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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 3 : DAY 1
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON STARTING A NEW AND BETTER LIFE
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON STARTING A NEW AND BETTER LIFE
THIRD WEEK
Starting a New Life by Serving God Better
OBJECT OF THE THIRD WEEK, AND SOME CONSIDERATIONS PECULIAR TO IT
The purpose of the third week is to confirm the soul in the resolution of a new life, and in the determination to serve God better. It is for this purpose that it is devoted to meditations on the touching and admirable examples that are offered to us by the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The remarks peculiar to this week are:
(1) The order and method of the preceding meditations must be followed. The preparatory prayer and the three preludes as usual. In the second prelude, or construction of place, however, the person must imagine himself present at a mystery accomplished for him―according to the words of the Apostle, “He loved me, and delivered Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20); and must dwell upon the consideration that his sins are the cause of the sufferings of Christ.
(2) In the meditation we shall continue to consider (1) the persons, (2) the words, (3) the actions. But three other points must be added: (4) what our Savior suffers and desires to suffer in His humanity; (5) how His divinity hides itself as it were, allowing His enemies to work their will; (6) what we must do and suffer for a God whom our sins have reduced to such a state.
On each of these points we must excite ourselves to sorrow, sadness, and tears.
Although these three first points are in a degree comprised in the three last, St. Ignatius has chosen to present them separately, that the soul may attach itself in a particular manner to the sentiments they express, and which are to lead it to the third degree of humility.
● In the fourth point, it will be useful to compare the sufferings of Jesus Christ to the kinds of pain which have been spoken of in the meditation on the end of man―to weakness, to the sufferings He endured in body and soul, to poverty, to constant separation from all dear to Him, to contempt, to insults, to a short life, to the death He suffered on the cross.
● The fifth point relates to these words of Isaias (53:3): “He was offered because it was His own will.” Jesus Christ could have destroyed His enemies, as His miracles prove, and yet He spared them and freely gave Himself up to their hate. This thought ought to inspire us with the desire to prefer with Jesus Christ poverty to riches, contempt to reputation and the esteem of men, provided always that both shall be equally conducive to the glory of God.
● The sixth point is a sort of abridgment of the colloquy of the first meditation on sin, except that in one we consider what we ought to do for Jesus Christ, and in the other what we ought to suffer for love of Him.
Finally, St. Ignatius wishes that, in these three last points, we should excite ourselves to sorrow, sadness, and tears; but these affections must not stop at an interior sentiment, they must above all tend to the imitation of Jesus Christ suffering.
(3) The colloquies must be made according to the disposition of the soul; for example, according as it feels trouble or consolation, as it desires such or such a virtue, or wishes to make such or such a resolution. We may make one single colloquy, addressed to Jesus Christ; or we may make three―one to the Blessed Virgin, another to her Divine Son, the third to the Eternal Father.
(4) The observance of the ten additions must undergo the following modifications:
(a) As soon as you awake, you must recall the summary of the prayer; then, in dressing, excite yourself to sadness and sorrow, in union with Jesus Christ suffering.
(b) Dismiss, as so many distractions, agreeable and consoling thoughts, however holy they may be in themselves, and encourage feelings of sadness by the remembrance of all that Jesus Christ suffered from His birth to His death.
(c) It is useful to read some passages from Scripture relating to the Passion of our Savior―for example, the Psalms or Isaias, St. Paul or the Gospels―in order to recall the greatness of our Lord's sufferings, or His mercy, or the admirable effects of His death for the redemption of mankind.
(d) You may also occupy yourself usefully in reciting the “Stabat Mater”, according to the second method of prayer.
Note. Although the sentiment of compassion is good, though it ought to be asked for earnestly, desired with humility, and received with gratitude, yet there are other sentiments which we must endeavor to excite in ourselves, because they are more useful for our spiritual progress. Such are:
(1) Hatred of sin: this hatred must be excited in the soul by the consideration of the insult that sin offers to God―an insult that can only be fully repaired by the sufferings and death of a God-man.
(2) Admiration of the infinite goodness and wisdom of God, who has found so efficacious a means of touching and drawing to Him the hearts of men: “But God commendeth His charity towards us, because when as yet we were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
(3) Confidence: “For,” says St. Augustine, “can He who gave us the most precious thing in the world, the blood of His only son, refuse us eternal glory, which is certainly of less price?”
(4) Love; by way of gratitude for this wonderful love of God, who gives Himself to us and gives Himself in this manner.
(5) Imitation of Jesus Christ: it is for you that He suffered, says St. Peter, leaving you an example that you may follow in His footsteps.
(6) The salvation of souls, which God has so much esteemed, has so much loved, that He has redeemed with so much pain, and at so high a price.
Starting a New Life by Serving God Better
OBJECT OF THE THIRD WEEK, AND SOME CONSIDERATIONS PECULIAR TO IT
The purpose of the third week is to confirm the soul in the resolution of a new life, and in the determination to serve God better. It is for this purpose that it is devoted to meditations on the touching and admirable examples that are offered to us by the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The remarks peculiar to this week are:
(1) The order and method of the preceding meditations must be followed. The preparatory prayer and the three preludes as usual. In the second prelude, or construction of place, however, the person must imagine himself present at a mystery accomplished for him―according to the words of the Apostle, “He loved me, and delivered Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20); and must dwell upon the consideration that his sins are the cause of the sufferings of Christ.
(2) In the meditation we shall continue to consider (1) the persons, (2) the words, (3) the actions. But three other points must be added: (4) what our Savior suffers and desires to suffer in His humanity; (5) how His divinity hides itself as it were, allowing His enemies to work their will; (6) what we must do and suffer for a God whom our sins have reduced to such a state.
On each of these points we must excite ourselves to sorrow, sadness, and tears.
Although these three first points are in a degree comprised in the three last, St. Ignatius has chosen to present them separately, that the soul may attach itself in a particular manner to the sentiments they express, and which are to lead it to the third degree of humility.
● In the fourth point, it will be useful to compare the sufferings of Jesus Christ to the kinds of pain which have been spoken of in the meditation on the end of man―to weakness, to the sufferings He endured in body and soul, to poverty, to constant separation from all dear to Him, to contempt, to insults, to a short life, to the death He suffered on the cross.
● The fifth point relates to these words of Isaias (53:3): “He was offered because it was His own will.” Jesus Christ could have destroyed His enemies, as His miracles prove, and yet He spared them and freely gave Himself up to their hate. This thought ought to inspire us with the desire to prefer with Jesus Christ poverty to riches, contempt to reputation and the esteem of men, provided always that both shall be equally conducive to the glory of God.
● The sixth point is a sort of abridgment of the colloquy of the first meditation on sin, except that in one we consider what we ought to do for Jesus Christ, and in the other what we ought to suffer for love of Him.
Finally, St. Ignatius wishes that, in these three last points, we should excite ourselves to sorrow, sadness, and tears; but these affections must not stop at an interior sentiment, they must above all tend to the imitation of Jesus Christ suffering.
(3) The colloquies must be made according to the disposition of the soul; for example, according as it feels trouble or consolation, as it desires such or such a virtue, or wishes to make such or such a resolution. We may make one single colloquy, addressed to Jesus Christ; or we may make three―one to the Blessed Virgin, another to her Divine Son, the third to the Eternal Father.
(4) The observance of the ten additions must undergo the following modifications:
(a) As soon as you awake, you must recall the summary of the prayer; then, in dressing, excite yourself to sadness and sorrow, in union with Jesus Christ suffering.
(b) Dismiss, as so many distractions, agreeable and consoling thoughts, however holy they may be in themselves, and encourage feelings of sadness by the remembrance of all that Jesus Christ suffered from His birth to His death.
(c) It is useful to read some passages from Scripture relating to the Passion of our Savior―for example, the Psalms or Isaias, St. Paul or the Gospels―in order to recall the greatness of our Lord's sufferings, or His mercy, or the admirable effects of His death for the redemption of mankind.
(d) You may also occupy yourself usefully in reciting the “Stabat Mater”, according to the second method of prayer.
Note. Although the sentiment of compassion is good, though it ought to be asked for earnestly, desired with humility, and received with gratitude, yet there are other sentiments which we must endeavor to excite in ourselves, because they are more useful for our spiritual progress. Such are:
(1) Hatred of sin: this hatred must be excited in the soul by the consideration of the insult that sin offers to God―an insult that can only be fully repaired by the sufferings and death of a God-man.
(2) Admiration of the infinite goodness and wisdom of God, who has found so efficacious a means of touching and drawing to Him the hearts of men: “But God commendeth His charity towards us, because when as yet we were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
(3) Confidence: “For,” says St. Augustine, “can He who gave us the most precious thing in the world, the blood of His only son, refuse us eternal glory, which is certainly of less price?”
(4) Love; by way of gratitude for this wonderful love of God, who gives Himself to us and gives Himself in this manner.
(5) Imitation of Jesus Christ: it is for you that He suffered, says St. Peter, leaving you an example that you may follow in His footsteps.
(6) The salvation of souls, which God has so much esteemed, has so much loved, that He has redeemed with so much pain, and at so high a price.
WEEK 3 : 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 MYSTERY OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE MYSTERY OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST
FIRST EXERCISE ON THE MYSTERY OF THE EUCHARIST
MEDITATION
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Represent to yourself the Last Supper, and our Savior seated at the same table as His Apostles, and by His all-powerful word changing the bread into His own body, and the wine into His own blood.
Second prelude. Ask a lively faith in the mystery of the Eucharist, and a tender love for Jesus present in the tabernacle.
FIRST POINT
The presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist
Contemplate in spirit our Savior present on our altars, and, after having adored Him with profound respect, ask Him why for eighteen hundred years He has remained shut up and, as it were, a captive in our tabernacles. Is it to redeem the world? But the redemption was accomplished on Calvary. Is it solely to confer grace upon us? But from the height of heaven Jesus Christ could sanctify us without there being any need of His presence on earth. Why, then, remain in the midst of us? Because He loves us, and all His delight is to be with the children of men: “My delights were to be with the children of men” (Proverbs 8:31). And how does He dwell among us? He dwells under the veils of the Sacrament, for fear that the splendor of His glory should keep us away from His person, either through fear or respect. He wishes to dwell not merely in a single city or a single sanctuary, but in all the temples of the Catholic Church, so that there shall not be any Christian who may not enjoy converse with Him. Finally, He wishes to inhabit our temples, not on certain days or certain solemnities only, but all days, all hours, all moments, so that there shall not be any person in His family who cannot come at all times before Him, to ask and to receive light, strength, and consolation.
What happiness for you to live thus in the society of Jesus Christ! You have, then, nothing to envy the Apostles, the disciples, the inhabitants of Judea, all those who possessed our Savior during the days of His mortal life. Between them and you there is only one difference, and that appears to be to your advantage. They possessed Jesus Christ, but in the state of His infirmity; you possess Him in the state of His glory. They only possessed Him at intervals, for Jesus Christ frequently retired from the company of men into solitude; you possess Him constantly, you can enjoy His presence at any hour, as often, as long as you wish. Your happiness is so great that it may be compared to that of the elect in heaven; for this Jesus, whose possession forms the beatitude of the saints, is the same you possess on earth; and He does not reside more really in heaven than He resides in our sanctuaries.
SECOND POINT
The life of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist
Consider that our Lord reproduces in His Eucharistic life all the states and all the virtues of His mortal life.
(1) His mysterious birth on the altar at the voice of the priest represents His birth at Bethlehem. In the solitude of our churches you find the deserted stable where Mary gave to the world its Savior; in the sacramental species, the swaddling-clothes which enveloped the Divine Child; in the indifference of men for the Sacrament of Divine Love, the conduct of the inhabitants of Bethlehem towards the Messiah.
(2) The tabernacle represents the humble house at Nazareth. What was the life of Jesus at Nazareth? A life of retreat, of prayer, of obedience. What is His life in the tabernacle? Contemplate it. He dwells in the midst of the world, and is at an infinite distance from its societies and its feasts. He prays, but with a continual prayer that has not been interrupted a single instant for eighteen hundred years. He is in a state of absolute dependence, always submissive to His ministers, equally ready, according to their will, either to remain hidden in the tabernacle, or to present Himself to the adoration of the faithful, or to transport Himself to the houses or to the hospitals, to visit His suffering members.
(3) Recall to yourself what the Gospel relates of the public life of the Son of God. You will still meet with all this in the Eucharist. In His public life Jesus taught, and He supported His teaching by miracles. In His Eucharistic life what does He do? He teaches still, no longer by His words, but by His example, by His poverty, by His humility, by His flight from the world. He says always, “Blessed are the poor in spirit. Woe to the world” (Matthew 5:3; 18:7). He still works miracles; He still restores sight to the blind, life to the dead, that is, the light of faith to those who walk in the darkness of the world, the life of grace to those who are buried in the grave of sin.
(4) The suffering life of our Savior on Calvary is perpetuated in the Sacrament of the Altar. On the altar, as on the cross, the same trials: the same sadness of the heart of Jesus Christ at the sight of men's crimes; the same abandonment of Jesus Christ by those souls who ought to be most faithfully attached to Him; the same insults on Calvary by the Jews, and on the altar by heretics and impious men; the same torment of His sacred body, equally crucified by His executioners on Calvary and on the altar by the profane; in fine, on Calvary and at the altar the same examples of patience, of detachment, of charity, in a word, of the most heroic sacrifices.
Meditate with lively faith on the mystery of the Eucharistic life of Jesus Christ, and excite yourself to the imitation of His virtues.
THIRD POINT
The union of Jesus Christ with us in the Eucharist
Consider that the Eucharist, according to the idea of the Fathers, is an extension of the mystery of the Incarnation. In the Incarnation, the Word, it is true, unites Himself to us in an ineffable manner; but much more wonderful is the union He contracts with us in the Eucharist. In the Incarnation He takes a nature like ours; He enters into our family, He makes Himself one of us, in a word, our brother. In the Eucharist He goes farther; it is no longer to a nature like ours He unites Himself, He unites Himself to each one in particular; it is no longer to our family He allies Himself, it is to our person.
Enter into this mystery of the charity of Jesus Christ, and meditate on all the circumstances.
(1) How does He unite Himself to us in the Eucharist? By the nearest and most intimate union. The Fathers compare it to the union of two waxes melted into and mixed together (St. Cyril of Alexandria). Our Lord compares it to that which exist, between His Father and Himself: “As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, the same also shall live by Me” (John 6:58). As, in the Holy Trinity, the Father, without losing anything of His infinite being, communicates it entirely to His Son, who is His Word; so, in the Eucharist, the Word incarnate retains His humanity and His divinity, yet always communicates both to the person receiving Him.
(2) With what sentiments does He unite Himself to us? With sentiments of the most ardent love; and this love He reveals by His desires, His promises, His threats “If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh for the life of the world. Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, you shall not have life in you” (John 6:52, 54).
(3) What does He do to unite Himself to us? He multiplies miracles and reverses all the laws of nature. He does more, He exposes Himself to all insults; for example, to the insults of indifferent Christians, who leave Him alone, and do not come to adore Him in His tabernacle; to the insults of profaners, who in their souls unite themselves with sin and the devil; to the insults of heretics and the impious, who have so often trampled Him under foot and cast Him in the mire.
(4) What does He give us in uniting Himself to us? He gives us all He has and all He is―His body, His soul, His divinity, and with this every grace. He is generous even to exhaustion; and what is most admirable is, that He gives Himself thus entirely, not once only, but every day, if we wish it. Every fresh communion is a new gift which Jesus Christ makes of Himself to us.
Practical reflections and affections.
COLLOQUY WITH OUR LORD
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
SECOND EXERCISE ON THE MYSTERY OF THE EUCHARIST
APPLICATION OF THE SENSES
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Represent to yourself heaven opening at the voice of the priest, and our Lord descending upon the altar amidst choirs of angels.
Second prelude. Beg a lively faith in the mystery of the Eucharist, and a tender love for Jesus Christ present in the tabernacle.
APPLICATION OF SIGHT
By faith pierce through the veils of the Sacrament. Contemplate our Savior present in the tabernacle and impatient to give Himself to you. Represent to yourself the glory of His adorable humanity; the majesty, and at the same time the sweetness, of His countenance; the dazzling light which flashes from His wounds; the flames which escape from His heart. Then penetrate in spirit to His divinity, to the Word consubstantial with the Father and the Holy Ghost, and with them One only God. Consider with what goodness this Divine Savior casts on you those eyes, one look from which converted sinners in the days of His mortal life; and after having adored Him with a lively faith, profound respect, and fervent love, say to Him with the prophet: “Lord, cast Thine eyes upon me, and have pity on my miseries. Look Thou upon me, and have mercy on me” (Psalm 118:132). Make the light of Thy countenance to shine on Thy servant, and save me because of Thy mercy: “Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant: save me in Thy mercy” (Psalm 30:17).
Practical reflections and affections
APPLICATION OF HEARING
Listen to our Savior, the incarnate Wisdom, who speaks to you. And what does He say to you? Words of consolation: “Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they that mourn. Blessed are they that suffer persecution” (Matthew 5:3, 5, 10). Perhaps words of reproach, but of sweet and tender reproach: “I know thy works, and thy labor, but I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first charity” (Apocalypse 2:2-4). Words of counsel and invitation: “Take up My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls; for My yoke is sweet and My burden light” (Matthew 12:29-30). Words of encouragement: “I know thy tribulation and thy poverty, but thou art rich. . . . Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life” (Apocalypse 2:9-10). Words of desire and love: “Behold I stand at the gate and knock” (Apocalypse 3:20). “My son, give me thy heart” (Proverbs 23:26).
Gather together with holy attention the words of our Savior, and say to Him: “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth” (1 Kings 3:9). “Thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:69). “Say to my soul, I am thy salvation” (Psalm 34:3).
Practical reflections and affections.
APPLICATION OF SMELL AND TASTE
Respire the celestial perfume of the divinity and the humanity of Jesus Christ. Taste in spirit, sometimes the bitterness which His sacred Heart suffers from the indifference, the contempt, the insults, the profanations of men; at other times the sweetness of the virtues He practices in His Eucharistic life―His patience, His charity, His obedience, His poverty, His humility, His solitude, His prayer, etc. Unite yourself to Him as a model, to imitate His example; as a victim, to sympathize with His sorrows, and to make reparation for the outrages He suffers.
Practical reflections and affections.
APPLICATION OF THE TOUCH
Recall to yourself the woman in the Gospel who touched the hem of the garments of Jesus Christ, and obtained health as the price of her faith; Magdalen, who embraced His sacred feet and watered them with her tears; St. Thomas, who placed his finger in His wounds; St. John, who reposed on His breast, etc. Enter into their sentiments, and put yourself in their places, according to the different states of your soul. Thus, present yourself before Jesus Christ, sometimes as a sick man, and in spirit touch His garments to obtain your cure; sometimes as a penitent, embracing His sacred feet and asking pardon for your faults; sometimes as a disciple, whose confidence requires animating and strengthening, then place your finger in His wounds to convince yourself of His love; sometimes as a friend admitted to intimate familiarity, and then figure to―yourself that our Lord presses you to His heart, etc.
Practical reflections, etc.
COLLOQUY WITH OUR LORD
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
MEDITATION
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Represent to yourself the Last Supper, and our Savior seated at the same table as His Apostles, and by His all-powerful word changing the bread into His own body, and the wine into His own blood.
Second prelude. Ask a lively faith in the mystery of the Eucharist, and a tender love for Jesus present in the tabernacle.
FIRST POINT
The presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist
Contemplate in spirit our Savior present on our altars, and, after having adored Him with profound respect, ask Him why for eighteen hundred years He has remained shut up and, as it were, a captive in our tabernacles. Is it to redeem the world? But the redemption was accomplished on Calvary. Is it solely to confer grace upon us? But from the height of heaven Jesus Christ could sanctify us without there being any need of His presence on earth. Why, then, remain in the midst of us? Because He loves us, and all His delight is to be with the children of men: “My delights were to be with the children of men” (Proverbs 8:31). And how does He dwell among us? He dwells under the veils of the Sacrament, for fear that the splendor of His glory should keep us away from His person, either through fear or respect. He wishes to dwell not merely in a single city or a single sanctuary, but in all the temples of the Catholic Church, so that there shall not be any Christian who may not enjoy converse with Him. Finally, He wishes to inhabit our temples, not on certain days or certain solemnities only, but all days, all hours, all moments, so that there shall not be any person in His family who cannot come at all times before Him, to ask and to receive light, strength, and consolation.
What happiness for you to live thus in the society of Jesus Christ! You have, then, nothing to envy the Apostles, the disciples, the inhabitants of Judea, all those who possessed our Savior during the days of His mortal life. Between them and you there is only one difference, and that appears to be to your advantage. They possessed Jesus Christ, but in the state of His infirmity; you possess Him in the state of His glory. They only possessed Him at intervals, for Jesus Christ frequently retired from the company of men into solitude; you possess Him constantly, you can enjoy His presence at any hour, as often, as long as you wish. Your happiness is so great that it may be compared to that of the elect in heaven; for this Jesus, whose possession forms the beatitude of the saints, is the same you possess on earth; and He does not reside more really in heaven than He resides in our sanctuaries.
SECOND POINT
The life of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist
Consider that our Lord reproduces in His Eucharistic life all the states and all the virtues of His mortal life.
(1) His mysterious birth on the altar at the voice of the priest represents His birth at Bethlehem. In the solitude of our churches you find the deserted stable where Mary gave to the world its Savior; in the sacramental species, the swaddling-clothes which enveloped the Divine Child; in the indifference of men for the Sacrament of Divine Love, the conduct of the inhabitants of Bethlehem towards the Messiah.
(2) The tabernacle represents the humble house at Nazareth. What was the life of Jesus at Nazareth? A life of retreat, of prayer, of obedience. What is His life in the tabernacle? Contemplate it. He dwells in the midst of the world, and is at an infinite distance from its societies and its feasts. He prays, but with a continual prayer that has not been interrupted a single instant for eighteen hundred years. He is in a state of absolute dependence, always submissive to His ministers, equally ready, according to their will, either to remain hidden in the tabernacle, or to present Himself to the adoration of the faithful, or to transport Himself to the houses or to the hospitals, to visit His suffering members.
(3) Recall to yourself what the Gospel relates of the public life of the Son of God. You will still meet with all this in the Eucharist. In His public life Jesus taught, and He supported His teaching by miracles. In His Eucharistic life what does He do? He teaches still, no longer by His words, but by His example, by His poverty, by His humility, by His flight from the world. He says always, “Blessed are the poor in spirit. Woe to the world” (Matthew 5:3; 18:7). He still works miracles; He still restores sight to the blind, life to the dead, that is, the light of faith to those who walk in the darkness of the world, the life of grace to those who are buried in the grave of sin.
(4) The suffering life of our Savior on Calvary is perpetuated in the Sacrament of the Altar. On the altar, as on the cross, the same trials: the same sadness of the heart of Jesus Christ at the sight of men's crimes; the same abandonment of Jesus Christ by those souls who ought to be most faithfully attached to Him; the same insults on Calvary by the Jews, and on the altar by heretics and impious men; the same torment of His sacred body, equally crucified by His executioners on Calvary and on the altar by the profane; in fine, on Calvary and at the altar the same examples of patience, of detachment, of charity, in a word, of the most heroic sacrifices.
Meditate with lively faith on the mystery of the Eucharistic life of Jesus Christ, and excite yourself to the imitation of His virtues.
THIRD POINT
The union of Jesus Christ with us in the Eucharist
Consider that the Eucharist, according to the idea of the Fathers, is an extension of the mystery of the Incarnation. In the Incarnation, the Word, it is true, unites Himself to us in an ineffable manner; but much more wonderful is the union He contracts with us in the Eucharist. In the Incarnation He takes a nature like ours; He enters into our family, He makes Himself one of us, in a word, our brother. In the Eucharist He goes farther; it is no longer to a nature like ours He unites Himself, He unites Himself to each one in particular; it is no longer to our family He allies Himself, it is to our person.
Enter into this mystery of the charity of Jesus Christ, and meditate on all the circumstances.
(1) How does He unite Himself to us in the Eucharist? By the nearest and most intimate union. The Fathers compare it to the union of two waxes melted into and mixed together (St. Cyril of Alexandria). Our Lord compares it to that which exist, between His Father and Himself: “As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, the same also shall live by Me” (John 6:58). As, in the Holy Trinity, the Father, without losing anything of His infinite being, communicates it entirely to His Son, who is His Word; so, in the Eucharist, the Word incarnate retains His humanity and His divinity, yet always communicates both to the person receiving Him.
(2) With what sentiments does He unite Himself to us? With sentiments of the most ardent love; and this love He reveals by His desires, His promises, His threats “If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh for the life of the world. Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, you shall not have life in you” (John 6:52, 54).
(3) What does He do to unite Himself to us? He multiplies miracles and reverses all the laws of nature. He does more, He exposes Himself to all insults; for example, to the insults of indifferent Christians, who leave Him alone, and do not come to adore Him in His tabernacle; to the insults of profaners, who in their souls unite themselves with sin and the devil; to the insults of heretics and the impious, who have so often trampled Him under foot and cast Him in the mire.
(4) What does He give us in uniting Himself to us? He gives us all He has and all He is―His body, His soul, His divinity, and with this every grace. He is generous even to exhaustion; and what is most admirable is, that He gives Himself thus entirely, not once only, but every day, if we wish it. Every fresh communion is a new gift which Jesus Christ makes of Himself to us.
Practical reflections and affections.
COLLOQUY WITH OUR LORD
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
SECOND EXERCISE ON THE MYSTERY OF THE EUCHARIST
APPLICATION OF THE SENSES
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Represent to yourself heaven opening at the voice of the priest, and our Lord descending upon the altar amidst choirs of angels.
Second prelude. Beg a lively faith in the mystery of the Eucharist, and a tender love for Jesus Christ present in the tabernacle.
APPLICATION OF SIGHT
By faith pierce through the veils of the Sacrament. Contemplate our Savior present in the tabernacle and impatient to give Himself to you. Represent to yourself the glory of His adorable humanity; the majesty, and at the same time the sweetness, of His countenance; the dazzling light which flashes from His wounds; the flames which escape from His heart. Then penetrate in spirit to His divinity, to the Word consubstantial with the Father and the Holy Ghost, and with them One only God. Consider with what goodness this Divine Savior casts on you those eyes, one look from which converted sinners in the days of His mortal life; and after having adored Him with a lively faith, profound respect, and fervent love, say to Him with the prophet: “Lord, cast Thine eyes upon me, and have pity on my miseries. Look Thou upon me, and have mercy on me” (Psalm 118:132). Make the light of Thy countenance to shine on Thy servant, and save me because of Thy mercy: “Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant: save me in Thy mercy” (Psalm 30:17).
Practical reflections and affections
APPLICATION OF HEARING
Listen to our Savior, the incarnate Wisdom, who speaks to you. And what does He say to you? Words of consolation: “Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they that mourn. Blessed are they that suffer persecution” (Matthew 5:3, 5, 10). Perhaps words of reproach, but of sweet and tender reproach: “I know thy works, and thy labor, but I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first charity” (Apocalypse 2:2-4). Words of counsel and invitation: “Take up My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls; for My yoke is sweet and My burden light” (Matthew 12:29-30). Words of encouragement: “I know thy tribulation and thy poverty, but thou art rich. . . . Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life” (Apocalypse 2:9-10). Words of desire and love: “Behold I stand at the gate and knock” (Apocalypse 3:20). “My son, give me thy heart” (Proverbs 23:26).
Gather together with holy attention the words of our Savior, and say to Him: “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth” (1 Kings 3:9). “Thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:69). “Say to my soul, I am thy salvation” (Psalm 34:3).
Practical reflections and affections.
APPLICATION OF SMELL AND TASTE
Respire the celestial perfume of the divinity and the humanity of Jesus Christ. Taste in spirit, sometimes the bitterness which His sacred Heart suffers from the indifference, the contempt, the insults, the profanations of men; at other times the sweetness of the virtues He practices in His Eucharistic life―His patience, His charity, His obedience, His poverty, His humility, His solitude, His prayer, etc. Unite yourself to Him as a model, to imitate His example; as a victim, to sympathize with His sorrows, and to make reparation for the outrages He suffers.
Practical reflections and affections.
APPLICATION OF THE TOUCH
Recall to yourself the woman in the Gospel who touched the hem of the garments of Jesus Christ, and obtained health as the price of her faith; Magdalen, who embraced His sacred feet and watered them with her tears; St. Thomas, who placed his finger in His wounds; St. John, who reposed on His breast, etc. Enter into their sentiments, and put yourself in their places, according to the different states of your soul. Thus, present yourself before Jesus Christ, sometimes as a sick man, and in spirit touch His garments to obtain your cure; sometimes as a penitent, embracing His sacred feet and asking pardon for your faults; sometimes as a disciple, whose confidence requires animating and strengthening, then place your finger in His wounds to convince yourself of His love; sometimes as a friend admitted to intimate familiarity, and then figure to―yourself that our Lord presses you to His heart, etc.
Practical reflections, etc.
COLLOQUY WITH OUR LORD
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
WEEK 3 : 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 MYSTERY OF THE LAST SUPPER
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
INSTRUCTIONS ON THE MYSTERY OF THE LAST SUPPER
EXERCISE ON THE DISCOURSE OF OUR LORD AFTER THE LAST SUPPER
(St. John chapters 13-17)
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Represent to yourself the disciple whom Jesus loved reposing on His bosom, and drawing from His heart the understanding of His sublime teachings.
Second prelude. Ask the grace to partake with Him this place of honor during your meditation.
FIRST POINT
Jesus answers the questions of His Apostles
(1) Peter asks Him, “Lord, whither goest Thou?” Jesus answers, “Whither I go thou canst not follow Me now, but thou shalt follow hereafter.” Peter replies, “Why cannot I follow Thee now? I will lay down my life for Thee.” Jesus answers, “Wilt thou lay down thy life for Me? Amen, amen, I say to thee, the cock shall not crow till thou deny Me thrice.”
(2) Thomas says to Him, “We know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way?” Jesus answers him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me. If you had known Me, you would without doubt have known My Father also, and from henceforth you shall know Him, and you have seen Him.”
(3) Philip saith to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus saith to him: “So long a time have I been with you, and have you not known Me? Philip, he that seeth Me, seeth the Father also. How sayest thou, show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am the Father, and the Father is Me? The words that I speak to you, I speak not of Myself. But My Father who abideth in Me, He doth the works. Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? Otherwise believe for the very works’ sake. Amen, amen, I say to you, he that believeth in Me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do: because I go to the Father. And whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name, that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask Me any thing in My name, that I will do. If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you for ever. The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, nor knoweth Him: but you shall know Him, because He shall abide with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more. But you see Me, because I live, and you shall live. In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me. And he that loveth Me shall be loved by My Father: and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.”
(4) Judas saith to Him, not Iscariot, “Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If any man love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love Him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not my words, and the word which you have heard is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. These things have I spoken to you, abiding with you; but the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.”
(5) The Apostles asked each other what the words signified that Jesus had just said: “A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me.” Jesus, knowing they wished to ask Him, said to them, “Of this do you inquire among yourselves, because I said: A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me? Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice, and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labour, hath sorrow because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish for joy that a man is born into the world. So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you. And in that day you shall not ask Me any thing. Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father any thing in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto you have not asked any thing in My name.
“Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
SECOND POINT
Jesus announces His passion; recommends charity, peace, intimate union with Him and with our brethren, constancy in persecutions: He promises the Holy Ghost.
(1) He announces His passion. “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God be glorified in Him, God also will glorify Him in Himself, and immediately will He glorify Him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you” (John 13:31-33).
(2) He recommends charity. “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another” (xiii. 34, 35).
(3) Peace. “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions. If not, I would have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. And if I shall go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will take you to Myself, that where I am you also may be” (John 14:1-3).
(4) Union with Him and with our brethren. “I am the true Vine, and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He will take away; and every one that beareth fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now you are clean by reason of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you the branches. He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing. If any one abide not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he burneth. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you. In this is My Father glorified, that you bring forth very much fruit, and become My disciples. As the Father hath loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love, as I also have kept My Father’s commandments, and do abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled. This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends, if you do the things that I command you. I will not now call you servants: for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. But I have called you friends: because all things whatsoever I have heard of My Father I have made known to you. You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you; and have appointed you that you should go and should bring forth fruit, and your fruit should remain; that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you. These things I command you, that you love one another” (John 15:1-17).
(5) Constancy in persecutions. “If the world hate you, know ye that it hath hated Me before you. If you had been of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember My word that I said to you: The servant is not greater than his master. If they had persecuted Me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they know, not Him that sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. He that hateth Me hateth My Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no other man hath done, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father. But that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their law: They have hated Me without cause. But when the Paraclete cometh, Whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, Who proceedeth from the Father, He shall give testimony of Me: and you shall give testimony, because you are with Me from the beginning. These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. They will put you out of the synagogues; yea, the hour cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth a service to God. And these things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the hour of them shall come, you may remember that I told you” (John 15:18 to end, John 16:1-4).
(St. John chapters 13-17)
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Represent to yourself the disciple whom Jesus loved reposing on His bosom, and drawing from His heart the understanding of His sublime teachings.
Second prelude. Ask the grace to partake with Him this place of honor during your meditation.
FIRST POINT
Jesus answers the questions of His Apostles
(1) Peter asks Him, “Lord, whither goest Thou?” Jesus answers, “Whither I go thou canst not follow Me now, but thou shalt follow hereafter.” Peter replies, “Why cannot I follow Thee now? I will lay down my life for Thee.” Jesus answers, “Wilt thou lay down thy life for Me? Amen, amen, I say to thee, the cock shall not crow till thou deny Me thrice.”
(2) Thomas says to Him, “We know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way?” Jesus answers him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me. If you had known Me, you would without doubt have known My Father also, and from henceforth you shall know Him, and you have seen Him.”
(3) Philip saith to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus saith to him: “So long a time have I been with you, and have you not known Me? Philip, he that seeth Me, seeth the Father also. How sayest thou, show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am the Father, and the Father is Me? The words that I speak to you, I speak not of Myself. But My Father who abideth in Me, He doth the works. Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? Otherwise believe for the very works’ sake. Amen, amen, I say to you, he that believeth in Me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do: because I go to the Father. And whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name, that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask Me any thing in My name, that I will do. If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you for ever. The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, nor knoweth Him: but you shall know Him, because He shall abide with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more. But you see Me, because I live, and you shall live. In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me. And he that loveth Me shall be loved by My Father: and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.”
(4) Judas saith to Him, not Iscariot, “Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If any man love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love Him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not my words, and the word which you have heard is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. These things have I spoken to you, abiding with you; but the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.”
(5) The Apostles asked each other what the words signified that Jesus had just said: “A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me.” Jesus, knowing they wished to ask Him, said to them, “Of this do you inquire among yourselves, because I said: A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me? Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice, and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labour, hath sorrow because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish for joy that a man is born into the world. So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you. And in that day you shall not ask Me any thing. Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father any thing in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto you have not asked any thing in My name.
“Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
SECOND POINT
Jesus announces His passion; recommends charity, peace, intimate union with Him and with our brethren, constancy in persecutions: He promises the Holy Ghost.
(1) He announces His passion. “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God be glorified in Him, God also will glorify Him in Himself, and immediately will He glorify Him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you” (John 13:31-33).
(2) He recommends charity. “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another” (xiii. 34, 35).
(3) Peace. “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions. If not, I would have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. And if I shall go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will take you to Myself, that where I am you also may be” (John 14:1-3).
(4) Union with Him and with our brethren. “I am the true Vine, and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He will take away; and every one that beareth fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now you are clean by reason of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you the branches. He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing. If any one abide not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he burneth. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you. In this is My Father glorified, that you bring forth very much fruit, and become My disciples. As the Father hath loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love, as I also have kept My Father’s commandments, and do abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled. This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends, if you do the things that I command you. I will not now call you servants: for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. But I have called you friends: because all things whatsoever I have heard of My Father I have made known to you. You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you; and have appointed you that you should go and should bring forth fruit, and your fruit should remain; that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you. These things I command you, that you love one another” (John 15:1-17).
(5) Constancy in persecutions. “If the world hate you, know ye that it hath hated Me before you. If you had been of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember My word that I said to you: The servant is not greater than his master. If they had persecuted Me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they know, not Him that sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. He that hateth Me hateth My Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no other man hath done, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father. But that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their law: They have hated Me without cause. But when the Paraclete cometh, Whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, Who proceedeth from the Father, He shall give testimony of Me: and you shall give testimony, because you are with Me from the beginning. These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. They will put you out of the synagogues; yea, the hour cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth a service to God. And these things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the hour of them shall come, you may remember that I told you” (John 15:18 to end, John 16:1-4).
WEEK 3 : 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 PASSION OF OUR LORD 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 PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
FIRST EXERCISE ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD
Jesus Christ in the Garden of Olives
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Jesus entering into the Garden of Gethsemane, took with Him Peter and James and John; and He began to fear and be sorrowful; and He said to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death, wait here and watch with Me. And going a little way off, He prayed, saying, Father, if it be possible, remove this chalice from Me; but yet not My will, but Thine be done. And being in an agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground (Mark 14:32; Luke 22:40).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the garden of Gethsemane, and our Savior prostrate on the ground praying for the salvation of mankind.
Third prelude. Ask God to grant you tears of sorrow in union with Jesus Christ suffering for love of us. In each of the scenes of the passion of Our Lord we may consider what He suffers, and how He suffers; that is, a God as a victim, and a God as a model. As the one, we owe Him love; as the other, we owe Him imitation.
FIRST POINT
Jesus Christ as victim
Recall to yourself that Our Lord is the most holy of the children of men; that He is the beloved Son of the living God; that He is Himself the God of all consolation, the sight of whom forms the beatitude of the angels and the elect. He ought not, then, to have known pain or suffering; and yet what does He not suffer! He endures the most violent interior trials of the soul,-fear, “He began to fear” (Mark 14:33); weariness, “and to be heavy” (Mark 14:33); sorrow, “My soul is sorrowful even unto death” (Mark 14:34) ; finally, a sort of agony, “Being in an agony” (Luke 22:43).
In order fully to understand the excess of the suffering of Jesus Christ, meditate on all the circumstances told by the evangelists. Jesus Christ complains; He who had never uttered a single complaint until then. And to whom does He complain? To common and almost unconcerned men, who do not know how to console Him, nor even to pray with Him. In what terms does He complain? In the most energetic-He tells them His soul is sorrowful even unto death. And this Jesus who complains in this way, is He who said a short time before, speaking of His approaching passion, “I have a baptism, wherewith I am to be baptized, and how am I straitened until it be accomplished!” (Luke 11:50.) In fine, His desolation is such, that His heart appears to break; He suffers convulsions like a dying person struggling violently against death; it reduces Him to sweat blood from all His members: “His sweat became as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground” (Luke 22:44).
And what are the causes of this desolation of the Savior? The eternal misery that sin is preparing for us; this is cause of His fear. The infinite injury that sin does to the majesty of His Father; this is the cause of His sorrow. The uselessness of His sufferings for so many miserable creatures who persist in the way of perdition; this is the cause of His weariness.
The sight of God basely insulted, and of so many souls miserably damned, is the cause of His agony. Return to yourself. You see what Jesus Christ suffered on your account and for you: what will you do for Him?
SECOND POINT
Jesus Christ our model
Recall these words of St. Peter,-Jesus Christ suffered for us, that we might walk in His footsteps: “Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Consider, then, all the examples of this Divine Savior, and endeavor to imitate Him in your life.
(1) Jesus Christ knew beforehand the trials which awaited Him in the Garden of Olives; but it does not make Him less faithful to the holy custom of retiring into solitude to pray. With what intrepidity and what peace He goes to the first theatre of His bloody passion! From this example of the Savior, learn fidelity to good resolutions in spite of obstacles and trials.
(2) Jesus Christ leaves His disciples at the entrance of the garden; He only takes with Him three of His apostles, Peter, James, and John; and yet, if He admits them to the confidence of His prayers and sorrows, it is rather for their instruction than His own consolation. From this example of the Savior, learn detachment from human consolation in afflictions.
(3) Jesus Christ, given up to all the agitation and bitterness of His heart, has recourse to prayer. And in this prayer what lessons for a Christian! A lesson of recollection and solitude: “Withdrawn away from them a stone's cast” (Luke 22:41). A lesson of humility: “Kneeling down He prayed” (Luke 22:41). A lesson of confidence in God: “Abba, Father, all things are possible to Thee; remove this chalice from Me” (Mark 14:36). A lesson of resignation : “Not what I will, but what Thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). A lesson of fervor: “And leaving them He went again, and He prayed for the third time” (Matthew 26:44). Finally, a lesson of heroic constancy: “Being in an agony, He prayed the longer” (Luke 22:43).
Practical reflections and affections.
Colloquies with Our Lord suffering in the Garden of Olives; then with God the Father.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
Jesus Christ in the Garden of Olives
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Jesus entering into the Garden of Gethsemane, took with Him Peter and James and John; and He began to fear and be sorrowful; and He said to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death, wait here and watch with Me. And going a little way off, He prayed, saying, Father, if it be possible, remove this chalice from Me; but yet not My will, but Thine be done. And being in an agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground (Mark 14:32; Luke 22:40).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the garden of Gethsemane, and our Savior prostrate on the ground praying for the salvation of mankind.
Third prelude. Ask God to grant you tears of sorrow in union with Jesus Christ suffering for love of us. In each of the scenes of the passion of Our Lord we may consider what He suffers, and how He suffers; that is, a God as a victim, and a God as a model. As the one, we owe Him love; as the other, we owe Him imitation.
FIRST POINT
Jesus Christ as victim
Recall to yourself that Our Lord is the most holy of the children of men; that He is the beloved Son of the living God; that He is Himself the God of all consolation, the sight of whom forms the beatitude of the angels and the elect. He ought not, then, to have known pain or suffering; and yet what does He not suffer! He endures the most violent interior trials of the soul,-fear, “He began to fear” (Mark 14:33); weariness, “and to be heavy” (Mark 14:33); sorrow, “My soul is sorrowful even unto death” (Mark 14:34) ; finally, a sort of agony, “Being in an agony” (Luke 22:43).
In order fully to understand the excess of the suffering of Jesus Christ, meditate on all the circumstances told by the evangelists. Jesus Christ complains; He who had never uttered a single complaint until then. And to whom does He complain? To common and almost unconcerned men, who do not know how to console Him, nor even to pray with Him. In what terms does He complain? In the most energetic-He tells them His soul is sorrowful even unto death. And this Jesus who complains in this way, is He who said a short time before, speaking of His approaching passion, “I have a baptism, wherewith I am to be baptized, and how am I straitened until it be accomplished!” (Luke 11:50.) In fine, His desolation is such, that His heart appears to break; He suffers convulsions like a dying person struggling violently against death; it reduces Him to sweat blood from all His members: “His sweat became as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground” (Luke 22:44).
And what are the causes of this desolation of the Savior? The eternal misery that sin is preparing for us; this is cause of His fear. The infinite injury that sin does to the majesty of His Father; this is the cause of His sorrow. The uselessness of His sufferings for so many miserable creatures who persist in the way of perdition; this is the cause of His weariness.
The sight of God basely insulted, and of so many souls miserably damned, is the cause of His agony. Return to yourself. You see what Jesus Christ suffered on your account and for you: what will you do for Him?
SECOND POINT
Jesus Christ our model
Recall these words of St. Peter,-Jesus Christ suffered for us, that we might walk in His footsteps: “Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Consider, then, all the examples of this Divine Savior, and endeavor to imitate Him in your life.
(1) Jesus Christ knew beforehand the trials which awaited Him in the Garden of Olives; but it does not make Him less faithful to the holy custom of retiring into solitude to pray. With what intrepidity and what peace He goes to the first theatre of His bloody passion! From this example of the Savior, learn fidelity to good resolutions in spite of obstacles and trials.
(2) Jesus Christ leaves His disciples at the entrance of the garden; He only takes with Him three of His apostles, Peter, James, and John; and yet, if He admits them to the confidence of His prayers and sorrows, it is rather for their instruction than His own consolation. From this example of the Savior, learn detachment from human consolation in afflictions.
(3) Jesus Christ, given up to all the agitation and bitterness of His heart, has recourse to prayer. And in this prayer what lessons for a Christian! A lesson of recollection and solitude: “Withdrawn away from them a stone's cast” (Luke 22:41). A lesson of humility: “Kneeling down He prayed” (Luke 22:41). A lesson of confidence in God: “Abba, Father, all things are possible to Thee; remove this chalice from Me” (Mark 14:36). A lesson of resignation : “Not what I will, but what Thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). A lesson of fervor: “And leaving them He went again, and He prayed for the third time” (Matthew 26:44). Finally, a lesson of heroic constancy: “Being in an agony, He prayed the longer” (Luke 22:43).
Practical reflections and affections.
Colloquies with Our Lord suffering in the Garden of Olives; then with God the Father.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
WEEK 3 : DAY 5
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
CONTINUATION OF THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
CONTINUATION OF THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
SECOND EXERCISE ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD
On the sufferings of Jesus Christ, from His agony in the Garden of Olives to His death on the Cross
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Recall the account of the evangelist. Jesus Christ is betrayed by the traitor Judas, abandoned by His disciples, bound with cords by the soldiers, dragged to the tribunal of Caiphas, then to that of Pilate, and of Herod; again sent back before the Roman governor, and cruelly scourged by his orders, crowned with thorns in the judgment hall; finally, loaded with His cross and led to Calvary, there to undergo the last suffering. (Matthew chapters 26 & 27; Mark chapters 14 & 15; Luke chapters 22 & 23; John chapters 18 & 19).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the different scenes of our Savior's passion: the Garden of Olives, the tribunal of Caiphas, that of Pilate, the palace of Herod, the judgment-hall, the way of Calvary.
Third prelude. Beg a lively contrition for your sins, and a tender love for Jesus Christ suffering for us. In the Garden of Olives you have contemplated Jesus Christ making the sacrifice of His interior consolations. Contemplate Him in Jerusalem, making also the sacrifice of all exterior things, which consist in these five things,-His liberty, His friends, His reputation, His happiness, His own body. In each of these sacrifices consider the Savior as a victim and as a model; meditate on what He suffers and how He suffers.
FIRST POINT
Jesus Christ as victim
Consider:
(1) What our Lord suffers in His liberty. He is deprived of it in the most unjust, the most violent, the most ignominious manner possible. He is seized in the midst of His disciples by the Pharisees and their followers. He is bound like a vile malefactor. He is dragged from tribunal to tribunal in the same city, and amidst the same people that have so often witnessed His preaching and His miracles. He is delivered up to the brutality of the soldiers and of the vilest populace. Finally, His bonds are loosed, only that He may be nailed to the cross where He is to expire.
(2) What He suffers from His friends. He suffers all that is most cruel from friendships disowned and betrayed. All His apostles forsake Him; one of them denies Him three times, and at the voice of a servant; another sells Him to His enemies for thirty pieces of money. And when is it that His friends put His heart to these sore trials? At a time the most painful, and when He had the greatest need of consolation; at the moment when His most implacable enemies are the masters of His person; at the moment of His sufferings and death. And who are these friends who treat Him in this way? Men whom He has admitted to intimate familiarity; the depositors of His secrets; men to whom He had just given the institution of the Eucharist, the most splendid testimony of His love “My friends and my neighbors, and they that were near me, stood afar off” (Psalm 37:12-13). “My heart hath expected reproach and misery, and I looked for one that would grieve with me, but there was none; and for one that would comfort me, and I found none” (Psalm 68:21).
(3) What He suffers in His reputation. What reputation more universal or more glorious than that of Jesus Christ! In all Judea men only spoke of His wisdom, His power, His holiness. Now they only see in Him an ignorant, stupid person, who does not know how to answer accusations the coarsest and the most easy to refute: “Answerest Thou nothing? Jesus held His peace” (Matthew 26:62-63). An impostor, who has deceived the people by illusions, and who with all His power cannot withdraw Himself from the hands of His enemies: “He saved others, let Him save Himself” (Luke 23:35). A seditious impious man, deserving the greatest punishment: “All condemned Him to be guilty of death” (Mark 14:64).
(4) What He suffers in His honor. Not any kind of insult is spared Him. At the tribunal of Caiphas, He is struck in the face, as guilty of irreverence towards the high-priest. In the house of this pontiff the soldiers, covering His eyes, struck Him by turns, and cried: “Prophesy, O Christ! and say who it is that struck Thee” (Luke 22:64). At the court of Herod He was shamefully clothed in a white robe as a madman. At the tribunal of Pilate, He is placed on a level with Barabbas, whom the people unanimously prefer before Him. In the hall of judgment they cover Him with purple rags, crown Him with thorns, put a reed in His hand, and bending before Him in derision, say: “Hail, King of the Jews!”
(5) What He suffers in His body. Represent to yourself the cruel scenes of the scourging, the crowning with thorns, the crucifixion. Contemplate the sacred body of our Lord torn by the scourgers, and presenting to the eye one bleeding wound: “There is no beauty in Him, nor comeliness; and we have seen Him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of Him-a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity; and we have thought Him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted” (Isaias 53:2-4). His head pierced by sharp thorns, which the soldiers make more painful every moment by striking Him; His shoulders bruised by the overpowering weight of the cross, which He carries to Calvary; and lastly, His feet and hands nailed to the cross, with horrible torture to the nerves, and all His body suspended and, as it were, sustained by His wounds. Then ask yourself why were all these sufferings of your God, and say with lively contrition: “He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His bruises we are healed” (Isaias 53:5).
SECOND POINT
Jesus Christ as model
Meditate on the examples of virtue our Savior gives us in the different circumstances of His passion.
(1) In the loss of His liberty, He gives you an example of perfect resignation to the will of His Father, which He adores in the criminal will of His enemies. He knew their designs beforehand, since He had foretold them to His Apostles, and yet He will neither withdraw Himself by a miracle nor by flight. He anticipates the Pharisees and the soldiers by going to meet them; He voluntarily delivers Himself into their hands; He allows Himself to be bound, then led from tribunal to tribunal, and finally nailed to the cross, and that without offering the least resistance, without making one complaint. Learn from so great a model the characters of perfect obedience to the will of God―that is, docility, promptitude, and constancy.
(2) In the desertion of His friends, He gives you an example of the most generous charity. To the indifference of His disciples He opposes a lively and tender friendship; He watches over their perils, forgetting His own; and while He delivers Himself without defense into the hands of His most cruel enemies, He obliges them to respect the liberty of His Apostles. “I have told you that I am He. If therefore you seek Me, let these go their way. That the word might be fulfilled which He said: Of them whom Thou hast given Me, I have not lost any one” (John 18:8-9). To Peter, who had denied Him, He does not even utter a reproach, and only replies to his perjury by a look full of sweetness, and which converted the unfaithful Apostle: “The Lord turning looked at Peter, and he going out wept bitterly” (Luke 22:61-62). With regard to Judas, He does not repulse his perfidious embrace; He contents Himself with saying, less to confound him than to convert him, “Friend, whereto are thou come?” (Matthew 26:50). “Judas, dost thou betray the Son of man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48.)
(3) In the loss of His reputation, He gives you an example of perfect detachment. It was easy for Him to confound His enemies, and to re-establish with more splendor than ever His renown for wisdom, sanctity, and power. For this a miracle or even a few words would have sufficed. What does Jesus Christ do? He refuses for Himself the miracles He lavishes on others, and if He speaks, it is only in the interest of truth. Are you the Son of God? You have said it. Yes, I am. Learn, then, from your Divine Master to despise the opinion and the esteem of men. What matters the contempt of the world, if you have the approbation of the Lord? “Those who praise me while Thou blamest me, can they save me when Thou shalt condemn me?” (St. Augustine).
(4) In the ignominies and insults which Jesus Christ endured, He gives you an example of profound humility. To calumny He only opposes silence: “He held His peace and said nothing” (Mark 14:61). Yet it appears that the interest of His doctrine, of His mission, of His Church, that the glory even of His Father, required from Him at least a few words for His justification. But Jesus is silent: “I as a deaf man heard not; and as a dumb man not opening his mouth, and that hath no reproofs in his mouth” (Psalm 37:14-15). To derision and insult He only opposes meekness; and He fulfils to the letter what was written of Him: “I have given My body to the strikers, and My cheeks to them that plucked them; I have not turned away My face from them that rebuked Me and spit upon Me” (Isaias 50:6); “He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before His shearer, and He shall not open His mouth” (Isaias 53:7).
(5) In the different torments of His sacred body, He gives you the example of an heroic penance. Meditate well on the following circumstances:
(a) Who is He that suffers? A God holy by essence.
(b) What does He suffer? Everything that it is possible for man to suffer.
(c) From whom does He suffer it? From those whom He has loaded with benefits.
(d) Why does He suffer? For your sins.
(e) How does He suffer? With infinite love. These, in a few words, are the motives and practice of penance.
COLLOQUIES
(1) With the Blessed Virgin. Recite some verses of the Stabat Mater, for example.
(2) With Our Lord.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
On the sufferings of Jesus Christ, from His agony in the Garden of Olives to His death on the Cross
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. Recall the account of the evangelist. Jesus Christ is betrayed by the traitor Judas, abandoned by His disciples, bound with cords by the soldiers, dragged to the tribunal of Caiphas, then to that of Pilate, and of Herod; again sent back before the Roman governor, and cruelly scourged by his orders, crowned with thorns in the judgment hall; finally, loaded with His cross and led to Calvary, there to undergo the last suffering. (Matthew chapters 26 & 27; Mark chapters 14 & 15; Luke chapters 22 & 23; John chapters 18 & 19).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself the different scenes of our Savior's passion: the Garden of Olives, the tribunal of Caiphas, that of Pilate, the palace of Herod, the judgment-hall, the way of Calvary.
Third prelude. Beg a lively contrition for your sins, and a tender love for Jesus Christ suffering for us. In the Garden of Olives you have contemplated Jesus Christ making the sacrifice of His interior consolations. Contemplate Him in Jerusalem, making also the sacrifice of all exterior things, which consist in these five things,-His liberty, His friends, His reputation, His happiness, His own body. In each of these sacrifices consider the Savior as a victim and as a model; meditate on what He suffers and how He suffers.
FIRST POINT
Jesus Christ as victim
Consider:
(1) What our Lord suffers in His liberty. He is deprived of it in the most unjust, the most violent, the most ignominious manner possible. He is seized in the midst of His disciples by the Pharisees and their followers. He is bound like a vile malefactor. He is dragged from tribunal to tribunal in the same city, and amidst the same people that have so often witnessed His preaching and His miracles. He is delivered up to the brutality of the soldiers and of the vilest populace. Finally, His bonds are loosed, only that He may be nailed to the cross where He is to expire.
(2) What He suffers from His friends. He suffers all that is most cruel from friendships disowned and betrayed. All His apostles forsake Him; one of them denies Him three times, and at the voice of a servant; another sells Him to His enemies for thirty pieces of money. And when is it that His friends put His heart to these sore trials? At a time the most painful, and when He had the greatest need of consolation; at the moment when His most implacable enemies are the masters of His person; at the moment of His sufferings and death. And who are these friends who treat Him in this way? Men whom He has admitted to intimate familiarity; the depositors of His secrets; men to whom He had just given the institution of the Eucharist, the most splendid testimony of His love “My friends and my neighbors, and they that were near me, stood afar off” (Psalm 37:12-13). “My heart hath expected reproach and misery, and I looked for one that would grieve with me, but there was none; and for one that would comfort me, and I found none” (Psalm 68:21).
(3) What He suffers in His reputation. What reputation more universal or more glorious than that of Jesus Christ! In all Judea men only spoke of His wisdom, His power, His holiness. Now they only see in Him an ignorant, stupid person, who does not know how to answer accusations the coarsest and the most easy to refute: “Answerest Thou nothing? Jesus held His peace” (Matthew 26:62-63). An impostor, who has deceived the people by illusions, and who with all His power cannot withdraw Himself from the hands of His enemies: “He saved others, let Him save Himself” (Luke 23:35). A seditious impious man, deserving the greatest punishment: “All condemned Him to be guilty of death” (Mark 14:64).
(4) What He suffers in His honor. Not any kind of insult is spared Him. At the tribunal of Caiphas, He is struck in the face, as guilty of irreverence towards the high-priest. In the house of this pontiff the soldiers, covering His eyes, struck Him by turns, and cried: “Prophesy, O Christ! and say who it is that struck Thee” (Luke 22:64). At the court of Herod He was shamefully clothed in a white robe as a madman. At the tribunal of Pilate, He is placed on a level with Barabbas, whom the people unanimously prefer before Him. In the hall of judgment they cover Him with purple rags, crown Him with thorns, put a reed in His hand, and bending before Him in derision, say: “Hail, King of the Jews!”
(5) What He suffers in His body. Represent to yourself the cruel scenes of the scourging, the crowning with thorns, the crucifixion. Contemplate the sacred body of our Lord torn by the scourgers, and presenting to the eye one bleeding wound: “There is no beauty in Him, nor comeliness; and we have seen Him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of Him-a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity; and we have thought Him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted” (Isaias 53:2-4). His head pierced by sharp thorns, which the soldiers make more painful every moment by striking Him; His shoulders bruised by the overpowering weight of the cross, which He carries to Calvary; and lastly, His feet and hands nailed to the cross, with horrible torture to the nerves, and all His body suspended and, as it were, sustained by His wounds. Then ask yourself why were all these sufferings of your God, and say with lively contrition: “He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His bruises we are healed” (Isaias 53:5).
SECOND POINT
Jesus Christ as model
Meditate on the examples of virtue our Savior gives us in the different circumstances of His passion.
(1) In the loss of His liberty, He gives you an example of perfect resignation to the will of His Father, which He adores in the criminal will of His enemies. He knew their designs beforehand, since He had foretold them to His Apostles, and yet He will neither withdraw Himself by a miracle nor by flight. He anticipates the Pharisees and the soldiers by going to meet them; He voluntarily delivers Himself into their hands; He allows Himself to be bound, then led from tribunal to tribunal, and finally nailed to the cross, and that without offering the least resistance, without making one complaint. Learn from so great a model the characters of perfect obedience to the will of God―that is, docility, promptitude, and constancy.
(2) In the desertion of His friends, He gives you an example of the most generous charity. To the indifference of His disciples He opposes a lively and tender friendship; He watches over their perils, forgetting His own; and while He delivers Himself without defense into the hands of His most cruel enemies, He obliges them to respect the liberty of His Apostles. “I have told you that I am He. If therefore you seek Me, let these go their way. That the word might be fulfilled which He said: Of them whom Thou hast given Me, I have not lost any one” (John 18:8-9). To Peter, who had denied Him, He does not even utter a reproach, and only replies to his perjury by a look full of sweetness, and which converted the unfaithful Apostle: “The Lord turning looked at Peter, and he going out wept bitterly” (Luke 22:61-62). With regard to Judas, He does not repulse his perfidious embrace; He contents Himself with saying, less to confound him than to convert him, “Friend, whereto are thou come?” (Matthew 26:50). “Judas, dost thou betray the Son of man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48.)
(3) In the loss of His reputation, He gives you an example of perfect detachment. It was easy for Him to confound His enemies, and to re-establish with more splendor than ever His renown for wisdom, sanctity, and power. For this a miracle or even a few words would have sufficed. What does Jesus Christ do? He refuses for Himself the miracles He lavishes on others, and if He speaks, it is only in the interest of truth. Are you the Son of God? You have said it. Yes, I am. Learn, then, from your Divine Master to despise the opinion and the esteem of men. What matters the contempt of the world, if you have the approbation of the Lord? “Those who praise me while Thou blamest me, can they save me when Thou shalt condemn me?” (St. Augustine).
(4) In the ignominies and insults which Jesus Christ endured, He gives you an example of profound humility. To calumny He only opposes silence: “He held His peace and said nothing” (Mark 14:61). Yet it appears that the interest of His doctrine, of His mission, of His Church, that the glory even of His Father, required from Him at least a few words for His justification. But Jesus is silent: “I as a deaf man heard not; and as a dumb man not opening his mouth, and that hath no reproofs in his mouth” (Psalm 37:14-15). To derision and insult He only opposes meekness; and He fulfils to the letter what was written of Him: “I have given My body to the strikers, and My cheeks to them that plucked them; I have not turned away My face from them that rebuked Me and spit upon Me” (Isaias 50:6); “He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before His shearer, and He shall not open His mouth” (Isaias 53:7).
(5) In the different torments of His sacred body, He gives you the example of an heroic penance. Meditate well on the following circumstances:
(a) Who is He that suffers? A God holy by essence.
(b) What does He suffer? Everything that it is possible for man to suffer.
(c) From whom does He suffer it? From those whom He has loaded with benefits.
(d) Why does He suffer? For your sins.
(e) How does He suffer? With infinite love. These, in a few words, are the motives and practice of penance.
COLLOQUIES
(1) With the Blessed Virgin. Recite some verses of the Stabat Mater, for example.
(2) With Our Lord.
Anima Christi. Pater. Ave.
WEEK 3 : DAY 6
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
CONTINUATION OF THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
CONTINUATION OF THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
THIRD EXERCISE ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD
CONTEMPLATION ON THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST CRUCIFIED
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. They fasten Jesus to the cross, and crucify Him between two thieves, one on His right and the other on His left. Thus were accomplished the words of Scripture, “With the wicked He was reputed” (Mark 15:28).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself Calvary, and there our Lord Jesus Christ fastened to the cross.
Third prelude. Let us beg a lively contrition for our sins, and a tender love of Jesus Christ dying for us.
FIRST POINT
Contemplate the persons
(1) The crowd of strangers and inhabitants of Jerusalem assembled round our Savior. What motive brings them to Calvary? With some it is compassion; but with a great number it is curiosity; with a still greater number it is hatred.
(2) The Roman soldiers, the Pharisees, the princes of the priests, who insult the Son of God, and who feel a malignant joy at His sufferings and death.
(3) The two thieves crucified beside Jesus Christ.
(4) The Blessed Virgin, Mary the wife of Cleophas, Magdalen, and the beloved disciple, gathered together at the foot of the cross.
(5) Our Lord on the cross; His head crowned with thorns, His eyes blinded by the blood trickling from His forehead, His arms violently stretched out, His hands and feet pierced by sharp nails, His body torn so that the bones may be counted through the still bleeding wounds of His scourging.
Practical reflections and affections.
SECOND POINT
Listen to the words
(1) The words of the people. Those who pass by loading Him with maledictions, shaking their heads, and saying, “Thou that destroyest the temple of God, and in three days dost rebuild it, save Thy own self; if Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40).
(2) The words of the chief priests and scribes. They said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusted in God; let Him now deliver Him if He will save Him, for He said: I am the Son of God” (Matthew 27:42-43).
(3) The words of the soldiers, who come to Him and offer Him vinegar, saying, “If Thou be the King of the Jews, save Thyself” (Luke 23:37).
(4) The words of the two thieves. One of them blasphemed against Him, saying, “If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us” (Luke 23:39). The other rebuked him, saying, “Neither dolt thou fear God, seeing thou art under the same condemnation. And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this Man hath done no evil. And he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom” (Luke 23:40-42).
(5) The interior words of Mary, of the holy women, of St. John, and their communion with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
(6) The seven words of Jesus Christ on the cross.
(1) To His Heavenly Father: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
(2) To the good thief: “Today thou shalt be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
(3) To Mary and John: “Woman, behold thy son; son, behold thy mother” (John 19:26).
(4) “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).
(5) “I thirst” (John 19:28).
(6) “It is consummated” (John 19:30).
(7) “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit” (Luke 23:46).
Practical reflections and affections.
THIRD POINT
Ccnsider the actions
(1) In the Jews, indifference, or rather hate.
(2) In the priests and Pharisees, a barbarous joy at the sight of their enemy dying.
(3) In the soldiers, a fierce cruelty: they divide the garments of Jesus at the foot of the cross, and give Him vinegar to quench the thirst of which He complains.
(4) In one of the thieves, an impenitence and hardness which resists every grace. In the other, faith, humility, contrition, confidence in God.
(5) In the holy women and St. John, the heroism of fidelity and devotion.
(6) In Mary, the union of her heart with the sufferings, the patience, the humility, the charity of Jesus Christ.
(7) In Jesus Christ, the perfection of all virtues: the perfection of humility―He dies under the ignominy of the most disgraceful of sufferings: the perfection of poverty―He dies in a state of the most complete privation the perfection of abnegation―He sacrifices all His liberty, His honor, His affections; His body, in which every sense suffers torture; His soul, of which every faculty has its pain.
Practical reflections and affections. End by the three following considerations:
(1) What our Savior suffers in His humanity.
(2) How His divinity bides itself, and allows His enemies to act, instead of striking them and annihilating them.
(3) What we ought to do and suffer for a God whom our sins have reduced to this state.
COLLOQUY WITH OUR SAVIOUR CRUCIFIED
Excite in yourself the sentiments pointed out in the advice on the third week:
(1) hatred of sin;
(2) admiration of the goodness and wisdom of God;
(3) trust;
(4) love;
(5) imitation of the Savior;
(6) zeal for the salvation of souls.
CONTEMPLATION ON THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST CRUCIFIED
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. They fasten Jesus to the cross, and crucify Him between two thieves, one on His right and the other on His left. Thus were accomplished the words of Scripture, “With the wicked He was reputed” (Mark 15:28).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself Calvary, and there our Lord Jesus Christ fastened to the cross.
Third prelude. Let us beg a lively contrition for our sins, and a tender love of Jesus Christ dying for us.
FIRST POINT
Contemplate the persons
(1) The crowd of strangers and inhabitants of Jerusalem assembled round our Savior. What motive brings them to Calvary? With some it is compassion; but with a great number it is curiosity; with a still greater number it is hatred.
(2) The Roman soldiers, the Pharisees, the princes of the priests, who insult the Son of God, and who feel a malignant joy at His sufferings and death.
(3) The two thieves crucified beside Jesus Christ.
(4) The Blessed Virgin, Mary the wife of Cleophas, Magdalen, and the beloved disciple, gathered together at the foot of the cross.
(5) Our Lord on the cross; His head crowned with thorns, His eyes blinded by the blood trickling from His forehead, His arms violently stretched out, His hands and feet pierced by sharp nails, His body torn so that the bones may be counted through the still bleeding wounds of His scourging.
Practical reflections and affections.
SECOND POINT
Listen to the words
(1) The words of the people. Those who pass by loading Him with maledictions, shaking their heads, and saying, “Thou that destroyest the temple of God, and in three days dost rebuild it, save Thy own self; if Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40).
(2) The words of the chief priests and scribes. They said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusted in God; let Him now deliver Him if He will save Him, for He said: I am the Son of God” (Matthew 27:42-43).
(3) The words of the soldiers, who come to Him and offer Him vinegar, saying, “If Thou be the King of the Jews, save Thyself” (Luke 23:37).
(4) The words of the two thieves. One of them blasphemed against Him, saying, “If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us” (Luke 23:39). The other rebuked him, saying, “Neither dolt thou fear God, seeing thou art under the same condemnation. And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this Man hath done no evil. And he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom” (Luke 23:40-42).
(5) The interior words of Mary, of the holy women, of St. John, and their communion with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
(6) The seven words of Jesus Christ on the cross.
(1) To His Heavenly Father: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
(2) To the good thief: “Today thou shalt be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
(3) To Mary and John: “Woman, behold thy son; son, behold thy mother” (John 19:26).
(4) “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).
(5) “I thirst” (John 19:28).
(6) “It is consummated” (John 19:30).
(7) “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit” (Luke 23:46).
Practical reflections and affections.
THIRD POINT
Ccnsider the actions
(1) In the Jews, indifference, or rather hate.
(2) In the priests and Pharisees, a barbarous joy at the sight of their enemy dying.
(3) In the soldiers, a fierce cruelty: they divide the garments of Jesus at the foot of the cross, and give Him vinegar to quench the thirst of which He complains.
(4) In one of the thieves, an impenitence and hardness which resists every grace. In the other, faith, humility, contrition, confidence in God.
(5) In the holy women and St. John, the heroism of fidelity and devotion.
(6) In Mary, the union of her heart with the sufferings, the patience, the humility, the charity of Jesus Christ.
(7) In Jesus Christ, the perfection of all virtues: the perfection of humility―He dies under the ignominy of the most disgraceful of sufferings: the perfection of poverty―He dies in a state of the most complete privation the perfection of abnegation―He sacrifices all His liberty, His honor, His affections; His body, in which every sense suffers torture; His soul, of which every faculty has its pain.
Practical reflections and affections. End by the three following considerations:
(1) What our Savior suffers in His humanity.
(2) How His divinity bides itself, and allows His enemies to act, instead of striking them and annihilating them.
(3) What we ought to do and suffer for a God whom our sins have reduced to this state.
COLLOQUY WITH OUR SAVIOUR CRUCIFIED
Excite in yourself the sentiments pointed out in the advice on the third week:
(1) hatred of sin;
(2) admiration of the goodness and wisdom of God;
(3) trust;
(4) love;
(5) imitation of the Savior;
(6) zeal for the salvation of souls.
WEEK 3 : DAY 7
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
CONTINUATION OF THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
St. Ignatius calls each of the four periods of his retreat a "week" but some "weeks" are longer than others.
CONTINUATION OF THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
FOURTH EXERCISE ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD
APPLICATION OF THE SENSES ON JESUS CHRIST CRUCIFIED
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. They fasten Jesus to the cross, and crucify Him between two thieves, one on His right and the other on His left. Thus were accomplished the words of Scripture, “With the wicked He was reputed” (Mark 15:28).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself Calvary, and there our Lord Jesus Christ fastened to the cross.
Third prelude. Let us beg a lively contrition for our sins, and a tender love of Jesus Christ dying for us.
(1) APPLICATION OF THE SIGHT
Contemplate the bloody scene of Calvary; the crowd of strangers and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem assembled through compassion, curiosity, or hatred; the soldiers and Pharisees, who insult the agony of the Son of God; the two malefactors crucified beside Him; the Blessed Virgin, the holy women, and the beloved disciple at the foot of the cross; and on the cross Jesus Christ, just giving the last sign, His feet and hands violently stretched, His head crowned with thorns, His eyes dim, His whole body torn, and allowing the bones to be seen through the wounds which furrow it.
Practical reflections and affections.
(2) APPLICATION OF THE HEARING
Listen to the discourse of the people; the blasphemies of the soldiers; the words of the bad thief who insults Jesus Christ, and those of the good thief who acknowledges Him as God; the interior words of Mary, of the holy women, of St. John; the seven words of Jesus Christ.
Practical reflections and affections.
(3) APPLICATION OF THE TASTE
Taste the bitterness of the heart of Mary at the sight of her Son nailed to the cross, and dying in the most cruel and ignominious tortures. Taste, above all, the bitterness of the heart of Jesus, suffering at once from His own sorrows and those of His Mother, and from the rigor of His Father, who seems to have forsaken Him.
Practical reflections and affections.
(4) APPLICATION OF THE SMELL
Breathe-in the perfume of the virtues of Jesus Christ dying; of His poverty, His humility, His patience, His charity.
Practical reflections and affections.
(5) APPLICATION OF THE TOUCH
Kiss inwardly the cross and all the bleeding wounds of Jesus Christ.
Practical reflections and affections.
COLLOQUY WITH OUR LORD
Recite slowly the Anima Christi, stopping at each clause.
Pater. Ave.
APPLICATION OF THE SENSES ON JESUS CHRIST CRUCIFIED
Preparatory Prayer.
First prelude. They fasten Jesus to the cross, and crucify Him between two thieves, one on His right and the other on His left. Thus were accomplished the words of Scripture, “With the wicked He was reputed” (Mark 15:28).
Second prelude. Represent to yourself Calvary, and there our Lord Jesus Christ fastened to the cross.
Third prelude. Let us beg a lively contrition for our sins, and a tender love of Jesus Christ dying for us.
(1) APPLICATION OF THE SIGHT
Contemplate the bloody scene of Calvary; the crowd of strangers and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem assembled through compassion, curiosity, or hatred; the soldiers and Pharisees, who insult the agony of the Son of God; the two malefactors crucified beside Him; the Blessed Virgin, the holy women, and the beloved disciple at the foot of the cross; and on the cross Jesus Christ, just giving the last sign, His feet and hands violently stretched, His head crowned with thorns, His eyes dim, His whole body torn, and allowing the bones to be seen through the wounds which furrow it.
Practical reflections and affections.
(2) APPLICATION OF THE HEARING
Listen to the discourse of the people; the blasphemies of the soldiers; the words of the bad thief who insults Jesus Christ, and those of the good thief who acknowledges Him as God; the interior words of Mary, of the holy women, of St. John; the seven words of Jesus Christ.
Practical reflections and affections.
(3) APPLICATION OF THE TASTE
Taste the bitterness of the heart of Mary at the sight of her Son nailed to the cross, and dying in the most cruel and ignominious tortures. Taste, above all, the bitterness of the heart of Jesus, suffering at once from His own sorrows and those of His Mother, and from the rigor of His Father, who seems to have forsaken Him.
Practical reflections and affections.
(4) APPLICATION OF THE SMELL
Breathe-in the perfume of the virtues of Jesus Christ dying; of His poverty, His humility, His patience, His charity.
Practical reflections and affections.
(5) APPLICATION OF THE TOUCH
Kiss inwardly the cross and all the bleeding wounds of Jesus Christ.
Practical reflections and affections.
COLLOQUY WITH OUR LORD
Recite slowly the Anima Christi, stopping at each clause.
Pater. Ave.