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.