your wants; for example, the love of a retired life, of retreat, of labor, of prayer, of obedience, etc.
The Gospel only teaches us three things regarding the life of Jesus at Nazareth:
(1) That He obeyed: “He was subject to them” (Luke 2:52).
(2) That He worked with His hands, and at the work of an artisan: “Is not this the son of the carpenter?” (Mark 6:3)
(3) That “He grew in wisdom, in age, and in grace before God and before men” (Luke 2:52).
FIRST POINT
At Nazareth Jesus obeyed
Consider the obedience of Jesus Christ in all its circumstances.
(1) Who is He that obeys? It is He who is reason by essence; He whose will is sovereignly wise and independent; it is the WORD OF GOD.
(2) Whom does He obey? His creatures. He obeys Joseph and Mary, whom He infinitely surpasses in light and in sanctity; who derive, and can only derive, light and holiness from Him. He obeys even strangers, who command Him like a mercenary; that is to say, He submits His will, the most noble and most upright that ever was, to wills full of weakness, of ignorance, and of caprice―wills only made to obey Him.
(3) In what does He obey? In everything that was commanded Him; consequently in the most trifling things, even in the meanest things―for example, in all the details of care required by a poor household, and the station of a mechanic who earns his bread by the sweat of his brow.
(4) How long does He obey? For thirty, years, that is, not only during His childhood, when obedience is both a necessity and a duty for man, but also in the strength of age, when, according to the ordinary laws of nature and society, every man is arrived at the time when he has a right to govern himself.
(5) How did He obey? In the most perfect way that can be conceived. By obedience of action, which executes promptly and to the letter; obedience of mind, which does not reason on the motives of the order or its nature; obedience of heart, which submits with love to the orders of man as to the orders of the Divine will.
Let us examine ourselves, our thoughts, our feelings, our conduct, with regard to obedience. Let us beg our Lord to teach us by His example the value, the necessity, the practice of this virtue.
SECOND POINT
At Nazareth Jesus worked
Represent to yourself what passes in a poor family. A carpenter engaged in manual labor; his wife occupied in the lowest domestic offices; a child sharing the toils of both, first assisting his mother, and then, as his strength increases with his age, helping his father in the labors of his trade―this is a faithful image of what took place at Nazareth.
Consider attentively
(1) The dignity of Him who thus labors. How is the condition of a workman regarded by the world? What pity is inspired by the misfortune of a man who is obliged, by reverse of fortune, to descend to this condition? From this conclude how little suitable such a condition is to Jesus Christ; to the descendant of David; the Messiah who might labor in public with such success in the promulgation of the Gospel; to a GOD.
(2) The painful and humiliating circumstances of this work. It is the work of a carpenter, working in wood; using rough tools; his time and toil hired out to any master who will pay him; recommencing each day the same fatigues, scarcely interrupted by hasty meals and a short sleep; living unknown and despised, like those poor artisans, whose fate is never pitied, who often think themselves fortunate in meeting with persons to hire their services. Such is the position of Jesus Christ―thus is accomplished what the prophet said of Him: “I am poor and in labors from my youth” (Psalm 87:16).
(3) In what manner Jesus Christ works. Enter into the heart of Jesus Christ. Prayer is constantly united in it to the work of the hands. In the midst of bodily fatigues, Jesus blesses the justice of His Father, that has condemned man to water the earth which gives him bread with the sweat of his brow (Genesis 3:19). When He receives orders, He adores in creatures the supreme dominion of His Father; when He receives payment, He returns thanks to His providence, which gives subsistence to all men; when He suffers disdain and rebuffs, He accepts them as a reparation to His glory outraged by sin.
(4) The motive of the labor of Jesus Christ. Among so many different professions, why did Jesus Christ choose one so laborious and so low? It is to teach men that since original sin they have two great disorders to combat―pride and luxury―and that the only way to arrive at their final end is by the path of humiliation and suffering.
(5) The merit of the labor of Jesus Christ; a merit so excellent that it fixes the looks and complaisance of His celestial Father. At the same time that Jesus Christ hides Himself at Nazareth, there are in the world famous politicians, celebrated orators and poets, captains of high renown; but the eyes of the Lord are turned from all these men, and rest on Nazareth, a city so despised, and of which it was said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46.) They are fixed on the Son of the carpenter; Him alone the celestial Father points out to His angels, saying, “Behold My beloved Son” ―how He obeys, how He humbles Himself, how He annihilates Himself, for My glory and My love.
THIRD POINT
At Nazareth Jesus Christ grew in grace and wisdom before God and before men
Jesus Christ could not grow interiorly in virtue, since from the first moment of His conception the plenitude of grace dwelt in Him, and therefore the words of the Gospel signify that each day He produced new acts and allowed new marks of holiness to appear.
Represent our Savior to yourself in spirit as if you contemplated Him with your eyes; follow Him in all the details of this life, so simple and so common; study all the virtues that were developed in Him with age:
(1) Humility, which makes Him prefer to the labors of an apostolic life obscurity, retreat, a hidden life in the workshop of a mechanic.
(2) Detachment, which makes Him support with joy the most painful privations in His dwelling, His dress, His food; in a word, all the wants of the poor.
(3) Charity, which fills his heart with an immense compassion for the miseries of men; above all, with a burning zeal for their salvation.
(4) Modesty, which regulates admirably His looks, His words, all His movements, all His steps.
(5) Recollection, which, in the midst of conversation, work, or recreation, always keeps His holy soul elevated and united to the Divinity.
(6) Perfection in the commonest actions; so that it is written of Him “that He did all things well” (Mark 7:37). Recall to yourself that holiness of life depends on the sanctity of ordinary actions; consequently, that it is by the perfection or imperfection of the actions of common life that we approach our end or go farther from it. Take, then, Jesus Christ for your model, and learn from the example of His private life to do all things well.
COLLOQUY
Let us adore Jesus Christ as our master and model; humble ourselves for having followed His example so little; beg of Him, through the intercession of Joseph and Mary, to give us the intelligence to understand and the strength to practice what He teaches us.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
HIDDEN LIFE OF JESUS AT NAZARETH
CONTEMPLATION
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Jesus having been found in the Temple by Mary and Joseph, left Jerusalem and returned with them to Nazareth, and was subject to them; and He advanced in wisdom and grace with God and man (Luke 2:51-52).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the humble house at Nazareth, the workshop of St. Joseph, etc.
Third prelude. Ask of God a grace conformable to the present mystery and to your wants; for example, the love of a retired life, of retreat, of labor, of prayer, of obedience, etc.
FIRST POINT
Contemplate the persons
(1) In this world, men, thinking only of advancing themselves:-the learned, the rich, the great―all occupied with thoughts of fortune, elevation, celebrity; the poor, who envy them, who cannot resign themselves to indigence and degradation.
(2) At Nazareth, Mary in silence and prayer, attending to the cares of a poor household; Joseph working with his hands in an obscure workshop; Jesus associating Himself with the troubles and labors of His parents; the grace spread over all His sacred person― “Grace is poured abroad in Thy lips” (Psalm 44:3) ; the modesty of His countenance and demeanor; the recollection which keeps His mind and heart constantly united to His Father.
(3) Finally, in heaven, the angels, who look on this scene with admiration; and the celestial Father, whose looks dwell with complacency on His beloved Son.
SECOND POINT
Listen to the words
They are few. Charity or necessity alone interrupt occasionally the silence of this family, whose conversation is in heaven. They are always regulated by humility, by meekness, by zeal, in a word, by the Spirit of God. They are always holy and perfect. St. Joseph speaks little; Mary still less; the Infant God scarcely ever. In the holy house at Nazareth they converse little with men, but they converse constantly with the heavenly Father. Recollect yourself profoundly, and listen to these holy conversations, which ravish the angels.
THIRD POINT
Consider the actions
The painful toil to which the Son of God voluntarily submits―how he assists Mary in her domestic cares; how He shares with Joseph the rude and humble trade of a carpenter; with what simplicity and zeal He obeys the least wish of His parents; with what patience He bears the fatigues of His condition; with what humility He resigns Himself to the caprices, the repulses, the disdain of strangers, who command Him as a hireling; His charity in His relations with His neighbor; His fervor in prayer; His divine perfections in the smallest actions, etc.
COLLOQUY WITH THE THREE PERSONS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
Adore Jesus Christ in the humble exercise of His hidden virtues, and beg of Him to fill us with His spirit. Ask, through the intercession of Joseph and Mary, the grace to imitate after them the examples of the Divine Savior.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
HIDDEN LIFE OF JESUS AT NAZARETH
APPLICATION OF THE SENSES
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Jesus having been found in the Temple by Mary and Joseph, left Jerusalem and returned with them to Nazareth, and was subject to them; and He advanced in wisdom and grace with God and man (Luke 2:51-52).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the humble house at Nazareth, the workshop of St. Joseph, etc.
Third prelude. Ask of God a grace conformable to the present mystery and to your wants; for example, the love of a retired life, of retreat, of labor, of prayer, of obedience, etc.
(1) Sight. Consider St. Joseph, the holy Virgin, our Lord Jesus Christ, at their work, their repasts, their prayers, their intercourse with their neighbors; the angels, who look with love on this holy house; the heavenly Father, who takes delight in His Son; etc.
(2) Hearing. Listen to the words of Jesus, of Mary, of Joseph; their silence, their recollection; their conversations, regulated by meekness, humility, modesty, etc.
(3) Taste. Taste the peace which fills their souls, their interior joy, their bitterness, etc.
(4) Smell. Respire the sweetness, and, as it were, the perfume of their virtues, obedience, charity, fervor, care in little things, love of a hidden life, etc.
(5) Touch. Kiss inwardly the walls, witnesses of the virtues of Jesus Christ; the rude tools of His trade; the earth sanctified by His steps and His labors.
COLLOQUY WITH THE THREE PERSONS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
Adore Jesus Christ in the humble exercise of His hidden virtues, and beg of Him to fill us with His spirit. Ask, through the intercession of Joseph and Mary, the grace to imitate after them the examples of the Divine Savior.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
WEEK 2 : DAY 5
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PUBLIC LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PUBLIC LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST
THE PUBLIC LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Represent to yourself our Lord Jesus Christ showing Himself to you as the apostles and inhabitants of Judea saw Him, and saying to you, “Look, and make it according to the pattern” (Exodus 25:40).
Second prelude. Ask the grace faithfully to imitate your divine Model.
Third prelude. Consider our Lord as the most perfect model man can propose to himself, in regard to God, to himself, and to his neighbor.
FIRST POINT
Conduct of Jesus Christ in regard to His Father
To pray to God, to obey the will of God, to labor for the glory of God, are the principal obligations of man towards his Creator.
Consider how Jesus Christ accomplished these obligations in His public life.
(1) Jesus Christ obeying. He is not subject to the law, since He is the first author of it, and comes to substitute another of a more perfect kind; yet, as He sees in it an expression of the Divine will, He observes all its rules with religious exactness. Recall what the Gospel tells us of His fidelity in coming to pray in the Temple, in sanctifying the Sabbath-day, in celebrating the Passover. He carries His respect for the law so far as to honor its ministers even in the Scribes and Pharisees: “The Scribes and the Pharisees have sat on the chair of Moses. All things, therefore, whatsoever they shall say to you observe and do " (Matt. xxiii. 2, 3).
2. Jesus Christ laboring for the glory of God. The three years of His public life were devoted to the preaching of the Gospel. Admire with what zeal He seizes all occasions to speak to men of salvation, and the obligation of serving God. Represent to yourself this God-apostle in the midst of His disciples, and surrounded by an innumerable crowd.
With what force and with sweetness combined does He reprove sinners! With what patience He repeats the same truths under different forms to their simple and coarse minds, which can scarcely understand them! With what abnegation of Himself and His own glory, at the price of what toils and perils, does He announce the word of His heavenly Father!
3. Jesus Christ praying. Although He has only three years to give to His preaching, He retrenches whole days of even this short space to devote them exclusively to prayer: “He went up into a mountain alone to pray " (Matt. xiv. 23) ; “He went into a desert place, and there He prayed " (Mark i. 35). After the fatigues of the day, instead of giving Himself up to the necessary sleep, He retires to a distance from His apostles on the mountains, or to some desert place, to pray in the silence of night. Meditate on all the circumstances of this divine prayer. It is a prayer made in solitude; a prayer accompanied by outward signs of the most profound respect, -He prays kneeling, or with His face bowed to the ground; it is a prayer consisting of the purest and most heroic sentiments of charity,-He offers Himself as a victim ready to immolate Himself to repair His Father's glory and to save men.
Look in upon yourself. Do you pray? Do you fulfil the precepts of your religion? Do you labour for the glory of God?
Learn from the example of Jesus Christ to fulfil your duties towards God in a Christian manner.
SECOND POINT
Conduct of Jesus Christ in regard to Himself
Consider our Lord
1. In the use of His creatures. Admire His humility,-how He hides His knowl edge and His virtues; how He forbids those He has cured to publish His miracles; how He steals away from the enthusiasm of the people who wish to proclaim Him king. His poverty;-His want is so great that often He has not even a little bread to support His strength, and only a stone whereon to rest His head; and-oh, most admirable!-He who lavishes miracles when required for the necessities of His neighbour, refuses them for Himself. His continual mortifications;-He renounces, He crucifies Himself in all things; His life is a course of fatigues, of fasts, of watchings: “The whole life of Christ was but one cross and one continual martyrdom " (Imit. of Christ, i. 2-12).
2. With regard to the exterior. Contemplate the simplicity of His garments; the gravity of His deportment; the modesty which regulates His bearing; the reserve of His words and looks; the serenity and sweetness of His looks, which draw all men to Him;-in a word, recognise in Him what the prophets had announced “Behold my servant, My elect; My soul delighteth in Him. I have given My spirit upon Him. He shall not cry, neither shall His voice be heard in the streets. He shall not be sad nor troublesome " (Is. xlii. 1, 2, 4).
3. With regard to the interior. Penetrate into the sacred soul of Jesus Christ: study His admirable virtues; His purity of intention, which refers all to His Father; His charity, which leaves but two affections in His heart,-zeal for the glory of God, and zeal for the salvation of men; His detachment in success, when the people, in raptures at hearing Him, cried out, “Never did man speak like this man " (John vii. 46) ; His resignation and profound peace when His enemies wished to stone Him; His interior calm when He turned the sellers out of the Temple, or when He confounded the Pharisees.
Practical reflections and affections.
THIRD POINT.
Conduct of Jesus Christ towards His neighbour
Consider
1. The reserve of Jesus Christ in His intercourse with His neighbour. His conversations were few and short; He feared, as it were, to be in the midst of men. And yet what had He to dread from communication with them? And, on the contrary, what graces might not men draw from Him who had the words of eternal life? Yet Jesus Christ avoids mingling with them as much as His ministry permits, and prefers silence, prayer, and solitude.
2. The charity of Jesus Christ towards His neighbour. He bears with divine meekness the hatred and persecutions of the Pharisees, the rudeness of His disciples, the unworthy treatment of His neighbours, who wish to bind Him as a fool and a madman. He receives with kindness, even with a sort of predilection, the ignorant and the common people: “His communication is with the simple" (Prov. iii. 32) ; with the poor: "The poor have the Gospel preached to them " (Matt. xi. 5) ; with little children: “Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come to Me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven " (Matt. xix. 14) ; with sinners witness Zacheus, the Samaritan, the adulteress, Magdalen. He could not refuse miracles when they brought to Him one possessed, a paralytic, etc.; thus it is written of Him that He "went about doing good " (Acts x. 38).
3. The end Jesus Christ proposed to Himself in His intercourse with His neighbour. His sole end was to instruct, to convert, to save men: thus He was never known to speak of vain or curious things; He only spoke of the kingdom of God: "Speaking of the kingdom of God" (Acts i. 3) ; of the value of the soul: "What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul" (Matt. xvi. 28) ; of the obligation of loving God: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God " (Matt. xxii. 37) ; of the necessity of renouncing and conquering ourselves: “If any man will come after Me, let him I deny himself " (Matt. xvi. 24) ; of the happiness of sufferings and poverty: “Blessed are the poor in spirit ". (Matthew 5:3).
Practical reflections and affections.
Colloquy with our Lord, to beg of Him the grace of a faithful imitation of His virtues.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
“Paint to yourself in your heart the conduct and the whole life of Jesus Christ. What humility He displayed among men; what benignity towards His disciples; what commiseration towards the poor, to whom He made Himself like in all things, and who appeared to be the most cherished portion of His family. How He contemned not nor spurned one; how He flattered not the rich; how free He was from the solicitudes of this life, and the fears that men entertain for temporal necessities. What patience He showed under insult; what mildness in His answers. How he sought not to vindicate Himself by bitter or sharp words, but to triumph over malice by gentle and humble replies; how willing to suffer labour and poverty, and how compassionate towards the afflicted; how He condescended to the imperfections of the weak; how He avoided all scandal; how He disdained not sinners, but received the penitent with infinite clemency; how calm in all His words, in all His gestures; how solicitous for the salvation of souls, for love of whom He deigned to become incarnate and to die; how fervent in prayer; how prompt in the service of others, as He says Himself ` I am in the midst of you as he that serveth ' (Luke xxii. 27).
“In all your actions, then, in all your words,-whether you walk or eat, whether you speak or keep silence, whether alone or in company,-lift your eyes to Him as your model. By this you will inflame your love; you will increase your confidence in Him, you will enter into a holy familiarity with Him, and you will become perfect in every kind of virtue. Let this be your wisdom, your study, your prayer, always to have something about Him in your mind, in order that you may be stirred up to a greater love and imitation of Him. For the more we conform ourselves to Him in the imitation of His virtues, the nearer we shall approach and be like to Him in His celestial beauty and glory” (St. Bonaventure).
Note.
It is more especially from this time that the person in retreat must occupy himself seriously with the choice of a state of life, or a reformation to be made in his state of life, if already fixed.
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Represent to yourself our Lord Jesus Christ showing Himself to you as the apostles and inhabitants of Judea saw Him, and saying to you, “Look, and make it according to the pattern” (Exodus 25:40).
Second prelude. Ask the grace faithfully to imitate your divine Model.
Third prelude. Consider our Lord as the most perfect model man can propose to himself, in regard to God, to himself, and to his neighbor.
FIRST POINT
Conduct of Jesus Christ in regard to His Father
To pray to God, to obey the will of God, to labor for the glory of God, are the principal obligations of man towards his Creator.
Consider how Jesus Christ accomplished these obligations in His public life.
(1) Jesus Christ obeying. He is not subject to the law, since He is the first author of it, and comes to substitute another of a more perfect kind; yet, as He sees in it an expression of the Divine will, He observes all its rules with religious exactness. Recall what the Gospel tells us of His fidelity in coming to pray in the Temple, in sanctifying the Sabbath-day, in celebrating the Passover. He carries His respect for the law so far as to honor its ministers even in the Scribes and Pharisees: “The Scribes and the Pharisees have sat on the chair of Moses. All things, therefore, whatsoever they shall say to you observe and do " (Matt. xxiii. 2, 3).
2. Jesus Christ laboring for the glory of God. The three years of His public life were devoted to the preaching of the Gospel. Admire with what zeal He seizes all occasions to speak to men of salvation, and the obligation of serving God. Represent to yourself this God-apostle in the midst of His disciples, and surrounded by an innumerable crowd.
With what force and with sweetness combined does He reprove sinners! With what patience He repeats the same truths under different forms to their simple and coarse minds, which can scarcely understand them! With what abnegation of Himself and His own glory, at the price of what toils and perils, does He announce the word of His heavenly Father!
3. Jesus Christ praying. Although He has only three years to give to His preaching, He retrenches whole days of even this short space to devote them exclusively to prayer: “He went up into a mountain alone to pray " (Matt. xiv. 23) ; “He went into a desert place, and there He prayed " (Mark i. 35). After the fatigues of the day, instead of giving Himself up to the necessary sleep, He retires to a distance from His apostles on the mountains, or to some desert place, to pray in the silence of night. Meditate on all the circumstances of this divine prayer. It is a prayer made in solitude; a prayer accompanied by outward signs of the most profound respect, -He prays kneeling, or with His face bowed to the ground; it is a prayer consisting of the purest and most heroic sentiments of charity,-He offers Himself as a victim ready to immolate Himself to repair His Father's glory and to save men.
Look in upon yourself. Do you pray? Do you fulfil the precepts of your religion? Do you labour for the glory of God?
Learn from the example of Jesus Christ to fulfil your duties towards God in a Christian manner.
SECOND POINT
Conduct of Jesus Christ in regard to Himself
Consider our Lord
1. In the use of His creatures. Admire His humility,-how He hides His knowl edge and His virtues; how He forbids those He has cured to publish His miracles; how He steals away from the enthusiasm of the people who wish to proclaim Him king. His poverty;-His want is so great that often He has not even a little bread to support His strength, and only a stone whereon to rest His head; and-oh, most admirable!-He who lavishes miracles when required for the necessities of His neighbour, refuses them for Himself. His continual mortifications;-He renounces, He crucifies Himself in all things; His life is a course of fatigues, of fasts, of watchings: “The whole life of Christ was but one cross and one continual martyrdom " (Imit. of Christ, i. 2-12).
2. With regard to the exterior. Contemplate the simplicity of His garments; the gravity of His deportment; the modesty which regulates His bearing; the reserve of His words and looks; the serenity and sweetness of His looks, which draw all men to Him;-in a word, recognise in Him what the prophets had announced “Behold my servant, My elect; My soul delighteth in Him. I have given My spirit upon Him. He shall not cry, neither shall His voice be heard in the streets. He shall not be sad nor troublesome " (Is. xlii. 1, 2, 4).
3. With regard to the interior. Penetrate into the sacred soul of Jesus Christ: study His admirable virtues; His purity of intention, which refers all to His Father; His charity, which leaves but two affections in His heart,-zeal for the glory of God, and zeal for the salvation of men; His detachment in success, when the people, in raptures at hearing Him, cried out, “Never did man speak like this man " (John vii. 46) ; His resignation and profound peace when His enemies wished to stone Him; His interior calm when He turned the sellers out of the Temple, or when He confounded the Pharisees.
Practical reflections and affections.
THIRD POINT.
Conduct of Jesus Christ towards His neighbour
Consider
1. The reserve of Jesus Christ in His intercourse with His neighbour. His conversations were few and short; He feared, as it were, to be in the midst of men. And yet what had He to dread from communication with them? And, on the contrary, what graces might not men draw from Him who had the words of eternal life? Yet Jesus Christ avoids mingling with them as much as His ministry permits, and prefers silence, prayer, and solitude.
2. The charity of Jesus Christ towards His neighbour. He bears with divine meekness the hatred and persecutions of the Pharisees, the rudeness of His disciples, the unworthy treatment of His neighbours, who wish to bind Him as a fool and a madman. He receives with kindness, even with a sort of predilection, the ignorant and the common people: “His communication is with the simple" (Prov. iii. 32) ; with the poor: "The poor have the Gospel preached to them " (Matt. xi. 5) ; with little children: “Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come to Me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven " (Matt. xix. 14) ; with sinners witness Zacheus, the Samaritan, the adulteress, Magdalen. He could not refuse miracles when they brought to Him one possessed, a paralytic, etc.; thus it is written of Him that He "went about doing good " (Acts x. 38).
3. The end Jesus Christ proposed to Himself in His intercourse with His neighbour. His sole end was to instruct, to convert, to save men: thus He was never known to speak of vain or curious things; He only spoke of the kingdom of God: "Speaking of the kingdom of God" (Acts i. 3) ; of the value of the soul: "What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul" (Matt. xvi. 28) ; of the obligation of loving God: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God " (Matt. xxii. 37) ; of the necessity of renouncing and conquering ourselves: “If any man will come after Me, let him I deny himself " (Matt. xvi. 24) ; of the happiness of sufferings and poverty: “Blessed are the poor in spirit ". (Matthew 5:3).
Practical reflections and affections.
Colloquy with our Lord, to beg of Him the grace of a faithful imitation of His virtues.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
“Paint to yourself in your heart the conduct and the whole life of Jesus Christ. What humility He displayed among men; what benignity towards His disciples; what commiseration towards the poor, to whom He made Himself like in all things, and who appeared to be the most cherished portion of His family. How He contemned not nor spurned one; how He flattered not the rich; how free He was from the solicitudes of this life, and the fears that men entertain for temporal necessities. What patience He showed under insult; what mildness in His answers. How he sought not to vindicate Himself by bitter or sharp words, but to triumph over malice by gentle and humble replies; how willing to suffer labour and poverty, and how compassionate towards the afflicted; how He condescended to the imperfections of the weak; how He avoided all scandal; how He disdained not sinners, but received the penitent with infinite clemency; how calm in all His words, in all His gestures; how solicitous for the salvation of souls, for love of whom He deigned to become incarnate and to die; how fervent in prayer; how prompt in the service of others, as He says Himself ` I am in the midst of you as he that serveth ' (Luke xxii. 27).
“In all your actions, then, in all your words,-whether you walk or eat, whether you speak or keep silence, whether alone or in company,-lift your eyes to Him as your model. By this you will inflame your love; you will increase your confidence in Him, you will enter into a holy familiarity with Him, and you will become perfect in every kind of virtue. Let this be your wisdom, your study, your prayer, always to have something about Him in your mind, in order that you may be stirred up to a greater love and imitation of Him. For the more we conform ourselves to Him in the imitation of His virtues, the nearer we shall approach and be like to Him in His celestial beauty and glory” (St. Bonaventure).
Note.
It is more especially from this time that the person in retreat must occupy himself seriously with the choice of a state of life, or a reformation to be made in his state of life, if already fixed.
WEEK 2 : DAY 6
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE TWO STANDARDS
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE TWO STANDARDS
INTRODUCTION TO THE MEDITATION ON THE TWO STANDARDS;
OR, PRELUDE TO THE CONSIDERATIONS TO BE MADE ON THE PARTICULAR STATE OF LIFE TO WHICH WE MAY BE CALLED.
Our Lord, subject to His parents at Nazareth, presents to us the model of that first state of life which consists in observing the commandments, and which is called common life.
But from the time that Jesus Christ, at the age of twelve years, leaves His foster-father and her who, according to nature, was His mother, and goes to the Temple to attend to His Heavenly Father’s service, as He was to do during the three years of His public life, He appears to give us the idea and the example of a second state, which is that of evangelical perfection.
It is therefore proper here, while we are contemplating the life of Christ, to examine and earnestly beg the grace to know the kind and state of life in which it would most please His Divine Majesty that we should serve Him and promote His glory. We shall be guided in this search by the following exercise, which places in parallel and contrast the thoughts and views of Jesus Christ and those of His mortal enemy. We shall thus learn what ought to be our dispositions, in order that we may arrive at perfection in that state, whatever it may be, which the Divine goodness may counsel us to choose.
THE TWO STANDARDS
NOTE. This exercise is a sort of parable, in which St. Ignatius represents our Lord and Lucifer as two captains armed one against the other, and calling all men to their standards. The object of it is to place before our eyes the right of Jesus Christ to our service, and to engage us to serve under His banner for ever.
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Consider, on one side, our Savior, on the other Lucifer, who both invite men to follow their standard.
Second prelude. Construction of place. Represent to yourself two vast plains; in one, near to Babylon, Lucifer assembles round him all sinners; in the other, near to Jerusalem, our Lord is surrounded by all the just.
Third prelude. Ask the grace to discover and avoid the snares of Lucifer, and to know and imitate the virtues of Jesus Christ.
FIRST POINT
The standard of Lucifer
(1) Represent to yourself the prince of the reprobate in the vast plains of Babylon, on a throne of fire surrounded by thick smoke, spreading terror around him by the hideous deformity of his features and by his terrible looks. Meditate on the hidden meaning of these figures. These vast plains designate the broad path where sinners walk. Babylon, the city of confusion, signifies the disorder of a guilty conscience. The throne of fire is the symbol of the pride and the passions which devour the soul like a fire. The thick smoke is the image of the blindness of the sinner and of the vanity of his pleasures. The hideous features and terrible look of Lucifer express the deformity of sin and the operations of the evil spirit in the soul; that is to say, its trouble, its agitation, its depression, its sorrows.
(2) Consider the innumerable crowd of followers and ministers around Lucifer. Here are found united the sinners of all ages; the spirits who first, even in Heaven, raised the standard of revolt against God, degraded beings, with whom evil is become as a nature; all the men who have made themselves the slaves of their passions and sins―the proud, the impure, robbers, murderers, all the wicked men who at different times have startled the world by their crimes, and of whom there is not a single one who is not, in some way, an object of aversion and disgust. But why does Lucifer convoke these under his standard? For the most perfidious and cruel design that can be imagined; he wishes to seduce the whole human race, and after having seduced it, to drag it down to eternal misery.
(3) Listen, in spirit, to Lucifer addressing his ministers, and ordering them to lay snares on all sides for men, in order to their perdition: “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us hide snares for the innocent without cause. Let us swallow him up alive like Hell. We shall find all precious substances; we shall fill our houses with spoils” (Proverbs 1:11-13). Remark his artifices, and the three ordinary degrees of temptation; how, first, he catches souls by the love of riches; next, how he throws them into the paths of ambition; then, from ambition to pride-a bottomless abyss, from whence all vices rise as from their fountain. See with what patience and active zeal the ministers of Lucifer execute the task imposed on them by their master, how they make everything conduce to the one end―the ruin of souls; defects of the understanding, inclinations of the heart, the character, the habits, the passions, the faults, the virtues even, and graces of God. Finally, contemplate the success of Hell in its enterprise―how many fools are taken in these snares every day; how many blindly throw themselves in; how many who, not content to allow themselves to be seduced, seek also to seduce their brethren. Look on yourself. Be astonished at having given way so often and so easily to the temptations of the enemy; weep over your folly and your past weakness, and resolve to be wiser and more courageous for the future.
SECOND POINT
The standard of Jesus Christ
(1) Represent to yourself a beautiful plain near Jerusalem, and there, not on a throne, but mingling with His subjects, our Lord, attracting all hearts by the’ beauty and irresistible charm of His looks. Meditate on the hidden meaning of these figures. This plain signifies the way of the just, rough in appearance, but in reality pleasant and happy. Jerusalem, the city of saints, the vision of peace, is the symbol of a pure conscience. Our Lord is represented without a throne and mixing among His subjects, to express the lowness and self-humiliation of His mortal life. He shows Himself as the most beautiful of the children of men― “Thou art beautiful above the sons of men” (Psalm 44:3); and with all the marks described by the prophets: “He shall not be sad, nor troublesome” (Isaias 42:4); “His conversation hath no bitterness, nor His company any tediousness but joy and gladness” (Wisdom 8:16); “The bruised reed He shall not break, and the smoking flax He shall not quench” (Isaias 42:3). It is the image of beauty, of virtue, and the operations of the good Spirit in souls, that is, of joy, of calm, of consolation, etc.
(2) Consider, around our Savior, His disciples and apostles. Where shall we find a more august assembly? There are united the just and the saints of all ages, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, penitents, virgins, doctors, holy pontiffs; none of the vices or weaknesses that dishonor humanity; on the contrary, all virtues, and these carried even to heroism. But for what purpose does Jesus Christ convoke His disciples under His standard? For the most just, the most noble, the most generous purpose that can be―to recall men to virtue, and through virtue to happiness in time and eternity.
(3) Listen, in spirit, to our Savior addressing His disciples, and commanding them to go into the world to save men: “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10); “I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10); “I am come to cast fire on the Earth, and what will I but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49); “Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15); “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). Observe by what degrees, exactly opposed to the temptations of Lucifer, Jesus Christ leads souls to perfection. He wishes His apostles first to inspire them with indifference to riches, and then the desire of abjection, from whence arises humility as from its source, and with it every other virtue. See with what ardor, what constancy, the apostles accomplish the mission entrusted to them by the Son of God. Represent to yourself all the labors and sacrifices that their ministry entails: “In all things let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses. In stripes, in prison, in seditions, in labors, in watchings, in fastings. In chastity, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Ghost, in charity unfeigned. In the word of truth, in the power of God, by the armor of justice on the right hand and on the left” (2 Corinthians 6:4-7).
Finally, contemplate the success of the enterprise; how many sinners snatched from Hell; how many disciples won to evangelical poverty and humility; how many apostles trained and prepared for the saving of souls and the glory of God.
Examine yourself, and make practical reflections.
THIRD POINT
Election between the two standards
Consider that we are all placed between Jesus Christ and Lucifer, and that it is equally impossible either to serve both at once―“No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24)―or to remain neutral without serving one or other, for Jesus Christ says, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Luke 9:23). It is, then, necessary to make a choice. And to do so wisely, let us examine attentively:
(1) The qualities of the two leaders. In Jesus Christ, all that can captivate the heart; in Lucifer, all that can merit aversion and hatred.
(2) What they have done for you. Jesus Christ has been the most generous of benefactors; Lucifer the most cruel of
enemies.
(3) Their design. That of Jesus Christ is to make you a sharer in His labors, and then in His glory; that of Lucifer is to make you first the accomplice of his crimes, and then the companion of his punishment.
(4) Their promises. Jesus Christ promises you possessions honorable, unfailing, infinite, eternal. Ask the elect; all render homage to the truth of His promises; all confess that they have only been surprised in being rendered happier Even beyond their hopes. Lucifer promises you things unworthy of you, uncertain, which will leave a void in your heart, which will only add to your disgusts and agitations, which will soon pass away, and will end in everlasting punishments.
(5) Their rights. Jesus Christ has the most sacred and incontestable rights over your heart. Recall what, as a man and as a Christian, you owe Him, what you have promised Him so often, so freely, and so solemnly. Lucifer has no right but to your contempt. You renounced him before Heaven and Earth at the baptismal font, at the holy table; you cannot give yourself to him without perjury.
COLLOQUIES
(1) With the Blessed Virgin. Ask her to obtain for you from her Son the grace to be received and to march under His standard; first, in the love, or even, if He should deign to call you to it, in the practice of poverty; then, in the love of abjection and humility. Ave Maria.
(2) With our Savior. Ask Him the same grace. Anima Christi.
(3) With the Eternal Father. The same. Pater.
EXERCISE ON THE THREE CLASSES
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Represent to yourself three men attacked by serious illness, who all desire health. One will not take any remedy; the second only certain remedies of his own choice; the third will take whatever remedy may be necessary for his cure.
Second prelude. Figure to yourself that you are in the presence of God and His saints, and offer to the Lord a sincere and ardent desire to please Him.
Third prelude. Ask the grace of a good election; that is, the grace to choose what is the most agreeable to the Divine Majesty, and the most useful for your salvation.
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS
In the meditation of the two standards, we have resolved to attach ourselves to that of Jesus Christ. It is requisite, then, to examine whether this resolution is a serious and solid one. There are three ways of giving ourselves to Jesus Christ; and thus those who call themselves His disciples may be divided into three classes, who correspond to the three sick men presented to us in the first prelude. All in appearance, wish to follow Jesus Christ; but the first only give Him desires; the next certain works; the third give themselves entirely to Him, and without reserve. To which of these three classes do we aspire to belong?
FIRST POINT
The first class consists of those who only give desires to Jesus Christ. To this class belong all those Christians who are convinced of the truth of religion, of the rights and dominion of God over men, of the malice of sin, of the misery of a soul surprised by death in a state of mortal sin, of the necessity of salvation. They wish, they say, to save themselves, to be converted, to be sanctified.
But they stop there, and put aside all the means necessary for holiness, for conversion, for salvation. These Christians may be compared to the sick man who wishes to be cured, but will not submit to any remedy. Evidently this sick man does not wish to be cured with a serious will, and all his desires of health are only illusions.
Examine before God whether this disposition is not yours. You wish to be converted, to be saved, to be sanctified; but conversion, salvation, sanctity, require efforts―for example, prayer, regular frequenting of the sacraments, avoidance of occasions of sin, the reform of the passions and bad habits: do you seriously will all this?
If this disposition is yours, consider how criminal it is; for it supposes the abuse of the graces and inspirations of the Holy Ghost. In this state men know the obligation of belonging to God; they feel at the bottom of their heart the desire to belong to Him; they have around them all the means of conversion and sanctification; and yet they stop at a barren and inefficacious will, that is, they resemble the rebellious Jews at the voice of our Savior, of whom He said, “If I had not come, and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin” (John 15:22). Or that cursed land of which St. Paul speaks: “For the Earth that drinketh in the rain which cometh often upon it, and bringeth forth thorns and briers, is reprobate, and very near unto a curse, whose end is to be burnt” (Hebrews 6:7-8).
SECOND POINT
The second class is of those who will only give Jesus Christ certain works. To this class belong those Christians who, wish to be saved, to be converted, to be sanctified; but who will not adopt the most certain means, nor all the means of salvation, conversion, or sanctification. They are like the sick man who wished to be cured, but would only take certain remedies, and rejected the others which were the only efficacious ones.
Look into yourself. Are there not certain sacrifices that God asks of you bemuse they are, you know well, the necessary condition of your sanctification or your salvation, and which you dispute with Him? Is there not in your heart some predominant passion, the source of all the others, the occasion of all your falls, and which you yet wish to spare. Are there not certain exercises of piety, certain rules of Christian mortification, which are necessary for your return to, or your advancement in, the ways of virtue, and which you have not dared to embrace? Consider well that to remain in this disposition is:
(1) To lose the principal fruit of this retreat; for it is to renounce the degree of virtue to which God calls you, and consequently all the graces that were to follow it, and the degree of glory which would have crowned it in Heaven.
(2) It is to expose your eternal salvation to serious peril; for God punishes those who resist His voice by withdrawing from them those superabundant graces by which He rewards the sacrifices of those generous souls who give themselves to Him unreservedly.
(3) It is to increase the difficulty in trying to avoid it; for God generally pours such bitterness into the passions we try to spare, that it costs us more to spare them than it would have done to sacrifice them.
THIRD POINT
The third class consists of those who give themselves to God entirely and without reserve. To this class belong exclusively those who desire conversion, salvation, holiness, whatever they may cost, and by the most effectual means. These souls are like the sick man who desires health at any price, and gives himself up without restriction into the hands and to the treatment of the physician. Meditate on the motives which urge you to place yourself in this last class.
(1) The example of worldlings. They sacrifice themselves without, reserve for the world, and for what a world! Will you not do for God what they do for men? “And they, indeed, that they may receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible one” (1 Corinthians 9:25).
(2) The example of the devil. Is there any one means that he neglects, any one difficulty before which he recoils, when there is the question of destroying a single soul? Shall we have less courage for our salvation than he has for our ruin?
(3) The example of our Lord. Did He give Himself to us by half, or with reserve? Ask the manger, the cross, the tabernacle. Shall we be niggardly of ourselves with so generous a God?
(4) The blessings attached to this disposition of heart. These are: a superabundance of graces, peace of heart, and the unction of the Holy Ghost, which will soften all sacrifices; the moral assurance of salvation; great merits in time, and an immense weight of glory for eternity.
Let us, then, resolve to follow Jesus Christ in this third class; and let us say with the apostle, “I most gladly will spend and be spent myself” (2 Corinthians 12:15). “I fear none of these things, neither do I count my life more precious than myself, so that I may consummate my course” (Acts 20:24).
COLLOQUIES
(1) With the Blessed Virgin.
(2) With our Lord.
(3) With the Eternal Father, as in the exercise of the Two Standards.
Observe here that when we feel a reluctance for perfect poverty, which consists not only in being detached in spirit, but in being really deprived of riches; when, on the contrary, we feel ourselves inclined towards the possession of the goods of this world, it is very useful, in order to destroy the effect of this inclination, to ask of God, notwithstanding the repugnance of nature, that He will deign to call us to this complete and effective detachment; and this we must not only ask, but strive to desire and earnestly beg, solely for the interest of the service and glory of God.
OR, PRELUDE TO THE CONSIDERATIONS TO BE MADE ON THE PARTICULAR STATE OF LIFE TO WHICH WE MAY BE CALLED.
Our Lord, subject to His parents at Nazareth, presents to us the model of that first state of life which consists in observing the commandments, and which is called common life.
But from the time that Jesus Christ, at the age of twelve years, leaves His foster-father and her who, according to nature, was His mother, and goes to the Temple to attend to His Heavenly Father’s service, as He was to do during the three years of His public life, He appears to give us the idea and the example of a second state, which is that of evangelical perfection.
It is therefore proper here, while we are contemplating the life of Christ, to examine and earnestly beg the grace to know the kind and state of life in which it would most please His Divine Majesty that we should serve Him and promote His glory. We shall be guided in this search by the following exercise, which places in parallel and contrast the thoughts and views of Jesus Christ and those of His mortal enemy. We shall thus learn what ought to be our dispositions, in order that we may arrive at perfection in that state, whatever it may be, which the Divine goodness may counsel us to choose.
THE TWO STANDARDS
NOTE. This exercise is a sort of parable, in which St. Ignatius represents our Lord and Lucifer as two captains armed one against the other, and calling all men to their standards. The object of it is to place before our eyes the right of Jesus Christ to our service, and to engage us to serve under His banner for ever.
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Consider, on one side, our Savior, on the other Lucifer, who both invite men to follow their standard.
Second prelude. Construction of place. Represent to yourself two vast plains; in one, near to Babylon, Lucifer assembles round him all sinners; in the other, near to Jerusalem, our Lord is surrounded by all the just.
Third prelude. Ask the grace to discover and avoid the snares of Lucifer, and to know and imitate the virtues of Jesus Christ.
FIRST POINT
The standard of Lucifer
(1) Represent to yourself the prince of the reprobate in the vast plains of Babylon, on a throne of fire surrounded by thick smoke, spreading terror around him by the hideous deformity of his features and by his terrible looks. Meditate on the hidden meaning of these figures. These vast plains designate the broad path where sinners walk. Babylon, the city of confusion, signifies the disorder of a guilty conscience. The throne of fire is the symbol of the pride and the passions which devour the soul like a fire. The thick smoke is the image of the blindness of the sinner and of the vanity of his pleasures. The hideous features and terrible look of Lucifer express the deformity of sin and the operations of the evil spirit in the soul; that is to say, its trouble, its agitation, its depression, its sorrows.
(2) Consider the innumerable crowd of followers and ministers around Lucifer. Here are found united the sinners of all ages; the spirits who first, even in Heaven, raised the standard of revolt against God, degraded beings, with whom evil is become as a nature; all the men who have made themselves the slaves of their passions and sins―the proud, the impure, robbers, murderers, all the wicked men who at different times have startled the world by their crimes, and of whom there is not a single one who is not, in some way, an object of aversion and disgust. But why does Lucifer convoke these under his standard? For the most perfidious and cruel design that can be imagined; he wishes to seduce the whole human race, and after having seduced it, to drag it down to eternal misery.
(3) Listen, in spirit, to Lucifer addressing his ministers, and ordering them to lay snares on all sides for men, in order to their perdition: “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us hide snares for the innocent without cause. Let us swallow him up alive like Hell. We shall find all precious substances; we shall fill our houses with spoils” (Proverbs 1:11-13). Remark his artifices, and the three ordinary degrees of temptation; how, first, he catches souls by the love of riches; next, how he throws them into the paths of ambition; then, from ambition to pride-a bottomless abyss, from whence all vices rise as from their fountain. See with what patience and active zeal the ministers of Lucifer execute the task imposed on them by their master, how they make everything conduce to the one end―the ruin of souls; defects of the understanding, inclinations of the heart, the character, the habits, the passions, the faults, the virtues even, and graces of God. Finally, contemplate the success of Hell in its enterprise―how many fools are taken in these snares every day; how many blindly throw themselves in; how many who, not content to allow themselves to be seduced, seek also to seduce their brethren. Look on yourself. Be astonished at having given way so often and so easily to the temptations of the enemy; weep over your folly and your past weakness, and resolve to be wiser and more courageous for the future.
SECOND POINT
The standard of Jesus Christ
(1) Represent to yourself a beautiful plain near Jerusalem, and there, not on a throne, but mingling with His subjects, our Lord, attracting all hearts by the’ beauty and irresistible charm of His looks. Meditate on the hidden meaning of these figures. This plain signifies the way of the just, rough in appearance, but in reality pleasant and happy. Jerusalem, the city of saints, the vision of peace, is the symbol of a pure conscience. Our Lord is represented without a throne and mixing among His subjects, to express the lowness and self-humiliation of His mortal life. He shows Himself as the most beautiful of the children of men― “Thou art beautiful above the sons of men” (Psalm 44:3); and with all the marks described by the prophets: “He shall not be sad, nor troublesome” (Isaias 42:4); “His conversation hath no bitterness, nor His company any tediousness but joy and gladness” (Wisdom 8:16); “The bruised reed He shall not break, and the smoking flax He shall not quench” (Isaias 42:3). It is the image of beauty, of virtue, and the operations of the good Spirit in souls, that is, of joy, of calm, of consolation, etc.
(2) Consider, around our Savior, His disciples and apostles. Where shall we find a more august assembly? There are united the just and the saints of all ages, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, penitents, virgins, doctors, holy pontiffs; none of the vices or weaknesses that dishonor humanity; on the contrary, all virtues, and these carried even to heroism. But for what purpose does Jesus Christ convoke His disciples under His standard? For the most just, the most noble, the most generous purpose that can be―to recall men to virtue, and through virtue to happiness in time and eternity.
(3) Listen, in spirit, to our Savior addressing His disciples, and commanding them to go into the world to save men: “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10); “I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10); “I am come to cast fire on the Earth, and what will I but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49); “Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15); “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). Observe by what degrees, exactly opposed to the temptations of Lucifer, Jesus Christ leads souls to perfection. He wishes His apostles first to inspire them with indifference to riches, and then the desire of abjection, from whence arises humility as from its source, and with it every other virtue. See with what ardor, what constancy, the apostles accomplish the mission entrusted to them by the Son of God. Represent to yourself all the labors and sacrifices that their ministry entails: “In all things let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses. In stripes, in prison, in seditions, in labors, in watchings, in fastings. In chastity, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Ghost, in charity unfeigned. In the word of truth, in the power of God, by the armor of justice on the right hand and on the left” (2 Corinthians 6:4-7).
Finally, contemplate the success of the enterprise; how many sinners snatched from Hell; how many disciples won to evangelical poverty and humility; how many apostles trained and prepared for the saving of souls and the glory of God.
Examine yourself, and make practical reflections.
THIRD POINT
Election between the two standards
Consider that we are all placed between Jesus Christ and Lucifer, and that it is equally impossible either to serve both at once―“No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24)―or to remain neutral without serving one or other, for Jesus Christ says, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Luke 9:23). It is, then, necessary to make a choice. And to do so wisely, let us examine attentively:
(1) The qualities of the two leaders. In Jesus Christ, all that can captivate the heart; in Lucifer, all that can merit aversion and hatred.
(2) What they have done for you. Jesus Christ has been the most generous of benefactors; Lucifer the most cruel of
enemies.
(3) Their design. That of Jesus Christ is to make you a sharer in His labors, and then in His glory; that of Lucifer is to make you first the accomplice of his crimes, and then the companion of his punishment.
(4) Their promises. Jesus Christ promises you possessions honorable, unfailing, infinite, eternal. Ask the elect; all render homage to the truth of His promises; all confess that they have only been surprised in being rendered happier Even beyond their hopes. Lucifer promises you things unworthy of you, uncertain, which will leave a void in your heart, which will only add to your disgusts and agitations, which will soon pass away, and will end in everlasting punishments.
(5) Their rights. Jesus Christ has the most sacred and incontestable rights over your heart. Recall what, as a man and as a Christian, you owe Him, what you have promised Him so often, so freely, and so solemnly. Lucifer has no right but to your contempt. You renounced him before Heaven and Earth at the baptismal font, at the holy table; you cannot give yourself to him without perjury.
COLLOQUIES
(1) With the Blessed Virgin. Ask her to obtain for you from her Son the grace to be received and to march under His standard; first, in the love, or even, if He should deign to call you to it, in the practice of poverty; then, in the love of abjection and humility. Ave Maria.
(2) With our Savior. Ask Him the same grace. Anima Christi.
(3) With the Eternal Father. The same. Pater.
EXERCISE ON THE THREE CLASSES
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Represent to yourself three men attacked by serious illness, who all desire health. One will not take any remedy; the second only certain remedies of his own choice; the third will take whatever remedy may be necessary for his cure.
Second prelude. Figure to yourself that you are in the presence of God and His saints, and offer to the Lord a sincere and ardent desire to please Him.
Third prelude. Ask the grace of a good election; that is, the grace to choose what is the most agreeable to the Divine Majesty, and the most useful for your salvation.
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS
In the meditation of the two standards, we have resolved to attach ourselves to that of Jesus Christ. It is requisite, then, to examine whether this resolution is a serious and solid one. There are three ways of giving ourselves to Jesus Christ; and thus those who call themselves His disciples may be divided into three classes, who correspond to the three sick men presented to us in the first prelude. All in appearance, wish to follow Jesus Christ; but the first only give Him desires; the next certain works; the third give themselves entirely to Him, and without reserve. To which of these three classes do we aspire to belong?
FIRST POINT
The first class consists of those who only give desires to Jesus Christ. To this class belong all those Christians who are convinced of the truth of religion, of the rights and dominion of God over men, of the malice of sin, of the misery of a soul surprised by death in a state of mortal sin, of the necessity of salvation. They wish, they say, to save themselves, to be converted, to be sanctified.
But they stop there, and put aside all the means necessary for holiness, for conversion, for salvation. These Christians may be compared to the sick man who wishes to be cured, but will not submit to any remedy. Evidently this sick man does not wish to be cured with a serious will, and all his desires of health are only illusions.
Examine before God whether this disposition is not yours. You wish to be converted, to be saved, to be sanctified; but conversion, salvation, sanctity, require efforts―for example, prayer, regular frequenting of the sacraments, avoidance of occasions of sin, the reform of the passions and bad habits: do you seriously will all this?
If this disposition is yours, consider how criminal it is; for it supposes the abuse of the graces and inspirations of the Holy Ghost. In this state men know the obligation of belonging to God; they feel at the bottom of their heart the desire to belong to Him; they have around them all the means of conversion and sanctification; and yet they stop at a barren and inefficacious will, that is, they resemble the rebellious Jews at the voice of our Savior, of whom He said, “If I had not come, and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin” (John 15:22). Or that cursed land of which St. Paul speaks: “For the Earth that drinketh in the rain which cometh often upon it, and bringeth forth thorns and briers, is reprobate, and very near unto a curse, whose end is to be burnt” (Hebrews 6:7-8).
SECOND POINT
The second class is of those who will only give Jesus Christ certain works. To this class belong those Christians who, wish to be saved, to be converted, to be sanctified; but who will not adopt the most certain means, nor all the means of salvation, conversion, or sanctification. They are like the sick man who wished to be cured, but would only take certain remedies, and rejected the others which were the only efficacious ones.
Look into yourself. Are there not certain sacrifices that God asks of you bemuse they are, you know well, the necessary condition of your sanctification or your salvation, and which you dispute with Him? Is there not in your heart some predominant passion, the source of all the others, the occasion of all your falls, and which you yet wish to spare. Are there not certain exercises of piety, certain rules of Christian mortification, which are necessary for your return to, or your advancement in, the ways of virtue, and which you have not dared to embrace? Consider well that to remain in this disposition is:
(1) To lose the principal fruit of this retreat; for it is to renounce the degree of virtue to which God calls you, and consequently all the graces that were to follow it, and the degree of glory which would have crowned it in Heaven.
(2) It is to expose your eternal salvation to serious peril; for God punishes those who resist His voice by withdrawing from them those superabundant graces by which He rewards the sacrifices of those generous souls who give themselves to Him unreservedly.
(3) It is to increase the difficulty in trying to avoid it; for God generally pours such bitterness into the passions we try to spare, that it costs us more to spare them than it would have done to sacrifice them.
THIRD POINT
The third class consists of those who give themselves to God entirely and without reserve. To this class belong exclusively those who desire conversion, salvation, holiness, whatever they may cost, and by the most effectual means. These souls are like the sick man who desires health at any price, and gives himself up without restriction into the hands and to the treatment of the physician. Meditate on the motives which urge you to place yourself in this last class.
(1) The example of worldlings. They sacrifice themselves without, reserve for the world, and for what a world! Will you not do for God what they do for men? “And they, indeed, that they may receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible one” (1 Corinthians 9:25).
(2) The example of the devil. Is there any one means that he neglects, any one difficulty before which he recoils, when there is the question of destroying a single soul? Shall we have less courage for our salvation than he has for our ruin?
(3) The example of our Lord. Did He give Himself to us by half, or with reserve? Ask the manger, the cross, the tabernacle. Shall we be niggardly of ourselves with so generous a God?
(4) The blessings attached to this disposition of heart. These are: a superabundance of graces, peace of heart, and the unction of the Holy Ghost, which will soften all sacrifices; the moral assurance of salvation; great merits in time, and an immense weight of glory for eternity.
Let us, then, resolve to follow Jesus Christ in this third class; and let us say with the apostle, “I most gladly will spend and be spent myself” (2 Corinthians 12:15). “I fear none of these things, neither do I count my life more precious than myself, so that I may consummate my course” (Acts 20:24).
COLLOQUIES
(1) With the Blessed Virgin.
(2) With our Lord.
(3) With the Eternal Father, as in the exercise of the Two Standards.
Observe here that when we feel a reluctance for perfect poverty, which consists not only in being detached in spirit, but in being really deprived of riches; when, on the contrary, we feel ourselves inclined towards the possession of the goods of this world, it is very useful, in order to destroy the effect of this inclination, to ask of God, notwithstanding the repugnance of nature, that He will deign to call us to this complete and effective detachment; and this we must not only ask, but strive to desire and earnestly beg, solely for the interest of the service and glory of God.
WEEK 2 : DAY 7
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE THREE DEGREES OF HUMILITY
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE THREE DEGREES OF HUMILITY
EXERCISE ON THE THREE DEGREES OF HUMILITY
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Represent to yourself our Lord Jesus Christ pointing to His sacred Heart, and saying to us, “Learn
of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart” (Matthew 11:29).
Second prelude. Ask the grace of a perfect renouncement of yourself, after the example of Jesus Christ.
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS
(1) The exercise of the “Two Standards” points out the motives for following Jesus Christ. The exercise of the “Three Classes” points out the motives for following Him by giving ourselves to Him entirely and without reserve. In the exercise of the “Three Degrees of Humility,” we are about to consider in what this perfect gift of ourselves to Jesus Christ consists.
(2) This exercise is called, in the first place, the “Three Degrees,” because it contains the three degrees of Christian perfection, which consist:
(a) in the firm resolution to avoid mortal sin, even at the risk of life;
(b) in the firm resolution to avoid deliberate venial sin at any price; and
(c) in the voluntary choice of whatever is most perfect for the service of God:
In the second place, it is so called because these three degrees suppose the abasement and, as it were, the annihilation of the old man within us.
FIRST POINT
TEXT. The first degree of humility consists in perfect submission to the law of God, so that we should be ready to refuse the empire of the whole world, or even to sacrifice our lives, rather than willingly transgress any precept which obliges us under pain of mortal sin.
This first degree is absolutely necessary for eternal salvation, and is as it were the fruit of the exercises of the first week. To establish ourselves firmly in it, we may recall what faith teaches us:
(1) of the infinite malice of mortal sin, and the terrible vengeance with which the justice of God pursues it in time and in eternity;
(2) of the supreme dominion of God, and His right to the obedience of every creature;
(3) of the certainty and nearness of death, which will leave the sinner without resource in the hands of the living God;
(4) the rewards which await in eternity the faithful observers of God’s law;
(5) the sacrifices of the saints and martyrs, who renounced everything―fortune, pleasures, liberty, life itself―in order to escape mortal sin: “They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword” (Hebrews 11:37).
End by turning back upon yourself. Examine if you are ready to sacrifice all rather than consent to mortal sin; if there is not some obstacle to this necessary disposition of heart, and what that obstacle is; and what means you are willing to take for the future, in order to arrive at this first degree and to strengthen yourself in it.
SECOND POINT
TEXT. The second degree is more perfect; it consists in the indifference of the soul towards riches or poverty, honor or shame, health or sickness, provided the glory of God and salvation are equally secured on both sides; further, that no consideration of interest or temporal disgrace, not even the consideration of immediate death, should be capable of drawing us into deliberate venial sin.
This second degree is the consequence of the exercise on “The end of creatures.” In that exercise we saw that, according to the order of creation, creatures are only the means given to man to lead him to his true end. Reason tells us that, in the choice of means, man should only consider what brings him nearer or takes him farther from this end. Hence it follows that man should be indifferent to poverty or riches, honor or shame; and that to commit venial sin in order to escape shame or poverty, is to sin against this indifference, is to reverse the order, and convert the means into the end itself.
To arrive at this second degree, we may meditate:
(1) on the malice of venial sin, the greatest of evils after mortal sin;
(2) the hatred with which God pursues it, and the torments with which He punishes it in the other life;
(3) its effects with regard to the soul, in which it weakens charity and disposes to mortal sin;
(4) the examples of the saints, of whom several have preferred to die rather than consent to one slight fault;
(5) above all, the example of Jesus Christ.
Examine what is your disposition towards venial sin, etc., as in the first point.
THIRD POINT
TEXT. The third degree is the highest degree of Christian perfection. It consists in preferring, for the sole love of Jesus Christ, and from the wish to resemble Him more, poverty to riches, shame to honor, etc., even if on both sides your salvation and the glory of God were equally to be found.
To arrive at this third degree of humility, we may consider:
(1) Its excellence. It contains all that is most heroic in virtue, and the perfect imitation of Jesus Christ, who for love of us willingly embraced the ignominy of the cross: “Having joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2).
(2) Its happiness. To this degree is attached:
(a) peace of heart, since nothing can trouble him who professes to love all that nature fears and abhors;
(b) intimate union with Jesus Christ, who communicates Himself fully to those souls who give themselves to Him without reserve;
(c) the choice graces and blessings of God on all that we undertake for His glory: “The foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:27).
(3) Its utility. This degree is the most certain way of salvation, because it snatches us away from all the dangers inseparable from fortune and honor; the shortest, because it delivers us at once from sin, and raises us to every virtue; finally, the most meritorious, because it is one uninterrupted course of sacrifices, and consequently of merits, for eternity.
COLLOQUIES
(1) With Mary;
(2) With Jesus Christ;
(3) With the Eternal Father,-to obtain the grace of arriving at the third degree of humility.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Represent to yourself our Lord Jesus Christ pointing to His sacred Heart, and saying to us, “Learn
of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart” (Matthew 11:29).
Second prelude. Ask the grace of a perfect renouncement of yourself, after the example of Jesus Christ.
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS
(1) The exercise of the “Two Standards” points out the motives for following Jesus Christ. The exercise of the “Three Classes” points out the motives for following Him by giving ourselves to Him entirely and without reserve. In the exercise of the “Three Degrees of Humility,” we are about to consider in what this perfect gift of ourselves to Jesus Christ consists.
(2) This exercise is called, in the first place, the “Three Degrees,” because it contains the three degrees of Christian perfection, which consist:
(a) in the firm resolution to avoid mortal sin, even at the risk of life;
(b) in the firm resolution to avoid deliberate venial sin at any price; and
(c) in the voluntary choice of whatever is most perfect for the service of God:
In the second place, it is so called because these three degrees suppose the abasement and, as it were, the annihilation of the old man within us.
FIRST POINT
TEXT. The first degree of humility consists in perfect submission to the law of God, so that we should be ready to refuse the empire of the whole world, or even to sacrifice our lives, rather than willingly transgress any precept which obliges us under pain of mortal sin.
This first degree is absolutely necessary for eternal salvation, and is as it were the fruit of the exercises of the first week. To establish ourselves firmly in it, we may recall what faith teaches us:
(1) of the infinite malice of mortal sin, and the terrible vengeance with which the justice of God pursues it in time and in eternity;
(2) of the supreme dominion of God, and His right to the obedience of every creature;
(3) of the certainty and nearness of death, which will leave the sinner without resource in the hands of the living God;
(4) the rewards which await in eternity the faithful observers of God’s law;
(5) the sacrifices of the saints and martyrs, who renounced everything―fortune, pleasures, liberty, life itself―in order to escape mortal sin: “They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword” (Hebrews 11:37).
End by turning back upon yourself. Examine if you are ready to sacrifice all rather than consent to mortal sin; if there is not some obstacle to this necessary disposition of heart, and what that obstacle is; and what means you are willing to take for the future, in order to arrive at this first degree and to strengthen yourself in it.
SECOND POINT
TEXT. The second degree is more perfect; it consists in the indifference of the soul towards riches or poverty, honor or shame, health or sickness, provided the glory of God and salvation are equally secured on both sides; further, that no consideration of interest or temporal disgrace, not even the consideration of immediate death, should be capable of drawing us into deliberate venial sin.
This second degree is the consequence of the exercise on “The end of creatures.” In that exercise we saw that, according to the order of creation, creatures are only the means given to man to lead him to his true end. Reason tells us that, in the choice of means, man should only consider what brings him nearer or takes him farther from this end. Hence it follows that man should be indifferent to poverty or riches, honor or shame; and that to commit venial sin in order to escape shame or poverty, is to sin against this indifference, is to reverse the order, and convert the means into the end itself.
To arrive at this second degree, we may meditate:
(1) on the malice of venial sin, the greatest of evils after mortal sin;
(2) the hatred with which God pursues it, and the torments with which He punishes it in the other life;
(3) its effects with regard to the soul, in which it weakens charity and disposes to mortal sin;
(4) the examples of the saints, of whom several have preferred to die rather than consent to one slight fault;
(5) above all, the example of Jesus Christ.
Examine what is your disposition towards venial sin, etc., as in the first point.
THIRD POINT
TEXT. The third degree is the highest degree of Christian perfection. It consists in preferring, for the sole love of Jesus Christ, and from the wish to resemble Him more, poverty to riches, shame to honor, etc., even if on both sides your salvation and the glory of God were equally to be found.
To arrive at this third degree of humility, we may consider:
(1) Its excellence. It contains all that is most heroic in virtue, and the perfect imitation of Jesus Christ, who for love of us willingly embraced the ignominy of the cross: “Having joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2).
(2) Its happiness. To this degree is attached:
(a) peace of heart, since nothing can trouble him who professes to love all that nature fears and abhors;
(b) intimate union with Jesus Christ, who communicates Himself fully to those souls who give themselves to Him without reserve;
(c) the choice graces and blessings of God on all that we undertake for His glory: “The foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:27).
(3) Its utility. This degree is the most certain way of salvation, because it snatches us away from all the dangers inseparable from fortune and honor; the shortest, because it delivers us at once from sin, and raises us to every virtue; finally, the most meritorious, because it is one uninterrupted course of sacrifices, and consequently of merits, for eternity.
COLLOQUIES
(1) With Mary;
(2) With Jesus Christ;
(3) With the Eternal Father,-to obtain the grace of arriving at the third degree of humility.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.