The spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius

by Saint of Loyola Ignatius; Charles Coppens

THE EIGHTH DAY

So far we have followed our King, Jesus Christ, through His humiliations, labors and sufferings from His incarnation to His cruel death; we must now follow Him in His glorified life. There too He is still our leader, by whose side we must triumph, as we have fought by His side. We must now rejoice with Him. For joy at His exaltation is worship; and at the same time it encourages us to follow Him generously and lovingly and to persevere to the end. Such is the purpose of the Fourth Week of St. Ignatius’s Exercises.

THE FIRST MEDITATION
On the Resurrection of Christ

1st Prelude. The soul of Christ, accompanied by the holy souls from Limbo, comes to the tomb. He arises glorious. The holy women come to annoint the body. “He is not here.” Christ appears to His Blessed Mother, to the penitent Magdalen, to St. Peter, to the devout women.

2nd Prelude. Behold the glorified body of the Saviour, as He arises from the tomb. Imagine the scene.

3rd Prelude. Ask to rejoice with Him for His own sake, and to be thereby encouraged to suffer like Him.

POINT I. Behold the scene of His resurrection. First see the lifeless body, with its gaping wounds and discolored flesh. In union with the blessed souls, adore it. Then as Christ’s soul enters it, behold how it is transformed. How different He is now from “the man of sorrows”! His sacred countenance beams with happiness. Recall His former transfiguration on Mount Thabor: “His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became white as snow.” On His head there is still a crown, but no more of thorns, but now one of glory. His sacred wounds are in His hands and feet and in His side, but they drip no more with blood, but pour forth rays of light. Bow down in loving adoration, and in spirit humbly kiss His feet, and adore your sovereign Lord. Ask Him to bless you, and to strengthen you to follow in His footsteps.

POINT II. Imagine you see the blessed souls proceed, in company with Christ, to visit the cross, on which He expiated the sins of the world. Adore the cross, and kiss it lovingly. Bow down and kiss the spot on which He was nailed to the tree. Next, retracing the way of the cross, meditate lovingly on His various sufferings.

At last accompany the Lord in spirit as He goes to visit and console His Blessed Mother. There behold her still seated in the deepest affliction, the Mother of Sorrows, plunged in an agony of grief, like that which had made the Saviour exclaim: “Father, if it be possible let this chalice pass from me.” When suddenly a soft radiance fills the room, and, as she looks up, she sees before her the glorified form of her Divine Son. Pause to share in her exceeding joy and love and gratitude. Remember that thus your sufferings too will one day be exchanged for boundless bliss.

POINT III. Consider how meanwhile the pious women were hastening, at early dawn, on their way from the city to the tomb, carrying with them precious ointments to embalm more perfectly the sacred body of their Lord. They ask one another as they approach the sacred spot: “Who shall roll us back the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And looking they saw the stone rolled back. For it was very great” (St. Mark xvi, 3).

Thus it is that we often see difficulties before us, and we see no way of escape; but a kind Providence brings us unexpected help: “I can do all things in him who strengtheneth me” wrote St. Paul (Phil. iv, 13). We should not be too timid when we work for the glory of God.

Still the holy women are not favored with the sight of the Saviour, but they are sent by the Angel with a message to the Apostles; in due time Jesus will reward their devotion. “And behold Jesus met them, saying, All hail, But they came up and took hold of his feet and adored him” (St. Matth. xxviii, 9). This favor was the reward of their loving service. Oh! that we could serve the Redeemer as they did! We can do so by honoring Him in the Blessed Sacrament, visiting Him there, adorning His altars. We can also do it by serving the poor: “Amen, I say to you: as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me” (Ib. xxv, 40).

The Lord has His own sweet way of encouraging us. Before appearing to those pious women, He appeared first to St. Mary Magdalen, out of whom He has cast seven devils; then He appeared to Simon Peter, who had foresworn Him. Truly Christ had come on earth to save sinners; none of us should ever despond.

A loving colloquy with our dear Lord, adoring Him, congratulating Him on His triumphs, in spirit embracing His sacred feet, begging for grace to walk in His blessed footsteps till we too partake of His glory.

THE SECOND MEDITATION
On Christ’s Ascension into Heaven

1st Prelude. Read Acts, i, 1-11.

2nd Prelude. Behold the scene on Mount Olivet, Christ rising above the crowd of His disciples, every one of whom looks lovingly upwards, enraptured by the sight of His triumph.

3rd Prelude. Beg to rejoice for Christ’s sake, and to be encouraged to follow your King faithfully to the end.

POINT I. Consider 1. The Persons: Christ, the former “Man of Sorrows,” now the conqueror of death, the glorified Lord of Heaven. He is still our King, leading the army of His followers into the Kingdom of His Father. I must follow Him on earth, that I may follow Him into Heaven. By His side stands His blessed Mother, how exultant now in His triumph! There is the Magdalen, rapt in an ecstasy of joy; St. Peter, St. John, all His dearest friends, rejoicing at the blissful vision.

2. The actions. Christ is ascending Heavenwards, going to take possession of His Kingdom. All His disciples raise their eyes and their hands towards His ascending form, and experience a foretaste of that happiness which is to be their eternal reward.

3. The circumstances. Where does Christ ascend? In sight of Calvary. When? But a few weeks after His dreadful death. So too will our trials come to an early end, much earlier perhaps than we anticipate.

POINT II. Consider Christ’s entrance into Heaven amid the adoring and exulting choirs of the entire angelic host, and proceeding to occupy the most magnificent of all thrones, prepared for Him at the right hand of His Father. Then began a bliss not less real than His sufferings had been, with a joy ever ancient and ever new, and destined to last for all eternity. Happy souls, redeemed by His sacred death, and purified in His precious blood, are flocking in from every clime, and are received to His loving embrace. What ecstasy! Shall I ever reach that goal? It is destined for me. Jesus is the King whom I am serving. He knows me, He loves me, He beckons me on.

POINT III. Look around that blissful abode. Who are there? All the truly good of every generation. There, on that bright throne nearest to Jesus is His Blessed Mother Mary, the queen of Heaven and earth, the refuge of sinners, the help of Christians, my loving Mother. Kneeling in spirit at her feet I will ask for perseverance in her service. There are my blessed patrons, whom I have honored on earth, now ready to welcome me to their happy company. Holy Saints of God, pray for me! There are many blessed souls whom I knew in the days of their own trials on earth, my parents and relatives and fellow-religious, and some perhaps whom I have benefited in life, or after their death in Purgatory.

All look down on me with loving eyes, and bid me persevere and improve further in fervor of life; for “The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. viii, 18).

POINT IV. Consider the words of the two Angels: “Why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven.” For this second coming of the Lord we must now prepare by active work. The days of the retreat will soon be past, we must return to the daily drudgery of life; but we must do so with a renewed spirit of genuine devotion. We must prepare like the Prudent Virgins: “At midnight there was a cry made: Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him—And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage” (St. Matth. xxv, 6-10).

Colloquy. Address our dear Lord lovingly, joyfully, congratulating Him on His triumph, and begging for a generous spirit of sacrifice in His service.

CONSIDERATION
On the Spirit of Love

The ultimate purpose of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, is to make us serve God in the most perfect manner possible, and therefore in the spirit of love, or charity: “Now there remain faith, hope, and charity; these three, but the greater of these is charity” (I Cor. xiii, 13). Love is the most excellent homage that the creature can render to the Creator. Behold the bee in the springtime issuing from its hive and soaring afar over the sunny fields. It is in quest of honey: Honey is all it cares for. It passes by the velvet pansy, the flaming tulip, and lights with eagerness on the humble clover, because it finds honey there. Thus too some men prize and seek nothing but riches, others only honor, others pleasure, etc.

What can there be in this vast material universe that God would deign to care for? It is love of the human heart. It is His delight to be with the children of men, as He tells us in the Book of Proverbs: “My delights to be with the children of men” (viii, 31). And what does the Lord desire from men? He states it further on: “My son, give me thy heart” (Ib. xxiii, 26); that is, of course, thy love; for the heart of man is the emblem of love. Without love nothing has value in God’s eyes, as the Apostle proclaims so eloquently in his First Epistle to the Corinthians: “If I should distribute all my goods to the poor, and I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing” (xiii, 3). This charity is so pleasing to Heaven because it comes from Heaven; it is Divine: “The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us” (Rom. v, 5). Of course, our love of God is no benefit to Him, no more than the love of a little child for its parents is any profit to them. The infant causes any amount of inconvenience and trouble in the home. Its loving looks and tender caresses are all it can give in return for the kindness shown it; but this is sufficient in the eyes of affectionate parents. We are like infants before the Lord, we can give Him nothing that He stands in need of, all He desires of us is that we love Him; and this very love He turns to our own advantage, for He rewards it most richly.

Besides this reward, there is another advantage derived from loving God, namely that love lightens all burdens of life. Why does a young mother, formerly rapped up in the pursuit of pleasure, now sit so patiently for hours by the bedside of her ailing child, forgetful of all worldly amusements,—except because she loves that infant. Love makes all efforts pleasing; as Thomas à Kempis puts it: Facile equitat quem gratia Dei portat, “He rides along with ease who is borne up by the grace of God.” So if we are animated by the love of God, we rejoice in serving Him, we hunger and thirst after justice. And this cheerful service on our part vastly increases the love God has for our persons; “For God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. ix, 7).

And thus by the practice of Divine love the bond that unites the human soul with our Blessed Lord grows stronger and stronger. Therefore, while the worldling sees nothing but hardships in the religious state, the inmates of the cloister would consider it the saddest misfortune if they were compelled to leave their happy homes and return to the world.

This love of God is that sacred fire of which Christ said: “I am come to cast fire on the earth, and what will I but that it be kindled?” (St. Luke xii, 49). It shone with a most refulgent light when, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost appeared in the form of fiery tongues and filled the minds and hearts of the disciples. And see how the Divine love, then received, transformed the Apostles into new men. Before, they had been very dull of comprehension, some of them asking the Saviour on the day of His ascension whether He was then going to restore the Kingdom of Israel; then they became at once the infallible teachers of the world. Before, they had been cowardly men, locked up in the upper room for fear of the Jews; then they were suddenly changed into heroes, rejoicing, when they had been publicly whipped, that they were allowed to suffer for the name of Jesus. All of them were glad to die for their Lord. Countless martyrs were enkindled with the same fire of love; men, timid women, little boys, tender maidens, astonishing the Pagans by their heroic fortitude.

When the early persecutions were past, thousands of solitaries retired from the allurements of the world, and were led by the spirit of Divine love into frightful solitudes to spend their lives in penance and prayer, thinking of God alone. Every subsequent age in the history of the Church is replete with similar exhibitions of the love of Jesus. Hundreds of thousands of Christians left home and country, and sacrificed their lives to rescue from the hands of Pagans the tomb of the Redeemer. Others, during the Ages of Faith, devoted their riches or their personal labor to erect magnificent cathedrals, and provide a rich supply of gold and silver vases, of precious vestments and ornaments for the house of their beloved Lord.

When the charity of many had grown cold, the Blessed Saviour knew how to rekindle its fires by means of the devotion to His Sacred Heart. He appeared to His humble servant Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque, and said to her: “Behold the heart that has loved men so much, and yet I receive nothing but ingratitude in return.” The whole purpose of this beautiful devotion is to elicit the love of human hearts for their loving Saviour, so as to unite God and men together by the golden bond of love.

To promote this devotion Jesus has been liberal in His promises. For those who practise it fervently He promised that He would be their secure refuge during life and above all in death, that He would bestow a rich blessing on all their undertakings, that by it tepid souls would become fervent, and fervent souls would mount quickly to a high perfection, that He would give to priests the gift of touching the hardest hearts, that He would write in His sacred Heart the names of those who would zealously promote this devotion and He would never allow them to be blotted out.

It is conformable to the sweet ways of Providence to make the remedy of an evil reach further than the disease. Thus, when our race had been disgraced by the sin of Adam, God far more than repaired the harm done; which makes holy Church exclaim with gladness: “Oh, happy fault, which merited to have such a Redeemer!” And so it has been with the devotion to the Sacred Heart. It was instituted by the Lord that men might learn to appreciate more highly His love for us, and return Him a more ardent love than was given Him before, to atone also for the coldness and the sins of others, and to induce all to receive more frequently His Sacred body and blood. It is truly wonderful how successfully all this has been accomplished. Now millions of persons of all ages and conditions in life, have formed the excellent habit of daily giving their first thoughts to elicit an act of love for Jesus, and offering all their actions and sufferings at the opening of each day for the intentions of the Sacred Heart. And it is probably no exaggeration to say that, since Christ’s desire of frequent Communions was whispered by Him to Blessed Margaret Mary, the number of Holy Communions daily received has increased, not only a hundred but a thousand fold.

And while such devout practices have thus multiplied beyond all calculation, the main purpose of it all has been attained to a most consoling extent. For while the age in which we live is becoming more and more indifferent and often hostile to the Lord, His true friends long more ardently than before to return to Him love for love, and to induce countless souls to serve Him in the spirit of love. This spirit no doubt animates our own hearts. It has now been enkindled anew in the Spiritual Exercises; and it ought to be the dominant note in the new life for which this retreat has been a preparation. Let us do our utmost, with the help of Divine grace, to do all things henceforth in the spirit of the love of God. This spirit of love is beautifully expressed in the

HYMN OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER

My God, I love Thee! not because

I hope for Heaven thereby;

Nor because those who love Thee not

Must burn eternally.

Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didst me

Upon the Cross embrace!

For me didst bear the nails and spear,

And manifold disgrace,

And griefs and torments numberless,

And sweat of agony,

Yea, death itself—and all for one

That was Thine enemy.

Then why, O Blessed Jesus Christ,

Should I not love Thee well?

Not for the hope of winning Heaven

Nor of escaping Hell;

Not with the hope of gaining aught,

Not seeking a reward;

But as Thyself hast loved me,

O everlasting Lord!

E’en so I love Thee, and will love,

And in Thy praise will sing—

Solely because Thou art my God,

And my eternal King.

Translation of E. Caswall.

THE THIRD MEDITATION
On Divine Love

After our consideration on the value and excellence of Divine love and its connection with the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are now to meditate on some striking manifestations of God’s love for us, and on various ways in which we can manifest our love for Him.

We begin, with St. Ignatius, by remarking that genuine love does not consist in a mere feeling, or sentiment, but in the will to please or benefit the person loved, even at the cost of sacrifice on our part. For instance, imagine two boys, coming home for vacation from a boarding school, differing greatly in the manifestation of their affection for parents and kindred, whom both were glad to meet again. One of them was very demonstrative of his tender feelings; you would have thought that his love for all was far greater than that of his less effusive brother. After a few days however their father had a task for them to do which required a little sacrifice on their part. Then the affectionate lad had all manner of excuses to evade the trouble, without giving a thought to his father’s needs, while his brother quietly volunteered to do the work of both. His love was genuine; such should be our love for God.

A second remark of St. Ignatius is that love between two persons is increased by the frequent interchange of kindly services. The more we do for God, and the more we consider what He has done for us, the more devoted we shall become to Him, and the more pleasing in His sight.

1st Prelude. Imagine you behold Jesus before you, looking benignly down upon you as upon a loved child.

2nd Prelude. Beg fervently for an increase of love for Him.

POINT I. Recall to mind the principal benefits you have received from God, from your birth till the present day, both those common to you and all others, and particularly those peculiar to yourself, tracing the wonderful ways in which a benign Providence has guided you to your present state. Render hearty thanks to the Lord, and make Him the following offering in return: “Accept, O Lord, all my liberty, accept my memory, my understanding and my will. Thou hast given me all these powers; I restore them all to Thee, and I deliver them entirely into Thy hands that Thou mayest direct them. Only give me Thy love and Thy grace; these are all I desire.”

POINT II. See how God is most intimately present to you, not only as the water of the ocean is about a sponge, before it and behind, above and below, right and left of it and within every pore, but He penetrates your entire body and soul, and His delight is to be with the children of men.

On your part resolve to keep yourself constantly in the presence of God, cultivating the habit of thinking lovingly about God, speaking with Him when not otherwise employed. This need not cause a strain of mind; it only gives an excellent direction to our thoughts and affections, which would otherwise be wasted upon useless or perhaps even unworthy objects. Lovingly offer this resolution to your dear Lord, and ask Him to bless and prosper it.

POINT III. Consider how God is unceasingly working for you, as a loving father works for the support of his children. He causes the earth to produce whatever you need for food and raiment and lodging; in far distant climes He makes the fruits and the spices grow which are to refresh and to cheer you. Resolve, in return, to labor strenuously for whatever will promote the glory of God. The field of zealous labors for the honor of God and the good of souls, the children of God, is vast and varied. Christ bids us pray the Lord of the harvest that he may send laborers into His harvest (St. Luke x, 2). Offer yourself to be a devoted laborer, ask for toils and even hardships in this noble service. See what special efforts you can make in this matter, and offer your resolves to the Lord.

POINT IV. Every trait of goodness, whatever is amiable or admirable in any creature, is but a faint reflection of an infinite perfection in the Creator. A bright flower, a vast prospect, a noble deed, an affectionate heart and a thousand other charms found on earth are able, each of them, to raise our minds to the thought of the beauty, the grandeur, the infinite loveliness of our dear Lord. Thus the sight of a pretty flower sometimes threw St. Ignatius into an ecstasy of Divine love.

Resolve, that, whenever any charm on earth arouses your love or admiration, you will take occasion from it to raise your heart to God, and to elicit an act of love for Him who is the source and the pattern of all that can duly delight the human heart.

Colloquy. Finish this last meditation of the retreat with a generous consecration of yourself and of all you have to the love and service of your dear Lord and Master, either in your own words or in those of St. Ignatius quoted in the first point of this exercise, or in the loving renovation of your religious vows.

THE END OF THE EIGHT DAYS RETREAT.

SIX TRIDUUMS
In Preparation for the Semi-Annual Renovation of the Vows

TRIDUUM A

MEDITATION I
On the Desire of Perfection

1st Prelude. Hear Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount, saying to His disciples: “Be ye perfect as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (St. Matth. v, 48).

2nd Prelude. Beg for an earnest desire of perfection.

POINT I. One great hindrance to attain perfection is the want of desire to attain it, a want of proper appreciation of this exalted privilege. This state of mind is:

1. Very unreasonable, unwise. It is like the deplorable disposition of many college boys, whom we blame and despise, because they have not sense enough to value their opportunity to acquire an education. Their fault is palliated by their youth; they will be sorry afterwards. There is no such excuse for religious. They ought to know better. Striving after perfection is the main duty of their state.

2. Very inexpedient for their happiness even in this world.

“The heart of man is made for God! nothing but God can make it happy,” says St. Augustine. A lax religious is less happy than a fervent one; he does not enjoy that peace of mind which the world cannot give; he worries, frets at many things, unlike the fervent.

3. Inexpedient for the next life, causing immense loss of merit and future glory, exchanged for trifles.

4. Injurious to our neighbor, whose salvation depends to a great extent on our holiness.

POINT II. A second hindrance to the attainment of perfection consists in a want of confidence of attaining it. Some imagine that perfection, desirable as it is in itself, is out of the question for them, they are unworthy of aspiring to it. Now distrust of self is excellent, but we must not distrust God, either His power or His love for us. God is not like the man condemned in the Gospel who began to build and could not carry the building to completion. He has invited us to aim at perfection; for that is the nature of the religious life. We have accepted His invitation; it is now for Him to furnish us copious means to attain perfection. The die is cast; we are pledged to strive after perfection, and God has pledged Himself to provide. Father Lallemant, so enlightened in spiritual matters, has left written that the holiness to which every Jesuit is called surpasses all imagination, and that, if any one could see the amount of grace that God has prepared for each of us, he would conclude they were destined for no less a Saint than an Ignatius or a Xavier (Spiritual Doctrine, page 29).

We ought confidently to say with St. Paul: “I can do all things in him who strengtheneth me,” Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat (Phil. iv, 13), and with the Psalmist: “If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear,” “Si consistant adversum me castra, non timebit cor meum” (Ps. 26).

POINT III. Some religious say they know not how to attain perfection. The way is plain enough, if only we make up our mind to follow it. It requires:

1. The faithful observance of our rules: whoever observes them perfectly is a real saint. We all observe most of them; let us observe all of them.

2. Much good prayer, performing our spiritual exercises faithfully and fervently. In particular let us perform this triduum to the best of our power.

What is required for this purpose?

a. Silence and recollection;

b. Earnest meditations;

c. Spiritual readings that speak to our hearts;

d. Careful examinations of our spiritual progress.

Colloquy with our dear Lord, asking for a thorough renovation of Spirit.

MEDITATION II
In What Perfection Consists

1st Prelude. See God enthroned in Heaven, and all the Saints lovingly looking up to Him.

2nd Prelude. Beg grace to understand in what perfection really consists.

POINT I. A thing is good if it answers fairly well the purpose for which it is made; it is perfect if it answers that purpose as well as is desirable. Thus a pen is perfect if it is every way suitable to write with, a watch is perfect if it always keeps time. Now man is made to love God; he is therefore perfect if he devotes himself entirely to the love of God. That perfection consists formally in Charity is expressly stated by St. Paul, who writes to the Colossians: “Above all things have charity, which is the bond of perfection” (iii, 14).

To attain perfection, therefore, we must accustom ourselves to be totally taken up with God and God’s interests, for God’s sake. This is the main purpose aimed at by Father Faber in his excellent book “All for Jesus.” Read for instance, pages 48, 49. Much of this may be in many men merely sentimental, or poetical. To make it actual in us, real in our conduct and the dispositions of our will, seeking God in all things, is true sanctity. At this we must steadily aim. It is in fact the motto of our Society: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, “To the Greater Glory of God.” A perfect man is a man of one idea, the idea of the greater glory of God.

POINT II. Such devotedness to God requires detachment from all creatures; this detachment is not itself perfection, but it is a necessary condition to attain this entire devotedness, in which perfection consists. We must act like the man who had found a treasure hidden in a field, who to secure it went and sold all he had to buy that field; and like him who, to buy the precious pearl, went and sold all he had (St. Matth. xiii, 44-46). We must be detached. Our hearts are so narrow that we cannot give a part of them to one object without detracting from our love for another, except only if we love the former solely for the sake of the latter. Thus we should love all for God. Therefore we start on the road to perfection by leaving all things to follow Him. It must not prevent us from taking interest in many things, else we become wooden saints. With a St. Ignatius, a St. Francis Xavier, a St. Catherine of Sienna, etc., we must cherish eager desires of many projects, but only in as much as they promote God’s glory and the salvation of souls.

POINT III. In particular the study of perfection requires constant efforts: 1. To adorn our soul with more and more virtue, 2. To correct our faults, 3. For this purpose, to labor earnestly at our particular examen, our confessions, 4. To direct our spiritual readings and meditations to the purposes of the illuminative way, returning to the purgative way if there arises some special need of it. Keep weeding, planting, binding. The chief point in this triduum is to see whether we have been of late seriously laboring at the acquisition of perfection as we now understand it: in particular whether we are attached to any creature so as to retard our progress, or habituated to commit any faults, which must be corrected; also how we profit by our Holy Communions, our meditations, etc., so as to promote steady progress in virtue.

Colloquy. Ask for the special graces of which you see a present need.

MEDITATION III
Christ the Model of Perfection

1st Prelude. See Christ carrying His cross, and saying: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me” (St. Matth. xvi, 24).

2nd Prelude. Ask for grace to follow Christ faithfully.

POINT I. Consider the consoling truth that Christ has really made Himself our guide. He is such by word and example. We could not have a nobler nor safer guide. He has led millions before us to the highest happiness. In this text He invites us to follow Him. Let us thank Him for this gracious offer and eagerly accept it. He is to us what the Angel Raphael was to Tobias. True, Tobias could see the Angel, but he did not know who he was; we cannot see Christ, but we know who He is and how He has acted. Our Society undertakes to follow Him in all the details of our lives. In this following consists perfection. We are actually following Him; but how earnestly? how generously? Can we not improve in many respects?

POINT II. Consider the words: “Let him deny himself.” Christ denied Himself: His ease, His health and life, His honor. In trying to follow Him we made a good beginning when we left our parents and all earthly possessions; to crown the work we must leave ourselves: 1st. Our ease, by hard work, without repining, with joy and perseverance. Many seculars work much harder than we do, but many do so grudgingly. Not so Christ; we must do like Him.

2nd, Our health and life, leaving all this in God’s hands, with proper care indeed, but no solicitude. Oh, if we could die in His service! It would be the greatest happiness. We may have that good fortune if we never shirk any duty. 3, Our honor. Christ willingly made Himself “A worm and no man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people” (Ps. 21). The lowest on earth at first, He is now the highest in Heaven, and He invites us to follow Him. When we experience loss of ease, of health, of honor, how do we take it?

POINT III. Consider the words: “and take up his cross.” What is our cross? It is not so heavy as Christ’s. Our cross is: 1st, Our daily tasks. Perform them faithfully, zealously, cheerfully. 2nd, Our afflictions, sufferings, failures, disappointments. Be patient, do not despond: “Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof” (St. Matth. vi, 34). Trust in God: “No one hath hoped in the Lord and hath been confounded” (Ecclus. ii, 11).

3rd, Our passions; we must keep them in check by unremitting efforts.

4th, The conduct of others: “Blessed are ye when they shall revile you—Be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven” (St. Matth. v, 11). “The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us” (Rom. viii, 18).

POINT IV. Consider the words: “And follow me.” Keep your eyes on Jesus carrying His cross. Notice: 1. His exterior behavior. Do we properly observe our rules of modesty? 2. His interior sentiments. Like His Sacred Heart, is our heart at peace? Kind to all? Conformable to God’s will? “Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest to your souls” (St. Matth. xi, 29).

Colloquy. “Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou shall go” (St. Matth. viii, 19).

MEDITATION IV
The Need of Prayer to Attain Perfection

1st Prelude. See the Apostles around Christ, and saying: “Lord teach us to pray” (St. Luke xi, 1).

2nd Prelude. Beg earnestly to become a man of prayer.

POINT I. No perfection is attainable without much fervent prayer. For perfection consists in charity, the love of God, and this love is not natural to man. Men naturally view everything as related to themselves, to their earthly advantages of business, ease, pleasure, honor, etc. Perfection substitutes God for self. This, being altogether supernatural, requires much grace, and the ordinary means to obtain grace is prayer.

Those who enter on the way to perfection must be trained to the pursuit of it. All religious Orders use for this purpose a copious supply of prayer. Our Society in particular has constant recourse to this means: the long retreats, the yearly octiduums, the triduums, the daily meditations, holy masses, holy communions, daily litanies, examinations of conscience, the Divine Office, the beads, visits to the Blessed Sacraments, etc. Most of these exercises are to be continued during life.

By all this prayer we get to realize practically what worldlings know only in theory: God’s love, mercy, majesty, holiness, justice, eternity, providence, etc., His incarnation, the Blessed Sacrament, the power and love of Mary, etc.

POINT II. When are we men of prayer? When we have learned to refer all things explicitly to God. Cardinal Bellarmin points out three degrees of prayer:

1st, Some speak to God, but hear no answer, like the populace in the street crying to a distant king.

2nd, Others receive some token that they are attended to, like men admitted to an audience and allowed to file a petition.

3rd, Others converse with God and He with them; they hear more than they say, and, like courtiers, can approach their Lord frequently. How is it with us? Are we accustomed to turn to God readily, confidently, lovingly? Some have the gift of prayer before they enter the novitiate, some get it during their early years of religious life and ever increase it, some partly lose it amid active duties, some get it at their ordination, some during their third year of probation, while others never acquire it to any great extent. It can be obtained by earnest petition and fidelity in the practice of devout prayer.

POINT III. What difference does it make in a man? He may be a religious, but not a good one unless he becomes a man of prayer; nor is he safe meanwhile. For one cannot lead the life of a fervent and faithful religious unless he possess considerable command over his passions, and he cannot maintain this self-mastery without much good prayer. Yet he may do so without attaining the third degree of prayer. But when he reaches that, he becomes a different man, a special friend of God, enlightened, strengthened, not impeccable, yet pretty safe; a powerful means for the salvation of souls. Such have been all the models proposed by holy Church for our imitation.

POINT IV. What chance have we Jesuits of becoming men of prayer? An excellent chance. The third degree of prayer is a common gift of God in our Society. It is the obvious tendency of our frequent retreats. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius aim directly to produce this fruit, and the Lord has entrusted the direction of them to our Fathers, whose duty it is to give them to priests and the laity, even to members of the most contemplative Orders. Many of our ascetic writers exhibit this gift in a conspicuous degree. Am I a man of prayer? What can I do to improve in this important matter?

Colloquy. Earnest petition for the gift of prayer, and for light and grace to take the proper measures to procure progress.

MEDITATION V
The Power of Prayer to Obtain Perfection

1st Prelude. Imagine you are listening to Christ at the Sermon on the Mount while He says: “Ask and it shall be given you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you” (St. Matth. vii, 7).

2nd Prelude. Ask earnestly to obtain great confidence in prayer.

POINT I. Prayer is a spiritual gold mine. When gold is discovered on a piece of arid land, the owners have at once at their disposal the means of becoming very rich. Similarly the soul that begins to understand the efficacy of prayer can obtain by its means a copious supply of actual graces, by which Heaven and perfection are easily secured. For Providence has so disposed that grace is readily obtained by prayer, and some holy Doctors therefore call it the key to the treasury of God. The riches of that treasury are inexhaustible. They are intended for us and put at our disposal. It was by prayer that a St. Aloysius, a St. Stanislaus and countless others became saints in their childhood, that St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier, etc., etc., were led from a worldly to a holy life. All of us have the same means at our disposal.

POINT II. Listen to Christ’s own invitation and promises.

Read St. Matth. vii, 7-11, St. John xvi, 23, 24.

Notice that these promises do not suppose great virtue in him who prays. For Christ addresses them to sinners, saying: “If you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (St. Matth. vii, 11). We are most readily heard when we ask for spiritual favors. This is clearly stated by the Saviour, for He says: “How much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him?” (St. Luke xi, 13).

POINT III. Why are we not always heard in prayer? Because we do not fulfil the required conditions. 1. We must ask what is really good for us. For St. James writes: “You ask and receive not; because you ask amiss, that you may consume it on your concupiscences” (iv, 3).

2. We must ask with great confidence. We go to draw the waters of grace from a rich fountain, but the vessel of our confidence may be so small that we can carry off but little. While the multitudes pressed upon Jesus on all sides, one afflicted woman was cured because she touched Him with great confidence; and He said: “Somebody hath touched me, for I know that virtue is gone out from me.... But He said to her: Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole” (St. Luke viii, 46-48).

3. We must ask with proper reverence and attention.

For how could we expect God to mind our petitions if we do not attend to them ourselves? If we pray thus He may say: “This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (St. Matth. xv, 8).

4. We must pray with perseverance, as Christ teaches by the parable of the importunate man who came to ask for aid during the night, and obtained it because he persevered in his importunity (St. Luke xi, 5-8).

5. We must pray with resignation to God’s will, as Christ Himself did in His agony, saying: “My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (St. Matth. xxvi, 39). We must be full of confidence that no good prayer ever goes up to Heaven which does not obtain a grace; but God knows best what grace will benefit us most, and He deals with us as a loving father with his children.

Colloquy. Ask eagerly for great confidence in the power of prayer.

MEDITATION VI
The Aid of Mary to Attain Perfection

1st Prelude. See the Blessed Virgin Mary in Heaven, surrounded by the Saints of our Society.

2nd Prelude. Ask for a fervent devotion to her.

POINT I. Consider what part God has assigned to her, in the salvation and sanctification of mankind.

The first promise of the Redeemer referred to her as destined to crush the serpent’s head. The work of the redemption began with her at the Annunciation. At her voice Elizabeth and her child were filled with the Holy Ghost. As through Mary Jesus was given to the world, so through her He is given to His servants individually. As she was with Jesus all through His life on earth, so Mary is ever ready to aid each one of us all through our earthly pilgrimage. On Calvary all of us were committed to her care in the person of St. John. In her company the disciples received the Holy Ghost. She has been bodily taken up to Heaven to intercede for us with the Lord, and to beckon us on to follow her. She is daily co-operating for the sanctification of numberless souls through her multifarious religious Orders and Congregations, her Rosary and Scapular Societies and divers other Confraternities, etc., St. Liguori and various other Doctors say that every grace given to men passes through her hands and that a true child of Mary is never lost.

POINT II. Consider what the Blessed Virgin Mary has been to our Society in particular. She appeared to St. Ignatius at Loyola, set the seal on his conversion and freed him once for all from temptations of the flesh; she made him her devoted Knight at Mont-Serrat; she aided him in composing his Spiritual Exercises at Manresa; she received the first vows of the little band at Montmartre on the feast of her Assumption. She figures most conspicuously in the lives of all our Saints; of St. Stanislaus, St. Aloysius, St. John Berchmans, St. Alphonsus, Blessed Baldinucci, etc., etc. She has given us the direction of her Sodalities, and by its means has helped us to promote piety and purity among countless numbers of her clients. Thank her warmly for all she has done in our favor, and ask an increase of sanctity for yourself and for all your religious brethren.

POINT III. Let each one consider what favors he personally owes to the Blessed Virgin. Retrace in mind your practices of devotion to her from your early childhood to the present day. Offer once more all you have ever done in her honor. Think of the protection she has afforded you with a mother’s love, her probable influence on your vocation to the Society, on your novice fervor, on all your religious life up to the present day. Is there any devotion which you ever practised in her honor and which you have since discontinued? With what fervor do you daily honor her? Could you do more to honor or to please her? either by your own conduct or by your influence over others?

Colloquy. Speak to Mary confidently and lovingly, asking for light and grace to improve further in your zeal for her glory.

TRIDUUM B

MEDITATION I
On the Vows

1st Prelude. Imagine the scene of your first vows.

2nd Prelude. Ask light and grace to prepare for a fervent renovation.

POINT I. What did we do when we first took our vows?

We offered ourselves to God as a holocaust—with parents, home, possessions, prospects—body and soul—understanding and will,—to belong to God alone, to devote our entire life to His service and glory. If we had died then, what would have been our reward? Life everlasting (St. Matth. xix, 29). That reward is still due us; it cannot be forfeited or even diminished except by mortal sin. And if thus lost, it is regained by penance in its entirety. Thank the Lord warmly for such a treasure, ask grace to be ever faithful, and to profit by this triduum to increase your fervor.

POINT II. What has been our life ever since? The gradual consummation of the great sacrifice, the accomplishment of our spiritual martyrdom. Then we entered the prison, the exile; now we are leading the martyr’s life, dying the martyr’s death. If we do not find it hard, it is because grace supports us: “Facile equitat quem gratia Dei portat”, “He rides along with ease who is borne up by the grace of God,” says Thomas à Kempis. Still our life may be at times unsatisfactory; it is a martyr’s life, above the power of mere human nature, full of merit, doing honor to God, hated by the enemies of God, salutary to ourselves and to the neighbor. This life is never at a standstill, but ever moving onward and upward; therefore it is up-hill work. And because it is a combat against sensual inclinations, it has its alterations of successes and reverses; its progress heavenward is not represented by a straight but by a curved line. When it gets below a certain level, or tends downwards at all, we must beware.

Facilis descensus Averni, “The descent to Hell is easy.” This is the very reason for the need of such triduums as the present. Thank God, ask pardon, resolve.

POINT III. Compare your former with your present dispositions regarding your general spirit of fervor, your faithful observance of rules, even the most minute, your obedience, even of will and judgment, your earnestness in prayer, your self-distrust, your charity to the neighbor, your unworldliness, your zeal for souls, your patience. Above all avoid all wilful faults.

Colloquy. Ask earnestly for a thorough renovation of spirit, and offer your resolutions to the Lord.

MEDITATION II
On Renovation of the Vows

1st Prelude. Imagine God says to you: “My son, give me thy heart” (Prov. xxiii, 26).

2nd Prelude. Ask grace to do so most earnestly.

POINT I. Consider the origin of this renovation.

It was begun by St. Ignatius and his first companions while they were students at Paris, where they met every year in the Church of Montmartre, on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, the anniversary of their first vows, to quit all things and live for God alone. The practice was afterwards incorporated in the Constitution of our Society, and has been adopted by numerous religious Congregations. It has been found so productive of good results that it ought to encourage all to perform the same most fervently.

POINT II. What are the purposes of this renovation?

1. It confirms and reasserts the total dedication of ourselves to the service of God; as Holy Church invites her children, when they have attained the age of discretion, to renew by their own act the promises made in their name by their sponsors at Baptism. If any hindrance interfered with the validity of our first vows, the obstacle being now removed, the renovation of the vows gives them permanent force.

2. It may often be more meritorious than the first vows had been, since it is made after the hardships of the religious life have been experienced and are therefore more fully realized than before. As the soldier who reenlists in an army shows more devotedness to its cause than he did by first joining the ranks of the army.

3. Since the vows act as a second Baptism, removing all sin and all punishment due to sin, and this precious effect is ascribed by St. Thomas Aquinas to the perfect charity which the vows imply, the same results may naturally be expected whenever the vows are renewed with the same good will. And this same good will is most apt to be present at the semi-annual renovation of the vows.

4. As the religious vows entitle the soul to a rich supply of actual graces that it may be faithful to their observance, so the earnest renovation of the same secures a new supply of such Divine aid to advance steadily in the pursuit of sanctity.

5. Every act of virtue increases the measure of our eternal happiness, especially acts of heroic virtue; the loving renovation of the vows is sure to add each time a rich jewel to our heavenly crown. Taking the religious vows generously has always a touch of the heroic about it.

6. Each renovation of the vows strengthens our resolves, and clamps us more firmly to God. It often takes many a blow to drive in a nail and make it stick with firmness, so with our virtuous resolutions.

POINT III. What are we expected to do during this triduum?

We must aim at a thorough renovation of the religious spirit; and for this purpose generous souls will devise various means. But to a certain extent our Society undertakes to direct our efforts by describing certain definite practices, which must be faithfully used by all. They are clearly marked out in the Letter of Father Vincent Caraffa: 1. Avoiding all unnecessary intercourse with the outside world; 2. Observing a strict silence, even during the times of the ordinary recreations; 3. Half an hour’s reading daily of a practical spiritual book. 4. Making two earnest meditations daily, one of them before the Blessed Sacrament exposed; 5. Examining one’s spiritual progress for half an hour every day; 6. A general confession of the last six months; 7. A public self-accusation of faults in the refectory; 8. A clear account of conscience to the superior. If all this is observed and performed in the right spirit, much profit will result.

Colloquy. Offer good resolutions, and ask further light and grace to correct all faults.

MEDITATION III
What Kind of Men Does Our Vocation Require?

1st Prelude. Imagine Christ says to you: “I have given you an example” (St. John xiii, 15).

2nd Prelude. Pray to understand this great truth and to imitate that glorious model.

POINT I. Consider that the men required by our vocation are to be like to Christ: “Whom God foreknew he also predestinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son” (Rom. viii, 29). A parable will explain this. A very rich man had an only son, a model of every virtue and adorned with every human accomplishment. He devoted a large portion of his fortune to educate a number of other boys that should be fit companions for that son as like to him as possible. Thus God is treating all His elect, and in particular the members of the Society of Jesus. That is the very purpose for which St. Ignatius was inspired to found our Society and to give us his Constitution. We are destined to be perfect images of Christ.

POINT II. Consider some special points of resemblance that the Lord requires of us. We must be: 1. Like Christ in our outward behavior, so that He may appear reflected or reproduced in each one of us. That is the purpose of our Rules of Modesty, to which St. Ignatius was taught by the Holy Ghost to attach more than usual importance. Do we observe them faithfully? If we do not, it is because we fail to realize fully the ideal of our founder, which was nothing less than the image of the Son of God.

2. Like Christ in our inner sentiments, in compliance with His own invitation: There is so much meaning in His words inviting us to this special manner of imitation: “Learn of me because I am meek and humble of heart” (St. Matth. xi, 29). These two virtues are so conspicuous in our Divine model.

Meekness is emblemized by the gentlest of animals, the tender lamb; and Christ was figured in the Old Testament by the sacrifice of the lamb, and proclaimed in the New Testament by St. John the Baptist with the words: “Behold the Lamb of God” (St. John i, 29). This is not the characteristic virtue of a warrior, such as St. Ignatius had been; but he had laid aside that garment of his youth and instead had put on Christ, as St. Paul teaches us to do, saying:

“Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. xiii, 14). We must do the same. Humility is most conspicuous throughout the life of Christ; it must be the foundation of all our spiritual life: “He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” (Phil. ii, 7).

3. Like Christ in our practical reason, taking God’s view of all things, in opposition to the views of the world. The whole outlook on life of a good religious is very different from the outlook of the worldling. Therefore the world hates us: “If you had been of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (St. John xv, 19). How can we acquire this unworldly spirit, which is the spirit of Christ? By meditation, spiritual reading, all manner of prayer, recollection, spiritual conversation, etc. Are we making earnest efforts on these lines? Do we avoid profane reading as far as our labors allow? Novels and newspapers are full of the spirit of the world, and so is unnecessary conversation with most seculars.

4. Like Christ in our wills, which should be ever intent on promoting the glory of God and ever zealous to procure the salvation of souls. Our zeal should cause us to labor hard, wherever an opportunity can be found to further the great purpose of our Society, the greater glory of God.

Colloquy with our dear Lord, asking for light and grace to make ourselves more like unto Himself.

MEDITATION IV
Christ Is Here to Help Us

1st Prelude. Realize the fact that Christ is present on the altar, and hear Him say: “Behold, I am with you all days” (St. Matth. xxviii, 20).

2nd Prelude. Ask for a lively faith in Christ’s presence in our midst, and a firm confidence in His loving assistance.

POINT I. In what sense is Christ present on the altar?

1st. Substantially, personally, body and soul, God and Man. Make a firm act of faith, adore Him, lovingly thank Him.

2nd. As our helper: “Come to me, all ye that labor and are burthened, and I will refresh you” (St. Matth. xi, 28). He will help us in attaining the purpose for which He has brought us to the Society, to perfect our souls and to save others; in particular to bless the work of this renovation of spirit. In Him we can do all things: “I can do all things in him who strengtheneth me” (Phil. iv, 13). Ask eagerly for a thorough renovation. Examine whether your visits are fervent enough.

POINT II. What treasure do we possess in the holy Mass?

No one but God could have conceived the blessing granted to the faithful of being present in their successive generations at the mystical renovation of the sacrifice of the cross. There, before us, day after day, the same Redeemer of the world who made Himself the victim of expiation of our sins on Calvary, makes Himself a victim again in the same sacrifice, and offers Himself to His eternal Father, as truly as He did then, to obtain for those present in particular the graces they desire from His liberality. No prayer could be more powerful than the holy Mass. If only we duly enter into the spirit of it, a spirit of deep reverence, of eager supplication, of lively confidence, the daily Mass cannot fail to be for us a copious source of the choicest blessings. Whenever we find ourselves in some special need of God’s assistance, let us offer or hear Mass for that purpose. The result will not always be visible, but it will probably often be so, and it will always be very real.

How do we profit daily by this wondrous grace? It will be an important gain towards the renewing of spirit if we improve our manner of attendance at holy Mass.

POINT III. What do we receive in Holy Communion?

We receive God Himself, no greater gift is possible. And we receive Him as our food; that is, coming to do for our soul what food does for the body, giving it strength and growth, and keeping it from corruption. Each worthy Communion increases in us sanctifying grace, gives us an additional supply of actual grace to lead holy lives, and, as the Council of Trent declares, it frees us from venial sins and preserves us from falling into mortal sins.

But the amount of grace received in Holy Communion depends in great part on our own dispositions. We can greatly increase it by making careful preparation for the reception of our Lord, by fervor at the moment of reception, reciting firm acts of faith in the Divine presence, humble acts of adoration, acts of ardent love and of eager desire and petitions for Divine graces. The time of thanksgiving after Holy Communion contains some of the most precious moments of the day. How do I profit by this golden opportunity to enrich my poor soul? Can I improve my ways in this respect? We read in the Life of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez written by a lay brother (pp. 81, 82), that on All Saints’ Day, 1612, after he had received Holy Communion amid the Scholastics and Brothers of the community, Christ “showed him in a sensible manner His presence in the hearts of all those who had just received Him, so that he perceived the Saviour resplendent with glory whole and entire in each religious.” Thus Christ is really present in each of us during those precious moments. Can we not give Him a more loving and honorable reception than we often do?

Colloquy with our dear Lord, asking eagerly for light and grace, and laying before Him special resolutions and earnest supplications that we may improve.

MEDITATION V
The Holy Ghost Sanctifies Us

1st Prelude. Listen to the words of Christ: “I will ask the Father and he shall give you another Paraclete” (St. John xiv, 16).

2nd Prelude. “Come, O Holy Ghost, replenish the hearts of Thy faithful.”

POINT I. It is a great consolation to us to remember that we are not expected to work out our perfection by our own power.

The Holy Ghost is to be the principal agent in this work of sanctification; for St. Paul wrote: “The charity of God (and this is sanctity) is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us” (Rom. v, 5). See what He did in the Apostles, in the early Christians generally, what he has done in all the Saints, in the faithful throughout the ages, and in particular in religious, whom He has selected and separated from the world to make them masterpieces of holiness. Conceive eager desires of His gifts and a firm confidence in His assistance. Beg earnestly for His light and grace to advance in virtue.

POINT II. How does the Holy Ghost sanctify us? Not in a miraculous way, in which He sanctified the Apostles, but by a gradual process: 1. By the Sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance He has been working in our souls from our early infancy. Make earnest acts of thanksgiving, for these Divine graces already received. 2. By our spiritual exercises, our meditations, attendance at Mass, examinations of conscience, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, spiritual readings, vocal prayers of various kinds; during which the Spirit of God enlightens us, suggests holy resolutions, encourages and strengthens us to make generous sacrifices.

Thus we have gradually been formed, to some extent, into spiritual men. If we are not yet more spiritual, it is because we did not sufficiently comply with the inspirations of the Holy Ghost, but resisted His efforts to sanctify us further, like those to whom St. Stephen said: “You always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so you do also” (Acts vii, 51). 3. The Spirit of God sanctifies us by assisting all our efforts to advance in virtue, aiding us to believe, to hope, to love God, to practise charity to the neighbor, humility, prudence, mortification, etc.

POINT III. All this influence of the Holy Ghost requires our cooperation. The best teacher cannot make a scholar of a careless boy. Cardinal Manning in his Internal Mission of the Holy Ghost has a passage explaining this point very forcibly. He says: “No grace that God gives ever fails of its effect, except through our fault. The seed that falls upon the barren sand can bear no fruit; that which is cast upon the sea cannot cast a root; that which falls upon a mind which is like the troubled sea, or upon a heart which is like the barren sand, will bear no spiritual fruit. Nevertheless the grace of God in itself is always fruitful; it never fails of its effect unless we mar it. Are you then corresponding with the exuberant graces which God is always bestowing upon you?... Learn then to have a delicate conscience, to understand promptly, and to correspond, if you can, proportionately; not to receive great graces languidly, and squander one-half of them, and correspond faintly with the rest. Try with your whole soul and strength to rise up and to obey, when the grace of God calls you to any higher state or to any better action” (Pages 32 and 33). Yet, whatever our natural disposition may be, by the aid of the Holy Ghost we may become diligent and fervent in the pursuit of every virtue; for, as St. Paul says: “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmity. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit himself asketh for us with unspeakable groanings” (Rom. viii, 26). Let us carefully consider what we must improve on this occasion.

Colloquy with the Holy Ghost, the Sanctifier, begging for light and grace to advance rapidly in holiness.

MEDITATION VI
Effects Produced by the Holy Ghost

1st Prelude. Imagine you behold the scene of the descent of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles, as narrated in Acts ii, 1-4.

2nd Prelude. Ask for a liberal infusion of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. We will consider the principal effects produced by the Holy Ghost in the soul as they are expressed in four verses of the Veni Creator.

POINT I. Accende lumen sensibus, “Enlighten our minds.” See what a change the Holy Ghost produced in the minds of the Apostles. They had failed to understand the teaching of the Blessed Saviour. He had said to them: “Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of man. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and scourged and spit upon. And after they have scourged him, they will put him to death, and the third day he shall rise again.” And St. Luke adds: “And they understood none of those things, and this word was hid from them, and they understood not the things that were said” (xviii, 31-34). And a little while before Christ’s ascension into Heaven the Apostles asked Him: “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel?” (Acts i, 6). They were still so blinded that they only looked for earthly power. But the Holy Ghost came down upon them, and at once they understood all the meaning of Christ’s doctrine.

Ever since that day the same Divine Spirit has been teaching the Church, enlightening the minds of its members, enabling them, not only to give a mental assent to the doctrines proposed, but habitually to take God’s view of things. This is done by the faithful generally, even very simple souls, “Thou hast revealed them to little ones” (St. Luke x, 21). This should be done by us, religious, especially, and it should characterize our teaching and the tone of our conversations; while on the other hand, “The sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him and he cannot understand” (I Cor. ii, 14).

POINT II. Infunde amorem cordibus, “Infuse Thy love into our hearts.” The Love of God is sanctity, and it is a gift of the Spirit of God. “The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given to us” (Rom. v, 5). It is the most precious of all gifts and, like every good gift, it is to be obtained by fervent and constant prayer. For “Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (St. James i, 17). We are especially encouraged to ask this gift from God, by the fact that Christ Himself assures us that the Lord loves to bestow this treasure on those who eagerly ask for it; for he says:

“How much more will your Father from heaven give the Good Spirit to them that ask him?” (St. Luke xi, 13). Pray for it fervently, on this occasion in particular.

POINT III. Infirma nostri corporis virtute firmans perpeti, “Strengthen the weakness of our bodies with lasting power.” Give us the virtue of fortitude, an abiding willingness to do and to suffer whatever the service of God may require. This willingness is the test of our love for Him and the chief means of our sanctification. We exercise this willingness by patiently toiling along, suffering checks and contradictions, meeting with disappointments without being disheartened by them, enduring fatigue, pain, regret, shame, etc. We may meet all these trials in the sacred ministry, in the classroom, in humble labor, anywhere; and that not occasionally, but daily, hourly, yet without fretting or murmuring, but cheerfully, joyously, buoyantly, scarcely noticing them, but treating them as matters of course in a life of generous sacrifice. St. Augustine points out three degrees of patience. In the lowest degree are those who would rather endure their sufferings than commit sin to escape from them. Those are in the second degree who accept willingly what God sends, simply because God wills it. We ascend to the third degree when we desire to suffer that we may more closely resemble our suffering Lord. This is a special gift of the Holy Ghost, our third degree of humility.

Colloquy. Ask earnestly that the Divine Spirit may increase in you all these precious effects.

TRIDUUM C

MEDITATION I
On the Need of Frequent Renovations of Spirit

1st Prelude. St. Paul writes to the Ephesians: “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (iv, 23).

2nd Prelude. Ask grace to increase greatly your spirit of fervor.

POINT I. It is one of the infirmities of our fallen nature that we are constantly drawn down to sensual and other selfish gratifications; and, to rise heavenward in our desires, we need the exertion of ever renewed efforts. As truly as the clock needs repeated winding up, so the soul needs frequent remindings of the vital truths which cause our lives to be supernatural. For this purpose, St. Ignatius has wisely provided these semi-annual renovations of spirit. If we did not care to renew our spirit of fervor at the proper time, the Lord might do it for us by means far more painful than we imagine. Bitter afflictions brought on individual persons or upon entire bodies of men, even such as are favorites of God, are often intended by Him to purify them from moral stains. Thus, some years before the suppression of our Society, Father Paradiso was instructed by the Lord to inform Father Ricci, then our Father General, that the calamities which were going to overwhelm us were intended to renew the spirit of humility, of faith and piety in the whole Church. (See B. N.’s “The Jesuits and Their History,” Vol. II, Page 179.)

POINT II. Another reason for this semi-annual renovation of the spirit of fervor is that our life calls for men of uncommon virtue. The whole history of our Order proves this truth. Every generation of our members has had numerous heroes, conspicuous for their spirit of self-sacrifice. Every generation has had much need of solid virtue on the part of all its members to perform the difficult tasks imposed on them. For the present we are passing through a crisis in the world’s history, which calls for the most patient endurance of ills, and the most generous spirit of sacrifice, that can be expected from brave and faithful men supported by the grace of God. Such virtue as you shall need during your lifetime, if you do not want to disgrace the name you bear, can only be acquired by leading a life of prayer, and by the ever faithful performance of your duties, no matter what sacrifices they may require.

POINT III. The purpose for which we have entered on this career is well worthy of all the sacrifices it may demand of us. No grander purpose can be conceived. God Himself never holds out a higher aim than that which we are vowed to labor for, namely most perfect happiness for ourselves and for a countless multitude of other souls. In fact, the aim of our lives is identical with that for which the Son of God came down from Heaven, and toiled and suffered upon earth, namely the procuring of the greater glory of God; Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.

We could not have entered upon this grand career if the Lord had not given us extraordinary graces to do so. He has deigned to make the sacrifices implied in it comparatively easy and full of consolations; and if only we keep up our trust in Him, He will make the rest of our lives flow on in the same even current of loving worship. They will not be lives of ease and earthly comforts; far from it. They will be successions of sacrifices, as was the life of Christ. But he rides smoothly along whom the grace of God carries onward, facile equitat quem gratia Dei portat; and we shall be cheered on at every step by the prospect of eternal bliss: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Going they went and wept, casting their seeds; but coming they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves” (Ps. 125).

Colloquy. Ask earnestly for a thorough renovation of the spirit of generous service, which is to be the fruit of this triduum.

MEDITATION II
Sin the Chief Hindrance to Our Progress

1st Prelude. Imagine Christ speaks to you from the tabernacle and says: “You are my friends if you do the things that I command you” (St. John xv, 14).

2nd Prelude. Ask for copious light and grace to observe God’s commandments perfectly.

POINT I. Consider how much we ought to hate even the smallest sin.

In our first meditation we considered the grand purpose for which we live, the attainment of eternal bliss for ourselves and others and the greater glory of God. Now sin is the greatest obstacle in our way; it bars our road to Heaven and directly insults our Lord. The condition of Christ’s friendship is the observance of His commandments: “You are my friends if you do the things that I command you.” To sin is to break those commandments. If it does not always turn us against God, it at least displeases Him. Even a venial sin is a greater evil than any temporal loss. We should rather die than wilfully commit one.

This disposition is the second degree of humility, on which we resolve to live in every good retreat. To it Christ lovingly invites us, saying: “He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved by my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.... If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my word” (St. John xiv, 21-24).

POINT II. Consider the principal causes of sins.

1. One general cause is our thoughtlessness; we are unmindful of the great truths of religion, the supernatural light of which is allowed to grow dim amid the distractions of a busy or a frivolous life. Ecclesiasticus warns us, saying: “In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin” (vii, 40). Now the remedy of this thoughtlessness is provided for us in our spiritual exercises: our meditations, examinations of conscience, spiritual readings, etc. The religious who is accustomed to perform these faithfully and fervently is not likely to commit many sins, and he will gradually become more and more virtuous.

2. Another copious source of sins consists of unmortified passions. When any passion is aroused, it blinds us to the dictates of reason and the whisperings of grace. You see this in the conduct of an angry man: he says and does things which he is afterwards ashamed of and sorry for. It is so with all unrestrained passions. Consider what are your most frequent faults and what are their causes. What passions need particularly to be watched and checked. The triduum is just the time for self-introspection, examinations of conscience, and for the ordering of our spiritual exercises.

POINT III. Consider some faults in particular, against which a religious should be guarded.

1. Violation of fraternal charity, whether in word or thought; ever remember the words of Christ: “Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me” (St. Matth. xxv, 40).

2. Irreverence in prayer: disrespectful posture, wilful or careless wandering of the mind, want of proper preparation, etc.

3. Sensuality in food and drink, or in the indulgence of superfluous sleep.

4. Immodesty of touch or look, effeminate softness of manner or language, imprudent familiarity.

5. Human respect, more anxiety to please men than to please the Lord, and therefore doing or saying what is unlawful or imprudent, or omitting to do what conscience dictates to be our duty.

Colloquy. Earnestly beg pardon for faults committed and resolve to avoid the occasions of sin.

MEDITATION III
Fidelity in Little Things

1st Prelude. Behold Christ occupied in simple manual labor.

2nd Prelude. Ask the grace of understanding the value in God’s sight of perfect fidelity in even the least observances.

POINT I. What is meant by fidelity in little things? It means such fidelity in doing God’s will on all occasions as to neglect no details, even the least important. What is there in those details that makes them precious? It is their conformity to the will of God. That is what Christ valued in them. The greatest things on earth are insignificant trifles in the sight of God; but the least act of conformity to God’s will has a Divine worth, and therefore is more precious than any merely natural performance. Faith teaches us to appreciate this truth; Christ came to enforce it by the example of His private life. How do I act in this matter? Am I habitually faithful in observing all my rules, even those which seem to be of less importance?

POINT II. Consider the importance of such fidelity.

1. This fidelity is a necessary precaution against the commission of great faults. For Ecclesiasticus tells us: “He that contemneth small things shall fall by little and little” (xix, 1). And our Blessed Saviour teaches: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in that which is greater; and he that is unjust in that which is little is unjust also in that which is greater” (St. Luke xvi, 10). Thus small faults in the matter of charity, poverty, sensuality, chastity, etc., gradually lead to grievous sins. No one becomes at once a great sinner or a great saint.

Nemo repente fit summus, says the old proverb. Before Judas sold our Lord for thirty pieces of silver, he had accustomed himself to lesser acts of injustice, as St. John tells us, saying of him that “he was a thief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein” (xii, 6).

2. Our lives are mostly made up of minor acts, as were the private lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and countless Saints. A Martyr’s crown in Heaven may consist of one brilliant gem, the ruby of his heroic death; but the crowns of most Saints are made up of countless sparkling little diamonds, each the reward of fidelity in a little thing. Thus too in human things, in which perfection depends on minor details. For instance, the politeness of the man who is to the manner born is not displayed in extraordinary actions, but in that delicate tact which makes him know his place, so that he never acts amiss, and always says the right word and does the right thing at the right time. This fidelity is, in spiritual things, what good taste is in literature and the other fine arts. Masterpieces differ from common works in the perfection of the least details; for instance, in sculpture, painting, etc., etc.

POINT III. It is by fidelity in minor matters that we acquire the solid virtues needed to perform heroic deeds when the occasion calls for them. This is brought about in two ways.

1. Naturally. Our conduct on all occasions, even the most important, depends to a great extent on the good or evil habits we have acquired. Now habits are acquired by the frequent repetition of acts. It is only in little things that actions can be frequently repeated; for few of us have numerous opportunities to do great things. Therefore our habits, good or bad, are ordinarily the result of our fidelity or infidelity in little things.

2. Supernaturally. Acts of virtue practised by us obtain for us additional actual graces to practise yet more acts of virtue: and thus faithful souls constantly strengthen the chain of graces which binds them ever more closely to God. Unfaithful souls forfeit these additional helps of grace that were in store for them; and thus their chain of graces is gradually weakened, so that temptations may occur which cause them serious falls into sin. Examine your daily conduct of fidelity to grace.

Colloquy, according to the sentiments evoked by these considerations.

MEDITATION IV
The Observance of Our Rules

1st Prelude. Imagine you see St. Ignatius, as he is often painted, with the book of his Constitutions in his hands.

2nd Prelude. Beg through his intercession for a high appreciation of our rules.

POINT I. What are the rules of our Society? They are a summary of those wonderful Constitutions which the Holy Ghost has used for the conversion and sanctification of countless multitudes of souls during the last four centuries, namely:

1. Of the numerous members of our Society during the successive generations, so many of whom have given evident proofs of having attained heroic sanctity.

2. Of vast numbers of other persons of the clergy and the laity who have been saved and sanctified by the virtues and the labors of the members of our Society.

POINT II. Why are these rules so productive of sanctity?

1. Because they are not merely human work; for St. Ignatius, in writing his Constitutions, obtained by fervent prayer the special assistance of the Holy Ghost. This is evident from the history of the Saint. (For instance, Genelli’s “Life of St. Ignatius,” p. 248).

2. Because they lead the way to the perfect imitation of Christ. By his Spiritual Exercises St. Ignatius makes us conceive the most lofty ambition that can be aroused within the human heart, namely to make itself comformable to the heart of Jesus; and by his rules he guides us through all the details of our earthly career to the realization of this lofty purpose.

POINT III. How do our rules accomplish this end? By animating all our actions with the spirit of the three highest virtues: of Faith, Hope and Charity.

1. They aid us to lead a life of faith. For whenever we observe a rule, we thereby elicit an act of faith, accepting the letter of the rule or the word of our superior as the expression of the Divine will. Our life is thus made to consist of a succession of supernatural acts.

2. They make us live a life of hope. He that follows his own judgment leans on a fragile reed; but he that acts because the rules prescribe a certain course thereby trusts God more than his own reasoning and thus hopes in the help of God. He shall not be disappointed.

3. They perfect in us the love of God. For they constantly prescribe what tends to the greater glory of God: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.

Do I observe all my rules faithfully? Does any of them cause me a special difficulty? Perhaps I do not understand it well; all of them, if rightly understood, are most reasonable.

Colloquy with our dear Lord, asking for great fidelity to observe all our rules.

MEDITATION V
Zeal for Souls

1st Prelude. Hear Christ saying: “I am come to cast fire on the earth; and what will I but that it be kindled?” (St. Luke xii, 49).

2nd Prelude. Ask earnestly that this fire be enkindled in your heart and that you may help to spread it far and wide.

POINT I. That fire is Divine Charity. It is poured forth into the hearts of men by the Holy Spirit who is given to us (Rom. v, 5). It makes us lead a supernatural life, the life of children of God, and in this sense a Divine life. As the vegetable life transforms the clod of earth into the fairest flower and the most luscious fruit; as animal life turns the food into the wonderful organism of the human body; so the life of grace gives to our acts a heavenly value. By it sinners become saints, true children of God. Christ shows intense earnestness in spreading this fire, which is really His greatest work: the most Divine of all Divine works is the salvation of souls. The Angels are ministering spirits to aid in this task. All human efforts are children’s play in comparison with this. To save a soul is a grander achievement than to conquer an empire.

POINT II. This sublime work is done chiefly through the agency of men. Its great promoter was the God-man Himself, the Son of God incarnate. But He has deigned to associate to Himself the Apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests of His Church, till the end of time; to whom He has said: “Going therefore teach ye all nations ... and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (St. Matth. xxviii, 19, 20). With these the Lord has associated in a special manner, through the mission of His Church, various apostolic Orders of religious, our own Society in particular: “I have chosen you and have appointed you that you should go and should bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (St. John xv, 16).

When Christ first addressed these words to a few poor fishermen, how unlikely it was that the promise should be fulfilled? Yet it has been most wonderfully verified. So it will be in our case also if we trust in God. Yet two thirds of mankind are still pagans. Zeal is needed.

POINT III. What must we do to spread the love of God? We need not do any novel thing; we must follow the beaten path, travel along the highroad of our religious life. Age quod agis; perform your daily duties; but do everything well, to the best of your power.

In particular realize in your conduct that,

1. You are to be the light of the world. For this purpose you must form your intellect upon the teachings of Christ. Master His views of time and eternity, by earnest meditations, sound readings, recollection, much prayer. Do not contract false views of life by following false guides, reading worldly authors extensively, imbibing their spirit. The light that is in you, your intimate convictions, will necessarily shine around you, through your language, through your conduct. If you are thoroughly religious, real Jesuits, it will be the light of Christ, and will truly enlighten the portion of the world where Providence will place you. If your views are false, you will not do God’s work.

2. You are the salt of the earth; incorrupt yourselves, you must keep others from corruption. This requires pure and holy affections of the heart, soundness of the will. If we Jesuits, with our training do not live innocent and holy lives, what remedy can we find? “If the salt lose its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men” (St. Matth. v, 13). These words were spoken by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, when He was laying down the platform of His campaign for the conquest of the world to the Kingdom of His Father. We are soldiers in that campaign. How worthy is our conduct of such a cause and such a King.

Colloquy with our Divine Lord, promising fidelity and zealous exertions in this lofty vocation.

MEDITATION VI
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin

1st Prelude. See the Blessed Virgin exalted in Heaven, surrounded by the Saints and the Blessed of our Society.

2nd Prelude. Beg for an increase of devotion to her, invoking her under the title of Queen of the Society of Jesus.

POINT I. Why is all the Church so devoted to Mary? Because God wishes to be honored by man especially in connection with the grandest exhibition of His love for man, the mystery of the Incarnation. Now in this mystery Mary holds a most prominent place; she is the key to the proper understanding of it. Besides, as Jesus was given to mankind through Mary, so through her He is given to individual souls. Therefore the Church salutes her as “Mother of Divine Grace”; and many holy writers say that every grace comes to all individual souls through her intercession.

How do we know that God is pleased with so great a devotion to Mary?

1. From the constant teaching of the Church, which has applied to her such texts as these: “He that shall find me shall find life and shall have salvation from the Lord” (Prov. viii, 35); “They that work by me shall not sin” (Ecclus. xxiv, 30); etc.

2. From the Doctors of the Church, who have exhausted all their resources of learning to inculcate this devotion. Such are Sts. Augustine, Bernard, Liguori, Anthoninus, Bonaventure, etc.

3. From the workings of the Holy Ghost, who has fostered this devotion in the lives of numberless Saints and of other highly favored servants of God, as well as in the practice and prayers of the Church itself, and the unanimous teachings of her theologians.

4. From so many miracles performed through the invocation of the Blessed Virgin in every land.

POINT II. What part has our Society taken in fostering this devotion?

1. A most conspicuous part. For instance St. Ignatius ascribes his conversion to the vision he had of her, he made himself her Knight at Montserrat, he makes us meditate on her and pray to her in our retreats.

2. In the life and death of St. Stanislaus, St. Berchmans, St. Alphonsus, St. Francis Hieronymo and, in fact, all her Saints and her great men generally.

3. In her zeal to propagate devotions to Mary by means of her Sodalities, her devotions of the month of Mary, and countless writings of her ablest men. No one is considered as a worthy member of our Order who has not a marked devotion to Mary. How do I strive to honor her? Is there any practice that I used to perform in her honor that I have gradually abandoned? What improvement can I make in this respect?

POINT III. In what does devotion to Mary chiefly consist? It is an acquired habit, the result of countless acts of ours in compliance with the grace of God. Such are:

1. The devout celebration of her festivals, preparing for them by novenas and continuing them by the celebration of their octaves;

2. The daily recitation of the Rosary, or at least of the third part of it, the Beads, of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin and the Office of her Immaculate Conception;

3. The wearing of her scapular of Mount Carmel, and of medals blessed in her honor;

4. The recitation of set prayers to her at rising in the morning and retiring at night, at the sound of the Angelus bell, morning, noon and night;

5. Fervent invocations during the day, especially at the approach of temptations;

6. Reading and meditation on her prerogatives;

7. Conversing on the same, or in any way promoting her devotion. We can render no greater service to any one than to make him devout to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Are we doing as much as we can in this respect?

Colloquy with Mary, asking her guidance to learn to love her more and to lead many others to love her.

TRIDUUM D

MEDITATION I
The Purpose of This Triduum

1st Prelude. Vividly picture to yourself St. John Berchmans at his prayer.

2nd Prelude. Beg for copious grace to imitate his spirit of fervor.

POINT I. Consider that in the sight of God men differ from one another only according to their interior dispositions: Omnis gloria filiae regis ab intus, “All the glory of the King’s daughter is within” (Ps. 44). It matters nothing whether a person be rich or poor, learned or ignorant, man or woman, old or young, refined or uncultured, etc. We are apt to forget this and to trust in some natural superiority, as the world does. The Lord said to His prophet Samuel: “I do not judge according to the look of man; for man seeth those things that appear, but the Lord beholdeth the heart” (I Kings xvi, 7). The right view of ourselves will be one of the great disillusionments at death. Let us now strive to view ourselves as we are in God’s sight.

POINT II. Consider this truth in special examples, comparing a St. Alphonsus Rodriguez with an ordinary Jesuit, a Brother, a Father or a Scholastic. How similar outside. How different within. Compare a St. John Berchmans, a St. John Francis Regis with a Passaglia, a Tyrrell, etc., a mere boy, like St. Stanislaus, with a veteran religious of the ordinary cast. This interior proper disposition of which the Psalmist sings is apt to promote devotion, which St. Francis De Sales describes as follows: “Devotion is nothing else but that spiritual agility and vivacity by which charity works in us, or we by her, with alacrity and affection; and as it is the business of charity to make us observe all God’s commandments generally and without exception, so it is the part of devotion to make us observe them cheerfully and with diligence.... Devotion is the pleasure of pleasures, the queen of virtues, and the perfection of charity. If charity be milk, devotion is the cream; if charity be plant, devotion is the flower; if charity be a precious stone, devotion is its lustre; if charity be a rich balm, devotion is its fragrance, yea the odor of sweetness which comforts men and rejoices Angels” (“Devout Life,” chapter 1, 2). Do I cultivate this disposition in my heart with proper earnestness?

POINT III. Consider that the purpose of the triduum is to renew this devotion within our hearts, its purity and its energy. Consider that God Himself affords this opportunity, and invites you to profit by it. His grace is ready to help you. What must you do during these three days? Our Society lays the observances before you which you are expected to follow. In her name Father Vincent Caraffa says to you: “Let each one, leaving alone all literary studies (except the work prescribed) apply himself exclusively to the improvement of the spirit. Certain practices in particular are pointed out, namely perfect silence as far as possible, half an hour daily of truly devout reading, half an hour likewise of earnest examination of conscience, special meditations on the renewal of the spirit of piety, a manifestation of conscience, a confession of the faults committed since the last renovation and a public accusation of defects.”

Remember in all this the saying of St. Ignatius: “The more generous we shall show ourselves towards God, the more generous we shall find God towards us, and the more fit we shall daily be to receive in greater abundance His graces and spiritual gifts.”

Colloquy. Ask eagerly and confidently for the grace of making a fervent triduum.

MEDITATION II
The Interior Spirit

1st Prelude. Imagine Christ speaks to you from the tabernacle, offering to be your teacher in the spiritual life.

2nd Prelude. Beg of our dear Lord to teach you in what consists the interior spirit which is to be renewed during the triduum.

POINT I. In what consists that interior spirit? It is described in Holy Writ under the name of “Wisdom,” and the entire book called “Wisdom” is occupied in praising and explaining it. For instance, its seventh chapter says: “I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me, and I preferred her before kingdoms and thrones, and esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her.... Now all good things came to me together with her.... She is an infinite treasure to men, which they that use become the friends of God, being commended for the gift of discipline” (vii, 7-14).

Wisdom is the virtue by which we direct our acts by the best means to the best end, which is the end for which we were created, the glory of God. This is the spirit of our Society, “All for the Greater Glory of God.” And this is the spirit which we must renew within us by the exercises of the triduum. It regards the purpose or intention for which we act, and therefore it is called “the interior spirit.”

POINT II. What is opposed to the interior spirit? Two classes of faults are opposed to this interior spirit,

1. Those by which we seek sinful gratifications,

2. Those which simply fail to direct our actions to our supernatural end. Supposing that we are careful to avoid all wilful sin, let us consider how we can be wanting in the interior spirit. There are various ways: (a) We may be actuated in many of our actions by the love of praise, not seeking to please God but to please ourselves. Of course all that is done for a merely natural purpose is so much labor lost for eternity: “Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven (St. Matth. vi, 1). Thus a religious, whether a Father, a Scholastic or a Brother, may give great satisfaction to his superiors, to his brethren and to outsiders, and yet have little merit before God.”

The country is full of able and energetic teachers, for instance, who work only for earthly rewards.

(b) We may lead a life of mere impulsive energy, getting interested in our work, perhaps to the neglect of higher duties, or we may be drawn by mere natural affections: “If you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? Do not even the publicans this?” (ib. v, 46).

(c) In many of our actions we may be doing mere routine work. If we began the task with a good intention, though we continue it without further thought of the same, this is not mere routine, but may be very meritorious. The danger is that we may waste much time and energy by merely mechanical action without any supernatural intention. Do I strive earnestly to live for God, A.M.D.G.?

POINT III. What means can I use for this purpose?

1. Good daily meditations, by which I keep supernatural motives before my mind.

2. Careful examinations of conscience, watching in particular the motives of my actions.

3. Earnest prayer for light and grace steadily to advance in sanctity.

Such prayer is suggested in various parts of the “Book of Wisdom,” to which we referred before; for instance, “Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne, and cast me not off from among thy children. For I am thy servant and the son of thy handmaid, a weak man and of short time, and falling short of the understanding of judgment and laws. For if one be perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded” (ix, 4-6).

Colloquy. An earnest petition for grace to renew and increase our interior spirit.

MEDITATION III
The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by Faith

1st Prelude. Recall the words of Christ: “Amen, amen, I say unto you, He that believeth in me hath everlasting life” (St. John vi, 47).

2nd Prelude. Ask earnestly for an intense spirit of faith.

POINT I. Consider the value of faith in the sight of God.

1. It is one of the theological virtues, which are infused into our hearts by the Holy Ghost: and thus, coming from God they have a Divine efficacy. Therefore whatever action is prompted by faith has supernatural merit, that is deserves an eternal reward. Hence the teaching of Christ: “He that believeth in me hath everlasting life.”

2. This value of faith is praised most highly by St. Paul, who devotes to its praise the whole eleventh chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews, showing how all the Saints of the Old Law were sanctified by their belief in the promised Redeemer.

3. On the part of man, faith is the sacrifice of his highest faculty, his understanding, to his sovereign Lord. By it we resign our own judgment to accept in its place the word of God.

4. It is also the exercise of the virtue of humility, by which we acknowledge the weakness of our intellect. Now we know that “God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble” (St. James iv, 6).

POINT II. See how faith sanctifies our daily life:

1. It keeps before us the Divine presence wherever we be; as a sponge plunged into the sea has water all around it and within the pores of its substance, so we are in God; “For in him we live and move and be” (Acts xvii, 28). Aie, God is still more intimately present to us than the water is to the sponge, for He penetrates every particle of our substance.

2. Faith reveals to us the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, with body and soul, humanity and Divinity, teaching us to adore Him, to offer Him as our sacrifice and receive Him as our food.

3. Faith makes us recognize the voice of God in the words of our rules and the directions of our superiors, and thus it makes the details of our religious life full of merit.

4. Faith pierces the guise of misery and frailty, and makes us recognize in every human being the hidden presence of Him who will say at the judgment: “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me” (St. Matth. xxv, 40).

Thus faith makes the religious life most meritorious.

POINT III. Examine yourselves on the practical working of the spirit of faith in your daily life. Consider:

1. Whether you strive earnestly to practise the presence of God, by frequently remembering Him and honoring Him by some ejaculatory prayer; for instance, at the striking of the clock, or at the signal to begin or end an exercise. If in your own room, offer each new task kneeling to your loving Lord and His Holy Mother.

2. Do you visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently and lovingly, attend Mass devoutly, and receive Holy Communion daily, with proper preparation and thanksgiving?

3. Are you diligent in keeping your rules and docile to the directions of your superiors? Or do you criticise their orders, thereby showing that you fail to recognize in them the voice of God?

4. Do you treat all your brethren with generous charity, seeing in them so many images of Christ? Or do you take a merely human view of them, being very fond of some and cold towards others, as worldlings treat one another? Do you endeavor to benefit and console all those in need or in sorrow?

The days of the renovation of spirit offer a golden opportunity to examine the motives of all our actions, valuing them all according to the teachings of faith.

Colloquy with our dear Lord, begging for much light and grace to lead a life of lively faith, and thus to be thoroughly renewed in spirit.

MEDITATION IV
The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by Hope

1st Prelude. Recall the words of the Psalmist: “Trust in the Lord, and do good.... Delight in the Lord, and He will give thee the requests of thy heart” (Ps. 36).

2nd Prelude. Ask for a lively confidence in the help of God to lead a holy and successful life.

POINT I. The virtue of hope inspires lofty aspirations. All men must hope for such graces from God as will enable them to attain the ends to which they are called. But as religious, and as Jesuits we are certainly called to attain perfection for ourselves and abundant fruit in the souls of others. Unless a Jesuit aims at these two objects, he falls below the mark of his vocation; He is a spiritual abortion. All other aims are trivial in comparison. That we are called to this twofold success is declared by the second rule of the Summary; and therefore the words of Christ are meant for us: “I have chosen you and have appointed you that you should go and should bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (St. John xv, 16). This lofty aim is the spirit of our vocation. It is fostered by the virtue of hope.

POINT II. The virtue of hope gives us confidence of success. The sanctification of our own soul and of many others is certainly above the power of any man. If therefore we had not the help of God for this purpose, we could not attain this effect. But with the help of God we can do wonders: “I can do all things in him who strengthened me” (Phil. iv, 13). Two sentiments must combine in me for the purpose: an intimate conviction of my total inability to save souls, and a firm confidence in the power and goodness of God to effect this result through my weakness: “The foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the strong; and the base things of the world and the things that are contemptible hath God chosen, and things that are not, that he might bring to naught things that are; that no flesh should glory in his sight” (I Cor. i, 27-29). The more humble our opinion of ourselves and the more lively our confidence in God, the more earnest no doubt will be our efforts to sanctify ourselves and others, and thus the more we shall foster in us the spirit of our vocation.

POINT III. To attain supernatural results we must trust in the use of supernatural means. All the Philosophy of the world cannot convert a Pagan; nor all theology a Protestant, nor all literature a sinner. Conversion and sanctification are the work of grace. Now grace is obtained by prayer, by sacrifice, self-immolation, mortification. This lesson our dear Lord teaches us with much emphasis, saying: “Amen, amen I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remaineth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (St. John xii, 24, 25). The minister of God is like a grain of wheat; as the wheat must be cast into the moist and hot furrow and corrupt before it can produce a new and fertile plant, so God’s minister must not spare himself, but be mortified and suffer debasement before he can produce abundant fruit in souls. Still remember that study and work, when done for supernatural motives, become thereby supernatural means, and are then as good as prayer, and often better than prayer. For whoever would neglect his appointed tasks to give extra time to prayer would not please the Lord. Hard work in the service of God is our habitual duty; through it we must sanctify ourselves and others. One of the sayings attributed to St. Ignatius is: “Work as if all your successes were going to depend on your own efforts; and trust in God as if all depended on Him, nothing on yourself.” And of course where all depends on the infinite power and goodness of God, we may expect abundant fruit.

Colloquy with our dear Lord, begging for a lively hope in His assistance.

MEDITATION V
The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by Charity

1st Prelude. See the glorified members of our Society around Jesus in Heaven, looking down on us with tender affection.

2nd Prelude. Beg for a liberal share of the spirit of love.

POINT I. Consider that perfection consists in the love of God; therefore whatever increases the love of God within us increases our perfection, fosters our interior spirit. To increase this love of God, let us study its excellence: it makes us really friends of Christ, who said to His Apostles, and says to all who strive to imitate their example: “I will not now call you servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doth. But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father I have made known to you” (St. John xv, 15). Has not Christ given to the true Jesuit an intimate knowledge of Himself? Does He not treat us all as His true friends, rather than servants? The servant is simply expected to obey orders without knowing the why and the wherefore, without understanding what it is all about. To us Christ has given, through the Exercises of St. Ignatius, a clear insight into the entire plan of sanctification, which even our Brothers and our novices soon get to understand remarkably well. Should we not then highly appreciate this Divine light and faithfully walk in its radiance?

POINT II. This friendship with God has various degrees of perfection:

1. The lowest degree of friendship is that which at least avoids all that would so offend a friend as to sever the friendship entirely, and rather turn it into hatred. In case of our friendship with God, this severance is produced by any mortal sin. Of course a true Jesuit commits no mortal sins. Any one who would commit such sins frequently has fallen below the normal standard of religious life.

2. The second degree of friendship excludes all that offends a friend deliberately, with full knowledge and consent, though in a matter of minor importance. This is done by fully deliberate venial sin. This degree of friendship with God should be the normal condition of every good religious.

3. The third degree of friendship strives to avoid all that may displease a friend in any matter whatever, even when there is no question of giving offense. Such is the condition of fervent religious, who observe all their rules with great exactness, even those that do not bind under sin. They do so generously through the spirit of love for their Lord.

4. A fourth degree of friendship exists in those persons who are ever eager to give pleasures to their friends, never sparing any trouble to do so. Examine what is your habitual, or at least predominant disposition towards our good Lord. Do you often offend Him with full knowledge and will? Can you be more generous in doing what will please Him? What improvements can you make?

POINT III. Consider how friendship is increased.

1. By thinking frequently of the good qualities of our friend, of the favors he has done us, of the warmth of his affection for us and the proofs he has given us of it. Therefore we meditate on the Person, the life and the sufferings of Christ, His Blessed Mother and the Saints. Can I make my meditations more fervent and more loving? For the same purpose we should read spiritual books and make ourselves familiar with devotional literature, carry on spiritual conversations when it can be done with profit, and collect notes of edifying matters for future use.

2. By emptying our hearts of all human attachments that God may fill them entirely. The Lord is a jealous lover. Perfect detachment from creatures is the condition of perfect love of God.

3. By making frequent acts of perfect resignation to the Divine will. For friendship between two persons consists mainly in union of wills.

Colloquy. Ask earnestly for an increase of love of God, and resolve to avoid all that may hinder it.

MEDITATION VI
The Interior Spirit Is Fostered by the Holy Ghost

1st Prelude. Imagine you hear Christ say: “You shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you” (Acts i, 5).

2nd Prelude. Ask earnestly that the Holy Ghost may effect in you a thorough renovation of spirit.

POINT I. Consider what the Holy Ghost did for the Apostles. Though they had been taught by Christ for three years, they had still understood His doctrine very imperfectly; their affections were still earthly, set on worldly greatness; their dispositions were cowardly. What did they need? A copious infusion of light and strength. We are in a similar situation. They obtained this grace by earnest prayer: “All these were persevering with one mind in prayer” (ib. 14). In due time the effect followed: “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (ib. ii, 4). From that moment they understood all the doctrine correctly; and, after being scourged before the council, “They indeed went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus” (ib. v, 41). This was only the beginning of their heroic lives.

POINT II. Consider what the Holy Ghost does in the Church to-day. The work of sanctification of the faithful, begun by the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, was to be continued till the end of time, and is so continued in us. Just as He has given us sanctifying grace in Baptism, and has constantly increased the same in a multitude of various ways up to the present day, so He is determined to continue this Divine work in our hearts, and to lead us to the practice of all the virtues proper to our state of life.

In particular He wishes to bestow on us the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost. The very name of “Gift” shows that we are not expected to acquire those excellent qualities by our own exertions. They may be compared to the sails attached to a boat, or to the steam or electricity propelling a machine. It is thus the Holy Ghost makes the practice of virtue easy for those who implore His assistance. Have we not all experienced this in many ways? In particular in embracing the religious state? What God has begun in us He will not desist from, provided in the future as in the past we co-operate with His graces.

POINT III. What co-operation does the Holy Ghost expect from us? We have seen that the sanctification of the soul comes chiefly from the Holy Ghost. Yet He ordinarily requires our co-operation. In what does this consist?

1. In complying with the inspirations of His grace. This supposes that we carefully avoid all wilful sins. By mortal sins we would drive Him entirely from our souls; by deliberate venial sins we oppose His work, turning to creatures and attaching ourselves to them, thus opposing His efforts to unite our will with God’s, in which union sanctity consists. By indeliberate venial sins also we resist His influence, but to a less degree. Yet we must also strive to diminish their frequency. Then acting on the promptings of grace, we shall perform a multitude of virtuous acts, by which the Holy Spirit will advance us to ever higher sanctity.

2. Our co-operation consists in the second place in the fervor of our prayers, that is in all manner of direct intercourse with God by any of our spiritual exercises, or by aspirations after God or His gifts, uttered in the midst of distracting occupations. For these direct dealings with God are the ordinary means which He provides for the supply of light and strength to the soul, enabling it to lead a fervent and faithful life. Our prayers become all the more efficient in this regard when they are combined with the sacramental graces derived from confession, Holy Communion, the Holy Mass or visits to the Blessed Sacrament.

Am I thus faithfully and fervently co-operating with the influence of the Holy Ghost? What can be improved?

Colloquy with the Holy Ghost, asking what efforts He desires on our part, and grace to make those efforts.

TRIDUUM E

MEDITATION I
Preparation for the Triduum

1st Prelude. Imagine you see the graveyard of the Novitiate.

2nd Prelude. Ask grace to view all things as those buried there view them at present.

POINT I. Consider the vast amount of good done by those buried there, the fruit produced in countless souls by their labors in missions, churches, colleges, parochial schools, retreats given, sermons delivered, confessions heard, the last sacraments administered, the sick visited, youths prepared for the priesthood and the religious life, etc., etc. All these results are still spreading farther and wider, like the ripples on a pond and last from generation to generation. And by their faithful observance of rules, the labors borne, the sufferings endured, the penance practiced, their acts of charity, humility, piety, etc., they have also accumulated immense rewards for themselves.

POINT II. Consider the heavenly reward now enjoyed by their souls in company with the Saints and the Blessed, with Jesus, Mary and Joseph. How light appear to them now their former sacrifices. How fully they now realize the meaning of these words of St. Paul: “The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us” (Rom. viii, 18). Think also of the multitudes of souls who are now in bliss with them, and who owe their salvation to the labors and prayers of those of our brethren whose remains lie in this sacred ground.

POINT III. Consider how little is known now of their individual endowments. To most of the present generation of our younger members few of the names upon those tombstones recall any former memories. All that is now appreciated by their successors is the grand cause for which they lived and died. Their bodily forms, their more or less extensive knowledge, their wit, their poetic power, their eloquence, their taste for music, their talent for mathematics, even the distinguished offices they held, the great services they rendered to the Society and to the Church at large, all, or at least most of this is forgotten by the present generation. And so will be the distinctions which you may acquire during your lifetime to the generations to come. Only that which pleases the eye of God is of real and lasting value. Reflect whether you are not too much in love with temporal distinctions. Resolve to make a thorough self-examination during the three days before you, weighing all concerns in the balance of eternity.

Colloquy. Ask light and grace to make an excellent retreat.

MEDITATION II
The Field Ripe for the Harvest

1st Prelude. Imagine you hear Christ say: “Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that he send forth laborers into his harvest” (St. Matth. ix, 38).

2nd Prelude. Ask grace to renew your spirit of zeal for souls.

POINT I. The salvation of souls is the most earnest desire of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was the purpose for which He came down to earth, which was ever before Him during His private life, His preaching, His sufferings and His death; and it is still the object of His intercession for us in Heaven. For He realizes, better than any one else, the immense interests at stake in saving souls. This is the reason of His infinite self-humiliation, His boundless self-sacrifice.

This grand work He wishes to be continued by His ministers, to whom He says: “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.” To do this work He has ever since inspired His dearest friends: the Apostles, all missionaries and pastors, numberless Saints in all ages and all lands.

POINT II. This eagerness is as earnest with Him to-day as it ever was. It is so in particular for this land of ours, where the fields are certainly white for the harvest. And for this work Christ has chosen you: “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you; and have appointed you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and your fruit should remain” (St. John xv, 16). It would be a deplorable blindness in us if we failed to understand the importance of the work before us, and not only a sad but a guilty listlessness if we were to set our minds on selfish trifles, and not profit by the golden opportunity offered us to do God’s work and labor generously at the salvation of souls every day of our lives. Of course you cannot at the present stage of your religious life, go forth and preach and give missions and bring non-Catholics into the fold, nor are you urged to do things extraordinary.

POINT III. What can you do in your present circumstances to lead zealous lives? What does God desire of you?

1. You must acquire thoroughly the spirit of our institute. You are still in the stage of formation to this spirit. Christ had called His first disciples with the words: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (St. Mark i, 17). So He has called you for the same purpose. Yet He did not send them at once to preach; He kept them in training, instructing and directing them. So He is doing with you. Do not pretend to know better than those put over you; do not criticise and murmur at any time; but pray much to obtain fully the spirit of our Society. Do so particularly during this meditation and this whole triduum.

2. Do the tasks entrusted to you with much zeal and devotedness. All the labor in which any Jesuit is employed by his superiors bears, in some way or other, on the salvation of souls. Do all your tasks in that spirit.

The military recruit, while in training in the barracks, is already serving his country. His duty is to do it well. You are in the service of Christ the King. For His sake do all to the best of your power. If He intrusts to you some care of your neighbor, as He did to His Apostles and the seventy-two disciples during their time of training, remember it is God’s work you are doing, as aids to Christ, for the salvation of precious souls. Do it all carefully, faithfully, making generously the sacrifices involved in the performance of your duties.

3. Pray for God’s help and His blessings on your labors and on the labors of your brethren. St. Francis Xavier ascribed his wonderful success in pagan lands to the prayers of his brethren in Europe; and no doubt the missionaries of the present day are likewise assisted by the prayers of the whole Society. This is the very Spirit of the Apostleship of Prayer, the zealous exercise of which is sufficient to make you all apostles of the Lord.

Colloquy. Lord, what wilt Thou have me do for the great work of saving souls? Speak, O Lord; Thy servant heareth.

MEDITATION III
Fraternal Charity

1st Prelude. Imagine you hear Christ saying: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another” (St. John xiii, 35).

2nd Prelude. Ask grace to realize fully the importance of practising fraternal charity.

POINT I. Consider our strict obligation to observe fraternal charity.

1. Without it there is no sanctifying grace in the soul. St. John writes: “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death. He that hateth his brother is a murderer” (St. John iii, 14-15).

2. Christ has chosen this commandment as distinctly His own: “A new commandment I give unto you. Love one another as I have loved you” (St. John xiii, 34), and again: “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you” (ib. xv, 12).

3. He makes its observance the distinctive mark of His disciples: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another” (ib. xiii, 34).

4. Without a delicate fraternal charity many religious communities would contain some very unhappy members. And our Society in particular has always shown the greatest solicitude to protect and foster this virtue.

POINT II. How may fraternal charity be violated?

Among religious, violations of charity are not so often committed by actions as they are among seculars, but they are not seldom committed by word or thought. St. James writes: “In many things we all offend. If any man offendeth not in word, the same is a perfect man” (iii, 2), and again: “The tongue no man can tame, an unquiet evil, a deadly poison” (ib. 8). By calling it a deadly poison, he clearly indicates that the tongue is often the cause of grievous wrong. Now wilfully to inflict a grievous wrong on a neighbor is a grievous sin. But even when the wrong done is of less moment, it is always sinful to some extent. Charity is violated in many ways.

1. By needlessly saying in the hearing of another words that give him pain; and that whether he be our equal or our inferior, and still more if he be our superior.

2. By needlessly making known another’s secret faults.

3. By imputing to another a fault he has not committed; this is called calumny, or slander, and is a twofold sin, adding the violation of truth to that of charity.

4. By putting an unfavorable interpretation on a neighbor’s conduct, expressing it in words.

5. By condemning him in our minds only, beyond the evidence of the facts; such a judgment is rash, even if it be not false.

6. By needlessly suspecting evil of which there is no good proof.

POINT III. How we should practise fraternal Charity.

We must earnestly make up our minds, and act on the conviction all our lives, that the practice of charity is not a mere devotion, highly recommended but not essential for the attainment of solid virtue. St. Peter writes: “Before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves” (I Pet. iv, 8). Our Divine Lord in His vivid description of the Last Judgment lays the chief stress on the duty of charity, and says: “As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me” (St. Matth. xxv, 40). Again He says: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them that calumniate you.... As you would that men should do to you, do you also to them in like manner” (St. Luke vi, 27-31). And He has made our generous disposition to forgive others the condition of our own pardon, teaching us to pray in the Our Father: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them who trespass against us.” Through St. Peter He tells us that: “Charity covers a multitude of sins.” And what is better still, charity prevents us from committing a multitude of sins. If you can accustom yourself never to say an unkind word of or to another, nor think evil of any one, you are on the highroad to sanctity.

Colloquy. Beg of our dear Lord the grace of a generous, delicate and universal charity.

MEDITATION IV
The Spirit of Sacrifice

1st Prelude. Behold the scene on Calvary, as Jesus exclaims: “It is consummated.”

2nd Prelude. Ask eagerly for the spirit of sacrifice.

POINT I. Consider that all our blessings have been the result of sacrifices. When Adam had ruined our race by selfish indulgence, the Son of God restored us to favor by the most tremendous spirit of sacrifice. His blessings to mankind were propagated from land to land and from age to age by men distinguished for the spirit of sacrifice; the Apostles, the Martyrs, the missionaries, the founders of religious Orders, the saintly bishops and priests, to the present day. If we wish to take our share of this glorious task of saving souls, it can only be done by making sacrifices. The minister of Christ who shirks the toils and the privations of his vocation produces little fruit: “Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remaineth alone; but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit.... If any man minister to me, let him follow me” (St. John xii, 24-26).

POINT II. The spirit of sacrifice is necessary for our salvation and sanctification.

1. For our salvation. For a person who is not accustomed to refuse himself many, even lawful, indulgences is very likely to fall into temptations and grievous sins. Therefore Holy Job said: “I made a covenant with my eyes that I would not so much as think upon a virgin” (xxxi, 1). On the other hand, Solomon said of himself: “Whatsoever my eyes desired, I refused them not; and I withheld not my heart from enjoying every pleasure, and delighting itself in the things which I had prepared” (Eccles. ii, 10). The result was that Solomon, “the wise man” by excellence, the special favorite of God at first, fell afterwards into most grievous sins: “And when he was now old his heart was turned away by women to follow strange gods ... he worshipped Astarthe .. and Moloch,” etc. (3 Kings xi, 4-8); and it is not certain that he saved his soul. History and constant experience teach, by frequent examples, that the spirit of sacrifice is necessary to secure our salvation. And our Divine Lord declares in express terms that “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away” (St. Matth. xi, 12).

2. This violence, or the spirit of sacrifice, is still more necessary to work out our sanctification. For this is to be achieved by the imitation of Christ, who says: “If any one will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me” (St. Matth. xvi, 24). And it is an axiom of the spiritual life that one advances in virtue in proportion to the violence he does to himself. Therefore the religious life, which is the school of perfection, calls at every step for generous sacrifices in the observance of that multitude of rules whose very purpose is the sanctification of the soul by the spirit and the practice of sacrifice.

POINT III. How should we practise the spirit of sacrifice?

1. By carefully observing all our rules. This observance of the rules implies a multitude of self-sacrifices; so that St. John Berchmans declared that the common life was his greatest mortification; and the oration of this Saint’s Office exalts him for his fidelity in the service of God.

2. By hard labor in performing the duties imposed on us, especially when these are of an unpleasant kind; for then they require more sacrifice.

3. By rendering all the services we can, even when they are not imposed on us, making ourselves as useful as possible. It is a common saying that what is every man’s business is no one’s business, and thus many services are neglected. But a good religious rather says: this ought to be done, and no one in particular is appointed to do it; so I must do it.

4. By making all sacrifices cheerfully: “For God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. ix, 7).

Colloquy. Ask earnestly for a cheerful spirit of sacrifice.

MEDITATION V
Become Men of Prayer

1st Prelude. Behold Christ rapt in prayer: “He passed the whole night in the prayer of God” (St. Luke, vi, 12).

2nd Prelude. Earnestly ask the grace of becoming a man of prayer.

POINT I. Consider the importance of praying well.

1. Our life is, or at least ought to be, so very supernatural that it needs an uncommon amount of grace to lead it properly. Now the ordinary condition that God requires to impart His grace is prayer, not so much long prayer as good prayer. If we pray well, we shall undoubtedly receive much grace.

2. Our days are filled up with distracting occupations, so that long hours pass in worldly cares or with profane objects of thought, whose natural tendency is to engross our hearts with worldly affections, and turn them from the Creator to the creature. Prayer, fervent prayer, is the most efficient means to counteract this tendency. Without it we soon lose sight of our highest interests and commit at least venial sins.

3. The good we shall do to the souls of others depends chiefly on prayer; for as St. Ignatius teaches us, it is from the interior that force must flow to the exterior for the end proposed to us (Summary, rule 16).

POINT II. What aids have we to become men of prayer?

1. We have the Holy Ghost, who helps us to pray, crying in our hearts “Abba, Father” (Gal. iv, 6). He is certainly ever ready to help us to become men of prayer; for we Jesuits are called to this, since it is our vocation to teach others how to pray, and thus to form spiritual men.

2. We possess a most perfect system of prayer, given us through St. Ignatius in his Spiritual Exercises. This has been a most rich and inexhaustible source of spirituality, as is shown in the works of our writers, and the lives of our Fathers, Scholastics and Brothers through all the periods of our history.

3. All we need to become men of prayer ourselves is diligent application to its practice. To obtain distinguished success in any art or science we need special diligence and a sort of enthusiasm in the practice of that pursuit. He who earnestly wishes to become a man of prayer,—and we ought all to desire this,—should make it his special ambition to perform all his spiritual exercises to the best of his power, and constantly to ask the Lord for the gift of prayer. What is my conduct in this respect? Am I really in earnest to acquire that science of the Saints? What improvements am I going to make in this matter?

POINT III. What hinders us from being men of prayer?

Not our duties, as is the case with most worldlings. For, although, as we have stated before, our outward duties are apt, to some extent, to turn our minds and hearts from God to creatures, enough time for prayer is left us to repair our spiritual strength day by day, provided we perform our meditations, examinations of conscience, etc., with becoming fervor. In fact, our outward labors, if animated by the proper intention, which our spiritual exercises constantly inspire, will be helpful to bring us nearer to God, just as bodily labor helps the food to promote bodily health. But what hinders us from becoming men of prayer is:

1. Indolence, which manifests itself in various ways. We may not prepare the points of meditation over night with proper diligence, or neglect to call them to mind before falling asleep and again at rising in the morning. We may fail to rise promptly and neglect the morning visit to the Blessed Sacrament. We may assume a listless posture during meditation and at other times of prayer, etc.

2. Inordinate passions; such as ambition, vain glory, sensual attachments to persons, etc., which keep the imagination and the heart busy with other things during the time of prayer.

3. Neglect of direct conversation with God while He is giving us an audience. Prayer supposes that we speak to Him, by acts of adoration, humility, thanksgiving, petition, contrition, intercession, etc. We need not say many things but yet we should speak earnestly all along the time of the exercise, often repeating the same sentiments.

Colloquy. Ask for an increase of fidelity and fervor in prayer.

MEDITATION VI
The Vine and the Branches

1st Prelude. Imagine that Christ speaks to you from the altar, and says: “I am the vine, you the branches; he that abideth in me and I in Him, the same beareth much fruit” (St. John xv, 5).

2nd Prelude. Beg to acquire an intimate union with Christ.

POINT I. Consider how powerless we are of ourselves to save our souls, and those of other men. For Christ says: “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me” (Ib. xv, 4). The dogma is this: we can do nothing profitable for Heaven, unless we possess sanctifying grace and be helped by actual grace. Now both of these come to us from Christ, who is like the vine that sends forth its sap into the branches and thus gives life and fertility. So too we cannot save the souls of others by human learning or skill, unless Christ co-operates with us by His grace. Otherwise we are but like sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. If we do not constantly foster this union with God, we waste much labor, as we shall, no doubt, find at our death we have often done.

POINT II. Consider on the other hand how powerful we are when assisted by the grace of God. For Christ says: “He that abideth in me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit.” How so? By the Divine power which then makes use of us to do its peculiar work of sanctification for ourselves and others. Christ adds: “In this is my Father glorified, that you bring forth very much fruit” (ib. xv, 8). “I have chosen you and have appointed you, that you should go and should bring forth fruit and your fruit should remain” (ib. v, 16).

Our labors thus become His labors, as the sap of the vine produces the fruit in the branches. Besides, when our will is one with Christ’s will, our prayers become most powerful, as He adds, saying: “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you” (ib. xv, 7).

POINT III. How do we strengthen this supernatural union with Christ? He has deigned to tell us this also, saying: “If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my Father’s commandments, and do abide in his love” (xv, 10).

How consoling all this doctrine is! He adds again: “You are my friends if you do the things that I command you” (xv, 14). All we need do then to achieve the most glorious results for our salvation and that of others is to be obedient to His voice.

POINT IV. Consider the absolute necessity of this union with Christ. For He assures us of this, saying: “If any one abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch and shall wither; and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he burneth.” This is the lot of all who die in mortal sin, no matter how holy they may have been before. Read the 15th chapter of Ezechiel.

Colloquy. O Jesus, may this triduum unite me more firmly with Thee. What wilt Thou have me do?

TRIDUUM F

MEDITATION I
On the Vows

1st Prelude. Imagine the scene of your first vows—the ceremony is very simple, the meaning very solemn.

2nd Prelude. Ask a full appreciation of the meaning.

POINT I. Consider the choice made by Jesus.

1. While on earth Jesus chose His Apostles: “Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men” (St. Matth. iv, 19); meaning: I will make you my co-laborers in the grandest of all works; “I have chosen you, that you should go and that you should bring forth fruit, and your fruit should remain” (St. John xv, 16), fruit for eternity. The Apostles could not then realize the honor offered them.

2. Christ meant to make their hearts like to His own in holiness, filling them with love for God and men, generosity, humility, mildness, fidelity, etc.

3. He meant to make them ornaments of Heaven, the twelve great constellations of the celestial Paradise. Then consider that the same Blessed Saviour has chosen you for the same three purposes. Acts of thanks, self-abasement: “I, although most unworthy, prostrate before the feet of thy Divine majesty, etc.”

POINT II. Consider what were your sentiments at the time of your first vows. They were most earnest and sincere. You were of age, you knew the real meaning, you had been tried, you had full liberty to accept Christ’s offers or to refuse them, you were enlightened by the grace of God and supported by His aid.

Yours were solemn words: “I do vow before the most sacred Virgin Mary, and the whole court of Heaven, to Thy Divine Majesty, perpetual Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, etc.” These vows effected a solemn consecration of your person, made you sacred, like chalices, their violation a sacrilege. These days are to prepare in you proper sentiments to renew this pledge of a sacred Knighthood, like St. Ignatius’s night watch of arms at Mont Serrat, really espousals with the Son of God. The breaking of such a contract is horrible before God and men. An unfaithful religious is like a false coin—apparently gold, really brass.

POINT III. Have we been faithful? There can be no doubt of our original sincerity. Our self-immolation was sincere and generous; God supported us. Have we been living up to the lofty ideals with which we started out? Thousands before us have done so; thousands are doing so to-day; thousands are being prepared by the Holy Spirit to do the same.

These days are assigned us by our Society to examine carefully how we stand. If we find defects, we are now to correct them. We must begin the task by a careful self-examination. This is a visit, not of a Father Provincial or Father General, but of the Holy Ghost Himself to the hearts of all.

No doubt you are faithful in many things; see whether you are faithful in all things. Imagine the Holy Spirit addresses you in the words spoken in the Apocalypse to the Bishop of Ephesus, saying: “I know thy works and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them that are evil.... And thou hast patience, and hast endured for my name, and hast not fainted. But I have somewhat against thee.” Then consider whether you find really in your conduct something that needs special looking after during these three days.

Colloquy, according to the sentiments thus excited in your mind.

MEDITATION II
The Vow of Chastity

1st Prelude. See Christ in Heaven surrounded by a bright crowd of intimate friends (Apoc. vii, 9).

2nd Prelude. Ask for the most delicate purity of heart.

POINT I. Chastity is a most precious treasure. It was bestowed on Adam and Eve in Paradise: “They were both naked, to wit Adam and Eve, and they were not ashamed” (Gen. ii, 25). On the other hand, when “All flesh had corrupted its way” (Gen. vi, 12) the Deluge showed the indignation of God; and, soon after, to punish impurity, “The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorha brimstone and fire ... and he destroyed these cities” (Gen. xix, 24, 25).

When the Son of God was about to come down and become a child of this sin-stained race, He prepared for Himself a temple of purity in the Blessed Virgin Mary. His favorite friends were chaste virginal souls, St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, St. John the Apostle; and His other Apostles too left their wives and all things to follow Him. One of His first teachings was: “Blessed are the clean of heart” (St. Matth. v, 8). To teach the sanctity becoming the human body, it is anointed with sacred oil at Baptism and Confirmation, fed with the Divine Bread at Holy Communion, incensed at Solemn Mass and at burial, and laid in consecrated ground to rise again in glory. How we ought to respect this vessel of election!

POINT II. We have been selected from among thousands to constitute the virgin band of Christ’s intimate friends. These are Divine nuptials of Jesus with the consecrated virgin soul, united together into closest union. To this holiness impurity is diametrically opposed. As adultery is the grossest sin against the sacred bond of matrimony, so is impurity the most degrading vice against the religious state; and as in St. Matthew’s Gospel (xix, 9) marital infidelity is a just cause for rejection of the guilty party, so Jesus rejects the impure. The Book of Wisdom also declares that “Wisdom will not dwell in a body subject to sins” (i, 4).

POINT III. Means to protect and perfect purity.

1. Prayer. The Book of Wisdom says: “As I knew that I could not otherwise be continent except God gave it, and this also was a point of wisdom to know whose gift it was, I went to the Lord and besought him” (viii, 21). This is one strong reason why religious should do so much more praying than seculars, that they are vowed to a life of perpetual purity. In particular there is need in this matter of habitual recourse to prayer at every assault of temptation.

2. The practice of mortification; for to the spirit of impurity apply the words of Christ: “This kind can go out by nothing but by prayer and fasting” (St. Mark ix, 28).

3. Modesty of all the senses, especially of the eyes: “I made a covenant with my eyes, that I would not so much as think upon a virgin,” said Holy Job (xxxi, 1), clearly indicating that the source of evil thoughts lies chiefly in the objects presented to the eyes.

4. Avoiding the occasions of temptations; for, while many other passions are best subdued by direct resistance to their promptings, that of lust must be overcome by flight. Therefore Ecclesiasticus warns us that “he that loveth danger shall perish in it” (iii, 27). Few servants of God had shown such heroic proofs of fidelity to duty amid multiplied and protracted trials as had King David; and yet the imprudence with which he exposed himself to an impure temptation made him in a few days an adulterer, a tyrant and a murderer, and filled his remaining years of life with bitter sufferings.

We must carefully consider in every retreat how faithfully we make use of these various protections of angelic chastity; for “We have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Cor. iv, 7).

Colloquy with our dear Lord and His Holy Mother.

MEDITATION III
The Vow of Obedience

1st Prelude. Behold Christ learning a trade from St. Joseph.

2nd Prelude. Ask for high appreciation of obedience.

POINT I. Consider that all human beings must obey. A wise God must establish order in all His works; hence the maxim: “Order is Heaven’s first law.” The material universe obeys the law of gravitation, the moral universe obeys the law of subordination of wills of inferiors to superiors, that is the law of obedience. Common sense teaches all mankind that children must obey their parents, servants their masters, subjects their lords, etc. When God came to share your nature, He put Himself to obey, and carried this virtue to the highest perfection, “becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross” (Phil. ii, 8). In positive legislation God has made this law universal. The Fourth Commandment directly enforces it (Ex. xx, 12). The law of Deuteronomy is still more forcible, saying: “He that will be proud and refuse to obey the commandment of the priest who ministereth at the time to the Lord thy God, and the decree of the judge, that man shall die, and thou shalt take away the evil from Israel” (xvii, 12); and laying down the law for sacred services, God inflicted a sudden and disgraceful death on two young priests for using common instead of sacred fire (Levit. x, 1-3). He wished to set an example for all future ages.

POINT II. Obedience is the characteristic virtue of our Society. At the time of the Protestant Reformation there was a widespread spirit of rebellion against the authority of God; independence replaced obedience. The Holy Ghost then inspired St. Ignatius to institute a religious Order whose characteristic virtue should be that of obedience. He had been a brave soldier, and he wished to assemble a band of men, a company obeying orders with the promptness, punctuality and generosity of soldiers ever in active warfare. “Especially I desire,” he writes, “to see you most perfect in the virtue of obedience.” His letter on Obedience is the greatest masterpiece written on this matter, and his Institute is the most perfect exhibition of this virtue in action. It is, in fact, a close imitation of the obedient life of the God Incarnate. None but very obedient men are true Jesuits. Father Franciosi, in his work “The Spirit of St. Ignatius,” has collected thirty pages of eulogies pronounced by the Saint on this his favorite virtue (pp. 61 to 92). He calls it “the noblest and most beautiful virtue,” “the sweetest sacrifice, most pleasing to the Divine Majesty,” “a kind of martyrdom.” He writes: “Obedience ennobles and elevates man greatly above his condition, causing him to put off self and to put on God, the sovereign good, who is accustomed to fill the soul so much the more as He finds it less occupied with self-will; so that those who have reached this state may truly, provided they obey from the bottom of their hearts, say with the Apostle: ‘I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me.’”

POINT III. How perfect ought our obedience to be?

I. In the execution, it must be prompt, leaving even a letter unfinished; exact, rendered with military precision; generous, shirking no difficulty; universal in all things commanded and even at a mere sign of a superior’s will without an express command; without show of reluctance, as a corpse is moved or an old man’s staff employed.

2. In the will, which is exchanged for the will of the superior, so that there can be no conflict of wills.

3. In the judgment, “as far as a devout will can bend the understanding,” says St. Ignatius, which can always be done when there is no compelling evidence to the contrary. Hence never any criticism, but such docility as the child Jesus showed when taught by St. Joseph the rules of his trade without suggesting any improvement.

Colloquy with our dear Lord, asking for perfect obedience.

MEDITATION IV
On Strength of Character

1st Prelude. Recall the words of St. Paul: “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good” (Rom. xii, 21).

2nd Prelude. Ask to improve in vigor of character.

POINT I. What is strength of character? It is power of the will to control one’s own actions, independently of one’s inclinations and of the opinions of men. A weak character is led by mere feelings. These must be brought under control, conquered by the strength of the will and made to obey the dictate of reason. For this purpose we must resist our inclinations: “Vince teipsum,” “Conquer thyself”; “Tantum profeceris quantum tibi vim intuleris,” “Your progress will be proportioned to your self-victories,” are undoubted maxims. And Christ says in the Apocalypse: “To him that shall overcome I will give to sit with me in my throne” (iii, 21).

What must we overcome? Whatever we find during the triduum to be disorderly in our daily conduct. Examine your rising at the first signal, your morning visit, meditation, hearing of Mass, reception of Holy Communion, and all the successive actions of the day. Resolve to correct what is faulty, to supply what is wanting, etc. Mere wishes are worthless; you must set to work.

POINT II. Whence comes strength of character?

1. It is of course, like every precious power, a gift of God: “Every best gift, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of light” (St. James i, 17). Like all other gifts of God, it can be increased by earnest and persevering prayer. Many are fond of frequently repeating the petition: “Lord, grant me the grace of doing what Thou commandest, and then command what Thou wilt.”

2. But it is not all a gift of God. Our will is free; nothing is so truly our own as our will. Even God will not control it. Being an immaterial power, it is not affected by sickness nor old age, as is evident from the heroism of the Martyrs.

3. A person’s character may undergo great changes. Thus we read of St. Francis of Sales that his gentleness of temper was the result of strenuous and continuous efforts. In St. Ignatius “Unalterable calmness was the result of his vigorous perseverance in combatting the irascibility to which his constitution much inclined him” (Franciosi, Spir. of St. Ign., p. 149).

4. Often men of strong passions make most progress in virtue, as St. Ignatius found in Peter Ribadineira and Edmund Auger, who triumphed over great defects of character (Ib., p. 141).

POINT III. How is strength of character increased or diminished? This is chiefly effected by the successive acts of our free will. Every virtuous act strengthens our power of doing such virtuous acts again, and every yielding to our passions strengthens those passions, and in the same proportion weakens our power of resistance to their promptings. For habits are formed by the repetition of acts, and habits become like a second nature. We are all bundles of habits; the habits determine the cast of character.

It is proper for each one to examine during the triduum whether he is now different from what he was at former times; for instance, at the completion of his novitiate or his entrance on more active duties—better or worse. We cannot long remain just the same. The religious life is like rowing against the current of a river: if we cease rowing, we are carried back. What is my present condition of fidelity to duty, of zeal, charity, obedience, piety, etc.?

Colloquy, as the occasion suggests.

MEDITATION V
On Co-operation with Grace

1st Prelude. Imagine you see the thousands of happy souls in Heaven who worked out their salvation in our Society while on earth.

2nd Prelude. Ask for abundant grace to follow in their footsteps.

POINT I. What manner of men were they on earth?

They were very much like ourselves. They had the same human passions to control, the same rules to observe, the same labors to perform, the same sacrifices to make, etc. And to help them along they had the same aids that we have: the same loving Lord, who had called them from amid the dangers of the world, as He has called us; the same training by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, the same holy Sacraments, the same everything; not of course in the same proportion for every individual soul; but enough of grace for all to live up to our grand vocation, and in due time to be with our blessed brethren in Heaven, as we are now their associates in the Society of Jesus on earth.

POINT II. To what do those happy souls owe their success?

The same grace of God in their case and in ours being presupposed, they owed their success to their faithful co-operation. The grace of God is in the matter of sanctification, what the spring is in a watch. All the movements of the wheels and the hands come from the spring; when that breaks all the other parts come to a perfect standstill. The powers of our body and soul are like the wheels of the watch which must work along with the spring to indicate the correct time. And of them one is free, namely our will. When our free will co-operates with grace, we lead holy lives. The spring of God’s grace never fails; the only fear of failure regards our own free will. Now the purpose of this triduum is to examine how faithfully our will is seconding the promptings of grace. In this meditation we must ask God’s light to understand the real condition of our soul, and next examine our conduct with care, to see whether our lives are up to the standard of faithful and fervent religious. How is God pleased with us? How are our superiors and our brethren in religion satisfied? Has any one a right to complain of us? What improvement can we make?

POINT III. How can we obtain an increase of grace? By prayer and faithful co-operation.

1. Prayer is the universal means by which all blessings can be obtained: “Ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full” (St. John xvi, 24). But of course we must pray fervently and perseveringly; careless prayer leads to tepidity and loss of grace, rather than its increase. How fervently have I been praying of late?

2. Co-operation with graces given me is the most efficient means of obtaining a further supply of grace. And in proportion as graces abound the service of God is facilitated, and thus again further graces are secured: Facile equitat quem gratia Dei portat, “he rides along with ease who is carried up by the grace of God,” is a familiar axiom. On the other hand, the want of co-operation with the grace given us makes us unworthy of a future liberal supply of God’s help, and gradually leads a soul into tepidity, with all its serious consequences. We may be much encouraged to improve ourselves in these two means of sanctification, namely prayer and co-operation with grace, by frequently recalling to mind the examples set us by the Saints of our Society. These two means made them Saints and the same means will make us Saints, if we employ them with the same earnestness and perseverance as they did. Pray like the Saints, co-operate with the grace of God as the Saints habitually did, and you will soon be holy yourselves.

Colloquy with Jesus and Mary, to obtain great progress in the imitation of the Saints.

MEDITATION VI
The Perfection of Our Actions

1st Prelude. Behold our Divine Lord as a youth occupied in humble labor.

2nd Prelude. Ask for light and strength of will to do all things well.

POINT I. The life of Christ is summed up in the words, “He hath done all things well,” Bene omnia fecit (St. Mark vii, 37).

For Jesuits these words contain a most safe, most effective and most comprehensive rule of action. This follows from the fact that our life is directly intended to be a close imitation of the life of Christ Himself. Such was certainly the grand ideal of our founder, St. Ignatius. The perfection he teaches is the imitation of Christ; and the entire life of Christ is described in this statement, “He did all things well.” Any one of Ours who aims steadily at this practise is on the highroad to perfection; and one who does so throughout his life is a real saint. To such persons applies the saying of Father Isidore Boudreaux, S.J., which is quoted in our Menology: “The good novice makes the good scholastic and the good scholastic makes the good priest.” Without this aim the pursuit of perfection is an illusion.

POINT II. In this pursuit of sanctity we have no time to lose. See how much was done in a short time by our young Saints, Aloysius, Stanislaus, Berchmans, and really by all our great models. For instance, St. Francis had only ten years given him to accomplish his grand success in India and Japan. Very many of the Saints fulfilled a long space in a short time; a St. Catherine of Sienna, who benefited the Church so conspicuously, died at the age of 33 years. The career of any of you may be much briefer than you expect; but no matter how brief it be, it will be a very successful one if you do all things well.

POINT III. What is required to do all things well? It requires:

1. A good motive on all occasions; for the end specifies the act, determines its moral nature. In all your actions seek purely God’s glory, the good of souls, the will of God, or any purpose that the faith proposes to us. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever else you do, do all to the glory of God,” wrote St. Paul (I Cor. x, 31). It is not so much the offering of our actions to God that is here recommended, but rather the aiming in all we do at a supernatural effect. This higher aim renders our acts pleasing to God and meritorious for ourselves.

2. Attention to the least details of what you do, striving to impart to it the highest perfection you can. Thus the perfection of any work of art depends, not on the general outline only, but rather on the beauty imparted to every portion of the production, be it a painting, a statue, a literary composition, etc.

3. Careful avoidance of all negligent or defective work. For indulgence in carelessness not only spoils the task actually in hand, but also renders us less disposed to act well on subsequent occasions. Every moral fault we commit fosters an evil habit. Let me examine with care with what perfection I have lately been accustomed to perform my actions, and resolve to amend all that needs correction.

Colloquy, according to the present condition of my soul.

THE END OF THE TRIDUUMS