Was it ever possible that God, the Creator of all things, should have been pleased to die for the love of his creatures? It is of faith that he has done so. He hath loved us, and hath delivered Himself for us. (Ephesians 5:2) The earth, the heavens, and all nature, with astonishment beheld Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, the lord of the universe, die of intense pain and anguish, on a disgraceful cross; and why ? For the love of men. And do men believe this and not love God?
I have believed it, O Jesus! and yet not only have I not loved Thee, but I have frequently offended Thee. Pardon me, I beseech Thee, and remind me continually of the death which Thou hast suffered for me, that I may nevermore offend Thee, but may always love Thee.
It was not necessary for man's salvation that God should die; one drop of his blood, a single tear, or a prayer would have been sufficient, because being of infinite value, it would have redeemed this or a thousand other worlds.
But, O Jesus! Thou wouldst suffer so much, to teach us Thy great love for us. Hence, St. Bonaventure exclaims, but with much greater reason may I exclaim, who have so often offended my Redeemer: "Alas! my God, why hast Thou so much loved me? why, O Lord, why? Who am I ?" O divine Pastor of my soul, behold I am the lost sheep, in quest of which Thou didst come upon the earth. I have ungratefully fled away from Thee; since, unmindful of the sufferings which I have occasioned Thee, Thou callest me, miserable as I am, but overcome with Thy great goodness, embracing Thy sacred feet, nailed to the cross. Jesus, my love, my treasure! I love Thee, and because I love Thee I am sorry for having offended Thee.
St. Bernard, imagining himself present when Pilate passed sentence of death on our Blessed Saviour, thus addresses him: "What hast Thou done, my most innocent Saviour, that Thou shouldst be thus condemned?" Thou art innocence itself; and how do I now behold Thee condemned to death, even to the death of the cross? What crime hast Thou committed?" And he proceeds to answer, "Thy crime is love." As if he had said, Ah! it is Thy too great love for us, and not Pilate, that condemns Thee to death.
When, my dear Redeemer, I remember the offences I have committed against Thee, it is not hell, which I have deserved for them, that makes me grieve, but the love which Thou hast shown me. Ah ! my crucified God, I desire to be henceforth and forever Thine, and I will love no other but Thee. Strengthen my weakness, and make me faithful to Thee. Holy Mary, mother of God, enable me to love Jesus; this is the only favor I ask.
Showing posts with label Suffering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Suffering. Show all posts
Tuesday
The Moment of Death
"O moment, on which depends eternity!" — Oh! how much depends on the last moment of our lives, on our last breath! Either an eternity of delights, or an eternity of torments, a life of happiness, or a life of misery. What folly therefore must it be, for the sake of a wretched momentary pleasure in this life, to run the risk of making an evil end, and beginning a life of misery which will never terminate!
O God! what will become of me in the last moment of my life? O Jesus, who didst die for my salvation! suffer me not to be lost forever; suffer me not to lose Thee, my only good.
O God! how do those miserable criminals who are condemned to cast lots for their lives tremble when they throw the dice, upon the cast of which depends their life or death! Tell me, Christian, if you were in such a situation, how much you would give to be liberated from it? But faith teaches you that you will one day arrive at that last moment, on which will depend your eternal life or death. You will then say, "Alas! I must now be either happy forever with God, or in despair forever without him."
No, my God, I will not lose Thee; if I have hitherto forfeited Thy friendship, I am sorry for it, and sincerely repent of it; I will never lose Thee more.
Either we believe, or we do not believe. — And if we believe that there is an eternity, that we can die only once, and that if we die ill, the consequences will be eternal, without the least hope of remedy; why do we not resolve to separate ourselves from all danger of being lost, and to use all the means in our power to secure for ourselves a happy death? No security can be too great when eternity is at slake. The days of our lives are so many favors from God, by which he allows us time to prepare our accounts against the arrival of death. Delay not, for you have no lime to lose.
Behold me, O God! tell me what I must do to be saved, for I will do all that Thou requirest of me. I have turned my back upon Thee; and for this I am exceedingly sorry, and for having done so would willingly die of grief. Pardon me, O Lord! and suffer me not to forsake Thee any more. I love Thee above all things, and will never more cease to love Thee. Holy Mary, Virgin of virgins, obtain for me the grace of perseverance in virtue.
O God! what will become of me in the last moment of my life? O Jesus, who didst die for my salvation! suffer me not to be lost forever; suffer me not to lose Thee, my only good.
O God! how do those miserable criminals who are condemned to cast lots for their lives tremble when they throw the dice, upon the cast of which depends their life or death! Tell me, Christian, if you were in such a situation, how much you would give to be liberated from it? But faith teaches you that you will one day arrive at that last moment, on which will depend your eternal life or death. You will then say, "Alas! I must now be either happy forever with God, or in despair forever without him."
No, my God, I will not lose Thee; if I have hitherto forfeited Thy friendship, I am sorry for it, and sincerely repent of it; I will never lose Thee more.
Either we believe, or we do not believe. — And if we believe that there is an eternity, that we can die only once, and that if we die ill, the consequences will be eternal, without the least hope of remedy; why do we not resolve to separate ourselves from all danger of being lost, and to use all the means in our power to secure for ourselves a happy death? No security can be too great when eternity is at slake. The days of our lives are so many favors from God, by which he allows us time to prepare our accounts against the arrival of death. Delay not, for you have no lime to lose.
Behold me, O God! tell me what I must do to be saved, for I will do all that Thou requirest of me. I have turned my back upon Thee; and for this I am exceedingly sorry, and for having done so would willingly die of grief. Pardon me, O Lord! and suffer me not to forsake Thee any more. I love Thee above all things, and will never more cease to love Thee. Holy Mary, Virgin of virgins, obtain for me the grace of perseverance in virtue.
Monday
The Folly of Neglecting Salvation
What doth it profit a man, saith our Lord, if he gain the world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? How many rich men, how many nobles, how many monarchs, are now in hell! What now remains to them of their riches and honors but remorse and rage, which prev upon their souls, and will continue to prey upon them for all eternity?
O my God ! enlighten me and assist me. I hope nevermore to he deprived of Thy grace. Have pity on a sinner who desires to love Thee.
How comes it, writes Salvian, that men believe in death, judgment, hell, and eternity, and yet live without fearing them? Hell is believed, and yet how many go down thither! But, 0 God ! while these truths are believed, they are not dwelt upon, and hence are so many souls lost.
Alas! I also have been of the number of those who have been guilty of such folly. Although I knew that by offending Thee I was forfeiting Thy friendship, and writing my own condemnation; yet I was not restrained from committing sin! "Cast me not away from Thy face." I am sensible of the evil I have done in despising Thee, my God, and am grieved for it with my whole soul. Oh, "cast me not away from Thy face."
And then? and then? Oh, what force had these two words with F. P. Francis Zazzera when repeated to him by St. Philip Neri, in order to induce him to renounce the world and give himself wholly to God!* Oh that they would be wise, and would understand, and would provide for their latter end. (Deuteronomy 32:29) Oh! if all persons would but think of death, in which everything must be relinquished; of judgment, in which an account must be given of our whole lives ; of a happy or miserable eternity, which must be the lot of each one : if all did but provide for these last things of their lives, no one would be lost. The present only is thought of, and hence is eternal salvation lost.
I give Thee thanks, O God, for the patience with which Thou hast hitherto borne with me, and for the light which Thou now bestowest upon me. I see that although I forgot Thee, Thou didst not forget me. I am sorry, my sovereign good, for having turned my back upon Thee, and I am now resolved to give myself entirely to Thee. And why should I delay ? That Thou mayest abandon me, and that death may find me as miserable and ungrateful as I have been even until now? No, my God, I will no more offend Thee, but will love Thee. I love Thee, O infinite goodness! Give me perseverance and Thy holy love; I ask for nothing more. Mary, refuge of sinners, intercede for me.
* The circumstance to which St. Alphonsus here refers is thus related by him in his sermon for Septuagesima Sunday: "St. Philip Neri, speaking, one day, to a young man named Francis Zazzera, who expected to make his fortune in the world by his talents, said : 'Be of good heart, my son; you may make a great fortune, you may become an eminent lawyer, you may then be made a prelate, then perhaps a cardinal, and then, who knows, perhaps even Pope. And then? and then?' Go,' continued the Saint, 'and reflect upon these two words.' The young man went his way, and after having meditated on the two words and then? and then? abandoned all his worldly prospects, and gave himself entirely to God. Leaving the world, he entered into the same congregation that St. Philip had founded, and then he died in the odor of sanctity."
O my God ! enlighten me and assist me. I hope nevermore to he deprived of Thy grace. Have pity on a sinner who desires to love Thee.
How comes it, writes Salvian, that men believe in death, judgment, hell, and eternity, and yet live without fearing them? Hell is believed, and yet how many go down thither! But, 0 God ! while these truths are believed, they are not dwelt upon, and hence are so many souls lost.
Alas! I also have been of the number of those who have been guilty of such folly. Although I knew that by offending Thee I was forfeiting Thy friendship, and writing my own condemnation; yet I was not restrained from committing sin! "Cast me not away from Thy face." I am sensible of the evil I have done in despising Thee, my God, and am grieved for it with my whole soul. Oh, "cast me not away from Thy face."
And then? and then? Oh, what force had these two words with F. P. Francis Zazzera when repeated to him by St. Philip Neri, in order to induce him to renounce the world and give himself wholly to God!* Oh that they would be wise, and would understand, and would provide for their latter end. (Deuteronomy 32:29) Oh! if all persons would but think of death, in which everything must be relinquished; of judgment, in which an account must be given of our whole lives ; of a happy or miserable eternity, which must be the lot of each one : if all did but provide for these last things of their lives, no one would be lost. The present only is thought of, and hence is eternal salvation lost.
I give Thee thanks, O God, for the patience with which Thou hast hitherto borne with me, and for the light which Thou now bestowest upon me. I see that although I forgot Thee, Thou didst not forget me. I am sorry, my sovereign good, for having turned my back upon Thee, and I am now resolved to give myself entirely to Thee. And why should I delay ? That Thou mayest abandon me, and that death may find me as miserable and ungrateful as I have been even until now? No, my God, I will no more offend Thee, but will love Thee. I love Thee, O infinite goodness! Give me perseverance and Thy holy love; I ask for nothing more. Mary, refuge of sinners, intercede for me.
* The circumstance to which St. Alphonsus here refers is thus related by him in his sermon for Septuagesima Sunday: "St. Philip Neri, speaking, one day, to a young man named Francis Zazzera, who expected to make his fortune in the world by his talents, said : 'Be of good heart, my son; you may make a great fortune, you may become an eminent lawyer, you may then be made a prelate, then perhaps a cardinal, and then, who knows, perhaps even Pope. And then? and then?' Go,' continued the Saint, 'and reflect upon these two words.' The young man went his way, and after having meditated on the two words and then? and then? abandoned all his worldly prospects, and gave himself entirely to God. Leaving the world, he entered into the same congregation that St. Philip had founded, and then he died in the odor of sanctity."
Sunday
Jesus, the Man of Sorrows
The prophet Isaias calls our Blessed Redeemer a man of sorrows; (Isaiah 53:3) and such he was, for his whole life was a life of sorrows. He took upon his own shoulders all our debts. It is true that as he was man and God, a single prayer from him would have been sufficient to make satisfaction for the sins of the whole world; but our Saviour would rigorously satisfy divine justice, and hence he chose for himself a life of contempt and suffering, being content for the love of man to be treated as the last and the vilest of men, as the prophet Isaias had foreseen him: We have seen Him... despised and the most abject of men (Isaiah 53:2)
O my despised Jesus! by the contempt which Thou didst endure Thou hast made satisfaction for the contempt with which I have treated Thee. Oh that I had died and had never offended Thee!
Who, my God, amongst the sons of men, was ever so afflicted and oppressed as our most loving Redeemer? Man, however much he may be afflicted in this world, enjoys from time to time relief and consolation. Thus does our compassionate God treat his ungrateful and rebellious creatures. But he would not thus treat his beloved Son; for the life of Jesus Christ in this world was not only a life of afflictions, but of continual afflictions from its commencement until death. Our Blessed Saviour was deprived of all consolation and of every kind of relief. In a word, he was born but to suffer and to be the man of sorrows.
O Jesus! how unhappy is he who does not love Thee, or who loves Thee but little, after Thou hast so loved us miserable worms who have offended Thee! Enable me from this day forward to love no other but Thee, who alone art worthy of being loved.
Again, men suffer afflictions, but it is only while they are suffering them, because they do not know those which are yet to come. But Jesus Christ, having, as God, a knowledge of all future things, suffered in every moment of his life, not only the pains which actually afflicted him, but all those also which were to come upon him, and especially the outrages of his most sorrowful Passion, having always before his eyes his scourging at the pillar, his crowning with thorns, his crucifixion and bitter death, with all the sorrows and desolation which accompanied it.
And why, O Jesus! didst Thou suffer so much for me who have so grievously offended Thee? Accept of me now that I may love Thee, and that henceforward I may love no other but Thee. My love and my only good, accept of me and strengthen me. I am resolved to become holy, that I may please Thee alone. Thou desirest me to be all Thine, and such do I desire to be. Holy Mary, thou art my hope.
O my despised Jesus! by the contempt which Thou didst endure Thou hast made satisfaction for the contempt with which I have treated Thee. Oh that I had died and had never offended Thee!
Who, my God, amongst the sons of men, was ever so afflicted and oppressed as our most loving Redeemer? Man, however much he may be afflicted in this world, enjoys from time to time relief and consolation. Thus does our compassionate God treat his ungrateful and rebellious creatures. But he would not thus treat his beloved Son; for the life of Jesus Christ in this world was not only a life of afflictions, but of continual afflictions from its commencement until death. Our Blessed Saviour was deprived of all consolation and of every kind of relief. In a word, he was born but to suffer and to be the man of sorrows.
O Jesus! how unhappy is he who does not love Thee, or who loves Thee but little, after Thou hast so loved us miserable worms who have offended Thee! Enable me from this day forward to love no other but Thee, who alone art worthy of being loved.
Again, men suffer afflictions, but it is only while they are suffering them, because they do not know those which are yet to come. But Jesus Christ, having, as God, a knowledge of all future things, suffered in every moment of his life, not only the pains which actually afflicted him, but all those also which were to come upon him, and especially the outrages of his most sorrowful Passion, having always before his eyes his scourging at the pillar, his crowning with thorns, his crucifixion and bitter death, with all the sorrows and desolation which accompanied it.
And why, O Jesus! didst Thou suffer so much for me who have so grievously offended Thee? Accept of me now that I may love Thee, and that henceforward I may love no other but Thee. My love and my only good, accept of me and strengthen me. I am resolved to become holy, that I may please Thee alone. Thou desirest me to be all Thine, and such do I desire to be. Holy Mary, thou art my hope.
Friday
The Journey to Eternity
Man shall go into the house of his eternity. (Ecclesiastes 8:5) This earth is not our true country; we are only passing through it on our way to eternity. The land in which I dwell, the house which I inhabit, are no; mine. In a short time, and when I least expect it, I must leave them. The house which will contain my body until the day of general judgment will be the grave, and the house of my soul will be eternity, in heaven if I be saved, in hell if I be lost. Foolish indeed, then, should I be were I to place my affections on things which I must soon leave. I will endeavor to procure for myself a happy mansion in which I may dwell forever.
Man shall go into the house of his eternity. It is said "he shall go," to give us to understand that each one shall go, in another life, into that house which he himself has chosen: " he shall go," he shall not be conducted, but shall go thither of his own free will. — Faith teaches us that, in the next life, there are two habitations: one is a palace of delights, where all are happy forever, and this is paradise; the other is a prison of excruciating torments, where all are forever miserable, and this is hell. Choose, my soul, to which of the two thou wilt go. If thou desirest heaven, thou must walk in the way which leads to heaven ; if thou shouldst walk in the way which leads to hell, thou wilt one day unhappily find thyself there.
Jesus, enlighten me; Jesus, strengthen me. Suffer me not to be separated from Thee.
Man shall go into the house of his eternity. If then I be saved and enter into the house of bliss, I shall there be happy forever; but if I be lost and enter into the house of woe, I shall be miserable forever. If, therefore, I would be saved, I must keep eternity always before my eyes. He who frequently meditates upon eternity does not become attached to the goods of this world, and thus secures his salvation. I will endeavor, therefore, so to regulate all my actions that they may be so many steps towards a happy eternity.
O God! I believe in life eternal. Henceforth I will live only for Thee; hitherto I have lived for myself and have lost Thee, my sovereign good. I will never more lose Thee; but will forever serve and love Thee. Assist me, O Jesus! and do not abandon me. Mary, my Mother, protect me.
Man shall go into the house of his eternity. It is said "he shall go," to give us to understand that each one shall go, in another life, into that house which he himself has chosen: " he shall go," he shall not be conducted, but shall go thither of his own free will. — Faith teaches us that, in the next life, there are two habitations: one is a palace of delights, where all are happy forever, and this is paradise; the other is a prison of excruciating torments, where all are forever miserable, and this is hell. Choose, my soul, to which of the two thou wilt go. If thou desirest heaven, thou must walk in the way which leads to heaven ; if thou shouldst walk in the way which leads to hell, thou wilt one day unhappily find thyself there.
Jesus, enlighten me; Jesus, strengthen me. Suffer me not to be separated from Thee.
Man shall go into the house of his eternity. If then I be saved and enter into the house of bliss, I shall there be happy forever; but if I be lost and enter into the house of woe, I shall be miserable forever. If, therefore, I would be saved, I must keep eternity always before my eyes. He who frequently meditates upon eternity does not become attached to the goods of this world, and thus secures his salvation. I will endeavor, therefore, so to regulate all my actions that they may be so many steps towards a happy eternity.
O God! I believe in life eternal. Henceforth I will live only for Thee; hitherto I have lived for myself and have lost Thee, my sovereign good. I will never more lose Thee; but will forever serve and love Thee. Assist me, O Jesus! and do not abandon me. Mary, my Mother, protect me.
Wednesday
The Examination at the Particular Judgment
In the same moment and in the same place in which the soul departs from the body, the divine tribunal is erected, the indictment read, and the sentence pronounced by the sovereign judge. Whom he foreknew, says St. Paul, he also predestinated to be made conformable to his Son... them he also justified. (Romans 8:29) In order, therefore, to be made worthy of glory, our lives must be made conformable to the life of Jesus Christ. Hence it is that St. Peter says that, in the day of judgment, the just man shall scarcely be saved. (1Peter 4:18)
O Jesus, my Saviour and my judge! what will become of me, since my whole life has hitherto been the reverse of Thine? But Thy Passion is my hope. I am a sinner, but Thou canst make me a saint, and this I hope for from Thy bounty.
The Venerable Father Louis da Ponte, reflecting on the account which he should have to give of his whole life at the time of his death, trembled to such a degree as to make the whole room shake. And how ought we to tremble at the thought of this account! and how diligent ought we to be in seeking the Lord whilst we may find him! At the time of death it will be difficult to find him, if we are overtaken in our sins; but now we may easily find him by repentance and love. Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found: call upon him, while he is near. (Isaiah 55:6)
Yes, my God, I am sorry above every evil for having despised Thee; and I now esteem and love Thee above every good.
What shall I do, said holy Job, when God shall rise to judge? and when He shall examine, what shall I answer Him? (Job 31:14) And what shall I answer him, if, after so many mercies, so many calls, still I resist him?
No, Lord, I will no longer resist Thee, I will no longer be ungrateful to Thee. I have committed many offences and disloyalties against Thee, but Thou hast shed Thy blood to save me from my sins. "Help Thy servant whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood." (Ecclesiastes 12:5) I am sorry, my sovereign good, for having offended Thee, and I love Thee with my whole heart ; have pity on me. And O Mary, my Mother, do not abandon me!
O Jesus, my Saviour and my judge! what will become of me, since my whole life has hitherto been the reverse of Thine? But Thy Passion is my hope. I am a sinner, but Thou canst make me a saint, and this I hope for from Thy bounty.
The Venerable Father Louis da Ponte, reflecting on the account which he should have to give of his whole life at the time of his death, trembled to such a degree as to make the whole room shake. And how ought we to tremble at the thought of this account! and how diligent ought we to be in seeking the Lord whilst we may find him! At the time of death it will be difficult to find him, if we are overtaken in our sins; but now we may easily find him by repentance and love. Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found: call upon him, while he is near. (Isaiah 55:6)
Yes, my God, I am sorry above every evil for having despised Thee; and I now esteem and love Thee above every good.
What shall I do, said holy Job, when God shall rise to judge? and when He shall examine, what shall I answer Him? (Job 31:14) And what shall I answer him, if, after so many mercies, so many calls, still I resist him?
No, Lord, I will no longer resist Thee, I will no longer be ungrateful to Thee. I have committed many offences and disloyalties against Thee, but Thou hast shed Thy blood to save me from my sins. "Help Thy servant whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood." (Ecclesiastes 12:5) I am sorry, my sovereign good, for having offended Thee, and I love Thee with my whole heart ; have pity on me. And O Mary, my Mother, do not abandon me!
Saturday
The Near Approach of Death
Every one knows that he must certainly die; yet many delude themselves by imagining that death is at so immense a distance from them that it will scarcely ever reach them. No; our life is indeed short, and death is very near us. The days of our sojourning here are few, and perhaps much fewer than we imagine. What else is our life but a light vapor, which is driven away and disappears with the wind? a blade of grass which is dried up in the heat of the sun?
O God ! Thou wouldst not suffer death to overtake me when I was under Thy displeasure, because Thou didst love me and didst desire my salvation; wherefore I will also love Thee.
My days, said holy Job, have been swifter than a post. (Job 9:25) Death is hasting towards us more rapidly than a post, and we at every step, and every breath and moment, are drawing nearer and nearer to death. At the time of our death how shall we wish for one day or one hour of the many we now squander away to no purpose !
Ah! Lord, if death were now announced to me, what should I find that I have done for Thee? Alas! come to my assistance; let me not die ungrateful to Thee as I hitherto have been. Grant me true sorrow for my sins, the gift of Thy love, and holy perseverance.
Death hastens towards us; wherefore we must also hasten to do that which is good, and to put our accounts in order against the day of its arrival. When death comes it precludes all remedies for what has been done amiss. How many are now in hell who thought of amending their lives at some future period, but were prevented by death and consigned to eternal torments!
My dear Redeemer, I will no longer resist Thy calls. Thou offerest me pardon, and I am desirous of obtaining it; I pray for it, and hope for it, through that death which Thou, my Jesus, hast suffered that Thou mayest be able to impart it to me. I am sorry, O infinite goodness, for having offended Thee. Thou, my Jesus, hast died for me, and I have postponed Thy friendship to my own wretched inclinations. For the future I hope with Thy assistance always to love Thee. I love Thee, O God ! I love Thee. Thou art now and shalt be forever my only good, my only love. Mary, mother of God, watch over me and take pity on me.
O God ! Thou wouldst not suffer death to overtake me when I was under Thy displeasure, because Thou didst love me and didst desire my salvation; wherefore I will also love Thee.
My days, said holy Job, have been swifter than a post. (Job 9:25) Death is hasting towards us more rapidly than a post, and we at every step, and every breath and moment, are drawing nearer and nearer to death. At the time of our death how shall we wish for one day or one hour of the many we now squander away to no purpose !
Ah! Lord, if death were now announced to me, what should I find that I have done for Thee? Alas! come to my assistance; let me not die ungrateful to Thee as I hitherto have been. Grant me true sorrow for my sins, the gift of Thy love, and holy perseverance.
Death hastens towards us; wherefore we must also hasten to do that which is good, and to put our accounts in order against the day of its arrival. When death comes it precludes all remedies for what has been done amiss. How many are now in hell who thought of amending their lives at some future period, but were prevented by death and consigned to eternal torments!
My dear Redeemer, I will no longer resist Thy calls. Thou offerest me pardon, and I am desirous of obtaining it; I pray for it, and hope for it, through that death which Thou, my Jesus, hast suffered that Thou mayest be able to impart it to me. I am sorry, O infinite goodness, for having offended Thee. Thou, my Jesus, hast died for me, and I have postponed Thy friendship to my own wretched inclinations. For the future I hope with Thy assistance always to love Thee. I love Thee, O God ! I love Thee. Thou art now and shalt be forever my only good, my only love. Mary, mother of God, watch over me and take pity on me.
Wednesday
The Love of Jesus Crucified
Well might our loving Redeemer declare that he came upon the earth to enkindle divine love, and that he desired nothing else but to see this sacred fire burning in our hearts: I am come to cast fire upon the earth: and what will I but that it be kindled? (Luke 12:49) And, in fact, how many happy souls have been so inflamed with the thoughts of a crucified God as to forsake all things else to give themselves entirely to his holy love! What more could Jesus Christ have done to induce us to love him than to die in torments upon a cross to prove how much he loved us ? With good reason did St. Francis of Paula, when he contemplated with admiration Jesus crucified, exclaim in an ecstasy of love, " O charity! charity! charity!"
But alas, how generally do men live forgetful of so loving a God ! If the vilest of men—if a slave had done for me what Jesus Christ has done and suffered for me, how should I be able to live without loving him ? 0 God ! who is he that hangs upon the cross?—the same that created me and that now dies for me. That cross, those thorns, those nails, exclaim, and with a still louder voice those wounds cry out and demand our love.
"May I die," said St. Francis of Assisi, "for the love of Thy love, O Jesus! who hast died for the love of my love." To make an adequate return for the love of God in dying for us would require another God to die for him. It would be but little, it would be nothing, were each of us to give a thousand lives in return for the love of Jesus Christ. But Jesus is satisfied with our giving him our hearts; nevertheless he is not satisfied unless we give them entirely to him. For this end, says the Apostle, did he die, that he might have the entire dominion of our hearts: That He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living? (Romans 14:9)
My beloved Redeemer, how can I ever more forget Thee? how can I love anything else, after having seen Thee die in torments on an infamous gibbet to satisfy for my sins? and how can I reflect that my sins have reduced Thee to this, and not die with grief at the remembrance of the offences I have committed against Thee? Jesus, help me; I desire nothing but Thee; help me and love me. O Mary, my hope! assist me by thy prayers.
But alas, how generally do men live forgetful of so loving a God ! If the vilest of men—if a slave had done for me what Jesus Christ has done and suffered for me, how should I be able to live without loving him ? 0 God ! who is he that hangs upon the cross?—the same that created me and that now dies for me. That cross, those thorns, those nails, exclaim, and with a still louder voice those wounds cry out and demand our love.
"May I die," said St. Francis of Assisi, "for the love of Thy love, O Jesus! who hast died for the love of my love." To make an adequate return for the love of God in dying for us would require another God to die for him. It would be but little, it would be nothing, were each of us to give a thousand lives in return for the love of Jesus Christ. But Jesus is satisfied with our giving him our hearts; nevertheless he is not satisfied unless we give them entirely to him. For this end, says the Apostle, did he die, that he might have the entire dominion of our hearts: That He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living? (Romans 14:9)
My beloved Redeemer, how can I ever more forget Thee? how can I love anything else, after having seen Thee die in torments on an infamous gibbet to satisfy for my sins? and how can I reflect that my sins have reduced Thee to this, and not die with grief at the remembrance of the offences I have committed against Thee? Jesus, help me; I desire nothing but Thee; help me and love me. O Mary, my hope! assist me by thy prayers.
Tuesday
The Unhappy Life of the Sinner
There is no peace for the wicked. (Isaiah 48:22) The devil deceives poor sinners by making them believe that if they gratify their sensual desires, revenge themselves, or take what belongs to another, they will gain satisfaction and obtain peace: but no, for the reverse will always be their portion; the soul after sin becomes more than ever disquieted and afflicted. The brutes alone, who are created for the earth, can gain contentment from the enjoyments of the earth; but man, who is created to enjoy God, cannot derive satisfaction from any or all of God's creatures; his only source of happiness is God.
O my God ! what, of all the delights by which I have offended Thee, now remains but bitterness and sorrow to torment me? I do not regret the bitterness which they now cause me; but only the displeasure which they have given Thee, who hast so much loved me.
The wicked are like the raging sea, which cannot rest. (Isaiah 57:20) What is a soul in disgrace with God but a tempestuous sea, always in agitation? — one wave rises and another succeeds, and all are waves of pain and anguish. No one in the world can have all things according to his will. He who loves God, when adversity comes resigns himself to God's blessed will, and thus secures peace to his soul; but how can the sinner, if he is an enemy of God, pacify himself by resignation to God's holy appointments ? Besides, sin always brings with it the dread of divine vengeance. The wicked man fleeth, when no man pursueth. (Proverbs 28:1) Yes, for his own sin followeth after him, and by the remorse with which it preys upon his soul, makes him suffer an anticipated hell.
O my Lord and my God ! I am exceedingly sorry for having forsaken Thee; do Thou forgive me, and suffer me not to lose Thee any more.
Delight in the Lord, and He will give thee the requests of thy heart. (Psalm 36:4) Man, whither goest thou in search of content? Seek after God, and he will satisfy all the desires of thy soul. " Seek," says St. Augustine, "the one only good, in whom are all other goods." Behold a St. Francis, who when stripped of all worldly goods, being still united with God, found in this a heaven even here upon earth, and could not often enough exclaim, "My God ! my God and my all!"' Happy the soul that leaves all for God, for in him it finds all.
O Jesus! instead of abandoning me, as I have deserved, Thou offerest me pardon, and callest me to Thy love. Behold, I return to Thee overwhelmed with sorrow for the evil which I have done, and deeply affected at seeing that even still Thou lovest me after the many offences I have committed against Thee. Thou lovest me, and I also love Thee and love Thee more than myself. Receive me into Thy favor, and do with me whaf Thou pleasest; only do not deprive me of Thy love Mary, Mother, have pity on me.
O my God ! what, of all the delights by which I have offended Thee, now remains but bitterness and sorrow to torment me? I do not regret the bitterness which they now cause me; but only the displeasure which they have given Thee, who hast so much loved me.
The wicked are like the raging sea, which cannot rest. (Isaiah 57:20) What is a soul in disgrace with God but a tempestuous sea, always in agitation? — one wave rises and another succeeds, and all are waves of pain and anguish. No one in the world can have all things according to his will. He who loves God, when adversity comes resigns himself to God's blessed will, and thus secures peace to his soul; but how can the sinner, if he is an enemy of God, pacify himself by resignation to God's holy appointments ? Besides, sin always brings with it the dread of divine vengeance. The wicked man fleeth, when no man pursueth. (Proverbs 28:1) Yes, for his own sin followeth after him, and by the remorse with which it preys upon his soul, makes him suffer an anticipated hell.
O my Lord and my God ! I am exceedingly sorry for having forsaken Thee; do Thou forgive me, and suffer me not to lose Thee any more.
Delight in the Lord, and He will give thee the requests of thy heart. (Psalm 36:4) Man, whither goest thou in search of content? Seek after God, and he will satisfy all the desires of thy soul. " Seek," says St. Augustine, "the one only good, in whom are all other goods." Behold a St. Francis, who when stripped of all worldly goods, being still united with God, found in this a heaven even here upon earth, and could not often enough exclaim, "My God ! my God and my all!"' Happy the soul that leaves all for God, for in him it finds all.
O Jesus! instead of abandoning me, as I have deserved, Thou offerest me pardon, and callest me to Thy love. Behold, I return to Thee overwhelmed with sorrow for the evil which I have done, and deeply affected at seeing that even still Thou lovest me after the many offences I have committed against Thee. Thou lovest me, and I also love Thee and love Thee more than myself. Receive me into Thy favor, and do with me whaf Thou pleasest; only do not deprive me of Thy love Mary, Mother, have pity on me.
Monday
The Soul's Appearance at the Tribunal of God
When criminals are presented before their judges, though they fear and tremble, yet flatter themselves that either their crimes will not be proved against them, or that their judges will remit in part the punishments which they have deserved. O God! how great will be the horror of a guilty soul when presented before Jesus Christ, from whom nothing will be hidden, and who will judge it with the utmost severity! I am the Judge and the Witness, (Jeremiah 29:23) will he then say: "I am thy Judge, and I am witness of all the offences thou hast committed against me."
O my Jesus ! I deserved to hear this from Thy mouth, had the hour of my judgment arrived. But now Thou art pleased to assure me, that if I will repent of my sins, Thou wilt no longer remember them: I will not remember all his iniquities? (Ezekiel 18:22)
It is the opinion of divines, that in the same place in which the soul is separated from the body it will be judged, and its lot decided either for eternal life or eternal death. But should the soul unhappily depart from the body in sin, what will it be able to say when Jesus Christ reminds it of his abused mercies, of the years he granted it, of the calls by which he invited it, and of the many other means which he afforded it of securing its salvation ?
Jesus, my Redeemer! Thou who condemnest obstinate sinners, dost not condemn those who love Thee and who are sorry for having offended Thee. I am a sinner, but I love Thee more than myself, and I am sorry above every evil for having displeased Thee; oh, do Thou pardon me before the time comes when Thou wilt judge me!
At what hour you think not, the Son of man will come. (Luke 12:40)
When, therefore, O my Jesus and my Judge! Thou shalt judge me, after my death, Thy wounds will be a terror to me, reproaching me with my ingratitude for the love which Thou hast shown me in suffering and dying for me, but now they encourage me and give me confidence to hope for pardon from Thee, my Redeemer who for the love of me, and that Thou mayest not have to condemn me, didst suffer Thyself to be tormented and crucified. We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood. O my Jesus ! have pity on me, who am one of those sheep for whom Thou didst shed Thy sacred blood. If hitherto I have despised Thee, I now esteem and love Thee above all things. Make known to me the means by which I may be saved, and strengthen me to fulfil Thy holy will. I will no longer abuse Thy goodness. Thou hast placed me under too many obligations to Thee; I will no longer suffer myself to live at a distance from Thee and deprived of Thy love. Mary, Mother of mercy, have compassion on me.
O my Jesus ! I deserved to hear this from Thy mouth, had the hour of my judgment arrived. But now Thou art pleased to assure me, that if I will repent of my sins, Thou wilt no longer remember them: I will not remember all his iniquities? (Ezekiel 18:22)
It is the opinion of divines, that in the same place in which the soul is separated from the body it will be judged, and its lot decided either for eternal life or eternal death. But should the soul unhappily depart from the body in sin, what will it be able to say when Jesus Christ reminds it of his abused mercies, of the years he granted it, of the calls by which he invited it, and of the many other means which he afforded it of securing its salvation ?
Jesus, my Redeemer! Thou who condemnest obstinate sinners, dost not condemn those who love Thee and who are sorry for having offended Thee. I am a sinner, but I love Thee more than myself, and I am sorry above every evil for having displeased Thee; oh, do Thou pardon me before the time comes when Thou wilt judge me!
At what hour you think not, the Son of man will come. (Luke 12:40)
When, therefore, O my Jesus and my Judge! Thou shalt judge me, after my death, Thy wounds will be a terror to me, reproaching me with my ingratitude for the love which Thou hast shown me in suffering and dying for me, but now they encourage me and give me confidence to hope for pardon from Thee, my Redeemer who for the love of me, and that Thou mayest not have to condemn me, didst suffer Thyself to be tormented and crucified. We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood. O my Jesus ! have pity on me, who am one of those sheep for whom Thou didst shed Thy sacred blood. If hitherto I have despised Thee, I now esteem and love Thee above all things. Make known to me the means by which I may be saved, and strengthen me to fulfil Thy holy will. I will no longer abuse Thy goodness. Thou hast placed me under too many obligations to Thee; I will no longer suffer myself to live at a distance from Thee and deprived of Thy love. Mary, Mother of mercy, have compassion on me.
Tuesday
The Turning away from God by Sin
St. Augustine and St. Thomas define mortal sin to be a turning away from God: that is, the turning of one's back upon God, leaving the Creator for the sake of the creature. What punishment would that subject deserve who, while his king was giving him a command, contemptuously turned his back upon him to go and transgress his orders? This is what the sinner does; and this is punished in hell with the pain of loss, that is, the loss of God, a punishment richly deserved by him who in this life turns his back upon his sovereign good.
Alas! my God, I have frequently turned my back upon Thee; but I see that Thou hast not yet abandoned me; I see that Thou approachest me, and inviting me to repentance, dost offer me Thy pardon. I am sorry above every evil for having offended Thee, do Thou have pity on me.
Thou hast forsaken Me, saith the Lord, thou hast gom backward. (Jeremiah 15:6) God complains and says, Ungrateful soul, thou hast forsaken me! I should never have forsaken thee hadst thou not first turned thy back upon me: thou hast gone backward. O God, with what consternation will these words fill the soul of the sinner when he stands to be judged before Thy divine tribunal!
Thou makest me hear them now, O my Saviour! not to condemn me, but to bring me to sorrow for the offences I have committed against Thee. Yes, O Jesus! I sincerely repent of all the displeasure which I have given Thee. For my own miserable gratifications I have forsaken Thee, my God, my sovereign, infinite good! But behold me a penitent returned to Thee; and reject me not.
Why will you die, O house of Israel? return ye and live. (Ezekial 18:31) I have died, says Jesus Christ, for the salvation of your souls, and why will you condemn them by your sins to eternal death? Return to me, and you will recover the life of my grace.
O Jesus! I should not dare to crave Thy pardon, did I not know that Thou hast died to obtain my forgiveness. Alas! how often have I despised Thy grace and Thy love! O that I had died rather than ever offered Thee so great an injury ! But Thou, who didst come near to me even when I offended Thee, wilt not now reject me, when I love Thee and seek no other but Thee. My God and my all, suffer me not any more to be ungrateful to Thee. Mary, Queen and Mother, obtain for me the grace of holy perseverance.
Alas! my God, I have frequently turned my back upon Thee; but I see that Thou hast not yet abandoned me; I see that Thou approachest me, and inviting me to repentance, dost offer me Thy pardon. I am sorry above every evil for having offended Thee, do Thou have pity on me.
Thou hast forsaken Me, saith the Lord, thou hast gom backward. (Jeremiah 15:6) God complains and says, Ungrateful soul, thou hast forsaken me! I should never have forsaken thee hadst thou not first turned thy back upon me: thou hast gone backward. O God, with what consternation will these words fill the soul of the sinner when he stands to be judged before Thy divine tribunal!
Thou makest me hear them now, O my Saviour! not to condemn me, but to bring me to sorrow for the offences I have committed against Thee. Yes, O Jesus! I sincerely repent of all the displeasure which I have given Thee. For my own miserable gratifications I have forsaken Thee, my God, my sovereign, infinite good! But behold me a penitent returned to Thee; and reject me not.
Why will you die, O house of Israel? return ye and live. (Ezekial 18:31) I have died, says Jesus Christ, for the salvation of your souls, and why will you condemn them by your sins to eternal death? Return to me, and you will recover the life of my grace.
O Jesus! I should not dare to crave Thy pardon, did I not know that Thou hast died to obtain my forgiveness. Alas! how often have I despised Thy grace and Thy love! O that I had died rather than ever offered Thee so great an injury ! But Thou, who didst come near to me even when I offended Thee, wilt not now reject me, when I love Thee and seek no other but Thee. My God and my all, suffer me not any more to be ungrateful to Thee. Mary, Queen and Mother, obtain for me the grace of holy perseverance.
Monday
The Frequent Thought of Death
Men who are attached to this world endeavor to banish the thoughts of death from their minds, as though, by avoiding the remembrance of death, they could avoid death itself. But no; by banishing the thoughts of death from their minds, they expose themselves to greater danger of making an evil end. There is no alternative: sooner or later we must die; and what is still more, we can die but once; and if once we be lost, we shall be lost forever.
My God, I give Thee thanks for having enlightened me. I have already lost too many years in offending Thee; but I will now spend the remainder of my life entirely in Thy service. Command me what Thou wiliest, for I desire to please Thee in all things.
Holy anchorets, who formerly fled from the world into deserts in order to secure for themselves a happy death, took nothing with them but some spiritual book and a skull, by the sight of which they might continually keep up in their minds the remembrance of their last end. They meditated upon it, saying: "As the bones of him to whom this skull belonged, so will the bones of my body one day be: and my soul—who knows where that shall dwell?" And thus they endeavored to gain not the goods of this life, but of that life which will never end.
I give Thee thanks, O Lord! for not having suffered me to die when I was in the state of sin. I am sorry for having offended Thee, and hope, through Thy precious blood, for mercy and pardon. I desire, O Jesus! to renounce all things, and to do my utmost to please Thee.
A certain hermit, being at the point of death, was observed to smile, and being asked why he was so cheerful, answered: "I have always kept death before my eyes, and hence, now that it is come, it does not alarm me." The approach of death, therefore, is terrible to those only who have thought of nothing but of gratifying themselves during their lifetime, and have never thought of their last end; but it is not terrible to those who, by frequently thinking upon it, have learned to despise all earthly goods, and to love nothing but God.
O my Savior! I perceive that death is already drawing near to me, and as yet I have done nothing for Thee, who didst die for me. No, before death, I will, O God! love Thee, who art worthy of infinite love. I have hitherto dishonored Thee by the offences which I have committed against Thee; but I am sorry for them with mv whole heart. For the future I will honor Thee, by loving Thee to the utmost of my power. Give me light and strength to do so. Thou wouldst have me be wholly Thine, and such do I desire to be. Help me by Thy grace; in Thee do I confide. And in thee also do I confide, 0 Mary, my Mother, and my hope!
My God, I give Thee thanks for having enlightened me. I have already lost too many years in offending Thee; but I will now spend the remainder of my life entirely in Thy service. Command me what Thou wiliest, for I desire to please Thee in all things.
Holy anchorets, who formerly fled from the world into deserts in order to secure for themselves a happy death, took nothing with them but some spiritual book and a skull, by the sight of which they might continually keep up in their minds the remembrance of their last end. They meditated upon it, saying: "As the bones of him to whom this skull belonged, so will the bones of my body one day be: and my soul—who knows where that shall dwell?" And thus they endeavored to gain not the goods of this life, but of that life which will never end.
I give Thee thanks, O Lord! for not having suffered me to die when I was in the state of sin. I am sorry for having offended Thee, and hope, through Thy precious blood, for mercy and pardon. I desire, O Jesus! to renounce all things, and to do my utmost to please Thee.
A certain hermit, being at the point of death, was observed to smile, and being asked why he was so cheerful, answered: "I have always kept death before my eyes, and hence, now that it is come, it does not alarm me." The approach of death, therefore, is terrible to those only who have thought of nothing but of gratifying themselves during their lifetime, and have never thought of their last end; but it is not terrible to those who, by frequently thinking upon it, have learned to despise all earthly goods, and to love nothing but God.
O my Savior! I perceive that death is already drawing near to me, and as yet I have done nothing for Thee, who didst die for me. No, before death, I will, O God! love Thee, who art worthy of infinite love. I have hitherto dishonored Thee by the offences which I have committed against Thee; but I am sorry for them with mv whole heart. For the future I will honor Thee, by loving Thee to the utmost of my power. Give me light and strength to do so. Thou wouldst have me be wholly Thine, and such do I desire to be. Help me by Thy grace; in Thee do I confide. And in thee also do I confide, 0 Mary, my Mother, and my hope!
Saturday
The Sacred Wounds of Jesus
St. Bonaventure says that the wounds of Jesus wound the hardest hearts and inflame the coldest souls. And in truth, how can we believe that God permitted himself to be buffeted, scourged, crowned with thorns, and finally put to death for the love of us, and yet not love him? St. Francis of Assisi frequently bewailed the ingratitude of men as he passed along the country, saying, "Love is not loved, love is not loved."
Behold, O my Jesus! I am one of those who are thus ungrateful, who have been so many years in the world and have not loved Thee. And shall I, my Redeemer, remain forever such? No, I will love Thee until death, and will give myself wholly to Thee; mercifully accept of me and help me.
The Church, when she shows us Jesus Christ crucified, exclaims: "His whole figure breathes forth love; his head bowed down, his arms extended, his side opened." She cries out: Behold, O man! behold thy God, who has died for thy love; see how his arms are extended to embrace thee, his head bowed down to give thee the kiss of peace, his side opened to give thee access to his heart, if thou wilt but love him.
Assuredly I will love Thee, my treasure, my love, and my all. And whom shall I love, if I love not God who has died for me?
The charity of Christ, saith the Apostle, presseth us. (2 Corinthians 5:14) Ah! my Redeemer, Thou hast died for the love of men; yet men do not love Thee, because they live unmindful of the death which Thou hast suffered for them. Did they bear it in mind, how could they live witliout loving Thee? "Knowing," says St. Francis de Sales, "that Jesus being really God, has so loved us as to suffer the death of the cross for us, do we not on this account feel our hearts, as it were, in a press, in which they are forcibly held, and love expressed from them by a kind of violence, which is the more powerful as it is the more amiable?" And this is what St. Paul says in these words: The charity of Christ presseth us, the love of Jesus Christ forces us to love him.
Ah! my beloved Saviour, heretofore I have despised Thee, but now I esteem and love Thee more than my own life; nothing afflicts me so much as the remembrance of the many offences I have committed against Thee. Pardon me, O Jesus ! and draw my whole heart to Thyself, that so I may not desire, nor seek, nor sigh after any other beside Thee. O Mary, my mother! help me to love Jesus.
Behold, O my Jesus! I am one of those who are thus ungrateful, who have been so many years in the world and have not loved Thee. And shall I, my Redeemer, remain forever such? No, I will love Thee until death, and will give myself wholly to Thee; mercifully accept of me and help me.
The Church, when she shows us Jesus Christ crucified, exclaims: "His whole figure breathes forth love; his head bowed down, his arms extended, his side opened." She cries out: Behold, O man! behold thy God, who has died for thy love; see how his arms are extended to embrace thee, his head bowed down to give thee the kiss of peace, his side opened to give thee access to his heart, if thou wilt but love him.
Assuredly I will love Thee, my treasure, my love, and my all. And whom shall I love, if I love not God who has died for me?
The charity of Christ, saith the Apostle, presseth us. (2 Corinthians 5:14) Ah! my Redeemer, Thou hast died for the love of men; yet men do not love Thee, because they live unmindful of the death which Thou hast suffered for them. Did they bear it in mind, how could they live witliout loving Thee? "Knowing," says St. Francis de Sales, "that Jesus being really God, has so loved us as to suffer the death of the cross for us, do we not on this account feel our hearts, as it were, in a press, in which they are forcibly held, and love expressed from them by a kind of violence, which is the more powerful as it is the more amiable?" And this is what St. Paul says in these words: The charity of Christ presseth us, the love of Jesus Christ forces us to love him.
Ah! my beloved Saviour, heretofore I have despised Thee, but now I esteem and love Thee more than my own life; nothing afflicts me so much as the remembrance of the many offences I have committed against Thee. Pardon me, O Jesus ! and draw my whole heart to Thyself, that so I may not desire, nor seek, nor sigh after any other beside Thee. O Mary, my mother! help me to love Jesus.
Thursday
The Folly of Living as Enemies of God
Sinners call the saints who, in this life, fly from honors, riches, and the pleasures of sense, and embrace poverty, contempt, and mortification, fools. But at the day of final retribution they will confess that they themselves have been fools in judging the lives of the saints to be folly: We fools esteemed their life madness? (Wisdom 5:4) And what greater folly can there be than to live without God?— which is to live a miserable life in this world, to be succeeded by a still more miserable one in hell.
No, I will not wait till the last day to confess my folly; I now confess it: how great has it been in offending Thee, my sovereign good! Father, I am not worthy to be called Thy son. (Luke 15:19) Father, I am not worthy to receive Thy forgiveness, but I hope for it through the blood which Thou hast shed for my sake. My Jesus, I am sorry for having despised Thee, I love Thee above all things.
Unhappy sinners! blinded by their sins, they lose all judgment. What would be said of a man who should sell a kingdom for the smallest coin? And what should be said of him who, for a momentary pleasure, a vapor, a caprice, sells heaven and the grace of God ? They think only of this life, which will shortly end, and in the mean time deserve hell for that life which will never end. O my God! permit me not to become any more so blind as to prefer, as I have hitherto done, my own unlawful gratifications before Thee, and for the sake of them to despise Thee, my sovereign good! I now detest them, and love Thee above all things.
Miserable worldlings! the time will come when they will bewail their folly; but when? — when there will be no longer anything to prevent their eternal ruin. Then will they say, What hath pride profited us? or what advantage hath the boasting of riches brought us? All those things are passed away like a shadow. (Wisdom 5:8) Behold, they will exclaim, how all our delights have passed away like a shadow, and nothing remains to us now but suffering and eternal lamentation!
Dear Jesus! have pity on me. I had forgotten Thee, but Thou didst not forget me. I love Thee with my whole soul, and I detest above all evil whatever sins I have committed against Thee. Pardon me, O God! and remember not my offences against Thee. And since Thou knowest my weakness, do not abandon me; give me strength to overcome all things to please Thee. O Mary, Mother of God ! in thee do I place my hopes.
No, I will not wait till the last day to confess my folly; I now confess it: how great has it been in offending Thee, my sovereign good! Father, I am not worthy to be called Thy son. (Luke 15:19) Father, I am not worthy to receive Thy forgiveness, but I hope for it through the blood which Thou hast shed for my sake. My Jesus, I am sorry for having despised Thee, I love Thee above all things.
Unhappy sinners! blinded by their sins, they lose all judgment. What would be said of a man who should sell a kingdom for the smallest coin? And what should be said of him who, for a momentary pleasure, a vapor, a caprice, sells heaven and the grace of God ? They think only of this life, which will shortly end, and in the mean time deserve hell for that life which will never end. O my God! permit me not to become any more so blind as to prefer, as I have hitherto done, my own unlawful gratifications before Thee, and for the sake of them to despise Thee, my sovereign good! I now detest them, and love Thee above all things.
Miserable worldlings! the time will come when they will bewail their folly; but when? — when there will be no longer anything to prevent their eternal ruin. Then will they say, What hath pride profited us? or what advantage hath the boasting of riches brought us? All those things are passed away like a shadow. (Wisdom 5:8) Behold, they will exclaim, how all our delights have passed away like a shadow, and nothing remains to us now but suffering and eternal lamentation!
Dear Jesus! have pity on me. I had forgotten Thee, but Thou didst not forget me. I love Thee with my whole soul, and I detest above all evil whatever sins I have committed against Thee. Pardon me, O God! and remember not my offences against Thee. And since Thou knowest my weakness, do not abandon me; give me strength to overcome all things to please Thee. O Mary, Mother of God ! in thee do I place my hopes.
Sunday
The Fire of Hell
It is certain that hell is a pit of fire, in which the miserable souls of the wicked will be tormented forever. Even in this life the pain of burning is of all pains the most intense and dreadful; but the fire of hell has the power of inflicting much more excruciating torment, because it has been created by God to be the instrument of his wrath upon his rebellious creatures. "Go, ye cursed, into everlasting fire," is the sentence of the reprobate. And as in this sentence of condemnation fire is particularly mentioned, we may conclude that, of all the torments with which the senses of the wicked are afflicted, fire is the greatest.
Ah, my God, for how many years past have I deserved to burn in this fire! But Thou hast waited for me, to behold me burning, not with this dreadful fire, but with the blessed flames of Thy holy love. Wherefore do I love Thee, my sovereign good, and desire to love Thee forever.
In this world fire burns only outwardly, and does not penetrate our interior; but in hell the fire enters into the inmost recesses of its victims. Thou shalt make them as an oven of fire. (Psalm 22:10) Every one will become as a furnace of fire, so that the heart will burn within the chest, the bowels within the carcass, the brains within the skull, and even the marrow within the bones. Sinners, what are your feelings with regard to this fire? You, who cannot now bear a spark accidentally fallen from a candle, nor a house too hot, nor a ray of the sun upon your head, how will you endure to be permanently immersed in an ocean of fire, where you will be forever dying, and yet never, never die?
O my Redeemer! let not that blood which Thou didst shed for the love of me, be shed for me in vain. Grant me sorrow for my sins, grant me Thy holy love.
Which of you, saith the prophet, can dwell with devouring fire? (Isaiah 33:14) As a wild beast devoureth his prey, so shall the fire of hell continually devour the unhappy soul, but without ever depriving him of life. Hence St. Peter Damian exclaims, "Go on, sinner, go on, unchaste one; give thy flesh its desires: a day will come when thy impurities will be to thee as pitch within thy bowels, to nourish the fire which will consume thee in hell for all eternity."
O my God, whom I have despised and lost! forgive me, and suffer me not to lose Thee any more. I am sorry above every evil for having offended Thee. Receive me into Thy favor, for now do I promise Thee that I will love Thee, and love no other but Thee. Most holy Mary, deliver me by thy holy intercession, from ever suffering the torments of hell.
Ah, my God, for how many years past have I deserved to burn in this fire! But Thou hast waited for me, to behold me burning, not with this dreadful fire, but with the blessed flames of Thy holy love. Wherefore do I love Thee, my sovereign good, and desire to love Thee forever.
In this world fire burns only outwardly, and does not penetrate our interior; but in hell the fire enters into the inmost recesses of its victims. Thou shalt make them as an oven of fire. (Psalm 22:10) Every one will become as a furnace of fire, so that the heart will burn within the chest, the bowels within the carcass, the brains within the skull, and even the marrow within the bones. Sinners, what are your feelings with regard to this fire? You, who cannot now bear a spark accidentally fallen from a candle, nor a house too hot, nor a ray of the sun upon your head, how will you endure to be permanently immersed in an ocean of fire, where you will be forever dying, and yet never, never die?
O my Redeemer! let not that blood which Thou didst shed for the love of me, be shed for me in vain. Grant me sorrow for my sins, grant me Thy holy love.
Which of you, saith the prophet, can dwell with devouring fire? (Isaiah 33:14) As a wild beast devoureth his prey, so shall the fire of hell continually devour the unhappy soul, but without ever depriving him of life. Hence St. Peter Damian exclaims, "Go on, sinner, go on, unchaste one; give thy flesh its desires: a day will come when thy impurities will be to thee as pitch within thy bowels, to nourish the fire which will consume thee in hell for all eternity."
O my God, whom I have despised and lost! forgive me, and suffer me not to lose Thee any more. I am sorry above every evil for having offended Thee. Receive me into Thy favor, for now do I promise Thee that I will love Thee, and love no other but Thee. Most holy Mary, deliver me by thy holy intercession, from ever suffering the torments of hell.
The Lamb of God Sacrificed for our Sins
Behold the Lamb of God, (John 1:29) thus did the Baptist speak of our Blessed Redeemer, who offered his blood and even his life in sacrifice to obtain our pardon and our eternal salvation. Behold him in the hall of Pilate; as an innocent Lamb he permits himself to be shorn, not of wool, but of his sacred flesh, with thorns and scourges. He shall be dumb as a lamb before His shearer, and He shall not open His mouth. (Isaiah 53:7) He opens not his mouth, nor does he complain, because he desires to suffer himself the punishments due to our sins.
May the angels and all creatures bless Thee, O of the world! for the great mercy and love which Thou hast shown towards us. We had committed sins, and Thou didst make satisfaction for them!
Behold him, bound like a malefactor and surrounded by executioners, conducted to Calvary, there to become the victim of the great sacrifice, by which the work of our redemption is to be accomplished. I was as a meek lamb that is carried to be a victim. (Jeremiah 11:19)
Whither, O Jesus! do the people conduct Thee, loaded with such a cross, after having so cruelly tormented Thee? Thou answerest me. They conduct Me to death, and I go willingly, because I am going to save thee, and to prove how great my love is towards thee. And how, O my Saviour! have I proved my love towards Thee? Thou indeed knowest: by injuries and grievous offences, and by my frequent contempt of Thy grace and love. But Thy death is my hope. I am sorry, O Thou love of my soul! for having offended Thee; I am sorry, and will love Thee with my whole heart.
St. Francis of Assisi, seeing a lamb led to the slaughter, could not refrain from tears, saying, "As this lamb is led to the slaughter, so was my innocent Lord conducted for me to the death of the cross."
Since, then, O Jesus ! Thou dost not refuse to go to sacrifice Thy life for the love of me, shall I refuse to give my whole self for the love of Thee? This Thou requirest of me: Thou shall love the Lord thy God. (Matthew 22:37) This, and this only, do I desire — to love Thee, and to love Thee with my whole heart. Thou hast loved without any reserve, and so will I love Thee. I am sorry for having offended Thee, O Lamb of God! and I give my whole self to Thee. Accept of me, 0 Jesus ! and make me faithful to Thy grace. O Mary, Mother of my Redeemer, make me by thy prayers entirely his !
May the angels and all creatures bless Thee, O of the world! for the great mercy and love which Thou hast shown towards us. We had committed sins, and Thou didst make satisfaction for them!
Behold him, bound like a malefactor and surrounded by executioners, conducted to Calvary, there to become the victim of the great sacrifice, by which the work of our redemption is to be accomplished. I was as a meek lamb that is carried to be a victim. (Jeremiah 11:19)
Whither, O Jesus! do the people conduct Thee, loaded with such a cross, after having so cruelly tormented Thee? Thou answerest me. They conduct Me to death, and I go willingly, because I am going to save thee, and to prove how great my love is towards thee. And how, O my Saviour! have I proved my love towards Thee? Thou indeed knowest: by injuries and grievous offences, and by my frequent contempt of Thy grace and love. But Thy death is my hope. I am sorry, O Thou love of my soul! for having offended Thee; I am sorry, and will love Thee with my whole heart.
St. Francis of Assisi, seeing a lamb led to the slaughter, could not refrain from tears, saying, "As this lamb is led to the slaughter, so was my innocent Lord conducted for me to the death of the cross."
Since, then, O Jesus ! Thou dost not refuse to go to sacrifice Thy life for the love of me, shall I refuse to give my whole self for the love of Thee? This Thou requirest of me: Thou shall love the Lord thy God. (Matthew 22:37) This, and this only, do I desire — to love Thee, and to love Thee with my whole heart. Thou hast loved without any reserve, and so will I love Thee. I am sorry for having offended Thee, O Lamb of God! and I give my whole self to Thee. Accept of me, 0 Jesus ! and make me faithful to Thy grace. O Mary, Mother of my Redeemer, make me by thy prayers entirely his !
Tuesday
The Patience of God with Sinners
The more we have experienced the patient mercies of God, the more we ought to be afraid of continuing to abuse them, lest the time of God's vengeance overtake as. Revenge is Mine, and I will repay in due time. (Deuteronomy 32:35) God will put an end to his forbearance towards those who wul not cease to abuse it.
I give Thee thanks, O Lord! for having patiently borne with me, though I have so often betrayed Thee. Make me sensible of the evil that I have done by abusing Thy patience for so long a time; make me sorry for all the offences I have committed against Thee. No, I will never more abuse Thy tender mercy.
“Commit this sin; you can afterwards confess it.” Such is the artifice with which the devil has drawn many souls into hell. Many Christians, now in hell, have been lost by this delusion. The Lord waiteth, that He may have mercy on you. (Isaiah 30:18) God waits for the sinner, that the sinner may be converted, and obtain mercy; but when God sees that the time which he allows the sinner for doing penance is employed only in increasing the number of his offences, then he waits no longer, but punishes him as he deserves.
Pardon me, O God! for I desire never more to offend Thee. And why should I delay? that Thou mayest condemn me to hell ? I fear indeed that now Thou canst no longer have patience with me. I have indeed offended Thee too grievously. I am sorry for it. I repent of it. I hope for forgiveness through the merits of that blood which Thou hast shed for me.
The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed: because His commiserations have not failed. (Lamentations 3:22) Thus should he exclaim who finds, to his confusion, that he has frequently offended God. He should be most grateful to God for not having suffered him to die in his sins. and be most careful not to offend him again; otherwise the Lord will reproach him, saying: What more could I have done for My vineyard that I have not done? (Isaiah 5:4) God will say to him: Ungrateful soul! if thou hadst committed the same offences against man, who is viler than the earth, verily he would not have borne with thee. And how great mercies have I exercised towards thee! How many times have I called thee, and enlightened thee, and pardoned thee ? The time of punishment is at hand; the time of forgiveness is past.—Thus has God spoken to many who are now suffering in hell; where one of their greatest torments is the remembrance of the mercies which they formerly received from God.
Jesus, my Redeemer and my Judge! I also have deserved to hear the same from Thy mouth; but I hear Thee now again calling me to pardon: Be converted to the Lord thy God. O accursed sin, which has made me lose my God, how much do I abhor and detest thee! I turn my whole self towards Thee, my Lord and my God! My sovereign good, I love Thee; and because I love Thee I repent with my whole soul for having, during the time that is past, so much despised Thee. My God! I desire never more to offend Thee: give me Thy love, grant me perseverance. Mary, my refuge, succor and help me.
I give Thee thanks, O Lord! for having patiently borne with me, though I have so often betrayed Thee. Make me sensible of the evil that I have done by abusing Thy patience for so long a time; make me sorry for all the offences I have committed against Thee. No, I will never more abuse Thy tender mercy.
“Commit this sin; you can afterwards confess it.” Such is the artifice with which the devil has drawn many souls into hell. Many Christians, now in hell, have been lost by this delusion. The Lord waiteth, that He may have mercy on you. (Isaiah 30:18) God waits for the sinner, that the sinner may be converted, and obtain mercy; but when God sees that the time which he allows the sinner for doing penance is employed only in increasing the number of his offences, then he waits no longer, but punishes him as he deserves.
Pardon me, O God! for I desire never more to offend Thee. And why should I delay? that Thou mayest condemn me to hell ? I fear indeed that now Thou canst no longer have patience with me. I have indeed offended Thee too grievously. I am sorry for it. I repent of it. I hope for forgiveness through the merits of that blood which Thou hast shed for me.
The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed: because His commiserations have not failed. (Lamentations 3:22) Thus should he exclaim who finds, to his confusion, that he has frequently offended God. He should be most grateful to God for not having suffered him to die in his sins. and be most careful not to offend him again; otherwise the Lord will reproach him, saying: What more could I have done for My vineyard that I have not done? (Isaiah 5:4) God will say to him: Ungrateful soul! if thou hadst committed the same offences against man, who is viler than the earth, verily he would not have borne with thee. And how great mercies have I exercised towards thee! How many times have I called thee, and enlightened thee, and pardoned thee ? The time of punishment is at hand; the time of forgiveness is past.—Thus has God spoken to many who are now suffering in hell; where one of their greatest torments is the remembrance of the mercies which they formerly received from God.
Jesus, my Redeemer and my Judge! I also have deserved to hear the same from Thy mouth; but I hear Thee now again calling me to pardon: Be converted to the Lord thy God. O accursed sin, which has made me lose my God, how much do I abhor and detest thee! I turn my whole self towards Thee, my Lord and my God! My sovereign good, I love Thee; and because I love Thee I repent with my whole soul for having, during the time that is past, so much despised Thee. My God! I desire never more to offend Thee: give me Thy love, grant me perseverance. Mary, my refuge, succor and help me.
Monday
The Merciful Chastisements of God
God, being infinite goodness, desires only our good and to communicate to us his own happiness. When he chastises us, it is because we have obliged him to do so by our sins. Hence the prophet Isaias says that on such occasions he doth a work foreign to his desires (Isaiah 28:21) Hence it is said that it is the property of God to have mercy and to spare, to dispense his favors and to make all happy.
O God! it is this Thy infinite goodness which sinners offend and despise, when they provoke Thee to chastise them. Wretch that I am, how often have I offended Thy infinite goodness!
Let us therefore understand that when God threatens us it is not because he desires to punish us, but because he wishes to deliver us from punishment; he threatens because he would have compassion on us. O God, . . . Thou hast been angry, and hast had mercy on us. (Psalm 59:3) But how is this? He is angry with us, and treats us with mercy? Yes! He shows himself angry towards us, in order that we may amend our lives, and that thus he may be able to pardon and save us; hence if in this life he chastises us for our sins, he does so in his mercy, for by so doing he frees us from eternal woe. How unfortunate, then, is the sinner who escapes punishment in this life!
Since then, O God! I have so much offended Thee, chastise me in this life, that Thou mayest reinstate me in Thy grace and deliver me from hell, where I should be forever separated from Thee. Enlighten and strengthen me to overcome every obstacle to Thy favor.
He who makes no account of the divine threats ought much to fear lest the chastisement threatened in the Proverbs should suddenly overtake him. The man that with a stiff neck despiseth him that reproveth him, shall suddenly be destroyed; and health shall not follow him. (Proverbs 29:1) A sudden death shall overtake him that despises God's reprehensions, and he shall have no time to avoid eternal destruction.
This, O Jesus! has happened to many, and I indeed have deserved that the like should happen to me; but, O my Redeemer! Thou hast shown that mercy towards me which Thou hast not shown to many others who have offended Thee less frequently than I have done, and who are now suffering in hell without the least hope of ever again being able to regain Thy favor. I know, O Lord! that Thou desirest my salvation, and I also desire it, that I may please Thee. I renounce all, and turn myself to Thee, who art my God and my only good. I believe in Thee, I hope in Thee, I love Thee, and Thee alone. O infinite goodness! I am exceedingly displeased with myself for having hitherto done evil against Thee; and I wish that I had suffered every evil rather than offended Thee. Suffer me not any more to depart from Thee, rather let me die than offer Thee so great an injury. In Thee, my crucified Jesus, do I place all my hopes. O Mary, mother of Jesus! recommend me to thy Son.
O God! it is this Thy infinite goodness which sinners offend and despise, when they provoke Thee to chastise them. Wretch that I am, how often have I offended Thy infinite goodness!
Let us therefore understand that when God threatens us it is not because he desires to punish us, but because he wishes to deliver us from punishment; he threatens because he would have compassion on us. O God, . . . Thou hast been angry, and hast had mercy on us. (Psalm 59:3) But how is this? He is angry with us, and treats us with mercy? Yes! He shows himself angry towards us, in order that we may amend our lives, and that thus he may be able to pardon and save us; hence if in this life he chastises us for our sins, he does so in his mercy, for by so doing he frees us from eternal woe. How unfortunate, then, is the sinner who escapes punishment in this life!
Since then, O God! I have so much offended Thee, chastise me in this life, that Thou mayest reinstate me in Thy grace and deliver me from hell, where I should be forever separated from Thee. Enlighten and strengthen me to overcome every obstacle to Thy favor.
He who makes no account of the divine threats ought much to fear lest the chastisement threatened in the Proverbs should suddenly overtake him. The man that with a stiff neck despiseth him that reproveth him, shall suddenly be destroyed; and health shall not follow him. (Proverbs 29:1) A sudden death shall overtake him that despises God's reprehensions, and he shall have no time to avoid eternal destruction.
This, O Jesus! has happened to many, and I indeed have deserved that the like should happen to me; but, O my Redeemer! Thou hast shown that mercy towards me which Thou hast not shown to many others who have offended Thee less frequently than I have done, and who are now suffering in hell without the least hope of ever again being able to regain Thy favor. I know, O Lord! that Thou desirest my salvation, and I also desire it, that I may please Thee. I renounce all, and turn myself to Thee, who art my God and my only good. I believe in Thee, I hope in Thee, I love Thee, and Thee alone. O infinite goodness! I am exceedingly displeased with myself for having hitherto done evil against Thee; and I wish that I had suffered every evil rather than offended Thee. Suffer me not any more to depart from Thee, rather let me die than offer Thee so great an injury. In Thee, my crucified Jesus, do I place all my hopes. O Mary, mother of Jesus! recommend me to thy Son.
Sunday
The Sinner's Disobedience to God
Pharaoh, when Moses announced to him the orders of God for the liberation of the Hebrews, insolently answered, “Who is the Lord, that I should hear His word? . . . I know not the Lord.” (Exodus 5:2) It is thus that the sinner replies to his own conscience when it intimates to him the divine precepts, which forbid him to do that which is evil: “I know not God; I know that he is my Lord, but I will not obey him.”
Thus have I too often addressed Thee, 0 God! when I have committed sin. If Thou hadst not died for me, O my Redeemer! I should not dare to crave Thy pardon; but Thou hast offered me Thy it; I am sorry for having despised Thee, my sovereign good. I will rather die than offend Thee any more.
Thou hast broken my yoke; thou saidst, I will not serve. (Jeremiah 2:20) The sinner, when tempted to commit sin, hears indeed the voice of God, saying to him, “My son, do not revenge thyself, do not gratify thyself with that infamous pleasure; relinquish the possession of that which is not thine.” But by yielding to sin, he replies, “Lord, I will not serve thee. Thou desirest that I should not commit this sin, but I will commit it.”
My Lord and my God, how frequently have I, not by my words, but my deeds and my will, thus daringly replied to Thee! Alas! Cast me not away from Thy face. (Psalm 50:13) I am now sensible of the wrong I have done Thee in parting with Thy graces for the gratification of my own wretched desires. O that I had died rather than ever offended Thee !
God is the Lord of all things, because he has created all. All things are in Thy power, because Thou hast made heaven and earth, and all things that are under the cope of heaven. (Esther 13:9) All creatures obey God; the heavens, the earth, the sea, the elements, the brute creation; while man, although he has been gifted and loved by God above all other creatures, obeys him not, and is heedless of the loss of his grace!
I give Thee thanks, O God, for having waited for me. What would have become of me, had I died in one of those nights in which I went to rest under Thy displeasure? But as Thou hast patiently waited for me, it is a sign that Thou art desirous of pardoning me. Pardon me then, O Jesus! I am sorry above every evil for having ever lost the respect which is due to Thee. But
then I did not love Thee; now I do love Thee more than myself, and I am ready to die a thousand times rather than again forfeit Thy grace and friendship. Thou hast said that Thou lovest those who love Thee. (Proverbs 8:17) I love Thee; do Thou love me in return, and give me grace to live and die in Thy love; that so I may love Thee forever. Mary, my refuge, through thee do I hope to remain faithful to God until the hour of my death.
Thus have I too often addressed Thee, 0 God! when I have committed sin. If Thou hadst not died for me, O my Redeemer! I should not dare to crave Thy pardon; but Thou hast offered me Thy it; I am sorry for having despised Thee, my sovereign good. I will rather die than offend Thee any more.
Thou hast broken my yoke; thou saidst, I will not serve. (Jeremiah 2:20) The sinner, when tempted to commit sin, hears indeed the voice of God, saying to him, “My son, do not revenge thyself, do not gratify thyself with that infamous pleasure; relinquish the possession of that which is not thine.” But by yielding to sin, he replies, “Lord, I will not serve thee. Thou desirest that I should not commit this sin, but I will commit it.”
My Lord and my God, how frequently have I, not by my words, but my deeds and my will, thus daringly replied to Thee! Alas! Cast me not away from Thy face. (Psalm 50:13) I am now sensible of the wrong I have done Thee in parting with Thy graces for the gratification of my own wretched desires. O that I had died rather than ever offended Thee !
God is the Lord of all things, because he has created all. All things are in Thy power, because Thou hast made heaven and earth, and all things that are under the cope of heaven. (Esther 13:9) All creatures obey God; the heavens, the earth, the sea, the elements, the brute creation; while man, although he has been gifted and loved by God above all other creatures, obeys him not, and is heedless of the loss of his grace!
I give Thee thanks, O God, for having waited for me. What would have become of me, had I died in one of those nights in which I went to rest under Thy displeasure? But as Thou hast patiently waited for me, it is a sign that Thou art desirous of pardoning me. Pardon me then, O Jesus! I am sorry above every evil for having ever lost the respect which is due to Thee. But
then I did not love Thee; now I do love Thee more than myself, and I am ready to die a thousand times rather than again forfeit Thy grace and friendship. Thou hast said that Thou lovest those who love Thee. (Proverbs 8:17) I love Thee; do Thou love me in return, and give me grace to live and die in Thy love; that so I may love Thee forever. Mary, my refuge, through thee do I hope to remain faithful to God until the hour of my death.
Friday
Jesus suffering for our Sins
Seeing men lost in their sins, God was pleased to take pity on them; but his divine justice required satisfaction, and there was no one capable of making adequate satisfaction. On this account he sent into the world his own Son, made man, and loaded him with all our offences: The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all, (Isaiah 53:6) so that he might pay our debts, satisfy divine justice, and save mankind.
O eternal God! what more couldst Thou have done to induce us to confide in Thy mercy, and to attract our hearts to Thy love, than give us even Thy own Son? But how could I, after all that Thou hast done for me, have been guilty of so many offences against Thee? O my God! for the love of this Thy Son, have pity on me. I am sorry above every evil for having offended Thee, And though I have grievously offended Thee, I desire to love Thee with the greatest fervor; give me strength so to love Thee.
The eternal Father having loaded his Son with all our crimes, was not content even with such satisfaction! from him, as would have amply atoned for us all, but, as Isaiah continues: The Lord was pleased to bruise him in infirmity. (Isaiah 53:10) He would have him mangled to exhaustion, with scourges, thorns, nails, and torments, until he died of tortures on an infamous gibbet.
If faith, O God! did not assure us of this excess of Thy love towards men, who could possibly believe it? O God, worthy of all love! permit us not to be any more ungrateful to Thee. Enlighten and strengthen us to correspond with such immense love during the remainder of our lives; do this, we beseech Thee, for the love of this Thy Son, whom Thou hast given to us.
Behold that innocent Son, attentive to the will of his Father, who would have him thus sacrificed for our sins, full of humility before his Father, full of love towards us, obediently embraces his life of pain and his bitter death: He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8)
Dearest Saviour, I will therefore say to Thee with the penitent Ezechias: Thou hast delivered my soul that it should not perish; Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back. (Isaiah 38:17) I had deserved by my sins to be cast into hell, but Thou hast delivered me from it, and, as I hope, pardoned me. I had offended Thy divine majesty, and Thou hast loaded Thyself with my crimes, and hast suffered for me. After this, if I should again offend Thee, or if I should not love Thee with my whole heart, what punishment will ever be sufficient for my chastisement? Beloved Jesus, O love of my soul! I am exceedingly sorry for having so grievously offended Thee. I give Thee my whole self; accept of me, and suffer me not to be any more separated from Thee. Holy Virgin, Mary, Mother, pray to thy divine Son for me, that he may be pleased to accept of me, and make me all his own
O eternal God! what more couldst Thou have done to induce us to confide in Thy mercy, and to attract our hearts to Thy love, than give us even Thy own Son? But how could I, after all that Thou hast done for me, have been guilty of so many offences against Thee? O my God! for the love of this Thy Son, have pity on me. I am sorry above every evil for having offended Thee, And though I have grievously offended Thee, I desire to love Thee with the greatest fervor; give me strength so to love Thee.
The eternal Father having loaded his Son with all our crimes, was not content even with such satisfaction! from him, as would have amply atoned for us all, but, as Isaiah continues: The Lord was pleased to bruise him in infirmity. (Isaiah 53:10) He would have him mangled to exhaustion, with scourges, thorns, nails, and torments, until he died of tortures on an infamous gibbet.
If faith, O God! did not assure us of this excess of Thy love towards men, who could possibly believe it? O God, worthy of all love! permit us not to be any more ungrateful to Thee. Enlighten and strengthen us to correspond with such immense love during the remainder of our lives; do this, we beseech Thee, for the love of this Thy Son, whom Thou hast given to us.
Behold that innocent Son, attentive to the will of his Father, who would have him thus sacrificed for our sins, full of humility before his Father, full of love towards us, obediently embraces his life of pain and his bitter death: He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8)
Dearest Saviour, I will therefore say to Thee with the penitent Ezechias: Thou hast delivered my soul that it should not perish; Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back. (Isaiah 38:17) I had deserved by my sins to be cast into hell, but Thou hast delivered me from it, and, as I hope, pardoned me. I had offended Thy divine majesty, and Thou hast loaded Thyself with my crimes, and hast suffered for me. After this, if I should again offend Thee, or if I should not love Thee with my whole heart, what punishment will ever be sufficient for my chastisement? Beloved Jesus, O love of my soul! I am exceedingly sorry for having so grievously offended Thee. I give Thee my whole self; accept of me, and suffer me not to be any more separated from Thee. Holy Virgin, Mary, Mother, pray to thy divine Son for me, that he may be pleased to accept of me, and make me all his own
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