Quinquagesima Week. "The way that leads to God" by Abbe A. Saudreau.
'The sacrament of penance'
Lavamini, mundi estote....; si fuerini peccata vestra ut coccinum, quasi nix dealbabutur (Wash yourselves, be clean....;if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow). - Isa.I.16,18
I. Shame, the consequence of sin.
158. Man, before the Fall, could contemplate himself with pleasure, not in order to delight in his perfections, as being his own - for he knew too well that in himself he was nothing - but to admire God's gifts, and thereby to awaken feelings of gratitude in his heart. And the saintly soul regards itself with the same feelings of humility and gratitude. It cannot sufficiently admire God's mercy and goodness in thus taking pleasure in embellishing and enriching so wretched a creature, one that has offended Him and thus rendered itself all unworthy of the Divine blessings. The very elect know no other sentiments that these; they cannot contemplate themselves without offering up their homage to the infinite love of God. After our first parents' sin, a sensation which they had not yet experienced, and which was neither happiness nor gratitude, awoke in their souls. It was sorrowful; it overpowered them; in it they already found a punishment for their sin. And this new experience was shame. Their descendants also experience this result of Adam's and of Eve's sin when they initiate their wrong-doing, but the confusion may be either profitable or harmful. To the feeling of shame which, after the commission of a fault, arises spontaneously in the sinner's heart, a sentiment of humility may be added. He will then find peace in repentance, for humility abases us, but it does not wound; the humble man gladly recognizes the justice of the humiliations which he has suffered; he loves to do homage to the truth. But if the shame does not engender humility, it produces a quite contrary effect. The sinner in his confusion sees no attractions in the truth: it wounds him; he would fly from it, hiding his vileness even from God's eyes, from his own and from those of his brethren. Humility breeds simplicity, trust, and peace; shame, when the guilty person yields to it, gives both to false excuses, lies, anxiety, and distress of mind. In order to avoid these painful emotions, the sinner, unable to deny his fault, forces himself to forget it. He tries to stifle all recollection of it, and does serious harm to his soul by the dissipation which estranges him from God, making him neglect his duties and abandoning him as a ready prey to renewed attacks of temptation. And thus it is that sin engenders shame, and shame becomes the further cause of fresh sin.
159. But in the sacrament of Penance, God has given us a remedy for all this evils. There pride is broken down and humility becomes an inevitable duty. Far from hiding our weaknesses, even from our own selves, we must search them out and acknowledge them in all sanctity; instead of hardening ourselves against humiliation, instead of seeking how to palliate our faults with lying excuses, we must exhibit them honestly before the eyes of one of our fellow-men - a sinner like ourselves. God thus oblige us to triumph over the most deeply rooted of all the sentiments of the human heart; and if we enter fully into His designs, if we receive this great Sacrament with perfect dispositions, it will bring forth marvelous fruits within our souls. Qui se humiliat exaltabitur (He that humbleth himself shall be exalted - St. Luke XXIV.II).
Humiliations, practised heartily in the tribunal of Penance, will be recompensed a hundredfold by the glory that they will produce for all eternity. But those who have performed this duty of humility imperfectly will, on the other hand, derive but little fruit from their confessions; the expiation for their self-love is still to be made. And this compensatory expiation which they must undergo will be far more painful than it would have been if voluntarily performed.
160. In our old penal code there used to be an ignominious penalty, which has now disappeared from our statute-books, certain culprits being punished by a public exposure. In market-days, when the square was crowded, the condemned persons were hoisted upon a platform called the pillory, their crime being placarded so that all who passed by might read it. The shame which they could not escape was supposed to act as a just chastisement to the culprit and a salutary lesson to the bystanders. When we think of the pains of the world to come, the tortures of Hell, the sufferings of Purgatory, we dwell chiefly on the pangs caused by the flames or the privation of the vision of God. But Divine justice punishes man through the faculty by which he has offended. He who has sinned by pride deserves to be punished by humiliation, and it seems probable, therefore, that those who have not made reparation here for their faults of vanity or pride will be overwhelmed with confusion hereafter. "Nothing is covered which shall not be revealed," Our Lord has said, "nor hid that shall not be known" (St. Matt.X.26). May not this manifestation of conscience wear a punitory character even in Purgatory, and repair the sins of pride with which we have offended God? This will be the pillory of the proud, and those who refused to humble themselves as they deserved here will have to submit to terrible humiliations. All those faults, with their most secret details, their aggravating circumstances, the low motives which vitiated actions once applauded and praised by the world - all those thoughts which we conceal so carefully, and which would cover us with confusion if they were revealed in the light of day, God can make known. He can show the many graces which were offered to us, and all our abuse of them; the good which soul might have accomplished; the degree of glory to which it was called. He may ordain that other souls, holier, or already purified in part, should become aware of the faults and imperfections which He is punishing, and that the Angels should add their reproaches to the sufferings of the guilty. And what excuses can these unhappy ones offer?

Next: "Effects of the Sacrament of Penance", "Proper dispositions for the Sacrament of Penance" Read whole post......

Quinquagesima Week. "Divine intimacy" by Fr Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen OCD.
'Corporal mortification'

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus Crucified, grant that my love for you may make me willing to crucify my flesh with You and for You.
MEDITATION
1. As a result of original sin, man no longer has complete domination over his senses and his flesh; therefore he is filled with evil tendencies which try to push him toward what is base. St. Paul humbly admits:"I know that there dwelleth not in me, that is to say, not in my flesh, that which is good....For the good which I will, I do not; but the evil which I will not that I do" (Rom 7, 18.19). God will certainly gives us the grace to overcome our evil tendencies; but we must also use our own efforts, which consist in voluntary mortification: "They that are Christ's have crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupiscences" (Gal 5,24). The purpose of corporal mortifications is not to inflict pain and privation on the body for the pleasure of making it suffer, but to discipline and control all its tendencies which are contrary to the life of grace. The Apostle warns us: "If you live according to the flesh, you shall die: but if by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live" (Rom 8,13). We must curb ourselves in order to avoid falls; we must prune the useless or harmful branches in order to avoid deviation; we must direct toward good the forces which, left to themselves, might lead us into sin. For these reasons mortification, although it is not an end in itself not the principal element in Christian life, occupies a fundamental place in it and is absolutely indispensable means toward attaining a spiritual life. No one can escape this law without closing off all access to eternal salvation, to sanctity. St.Paul, who had done and suffered much for Christ, did not consider himself dispensed from it, and said, "I chastise my body and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway" (1 Cor 9,27).
2. St. Teresa warns us that "If prayer is to be genuine it must be reinforced with this practice [of mortification]: for prayer and self-indulgence do not go together"(Way, 4). It would be an illusion to think that we can reach intimacy with God without serious exercise of physical mortification. In this regard, we must take care that love of our own body and of our physical welfare does not cause us to reject all potential practices under the pretext that they will ruin our health. In reality, there are many corporal mortifications which, without the slightest danger to our health, have the great advantage of keeping our spirit of generosity on the alert by the voluntary acceptance of a little physical suffering. If we are to be generous in this respect, we must "rid ourselves of all inordinate love for our body" (ibid., 10), that is, of all excessive preoccupation about health; and we must put aside all anxiety about food, clothing, rest and comfort. "This body of ours," says St. Teresa, "has one fault: the more you indulge it, the more things it discovers to be essential to it.....and if there is any reasonable pretext for indulgence, however little necessity for it there may be, the poor soul deceived and prevented form making progress" (ibid.,11). Anyone who wants to advance on the road to sanctity and union with God must be ready to sacrifice everything, even in the physical order, to the point of "giving up his skin and everything else for Christ," as St. John of the Cross says. He teaches, however, that in these matters we must always depend on our superiors or confessors; "corporal penance without obedience is no more than the penance of beasts" (DN I, 6,2), because it prefers a material practice to obedience "which is penance of the reason and discretion," and is, therefore, the sacrifice most pleasing to God.
COLLOQUY
.....Help me O Lord, to gain the mastery over my body and to conquer it completely, so that I may attain that magnificent liberty of spirit which allows the soul to devote itself undisturbed to the exercise of a deep interior life.

The St Andrew Daily Missal - Quinquagesima Sunday Mass Epistle of St. Paul (I Corinthians XIII. 1-3).
The merit of our good works, like the light which enlighten our minds, will be in proportion to the charity we possess. Let us therefore, dispose our will to detachment from everything in it that is opposed to divine charity, so that having seen God "through a glass in a dark manner," by faith, here on earth, we may behold Him "face to face" in Heaven, in all fullness of our love for Him.
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy, and should know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I should have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have no charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Charity is patient, is kind; charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never falleth away; whether prophecies shall be made void, or tonques shall cease, or knowledge shall be destroyed. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part, shall be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became man, I put away the things of a child. We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known. And now there remain faith, hope and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. Read whole post......

Quinquagesima Sunday. The Homily of St. Gregory, Pope as in the Matins of the day - III Nocturn Lesson 8 and 9 of the Roman Breviary.

Lesson 8.
But the miracles of Our Lord and Saviour must be accepted in this manner, dearly beloved brethren, that we must accept that they actually took place, and at the same time were intended to signify something to us. Indeed, the works of God not only manifest his power, but also speak to us of some mystery. For behold, who this blind man was of whom the story is told, we know not; but we do know what is signified by this miracle. This blind man is indeed a figure of mankind, driven out from the joys of Paradise in the person of its first parent, knowing not the glory of the heavenly light, and suffering the darkness of its condemnation. But nevertheless he is enlightened in the presence of his Redeemer; so that now he possess in desire the joys of inward light, and by good works begins to walk in the way of life.
R. The word of the Lord came to Abram, saying: Fear not, Abram: I am thy protector, and the reward exceeding great.
V. For I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out from Ur of the Chaldees.

Lesson 9.
We must take note, that the blind man received his sight as Jesus draw near to Jericho. Jericho indeed signifies: Moon; and in holy Scripture the moon denotes the failing of bodily strength, because, in waning every month, it signifies the decay of our mortal nature. When therefore our Creator drew near to Jericho, the blind man returned to the light; for when the Godhead took upon itself the weakness of our human nature, mankind again received the light it had lost. For God, through his suffering as man, raised up man to things divine. The blind man is rightly described as sitting by the wayside begging. The Truth itself says: I am the way.
R. A blind man sat by the wayside, as the Lord passed by, and cried out to him: and the Lord said to him: What wilt thou that I do for thee? Lord, that I may receive my sight.
V. And Jesus standing, commanded him to be brought unto him, and when he was come near, he asked, saying.

Benedictus Antiphon: Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished which were written concerning the Son of man: for he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spat upon: and after they have scourged him, they will put him to death, and the third day he shall rise again.

Collect
O Lord, we beseech thee, graciously hear our prayers: and loosing the bond of our sins, guard us from all adversity. Through Our Lord. Read whole post......

Saturday - Day of Our Lady

Sexagesima Week. "Of Mary's Chastity" from the "The Glories of Mary" by St. Alphonsus Liquori.

Since the fall of Adam, the senses being rebellious to reason, chastity is of all virtues the one which is the most difficult to practice. Saint Augustine says:'Of all the combats in which we are engaged , the most severe are those of chastity; its battles are of daily occurrence, but victory is rare. May God be ever praised, however, who in Mary has given us a great example of this virtue. 'With reason' says Richard of Saint Lawrence, 'is Mary called the Virgin of virgins; for she, without the counsel or example of others, was the first who offered her virginity to God'. Thus did she bring all virgins who imitate her to God, as David had already foretold: "After her shall virgins be brought.....into the temple of the King." Without counsel and without example. Yes; for Saint Bernard says: 'O Virgin, who taught thee to please God by virginity, and to lead an angel's life on earth?' 'Ah,' replies Saint Sophronius, 'God chose this most pure Virgin for His Mother, that she might be an example of chastity to all.' therefore does Saint Ambrose call Mary 'the standard-bearer of virginity. By reason of her purity the Blessed Virgin was also declared by the Holy Ghost to be beautiful as the turtle-dove'. 'Mary', says Aponius, 'was a most pure turtle-dove' For the same reason she was called a lily: "As the lily among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters." On this passage Denis the Carthusian remarks, that 'Mary was compared to a lily amongst thorns, because all other virgins were thorns, either to themselves or to others; but that the Blessed Virgin was so neither to herself nor to others;' for she inspired all who looked at her with chaste thoughts. This is confirmed by Saint Thomas, who says, that the beauty of the Blessed Virgin was an incentive to chastity in all who beheld her. Saint Jerome declared that it was his opinion that Saint Joseph remained a virgin by living with Mary; for, writing against the heretic Helvidius, who denied Mary's virginity, he says 'Thou sayest that Mary did not remain a virgin, but even that Joseph preserved his virginity through Mary. An author says, that so much did the Blessed Virgin love this virtue, that, to preserve it, she would have been willing to have renounced even the dignity of Mother of God. This we may conclude from her answer to the archangel, "How shall this be done, because I know not man?" and from the words she afterwards added "Be it done to me according to thy word," signifying that she gave her consent on the condition that, as the angel has assured her, she should become a Mother by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost. Saint Ambrose says, that 'whoever has preserved chastity is an angel, and that he who has lost it is a devil.' Our Lady assures that those who are chaste become angels, "They shall be as the angels of God in heaven." But the impure become as devils, hateful in the sight of God. Saint Remigius used to say that the greater part of adults are lost by this vice. Seldom, as we have already said with St. Augustine, is a victory gained over this vice. But why? It is because the means by which it may be gained are seldom made use of. These means are three, according to `Bellarmine and the masters of a spiritual life: fasting, the avoidance of dangerous occasions, and prayer. By fasting, is to be understood especially mortification of the eyes and of the appetite. Although our Blessed Lady was full of Divine grace, yet she was so mortified in her eyes, that, according to Saint Epiphanius and Saint John Damascen, she always kept them cast down, and never fixed them on any one; and they say that from her very childhood her modesty was such, that it filled every one who saw her with astonishment. Hence Saint Luke remarks, that, in going to visit Saint Elisabeth, "she went with haste," that she might be less seen in public. Philibert relates, that, as to her food, it was revealed to a hermit named Felix, that when a baby she only took milk once a day. Saint Gregory of Tours affirms, that throughout her life she fasted; and Sanit Bonaventura adds, 'that Mary would never have found so much grace, had she not been most moderate in her food; for grace and gluttony cannot subsist together.' In fine, Mary was mortified in all, so that of her it was said, "my hands dropped with myrrh."
The second means is to fly the occasion of sin: "He that is aware of the snares shall be secure." hence Saint Philip Neri says, that, 'in the war of the senses, coward conquer:' that is to say, those who fly from dangerous occasions. Mary fled as much as possible from the sight of man; and therefore Saint Luke remarks, that in going to visit Saint Elisabeth, "she went with haste into the hill country." An author observes, that the Blessed Virgin left Saint Elisabeth before Saint John was born, as we learn from the same Gospel, where it is said, that "Mary abode with her about three months, and she returned to her own house. Now Elisabeth's full time of being delivered was come, and she brought forth a son." And why did she not wait for this event? It was that she might avoid the conversations and visits which would accompany it.
The third means is prayer. "And as I know." said the wise man, "that I could not otherwise be continent except God gave it....I went to the Lord and besought Him." The Blessed Virgin revealed to Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, that she acquired no virtue without effort and continual prayer. Saint John Damascen says, that Mary 'is pure, and a lover of purity.' Hence she cannot endure those who are unchaste. But whoever has recourse to her will certainly be delivered from this vice, if he only pronounces her name with confidence. The venerable John d'Avila used to say, 'that many have conquered impure temptations by only having devotion to her Immaculate conception.' O Mary, O most pure Dove, how many are now in hell on account of this vice! Sovereign Lady, obtain us the grace always to have recourse to thee in our temptations, and always to invoke thee, saying, 'Mary, Mary, help us'. Amen. Read whole post......

Sexagesima Week. The worship due to God. The meditations and readings for Lent.From St. Thomas Aquinas. Translated by Fr Philip Hughes.

Thou shalt not have strange gods before me-Exod.XX.3
We are forbidden to worship any but the one God, and there are five things which show the prohibition to be reasonable.
1. God's dignity. If this is disregarded we insult God. To all dignity is due proper reverence. And we call a traitor who refuses to do the King due reverence. This is what some men do with respect to God. They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of fourfooted beasts and of creeping things, says St. Paul (Romans I.23). And all this is the most serious of all offences against God.

2. God's bountifulness. Every good thing we possess comes from God. It is in fact part of God's dignity that he is the maker and giver of all good things. When thou openest all things shall be filled with good (Ps. CIII.28). You are therefore ungrateful beyond measure if you do not recognise that good you have is his gift. Nay, you make yourself another god as truly as the children of Israel. Delivered from Egypt, made themselves an idol. This is to be like the harlot of whom the prophet writes, I will go after my lovers that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink (Osee II.5). This sin is also committed by those who place another in preference to asking it from God. Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord (Ps.XXXIX.5), and St. Paul marvels at the Galatians, But now, after that you have known God, or are rather known by God, how turn you again to the weak and needy elements, which you desire to serve again? (Gal. IV.9).

3. Our promises. We have renounced the devil and pledged our fidelity to God alone. This pledge we must keep unbroken. A man making void the law of Moses, dieth without any mercy, under two or three witnesses. How much more do you think he deserveth worse punishment, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath esteemed the blood of the testament unclean, by which he was sanctified, and hath offered an affront to the Spirit of Grace? (Heb.X.28,29).
The woman that hath an husband, whilst her husband liveth she shall be called an adulteress, if she be with another man (Rom. VII.3), and such deserves to be burned. Woe to the sinner, to whoever enters the land by a double way, to those who limp one foot on each side of the division.

4. The weight of the devil's yoke. You shall serve strange gods day and night, says the Prophet. Which shall not give you any rest (Jer. XVI.13).For the devil does not rest content with one sin, but, the first sin committed, strives all the more to induce us to another. Whoever commits sin is the slave of sin. Hence it is not an easy thing to find one's way out of sin. St. Gregory says, "The sin which is not lightened by penance, soon, by its very weight, drags us to further sin."
It is the very contrary that is characteristic of God's dominion over us. For God's commands are not burdersome. My yoke is sweet and my burden is light (Matt.
XI.30). A man is accounted as doing enough if he does for God as much as he has done for sin. St. Paul, for example, says, As you have yielded your members to serve uncleanness and iniquity, unto iniquity; so now yield your members to serve justice, unto sanctification (Rom. VI.19). But of the slaves of the devil the Scripture says, We wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity and destruction, and have walked through hard ways (Wis. V.7), and also, They have laboured to commit iniquity (Jer. IX.5).

5. The immensity of our reward. No law promises so great a recompense as that which are promised in the law of Christ. To the Saracens are offered rivers of milk and honey, to the Jews the promised land. But to Christians angelic glory. They shall be as the angels of God in heaven (Matt. XXII.30). Thinking on this St. Peter says, in the Gospel, Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life (John VI. 69).
(In Decalog.XII) Read whole post......

Sexagesima Week. The meditation themes for improvement of the "requisite qualities" of Christian heart, to make it worthy to receive the seeds of Divine Sower, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Fragments taken from "Divine Intimacy" by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD.

"The Night of the senses"

PRESENCE OF GOD - O lord, strengthen my desire for union with You, so that I may have the courage to face, for love of You, the total purification of the senses.
MEDITATION.
1. "In order to attain to divine union with God, the soul must pass through the dark night of mortification of the appetites and the denial of pleasure in all things" (J.C. AS I, 4,1). St. John of the Cross calls the total mortification of the senses the "dark night", because the soul that renounces every irregular attachment to creatures and to pleasure it might find in them, remains "unoccupied and in the darkness" (ibid., 3,1) as far as the senses are concerned. It is to help us to enter this night, through which we must pass in order to attain to union with God, that the Saint tells us to mortify our inordinate tendencies toward sensible satisfactions. However, it is evident that even if we sincerely wish to mortify our senses, we cannot always avoid seeing agreeable things, listening to interesting news, eating appetizing food, and so forth. Sometimes sensible satisfactions will be imposed on us by the necessities of life, by the duties of our state, or even by our superiors. It is absolutely necessary, even in these cases, that our soul remain wholly free from all attachment to creatures and to sensible satisfactions. It will suffice to desire not to have this pleasure, and promptly to "mortify our senses, voiding them of such pleasure," depriving them of everything, "as though they were in darkness" (cf. ibid., 13,4). In other words, we should not stop at the selfish enjoyment of what pleases our senses, but try to raise our heart at once to God by offering Him the enjoyment we feel and which He permits for the renewal of our strength, so that we may be able to take up again with greater generosity the practice of mortification. In this way even natural joys will help to bring us to God and to increase our love. This is what St Therese of the Child Jesus called "to rejoice for Love." This is the pure doctrine of St. Paul, who said, "Rejoice in the Lord always"; and again, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God" (Phil 4,4 - 1 Cor 10,31). If, on the contrary, we stop at the enjoyment of sensible things, we shall never be able to enter the night of the senses.
2. "The soul ordinarily enters this night of the senses in two ways: the one is active, the other passive. The active way consist in that which is the soul can do, and does of itself, in order to enter therein. The passive way is that wherein the soul does nothing, and God works in it, and it remains, as it were, patient" (J.C. AS I, 13,1). The active way include everything that we can do on our own initiative to rid ourselves of every affection for and attachment to creatures. For example, it is in our power to apply ourselves to the practice of poverty, corporeal mortification, penance, and chastity - all of which are virtues that detach the soul from the goods of earth and the satisfaction of the senses. If we want to do all that we can to enter the night, we must practice these virtues generously, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, our divine model, who wished to give us an example in everything. But no matter how much we do, our own practices will never be sufficient to destroy completely all the roots of attachments. If we examine ourselves carefully, we shall see that, even in the practice of voluntary mortification, a little complacency may enter in because of what we have chosen, which is to our liking and according to our wishes. In order that our purification be complete, the work of God must intervene, that work which will bring us passively into the night of the senses. He does this by means of trials and contradictions both exterior and interior. It is a time of submission rather than of action; we must accept with humility and docility all that God permits, without trying either to escape the trial or to lessen or change it. In the Ascent of Mount Carmel St. John of the Cross gives the picture of a soul which, "kindled in love with yearning, sings of the happy fortune which befell it to pass through the dark night. "In fact, to be brought into the passive night is one of the greatest graces the soul can receive, because then God Himself is preparing and disposing it for divine union. If we wish to obtain this grace, we must do everything we can to enter the active night, that is, we must practice renunciation and total detachment.

COLLOQUY
O Lord, deign to come to me with Your grace and inflame me with Your love, that I may be able to plunge enthusiastically into the dark night which is to prepare me for union with You. Night does not please my nature which loves the light, the sun, the full radiant daylight. But with your help, and for love of You, why should I not be willing to deprive my senses of all satisfactions and to annihilate them in the night, when all it amounts to is the giving up of a few worthless trifles in order to have the enjoyment of You, in whom are all light, all joy, all happiness? ......."O Lord, keep far from the heart of Your servant the thought that any kind of joy will bring happiness! On the contrary, there is a joy which is not granted to the wicked, but to those who honour You unselfishly. You are their joy. All happiness consists in this: to rejoice in You, because of You and through You; there is no other. He who believes that any other happiness exists is pursuing a strange and false joy" (St Augustine). Read whole post......

Sexagesima Week. The meditation themes for improvement of the "requisite qualities" of Christian heart, to make it worthy to receive the seeds of Divine Sower, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Fragments taken from "Divine Intimacy" by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD.

"The way of the nothing"
PRESENCE OF GOD - Show me, O Lord, the narrow path that leads to true life, to union with You.
MEDITATION
1. If you wish to start resolutely on the road of total detachment - the only sure road to divine union - you must "put the axe to the root of the tree"; that is, you must break off and pull up the root of your attachment - that inordinate tendency to enjoy, or to seek satisfaction in yourself, in your pride, or in other creatures. It is true that you were created to enjoy, but to ENJOY GOD. However, God is not present to your senses , while your 'self' and the things of earth are so close to you. Hence instead of looking beyond yourself and all creation in order to reach God, instead of making use of creatures to help you rise toward the Creator, you pause and seek your happiness in them. You pause with an inordinate affection, and for this grain of satisfaction, you bind your heart to earth and become incapable of union with God, the only source of real happiness. This inordinate desire for pleasure is the thing which turns your desire and affections toward creatures, instead of fixing them on God. This the root of every attachment, no matter how slight.
In order to mortify completely this inordinate tendency, St. John of the Cross says, "If something is presented to the senses, which is not solely for the honour and glory of God, give it up, and deprive yourself of it for the love of Jesus Christ, who, while on earth, had and desired nothing but to do the will of His Father" (AS I, 13,4). The Saint does not mean that you must live without any pleasure or satisfaction; this would be impossible, as man is created for happiness. However, he does tell you to renounce all pleasures which are displeasing to God and to put all your pleasures and satisfaction solely into accomplishing the will of God, giving Him pleasure and procuring His glory. This was Jesus' life; He could say, "I do always the things that please Him" (Jn 8, 29).
2. If your way of acting or speaking satisfies your self-love, but you know that it does not please God, then you must give it up. If a conversation, a friendship, or a comfort pleases you, but you doubt whether it is pleasing to God, you must give it up. If your will urges you to do anything which may be slightly contrary to the will of God, you must refrain from doing it. In all these cases St. John of the Cross continually says: "nothing, nothing, nothing." Nothing for the satisfaction of pride or selfishness, nothing for the pleasure of the senses, or even of the mind or will - if it is not in perfect agreement with the will of God. There is only one choice: to live for self or to live for God. If you act for your own selfish satisfaction, even in small matters, you will never be able to live totally for God. If, for example, you were unwilling to combat and overcome your pride which has been offended, and you are impatient or cross with someone, it is evident that you prefer to act for the satisfaction of self rather than to please God, for God loves virtue and not defects. You must always substitute for the tendency to seek your own satisfaction the desire to seek God's satisfaction and pleasure. This is what St John of the Cross means when he suggests detachment, not as an end in itself, but as a means of becoming more closely united with God, not with to leave you in a vacuum, but to direct you quickly to God. The same line of conduct was proposed by Jesus: "Renounce thyself," he says to you. And to what purpose? To walk in His path, to follow Him until you have attained perfect union with Him. The end is union, the road is abnegated or total detachment; we must not forget that it was of this road that Jesus said, "How narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leadeth to life" (Mt, 7, 14).
COLLOQUY
"O Lord, you have created me for Yourself, to love You and to enjoy you, infinite God, ineffable Beauty; do not permit me to lose sight of this sublime end toward which I must tend; do not permit me to wander among the wretched satisfactions that vain, feeble creatures can offer me.....O Lord teach me to make use of all things with perfect purity of intention, without desiring to draw any selfish satisfaction from them...."But how harsh it sound to say that we must take pleasure in nothing, unless we also speak of the consolations and delights that this renunciations brings in this train. Oh, what a great gain it is, even in this life" (T.J. Way, 12).... Read whole post......

Sexagesima Week. The meditation themes for improvement of the "requisite qualities" of Christian heart, to make it worthy to receive the seeds of Divine Sower, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Fragments taken from "Divine Intimacy" by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD.

"The essence of detachment"
PRESENCE OF GOD - Help me, O Lord, to understand the meaning of that total detachment which is the indispensable condition for perfect union with You.
MEDITATION
1. "The soul has only one will, and if it occupies itself or encumbers itself with anything, it will not remain free, solitary, and pure, as is required for divine transformation" (J.C. AS I, 11,6). This teaching of St John of the Cross is in perfect harmony with the fundamental precept of Jesus:"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength and with all thy mind" (Lk 10,27). If the heart is occupied with inordinate attachments to self or creatures, it is clear that it cannot love God with all its strength, which is divided between God and self, between God and creatures. The precept of charity proposed to all Christian requires the radical renunciation of every attachment which is not conformable to the will of God, or which is not consistent with the love of God. Total detachment is the logical result of Jesus' commandment and the indispensable means of perfectly fulfilling it. This is why St. John of the Cross insists that if the soul wishes to possess God, it must strip itself of all that is not God. This is why it must give up every satisfaction or attachment which does not lead to God. This is the meaning of his statements:"In order to enjoy everything [that is, to enjoy God, who is everything], do not seek to enjoy anything [do not seek any inordinate pleasure]. In order to possess everything, do not desire to possess anything. When you stop at anything, you do not reach the all" (AS I, 13,11.12). When the soul, through some disordered attachment, stops at any creature, it interrupts its progress toward God: the nothingness of the creature prevents it from reaching the all of God.
2. The essence of the total detachment does not consist in effective material separation from creatures, a thing which, in its absolute form, would be impossible on this earth. Those who are cloistered, and even hermits, cannot escape certain dealings with their neighbours, nor get along without the necessities of life. Besides, wherever one is he carries with him his own person, his 'self'; nevertheless, detachment from self is always the point of departure. It is clear, however, that it can never be a question of complete material detachment, but only of effective, spiritual detachment.
The doctrine of total detachment does not require that everyone abandon all things materially, but that each one, in whatever surroundings he finds himself, know how to keep his heart free from all attachment. In order to enter into this divine union, all the affections living in the soul must die, whether they are many or few, large or small; and the soul must remain free from them, and as detached as if it were not made for them, nor they for it" (J.C. AS I, 11,8). However, it will be impossible to attain this affective detachment, that is, the death of all inordinate affection for self and creatures if, at least to a certain degree, we do not practice effective or material detachment. If we cannot give up all useless preoccupations with creatures, we shall never reach interior detachment. Likewise, the soul who, by consecrating itself to God, has separated itself materially from people dear to it or has already given up so many things, must not think that all is accomplished. It will always have to be vigilant in order to keep itself free from all attachments. Whether we live in the world or in solitude, whether we possess much or little, we must always strive for the essence of detachment, which is detachment of heart and mind. This it the teaching of St Paul:"Let those who have wives be as if they had none....those who buy, as though they possessed not, and those who use this world, as if they used it not" (1Cor 7, 29-31).
COLLOQUY
O Lord, why should the idea of total detachment frighten me since it is the means of finally arriving at loving You with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my strength, since it is the path which leads me to union with You, infinite beauty and charity, Triune God, the beginning and end of all things?.....O Lord, with your help I wish to set to work immediately to refuse no sacrifice, to spare no fiber of my heart in order to detach myself completely from everything that might tie me to earth. These sacrifices and detachments will pain my weak human nature, but You will enable me to see that, even though they make my heart bleed, it is nothing in comparison with the immense treasure which they purchase for me, which is the attainment of You, my God, You who are All....

"Rules for detachment"
PRESENCE OF GOD - O Lord, my blindness and weakness have further need of Your light and strength, in order that I may follow generously the way of "nothing".
MEDITATION
1. Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls, who when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way and sold all that he had, and bought it" (Mt 13, 45.46). The pearl of great price is union with God; if we wish to acquire it, we must sell all that we possess; that is, we must detach ourselves from every inordinate appetite. Hence St Teresa of Avila, in speaking of detachment, says that "when it is practiced perfectly, it is everything" (Way, 8). Of course, the spiritual life is not simply detachment, nor does it end there; but detachment practiced with perfection leads effectively to its goal: union with God. God alone can bring us to this union, but He will not do so unless, like the merchant in the Gospel, we sell everything, that is, unless we renounce even the smallest attachment to self or to creatures. These are the golden rules proposed by St. John of the Cross for total detachment: The soul must always be INCLINED "not to easiest thing, but to the hardest; not to the tastiest, but to the most insipid; not to things that give greater pleasures, but to those that give the least; not to restful things, but to painful ones; not to consolation, but to desolation; not to more but to less; not to the highest and dearest, but to the lowest and more despised; not to the desire for something, but to having no desires" (AS I, 13,6). In this way we shall gradually become accustomed to subduing this inordinate desire for pleasure, which is at the base of all attachments. It is like going against a current; hence it is a hard, tiring task which can be accomplished only by strength of will. We must oppose the inclinations of nature and make ourselves do what is repugnant to nature. This is, however, a sweet task for a soul in love with God; it knows that everything it refuses to self is given to God and that, when it has reached the point of renouncing self in everything - of SELLING everything - God Himself will give it the precious pearl of divine union.
2. "The soul must EMBRACE these acts wholeheartedly and strive to subject its will thereto. For if it undertakes them wholeheartedly, in a short time it will find great delight and consolation in them, working with order and discretion (ibid., 13,7). St. John of the Cross asks two things of the soul that desires to enter upon the way of the "nothing". First of all, he demands decision and generosity; for anyone who has not the courage to renounce himself in everything will never reach total detachment and union with God. At the same time, he also demands "order and discretion". The Saint does not expect us always and in everything to choose what is most difficult, painful, or tiring - which would be impossible, both because of our physical constitution, which always needs a certain amount of relaxation - but he does ask that we be disposed to this choice, that is, we must cultivate a desire for it. He wants us to develop within ourselves the inclination and habit of doing what is opposed to our own tendencies, so that when the opportunity occurs, we can do so without being hindered by our natural repugnance. At the beginning of the spiritual life it is especially necessary to proceed with discretion and to act according to the advice of the confessor and superior, particularly with regard to corporal mortification. It is most important that we make a firm decision to bend our will by this practice of renunciation, that we never give up on account of cowardice, and that, when we have to allow ourselves a little relaxation, because of expediency or duty, we do so with detachment, that is, with a will detached from the pleasure we may find in it.
It is clear that we shall never attain the goal if we do not gain mastery over our attachments and resolve, once and for all, to put them all to death. It means real death to selfish and worldly satisfactions, but this death will give birth to life.. Jesus said, "unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit....He that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal" (Jn 12, 24.25).
COLLOQUY
O Lord, in the light of Your teachings even the hard and bitter way of total detachment becomes desirable, and everything invites me to undertake it courageously. You know, however, that I am weak and that my nature rebels at everything that is difficult, wearisome, or disagreeable...But your love is all powerful, O Lord, and You, who through love made me out of nothing, can once again by the same love change my tastes and inclinations. I well know that nothing but your love can inspire me to enter upon this road and give me the courage to undertake this fundamental reform to myself. ......You died for me, O Lord. For love of You make me die to myself, to my desires, to my satisfactions. I shall die to myself in order to live for You, to attain to union with You. Read whole post......

Sexagesima Week. The meditation themes for improvement of the "requisite qualities" of Christian heart, to make it worthy to receive the seeds of Divine Sower, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Fragments taken from "Divine Intimacy" by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD.

"The necessity for interior purification"
PRESENCE OF GOD. - Purify my soul, O Lord, so that it may be filled completely with Your light and Your love.
MEDITATION.
1. St John of the Cross compares the soul to a glass window with a ray of sunlight shining on it. If the glass is dirty, "the ray cannot illuminate it, nor transform it completely into its light; its illumination will be in proportion to its clearness. If, on the other hand, it is absolutely clean and spotless, it will be illuminated and transformed in such a way as to appear to be the luminous ray itself, and to give the same light" (AS II, 5,6). God is the divine Sun shining upon our souls, desiring to invade them and penetrate them, completely transforming them into His light and love. Before He does this, however, He waits until the soul resolves to free itself from every "creature stain", that is, the stains of sin and inordinate attachments. As soon as God finds that a soul is free from mortal sin, He immediately fills it with His grace. This precious gift is the first step in the great transformation which the Lord desires to bring about in us. The more we become purified of all sin and imperfection, and of even the slightest attachment; that is, in proportion as we conform our will to the will of God, not only in serious matters of obligation but even in the least details of perfection, the more capable we become of being entirely penetrated and transformed by divine Grace.
Grace, the gift of God which makes the soul a participant in the divine nature, is poured forth into the soul in proportion to its degree of interior purity, which always corresponds to its degree of conformity with God's will. Therefore, the soul that wishes to be totally possessed and transformed by divine Grace, must in practice strive to conform fully to the will of God, according to the teaching of St. John of the Cross, "so that there may be nothing in the soul that is contrary to the will of God, but that in all and through all its movement may be that of the will of God alone" (AS I, 11,2).
2. God not only illuminates our soul with the rays of His divine Grace, but He Himself, Unitiy and Trinity, takes up His abode within us, according to the promise of Jesus:"If anyone love Me...We will come to him, and will make our abode with Him" (Jn 14,23).
Even if we possess but one single degree of grace, God dwells in us and invites us to live in real union with Him; nevertheless, He does not give Himself completely to us; He does not consumate us in His unity nor transform us completely into Himself as long as He finds in us slightest things contrary to His will. The smallest imperfections is opposed to the will of God because God cannot desire the slightest imperfection and, a fortiori, He cannot admit to perfect union with Himself a soul who keeps any trace - no matter how insignificant - of opposition to His infinite perfection. The basis of all perfect union is total conformity of will and affection. As long as we love and desire, even in small details, anything that God cannot love or desire, our will is not fully conformed to the divine will, and these two wills, God's will and our own will, cannot become one, "that is, the will of God become also the will of the soul" (J.C. AS I, 11,3).
As long as we do not attain this perfect union of wills, God, although He dwells in us, will not communicate Himself fully to our soul. Hence St. John of the Cross teaches that "the soul disposes itself for union....by purity and love, that is, by renouncement and perfect detachment from all things for God's sake alone." When the soul is thus disposed, God bestows on it "that supernatural favour by which all the things of God and the soul are one in participant transformation, and the soul seems to be God rather than soul, and is indeed God by participation, although its natural being is as distinct from the Being of God, as it were before....even as the window has a nature distinct from that of the ray by which it is illuminated" (AS II, 5, 7-8).
COLLOQUY
....O, God, make me understand clearly that "real love consists in detaching oneself from everything that is not You" (J.C.AS II, 5,7). From everything, not only from this thing or that, but from everything, for love is by nature totalitarian, and perfect union demands perfect harmony of wills, desires and affections. My God, what profound purification I must undergo in order that You may be able to unite me to Yourself, who art infinite perfection!

"Voluntary attachments"
PRESENCE OF GOD- O, Lord, I place myself in Your presence, begging You to enlighten my soul so that I may see what are the obstacles to my union with You.
MEDITATION
1. "To be perfectly united to God by love and will, the soul must first be cleansed of all appetites of the will, even the smallest" (J.C. AS I, 11,3). In the language of St John of the Cross, appetites are disordered inclinations or affections for oneself or creatures, tendencies which are, according to their seriousness, more or less contrary to the divine will. God wishes us to love ourselves, as well as created things, in the measure assigned by Him, with a view to His pleasure and not to our own selfish satisfaction. These inclinations or appetites always give rise to venial sins, or at least to deliberate imperfections, when one willingly yields to them, even though it be only in matters of slight importance. The will of the soul which freely assents to these failings, slight though they be, is stained by this opposition to the will of God; for this reason a perfect union cannot exist between its will and God's. Moreover, if these imperfections become habitual and the soul does not try to correct them, they form a great obstacle to divine union; and according to St. John of the Cross, "they prevent not only divine union but also advancement in perfection" (ibid). He gives a few examples of these unmortified "habitual imperfections": the habit of talking too much, unrestrained curiosity, attachment to little things - whether persons or objects - such as food and so forth, which the soul refuses to give up. There is also the attachment to one's comfort, to certain sensible satisfactions, little vanities, foolish self-complacency, attachment to one's own opinion or reputation. There is a real mushroom-bed of "appetites" and disordered inclinations from which the soul will not free itself.... it cannot make the decision to give them up completely. These are precisely the "habitual voluntary appetites" of which St John of the Cross says, "One single unmortified appetite is sufficient to fetter the soul" (ibid). On the other hand, when it is a question of imperfect inclinations arising solely from human weakness, of these which do not get beyond the stage of "first movements" in which the will has no part, "either before or after", but rather tries to repress as soon as it notices them, "these do not prevent one from attaining divine union" (ibid., 11,2). It is the will that counts and it must be completely free from the slightest attachment.
2. ....It is not so much these "isolated falls", due to inadvertence or weakness, which hinder the soul's advancement, as it is the little venial faults and even simple imperfections caused by habitual voluntary attachments which the soul does not take the trouble to uproot. Even though they are slight, they nevertheless constitute bonds which attach it to earth....And thus the soul that has attachment to anything, however great its virtue, will not attain to the liberty of divine union" (ibid).
St John of the Cross has only one thing to say about renouncement and detachment: renounce everything, be detached from everything, If this demand seems unreasonable, let us remember that it is pure evangelical doctrine, that it asks nothing more than what Jesus proposes to us when He says, "Renounce thyself." He asks us to renounce ourselves not only in this or that matter, but in everything that might prevent us from following Him: "For he that will save his life shall lose it, and he that shall lose his life for My sake shall find it. If thy hand or thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee" (Mt 16, 25-18,8). Jesus teaches us in these words that, for the salvation and sanctification of our soul, we must give up everything that might become a stunbling block to us. It is precisely in this thorough renunciation, in this "losing" of self in everything - even in what is dearest to us and if it were necessary, even to the extent of sacrificing our life - that we find the road to salvation and sanctity.

COLLOQUY
....My God, give me the light necessary to recognize in myself all that keeps me from union with Thee. Grant me the light to recognize all the attachments which still bind me to creatures, and especially those which are most displeasing to You because they proceed directly from pride and self-love. In the secrecy of my heart You teach me sweetly and gently, You show me clearly that I am still far from conforming my will to Yours, in all things and for all things. I love and desire so many trifles, so many imperfections which You neither love nor desire because they are contrary to your infinite perfections. Give me strength to wage a constant and courageous battle against them....

Next: "The essence of detachment" and the "Rules for detachment" Read whole post......

Saturday - Day of Our Lady

Septuagesima Week. 'Of Mary's Hope' chapter from "The glories of Mary" by St Alphonsus Liquori.

Hope takes rise in faith; for God enlightens us by faith to know His goodness and the promises He has made, that by this knowledge we may rise by hope to the desire of possessing Him. Mary, then, having had the virtue of faith in its highest degree, had also hope in the same degree of excellence; and this made her say with David, "But it is good for me to adhere to my God, to put my hope in the Lord God." Mary was indeed that faithful spouse of the Holy Ghost, of whom it was said, "Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning on her beloved?" For she was always perfectly detached from earthly affections, looking upon the world as a desert, and therefore, in no way relying either on creatures or on her own merits, but relying only on Divine grace, in which was all her confidence, she always advanced in the love of God. Thus Ailgrino said of her: 'She ascended from the desert, that is, from the world, which she so fully renounced, and so truly considered as a desert, that she turned all her affection from it. She leant upon her Beloved, for she trusted not in her own merits, but in His graces who bestows graces.'
The most holy Virgin gave a clear indication of the greatness of her confidence in God, in the first place, when she saw the anxiety of her holy spouse Saint Joseph. Unable to account for her wonderful pregnancy, he was troubled at the thought of leaving her: "but Joseph....minded to put her away privately." It appeared then necessary, as we have elsewhere remarked, that she should discover the hidden mystery to Saint Joseph; but no, she would not herself manifest the grace she had received; she thought it better to abandon herself to Divine Providence, in the full confidence that God Himself would defend her innocence and reputation. This is precisely what Cornelius a Lapide says, in his commentary on the words of the Gospel quoted above: 'The Blessed Virgin was unwilling to reveal this secret to Joseph. Lest she might seem to boast of her gifts; she therefore resigned herself to the care of God, in the fullest confidence that He would guard her innocence and reputation. She again showed her confidence in God when she knew that the time for the birth of Our Lord approached, and was yet driven even from the lodgings of the poor in Bethlehem, and obliged to bring forth in a stable: "and she laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for Him in the inn." She did not then let drop a single word of complaint, but, abandoning herself to God, she trusted that He would there assist her. The Divine Mother also showed how great was her confidence in Divine Providence when she received notice from Saint Joseph that they must fly into Egypt. On that very night she undertook so long a journey to a strange and unknown country without provisions, without money, accompanied only by her Infant Jesus and her poor spouse, "who arose and took the Child and His Mother by night, and retired into Egypt." But much more did she saw her confidence when she asked her Son for wine at the marriage-feast of Cana; for when she had said, "They have no wine," Jesus answered her, "Woman, what is it to thee and to me? My hour is not yet come." After this answer, which seemed an evident refusal, her confidence in the Divine goodness was such that she desired the servants to do whatever her Son told them; for the favour was certain to be granted: "whatsoever He shall say to you, do you." It indeed was so: Jesus Christ ordered the vessels to be filled with water, and changed it into wine. Let us, then, learn from Mary to have that confidence in God which we ought always to have, but principally in the great affair of our eternal salvation - as affair in which it is true that we must cooperate; yet it is from God alone that we must hope for the grace necessary to obtain it. We must distrust our own strength, and say with the Apostle, "I can do all things in Him who strengtheneth me."
Ah, my most holy Lady, the Ecclesiasticus tells me that thou art "the Mother of holy hope;" and the holy Church, that thou art our hope. For what other hope, then, need I seek? Thou, after Jesus, art all my hope. Thus did Saint Bernard call thee; thus will I also call thee:'Thou art the whole ground of my hope;' and, with Saint Bonaventure, I will repeat again and again,'O, salvation of all who call upon thee, save me!" Read whole post......

Septuagesima Week. Chapter from "The Way that Leads to God" by the Abbe A. Saudreau. The love of self in good people continued.

52. The evil is still worse when it leads to human respect. We do not now refer to that human respect in which cowardice is carried to the length of neglecting the essential duties of a Christian life. That is rank idolatry, the worship of man's opinion taking the place of the worship of God. But we are speaking of that human respect which is to be found even amongst faithful souls, amongst those who ought to give an example of piety and generosity. They are willing to fulfil the necessary duties of their state; they can do so without incurring criticism, because everyone approves of their satisfying these grave obligations. They will also pray fervently in private, but to live in the pure spirit of the Gospel, to make profession of a love of humility, of mortifications and of a life of retirement, to shun superfluous conversation, to practice reserve and modesty in order that they may be the better able to live the interior life - this is to expose themselves to criticism, to risk being dubbed narrow-minded and scrupulous. They do not wish to offend lukewarm persons and to become the subject of their raillery.
53. He, who like St. Paul, rises above the judgment of men is indeed at peace. He does his duty, come what may; he works for God only. And as God requires of him conflict and not victory, he is sure of his reward. But he who is solicitous for his own glory, how he fears any check, how nervous he is, how he agitates and disturbs himself at the ideas of any humiliation! By these signs we know at once that this his intention is not pure, his zeal not unadultered. And want of success is his constant portion, because he who does not seek God's glory, he who puts his trust in his own strength, cannot count upon God's blessing. Ecce homo qui non posuit Deum adjutorem suum (Behold the man that made not God his Helper - Ps. Ii.9). God abandons him to his own resources; he fails, and failure, which is a test and a trial for the humble soul, is a chastisement for the proud. And then the real sentiments of the heart manifest themselves; his irritation, his bad humour, his bitter recriminations are a proof of disappointed vanity, and it is evident that there was as much self-seeking as care fro God's interests in his actions. How many works there are, excellent in appearance, but which are displeasing to God, and bear little or no fruit, because they are spoiled by the too human aims of those who are responsible for them. Read whole post......

Septuagesima Week. Chapter from "The Way that Leads to God" by the Abbe A. Saudreau. Love of self in good people continued.

50. Self-love is a most serious failing, whether it shows itself by vanity, by over-susceptibility, or by excessive self-absorbtion. It is the creature laying claim to that which is not its own, appropriating to its private use that which due to God. The Christian soul, the pious soul, will say faithfully and with all its heart: "Glory be to the father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost". And this wish is sincere. But why, then, instead of rendering to the most adorable Trinity all the glory that belongs to God, do they try to rob Him of a portion of it? God has said: "I will not give my glory to another" (Gloriam meam alteri non dabo - Isa. Xlii.8). Now, when you desire to be glorified, admired, and praised for the gifts which you have received from God, the talents with which he has endowed you, the good dispositions with which He has inspired you, the virtues which His grace has caused to be born and to increase within you, you claim the glory which is rightfully His. Quid habes quod non accepisti? ("What hast thou," says St Paul, "that thou hast not received? And, if thou hast received it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?" - I Cor. IV.7). "If there be any glory connected with a rich and splendid garment," said St. Francis of Sales, "does it not belong rather to the tailor who made it than to him who wears it? Without the tailor he would be obliged to stand there in all the shame of his native nudity." And, alas! Without God's gifts there would be nought in us but misery and nakedness. But this is very truth of which the vain man cannot be conceived, or, at any rate, it does not take hold of his mind. It is a delight to him to receive praise, to see every kind of virtue and good quality attributed to him; he considers all these eulogies as his right. "They will recognize my talent, they will admire my judgment; they will say that I have a good heart, that I am full of devotion. They will praise my graciousness, the distinction of my manners; they will consider me extremely capable, firm and prudent. And it will all be quite true!". How many thoughts of this kind work in poor, human brains, even those of good Christians? Not that the really virtuous man acts solely with the object of winning admiration, but his intention is often not pure. People propose to do their duty, but it is not solely with the object of pleasing God; they wish also to get some credit for themselves out of the performance.
51. Well may that be termed vainglory of which vain persons are so covetous. They seek the esteem of men, an esteem which is so unstable and often so unjustly bestowed. And what real advantage accrues from other people's good or bad opinion of us? The blame of our fellows does not make us any worse, their praise does not make us better. Whether they criticize us or admire us, our actual worth remains unchanged. Human fame has been aptly compared to a little smoke, which cannot be grasped and is quickly gone. It has been likened also to a shadow. And what is a shadow but an empty seeming? So the esteem of men is but a misleading phantom; it appears to be something, but in reality is nothing. A shadow is uncertain and varying; something much shorter, sometimes much longer that the object which it represents, so that we should be greatly out in our reckonings if we were to take the shadow into account when we wished to ascertain its dimensions. And so is the world's opinion uncertain and variable; sometimes over-favourable, sometimes too severe. Those who value their neighbour in accordance with the world's opinion of them run a great risk of being wrong in their estimates. The shadow is capricious; it flies when it is pursued; it follows those who flee from it. And so they who show themselves over-eager for glory or the esteem of their fellow-man, lose it, while those who, disclaiming such a paltry consideration, are prompted by a nobler motive, win what they have never desired. To pursue a phantom, to seek to feed upon smoke, is not this the act of a maniac? And these vain men cannot excuse themselves by saying that they did not know the worthlessness of the world's opinion; for, like everyone else, more, perhaps, than others, in the day of their disillusioning they have lamented the injustice of human judgments. And they were not wrong , for the world is incessantly at fault. It exalts to the skies those who are deserving of anything but praise; it criticizes and censures those whom it ought to admire. Why not make light, then, of its verdicts; why not say, with St Paul: Mihi autem pro minimo est ut a vobis judicer (But to me it is very small thing to be judged by you or by man's day; but neither do I judge mine own self....but He that judges me is the Lord - 1 Cor. IV.3). Read whole post......

Septuagesima Week. Chapter from "The Way that Leads to God" by the Abbe A. Saudreau
Love of self in good people.
Non efficiamur inanis gloriae cupidi (Let us not be made desirous of vainglory). - Gal.V.26
1. Vanity
49. In describing the hideous idolatry into which an uncombated pride may lead the soul, have we said enough? In stating that to give a deliberate consent to feeling of self-complacency, even in small things, is to do serious harm to the soul, have we made the danger of this self-love clear enough, and put souls sufficiently on their guard against this interior enemy which is so perfidious and dangerous? Alas for this enemy! How many souls are there who admit its formidable character, lament that they are the objects of its attacks, and yet continue to yield to it. They certainly refuse to go as far as it would have them go, but they travel half-way. Two opposite sentiments are contending in their hearts, and neither obtains the full victory. They certainly refuse to go as far as it would have them go, but they travel half-way. Two opposite sentiments are contending in their hearts, and neither obtains the full victory. They detest and at the same time they have a tender feeling for this disordered self-love. It is characteristic of the human heart to be attached to its affections. The fervent soul delights in loving God; it wishes to love Him more; it prays earnestly for the redoubling of its own devotion, and it multiplies its efforts to attain thereto. The sinner, bound by the cords of a guilty affection, cling to his slavery; he obstinately rejects every invitation to renounce his infatuation. To all lovers the thought that their love may one day have an end is heart-rending. So with those in whom two conflicting loves are striving for the monastery - the love of God and a sinful love of the creature; or a legitimate love for our parents, and an affection which these parents condemn. Such persons are in torment because they do not wish to renounce either of these affections. So with the vain man who only resists half-heartedly. He loves his vanity; this failings, of which he may be ashamed, flatters him and please him, notwithstanding. So, too, he who gives way to his susceptibility actually admires it. He loudly protests that it is necessary to be careful of his honour, and that he should consider himself weak and without character if he were to allow his neighbour to fail in consideration towards him, and to treat him without proper respect. In this inner feeling, this more or less avowed partially for a fatal defect, that we must first attack; we must conceive a lively detestation of this self-love within our hearts, and realize the evils of which it is the root.

Next: more on self-love. Read whole post......

Septuagesima Week. Chapter from "The Way that Leads to God" by the Abbe A. Saudreau

2. The love of the pleasures of senses.
43. The love of sensual pleasures is a degrading passion which results in the obscuring of the intelligence and weakening of the whole character. Thus it is that we have seen men of talent stupefied, as it were, by vice, or brave men sapped of their energy after being the heroes of mighty conflicts; while others whom we have once known as full of affection and kindliness become hardhearted, and exhibit the blackest ingratitude. And, further, the vicious man does not seal up within himself the corruption upon which he feeds, and which he breathes out through every pore. His heart, having become a reservoir in which all the impurities gathered by the senses are stored up, overflows upon all around; while his tongue distils its poisoned filth, which is all too often a source of pollution to those who come near him. Read whole post......

Septuagesima Week. "In the steps of humility" by St Bernard of Clairvoux

Here in the outline is a scheme showing the degrees of humility:

12th degree of humility - is to show humility of heart and behaviour by always having the head bowed down and the eyes cast down.
11th degree of humility - A monk sould speek in few and sensible words, gently, and without laughter.
10th degree of humulity - He should not be ready to laugh and giggle at the slightest provocation.
9th degree of humility - He should not speak until he is questioned.
8th degree of humility - He should obey the common rule of the monstery.
7th degree of humility - He should declare himself lower and of less account than all others, and should in his own inmost heart believe it.
6th degree of humility - He should esteem himself unworthy and useless in all respects.
5th degree of humility - He should humbly confess any sins that he has commited.
4th degree of humility - He should be very patient as, in obedience, he meets with difficulties and contradictions.
3rd degree of humility - He should subject himself in all obedience to his superiors.
2nd degree of humility - He should not love his own will, nor delight in fulfiling his own desires.
1st degree of humility - He should, out of a good and holy fear of God, keep himself from sin throughout each day of his life.

The first two steps (of humility) we should climb before entering upon monastic life, but for the third step and all the rest, we must place ourselves under the care and guidance of a superior. Read whole post......

Septuagesima Sunday. The necessity for interior purification - the meditation from "Divine Intimacy" by Father Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen OCD

PRESENCE OF GOD - Purify my soul, O Lord, so that it may be filled completely with Your light and Your love.

MEDITATION.
1. St John of the Cross compares the soul to a glass window with a ray of sunlight shining on it. If the glass is dirty, "the ray cannot illuminate it, nor transform it completely into its light; its illumination will be in proportion to its clearness. If, on the other hand, it is absolutely clean and spotless, it will be illuminated and transformed in such a way as to appear to be luminous ray itself, and to give the same light" (Ascent of Mount Carmel II,5,6). God is the divine Sun shining upon our souls, desiring to invade them and penetrate them, completely transforming them into His light and love. Before He does this, however, He waits until the soul resolve to free itself from every "creature stain", that is, the stain of sin and inordinate attachments. As soon as God finds a soul is free from mortal sin, He immediately fills it with grace. This precious gift is the first step in the great transformation which the Lord desires to bring about in us. The more we become purified of all sin and imperfection, and of even the slightest attachment; that is, in proportion as we conform our will to the will of God, not only in serious matters of obligation but even in the least details of perfection, the more capable we become of being entirely penetrated and transformed by divine Grace. Grace, the gift of God which makes the soul a participant in the divine nature, is poured forth into the soul in proportion to its degree of interior purity, which always corresponds to the degree of conformity with God's will. Therefore, the soul that wishes to be totally possessed and transformed by divine Grace, must in practice strive to conform fully to the will of God, according to the teaching of St John of the Cross, "so that there may be nothing in the soul that is contrary to the will of God, but that in all and through all its movement may be that of the will of God alone" (AS - Ascent of Mount Carmel I, 11,2).
2. God not only illuminates our soul with the rays of His divine Grace, but He Himself, Unity and Trinity, takes up His abode within us, according to the promise of Jesus: "If anyone love Me... We will come to him, and will make our abode with him" (Jn 14, 23). Even if we possess but one single degree of grace, God dwells in us and invite us to live in real union with Him; nevertheless, He does not give Himself completely to us; He does not consummate us in His unity nor transform us completely into Himself as long as He finds in us the slightest thing contrary to His will. The smallest imperfection is opposed to the will of God because God cannot desire the slightest imperfection and, a fortiori, He cannot admit to perfect union with Himself a soul who keeps any trace - no matter how insignificant - of opposition to His infinite perfection. The basis of all perfect union is total conformity of will and affection. As long as we love and desire, even in small details, anything that God cannot love or desire, our will is not fully conformed to the divine will, and these two wills, God's will and our own will, cannot become one, "that is, the will of God become also the will of the soul" (J.C. AS I, 11,3). As long as we do not attain this perfect union of wills, God, although He dwells in us, will not communicate Himself fully to our soul. Hence St John of the Cross teaches that "the soul disposes itself for union....by purity and love, that is. By renouncement and perfect detachment from all things for God's sake alone." When the soul is thus disposed, God bestows on it "that supernatural favor by which all the things of God and the soul are in one in participant transformation, and the soul seems to be God rather soul, and is indeed God by participation, although its natural being is as distinct from Being of God as it was before... even as the widow has a nature distinct from that of the ray by which it is illuminated" (AS II, 5, 8-7).

COLLOQUY
O my God, for what great things have You created me! You have created me to know You, to love You, to serve You - and not as a slave, but as Your child, Your friend, living in intimacy with You, sitting at Your table, enjoying Your presence. O Jesus, You have said, "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" (Jn 15,15). You have revealed to me the great mystery of a God who deigns to love me as His child. To establish His dwelling in my soul, to invite me to a more intimate friendship and union with Him. You Yourself asked for this union for me at the Last Supper: "As Thou, Father, in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us" (ibid. 17,21). To be one with God, to be consumed in the Unity of the Most Holy Trinity! O Jesus, how sublime is the ideal You propose to me, how wonderful the invitation you offer me! Yes, Your words apply also to me, a creature of sin and misery. Why should I delay, remaining among the base things and vanities of this earthly life? Why should I, like a reptile, be content to crawl on the ground, when You invite me to soar like an eagle and give me wings with which to do so? Alone I can do nothing and would struggle in vain to free myself from the bonds of sin, to detach myself from creatures and from myself; all my efforts would be useless because my natural weakness constantly tends to drag me down. By Your grace and love are the wings on which I can fly to perfect union with You. With such an ideal, how could I think it hard to undertake and carry out a work of profound purification and total detachment?
O God, make me understand clearly that "real love consist in detaching oneself from everything that is not You" (J.C.,AS II, 5,7). From everything, not only from this thing or that, but from everything, for love is by nature totalitarian, and perfect union demands perfect harmony of wills, desires, and affections. My God, what profound purification I must undergo in order that You may be able to unite me to Yourself who art infinite perfection! Read whole post......

Saturday - Day of Our Lady

Fifth week after Epiphany. Apparition of Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes. The Roman Breviary. Part 3 Winter. Burns Oates & Washbourne, 1936
Matins
Lesson 4
In the fourth year after the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the blessed Virgin, that Virgin vouchsafed to appear on several occasion to a certain pious and innocent girl named Bernadette in the vernacular tongue, in a rocky cavern overlooking the grotto of Massabielle, on the banks of the river Gave, near the town of Lourdes in the diocese of Tarbes in France.The immaculate Virgin showed herself as a young and gracious figure, robed in white, with a white veil and blue girdle, and golden roses on her bare feet. At first apparition on February 11, 1858, she taught the child to make the sign of the cross correctly and devoutly, and, taking a chaplet from her own arm, encouraged her by example to say her rosary; this was also repeated in the subsequent apparitions. On the second day the girl, who feared an illusion of the devil, in all simplicity cast holy water at the Virgin, who smiled more graciously than before. At the third apparition, the girl was invited to repeat her visits to the grotto for fifteen days. During this time the Virgin conversed with her, exhorted her to pray for sinners, kiss the ground and do penance; and finally commanded her to tell the priests, that a chapel was to be built in that place, and that it should be approached with solemnities of prayer. She was also bidden drink and wash in the water from the spring, until then invisible, which soon gushed out of the ground. On the feast of the Annunciation, the girl earnestly begged the Virgin, who had so often visited her, to reveal her name, and joining her hands and rising her eyes to heaven, she said: I am the immaculate Conception.
R. Who is she, that cometh forth as the rising morn, Fair as the moon, bright as the sun?
V. She is my dove, my perfect one, my spotless one.

Collect
O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the virgin didst prepare a worthy habitation for Thy Son; we humbly beseech Thee, that we who celebrate the feast of the Apparition of the same holy Virgin, may obtain health both of soul and body. Through the same ou Lord.

Tota Pulchra
V.Tota Pulchra es Maria
R. Tota Pulchra es Maria
V. Et macula originalis non est in te
R. Et macula originalis non est in te
V. Tu gloria Jerusalem.
R. Tu laetitia Israel.
V. Tu honorificentia populi nostri.
R. Tu advocata peccatorum.
V. O Maria.
R. O Maria.
V. Virgo prudentissima
R. Mater clementissima.
V. Ora pro nobis.
R. Intercede pro nobis ad Dominum Jesum Christum.
V. In conceptione tua, Virgo, Immaculata fuisti.
R. Ora pro nobis Patrem cujus Filium peperisti.

Let us pray.
O God, who by the Virgin's Immaculate conception didst prepare a worthy dwelling for thy Son, we beseech thee, that thou, who, by the death of the same Son of thine, foreseen by thee, didst preserve her from every stain, wouldst grant by her intercession that we also may be purified, and so to thee. Read whole post......

Of the Virtues of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. Of Mary's Faith. From "The Glories of Mary" by St. Alphonsus of Liquori.

As the Blessed Virgin is the mother of holy love and hope, so also is she the mother of faith:"I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope." Eccles. 24,24. And with reason is she so, says Saint Ireneus; for 'the evil done by Eve's incredulity was remedied by Mary's faith'. This is confirmed by Tertullian, who says that because Eve, contrary to the assurance she had received from God, believed the serpent, she brought death to the world; but our Queen, because she believed the angel when he said that she, remaining a virgin, would become the mother of God, brought salvation into the world. For Saint Augustine says, that 'when Mary consented to the incarnation of the Eternal Word, by means of her faith she opened heaven to men'. Richard, on the words of Saint Paul, 'for the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife', also says, that 'Mary is the believing woman by whose faith the unbelieving Adam and all his posterity are saved'. Hence, on account of her faith, Elizabeth called the holy Virgin blessed: "Blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished in thee that were spoken by the Lord". And Saint Augustine adds, that 'Mary was rather blessed by receiving the faith of Christ than by conceiving the flesh of Christ'.
Father Suarez says, that the most holy Virgin had more faith than all men and angels. She saw her Son in the crib of Bethlehem, and believed Him the creator of the world. She saw Him fly from Herod, and yet believed Him the King of kings. She saw Him born, and believed Him eternal. She saw him poor and in need of food, and believed Him omnipotent. She observed that He did not speak, and she believed Him infinite wisdom. She heard Him weep, and believed Him the joy of Paradise. In fine, she saw Him in death, despised and crucified, and, although faith wavered in others, Mary remained firm in the belief that He was God. On these words of the Gospel, "there stood by the cross of Jesus His Mother", Saint Antoninus says, 'Mary stood, supported by her faith, which she retained firm in the divinity of Christ. And for this reason, it is', the Saint adds,' that in the office of Tenebrae only one candle is left lighted'. Saint Leo, on this subject, applies to Our Blessed Lady the words of Proverbs, "Her lamp shall not be put out in the night." And on the words of Isaias, "I have trodden the wine-press alone," Saint Thomas remarks that the prophet says a man, on account of the Blessed Virgin, in whom faith never failed. Hence blessed Albert the Great assures us that 'Mary then exercised perfect faith; for even when the disciples were doubting she did not doubt'. Therefore Mary merited by her great faith to become 'the light of all the faithfu'l, as Saint Methodius calls her; and the 'Queen of the true faith', as she is called by Saint Cyril of Alexandria. The holy Church herself attributes to the merits of Mary's faith the destruction of all heresies: 'Rejoice, O Virgin Mary, for thou alone hast destroyed all heresies throughout world.' Saint Thomas of Villanova, explaining the words of the Holy Gost, "Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse...with one of thy eyes", says that 'these eyes denoted Mary's faith, by which she greatly pleased the Son of God.' Here Saint Ildephonsus exhorts us to imitate Mary's faith. But how can we do so? Faith, at the same time that it is a gift, is also a virtue. It is a gift of God, inasmuch as it is a light infused by Him into our souls; and a virtue, inasmuch as the soul has to exercise itself in the practice of it. Hence faith is not only to be the rule of our belief, but also that of our actions; therefore Saint Gregory says, 'He truly believes who puts what he believes in practice', and Saint Augustine, 'Thou sayest, I believe; do what thou sayest, and it is faith'. This is to have a lively faith, to live according to our belief: "My just man liveth by faith." Thus did the Blessed Virgin live very differently from those who do not live in accordance with what they believe, and whose faith is dead, as Saint James declares, "Faith without works is dead". Diogenes sought for the man on earth; but God, amongst the many faithful, seem to seek for a Christian, for few there are who have good works; the greater part have only the name of Christian. To such as these should be applied the words once addressed by Alexander to a cowardly soldier who was also named Alexander: 'Either change thy name or change thy conduct.' But as Father Avila used to say,'it would be better to shut up these poor creatures as madmen, believing, as they do, that an eternity of happiness is prepared for those who lead good lives, and an eternity of misery for those who lead bad ones, and who yet live as if they believed nothing'. Saint Augustine therefore exhorts us to see things with the eyes of Christians, that is to say, with eyes which look at all in the light of faith; for, as Saint Teresa often said, all sins come from a want of faith. Let us therefore entreat the most holy Virgin, by the merits of her faith, to obtain us a lively faith; 'O, Lady, increase our faith,' Read whole post......

Fifth Week after Epiphany. "In the steps of humility" by St Bernard of Clairvoux
Saint Bernard's preface on twelve degrees of pride and humility.
You asked me, dear brother Godfrey, to send you a fuller version of what I said to the brethren in chapter on the steps of humility. This was a big thing to ask me, and because I dearly want to fulfill it, and yet fear that I am incapable of doing so, I did not dare to undertake the task without first sitting down and thinking carefully whether I had the means to complete it. For I was afraid that I would find myself unable to grant your request after I had already started on it. But love has no room for fear, and casts it out. Then another fear assailed me - the peril arising from the praise and glory I would earn by completing the work, far outweighed my fear of the shame that failure would bring with it. And so I hesitated at the crossroads between love and fear, asking myself which way would be safer. Would pride get the better of me as I wrote useful and helpful thoughts about humility, or would my silence make me unhelpful and useless to you in your need?. But when I could come to no clear decision, I thought that the best course would be to send you the main points of the sermons I gave, since the only alternative was to take shelter in a haven of silence. And meanwhile I trust if my poor efforts meet with your approval, your prayers will keep me from growing too proud of my achievements, while if this little work does not come up to your expectations there will be nothing for me to boast of.
Here in outline is a scheme showing the degrees of pride and humility:

1st degree of pride is inquisitiveness, a state in which sight and all other senses wander off in pursuit of things that are of no concern for man's salvation.
2nd degree of pride is instability of mind, which is betrayed by joy at one moment and sadness the next.
3rd degree of pride is frivolity, which is shown by overreadinesse to laugh
4th degree of pride is vainglory, which occurs in one who pours out every thought that comes into his head.
5th degree of pride is singularity, or boasting of one's own deeds.
6th degree of pride is arrogance in thinking oneself more holy than everyone else.
7th degree of pride is presumption, or following one's own opinion in everything, and forcing it on others.
8th degree of pride is self-justification in wrong-doing
9th degree of pride is false confession, which is the very contrary of patience in the face of difficulties and contradictions.
10th degree of pride is rebellion against one's brethren and superiors.
11th degree of pride is freedom to sin and the absence of shame in doing so.
12th degree of pride is the habit of sinning.

In the monastery it is impossible to slip down the last two steps of pride. But notice how common element of all the first six degrees is contempt for brethren; in the next four, contempt for the superior is the keynote, while the last two are both states of contempt of God.

Next: the degrees of humility. Read whole post......

Fifth week after Epiphany
"The way that leads to God" by Abbe A.Saudreau. R&T Washbourne, LTD, 1911
The love of self in good people
&2. susceptibility
54. The vain will have their reward here below. Our Lord has said: Receperunt mercedem suam (Matt.VI,2). And the emptiness of this reward in nowise disabuses them; even when they receive their chastisement, their disappointments and vexetions do not effect their cure, because self-love, the source of so much bitterness, is not cast out, We see this in those susceptible people who are perpetually making fresh troubles for themselves, and who are so very little concerned to correct their faults. Criticism and reproofs affect them beyond measure, To be blamed in any way is a real catastrophe to them. When anyone is not quite satisfied with something that they have done, all their satisfaction is evaporates, their other difficulties are forgotten, they are absorbed by the distress which this disapproval cases them, And a simple word said quite amicably, a slight warning, some advice offered with the best intentions, is often sufficient to wound them. Or a still smaller thing will sometimes suffice-some slight want of attention, some rifling neglect, a mark of indifference. At times their feelings will be hurt by something which existed in their own imagination only. They will consider themselves aggrieved when the culprit never dreamed of offending them. Would that those who are so sensitive where their own dignity is concerned might show themselves as delicate of perception in their dealings with God; as alive to anything which wounds His honour, and as careful not to injure it!
55. But their absurd susceptibility is in itself an injury to the Divine honour, both because it is contrary to humility, to truth, and justice, and also because it is source of discord. What could be more beautiful than that Divine charity which was so perfectly practised by the first Christians, of whom it was said that they had but one heart and one soul? What is more noble, more admirable, than that perfect union of hearts which we see in certain truly Christian circles? And why cannot this concord always exist? why, amongst souls formed for mutual understanding, should these frictions occur, these ill-disguised or sometimes openly avowed feelings of antipathy? why these bitter words, these more or less unfounded reproaches, and even at times these abusive utterances?
Inquire into the cause of these disorders, question those who exhibit so little charity towards their brethren, and you will commonly hear this reply: "But they hurt my feelings, they reproached me unjustly, they accused me falsely!" Such is the usual cause of these resentments. The man was, or thought he was injured; and then all his self-love was up in his arms. Instead of forgetting what was really quite unimportant, he goes over and over it perpetually; he reviews again in his mind all that unamiable conduct, those acts of injustice of which he fancies himself the victim; and in so doing he merely enlarges and poisons the wound. Hence proceed those feeling of aversion, those unfavourable and unjust judgments, based upon grounds the slightness of which he will not see, and from which he perhaps can never again free himself. A susceptible person does not know how to be just towards those by whom he thinks himself offended
56. And good is also hindered thereby. In cases where some useful action might be performed, some good work co-operated in, he will not take any part or give his help. He remains given up to ill-humour; and the most important enterprises will often be rendered abortive by this stupid sulkiness. If the grievance concerns his superiors, the susceptible person will demur and will not obey cheerfully; he will breed a bad spirit amongst others by murmuring and by inciting them to indocility or revolt. If it is against his equals, he will blacken them in their neighbours' eyes; he will not only publish the evil that he knows concerning them, but he will exaggerate their wrong actions and magnify their defects; he will not admit their good qualities, will indulge in unjust strictures with regard to them, in evil suspicions which have no serious foundations; he will prejudice against them those who would otherwise have esteemed and liked them. Read whole post......