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 RUTHS OF IALYATION. 
 
 r. J. 3PE 
 
 REV. J. PERGMAYR, S. J., 
 
 Translated from the German by a Father of the same Society, 
 
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 1 
 
 
 u Leartt,/i>r the sake of thy Creator, to overcome thyself in all things: 
 and then thou shalt be able to attain divine knowledge" — 
 
 Follo wing of C hrist, III Book, 42 Chapter. 
 
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 New York, ^v^CT^p^^iSii St. Louis : 
 
 BENZIGER BROTHERS, 
 
 Publishers to the Holy Apostolic See, 
 1882. 
 
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 Kmprttttatur. 
 
 John, Cardinal McCloskey, 
 
 Archbishop of New York. 
 
 Copyright, 1882, by Benziger Brothers. 
 
Newark, N. %, February 15, 1882. 
 Rev. dear Father: 
 
 I take great pleasure in recommending 
 Pergmayr's "Truths of Salvation/' which 
 you have had the happy inspiration to trans- 
 late from the German into English. The 
 work itself is one of great merit, and calculat- 
 ed to do much good, and to be a safe and 
 efficient guide to souls aspiring to Christian 
 perfection. 
 
 Hoping that the book in its English 
 dress will meet with all the success it so rich- 
 ly deserves, I remain 
 
 your Servant in Christ, 
 
 * W. M. WIGGER, 
 
 Bishop of Newark. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 There are few who reap permanent fruit from 
 a retreat. The cause is twofold. First, during 
 this time they do not enter seriously into a thor- 
 ough consideration of the eternal truths. These 
 truths being only superficially reflected on, exert, 
 consequently, but little influence upon their lives. 
 Secondly, they do not fully examine the state of 
 their souls, and therefore not knowing their de- 
 fects leave them uncorrected. Self-knowledge is 
 the first step to amendment of life. Father Lal- 
 lemant, in " The Spiritual Doctrine," says: "The 
 heart recoils from nothing so much as this search 
 and scrutiny which make it see and feel its own 
 miseries. All the powers of our soul are dis- 
 ordered beyond measure, and this we do not 
 wish to know, because the knowledge is humili- 
 ating to us. Our soul does not enter into itself 
 except with pain, seeing nothing but sins, mis- 
 eries, and confusion. So that, to avoid this dis- 
 tressing and humiliating sight, it hurries instant- 
 ly out again, and goes to seek its consolation in 
 creatures, unless we keep it carefully to its duty." 
 In the " Lives of the Saints/' the Rev. Dr. Alban 
 Butler remarks: "A true penitent must apply 
 himself to the difficult work of self-examination 
 in order to discover every latent inordinate affec- 
 tion or passion. Sin must be pursued home to 
 its roots, and the evil tendencies of the soul dis- 
 lodged thence, otherwise all will be to no pur- 
 
4 Preface. 
 
 pose. By earnest prayer, mortification, alms, 
 and holy meditation, penitential sorrow must be 
 improved till it has forced its way into the in- 
 nermost recesses of the soul, shaken all the pow- 
 ers of sin, and formed the new man, so little un- 
 derstood among Christians, though it is the very 
 essence of a Christian life." 
 
 The present little work is offered to those who 
 earnestly desire to consider the truths of salva- 
 tion and to acquire self-knowledge. They must, 
 however, bear in mind, that the thorough con- 
 sideration of divine things and of themselves 
 must be their own work and not that of others. 
 It rests with themselves to elicit particular resolu- 
 tions and affections. St. Ignatius says: "Should 
 one happen to discover, whether through his own 
 reasoning or through a light from heaven, any- 
 thing which helps, in the least degree, to throw 
 light on the subject, he derives from this a far 
 more pleasant relish and much richer fruit than 
 from the fuller statement and explanation of an- 
 other. For it is not the quantity of knowledge, 
 but the internal perception and relish of the ob- 
 jects of knowledge which satisfy the desires of 
 the soul." 
 
 But some are unaccustomed to meditate; others 
 are incapable, from weakness or indisposition, of 
 mental application: both classes will be aided by 
 this little work. They should read, however, the 
 meditations and self-examinations very slowly so 
 as to be able to evolve from their own minds the 
 affections they see suggested therein. Those who 
 wish to use with advantage " The Truths of Sal- 
 vation" must peruse them often after the re- 
 treat, till they have so far imbibed them that 
 their lives may be modelled thereon. 
 
 The success of a retreat must be attributed to 
 
Preface. 5 
 
 grace more than to our own efforts: "Thou wilt 
 never attain to this unless thou be prevented and 
 drawn by His grace, that so thou mayest be united 
 to Him alone, when thou hast cast out and dis- 
 missed all others." (Following of Christ, i. 8. 5.) 
 
 If we would become fit instruments in the 
 hands of God, we could perform wonders. This 
 retreat, though limited to eight days, contains 
 the four weeks of the spiritual exercises in an 
 abridged form. To have a full knowledge of 
 these four weeks, let us hear the words of his 
 Eminence, Cardinal Wiseman: 
 
 "The reader will observe that the Exercises 
 are divided into four weeks; and each of these 
 has a specific object to advance the exercitant an 
 additional step towards perfect virtue. If the 
 work of each week be thoroughly done, this is 
 actually accomplished. 
 
 " The first week has for its aim the cleansing of 
 the conscience from past sin and of the affections 
 from their future dangers. For this purpose, 
 the soul is made to convince itself deeply of the 
 true end of its being — to serve God and be saved; 
 and of the real worth of all else. This consider- 
 ation has been justly called by St. Ignatius, the 
 principle or foundation of the entire system. 
 
 " No limits are put to the time that may be spent 
 upon this subject; it ought not to be left till the 
 mind is made up that nothing is worth aiming 
 at but God and salvation, and that to all other 
 things we must be indifferent. They are but in- 
 struments or hindrances in the acquisition of 
 these, and accordingly they must be treated. It 
 is clear that the person, who has brought himself 
 to this state of mind, has fully prepared himself 
 for submitting to whatever he may be required 
 to do by God for attaining his end. 
 
6 Preface. 
 
 " Upon this groundwork is raised the duty of 
 the first week. Considerations of the punish- 
 ment of sin which lead us gradually to an ab- 
 horrence of it in itself, make the sinner sift and 
 thoroughly unburden his conscience. The fear 
 of God, which is the beginning of wisdom, is 
 thus the first agent in the great work of change; 
 a change not prospective or mental, but real. 
 Sin is abandoned, hated, loathed. 
 
 "At the conclusion of the painful task, the soul 
 finds itself prostrate and full of anxieties. The 
 past is remedied; but what is to be done for the 
 future ? A rule to guide us, an example to en- 
 courage us, high motives to animate us, are now 
 wanting; and the three following weeks secure 
 us these. 
 
 "In the second, the life of Christ is made our 
 model. By a series of contemplations of it we 
 become familiar with His virtues, enamored of 
 His perfections; we learn, by copying Him, to 
 be obedient to God and man, meek, humble, 
 affectionate, zealous, charitable, forgiving; men 
 of only one wish and one thought — that of doing 
 ever God's holy will alone, discreet, devout, ob- 
 servant of every law, scrupulous performers of 
 every duty. Every meditation on these subjects 
 shows us how to do all this — in fact, makes us 
 really do it. 
 
 " Still, up to this point we have been dealt with 
 kindly, as the Apostles were treated by their 
 good Master. He told them not of these things — 
 that is, of His sufferings — at first, lest sorrow 
 should fill their hearts (John xvi. 5, 6). The 
 milk of consolation and encouragement rnust 
 precede the strong food of patience and con- 
 formity. The third week brings us to this. 
 Having desired and tried to be like Christ in ac- 
 
Preface. 7 
 
 tion, we are brought to wish and endeavor to be 
 like unto Him in suffering. For this purpose 
 His sacred Passion becomes the engrossing sub- 
 ject of the Exercises. The soul which has been 
 brought near Him in admiration now clings to 
 Him in loving sympathy— nay, finds her admira- 
 tion redoubled at His divine bearing in sorrow, 
 ignominy, and pain. Having already made up 
 her mind to be like Him in all things, she is not 
 now to be scared from resemblance by the bit- 
 terness of suffering or disgrace. On the contrary, 
 she wishes to suffer for Him, for the very love's 
 sake, which made Him so suffer. Every medita- 
 tion on the Passion strengthens, deepens, matures 
 this feeling, and renders it a new power and 
 affection of the soul. She has become a martyr 
 in resolution and desire; she would go forth from 
 this holy work of meditation to the realization 
 of her earnest desire to suffer with Jesus. She 
 is prepared for mortifications, for tribulations, 
 persecutions, for death, for anything whereby 
 she may be likened to her Lord and God. 
 
 " But she must be convinced and feel that if she 
 suffers, she shall also be glorified with Him; and 
 hence the fourth and concluding week raises the 
 soul to the consideration of those glories which 
 crowned the humiliations and sufferings of our 
 Lord. As throughout He is represented to us 
 in His blessed Humanity as being our model, so 
 here are our thoughts directed to Him, triumph- 
 ant over death, but still conversing among men — 
 those now who love Him, that so our love may 
 be likewise with Him, in holy conversation and 
 familiar intercourse, and so He may draw up our 
 hearts with Him when He ascends to His Father; 
 and there they may ever abide where our treasure 
 is. Thus have we been gradually raised from 
 
8 Preface, 
 
 fear to love, which henceforward is the ' inform- 
 ing principle' (to borrow a phrase from the 
 Schools) of our lives and being. 
 
 " It is clear that if these various principles and 
 feelings have been really infused into us, if they 
 have been worked into our hearts, so as to form 
 a part of their real practical influences, we shall 
 come from the Exercises, duly performed, com- 
 pletely changed, and fitted for our future course. 
 Many indeed have experienced this. They have 
 entered the place appointed for them, like a ves- 
 sel shattered by the storms, bruised, and crip- 
 pled, and useless; they have come forth with 
 every breach repaired, every disfigurement re- 
 moved; and what is of more importance, fur- 
 nished with rudder and compass, sails and an- 
 chor, all that can direct and guide, impel and 
 secure them. What wonder if their songs of 
 gratitude and joy resound along the main? 
 
 " It will be seen that the Weeks of the Exercises 
 do not mean necessarily a period of seven days. 
 The original duration of their performance was 
 certainly a month; but, even so, more or less 
 time was allotted to each week's work, according 
 to the discretion of the Director. Now, except 
 in very particular circumstances, the entire period 
 is abridged to ten days; sometimes it is still 
 further reduced. But even so the form and dis- 
 tribution of the Exercises must be strictly kept, 
 and no anticipations or inversions must be per- 
 mitted. It is impossible to make the slightest 
 change in this respect without injury. 
 
 "What has been said will perhaps explain, 
 though inadequately, the wonderful power and 
 efficacy of the i Spiritual Exercises of St. Igna- 
 tius ' in thoroughly reforming the soul, and 
 
Preface. 9 
 
 bringing it from sin to steady virtue. But the 
 grand secret maybe said to consist in two points: 
 
 " First, the entire work is performed by princi- 
 ples, not by emotions which pass away. Convic- 
 tion of the truth and reality of all that is in- 
 culcated is aimed at and secured; reason is en- 
 listed on the side of conscience, and whatever 
 use is made of the feelings in the course of the 
 Exercises, is but as scaffolding to assist in the 
 erection of a solid structure of virtue, which will 
 stand and weather the storm after it has been 
 removed. 
 
 " Secondly, the mind is made to act throughout, 
 and to work out its own resolutions. Nothing 
 is imposed on us by others, either through per- 
 suasion or by authority; we are made to think, 
 to conclude, to determine, and to act by a process 
 essentially our own, so that there is no escape, 
 and no danger from the reaction of self-love. 
 No influence has been used, further than to guide 
 rightly the exercise of our own powers; and even 
 that direction has been given to us with our eyes 
 open, and under the full conviction that we can- 
 not shrink from a single step without going 
 against reason and conscience. ,, 
 
 Father Joseph Pergmayr, the author of " The 
 Truths of Salvation," was born in Bavaria in 
 1713; in 1733 he entered the Society of Jesus. 
 This holy man preached during many years at 
 Munich, and guided several religious communi- 
 ties in the path of perfection. Being palsied in 
 his hands he was obliged to use them both in 
 order to write legibly; he was the author of va- 
 rious pious works full of the unction of the Holy 
 Ghost. He died a holy death at Munich on the 
 23d of March, 1765. The "Truths of Salvation" 
 
10 Preface. 
 
 will be found very useful to all Religious, but 
 lay-persons desirous of laboring at their salvation 
 will not find them less profitable. 
 
 May this little work contribute to the greater 
 glory of God and to the salvation and perfection 
 of souls! 
 
 In your charity pray for the 
 
 Translator. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface 3 
 
 FIRST DAY. 
 
 The groundwork of the retreat . . . 21 
 
 Meditation I.-— The End of Man. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 It is just to live conformably to your end 21 
 
 Affections. — Confession. Contrition 23 
 
 POINT 11. 
 It is advantageous to live conformably to your end. ... 24 
 Affections, — Hope. Contempt of all temporal things ... 25 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 It is necessary to live conformably to your end 26 
 
 Affections. — Fear. Resolution. A prayer to implore 
 Divine grace 27 
 
 Meditation II.— The End of Religious. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 The excellence of your state requires of you to live con- 
 formably to your end 29 
 
 Affections. — Esteem for religious Vocation. An act of 
 self-abasement 31 
 
 POINT 11. 
 
 The extraordinary love of God for you, requires of you 
 
 to live according to your end 32 
 
 Affections. — Gratitude. An act of self-abasement 33 
 
12 Contents. 
 
 POINT III. page 
 
 It is absolutely necessary for you to live according to 
 
 your end 34 
 
 Affections. — Fear. Resoluti©n. Love 36 
 
 Meditation III. — On complete indifference 
 towards creatures. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 God's supreme dominion requires of you to keep your- 
 self in a state of perfect indifference 38 
 
 Affectio?is. — Acknowledgment of the dominion of God. 
 Sorrow and Contrition 39 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 The Providence of God requires of you to keep your- 
 self in complete indifference 40 
 
 Affections. — Confidence. Self-abasement 42 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 The justice of God requires of you to keep yourself in 
 complete indifference 43 
 
 Affections. — Act of Humility. Resolution. A prayer to 
 implore grace 44 
 
 FIRST WEEK.— THE PURGATIVE WAY. 
 
 SECOND DAY. 
 
 Meditation I. — On the sin of the rebel angels 
 and that of our first parents. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 The punishment of the rebel angels shows what an in- 
 finite evil sin is 46 
 
 Affections. — Admiration. Contrition 48 
 
Contents. 1 3 
 
 POINT II. page 
 
 The punishment of our first parents also shows the in- 
 finite evil of sin 49 
 
 Affections. — Fear. Contrition 51 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 Reflections which necessarily follow the consideration 
 of these truths 52 
 
 Affections. — Compunction. Thanksgiving. Supplication. 53 
 
 Meditation II. — On actual or personal sins. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 We may judge of the infinite malice of sin from its 
 effects. 55 
 
 Affections. — Confusion. A prayer to implore grace 57 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 We also learn the infinite malice of sin from the abject 
 
 state of one who offends God 58 
 
 Affections. — Self-abasement. Compunction 60 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 The Supreme Majesty of God who is offended, plainly 
 
 shows what an infinite evil sin is. . 61 
 
 Affections. — Self-accusation. Compunction. ...,..,... 62 
 
 Meditation III.— On the first pain of Hell— 
 The pain of loss. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 The damned in Hell lose God, their sovereign good 
 
 and their supreme happiness 64 
 
 Affections. — Confession. Resolution 66 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 The damned have in God their greatest enemy 67 
 
 Affections. — Fear. Compunction. Resolution 68 
 
14 Contents. 
 
 THIRD DAY. 
 
 Meditation IV.— On the second pain of Hell — 
 The pain of the senses. 
 
 POINT I. PAGE 
 
 The pains of the senses in Hell are terrible in their na- 
 ture 70 
 
 Affections. — Fear. A prayer for grace 71 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 The pains of the senses in Hell are terrible in their dura- 
 tion 72 
 
 Affections. — Thanksgiving. Compunction 74 
 
 Meditation V. — What fruits shall now be 
 gathered from the preceding meditations? 
 
 FIRST FRUIT. 
 
 To conceive a thorough sorrow for our sins 75 
 
 SECOND FRUIT. 
 
 To satisfy as much as possible the Divine Justice for 
 past sins 76 
 
 THIRD FRUIT. 
 
 To avoid all venial sins, especially those which lead to 
 mortal sin 77 
 
 SECOND WEEK.— THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 
 
 Meditation I.— On the reign of Christ. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 It is just to follow Christ 80 
 
 Affections. — Thanksgiving. Resolution 81 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 It is easy to follow Christ 82 
 
 Affections. — Hope and Confidence 84 
 
Contents, 1 5 
 
 POINT III. PACK 
 
 It is necessary to follow Christ 85 
 
 Affections. — Compunction. An act of Self-offering. ... 86 
 
 FOURTH DAY. 
 
 Meditation II. — On the wonderful humility 
 which Christ exhibited in His Incarna- 
 tion and His Birth. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 Christ in His Incarnation and Birth utterly debased 
 
 Himself 88 
 
 Affections. — Confusion. Compunction 90 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 Christ from His birth out, all through life, willingly 
 submitted to all the humiliations which came upon 
 Him from others 91 
 
 Affections. — Contempt of one's self. Acknowledgment. 92 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 Considerations on the humility of Jesus Christ 93 
 
 Affections. — Confession and Sorrow. Resolutions and 
 Supplication , 94 
 
 Meditation III. — On the wonderful obedience 
 of Christ in His hidden life. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 Jesus underwent for the love of His Heavenly Father 
 and for me all the hardships which perfect obedience 
 invariably brings on. 96 
 
 Affections. — Self-abasement. Compunction 98 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 On the wonderful happiness of a soul that practises 
 blind and therefore perfect obedience 99 
 
 Affections. — Faith. Hope and confidence. An act of 
 love and self-offering 101 
 
16 Contents. 
 
 Meditation IV. — On the wonderful charity and 
 meekness of Christ in His public life. 
 
 POINT I. PAGE 
 
 Christ underwent first the hardships which render 
 
 charity and meekness difficult „ 103 
 
 Affections. — Confusion. Resolution 105 
 
 POINT 11. 
 
 The marvellous qualities of Jesus' charity for us 106 
 
 Affections. — Compunction. Love. Resolution 107 
 
 FIFTH DAY. 
 
 Meditation V. — The conclusion of the Second 
 Week. Maxims of spiritual life. 
 
 Exercises of Obedience, of Humility, of Meekness, and 
 Charity in 
 
 THIRD WEEK. 
 
 Intermediate Meditation I. — The Two Standards. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 Whom we are to follow — Jesus Christ or Satan — may be 
 seen from the design of the two leaders whom we 
 now propose 113 
 
 Affections 115 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 Whom we are to follow — Jesus Christ or Satan — may be 
 seen by the ends to which both lead 115 
 
 Affections 117 
 
 POINT ill. 
 
 Whom we are to follow — Jesus or Satan — may be seen 
 by the end for which God has called us to the relig- 
 ious life 118 
 
 Affections. — Faith. Desire of union with God 120 
 
Contents. 1 7 
 
 Intermediate Meditation II. — The three classes 
 of men. 
 
 POINT I. PAGE 
 
 To the first class belong those who aim at perfection, 
 but only in desire; they speak of it continually, but 
 do not wish it sincerely 121 
 
 Affections. — Fear. Compunction 123 
 
 POINT 11. 
 
 To the second class belong those who wish, it is true, 
 to aim at perfection, but have not a universal and 
 generous will 124 
 
 Affections. — Acknowledgment. Resolution 126 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 To the third class belong those who have an earnest and 
 generous wish to arrive at perfection, and are ready 
 to do what God demands, and to suffer all that He 
 requires for holiness of life 127 
 
 Affections. — Fear. Resolution 128 
 
 SIXTH DAY. 
 
 Intermediate Meditation III. — On the third 
 degree of humility, or the love of contempt. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 It is just that we love contempt 129 
 
 Affections. — An act of Self-abasement. Resolution... . 131 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 Our own interest requires that we love contempt 131 
 
 Affections 133 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 Its very excellence requires that we love contempt 134 
 
 Affections. — Prayer to obtain the spirit of humility. ... 135 
 
1 8 Contents. 
 
 Meditation I. — On the interior sufferings of 
 Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. 
 
 POINT I. PAGE 
 
 Christ has led the way in suffering all the interior 
 
 trials, which are met with on the road to perfection. 137 
 Affections. — Astonishment. Resolution 139 
 
 The state of dereliction is more profitable to us than 
 that of consolation 140 
 
 Affections. — Oblation. A prayer to obtain fortitude. . . 141 
 
 SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 Meditation II. — On the exterior sufferings of 
 Jesus Christ while hanging on the cross. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 We can never suffer in our bodies what Jesus has suf- 
 fered in His body 143 
 
 Affections. — Thanksgiving. Resolution 144 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 Christ's patience was as wonderful as His pains were 
 terrible 145 
 
 Affections. — Self-confusion. Acknowledgment and Re- 
 solution 147 
 
 Meditation III. — On the affronts and outrages 
 which Jesus suffered. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 There never has been one and never will there be one 
 who suffered such affronts and outrages as Jesus 
 Christ 148 
 
 Affections. — Admiration of Jesus' meekness. Self-con- 
 fusion 151 
 
Contents. 1 9 
 
 POINT II. PAGE 
 
 There never has been one and never will there be one 
 who suffered outrages and insults in the manner in 
 which Christ suffered them 152 
 
 Affections. — Esteem and Love of Contempt. Compunc- 
 tion and Resolution- 153 
 
 Meditation IV.— On the love which Christ 
 on the cross has shown for His enemies. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 The Love of Jesus was wonderful on account of the 
 circumstances, and of the hatred and rage of His 
 enemies 154 
 
 Affectio?is. — Self-abasement. Contrition 157 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 The Love of Jesus was wonderful on account of the 
 circumstances of His love 158 
 
 Affections. — Compunction. Resolution and Supplication. 160 
 End of the third week. The soul is beginning to be 
 prepared for union with God 161 
 
 THE FOURTH WEEK.— THE UNITIVE WAY. 
 
 EIGHTH DAY 
 Meditation I. — On the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 The happiness of His resurrection was as great as the 
 bitterness of His suffering was terrible 166 
 
 Affections. — Rejoicing at the Glory of Jesus Christ. A 
 
 desire of the same happiness „ 168 
 
 POINT 11. 
 
 Holy thoughts and resolutions that arise from the medi- 
 tation on the Resurrection . . ., 168 
 
 Affections. — An Act of Faith. Compunction. On the 
 love of God , 1 70 
 
20 Contents. 
 
 Meditation II. — God is infinitely good towards us. 
 
 POINT I. PAGE 
 
 God deserves to be loved on account of His being infi- 
 nitely good to us here on earth 171 
 
 Affections. — Admiration of the love of God. Compunc- 
 tion and An Act of Love 173 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 God deserves to Yje loved on account of His being infi- 
 nitely good to us hereafter 174 
 
 Affections.— An Act of Love. Desire to love God per- 
 fectly ^ 175 
 
 Meditation III. — God is infinitely good in Himself. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 God deserves to be loved, because He is the Supreme 
 
 Good 176 ' 
 
 Affections. — Confusion and Astonishment. Resolution 
 
 and Compunction 1 79 
 
 POINT 11. 
 
 God deserves to be loved, because He is the only Good. 180 
 
 Affections. — Confusion. An Act of Love and Oblation. 
 
 Petition i82j 
 
 SELF-EXAMINATION. 
 
 Introductory Remarks. 
 
 First Day. — Examination on Purity of Heart . 188 
 
 Second Day. — Examination on Inordinate Love 194 
 
 Third Day. — Examination on the Desire of Esteem and 
 
 Honor 199 
 
 Fourth Day. — Examination on Sloth and Sadness... . . . 203 
 
 Fifth Day. — Examination on Anger 212 
 
 Sixth Day. — Examination on Inordinate Zeal 216 
 
 Seventh Day. — Examination on our Love for God.. . . .. 221 
 
 Eighth Day. — Examination on the Love of our Neighbor 229 
 
FIRST DAY. 
 
 This day forms the groundwork of the re- 
 treat. Its meditations tend to two purposes: 
 
 ist. To make us thoroughly understand the 
 end for which we were created; viz., to honor 
 and love God in this world, and to enjoy Him 
 forever in the next. 
 
 2d. To make us strenuously resolve to attain 
 this end. 
 
 JHeiritatton 1. 
 
 The End of Man. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 It is Just to Live Conformably to your 
 End. 
 
 Go back, in imagination, a little, and remem- 
 ber that a hundred years ago you were nothing. 
 God first created your body, and then breathed 
 into it an immortal soul, and you were a human 
 being. You are therefore the work of an Infi- 
 nite Wisdom, of an Infinite Goodness, and thus 
 wholly God's. 
 
22 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 ist. You are a work of Infinite Wisdom. In- 
 finite Wisdom cannot create anything without an 
 end worthy of Itself. This end is no other than 
 that you should know, honor, and love God in 
 this world, and in the next see and enjoy Him 
 forever. Your duty, therefore, has ever been, 
 and ever will be, to honor and love God. 
 
 2d. You are a work of Infinite Goodness. 
 Suppose yourself in the world, in the same state 
 of life and with the same gifts you now enjoy, 
 but that you are speechless. God loosens your 
 tongue and enables you to speak, on this condi- 
 tion : Never henceforth to utter a word but for 
 His honor and glory. Can there be anything 
 more just than that this tongue should always 
 praise Him who gave it the power of speech ? 
 Pause, and consider whether you have a sense of 
 your body, or a faculty of your soul, which was 
 not given you for a similar purpose. 
 
 3d. You are wholly God's. He has created 
 you out of nothing, and He is consequently your 
 Lord and Master. He who owns a garden, and 
 has it tilled and planted, is the sole master of 
 all that it produces. Whoever takes therefrom 
 against his will is guilty of theft. It is a trite 
 axiom, To the owner of the soil belong the fruits 
 of it. God created you. He is therefore the 
 Lord, and the Master of all that arises from you. 
 To foster then a single affection w T hich does not 
 tend to His glory, to say or to do anything which 
 is not in some way for His praise and love, is in- 
 justice. Servants are deserving of blame in the 
 
 
The End of Man. 23 
 
 discharge of their duties in two ways. First, by 
 remissness, or a superficial performance of their 
 obligations. Secondly, by malice or the guilt 
 of actual injury to those whom they serve. How 
 have you served God, your Master? What does 
 your conscience say ? 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Confession. — O my God, I see how sinful my 
 life has been ! My end was to honor and love 
 Thee with my whole heart and soul ; I should 
 never have spent a moment, never spoken a 
 word, never performed an action which tended 
 not, in some way or other, to Thy honor. And 
 what have I done ! In what and for whom have 
 the hours of my life been employed ? On whom 
 have the affections of my soul been centred ? 
 Ah ! how much have I done for the creature, and 
 how little for Thee, my Creator ! Woe unto me ! 
 How tepid, how ungrateful, and how wicked 
 have I been ! 
 
 Contrition. — What now remains for me, O my 
 God, but to implore Thy clemency and forgive- 
 ness? I detest my sins with my whole heart, 
 and wish every day which has not been spent in 
 Thy service to be blotted out from the number 
 of my days. 
 
24 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 It is Advantageous to Live Conformably to 
 your End. 
 
 The ena tor which God created you is not 
 only for His own glory, to honor and love Him 
 
 in this world, but also for your eternal happi- 
 ness, to enjoy Him in the next. As truly as you 
 are now living on earth, so truly will you one 
 day dwell in heaven, if you serve God faithfully. 
 Here pause and consider the happiness which 
 awaits you. 
 
 ist. There is in heaven supreme happiness for 
 the soul. To wish to understand the bliss which 
 a soul enjoys in heaven would be as it were to 
 drain the ocean of its waters. One thought, 
 however, will help you to conceive in some way 
 its extent. The happiness of God is infinite, and 
 this infinite happiness is the end of your creation. 
 God wishes you to partake of the same happi- 
 ness which He Himself enjoys, and to share in 
 the same glory which He Himself possesses. 
 
 2d. There is in heaven, likewise, a supreme 
 happiness for the body. The soul does not 
 alone serve God, but it is assisted frequently by 
 the body. The body, therefore, must share the 
 recompense awarded to the soul. But what 
 tongue can express the happiness of the body ? 
 Happiness so great that, as the Apostle says, 
 "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath 
 
The End of Man, 2 5 
 
 it entered into the heart of man, what things 
 God hath prepared for them that love Him." 
 
 3d. This happiness will last forever. How 
 brief is earthly enjoyment, compared with 
 heavenly? Long ere this there lived kings and 
 queens, whose splendor dazzled millions, and 
 whose sceptre made empires tremble. Where 
 are they now? They are mouldering in the 
 dust, and even trampled under foot. To-day 
 there are potentates who are almost worshipped 
 as deities; a hundred years hence what will re- 
 main of them ? Nothing but a handful of dust, 
 which the wind scatters at will. Not such is 
 the glory that awaits you. Its duration is eter- 
 nal. The joys which ravish all the faculties of 
 the soul are eternal. That torrent of delights 
 which inundates the senses of the body is eter- 
 nal. All is without change, without cessation, 
 forever. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Hope. — O Infinite Goodness ! How consoling 
 is this truth: Heaven is my country, my inherit- 
 ance, eternally mine ! If I honor and love God, 
 a day will come in which I shall surpass the sun 
 in brightness, in which I myself shall behold 
 the heavenly paradise, where soul and body will 
 be inebriated with the torrent of its delights. 
 O blessed day ! Dare I hope for thee ? Yes, I 
 hope for thee, and I hope for thee most confi- 
 dently. God's promise is pledged thereunto. 
 
 Contempt of all temporal things.— If Hea- 
 
26 The Truths of Salvation, 
 
 ven is mine, why do I not despise the world and 
 all it offers ? Why do I repine at the ills of the 
 body, if this same body shall enjoy uninter- 
 rupted delights ? Why does the contempt of 
 men disquiet and afflict me, if I am to be es- 
 teemed and loved forever by God and His saints? 
 O my God, I have been blind and have prized 
 too highly the things of earth. 
 
 / 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 It is Necessary to Live Conformably to your 
 End. 
 
 ist. God is Infinite Goodness and Infinite 
 Justice. Engrave deeply the following truth on 
 your mind: As His Goodness is Infinite, it is 
 impossible for Him not to love and reward eter- 
 nally those who honor Him, and as His Justice 
 is Infinite, it is impossible for Him not to detest 
 and punish eternally those who contemn Him. 
 
 2d. The Infinite Goodness of God created 
 Heaven, and His Infinite Justice made Hell. In 
 Heaven He will reward forever faithful souls, and 
 they will praise and glorify Him forever; in hell 
 He will hate and punish everlastingly unfaithful 
 souls, and they will never cease to curse and blas- 
 pheme Him. 
 
 3d. Hence if you honor and love God on 
 earth, your bliss in Heaven will eternally pro- 
 claim His mercy; if you refuse to honor and 
 love Him on earth, your damnatior; shall exalt 
 
The End of Man. 2j 
 
 His Justice in Hell. Heaven and earth will pass 
 away, but His word shall not pass away. You 
 will therefore either dwell forever in Heaven or 
 suffer eternally in Hell. Your soul will either 
 love or hate God unceasingly, for your soul is 
 immortal. Your body will either enjoy the ever- 
 lasting bliss of Heaven or suffer the eternal tor- 
 ments of Hell; for this body, being raised from 
 the dead, will die no more. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Fear. — O my God ! shall I be numbered 
 among the blessed ? O awful question which 
 makes me shudder ! Shall I be inebriated with 
 the joys of Heaven? I know not; but this I 
 know, that Thou, O Lord, hast said: " He that 
 loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth 
 his life in this world keepeth it unto life eternal " 
 (St John xii. 25). These are Thy words. To 
 love my life signifies to delight in sensual things, 
 to follow the bent of my own will, to fly from 
 contempt, to be displeased with those who of- 
 fend me To hate my life means to mortify my- 
 self, to deny my own will, to accept willingly 
 and even to seek contempt, to return good for 
 evil. Have I acted thus until now ? Woe is me ! 
 The words of my Saviour condemn me. I have 
 not been of the number of those who hate their 
 lives. 
 
 Resolution.— O my God, if to gain my end 
 is to be eternally happy, and if to lose my end 
 is to be eternally miserable, how can I be so 
 
28 The Truths of * Salvation. 
 
 careless in so important a matter ? Should I not 
 from this out gladly sacrifice the highest of earth- 
 ly enjoyments, were it necessary, to purchase 
 those of Heaven ? Should I not from this out 
 be willing to shed my blood, if necessary, in or- 
 der to escape Hell ? Most certainly to procure 
 an infinite good, or to avoid an infinite evil, one 
 can never do enough, and never suffer enough. 
 
 my God, prostrate in Thy presence, I resolve 
 to gain my end, cost what it may. For this pur- 
 pose I resolve t© refuse no sacrifice. Whatever I 
 shall discover in the course of these holy exer- 
 cises to be useful or necessary to my soul, that I 
 will do. 
 
 A Prayer to Employ Divine Grace. 
 
 How often have I taken these resolutions and 
 how often have I broken them ? I need, there- 
 fore, O God, Thy help; otherwise I shall be lost. 
 
 1 turn then to Thee, O Heavenly Father ! 
 Hearken to the cry of my heart. O Infinite 
 Goodness, deal not with me according to my 
 deserts, but according to Thy infinite mercy; 
 deal not with me according to the severity of 
 Thy Justice, but according to Thy Infinite Good- 
 ness and tender compassion. 
 
 
The End of Religious. 29 
 
 filtbttatxon 2. 
 
 The End of Religious. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 The Excellence of your State requires of 
 you to Live Conformably to your End. 
 
 Do you sufficiently comprehend its dignity ? 
 Your end is to honor and love God in this world; 
 but in a higher degree, and in a more perfect 
 manner, than seculars, and, in the next, to enjoy 
 God eternally, but in a higher and more perfect 
 degree of glory than seculars. Consider the 
 advantages which this state possesses. The first 
 advantage is the assurance of your salvation. If 
 you live as your state requires, you would wrong 
 God by entertaining the least doubt of your sal- 
 vation. Listen to the promise He made: " Every 
 one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, 
 or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for 
 my name's sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, 
 and shall possess life everlasting" (St. Matthew 
 xix. 29). Who is it that spoke thus ? God, who 
 in His words is Truth itself, and who is infinite- 
 ly faithful to His promises. What can be more 
 consoling than this ? 
 
 The second advantage is sanctity, and union 
 with God. On the day that God called you to 
 a religious life He also called you to holiness. 
 
30 The Truths of Salvation, 
 
 He wished you to consecrate to Him, at that 
 time, your soul, with all its faculties and affec- 
 tions. This was God's intention. For this pur- 
 pose only He withdrew you from the turmoil of 
 the world, and led you into the retirement of the 
 cell, that He alone might reign as Sovereign 
 Lord in your heart, inflame it with the ardor of 
 His love, and prepare it, little by little, for the 
 abode in which He with you and you with Him 
 may live in the most tender familiarity. 
 
 The third advantage is a high degree of glory 
 in Heaven. All the blessed in Heaven are sov- 
 ereigns, and enjoy ineffable happiness. Still one 
 exceeds another in glory, as the brilliancy of the 
 sun surpasses the radiance of the smaller lumi- 
 naries. To you, O Religious! belongs the glory 
 which will exalt you above myriads of the elect; 
 it is promised you; for you it is prepared. "If 
 thou w r ilt be perfect," says the Eternal Truth, 
 " go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, 
 and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and 
 come, follow me" (St. Matt. xix. 21). 
 
 Picture to yourself an infant prince, heir to a 
 kingdom. This child cannot appreciate his pre- 
 rogative, but others gaze on him with venera- 
 tion, esteem him happy, and regard his position 
 as the most enviable one in the world. Nature 
 has elevated him above millions of men, fortune 
 has lavished on him its choicest gifts, so that his 
 life will be spent in the enjoyment of the most 
 refined pleasures. Were the eyes of your soul 
 sufficiently enlightened, how much more envi- 
 able would your state of life appear ? After a 
 
The End of Religions. 3 1 
 
 short lapse of time, you will have come to your 
 inheritance; you will sit among the Angels, and 
 a glorious crown will encircle your brow. You 
 will be filled with delights, in comparison with 
 which all the pleasures of the world will be 
 naught but empty bubbles. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Esteem for Religious Vocation. — Is this, 
 then, the end for which God led me into solitude ? 
 To know and love God in this life more fer- 
 vently than seculars, and also to possess Him in 
 the other life in a higher degree of glory ? To 
 be admitted to a more intimate friendship with 
 Him, to love Him ardently, and to be loved by 
 Him in return, and to commence here below the 
 union which is to continue in Heaven without 
 end ? Oh ! what a signal favor is this ! Blessed 
 and praised forever be such Infinite Goodness 
 and mercy ! 
 
 An Act of Self-abasement. — How much 
 should this very favor humble me ? It tells me 
 to be meek and gentle; to bear in silence, and 
 with tranquillity, the pains inflicted by my 
 neighbor; to suffer contempt and humiliations 
 without being troubled; to practise an obedience 
 which makes me ready at every moment to sub- 
 mit my will to that of superiors; to be inflamed 
 with so great a love of God as to spend hours 
 in uninterrupted communion with Him. This 
 is the perfection to which the grace of my vo- 
 cation calls me. Do I correspond to it ? What 
 is my answer? 
 
32 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 The Extraordinary Love of God for you 
 requires of you to llve according to your 
 End. 
 
 To understand the greatness of His love, con- 
 sider the following truths: 
 
 ist. God called you to the religious life with ■ 
 wonderful predilection. You did not choose 
 Him, but He you. " You have not chosen Me," 
 said Christ to His Apostles, "but I have chosen 
 you." The first thought which you had of this 
 sort of life, your first inclination towards it, the 
 fortitude by which you conquered the obstacles, 
 came purely from Him. The election was His, 
 not yours; for, He without you would have been 
 equally happy. 
 
 2d. God called you without your deserving 
 this grace. How many millions have been left 
 to battle with the dangers and temptations of 
 the world, who would have served God better 
 than you ? Nevertheless God has left them and 
 chosen you. 
 
 3d. God called you to a religious life, though 
 others, if chosen, would have paid Him greater 
 honor and glory. How many millions live in 
 the world who will be irretrievably lost; all of 
 them would have been saved, had God conferred 
 on them the graces He has lavished on you ! 
 How many thousands are there in the world 
 who would have attained an eminent degree of 
 
The End of Religious, 3 3 
 
 sanctity, had they received the same grace of 
 vocation as you ? But His foreknowledge did 
 not incline Him to prefer them to you. On 
 you He cast His eyes and drew you to Himself. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Gratitude. — How boundless is Thy goodness 
 and mercy to me, O my God ! How much hast 
 Thou done to lead me to You ? Tens of thou- 
 sands would have more faithfully corresponded 
 to Your graces, and through them would have 
 reached perfection. Thou hast overlooked them, 
 and chosen me. O incomprehensible Love ! 
 How much do I owe Thee ? 
 
 An Act of Self-abasement. — The nobler and 
 the more exalted religious life is, the greater is 
 my ingratitude. How many persons live in the 
 world who, for all their life, obey the commands 
 of pitiless masters without murmuring, while I 
 cannot do the will of God, the best of masters, 
 even in the most trifling matters ? How many 
 who for whole years are pinched by poverty, 
 who are calumniated, despised, and sorely per- 
 secuted, and who nevertheless bear all in silence, 
 and submit cheerfully to the will of God, while 
 I complain, and shrink from the least cross. 
 Jesus ! How much art Thou offended by me ! 
 since fewer graces have brought forth so much 
 fruit in these souls, and in me Thy multiplied 
 graces have produced little or none ! Shall not 
 the words of Thy threat be verified in me: " Be- 
 hold, they are last that shall be first, and they 
 are first that shall be last" (St. Luke xiii. 30). 
 
34 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 It is Absolutely Necessary for you to Live 
 according to your end. 
 
 You must honor and love God, but in a higher 
 degree and in a more perfect manner than per- 
 sons living in the world. This is the obligation 
 which God imposes on you. How will it fare 
 with you, if you fail to comply with it ? Alas ! 
 miserably, my soul, miserably, whether God 
 deals with you according to His Mercy, or ac- 
 cording to His Justice. 
 
 ist. If God deals with you according to His 
 Mercy, you may attain unto salvation, but in an 
 inferior degree, and after undergoing protracted 
 sufferings in Purgatory. I say, in an inferior 
 degree. God hath prepared for you an ex- 
 alted throne in Heaven, but since you render 
 yourself unworthy of it by your tepidity, He will 
 deprive you of the clear light of your under- 
 standing, of the tender inclinations of your 
 heart; He will deprive you of the extraordinary 
 graces wherewith He would have enriched you, 
 and will bestow them on an humble servant, on 
 a pious w T idow, or on a poor beggar, who will 
 employ them in fervently serving Him. I say, 
 moreover, only after protracted sufferings in 
 Purgatory. It is certain that the tepid Relig- 
 ious commits innumerable venial sins. It is 
 certain that each day increases their number. 
 It is certain that every venial sin, if not atoned 
 
The End of Religious. 3 5 
 
 for in this life, must be expiated in the fire of 
 Purgatory. How long this suffering may last, 
 no one can say, and judge thence what your con- 
 dition will be after a long life of tepidity, even 
 if God deals with you according to His Mercy. 
 
 2d. But if God treats you according to His 
 Justice, then you may look upon your perdition 
 as inevitable, but it will be far more terrible, 
 than that of persons dying in the world. 
 
 I say first, your perdition is inevitable. " The 
 earth," says the Holy Ghost, " that drinketh in 
 the rain which cometh often upon it, and which 
 bringeth forth thorns and briars, is reprobate, 
 and very near unto a curse" (Heb. vi. 7). 
 
 This earth is your soul, which has been inun- 
 dated with showers of heavenly graces and in- 
 spirations such as to lead readily to sanctity. 
 What will then happen ? The land will be left 
 barren and accursed. 
 
 I say secondly, perdition more terrible than 
 that of persons living in the world awaits you. 
 The more ardent God's love is for a soul in this 
 world, the more severe is His Justice in the next, 
 if His love is contemned. The more generous 
 is His liberality here on earth, the greater is His 
 anger hereafter, if His graces are abused. Wit- 
 ness the withering threats pronounced against 
 those unfortunate cities, which had received so 
 many graces from Christ, and with which they 
 did not correspond: "Wo to thee, Corazain; wo 
 to thee, Bethsaida; for if in Tyre and Sidon had 
 been wrought the miracles that have been 
 
36 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 wrought in you, they had long ago done pen- 
 ance in hair-cloth and ashes. But I say unto 
 you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and 
 Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 
 And thou, Capharnaum, shalt thou be exalted 
 up to Heaven ? Thou shalt go down even unto 
 Heir' (St. Matt. xi. 21). When Christ acts ac- 
 cording to His Justice, the unfortunate Relig- 
 ious, who would have been higher in Heaven, sink 
 lower in Hell. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Fear. — O my God ! shall I be saved ? Shall I 
 ever see Thee ? A tepid, unmortified life cannot 
 save me. So long as love is not ardent, prayer 
 fervent, mortification earnest, my salvation is 
 not sure. Countless numbers have been lost 
 who were less tepid than I, but on account of 
 their abuse of grace, God withheld from them 
 His final assistance. O Jesus ! My lukewarm- 
 ness has deserved nothing else but that I be re- 
 jected by Thee. 
 
 Resolution. — But how long, O my God ! shall 
 I delay ? Alas ! Too many years have I spent 
 in tepidity, and too many graces I have abused. 
 It is time that I arise from my torpor, and ear- 
 nestly set about the work of my perfection. 
 Now, O Jesus ! this very hour I will begin to 
 serve Thee as Thou desirest. 
 
 Love. — Is it possible for me ever to love God 
 perfectly ? Yes, it is possible. O consoling as- 
 surance ! Now, this very hour, I can love Thee, 
 
Indifference towards Creatures, 37 
 
 God ! perfectly. I turn therefore m} whole 
 heart to Thee, O Infinite Being. Would that I 
 could combine in my heart the ardent love of 
 the heavenly spirits ! From this out I will re- 
 trieve lost time, and hasten to life everlasting. 
 
 1 resolve to do everything during these days, 
 that I know to be agreeable unto Thee. Foster 
 this my love of Thee, O Jesus, and stir it up, by 
 Thy grace, to a lively flame. 
 
 invitation 3. 
 
 On Complete Indifference to- 
 wards Creatures. 
 
 Eternal salvation may be lost, either through 
 an inordinate attachment to some created things 
 or through aversion for others. The first are 
 earthly comforts, or the gratification of the 
 senses, wealth, honor and esteem of men. The 
 others are poverty, suffering, contempt, sickness, 
 and premature death. If, then, you desire to 
 secure your last end, you must renounce all nat- 
 ural inclinations and aversions for things of this 
 sort, being ready to sacrifice whatever is most 
 pleasant, should it be an obstacle to your salva- 
 tion, and to enter upon any undertaking, how- 
 ever painful to nature, which will help you to 
 obtain your soul's eternal welfare. 
 
38 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 God's Supreme Dominion requires of you to 
 keep yourself in a state of perfect in- 
 DIFFERENCE. 
 
 The end of your existence in this world is, to 
 honor and love God perfectly; but to honor and 
 love God perfectly means nothing but to fulfil 
 exactly His holy will. Now this cannot be done, 
 unless the heart be equally disposed to accept 
 health or sickness, esteem or contempt. 
 
 Reflect then seriously on the following truths: 
 
 ist. God, not you, must determine the manner 
 in which you have to serve Him. You must 
 serve Him as He wills, not as you please. He 
 is the Master, and you the servant. The mas- 
 ter's right is to command, the servant's duty is 
 to obey. Even in the heavenly hierarchies this 
 order is observed. Some of the Angels sing un- 
 ceasingly before the throne of God canticles of 
 praise, others attend and protect men; some are 
 guardians of the just, others of the wicked: each 
 serves God as he is commanded. Should God 
 exercise less dominion on earth than in heaven ? 
 
 2d. The supreme dominion of God is to pre- 
 scribe to you the manner of serving Him. He 
 is God and you are His creature. Who can or 
 dare circumscribe His power? The potter does 
 with his work what he lists; he puts it where he 
 wishes, uses it for the meanest purposes; he 
 breaks it into pieces; in short, disposes of it as 
 
Indifference towards Creatures. 39 
 
 he fancies. Should God be denied the same 
 right to treat man whom He created, that the 
 potter has over the work of his hands ? 
 
 3d. You serve God as He wills, when you 
 honor and love Him perfectly, in the condition 
 in which He has placed you. 
 
 If you are intrusted with an office, you must 
 discharge its duties earnestly, assiduously, and 
 cheerfully, for the pure love of God. This is 
 what loving and serving God as He wills means. If 
 your soul is full of darkness, and a prey to 
 temptations, sadness, and spiritual dereliction, 
 you must bend beneath the cross, and kiss, as it 
 were, the hand that strikes you. If you are 
 hated, despised, and calumniated, you must 
 drink the bitter chalice without complaint, for 
 such is the will of your Heavenly Father. The 
 farther you stray from this path, the more diffi- 
 cult your road to Heaven will become. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Acknowledgment of the Dominion of God. 
 
 . — O Supreme Good ! to Thee belongs the right 
 to command. I am Thy creature, whose duty is 
 to obey. I must honor and love Thee, but not 
 as I will, but as Thou wilt. I acknowledge Thy 
 supreme dominion, and humbly bow down be- 
 fore it. Woe to those who presume to serve 
 God according to their caprice. To serve God 
 as they will, not as He wills, is to make them- 
 selves the masters, and to degrade the great God 
 to the condition of a servant. 
 
40 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 Sorrow and Contrition. — How is it possible 
 that poor mortals can be found to act so con- 
 trary to reason ? Alas ! even the religious state 
 has too many such. I myself have been one of 
 them; this I confess to my shame. I desire to 
 love and serve Thee in good health; in sickness 
 I like not to serve Thee. I will honor and love 
 Thee as long as I possess the affection and es- 
 teem of men, but in neglect and disgrace I am 
 unwilling to serve Thee. I am anxious to love 
 and worship Thee as long as I enjoy interior 
 peace, and while sensible devotion dilates my 
 heart, but in aridity and temptation I care not 
 for serving Thee and forget Thee. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 The Providence of God requires of you to 
 keep yourself in complete indifference. 
 
 As it is difficult to reach our final end without 
 this holy indifference, so it is easy with it. To 
 understand this better, consider the following 
 truths: 
 
 ist. God is Infinite Wisdom, and knows what 
 means will conduct you surely to your last end. 
 Everything may contribute to it, viz.: health or 
 sickness, honor or contempt, an honorable or ab- 
 ject office — all may be used as means, when used 
 properly. Tell me now, which is the better 
 means to lead you more safely to your last end, 
 to be strong and hale in body or to be disabled 
 by infirmities, to be loaded with honors or to be 
 
Indifference towards Creatures. 41 
 
 the object of unmerited contempt and calumny, 
 to be engaged in an honorable or low employ- 
 ment ? This is a secret which bids defiance to 
 the human intellect, an abyss whose depths no 
 mortal eye can fathom, a mystery which is un- 
 veiled only for God Omnipotent. 
 
 2d. God is Infinite Love. As long as the soul 
 remains in this indifference, He always ordains 
 for it the most efficacious means to reach its last 
 end. God is to the soul what a mother is to the 
 child. Sooner would the most affectionate 
 mother force her offspring to swallow a deadly 
 potion than would God ordain anything hurtful 
 to the soul that abandons itself entirely to Him. 
 This is an incontestable truth. If God visits you 
 with sickness, if He permits you to be despised 
 and persecuted, if He leaves your soul in dark- 
 ness, temptation, and dereliction, these are the 
 means which shall prove most effective in en- 
 abling you to gain your last end. 
 
 3d. God is Infinite Power, and infallibly con- 
 ducts the soul to its last end, as long as it perse- 
 veres in this indifference. Who can understand 
 the power of the Omnipotent ? Neither angel 
 nor man, neither heaven, earth, nor hell, can pre- 
 vail against His power. You alone are capable 
 of putting obstacles in the way, if you withdraw 
 yourself from the direction of God's providence. 
 But, on the contrary, if you persevere in allow- 
 ing yourself to be guided by it, God will conduct 
 you surely to your end, Infinite Wisdom, Infinite 
 Love, and Infinite Power as He is. 
 
42 
 
 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Confidence. — How consoling is this thought: 
 He who governs me is Wisdom itself, and He 
 knows what means are the most sure. He who 
 loves me is the fountain of all love, and at every 
 moment ordains that which is best for me. He 
 who guides me is Infinite Power, and when His 
 hand supports and defends, no power can en- 
 feeble or injure. Should I then not banish all diffi- 
 dence from my heart ? With perfect confidence I 
 throw myself into the arms of Thy fatherly care, 
 O God ! I cry out to Thee: Thou wishest me to 
 share with Thee the bliss of Heaven, where Thou 
 hast prepared for me an exalted throne of glory. 
 As great as this Thy favor is, so is the ardor of 
 my hope. Thou art my Father, and Thy love 
 shall conduct me to eternal happiness. 
 
 Self-abasement. — How can I hope for this 
 happiness ? It is only for those who honor and 
 love Thee as Thou wiliest, and who keep them- 
 selves in a spirit of perfect indifference. Am I 
 one of these ? Alas ! how elated am I when 
 warmed by the sun of sensible consolations? 
 How troubled when its rays are obscured by the 
 clouds of dereliction and temptations ! How 
 joyfully do I obey one command, and how re- 
 luctantly another! 
 
Indifference towards Creatures. 43 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 The Justice of God requires of you to keep 
 yourself in complete indifference. 
 
 If you do not with humble submission employ 
 the means which God prescribes for your last 
 end, His Justice will overtake you. Hence will 
 follow incalculable misfortunes. 
 
 1st. You will have to suffer incomparably more 
 than if you were fortified by a spirit of indiffer- 
 ence. You are sadly in error if you imagine you 
 can evade the troubles and afflictions which the 
 love of God has ordained as means to your end. 
 These pains and temptations, that contempt and 
 persecution, which He has appointed for you, 
 you must endure. Now, let us suppose you are 
 indifferent and bear these trials patiently. You 
 then have this testimony, that you please God 
 (Heb. xi. 5), who both strengthens you with an 
 increase of grace by making your cross light 
 and sweet; but if you have not this indifference, 
 and unwillingly bear the cross, you displease 
 God. He withdraws His helping hand from you 
 and allows you to pine away unaided beneath its 
 heavy weight. 
 
 2d. You forfeit everlastingly the exalted de- 
 gree of glory which would have been yours by 
 God's eternal decree. It is impossible to attain 
 to your end, except by the path which God has 
 traced out. Were you to refuse to tread cheer- 
 
44 The Truths of Salvation, 
 
 fully this path, you would toil in vain, you would 
 never reach the goal. 
 
 3d. Your very salvation is in danger. A soul 
 that has not this indifference is necessarily sub- 
 ject to many and grievous temptations. At one 
 time it gives way either to anger and melan- 
 choly or to sadness and diffidence; at another 
 time it is swayed by pride and the fear of con- 
 tempt. All the unsubdued passions spring up, 
 sometimes simultaneously, at other times sepa- 
 rately. To put down such foes as these requires 
 the help of the God of armies. Will He succor 
 in its afflictions a soul that withdraws itself from 
 His guidance, that spurns the weapons He fur- 
 nishes, that will acknowledge no law in His ser- 
 vice but its own caprice ? 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Act of Humility. — My Lord and my God ! in 
 what a piteous state my soul is ! What darkness 
 in my understanding, what disorder in my will ! 
 I look upon pains and sickness as the greatest 
 evils, and Thou regardest them as the surest 
 means of my sanctification. I consider tempta- 
 tions as the most deplorable misfortunes, and 
 Thou seest in them so many steps to my exalta- 
 tion in Heaven. I imagine that dereliction is 
 my ruin, and Thou remindest me that if it be 
 borne with resignation, it will be the brightest 
 gem in my crown of glory. My judgment then 
 leads me astray ! Alas ! this is not all: as my 
 understanding is blind, so is my will perverse. 
 The love of honor and esteem, the desire of com- 
 
 
Indifference towards Creatures. 45 
 
 fort and of rest, these captivate my heart. Eager- 
 ly do I grasp the poisoned cup and fling from me 
 the sole antidote which could restore my health. 
 Resolution. — I have clearly perceived these 
 two things: 1st. I must honor and love Thee as 
 Thou wilt, not as I will. 2d. I cannot honor and 
 love Thee thus unless I be indifferent and em- 
 ploy the means which Thou hast appointed; nei- 
 ther can I secure my salvation and attain unto 
 sanctity. I, therefore, divest myself of every at- 
 tachment to creatures, and of every repugnance 
 for them; honor or contempt, health or sickness, 
 consolation or dryness, this or that command of 
 my superiors, all shall henceforth be alike to me. 
 Let nature repine and murmur; from this time 
 forward Thy grace will prevail. This is my reso- 
 lution, O my God! 
 
 A Prayer to Implore Grace. 
 
 How happy I am to have at last laid the cor- 
 ner-stone ! My soul is now stamped with the 
 characteristic of sanctity. I tread the path 
 which will conduct to union with God. But 
 who shall keep me in this state ? Surely not 
 myself; my weakness is too great and my incon- 
 stancy too manifest. Thy Omnipotence alone 
 can sustain my infirmity. To Thee, therefore, I 
 raise my whole soul, and I cry out: "O Jesus ! 
 root out from my heart every attachment to 
 creatures which flatters my self-sufficiency, and 
 remove every repugnance which wounds self- 
 love. Grant me to desire nothing but to please 
 Thee, and to fear nothing but to offend Thee." 
 
FIRST WEEK. 
 
 The Purgative Way. 
 
 To-day opens the first week of the spiritual 
 exercises. It contains five meditations. Its end 
 is: i st. To consider in the light of faith the 
 heinousness of sin. 2d. To bring to mind the 
 multitude and grievousness of the sins of your 
 life, and to bewail them sincerely. 3d. To take 
 a firm resolution to die rather than to commit a 
 mortal sin, which is the only evil that leads you 
 away from your last end. 
 
 SECOND DAY. 
 
 Ulebxtation 1. 
 
 On the Sin of the Rebel Angels .- 
 and that of our flrst parents. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 The Punishment of the Rebel Angels shows 
 what an Infinite Evil Sin is. 
 
 Go back in imagination to the time when God 
 created Heaven and filled it with angels. Who 
 could be happier than these blessed spirits? 
 Their beauty was so ravishing that no mortal eye 
 could have beheld it without dying of joy; their 
 
On the Sin of our First Parents. 47 
 
 wisdom so exalted that Solomon's is but igno- 
 rance compared with theirs. They were incapa- 
 ble of suffering, their happiness was without 
 alloy; their abode as pleasant as the heavenly 
 Paradise. The gifts of their nature were great, 
 but the gifts of grace were still greater. God 
 had infused into their souls a perfect knowledge 
 and an ardent love of Himself. Some of the 
 angels abused the gifts of God's goodness. They 
 did not serve Him as He willed, they sinned, and 
 were immediately punished. 
 
 The circumstances of this punishment were: 
 
 1 st. It was a privation of all good. The rebel- 
 lious angels were changed from the most beauti- 
 ful spirits into the most hideous demons. For- 
 merly they were the beloved children of God, 
 now they became the object of His eternal wrath 
 and hatred. 
 
 2d. It was an accumulation of all evils. They 
 were hurled down like lightning from the high- 
 est heaven and plunged into the abyss of hell. 
 There they suffer inconceivable torments. Their 
 memory is racked by the most galling recollec- 
 tions ; their understanding is clouded by their 
 pride; their will the sport of ceaseless despair. 
 
 3d. It was sudden and immediate. Had God 
 granted to those unhappy spirits but a moment, 
 they might have acknowledged and abhorred 
 their sin, and loved Him ardently for all eter- 
 nity, but Divine Justice willed it not. No sooner 
 was the crime committed than the chastisement 
 followed without a moment for reflection. 
 
48 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 4th. It was without satisfaction. These ac- 
 cursed spirits had suffered many thousands of 
 years the torments of Hell, when Christ came 
 into the world to destroy sin. Did he put an end 
 to their torments or bring them any alleviation ? 
 Our merciful Lord, who shed so many tears over 
 the city of Jerusalem, dropped not one to miti- 
 gate their tortures. The crime was momentary, 
 the chastisement eternal. 
 
 Here pause and com template in spirit the ex- 
 cruciating sufferings of these reprobate angels. 
 Their aspect is so loathsome and so frightful, 
 that no mortal could behold them without dying 
 through terror. Then say to yourself: These 
 demons were formerly spirits of transcendent 
 beauty and masterpieces of Divine Omnipotence. 
 What horrid crime have they committed to bring 
 upon themselves this misfortune ? They yielded 
 to a thought of pride; they sinned once, and for 
 this one sin alone they have already suffered 
 thousands of years, and their torments shall 
 never cease. Who has passed such a frightful 
 sentence on them ? God, . . . O dreadful truth ! 
 Then either God is not Infinite Wisdom, Infinite 
 Justice, and Infinite Mercy, or sin is an infinite 
 evil which cannot be sufficiently deplored. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Admiration. — O my God, my only and Su- 
 preme Good, what shall I now most admire — the 
 severity of Thy Justice in chastising the rebel 
 angels, or the excess of Thy Mercy towards me ? 
 
On the Sin of our First Parents. 49 
 
 These heavenly spirits committed only one sin, 
 and for this one sin Thou hast forever cast them 
 from Thee, and I, but a handful of dust, have 
 committed hundreds, perhaps thousands of sins, 
 and Thou hast spared me. I have abused Thy 
 Mercy, and after Thou hast pardoned me my 
 sins, again and again have I raised my hand 
 against Thee and said: I will not serve Thee; 
 and still Thou hast pardoned me again. Even 
 now Thou regardest me with eyes of affection 
 and stretchest out to me the hands of Thy Mercy. 
 Contrition. — This unbounded mercy fills my 
 heart with sorrow. I have offended God, who 
 has loved me more than He has those myriads 
 of angels. I have offended God who, in the midst 
 of my iniquities, has shielded me with the buck- 
 ler of His Mercy. I have offended God who, 
 notwithstanding the multitude of my sins, will 
 never cease to love me throughout eternity. O 
 ungrateful heart, how couldst thou despise such 
 love and offend such goodness i Bitter sobs and 
 tears should be my food day and night. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 The Punishment of our First Parents also 
 shows the Infinite Evil of Sin. 
 
 The world has never witnessed greater happi- 
 ness than that of our first parents. 
 
 1st. Their abode was a beautiful and most de- 
 lightful paradise. In it there was neither heat 
 
50 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 nor cold to mar their joys, neither rain nor wind 
 interrupted the pleasant sunshine; the trees pro- 
 duced, spontaneously, the richest fruits, the earth 
 every variety of plants and flowers. 
 
 2d. They had full dominion over the brute 
 creation. The birds obeyed their call, the beasts 
 approached at their beck and crouched at their 
 feet; a single word brought the fishes to the sur- 
 face of the waters. 
 
 3d. The happiness of their bodies was com- 
 plete. All around them throve without their 
 care; they were strangers to labor and fatigue, 
 to pains and infirmities, to old age and death. 
 They had but to eat of the tree of life to main- 
 tain their bodies in the bloom of health. 
 
 4th. The happiness of their souls was incon- 
 ceivable. The passions were wholly subject to 
 reason; neither anger, sadness, envy, hatred, nor 
 any inordinate passion disturbed the peace of 
 their minds; they were blessed with a profound 
 knowledge and ardent love of God; lastly, they 
 were cheered by the promise that after a happy 
 career, without sickness or death, they would ex- 
 change the garden of Eden for the court of 
 Heaven, and reign with God eternally. Despite 
 the liberality of God they proved ungrateful, 
 their crime was the more heinous, as the gener- 
 osity of their benefactor was boundless. They 
 sinned, and condign punishment overtook them. 
 
 Consider now the circumstances of this pun- 
 ishment. 
 
 1st. For this one sin they lost the happiness of 
 
On the Sin of our First Parents. 5 1 
 
 Eden. The earth was cursed, and became barren 
 unless it would be moistened by the sweat of 
 their brows; it brought forth nothing but briars 
 and brambles; they were cursed in their bodies 
 and condemned to suffering, sickness, and a bit- 
 ter death, and likewise cursed in their souls, they 
 became enemies to God, and were banished from 
 Paradise to this vale of tears. 
 
 2d. For this one sin all future generations 
 were condemned to similar misery. Paradise is 
 forfeited and we live on this earth full of sorrows; 
 life is full of bitterness and death full of fear and 
 terror; salvation is doubtful, and we cannot re- 
 gain heaven but by tears and penance. 
 
 3d. For this one sin the greater number of 
 persons in the world will be damned for all eter- 
 nity. All who shall be condemned will incur 
 damnation on account of the uncontrolled pas- 
 sions of their souls which drag them into sin; 
 and the violence of their evil propensities is but 
 the continuance of the punishment for the sin of 
 our first parents. 
 
 4th. For this one sin Jesus had to die on the 
 cross. O stupendous wonder ! The Supreme 
 Lord of heaven and earth was condemned to 
 death — to the ignominious death of the cross. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Fear. — Faith reveals to me terrific truths. The 
 most beautiful angels were cast out of heaven, 
 the whole human race excluded from Paradise, 
 and so many thousand millions of souls con- 
 
52 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 demned to the flames of hell ! Jesus, the Son of 
 God, died on the Cross at the command of His 
 Father, and all this for one only sin. O Sin, 
 what an infinite evil is hidden in thee ! But since 
 the Heavenly Father treated His only begotten 
 Son so severely, how will He treat us who have 
 committed so many and so grievous sins? How 
 will He treat us who have remained in a state 
 of sin for such a length of time, and who have 
 so often relapsed after having been so often par- 
 doned ? 
 
 Contrition. — O my God, no hope for me re- 
 mains but in Thy infinite mercy, no remedy but 
 in my repentance. I prostrate myself before 
 Thee and detest with my whole soul all my sins. 
 I never should have offended so good a God; I 
 should rather have sacrificed a thousand lives, if 
 I had them, than be guilty of such foul ingrati- 
 tude. Oh ! give my heart intense sorrow, and 
 to my eyes a fountain of tears. 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 Reflections which necessarily follow the 
 Consideration of these Truths. 
 
 Collect all the powers of your soul and engrave 
 on your mind the following points: 
 
 ist. If only one sin is such an abomination in 
 the sight of God, what an abomination in His 
 eyes must the sins of my soul be ? If I have com- 
 mitted only one sin, I am necessarily loathed by 
 
On the Sin of our First Parents. 53 
 
 Almighty God in such a manner as he loathes 
 one rebel angel. If I have committed a hundred 
 sins, He must necessarily hate me alone, as much 
 as He hates a hundred rebel angels. 
 
 2d. If but one sin deserves the punishment of 
 hell, should I not praise the mercy of God ? If 
 I have committed but one sin, I have deserved 
 hell as much as the rebel angels; if I have com- 
 mitted more than one sin, then I deserved hell 
 more than these reprobate spirits; and why do I 
 not now share their torments ? That God who 
 has visited them in His justice has extended to 
 me His mercy ! O wonderful forbearance ! 
 
 3d. If God has punished so rigorously but 
 one sin of the Angels and of men, should I not 
 fear His justice ? God has condemned to hell 
 for all eternity so many millions of spirits for 
 one sin, for one thought, for the fault of a mo- 
 ment, without granting them one instant for re- 
 pentance. Were I to sin once more, could He 
 not punish me with the same inexorable se- 
 verity ? 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Compunction. — Heaven and earth are wit- 
 nesses of the infinite hatred which Thou, O my 
 God ! bearest against sin. Would that only one 
 drop of this hatred were to flow into my heart ! 
 No being deserves to be loved as much as Jesus; 
 nothing deserves to be hated so much as sin; 
 but I in my folly have hated Jesus and loved 
 sin. O my God ! I acknowledge and bewail my 
 
54 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 wickedness. Would that I had become the food 
 of worms ere I had sinned ! I have sinned; I 
 have often and greatly sinned. O Jesus ! grant 
 me Thy pardon. 
 
 Thanksgiving. — My extreme malice recalls 
 to my mind Thy immense mercy. Alas \ I re- 
 member but too well the hour in which I com- 
 mitted my first sin ! Hadst Thou, O my God, 
 then treated me like the angels, I would now be 
 suffering in hell ! I shudder at the bare recol- 
 lection of this thought. Thy mercies, O Lord, 
 are exceeding great ! Oh what thanks do I not 
 owe Thee ! 
 
 Supplication. — Have mercy on me, O Lord, 
 according to Thy great mercy ! I now plainly 
 see what an infinite evil sin is. I find it in the 
 punishment of the damned spirits; I discern it 
 in the misery and the misfortunes of mankind; 
 I behold it in the torments and agony of Jesus, 
 who dies on a cross. By that blood which Thou, 
 O Jesus ! hast shed for my sins, grant me the 
 grace to weep bitterly over my past sins, and 
 henceforth to fly from sin as from death itself. 
 
On ActuaZ or Personal Sins. 5 5 
 
 Ulebitation 2. 
 
 On Actual or Personal Sins. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 We may judge of the Infinite Malice of Sin 
 from its Effects. 
 
 What are its effects ? Consider them well and 
 be astonished: 
 
 1st. The instant that sin is committed the 
 soul is changed from the most beautiful image 
 of God into a most loathsome phantom. It is 
 impossible to comprehend the loveliness of the 
 soul when it is adorned with sanctifying grace: 
 it is the reflection of the Divine Beauty itself. A 
 saint to whom God once manifested the beauty 
 of a soul, unsullied by sin, exclaimed: " I would 
 give a thousand lives to save one such soul." 
 But let the beauty of it be ever so enraptur- 
 ing, it becomes equally deformed and hideous 
 through sin. A sinful soul and a reprobate 
 spirit are two phantoms which rival each other 
 in deformity, and as no man could see the devil 
 as he is, so also no man could behold a soul de- 
 formed by sin without dying of fright. 
 
 2d. The instant sin is committed, the soul be- 
 comes for God the object of the greatest hatred. 
 No intellect in heaven or on earth can fathom 
 the hatred with which God detests sin, and what 
 
56 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 an infinite loathing He has for it. God hates 
 sin, and must hate it; for as God is, necessarily, 
 infinitely good, so He must necessarily, with an 
 infinite hatred, hate sin, which is an infinite evil. 
 
 3d. The instant sin is committed, the soul 
 from a child of God becomes the slave of the 
 devil. It is a sad misfortune to be possessed by 
 the devil, and to carry in one's body day and 
 night this eternally cursed denizen of hell; what 
 must it then be, when the soul hands itself over 
 by its perverse will to the devil to be his slave ? 
 One whose body is possessed by him may still 
 remain a child of God, and can hope to enjoy 
 Him eternally in heaven; but one whose soul is 
 possessed by the devil is an enemy of God, and 
 is every moment in danger of being dragged by 
 his master to the eternal prison. 
 
 4th. The moment the soul has been stained 
 by sin it sinks into the most abject degradation. 
 There is nothing more pernicious than sin and 
 nothing more contemptible than a sinful soul. 
 Only imagine if God should open the eyes of 
 all who meet you, so that they might see your 
 soul, with all the sins and crimes which you have 
 committed during your whole life in thought, 
 word, and deed ! O God ! what shame, what 
 confusion would be yours ! Would you not 
 rather hide yourself perpetually in darkness than 
 encounter the gaze of any one ? Oh ! how much 
 then should you be overwhelmed with confusion 
 in God's presence ! For under His very eye you 
 have committed your sins, and the same eye al- 
 
On Actual or Personal Sins. 57 
 
 ways beholds the accumulated filth of your life 
 according to that of Holy Writ: "All their ini- 
 quities are in the sight of God " (Eccl. xvii. 17). 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Confusion. — How numerous are myosins, O 
 my God ! There is not a power of my soul, not 
 a sense of my body, which I have not employed 
 in offending and outraging Thee ! Wretched 
 memory! how many evil remembrances hast thou 
 cherished ! O cursed understanding ! how many 
 bad thoughts hast thou entertained ! O de- 
 praved will ! how many disorderly affections hast 
 thou fostered ! O sinful tongue ! how many un- 
 charitable and profane words hast thou uttered ! 
 If then, O my God ! one sin alone causes Thy in- 
 dignation and wrath, how must my soul appear in 
 thy sight, covered, as it is, with so many crimes ? 
 Whither shall I go to hide my shame ? O sin ! 
 how enticing thou art when thou bringest us to 
 thy embrace ! but oh how revolting, how loath- 
 some, when we see thee as thou art ! In truth, 
 were I known as God knows me, there is not 
 one on earth who would not turn in horror 
 from me. 
 
 A Prayer to Implore Grace. — Ashamed of 
 my folly, I stand before Thee, O my God ! in 
 dread and confusion. But to whom, O my God ! 
 shall I turn save to Thee, who art Goodness it- 
 self and infinite Mercy ? Pierce my heart with 
 bitter compunction, and cleanse thereby the filth 
 of my soul; without the help of a special grace 
 
58 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 I cannot feel this hearty sorrow; do not refuse 
 me it, O Lord ! that heaven and earth may have 
 a further reason to praise Thy mercy. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 We also learn the Infinite Malice of Sin 
 from the Abject State of one who of- 
 fends God. 
 
 Consider well what you are. 
 
 i st. There is no good in yourself. What are 
 you in very truth ? A handful of clay. Some 
 years ago you were a mere nothing, and in a 
 very short time you will be eaten up by worms, 
 and will again return to dust. You are a crea- 
 ture, so contemptible that no created intellect 
 can comprehend your vileness ; neither the 
 Blessed Virgin's nor the holy angels' can penetrate 
 the abyss of your nothingness. God alone fath- 
 oms it. And yet, handful of dust and worm of 
 the earth as you are., you have raised your hands 
 against God; you dared despise Him and say: 
 "Who is the Lord, that I should hear His 
 voice ?" (Exod. v. 2.) I know no master and ac- 
 knowledge none. 
 
 2d. You are one to whom God has been infi- 
 nitely liberal. God has conferred on you innu- 
 merable benefits; not a single instant of your 
 life has passed without His bestowing on you 
 another blessing; every moment of eternity, if 
 you will it so, God will lavish on you still fur- 
 
On Actual or Personal Sins. 59 
 
 ther favors. He has done and will do all this 
 with an eternal love, for He has not loved Him- 
 self more than you. 
 
 He has cherished you with a gratuitous love, 
 for He does not stand in need of you or of your 
 works; with a generous love, for He could have 
 showered these graces upon others who would 
 have served Him more faithfully. And yet you 
 were so bold as often to offend Him, your God 
 and your greatest benefactor ! What a shameful 
 act it would be for a son to so far forget himself 
 as to outrage his father by maltreating him ? 
 Are you not equally ungrateful, O contemptible 
 being, to the best of fathers — to your Heavenly 
 Father ? 
 
 Whatever there is in you, you owe it to your 
 Creator; He gave it to you and He must pre- 
 serve it for you. What shocking ingratitude on 
 your part, is it not, to abuse the very gifts of 
 God, and to turn them against Himself? What 
 would you think of the dumb man, had he blas- 
 phemed our Lord on the cross with the very 
 tongue which was miraculously loosened by His 
 Omnipotence ? Think thus of yourself. For 
 who has given you all the senses of your body, 
 and all the faculties of your soul, and yet have 
 you not used them all to offend the Being who 
 gave you them ? 
 
 3d. You are one whom God has rescued from 
 the frightful dungeon of hell. Had you com- 
 mitted but one sin, you would have deserved 
 hell, and you owe to the mercy of God that you 
 
6o The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 have not been plunged into its flames. Thus 
 faith teaches. How immensely this increases 
 your guilt ! Were God to free a reprobate from 
 hell and to grant him time for penance, and yet, 
 notwithstanding this infinite benefit, this spirit 
 would blaspheme again, do you not believe that 
 he would deserve hell more than once? God 
 has saved you from damnation ten, twenty, 
 thirty times — ay, oftener ; and after so much 
 mercy what have you done in return ? 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Self-abasement. — O Dearest Lord! I cast 
 myself in spirit into the abyss of Hell; for what 
 other place could I find that suits me better? I, 
 a lump of clay, dared rise in rebellion against 
 the Sovereign Being from whom I have received 
 all that I am and all that I have. And still He 
 spares me. O wretched and condemned Angels! 
 you are not more unfortunate than I, because 
 you have sinned more; but you are unhappier 
 than I, because God was less merciful to you 
 than to me. So much time has been given to me, 
 while none has been granted to you. You have 
 committed but one sin, and I a number of sins; 
 you had only one grace, and I so many thousands; 
 God rejected you after one sin, and He wished 
 to pardon me after so many offences. Should 
 not a fountain of tears flow from my eyes, to be- 
 wail my sins all the days of my life? 
 
 Compunction. — O Sovereign Lord, who triest 
 the hearts and the reins, I hate and abhor, with 
 
On Actual or Personal Sins. 61 
 
 all my soul, the sins that I have committed up to 
 this moment. Would that all the sorrow and 
 compunction which holy penitents ever felt, were 
 in my heart that I might the better deplore them! 
 Instead of my sorrow I offer to Thee the bitter- 
 ness and the anguish which Jesus felt, and the 
 bloody sweat which He endured for my trans- 
 gressions. 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 The Supreme Majesty of God who is offended 
 plainly shows what an infinite evil sln is. 
 
 The greater the dignity of the person who 
 is offended, the more grievous is the offence. 
 Weigh now the enormity of sin. What is God? 
 
 ist. God is an infinite Good. He is a Being 
 who contains in Himself all perfections. He is 
 infinite Goodness, infinite Power, infinite Sanc- 
 tity, infinite Beauty, infinite Mercy and infinite 
 Liberality. He is the Supreme Good in Himself, 
 and the source of all good in created things; 
 there is no power, no goodness, no sanctity, no 
 beauty, no mercy, no liberality, neither in Heaven 
 nor on Earth, which does not flow from God as 
 from its only fountain. Knowingly and willingly 
 to offend, despise, and outrage such a Supreme 
 Good, what malice must not this be? 
 
 2d. God is an infinite majesty. Lift up your 
 eyes to Heaven. God is seated on His throne, 
 many thousand millions of Angels and Saints 
 surround it; enshrined in the splendor of His 
 
62 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 majesty, they praise and magnify Him with all 
 their strength, and as they see that they cannot 
 praise Him as much as His Greatness deserves, 
 they cast down their crowns and confess that He 
 is worthy of infinitely more honor and love than 
 they can give. At the same time a vile worm 
 of the earth rises up, attacks, insults, and out- 
 rages His Supreme Majesty. How frightful is 
 its malice! Oh, my soul! This is inconceivable 
 and unutterable. Two ideas will give us a bet- 
 ter understanding of it. ist. Imagine that all 
 the Angels descend from Heaven and assume 
 human bodies; that all men who ever lived from 
 the beginning of the world up to this time, rise 
 from their graves, and that all these live a thou- 
 sand years and perform the most rigorous pen- 
 ance, and at last, through love for God, in the 
 most excruciating torments, shed every drop of 
 their blood, could they by this repair the injury 
 which one single sin inflicts on our God? No. 
 It is impossible. 2nd. Were the Angels through- 
 out eternity to use their intelligence in order to 
 fathom the malice of sin, they could never fully 
 comprehend this malice. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Self-accusation. — Enlightened by grace, O 
 my God! I plainly see the depth of my malice. 
 I have offended Thee. I, who am not an Angel, 
 but a miserable creature, a clod of clay, a worm 
 of the earth, I have offended Thee. And who 
 art Thou? The Supreme Good, the source of 
 
On Actual or Personal Sins. 63 
 
 every Good, the Sovereign Lord of Heaven and 
 Earth. I have offended Thee! Where? Not in 
 secret, not in Thy absence, but in the light of 
 day, in Thy presence, in the midst of the splendor 
 of Thy omniscient majesty. I have offended 
 Thee ! with what ? with all the faculties of the 
 soul and all the senses of the body, and even the 
 very heart which Thou hast given me solely to 
 love Thee. And why have I offended Thee? 
 Not in hope of a kingdom, not through fear of 
 a cruel death, but for a paltry gratification of 
 my senses, or through dread of a little confusion. 
 I have offended Thee ! How often ? Not once 
 alone, but more than once — often. Alas! too 
 often I have offended Thee ! When ? At the very 
 time in which Thou hast preserved my body in 
 good health, in which Thou hast inundated my 
 soul with new lights of grace, lest my enemy and 
 Thine might drag me on to my eternal ruin. 
 How great is my effrontery, my ingratitude and 
 folly. 
 
 Compunction.— I have lived and offended 
 Thee thus, and how have I repented? I have 
 now and then made an act of contrition, struck 
 my breast, and after this I have lived in security 
 as if I were assured of Thy forgiveness. Should 
 I be satisfied with this trifling and short-lived 
 contrition ? Should not my heart be continually 
 filled with sorrow and my eyes with tears? I 
 have offended an infinite Good. This is enough 
 for unceasing sorrow ! O God, worthy of all 
 love, would that I never had offended Thee, I am 
 
64 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 fully resolved never more to offend Thee. Be- 
 hold me now contrite at Thy feet ! I beseech 
 Thee, by the blood of Jesus Christ, to have pity 
 on me. I resolve, in Thy presence, rather to die 
 than to sin again. Yes, O Jesus ! Thou art the 
 Lord of life and death; if Thou forseest that I 
 shall offend Thee mortally, take me out of this 
 world before this misfortune befall me, Thy un- 
 grateful servant. 
 
 iitottatton 3. 
 
 On the First Pain of Hell.— The 
 Pain of Loss. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 The damned in Hell lose God, their sovereign 
 Good and their Supreme Happiness. 
 
 As it is impossible to comprehend what an in- 
 finite good it is to possess God, so it is impossi- 
 ble to understand what an infinite evil it is to 
 lose Him. Let us try, however, as far as in us 
 lies, to form some idea thereof. Enter, therefore, 
 into yourself, and consider what it is to lose God. 
 
 1st. The damned are deprived of the Beatific 
 Vision. As soon as the soul leaves the body, God 
 infuses into it such a light as to comprehend the 
 abyss of His Being, as far as a creature can; it 
 conceives such a desire to possess God, that an 
 instant of delay causes it excessive oain, and be- 
 
On the First Pain of Hell. 65 
 
 cause it desires this possession most ardently, 
 and cannot have this enjoyment, since it left the 
 body in a state of mortal sin, there arises in it 
 such bitterness and grief, that all the other tor- 
 ments of Hell are not to be compared to this 
 loss. 
 
 2d. The providence of God takes no further 
 care of the damned. As long as they lived on 
 Earth, God provided for their wants; He put 
 good thoughts into their minds, and enkindled 
 holy desires in their hearts. But when He casts 
 them off, all this care ceases. For this reason 
 they shall, through eternity, never have a good 
 thought, never feel a single good impulse, never 
 have a single good desire, and never do a single 
 good work. There will be in their imagination 
 only horrible representations, in their under- 
 standing only fearful thoughts, in their memory 
 only saddening pictures of the past, and in their 
 will only raging madness. 
 
 3d. Since God cares for the damned no 
 ionger, no created being has any regard for 
 them. The Blessed Virgin, the Guardian An- 
 gels and all the Saints loved them as long as 
 they were here below, but when they are rejected 
 by God, then they also reject them. This, how- 
 ever, is not all. Of the immense multitude of 
 reprobates there shall be none who will not in- 
 crease in others their pain by their horrible ap- 
 pearance, by their raging fury, by their fright- 
 ful shrieks and groans. 
 
 4th. The damned having lost God, and with 
 
66 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 God everything, fall into the power of the Devil. 
 God lays aside all dominion over the damned 
 and gives them over completely to the Devil. 
 The Devil is a creature of extraordinary knowlr 
 edge and power, of implacable hatred, fury and 
 rage towards mankind. What have not the 
 damned to fear from such a master? 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Confession. — How dreadful are Thy judg- 
 ments, O God ! What an infinite evil then is 
 sin, and how bitter are its fruits ! To be eter- 
 nally thrown off by Thee, to be eternally de- 
 tested by Thy Elect, to be forever under the 
 tyranny of Satan — such are the wages of sin! 
 Have I until now believed this truth ? Alas! 
 this it is that increases my guilt; I have always 
 believed that one sin is enough to lose God for- 
 ever, and, with God all happiness; and yet I have, 
 sinned, and I have sinned without remorse, with- 
 out fear, without terror. 
 
 Resolution. — What shall I do henceforth? 
 On w T hat do I resolve ? I must behold Thee, O 
 Sovereign Lord, in Thy glory, cost whatever it 
 may. I must see and love Thee in Heaven, O 
 Mary, my dearest mother, and you O Elect ! 
 should it cost me my life. To live and die with- 
 out offending Thee, O God, by a single grievous 
 sin is my resolve. 
 
On the First Pain of Hell. 67 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 The Damned have in God their Greatest 
 Enemy. 
 
 It is incontestible that they who lose God, 
 their best friend, shall have him their greatest 
 enemy. But how can God who is the Supreme 
 Good and the only happiness of mortals, become 
 their greatest evil? Duly weigh the effects of 
 damnation and you will clearly understand this 
 truth. 
 
 1st. The damned have a clear perception of 
 God's infinite Beauty. Had the soul in Hell no 
 greater knowledge of God than it had on earth, 
 it would be free from its greatest torment; but 
 the copious light it has when rid of the body, of 
 the unspeakable happiness it could have en- 
 joyed in God, renders its sorrow inconceivable. 
 
 2d. The damned have always before them 
 the appearance of God in His wrath. " The Lord 
 shall trouble them in His wrath." (Ps. xx. 10.) 
 It is very difficult to understand how great this 
 pain is. As the sight alone of the lovely coun- 
 tenance of God, enraptures all the Blessed, so 
 the appearance alone of God in his anger fills 
 all the damned with terror and despair. 
 
 3d. The damned shall live forever. The 
 greatest desire of the damned is to die; for 
 since they see that it is no longer possible to ap- 
 pease the anger of God, they wish for death, the 
 only means to escape their misery. But it is in 
 
68 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 vain; as long as God lives, so long shall the 
 damned live; and as He shall preserve the Elect 
 forever to inebriate them with torrents of bliss, 
 so shall He preserve the damned forever to over- 
 whelm them with ceaseless agonies. 
 
 The unhappy reprobate shall curse their sins 
 over and over; they shall shed enough tears to 
 deluge the Earth; they shall burn for every mor- 
 tal sin, millions and millions of years; and yet 
 all these millions will not move God to pity; 
 He continues to hate them and will hate them 
 through a never ending Eternity. The damned, 
 knowing this, always are in utter despair; they 
 rave and yell in their fury and madness; their 
 hatred for God becomes so intense that, as real 
 devils they curse God, uttering against Him 
 blasphemies without end, and loathing him so 
 much, that, if they could, they would annihilate 
 Him. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Fear. — O how delightful must it be to have 
 before one's eyes a bountiful God, and how woe- 
 ful to have a wrathful God ! How sweet it is 
 to experience the liberality of God and how bit- 
 ter to fall into the hands of an avenging (jod ! 
 How consoling it will be to possess God eter- 
 nally, and how heartrending to lose Him eter- 
 nally ! What can secure me from the infinite 
 evil of Hell ? Alas ! my soul, thou hast sinned 
 and for thee there is no other means of salva- 
 tion than a true penance and amendment. La- 
 menting with all the powers of my soul, I turn 
 then to Thee, O God ! 
 
On the First Pain of Hell. 69 
 
 Compunction. — I hate, detest, execrate with 
 my whole heart, all the sins I have committed 
 up to this moment. I see and acknowledge what 
 an evil I have done. Sin is the greatest injury 
 to Thee, because it is an offence against Thy 
 infinite goodness and mercy. Sin is also the 
 greatest injury to myself, because it is the ruin 
 of my immortal soul. I have sinned mortally; 
 I have lost Thee, O God, my last end and my 
 only happiness, and I can recover Thee only by 
 Thy grace, and by my own penance. Had I a 
 thousand lives, I would willingly give them up, 
 could I only revoke my sins. Supply, O Jesus* 
 what is wanting to me, and in place of my sor- 
 row I offer the sorrow which Thou, on account 
 of my sins, hast felt in the Garden. 
 
 Resolution. — What shall I do henceforth ? I 
 will sin no more, O Jesus ! I will rather choose 
 death than sin, can I not avoid it in any other 
 way. Imprint deeply, O Jesus, in my heart, 
 this resolution, maintain it and grant that I may 
 never swerve therefrom. 
 
THIRD DAY 
 
 fttcbitation 4. 
 
 On the Second Pain of Hell, 
 the Pain of the Senses. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 The Pains of the Senses in Hell are Ter- 
 rible in their Nature. 
 
 Represent to yourself Hell as a large prison 
 in the centre of the Earth, and filled with a fire 
 of sulphur and brimstone. Behold the damned 
 lie in this prison, as close together as sheep in a 
 pen (Ps. xlviii. 15). 
 
 Consider, now, what fire this is in which the 
 damned burn: 
 
 1st. This fire is universal, burning the whole 
 body and the whole soul. 
 
 The damned are in a place assigned to them 
 by Divine Justice. As the fish in the ocean are 
 surrounded by water, they are environed and 
 thoroughly penetrated by this fire. Their heads, 
 their eyes, their ears, cheeks, mouth, and lips are 
 all fire; in short, the whole body is only fire. 
 And, what is more horrible, this fire is in the 
 memory, in the understanding, and in the will 
 
 Were you in a furnace, so that one of your 
 
On the Second Pain of Hell. Ji 
 
 arms would be in the fire and the rest of the 
 body out of it, what inconceivable pain would 
 you not feel ? What must it then be to have, not 
 only one arm, but all the senses and members of 
 the body, as well as the faculties of the soul, en- 
 compassed and permeated by fire ? 
 
 2d. This fire is much more terrible than we 
 can imagine. How violent soever we may sup- 
 pose fire on Earth to be, it is only a shadow of 
 the fire of Hell. For the Justice of God uses it 
 as an instrument to wreak vengeance on those 
 who have here laughed to scorn His Supreme 
 Majesty. He has given this fire, as it were, in- 
 finite power. The malice of sin is so great, that 
 the fire of this Earth is not sufficient to punish it 
 adequately. He imparts to the fire of Hell a 
 power which no created intelligence can compre- 
 hend. And yet you, who shrink from the suffer- 
 ings of an imaginary furnace, refuse slight 
 sacrifices, petty humiliations, slight sufferings — 
 in short, everything repugnant to the senses, 
 though willed for you by an infinitely wise God, 
 that you may not fall into the furnace heated by 
 His anger — the everlasting flames of Hell. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Fear. — I have known and believed all these 
 truths, O my God ! But how have I lived ? I 
 have sinned; I have deserved Hell, and for what ? 
 Was it for a kingdom, or was I threatened with 
 death ? No ! for a paltry gratification I have 
 offended Thee. How blind, how foolish I was ! 
 
*J2 The Truths of Salvation, 
 
 How cruel to myself ! But I trust, O merciful 
 God, that the past is forgiven. What frightens 
 me is the future. I may sin again and die in 
 my sins, and be damned forever. The vicious in- 
 clinations which ruined me are not yet uprooted; 
 Divine Justice is not yet satisfied; my penance 
 has been but trifling, and my weakness is evi- 
 dent, but Thy mercy is infinite. 
 
 A Prayer for Grace. — O my God ! in such 
 frightful uncertainty of my salvation, I lift up 
 my hands and eyes to Thee, and humbly crave 
 Thy mercy. My God and my Saviour ! remem- 
 ber the wounds which Thou didst receive forme, 
 and trie blood which Thou didst shed for me. 
 Remember the patience with which Thou hast 
 tolerated my sinfulness so long, and the mercy 
 with which Thou didst so tenderly invite me to 
 repentance. Remember the benevolence with 
 which Thou didst choose me for the religious 
 state, in preference to many millions, and the love 
 with which, notwithstanding the abuse of so 
 many graces, Thou dost still spur me on to per- 
 fection. Shall, then, all this be lost on me ? Yes, 
 O my Saviour ! it will be, unless Thou hast mercy 
 on me, a wretched sinner. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 The Pains of the Senses in Hell are Ter- 
 rible in their Duration. 
 The damned lose God forever and burn in 
 Hell forever. But what is Eternity? No an- 
 

 On the Second Pain of HelL 73 
 
 gelic intellect can comprehend it, and how can 
 you ? Yet, in order that you may form some 
 idea of it, consider the following truths: 
 
 1st. The pains of Hell are without end. This 
 is the frightful truth which made the greatest 
 Saints tremble. After the last day and the last 
 judgment the damned shall plunge into Hell and 
 " the gate shall be shut," never, no, never more, 
 to be opened. Then shall pass away as many 
 thousand years as there are leaves on trees, as 
 many thousand years as there are drops of 
 water in all the seas and oceans, as many thou- 
 sand years as there are grains of sand on the 
 Earth, and as many thousand years as there are 
 atoms in the air. And, after the lapse of this 
 tremendous number of years, there is Eternity 
 yet ! The one-half of it shall not have gone by, 
 nor the hundredth part, nor the thousandth part, 
 nor even a single part, compared with what shall 
 remain. Again it begins, and shall last yet a 
 hundred times — nay, a million times longer ! Af- 
 ter this almost infinite number of years, the half 
 of Eternity is not yet gone by, not the hundredth 
 part, not the millionth part — naught worth while 
 shall as yet have passed away. And still, up to 
 this supposed time, the damned shall have 
 burned and shall burn over and over as many 
 Eternities as there are still in infinity. They 
 "shall be tormented for ever and ever" (Apoc. 
 xx. 10). O mystery of all mysteries ! O terror 
 above all terrors ! O Eternity ! Who can under- 
 stand thee ? 
 
74 Tlie Truths of Salvation. 
 
 Let us suppose Cain in Hell, shedding every 
 thousand years only one tear. Cain would have 
 now shed but five tears. What number of years 
 must still elapse till Cain's thousandth-year tear 
 will equal the drops of water in the deluge, which 
 rose, as Scripture says, nearly twenty-seven feet 
 above the highest mountains of the Earth ? And 
 yet, O incomprehensible truth ! a time will come 
 when his tears will deluge the whole world! And, 
 after this, let us suppose God to dry up the 
 waters, and Cain to begin again to weep. He 
 would then weep another deluge — he would weep 
 a hundred deluges — a thousand deluges; yet after 
 all this the Eternity of the damned will have but 
 begun to exist. It shall last as long as God will 
 be God. 
 
 2d. The pains of Hell are without interrup- 
 tion and without alleviation. The damned are 
 never to have any comfort, but always to suffer, 
 to be hated forever by God and by His Elect, 
 and to be cursed by Heaven and Hell forever 
 and ever. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Thanksgiving. — O my God ! I have a faint 
 idea of what Eternity is; I now see what Hell is. 
 It is a place of the most excruciating pains; a 
 place of the utmost despair; a place w T hich I 
 have deserved by my sins, and in which I would 
 now be, had not the infinite mercy of God spared 
 me — had not the ever-pitying heart of Jesus loved 
 me. 
 
Fruits of these Meditations. 75 
 
 Compunction. — What has been my gratitude 
 to God for such infinite goodness ? I should 
 have given Him my whole heart, loved Him with 
 my whole soul — I should have worked for Him 
 with all my strength and sought to please Him 
 alone. I should have joyfully undergone all 
 trials to prove to Him my love. But I have 
 made little of Him, I have insulted Him, I have 
 despised Him. My God, my God, I am an un- 
 grateful wretch ! I acknowledge and detest my 
 ingratitude. O Jesus, take pity on me ! I am 
 more than ever resolved to die rather than to 
 offend Thee once more. 
 
 limitation 5. 
 
 What Fruits shall now be 
 Gathered from the preced- 
 ing Meditations? 
 
 Up to this time we have considered the evil 
 of losing one's end by sin; but what good will 
 this knowledge do us, if we reap no benefit from 
 it? 
 
 The First Fruit is to conceive a thorough 
 
 SORROW FOR OUR SlNS. 
 
 What is the state of your conscience ? Sup- 
 pose an Angel to come from Heaven and to say 
 to you: Settle all earthly concerns; in an hour 
 you shall stand before your judge. Would you 
 like to die in the state in which you now are? 
 Have all your confessions been such as now to 
 
76 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 give you an assurance of the forgiveness of your 
 sins ? If not, see to it at once, and prepare to 
 appear "before the judgment-seat of Christ." 
 (2 Cor. v. 10.) For this purpose two resolutions 
 are required: 
 
 1st. To make, during this retreat, after a rea- 
 sonably strict examination of your conscience, 
 and with due consideration of the motives of 
 contrition, a confession so exact that your con- 
 science may give you testimony of having done 
 all that God requires of you to obtain pardon of 
 your sins. 
 
 2d. Henceforth always to confess your sins in 
 the same way; as if each confession were to be 
 your last. 
 
 The Second Fruit is to Satisfy the Divine 
 Justice as much as possible for past Sins. 
 
 Take another glance at Hell and imagine you 
 hear God saying to one of the damned: I will 
 show mercy to you on this condition: You must 
 return to the world and silently suffer through 
 love for Me, all the crosses and trials which I 
 may send vou, and then vou will afterwards come 
 unto Me in my Heavenly mansions. O blessed 
 be forever Thy infinite Goodness, this reprobate 
 would say, I joyfully undergo all that man has 
 ever suffered, if Thou allow me to behold Thee 
 in Thy glory. You who go through this medi- 
 tation, have you not deserved Hell, and is not the 
 time which God gave you in granting space for 
 penance, a grace as great as if He had drawn 
 
Fruits of these Meditations. Jj 
 
 you out of Hell? Why not, then, earnestly en- 
 deavor to do penance by patiently undergoing 
 every adversity, in order to repair the injuries 
 which you have done to God by your sins ? 
 Take, therefore, these resolutions: 
 
 ist. To use with all possible care and fervor 
 the means which God ordains for the satisfaction 
 of sin, which are: Frequent confession and com- 
 munion; saying or hearing Mass; gaining of In- 
 dulgences; acts of perfect contrition and works 
 of mortification. 
 
 2d. To bear patiently and cheerfully the trials 
 and tribulations of your state of life; to discharge 
 faithfully and exactly all its duties, remembering 
 that what you now suffer is but trifling in com- 
 parison with the eternal pains of Hell. 
 
 The Third Fruit is to avoid all Venial Sins, 
 especially those which lead to mortal sln. 
 
 It suffices not to choose death in preference to 
 mortal sin; we must also avoid venial sin. The 
 person who is not at present thus disposed can 
 have no sure hope of salvation. But to avoid 
 venial sin we must as St. John Climacus says, 
 " daily add, fire to fire, fervor to fervor, zeal to 
 zeal." 
 
 To preserve ourselves in fervor, we must try to 
 shun the following sins: 
 
 ist. Harboring suspicions, rash judgment, and 
 contempt of others. 
 
 2d. Nourishing anger and indignation. 
 
 3d. Introducing into conversations the imper- 
 
78 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 fections of others, and thus disturbing or per- 
 haps destroying union and fraternal charity. 
 
 4th. Omitting through negligence the spiritual 
 exercises, or performing them with voluntary 
 distractions. 
 
 5th. Fostering in our hearts an inordinate af- 
 fection for any one; giving knowingly and will- 
 ingly occasion to impure thoughts, or being re- 
 miss in banishing them. 
 
 6th. Taking delight in one's self and one's 
 actions. 
 
 7th. Receiving the sacraments through mere 
 routine and without preparation. 
 
 8th. Suffering adversities and trials impa- 
 tiently, not regarding them as coming from the 
 beneficent hand of God. 
 
 9th. Purposely being gloomy and sullen, and 
 not manifesting one's bad inclinations, weakness, 
 and faults to those who should know them. 
 
 These are the sins of those who have not the 
 spirit of religious life. If you do not resolve to 
 shun those sins, you will not gather the least 
 fruit from the exercises; nor will you ever arrive 
 even at the lowest degree of perfection — you will 
 never be in such a state as to expect death with- 
 out fear. A traveller retraces his steps when he 
 discovers that he has wandered from the right 
 road. Let us then make up our minds to take 
 the necessary steps to perfection, and express our 
 resolve, with the crucifix in our hands, in the fol- 
 lowing manner: 
 
 O Jesus my Crucified Lord ! I see what it is 
 
Fruits of these Meditations. 79 
 
 to possess Thee forever. I understand what it 
 is to lose Thee forever. O happy me if I find 
 Thee ! unhappy me if I lose Thee ! I see that I 
 never can securely hope for the former, and must 
 always fear the latter, as long as I do not give 
 myself up to Thee, without reserve and without 
 delay. 
 
 I seek Thee, O my God, I sigh after Thee and 
 wish to possess Thee. Thou art my end, my only 
 happiness, and sole object of all my desires. O 
 Jesus, by Thy precious blood, I humbly entreat 
 Thee to strengthen my weakness, and to grant 
 me the grace to carry out this my good purpose 
 as long as life remains. 
 
SECOND WEEK. 
 
 The Illuminative Way. 
 
 The second week of the exercises comprises 
 five meditations. During the first week we have 
 mourned over our sins, and resolved to love God 
 with our whole heart and to seek this our end 
 with all our strength; but as we are blind and do 
 not see the way that securely leads thereto, our 
 Heavenly Father has given us His only begotten 
 Son as a leader whom we have to follow, and as 
 a model which we have to imitate. 
 
 flkbitation 1. 
 
 On the Reign of Christ. 
 
 POINT I. # 
 
 It is Just to Follow Christ. 
 
 There are two points which clearly demon- 
 strate how just it is. Consider them attentively. 
 
 ist. Our first parents fell away from God and 
 deprived themselves and us of the right to 
 Heaven. Of the many millions of men who 
 have ever been and who shall ever be on earth, 
 not one would have entered Heaven. What a 
 misfortune that would be for mankind ! Not 
 
On the Reign of Christ. 8 1 
 
 one of them would have ever glorified God. 
 What a loss for the glory of God ! But Christ 
 came, the gates of Heaven were again opened 
 for all; and in consequence myriads of saints 
 shall glorify His name forever. What can there 
 be more just than that we follow our Lord and 
 strive to gain so noble an end — the eternal glory 
 of God and the everlasting happiness of man ? 
 
 2d. The conditions on which Christ invites us 
 are light. When earthly potentates have to per- 
 form a hard work, to face a danger, or to over- 
 come a difficulty, they do not go personally, but 
 send their subjects. But Christ acts otherwise. 
 I do not wish, says He, those who follow me to 
 have worse clothing or dwelling, worse food or 
 drink, than I. I do not wish them to labor more 
 than I. I do not wish them to suffer more than 
 I. I do not wish them to go first, I will walk 
 before them and show the way — all I require of 
 them is to follow me. O what easy conditions 
 these are ! Jesus is innocent, and I am full of 
 iniquities; Jesus is the Supreme Lord, and I a 
 mere creature; Heaven belongs to Jesus, Hell to 
 me, and yet Jesus does not wish me to labor or 
 suffer more than He; He only wishes me to walk 
 in His footsteps. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Thanksgiving. — If, in inviting me to follow 
 Thee, O Jesus, Thou hadst no other end than the 
 honor and glory of Thy Heavenly Father, it 
 would be a sufficient reason, to hearken to Thy 
 
82 The Truths of Salvation, 
 
 invitation. For I, Thy creature, would be bound 
 to spend my whole life in Thy service. But no; 
 Thy desire is not only the honor and glory of 
 Thy Heavenly Father, but also my eternal salva- 
 tion and happiness. Thou invitest me to follow 
 Thee in order that I may share with Thee in 
 Heaven the same glory and the same happiness. 
 O what gratitude do not I then owe Thee ! 
 
 Resolution. — O Jesus ! to follow Thee is the 
 work on which depends, not only the honor and 
 glory of Thy Heavenly Father, but also my own 
 salvation. I will follow Thee as closely as pos- 
 sible, in spite of nature, and with complete self- 
 denial. I am a creature who has committed a 
 multitude of sins, and therefore deserve Hell; 
 how can I refuse then to do or to suffer what 
 Thou, Innocence and Sanctity itself, my God and 
 my Redeemer, hast done and suffered ? 
 
 POINT II. 
 It is Easy to Follow Christ. 
 
 ist. On account of the peace of soul we ex- 
 perience, and the delight we feel in serving God. 
 
 Christ was not always in afflictions. He had 
 joys also. In His nativity men banished Him to 
 a bleak stable, but Angels descended from Heav- 
 en to proclaim His glory. In the desert the 
 Devil tempted Him, but Angels came and min- 
 istered unto Him. In His public life, whilst He 
 gave forth the words of life, He was calumniated 
 

 On the Reign of Christ. 83 
 
 and persecuted; but on Mount Thabor He was 
 transfigured and appeared in His glory; not to 
 speak of the inexplicable delights which, by rea- 
 son of the hypostatic union, His soul felt. 
 
 Since the life of our Lord was not a continual 
 cross, yours will not be such, because He says 
 expressly: I do not wish you to suffer more 
 than I suffered. Assuredly, the more perfectly 
 you follow Christ, the greater will be your con- 
 solations, interior joy, and happiness. Hear His 
 own words: " My yoke is sweet and my burden 
 is light." To be near Jesus is always sweet, even 
 in the midst of adversities; to be far from Jesus 
 is always bitter, even in the midst of joys. If 
 any consolation is given here below, the one who 
 faithfully follows Christ shall certainly have this 
 consolation. " What can the world profit thee 
 without Jesus ? To be without Jesus is a griev- 
 ous Hell, and to be with Jesus a sweet Paradise" 
 (The Following of Christ, ii. 8, 2). 
 
 2d. On account of the immense glory and 
 boundless treasures of rewards which He stores 
 up for them in the next life. After some years 
 you shall be in Heaven; how full of comfort this 
 thought is— how full of sweetness in all trials ! 
 Imagine you see your Divine Redeemer carrying 
 a heavy cross, earnestly looking at you at the 
 same time, whilst you behold in Heaven the 
 royal throne prepared for you above many mil- 
 lions of the Elect, and you hear Him addressing 
 you thus: Lo ! this throne is yours; you shall 
 possess it forever if you follow Me closely for a 
 
84 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 short time. Would you not then follow Him 
 with great joy ? Would not these words console 
 you in all your labors and afflictions ? Why can- 
 not faith do as much as this sight does ? Faith 
 teaches you that, if you follow Christ, a Heaven- 
 ly crown awaits you, which shall be yours for- 
 ever. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Hope and Confidence. — I believe, O Jesus ! 
 that Thy yoke is sweet and Thy burden light. 
 For these are Thy words; Thou hast spoken 
 them, who hast never deceived and never shall 
 deceive. My self-love and my cowardice alone 
 make the following of Thee difficult; could I 
 but overcome myself courageously and walk in 
 Thy footsteps for a few years, I would soon ex- 
 perience how true these Thy words are. Ac- 
 cording to the world's notions, what a miserable 
 life these tender virgins seem to lead who with- 
 draw into convents ! Nevertheless, they find no 
 sweetness but in God's service. How wretched, 
 In the estimation of the same world, are they who 
 are persecuted, oppressed, calumniated, and de- 
 spised ? And yet they receive from our Lord 
 the most wonderful communication of grace. 
 £hall I, then, be the only one to whom He will 
 never give any Heavenly comfort ? Shall I be 
 the only one whom He will never allow to taste 
 His consolation ? No ! Jesus, I hope and con- 
 fide in Thy mercy, that Thou wilt grant me the 
 grace which shall make the following of Thee 
 easy. 
 
On the Reign of Christ. 85 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 It is necessary to Follow Christ. 
 
 I suppose you desire to tend to perfection. 
 For this it is absolutely necessary that you fol- 
 low Christ in everything as closely as possible. 
 " If thou wilt be perfect/' said our Saviour, 
 "come, follow me." Do you understand this 
 truth ? Alas ! the knowledge is not wanting; 
 the road on which Christ walked is too rough. 
 It terrifies you; but this is the very thing that is 
 required. 
 
 1st. Christ is Infinite Wisdom and Truth. He 
 has come into this world to show the road to 
 sanctity. Were there a more certain and a bet- 
 ter way to it than the one which He marked out, 
 He would not have been Infinite Wisdom, be- 
 cause He ignored this way; nor Infinite Truth, 
 because He would have deceived us. But it would 
 be blasphemy to assert either. 
 
 2d. God is Infinite Love and Goodness. 
 
 God loves man, and, without a good reason, He 
 cannot inflict sufferings and torments. Hence it 
 follows that could an agreeable path equally 
 conduct us to sanctity as a rough, narrow, and 
 painful one, His love for us would not have se- 
 lected the more difficult one. He, in His pre- 
 vision of the future, saw that a path agreeable 
 to the senses and pleasing to nature would lead 
 us to our eternal perdition; for this reason He 
 
86 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 assigned us the rougher path, walked in it Him- 
 self, and invited us to follow Him. 
 
 Pause here and say to yourself: In this world 
 I must choose between the two places of the 
 next; one, Hell, is infinitely miserable, the other, 
 Heaven, infinitely blissful. To these two places 
 only two roads lead — a broad one, on which 
 numberless human beings walk, conducts to 
 Hell; a rough and narrow road, on which Christ, 
 with a small number of His Elect, walks, leads to 
 Heaven. On which of the two have I hitherto 
 gone, and which shall I choose for the future ? 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Compunction. — The retrospective view of my 
 past life shows that, although I have acknowl- 
 edged Thee, O Jesus ! as my God and my Re- 
 deemer, I have not followed Thee as my Leader. 
 These virtues, which Thou calledst a sweet yoke 
 and a light burden, I deemed too heavy a load 
 for my weakness. I detracted from Thy Wis- 
 dom, as if Thou knewest not what I could bear; 
 and I disparaged Thy Goodness, as if Thou didst 
 impose too much on me. O my God and my 
 Redeemer ! my Master and Leader ! I recognize 
 my mistake, I see my wickedness, and I detest it 
 with all my heart. Oh ! how happy would I be 
 at this moment had I always walked on the road 
 on which Thou didst walk ! 
 
 An Act of Self-Offering. — But how long shall 
 this last ? Thou art the Way, the Truth, and 
 the Life. I give myself up to Thee, O my 
 
On the Reign of Christ. 87 
 
 blessed Saviour ! with my whole heart, and with- 
 out reserve. I shall tread in Thy footsteps. Go, 
 therefore, before me and lead me. Lead me 
 through contempt and humiliations, through 
 calumnies and persecutions, and I will still fol- 
 low Thee. Lead me through pains and afflic- 
 tions, and I will not cease to follow Thee. Lead 
 me through self-denial and self-annihilation, and 
 I will continue to follow Thee. Where Thou art, 
 O Jesus ! my life, I will also be. What Thou 
 dost I will also do; what Thou didst suffer I will 
 also suffer. Only give me Thy grace, and I ask 
 no more 
 
FOURTH DAY. 
 
 iUcMtation 2. 
 
 On the Wonderful Humility 
 which Christ exhibited in His 
 Incarnation and His Birth. 
 
 point I. 
 
 Christ in His Incarnation and Birth utterly 
 debased Himself. 
 
 How many astonishing acts of self-abasement 
 appear therein ? 
 
 ist. He took upon Himself human nature. 
 Were your faith enlightened you could not suf- 
 ficiently admire this self-abasement. A compar- 
 ison may help to illustrate it. There was once 
 a king having absolute power, immense riches, 
 and exceedingly great wisdom and all princely 
 virtues; the nobility, the army, the people loved 
 him as a father; nothing was wanting to com- 
 plete his happiness. This great monarch se- 
 cretly doffed his royal garments, donned a beg- 
 gar's clothes, left the country, became a servant 
 to a farmer in a foreign land, and remained un- 
 known in this humble service till death. This 
 was indeed an inconceivable abasement ! 
 
Christ's Wonderful Humility. 89 
 
 Let us look with the eyes of faith on the lovely 
 Infant in the crib at Bethlehem. Who is He ? 
 The Lord of the world, the Creator of Heaven 
 and Earth; to whom the whole universe, with 
 all its riches and treasures, belongs. Notwith- 
 standing His infinite excellence and happiness 
 He quitted Heaven, where he was adored by all 
 the Angels; He took up His abode on Earth; He 
 became a man of sorrows and infirmities and re- 
 mained in this state till death. Can any human 
 understanding conceive self-abasement like unto 
 this? 
 
 2d. He took upon Himself human nature as 
 an Infant. Is there anything more helpless 
 than an infant ? It can neither stand nor walk, 
 but it must always be assisted and carried by 
 another. It cannot speak, and can only mani- 
 fest its needs by crying. We, when infants, 
 could well undergo this, because we had no 
 consciousness, but Christ, who was Infinite Wis- 
 dom, felt the entire helplessness of this condi- 
 tion. He could have come into this world in 
 the bloom of manhood, but he willed it not; He 
 came as a little child, that He might humble 
 Himself the more and teach us humility the 
 better. 
 
 Imagine you see the Divine Infant lying in 
 the manger. Infant though He is, He is never- 
 theless God who created Heaven and Earth. He 
 is the Word of God and He cannot speak a 
 word. He is God, infinitely rich, before whom 
 all earthly sovereigns are mere beggars; and 
 
90 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 he has no other dwelling than a wretched 
 stable. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Confusion. — O most humble Jesus, how dif- 
 ferent are the desires of my heart from Thine ! 
 Thou debasest Thyself, and I exalt myself, with 
 Lucifer, to the highest Heaven. Thou bringest 
 Thyself down to the feeble state of an infant, 
 and I always desire a position more and more 
 honorable in the sight of men. Thou hidest 
 Thyself and all the excellences which thou pos- 
 sessest, that no praise may be given Thee; and 
 I desire the good which is in me to be seen that 
 I may be praised the more — in short, all Thy 
 thoughts are for lowliness and self-abasement, 
 and mine for self-exaltation and worldly honor. 
 Alas ! I acknowledge it. O Jesus, I have not yet 
 Thy spirit, and my views are as distant from 
 Thine as Earth is from Heaven. 
 
 Compunction. — I see and confess, O Jesus, 
 that I have erred; this is not the path in which 
 Thou didst walk. I am sorry for all my vain 
 thoughts and desires, for all the boastful words 
 which I have ever spoken, for all the vain-glori- 
 ous deeds which I have ever performed. To 
 me therefore confusion and contempt are justly 
 due; but to Thee praise, honor, and glory. 
 
 Following of Christ, iii. B., Chaps, xli, xlii. 
 
Christ's Wonderful Humility. 91 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 Christ, from His Birth and all through Life, 
 willingly submitted to all the humilia- 
 tions which came upon hlm from others. 
 
 1st. How did the world receive Him in His 
 birth ? What greater affront could be offered to 
 a man than to be so far rejected that not one of 
 his kindred would give him shelter for one 
 night? This happened to Christ in the town of 
 Bethlehem. Young and old, rich and poor, 
 found in it a lodging. Jesus alone, with His 
 blessed Mother, was everywhere refused admit- 
 tance. He first beholds the light in a stable. 
 How did He submit to it ? With joy. He Him- 
 self willed it, for if He had willed the contrary, 
 He would have sent before Him hosts of Angels 
 to announce His coming; He might on entering 
 the town have made the Earth tremble; He 
 might have sent thunder and lightning to ter- 
 rify its inhabitants and make them adore His 
 Majesty. 
 
 2d. How has the world treated Him after His 
 birth? It treated Him worse than at His birth. 
 A new star had appeared in the heavens; the 
 wise men had come from the East and an- 
 nounced His birth. One would think that all 
 Jerusalem would run flocking out of their 
 houses to adore the Infant Jesus. O fearful in- 
 gratitude ! Out of so many hundred thousands 
 
g2 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 not one was found to take a step to see Jesus. 
 Even their king sought to kill Him; the time 
 was chosen and the Child Jesus had to flee from 
 His own country to escape death. 
 
 3d. What did the world think of Christ after 
 He had grown up ? It thought no more of Him 
 than it did at His birth. He lived with His 
 parents at Nazareth, His occupation was to work 
 at home with His Foster-Father and to earn 
 His daily bread in the sweat of His brow. Xo 
 one imagined that Joseph's son was a Man-God; 
 the Heavenly Father kept the secret and gave 
 no sign that Jesus of Xazareth was His beloved 
 Son. Mary and Joseph revealed it not and 
 Jesus Himself hid from the eyes of men all the 
 treasures of His human and divine nature. 
 The God-Man, who had created Heaven and 
 Earth, passed in the eyes of the world as a car- 
 penter's son. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Contempt of One's Self.— How little didst 
 Thou, O Saviour, think of honor and esteem, and 
 how precious in Thy sight was contempt! What 
 a lesson is this for me ! Thou fleest honor, and 
 I flee contempt; Thou seekest to be unknown, 
 and I seek to be known and even admired; Thou 
 didst take pleasure in being despised, and I in 
 being praised and esteemed. If Thy spirit is 
 the road to sanctity, mine is the way to perdi- 
 tion. If Thy humility is the road to Heaven, 
 my pride is the way to Hell. 
 
Christ's Wonderful Humility. 93 
 
 Acknowledgment — True, I am far more es- 
 teemed than Thou wast, and yet I am not satis- 
 fied; I am honored and treated with reverence 
 for being a religious; but when wast Thou hon- 
 ored ? The will of my Heavenly Father, my 
 progress in virtue, the sanctity of my soul, must 
 yield to this my pride. This is a wound which 
 only Thou, O God, canst heal. 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 Considerations on the Humility of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 You have now before you one of the principal 
 points of the spiritual life; ask Divine light and 
 help to reflect on it attentively. 
 
 1st. Nothing is more agreeable to God than a 
 soul that has a love for contempt and self-anni- 
 hilation. Let us suppose we had lived before 
 the coming of Christ, and that our Heavenly 
 Father had asked us in what manner He should 
 send His Son into the world, what would we 
 have answered ? We would, no doubt, have said, 
 His foster-father must be a monarch, His mother 
 a queen, His dwelling a magnificent palace; 
 angels must announce His coming, the people 
 must assemble and adore the new-born God. 
 Thus we would have thought and said. Yet 
 God the Father willed the parents of His be- 
 loved Son to be poor, the place of His birth to 
 be a stable, His dwelling a poor home at Naza- 
 
94 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 reth, His life to be hidden, and His death to be 
 that of a malefactor, in the midst of insults and 
 torments. How blind we are ! We love, above 
 all, the esteem and applause of the world; Jesus 
 loves nothing so much as contempt and self- 
 annihilation. What else do you see in Him but 
 humiliations and torture ? And yet this was the 
 sacrifice that pleased His Heavenly Father and 
 procured the salvation of mankind. 
 
 2d. God hates nothing so much in a soul as 
 the love of honor and esteem. The less con- 
 formity a soul has with Jesus Christ the less it 
 is esteemed by God the Father. But what con- 
 formity with Jesus Christ can a soul have that 
 loves the praise and esteem of men ? Jesus re- 
 joiced only in injuries; the life of Jesus com- 
 menced and ended with outrages. Compare 
 yourself with Jesus; and see what there is in you 
 like unto Him. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Confession and Sorrow. — In Thy heart, O 
 Jesus, is extreme horror of all vainglory, and 
 the most ardent desire of contempt and of 
 affronts, and in my heart just the contrary — the 
 greatest horror of contempt and of affronts, and 
 the greatest satisfaction in vainglory. What in- 
 creases my misery is, that I refuse the medicine, 
 and when I am compelled to take it, it proves 
 hurtful to me. The surest and best means to 
 root out pride would be confusion, contempt 
 and calumny; but I, unhappy mortal, love my 
 
Christ's Wonderful Humility. 95 
 
 misfortune; I cherish my pride and reject hu- 
 miliation. Through Thy mercy I have to-day 
 received the grace to see and to hate my misery. 
 What have I to glory in, or why do I desire to 
 be esteemed ? Truly vainglory is an evil plague, 
 a very great vanity, because it draws us away 
 from true glory and robs us of heavenly grace; 
 for whilst a man takes complacency in himself, 
 he displeases Thee; whilst he seeks after the 
 praises of men, he is deprived of true virtues. 
 (The Following of Christ, iii. B., Chap, xl., 4.) 
 
 Resolutions and Supplication. — To-day I 
 ask of Thee, O Jesus, the virtue of humility. 
 It is the indication of Thy spirit, the distinguish- 
 ing mark of Thy true followers, and the way to 
 intimate union with Thee. A proud soul can 
 never enter into familiar friendship with Thee, 
 because it is an abomination before Thee. 
 Should I not take all pains to acquire the virtue 
 of humility ? 
 
 I firmly purpose then, O Jesus, first, never 
 willingly to acquiesce in any vain thought, or in 
 any self-complacency, not to speak a word in my 
 own praise, and never through vanity to do any 
 work. Second, joyfully to accept all contempt 
 from whatever source it may come, and bear it 
 silently. O Jesus, how easy it is to make these 
 resolutions, but how difficult to carry them out ! 
 Thou, O Jesus, art my hope and my strength ! 
 
g6 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 JElebttafton 3. 
 
 On the Wonderful Obedience 
 of Christ in His Hidden Life. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 Jesus Underwent, for the Love of His Hea- 
 venly Father and for Me, all the Hard- 
 ships which Perfect Obedience invariably 
 brings on. 
 
 To give up one's own will, and to live until 
 death according to the will of another, has many 
 difficulties. 
 
 The first difficulty of obedience is that of the 
 employments of our state of life. We often 
 think the office with which the Superior charges 
 us is too low for us. We believe that those who 
 are preferred to us have less talent, and that we 
 are endowed with all the capacity requisite for 
 their office; and, in short, for any office. Your 
 office is too low? Let us cast our eyes on Jesus. 
 Who is He ? The King of kings, the Lord of 
 lords, the Supreme Ruler of Heaven and earth. 
 What office has He ? O wonder of wonders ! 
 Up to His thirtieth year He works at home, and 
 obeys every order of His foster-father. Look 
 at Him and consider the Divine Artisan, and if 
 shame does not prevent you, you may complain 
 of your office. 
 
 The second difficulty of obedience is the Su- 
 
Christ's Wonderful Obedience. 97 
 
 perior who governs us. During the years of our 
 religious life we have now and then Superiors 
 whose government is severe and troublesome. 
 Some are wanting in humility, and are too par- 
 tial to those they like; others do not care to 
 know the temper of their subjects, and treat 
 them without consideration; some are deficient 
 in charity, and have not much compassion on 
 those under them; some lack meekness, and 
 have not the necessary affability to win hearts 
 and make the yoke of obedience sweet. They 
 who desire to have true obedience must be like 
 unto Jesus Christ, their model. He stands before 
 Pilate's tribunal. The sentence is pronounced: 
 He is condemned to death. How little would it 
 have cost Him to free Himself from this con- 
 demnation ! He could have shown to the whole 
 world the injustice of this sentence. He could 
 have hurled Pilate from his judgment-seat into 
 hell. He could, as He did at another time, have 
 escaped by making Himself invisible. Jesus 
 does nothing of the kind. He receives the sen- 
 tence from Pilate as if it came from His Hea- 
 venly Father. He obeys Him until death; yea, 
 the death of the Cross. Who among you, then, 
 can complain of your superiors, since Christ 
 obeyed a most unjust judge ? 
 
 3. Let us consider all the other difficulties of 
 obedience. In religious life many things are 
 commanded which are not agreeable to our taste. 
 We consider them neither necessary, nor useful, 
 nor becoming. We are ordered to do many 
 
98 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 things to which we naturally feel a repugnance. 
 Many things are enjoined which do not tally with 
 our will, and which are by their nature trouble- 
 some, especially if they last very long. What 
 did Christ do to set us an example, and to merit 
 for us the grace to follow Him ? Was it easy 
 for Him to remain so many years in a workshop, 
 and always to obey his foster-father's call ? Was 
 it easy for him to travel for three years from 
 town to town, and to be ill treated in almost every 
 place ? Was it not painful for Him to hear the 
 sentence of death passed on Him, and afterwards 
 to die on an infamous cross ? In all these diffi- 
 culties Jesus Christ instantly obeyed, without a 
 murmur; He obeyed with the most perfect res- 
 ignation. Alas ! what is our obedience com- 
 pared with His ? 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Self-abasement. — In whatever way I look at 
 my soul, I see, O Jesus, nothing conformable 
 to Thee. I should entirely lay aside my own 
 will and behold naught but Thee in my Superi- 
 ors, observe their very looks, and not only not 
 take their commands ill, but fulfil them joyfully. 
 Thus should I obey. My vow of obedience, and 
 the example which Thou gavest to me, demand 
 this. But alas ! how often have I failed in this 
 respect by the obstinacy of my judgment, and 
 by the stubbornness of my will. How many sins 
 have I committed by my inward murmurs and 
 my open complaints ! Would not these sins, 
 
Christ's Wonderful Obedience. 99 
 
 even if I had no others, be enough to cause me 
 to fear Thy justice ? 
 
 Compunction.— I acknowledge my infidelity, 
 and detest it with all my heart. How great are 
 these sins in Thy sight, and yet they seemed to 
 me, until now, insignificant ! As I have vowed 
 obedience not to man, but to Thee, my God, so, 
 by my disobedience, I have not offended man, 
 but Thy supreme majesty. As often as I have 
 preferred my judgment to the judgment of my 
 superiors, I have despised Thy infinite wisdom. 
 As often as I have resisted the will of my Supe- 
 riors, I have set at naught Thy will. As often 
 as I have censured in my heart, or with my tongue, 
 the appointments of my Superiors, I have blamed 
 the appointments of Thy infinite love and good- 
 ness. " He that heareth you heareth Me, and he 
 that despiseth you despiseth Me." These are 
 Thy words, O Jesus, and by them I see how 
 guilty I am, and how blind I have been. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 On the Wonderful Happiness of a Soul that 
 practises Blind, and therefore Perfect, 
 Obedience. 
 
 We have viewed attentively the obedience of 
 Christ, let us now consider the happiness it gives. 
 
 1st. Those who are obedient know that they 
 do the will of God at every moment. Let us 
 imagine God permits your guardian angel to be 
 
IOO The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 seen by you day and night, to make known to 
 you in every circumstance that which God re- 
 quires. Could there be on earth a greater hap- 
 piness ? But lively faith will show that those 
 who practise blind obedience are at every instant 
 as much assured of the will of God as if an an- 
 gel made it known to them. They are as certain 
 of the will of God as Christ was at Nazareth. 
 They have as much security of the will of God as 
 had the Apostles, who heard the very w r ords of life. 
 
 2d. All the works of those who are obedient 
 become highly valuable and meritorious in the 
 sight of God. Nothing is more wonderful than 
 the value of obedience, for the smallest works 
 done through obedience are very great before 
 God. To eat and drink moderately out of obedi- 
 ence is a great work before God. To fast a 
 whole year on bread and water without obedi- 
 ence is nothing before Him. To travel through 
 the whole world and to preach everywhere the 
 gospel without obedience is nothing before God; 
 but to wash dishes or sweep a room out of obe- 
 dience is a great work before Him. The only 
 sure rule to measure the excellence of a work is 
 the will of God. Return once more unto the 
 workshop at Nazareth and contemplate Jesus. 
 The labor which He did, low though it may 
 appear, was so great that He, God-man that He 
 was, could do no greater. Why so ? Because 
 it was the will of God, His Father. 
 
 3d. All who are obedient reach perfect sanc- 
 tity in a short time. The two reasons are: 
 
Christ's Wonderful Obedience. 101 
 
 i. The nature of perfection and sanctity it- 
 self. To be holy is to do nothing else but the 
 will of God and live as He wills. The obedient 
 desire nothing, seek nothing, do nothing but 
 what God wills. They rise at a time that God 
 wills, go to bed when God wills, and pray when 
 God wills; they therefore become holy in a 
 short time. 
 
 2. The providence of God. God loves an 
 obedient soul. He carries it in the bosom of 
 His providence, as a mother carries her child in 
 her arms. He governs and leads it, and takes 
 care of all that concerns it. All Hell and earth 
 may rise up against it; men may seek to check 
 its onward course. It is in vain. This soul 
 is under the protection of an infinitely wise, 
 powerful and benevolent God. He will infalli- 
 bly conduct it to the degree of sanctity which 
 He wills for it, and bring it to Heaven to the 
 throne of glory to which from eternity it was 
 predestined. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Faith. — The Superiors rule, not in their own 
 name, but in the name of Jesus Christ; they 
 command, not in virtue of their own powers, but 
 in the virtue of the power of Jesus Christ. What- 
 ever they order I should approve and perform, not 
 because it is their will, but that of Jesus Christ. 
 Whoever believes this not should hearken to 
 Christ's own words: r He that heareth you 
 heareth Me, and he that despiseth you despis- 
 
102 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 eth Me" (St. Luke,x. 16). This, Thy saying, O 
 Jesus, I humbly accept. I believe that the will 
 of my Superiors is Thy will; I believe that their 
 appointments are Thine, and their commands 
 Thine. I believe that I cannot withdraw myself 
 from their guidance and direction without with- 
 drawing myself from the guidance and direction 
 of Thy providence. 
 
 Hope and Confidence. — I have vowed obedi- 
 ence, therefore I gave over to Thee my will and 
 my liberty forever, and Thou didst promise to 
 guide and govern me through my Superiors. I 
 commit myself to Thy providence, and will live 
 henceforth without further temporal care and 
 trouble. Thou art Infinite Wisdom, and know- 
 est what offices are the best for me. Thou art 
 Infinite Goodness, and wilt take care that my 
 Superiors give only such commands as are for 
 my greatest good. Thou art Infinite Truth, and 
 didst pledge Thy word that they who hear Supe- 
 riors hear Thee. 
 
 An Act of Love and Self-offering. 
 
 Animated with confidence, O Jesus, my only 
 and Supreme Good, I throw myself down into 
 the abyss of my nothingness. This moment I 
 promise and vow a new obedience; I renounce 
 my judgment, my will, my liberty, and give 
 them entirely and perfectly up to those whom 
 Thou didst appoint to guide and govern me. 
 
Christ's Wonderful Charity and Meekness. 103 
 
 initiation 4. 
 
 On the Wonderful Charity and 
 Meekness of Christ in His 
 Public Life. 
 
 point I. 
 
 Christ underwent first the Hardships which 
 render Charity and Meekness difficult. 
 
 These two virtues are essential to sanctity. 
 Let us look at the example of Christ, and resolve 
 to bear what He has borne for us. Here are 
 the hardships of these two virtues: 
 
 1 st. To have to deal with men on whom all 
 our pains and labors are lost. What did not 
 Christ do to convert the Jews ? For three years 
 He travelled over Judea and Samaria. He went 
 from town to town and preached with Divine 
 eloquence. He heaped upon them all sorts of 
 blessings, He wrought many miracles, and in- 
 vited them so lovingly to His Kingdom. But 
 what did it avail ? Some despised Him and 
 said, Where has the son of a carpenter learned 
 these things ? Others laughed at Him and de- 
 rided His doctrine. The Pharisees called Him a 
 wicked man who keeps not the law. The high- 
 priest publicly condemned His doctrine, and ex- 
 horted the people not to be seduced by Him, 
 and excommunicated those who followed Him. 
 
104 The Trutlis of Salvation. 
 
 Hence but few were converted; the rest remained 
 obstinate and inflexible. How hard it is to love 
 people of this sort. 
 
 2d. To have to deal with persons, who, through 
 envy and hatred, interpret everything wrongly. 
 Almost at every step of His public life Christ 
 encountered this hardship. Through love and 
 compassion He often cured the sick on the Sab- 
 bath. Impious men said: He cannot be from 
 God because He keeps not the Sabbath day. 
 He dined with public sinners that He might 
 convert them; they said: He is a wine-bibber and 
 loves good cheer. He wrought many wonders 
 to bring men to the knowledge of God; they 
 said: He works not the miracles by Himself, but 
 the Devil works them through Him. 
 
 3d. To have to deal with people who acknowl- 
 edge no benefit and only return evil for good. 
 Jesus came to Nazareth, preached in the syna- 
 gogue, and showed His fellow-citizens all imagi- 
 nable love. What was their gratitude for this 
 grace ? They led Him to a rock to throw Him 
 down. He preached at Jerusalem, and told 
 them that He was the Son of God and the prom- 
 ised Messiah. They called Him a blasphemer, 
 and wished to stone Him to death. 
 
 4th. To have around one's self false brethren. 
 Jesus knew what lay hidden in Judas's heart. 
 He knew that he was the one who after some 
 time would betray Him and deliver Him up to 
 death. 
 
 5 th. To have to deal with people who, as we 
 
Christ's Wonderful Charity and Meekness. 105 
 
 know, actually abhor and detest us. The high- 
 priests and Scribes in their secret councils con- 
 demned Jesus to death; they declared publicly 
 that they would exclude from the synagogue 
 those who followed Him. They issued an order 
 to apprehend Christ as an impostor and to de- 
 liver Him into their hands; nevertheless He loved 
 them and He loved them most tenderly with a 
 father's love. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Confusion. — How strong and ardent is Thy 
 love, O Jesus, how weak and cold is mine ! Thou 
 hadst to converse with people who openly re- 
 proached and abused Thee; who everywhere 
 proclaimed Thee an impostor and blasphemer; 
 who under the mask of friendship sought to 
 deliver Thee up to Thy enemies; who resolved 
 not to cease until they had nailed Thee on the 
 Cross. What injurious treatment was this ! But 
 it could not extinguish Thy love. Ah ! woe is 
 me ! How little have I of Thy meekness and 
 Thy love ! A severe look, a contemptuous word, 
 an unkind refusal suffices to smother my charity. 
 This is the progress I have made after Thy many 
 graces ! 
 
 Resolution. — O Jesus, shall this be always 
 so? Shall my heart always remain tepid and 
 cold ? Shall I never have charity and meekness ? 
 Thou didst call me, O Jesus, to a religious life to 
 follow Thee as closely as possible; it was the 
 first lesson Thou hast taught mankind: " Learn 
 
106 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 of me, because I am meek and humble of heart." 
 How shall I dare to appear before Thee, if I 
 have not these virtues ? What account shall I 
 give to Thee of the abuse of so many graces ? 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 The Marvellous Qualities of Jesus's Charity 
 for Us. 
 
 ist. His charity, notwithstanding the many 
 injuries inflicted on Him, was ever ardent. This 
 indeed was truly wonderful, for Jesus was Om- 
 niscience itself; He saw in the days of His life 
 many who hated Him, who asserted that He was 
 an impostor, who insulted and blasphemed Him, 
 and sought to condemn Him to the death of the 
 Cross; all this He saw, and always loved most 
 ardently. How would you feel if surrounded 
 by hundreds of thousands who supposed you to 
 be wicked, who wherever they went slandered 
 you, and even sought to take your life ? 
 
 2d. His charity, notwithstanding the many in- 
 sults offered to Him, was always tender. For 
 three years He saw Judas, He knew his evil in- 
 tention, but this diminished not His love; He 
 conversed with him, and treated him as affably 
 as He did the rest of the Apostles. He gave 
 both him and them power to work miracles; at 
 the Last Supper He washed his feet like those 
 of the others, so that even the Apostles suspected 
 nothing. Yea, even at the moment when he be- 
 
Christ's Wonderful Charity and Meekness. 107 
 
 trayed Him into the hands of His enemies, He 
 called him friend and kissed him. Could He 
 have conversed more lovingly with St. John, 
 whom He loved best of all the Apostles ? 
 
 3d. His charity, notwithstanding the many af- 
 fronts heaped upon Him, was constantly benefi- 
 cent and generous. While the daily ingratitude 
 of the Jews towards Him increased in rage and 
 fury, He multiplied the more His benefits to- 
 wards them. He prayed continually with all the 
 fervor of His heart to His Heavenly Father for 
 their salvation. Not a week passed without His 
 working miracles and performing prodigies to 
 bring them to the knowledge of God. Malchus 
 was one of those who had come to apprehend 
 Jesus, and whose ear was cut off; Jesus but 
 stretched forth His hand and healed his ear. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Compunction. — Now I know, O Jesus, what 
 it is to love. To love those who love us, who 
 are well disposed towards us, who do us good, 
 is to love as the Jews and heathens. To love 
 those who are not well disposed towards us, who 
 wrong and calumniate us, is to love as Jesus did. 
 But how have I loved ? Alas ! how feeble is my 
 love! My love most of the time has been that of 
 the Jews and heathens. Seldom have I loved as 
 Jesus loved. I have erred then, and I have not 
 the virtue which is the essential feature of Chris- 
 tianity, the apple of the eye of a religious com- 
 munity and the groundwork of perfection. I 
 
108 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 detest, O Jesus, with my whole heart everything 
 which I have done against this amiable virtue, 
 and I humbly crave Thy pardon. 
 
 Love. — Henceforth my first care and my 
 earnest endeavor shall be to love God with my 
 whole heart, and for His sake my neighbor as 
 myself. These are the two precepts which, O 
 my Saviour, Thou hast taught and shown by 
 Thy example. Thou didst die for all, and hast 
 commanded me to love all; I will love them, 
 therefore, and love them as myself. Thou, O 
 Jesus, have mercy on them, and give every one 
 of them as much temporal and eternal happiness 
 as I wish for myself. 
 
 Resolution. — Such is the sentiment of my 
 heart, but it is not sufficient, it must manifest it- 
 self in action — otherwise it is no love. What, 
 then, will I do for the love of my neighbor ? I 
 will do that which I would like to be done to 
 myself. I wish every one to have a good opinion 
 of me; I will act thus towards others; no more 
 suspicious, rash judgments or contempt on my 
 part. I wish every one to treat me kindly; I will 
 do the same for others. I wish every one to bear 
 patiently with my faults and imperfections and 
 not, to speak ill of me; thus also will I act to- 
 wards my neighbor. This is genuine and prac- 
 tical love. Grant me, O Jesus, the grace to love 
 henceforth as Thou didst love. 
 
FIFTH DAY. 
 JlleMtation 5. 
 
 THE CONCLUSION OF THE SECOND 
 WEEK. 
 
 We have contemplated the pre-eminent virtues 
 of Jesus Christ. Weigh now in your mind some 
 of the maxims of the spiritual life. 
 
 ist. As much as you have of the spirit of 
 Christ, so much have you of true sancity and 
 perfection. If you desire to know what prog- 
 ress you have made on the road to perfection, 
 see how much you have of this spirit. If every- 
 thing in you corresponds with Christ's spirit, 
 then you truly possess sanctity. The greater 
 your resemblance to this model, the holier and 
 more perfect you are. 
 
 2d. You have as much of the spirit of Christ 
 as you have of His obedience, humility, meek- 
 ness and charity. There is no virtue which in 
 the life of Christ did not shine most perfectly; 
 nevertheless He has not given such striking ex- 
 amples in the others as in these four virtues. 
 The two last he enjoined on us as earnestly as 
 if they comprised the very essence of His spirit. 
 " Learn of Me," He said, " because I am meek 
 and humble of heart." (St. Matt. xi. 29.) 
 
 3d. Hence you see the reason why so few, 
 
1 10 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 even of the most strict religious orders of the 
 Church, arrive at sanctity. The most of the 
 religious are satisfied if they perform the ex- 
 ercises which are not painful to human nature. 
 They meditate and pray, they do their works 
 with a good intention, fulfil all the duties of 
 their offices, and practise austerities according 
 to their different rules But to cast off actively 
 their own will, to be perfectly indifferent so as 
 to be ready to do the bidding of the superiors 
 at their beck, to repress the love of honor and 
 willingly to accept contempt, gradually to over- 
 come impatience and all feelings of indignation, 
 to treat ill-natured and obstinate persons be- 
 nignantly and affably, and to crush self-love 
 completely — these are virtues which but few 
 practise. The first means towards the attain- 
 ment of perfection is purity of heart; we must 
 devote our care to the purifying of our whole 
 heart, because there lies the root of all our evils. 
 When the heart is thoroughly cleansed, God 
 fills the soul and all its powers, the memory, 
 the understanding, and the will with His holy 
 presence and love. This purity of heart leads 
 to union with God, and no one attains thereto 
 by any other means. Jesus does not communi- 
 cate Himself to religious who do not strive after 
 purity of heart; He lets them live and die in 
 their inferiority. If then you earnestly seek 
 sanctity and union with God, it is absolutely nec- 
 essary that you walk in the footsteps of Christ 
 and try to imitate His virtues. 
 
Exercise of Obedience. 1 1 1 
 
 Exercise of Obedience. 
 
 (i.) I will keep myself in continual indifference 
 with respect to the behests of Superiors; conse- 
 quently I will ask nothing, seek nothing, refuse 
 nothing. 
 
 (2.) I will in all circumstances behold God in 
 them, firmly believing that their will is God's 
 will. 
 
 (3.) I will execute all their commands with 
 reverence and exactness. 
 
 "Exercise of Humility. 
 
 (1.) I will relinquish all love of honor so as to 
 spurn all self-esteem or self-complacency; and I 
 will never say a word or do the least action 
 through vainglory. 
 
 (2.) I will leave my good name entirely to 
 God, so as to bear contempt as often as it pleases 
 His Divine Majesty. 
 
 (3.) I will accept with an undisturbed mind 
 every humiliation from whatever source it may 
 come. 
 
 Exercise of Meekness and Charity. 
 
 (1.) I will keep a benevolent heart for all man- 
 kind so as never willingly and knowingly to con- 
 ceive angry feelings for any one. 
 
 (2.) In every circumstance I will treat all 
 charitably and kindly. 
 
 (3.) Whatever may be done to me by others, I 
 will suffer it silently, so as to return good for evil. 
 
1 12 The Truths of Salvation, 
 
 These are the points in which the spirit of 
 Christ and the imitation of His virtues manifest 
 themselves. Are you resolved to follow Jesus 
 Christ? If so, offer yourself up to Him thus: 
 Thy spirit, O Jesus, is to despise honor and to 
 love contempt; to renounce my will and to follow 
 that of others; to converse with all affably, and 
 to suffer silently all reproaches and insults. Not 
 only this is Thy spirit, but it is also the only way 
 which leads to Thy love and to union with Thee. 
 Thou art sanctity itself, and Thou canst never 
 dwell in a heart unless it be cleansed from evil 
 affections and be resplendent with Thy virtues. 
 Oh, what ardent love for Thee, what familiar 
 communication, what intimate union with Thee 
 would I now have, had I died to myself and lived 
 according to Thy spirit ! O unhappy me, of 
 what heavenly treasures have I deprived myself ! 
 But all is not yet lost ! Through Thy mercy I 
 know now Thy spirit and also the road which 
 leads to Thee. 1 can yet cleanse my heart 
 from all defilement; I can yet arrive at familiar 
 communication and intimate union with Thee, 
 I, O Jesus, who have so often offended Thee; I, 
 who have abused so many graces; I, who for so 
 many years have turned a deaf ear to Thy in- 
 vitations. 
 
The Two Standards. 113 
 
 THIRD WEEK. 
 
 Jntmrteiriate JIUMtatton 1. 
 
 The Intermediate Meditations join more closely 
 taction with suffering. 
 
 The Two Standards. 
 
 To understand well the purpose of this week, 
 we must know that to follow Christ, to live ac- 
 cording to His spirit, and to practise virtue as 
 He practised it, cannot be done without suffering 
 with courageous and generous spirit; for this 
 reason our holy father Ignatius presents to us 
 the example of Christ, that we may not refuse to 
 suffer for God what He has suffered for us. The 
 present Meditation, therefore, is directed towards 
 this point, that we resolve earnestly to follow 
 Christ and to live according to His spirit, cost 
 what it may. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 Whom We are to follow — Jesus Christ or 
 Satan — may be seen from the Design of 
 the Two Leaders whom We now Propose. 
 
 1st. The design of Jesus Christ is to draw all 
 mortals to follow Him, that they may save their 
 souls and eternally love and praise His Heavenly 
 Father. The reason of this is the two-fold love 
 which burns in His heart. The first is the ten- 
 
114 The Truths of Salvation, 
 
 derest love for His Heavenly Father; for as He 
 loves Him most perfectly, He also desires that 
 He may be forever praised, honored, glorified 
 by men. The second is the most affectionate 
 love for them; since He loves them most ardent- 
 ly, He wishes them to seek their salvation and 
 to enjoy forever with Him His own bliss. 
 
 2d. The design of Satan is to draw all mortals 
 to his standard, that thus they may desert and 
 dishonor God and precipitate themselves into 
 eternal perdition. He is fired with a two-fold 
 hatred. First, hatred for God; for since he was 
 cast out of Heaven by a just judgment, he in- 
 tensely hates God, and cannot bear to see Him 
 honored, praised and loved. Second, hatred 
 for us; for as he knows the infinite glory and 
 happiness prepared by God for us in Heaven, his 
 hatred, envy and fury are savagely fierce; he 
 employs every possible means to deprive us of 
 this happiness and to drag us into his own misery. 
 What choice will you now make ? Which of the 
 two leaders will you follow ? 
 
 When the young Tobias was about to set out 
 for a strange country, the Archangel Raphael 
 offered himself, under the form of a young man, 
 as guide. But let us suppose two young men 
 had presented themselves as guides, one of whom 
 was the Archangel and the other Satan, and that 
 Tobias had rejected Raphael and had selected 
 Satan; would he not have been a great fool to act 
 so unwisely ? You, like Tobias, are on a long 
 journey and on a strange road, the road to eter- 
 
 
 

 The Two Standards, 1 1 5 
 
 nity. Jesus and the Devil offer themselves as 
 guides. Which of the two will you follow ? 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 What a strange choice this is between Jesus 
 and the Devil ! Jesus is the only begotten Son 
 of the Heavenly Father; Jesus is sanctity itself; 
 Jesus seeks only my happiness. The Devil is the 
 greatest enemy of God, a damned spirit; he hates 
 me bitterly, he seeks nothing but my eternal per- 
 dition. What shall I do ? I am ashamed to ask 
 this question. Have I lost my senses to leave 
 God and follow Satan ? Do I hate myself so 
 much as to turn away from the road to Heaven, 
 and to rush madly to Hell ? God forbid ! Thou, 
 O Jesus, art the way, the truth and the life. 
 Thou art the Way which securely leads to bliss; 
 the Truth which knows all dangers; the Life by 
 which we shall possess eternal life. Receive me, 
 O Jesus, under Thy standard. I will follow Thee 
 and Thee alone till death. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 Whom We are to follow — Jesus Christ or 
 Satan — may be seen by the Ends to which 
 both lead. 
 
 There is an infinite difference between the 
 standard of Jesus Christ and that of Satan. 
 Consider both well. 
 
 1st. Under the standard of Jesus we are in- 
 
1 1 6 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 vited to that which is hard and bitter to nature; 
 viz., to voluntary poverty, to blind obedience, to 
 continual self-abnegation, to humility and the 
 love of contempt, to silence in trials and perse- 
 cution, to joy in pains and tribulations. This is 
 the spirit of Jesus Christ. But although such a 
 life seems to be bitter, the end to which it leads 
 is sweet and desirable. What is this end? It 
 may be told in a few words, but you must reflect 
 on them during your whole life. The end to 
 which Jesus leads, is the avoidance of an infinite 
 evil, namely, Hell — and the acquisition of an in- 
 finite good, which is — Heaven — and both for 
 eternity. 
 
 2d. Under Satan's standard we are invited to 
 that which is pleasing to nature. He promises 
 those who follow him temporal goods and riches, 
 the honor, the love and the esteem of men, the 
 pleasures of the body, joyful, independent and 
 unrestrained lives. This is the spirit of Satan. 
 But what is the end to which this cunning and 
 this accursed spirit leads ? Ah ! Be not deceived! 
 The end is the loss of an infinite good, which is 
 Heaven, and the incurring of an infinite evil, 
 which is Hell; and both for eternity. Here pause 
 awhile and raise your eyes to Heaven. Behold 
 Jesus sitting at the right hand of His Heavenly 
 Father, next to Him a multitude of elect in in- 
 expressible glory and bliss. Who are those, pray 
 tell me, who are nearest to Jesus ? Oh ! Be as- 
 tonished; the Apostles, who as impostors were 
 driven from city to city, were cast into chains, 
 
The Two Standards. 117 
 
 were everywhere persecuted and con emned to 
 death; monks and hermits and apostolic men, 
 who labored for the honor of God, amid thou- 
 sands of insults and contumelies; holy virgins, 
 who suffered with patience and in silence so many 
 affronts, railleries, and trying vexations. As 
 they were on earth close to Jesus in suffering, so 
 they are now high in Heaven and close to Him 
 in glory. Next, turn your eyes down to the in- 
 fernal depths; behold there Satan tormented in 
 an ocean of fire and brimstone, and around him 
 a multitude of reprobates in excruciating pains 
 and tortures. But who are those who are down 
 so low in hell and so near to Satan ? Ah ! the 
 mighty lords and grand ladies who were wor- 
 shipped and adored on earth. These lords and 
 ladies were in the highest positions, honors, dig- 
 nities, Their foolish pride has brought them to 
 these pains. These men and women who could 
 refuse nothing to the desires of the flesh are 
 plunged by their carnal pleasures into this mis- 
 ery. On earth they listened to the insidious 
 invitations of Satan, and are now with him deep, 
 very deep in Hell. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 The more I contemplate Thee, O Jesus, the 
 clearer I see that neither in my understanding has 
 there been any knowledge of truth, nor in my will 
 any love of virtue. On earth Thou didst esteem 
 nothing but poverty and privations, pains and 
 hardships. These things Thou didst regard as 
 
1 1 8 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 the surest means to sanctity and to a high degree 
 of glory in Heaven. Thou didst despise riches 
 and temporal blessings, the honor and applause 
 of men, the delights of the senses, and didst look 
 on them as the most dangerous allurements for 
 the unwary to beguile them into Hell. O what 
 reason have not I to feel shame and confusion ! 
 I dare not lift up my eyes to Thee on the Cross. 
 What Thou didst esteem, I despise; what Thou 
 didst seek, I flee; w r hat Thou didst love, I hate. 
 The invitations which the Devil makes please us; 
 the inspirations which Thou, O my Jesus, givest, 
 displease me. It is just as if I had tacitly made 
 a resolution to follow Satan, and not to follow 
 Thee. What then shall I do ? I must follow 
 Thee, O Jesus ! Henceforth I must regard Thee 
 as the only leader to sanctity and perfection. 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 Whom We are to follow — Jesus or Satan — 
 may be seen by the end for which god 
 has called us to the religious state. 
 
 Bring to mind once more your last end. You 
 were, under God's guidance, cheered on to re- 
 ligious life, that you might honor and love God 
 here more perfectly than seculars, and eternally 
 possess Him hereafter in a higher glory. But 
 to honor and love Him thus, you must closely 
 follow Jesus Christ. Examine thoroughly the 
 truth I now present to your consideration: 
 

 The Two Standards. 119 
 
 1st. The calling to perfection is an extraordi- 
 nary grace. God is infinite power, infinite wis- 
 dom, and the inexhaustible source of every good. 
 And yet, notwithstanding all these perfections, 
 He can give nothing greater and more excellent 
 than perfect love and union with Him. This is 
 the grace of all graces, the summary of all the 
 mercies of God, and the most precious jewel of 
 all His riches. According to the testimony of 
 St. John Chrysostom, a soul that arrives at per- 
 fection is in the sight of God better than ten 
 thousand ordinary Christians. 
 
 2d. One can attain to perfection only by the 
 means which God has appointed. To raise a 
 soul to perfection is an act of the greatest mercy 
 of God. He is as little obliged to bestow this 
 grace on you as a mighty king to make a poor 
 country girl a queen, and to place her next to 
 himself on the throne. Whatever conditions 
 God, according to His Divine pleasure, imposes 
 for attaining this inestimable grace, you must 
 fulfil, and whatever means He prescribes you 
 must employ. 
 
 3d. These means are the universal and perfect 
 imitation of Jesus Christ. " I am the door" — 
 these are the very words of our dear Lord — "by 
 Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved; and 
 he shall go in, and go out, and shall find pas- 
 tures" (St. John x. 9). "This is My beloved 
 Son," says the Heavenly Father, " in whom I 
 have pleased Myself ; hearyeHim" (2 Pet. i. 17). 
 The door to sanctity then is Jesus. The model 
 
120 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 
 of holiness is Jesus. If you enter by this door 
 you will acquire perfection, the purest love of 
 God, and the most intimate union with Him. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Faith. — How far above the understanding of 
 men are Thy judgments, O God ! Thou art the 
 eternal truth; I have but to assent. I believe 
 that true riches consist in poverty, true glory in 
 contempt, true peace in the testimony of a good 
 conscience, true liberty in subjection, and the 
 true way to holiness in following Thee. Any 
 other way is nothing else but the caricature of 
 virtue, but deception, but hypocrisy, all which 
 cannot stand in Thy sight. 
 
 Desire of Union with God. — Thou art, O 
 Lord, my only and supreme good, in whom all 
 my happiness is centred. I sigh after Thee with 
 all the powers of my soul. I must love Thee 
 in this world and love Thee perfectly, that I may 
 enjoy Thee in the glory which Thou hast pre- 
 pared from eternity for those who follow Thee. 
 This ineffable consolation here on earth and 
 hereafter must be purchased by continued self- 
 abnegation and heroic virtue. Nature may re- 
 pine; still I am fully determined to follow Thee, 
 O Jesus. And how can I refuse ? Can it be too 
 hard to love, on account of Thee, ill-disposed and 
 perverse persons, since for my sake Thou didst 
 pray on the Cross for Thy executioners ? Why 
 should not I, a guilty creature, suffer a little for 
 Thee, since Thou hast suffered so much for mc ? 
 
The Three Classes of Men. 12 1 
 
 O give me Thy spirit, Thy obedient spirit, Thy 
 humble spirit, Thy meek spirit, and Thy chari- 
 table spirit, and I will bless Thee and glorify 
 Thee on earth, so as to be able to bless and glo- 
 rify Thee in Heaven. 
 
 Intermttrtate JflxMtatton 2. 
 
 The Three Classes of Men. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 To the First Class belong Those who aim at 
 Perfection, but only in Desire; They speak 
 of it continually, but do not wish it sin- 
 cerely. 
 
 Let us visit in spirit an hospital of ordinary 
 patients. Here lies one with a burning fever. 
 It speedily increases and death is feared. The 
 physician is called, and declares the sickness fa- 
 tal but not irremediable, provided the medicine 
 which he prescribes be faithfully taken. This is 
 the very thing which displeases the sick person, 
 who keeps repeating, " I desire with all my heart 
 to be restored to health, but I wish none of your 
 medicines. These I cannot and will not take." 
 Does this patient really wish to be cured ? From 
 the hospital let us go to the cell of a religious, 
 who has been in a fearful state of long standing 
 tepidity. The evil, however, may be remedied 
 
122 The Truths of Salvation, 
 
 by a firm resolve and a determined will, by say- 
 ing all prayers with fervor, by performing all 
 works in the spirit of love and a pure intention, 
 by walking in the presence of God, by frequent 
 aspirations, and by courageous self-denial. This 
 does not at all please a tepid religious, who con- 
 tinually says, " I wish with all my heart to attain 
 to perfection, but these means I cannot and I will 
 not use." Has this religious an earnest desire 
 to arrive at perfection ? 
 
 Let us now consider the evils of tepidity. 
 
 (i.) Such tepidity is why God allows the soul 
 to fall into grievous sins. 
 
 He manifests this by two comparisons. The 
 first He takes from a field: "The earth that 
 drinketh in the rain which cometh upon it, and 
 bringeth forth thorns and briers, is reprobate 
 and very near unto a curse" (Heb. vi. 7, 8). 
 
 The second He takes from lukewarm water, 
 which nobody can long bear without loathing 
 and disgust. " Because thou art lukewarm, and 
 neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee 
 out of My mouth" (Apoc. iii. 16). 
 
 (2.) Such tepidity is why God finally allows 
 the soul to perish. 
 
 This truth He again explains in two compari- 
 sons: The first is drawn from a tree on the way- 
 side, which He curses: " Seeing a certain fig-tree, 
 He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves 
 only, and He saith to it, May no fruit grow on 
 thee henceforth forever. And immediately the 
 fig-tree withered away" (St. Matt. xxi. 19). The 
 
The Three Classes of Men. 123 
 
 second is taken from a tree in a garden. The 
 owner of a garden found a tree for three succes- 
 sive years without fruit. He turned to the gar- 
 dener and said to him, " Behold for these three 
 years I come, seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and 
 I find none. Cut it down therefore; why cum- 
 bereth it the ground ?" (St. Luke xiii. 7). 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Fear. — I am struck with terror when I con- 
 sider these words which Thou hast spoken; I 
 may be lost yet, I whom Thou hast called to a 
 religious life in preference to so many thou- 
 sands, I on whom Thou hast showered such a 
 multitude of graces. O cursed tepidity ! thou 
 must indeed be a great evil, since thou may be 
 the cause of my being cast off forever by a God 
 of infinite mercy. 
 
 Compunction. — Have patience with me a 
 while, O Jesus ! I detest and bewail from my 
 inmost soul all the negligences of which I have 
 been guilty. I am sorry for the abuse of so 
 many of Thy graces and mercies. Until now 
 I have lived in such a manner that I have neither 
 taken a serious care of Thy honor nor of the 
 salvation of my immortal soul. Through Thy 
 mercy, O Jesus, I now see my wickedness, and 
 I am resolved for the future to follow Thee 
 closely. 
 
1 24 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 To the Second Class belong Those who wish, 
 it is true, to aim at Perfection, but have 
 not a Universal and Generous Will. 
 
 Let us return once more to the sick-room. Lo! 
 here lies another person entirely different from 
 the first. This person desires to be restored to 
 health, and for this purpose is ready to employ 
 the means, but not all; objects to burning and 
 cutting and other painful methods. What are 
 we to say of this patient ? There is a will, but 
 not a strong, universal and heroic will. In the 
 same condition are many religious. They desire 
 to arrive at perfection, and in order to obtain it 
 they are ready to employ the means, but not all. 
 Interior dereliction and darkness, aridity and 
 grievous, long-lasting temptations, unmerited 
 humiliations and contempt, and other trials and 
 tribulations of the same sort are too trying for 
 them. But what will be the consequences of this 
 half will ? Consider them, and let them sink 
 deeply into your mind. 
 
 (1.) Such a soul leads a life without consola- 
 tion. If we do not give ourselves to God with- 
 out reserve, our bad inclinations and inordinate 
 affections never die. Pride and love of honor, 
 stubbornness and obstinacy, the unrestrained 
 use of the tongue, sadness and uncharitable con- 
 versation are as strong and as vigorous after 
 twenty years as at the first entrance into religion. 
 
The Three Classes of Men. 125 
 
 They even increase with time, like a sapling 
 which grows every year higher and broader. 
 Such a one will feel more and more the yoke of 
 obedience, bear contempt more and more unwill- 
 ingly, in words become freer, and in the inter- 
 course with others more and more irritable. 
 An unmortified passion in the soul is the same 
 as a viper in the bosom. How long can one re- 
 main without wounds and pains ? As long as 
 the viper remains quiet. As soon as it awakens 
 from its dormant state it gnaws and torments. 
 Likewise how long is a tepid soul without 
 trouble ? As long as its evil affections are at 
 rest. If contempt or an injury be inflicted, or a 
 harsh and unpleasing command given, it fires 
 up and vents its anger on all around. How 
 blind we are ! We see not the source of our 
 misery. We seek the evil everywhere, but not 
 in our soul where it certainly is. 
 
 (2.) Such a soul leads a life without making 
 any progress in perfection. God has pro- 
 nounced the sentence which shall never be 
 changed: "Every one of you that doth not re- 
 nounce all that he possesseth cannct be My dis- 
 ciple'' (St. Luke xiv. 33). That is to say, they 
 who die not entirely to creatures, and give them- 
 selves up without reserve to My guidance, can- 
 not arrive at My love and at union with Me. 
 Why so ? Hear the reason. 
 
 1st. God is Supreme Master. He is free to 
 give or not to whom He pleases the special 
 graces which are necessary for perfection. Now 
 
126 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 He has decreed that He will not give them to 
 any soul except it gives itself up to Him without 
 reserve. Who dares to call in question this 
 mode of acting ? 
 
 2d. God is a supreme excellence. It is His 
 due that we consecrate to Him our whole heart, 
 with all its affections. He will never forego this 
 right, nor ever admit a soul to union with Him 
 that reserves to itself the least trifle. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. * 
 
 Acknowledgment. — This sick person who 
 has the will to regain health, provided it be with- 
 out any painful operation, or without bitter med- 
 icine, is a true image of my soul. I desire per- 
 fect humility without humiliation and contempt; 
 perfect obedience without any severe test; per- 
 fect charity and meekness without suffering any 
 injury. How foolishly have I acted ! Without 
 suffering patiently and joyfully no one before 
 me became a saint. I must suffer, I must die to 
 myself, if I wish to arrive at perfection. I will, 
 then, suffer with Thee, and I will suffer till all 
 evil affections have died out. 
 
 Resolution. — Shall I hate myself so much as 
 to choose rather the greater cross and fly from 
 the smaller ? A little pride causes in the heart 
 more trouble and confusion than the most pro- 
 found humility; a little anger stirs up the soul 
 more than the greatest meekness; a little stub- 
 bornness torments the mind more than the most 
 perfect obedience. If suffering must necessar- 
 
The Three Classes of Men. 127 
 
 ily be my portion, either for virtue or for vice, 
 I prefer to suffer for virtue. In this case I shall 
 suffer for Heaven, and for Thee, O Jesus ! 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 To the Third Class belong Those who have 
 an Earnest and Generous Wish to arrive 
 
 at Perfection, and are ready to do what 
 
 Hi 
 
 God demands, and to suffer all that He 
 requires for Holiness of Life. 
 
 These are the advantages of this class: 
 
 (1.) A soul thus impressed will surely arrive 
 at perfection. 
 
 The more we give ourselves up to God, the 
 more He communicates Himself to us. To a 
 soul, therefore, t*hat gives itself entirely up to 
 Him, He gives Himself without reserve. 
 
 (2.) A soul acting thus shall certainly acquire 
 close union with God. 
 
 Union and intimate familiarity with God is 
 the reward promised to perfect love. " If any 
 one love Me," says our Divine Redeemer, " he 
 will keep My word, and My Father will love him, 
 and We will come to him and will make Our 
 abode with him" (St. John, xiv. 23). 
 
 (3.) A soul, surrendering itself without reserve, 
 infallibly obtains from Him graces of the high- 
 est order. 
 
 God is infinite liberality; He pours plenteously 
 His graces into a soul that consecrates itself en- 
 
128 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 tirely to Him. These are, the sweetest tranquil- 
 lity, peace, joy of heart, and the most tender af- 
 fection for Him. This is the hundred-fold which 
 Christ has promised to those who for His love 
 have quitted all and even themselves. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Fear. — O my God, how mercifully Thou 
 dealest with me ! Through Thy grace I now 
 know the way which leads to sanctity. I see 
 that I shall infallibly arrive at it, if I only give 
 myself up to Thee. But " unto whomsoever 
 much is given" — these are Thy words — " of him 
 much shall be required; and to whom they have 
 committed much, of him they will demand the 
 more" (St. Luke xii. 48). Oh, what a misfortune 
 would it be for me if the abundance of graces 
 which should raise me higher in Heaven would 
 only plunge me deeper in Hell ! There are many 
 souls that have no medium; they either ascend 
 very high in Heaven or descend very low into 
 Hell. 
 
 Resolution. — I will then in time be on my 
 guard, and walk in the way which Thy Divine 
 light has shown me to-day. This moment I give 
 myself wholly to Thy guidance. The only thing 
 I ask is this: Give me the grace that I may love 
 Thee, all the rest I leave to Thy most holy will. 
 Whatever adversities and trials occur, I will re- 
 gard them as the ordinances of Thy fatherly 
 providence, and use them with the most perfect 
 submission as means to sanctity. 
 
SIXTH DAY. 
 
 jfatermcbiate iHebttation 3. 
 
 On the Third Degree of Humil- 
 ity, or the Love of Contempt. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 It is just that We love Contempt. 
 
 So blind are we and self-esteem is so deeply 
 rooted in our hearts, that we believe that the 
 greatest injustice is done to us when we are de- 
 spised, and yet it is certain that nothing but con- 
 tempt is our due, and that all men on earth are 
 not able to despise us as much as we deserve. 
 In the sight of God, who is truth itself, the high 
 notions we entertain of our own merit are noth- 
 ing but error and falsehood; the desire we have 
 to be esteemed, praised and honored is nothing 
 but injustice; and that vainglory > that height we 
 aspire after, is in fact the depth of degradation. 
 I will now fully unfold this truth to you. 
 
 ist. God must punish sin. Faith teaches it. 
 God is infinite goodness, and must reward the 
 good; He is infinite justice, and must punish the 
 wicked. 
 
 2d. God can punish sin as He pleases. God 
 has infinite dominion. He can punish sin by pains 
 both for the body and for the soul. The most 
 
a 30 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 suitable is contempt, for as sin is the contem- 
 ning of God, it is just that it be punished by 
 contempt. Can there be anything more equita- 
 ble than that the sinner, who has dared to de- 
 spise an infinitely great God, should be likewise 
 despised in return ? 
 
 3d. God can punish sin through whom He 
 pleases. He punished David's through his own 
 son; the disobedient prophet's by a lion which 
 tore him into pieces (3 Kings xiii. 26); Helio- 
 dorus's by two angels who scourged him, without 
 ceasing, with many stripes (2 Mach. iii. 26); and 
 in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, He pun- 
 ished our sins by a traitorous Apostle and by 
 brutal executioners. He can also punish you 
 through whom He pleases. 
 
 4th. How much soever God may punish sin 
 He always punishes it less than it deserves. 
 Should you live to the end of the world and be 
 continually abused, calumniated and persecuted, 
 you could not therewith repair the contempt 
 which one venial sin throws on the Divine Ma- 
 jesty. Have you committed no sins ? Would to 
 Heaven it were so; but alas ! you have been 
 guilty of hundreds, perhaps of thousands» How 
 many and how great soever the humiliations 
 He may send you, they will always be fewer and 
 less than you have deserved. Hence it follows 
 that you cannot complain of contempt on the 
 part of any one. In all trials, therefore, you 
 should praise God, because it is just that con- 
 tempt be ever your lot. 
 
On the Third Degree of Humility. 1 3 1 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 An Act of Self-abasement. — It is right, O 
 my God, I acknowledge it, yes, it is right that I 
 be contemned. What are all the insults of this 
 earth in comparison with those I have deserved ? 
 If I have ever defiled myself by a single mortal 
 sin,- 1 should be in Hell ! I should then deserve 
 to be forever cursed by all the elect of Heaven, 
 and insulted by all the damned in Hell. Thou 
 hast spared me, O my God, this shame, and in- 
 stead of eternal curses and maledictions. Thou 
 art satisfied that I suffer contempt on earth. 
 Should I not then regard it as an effect of Thy 
 mercy and bear it cheerfully ? 
 
 Resolution. — May this thought never be ef- 
 faced from my memory: I have sinned and de- 
 served that Heaven and Hell, angels and men, 
 the elect and the reprobate, should abuse me 
 eternally. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 Our own Interest requires that We love 
 Contempt. 
 
 In contempt, nothing can be found but what 
 is bitter and displeasing; but many things of this 
 sort we like even when they are distasteful by 
 their nature, if only they are beneficial. Noth- 
 ing more agreeable can be brought to a sick per- 
 son than a bitter medicine, provided it reani- 
 mates and cures. Why, then, should we not 
 
132 The Truths of Satiation. 
 
 love contempt, since it brings us so great and 
 desirable advantages ? 
 
 First advantage. — Contempt destroys pride. 
 The greatest impediments to perfection are 
 pride and vanity. As long as the least self-es- 
 teem and self-complacency, or the slightest love 
 of honor, reigns in your soul, so long God does 
 not take up His abode therein. He holds it in 
 detestation, and leaves it devoid of heavenly 
 light, of holy affections, without special graces 
 and without the special guidance of His Divine 
 providence. What is the remedy for this evil of 
 pride? The surest, the most certain and the 
 quickest remedy is contempt. There is nothing 
 better to extinguish fire than a heavy rain, and 
 to destroy pride nothing is more efficacious than 
 contempt. Without this remedy few souls reach 
 true humility. Should you not, therefore, ar- 
 dently desire contempt ? Should you not, when- 
 ever you meet with it, bear it joyfully, and praise 
 and bless God for allowing it to fall on you ? 
 We thank a physician who, though we suffer 
 much, successfully performs an operation on us; 
 why should we not thank God who, even through 
 harsh means, frees us from our accursed pride? 
 
 Second advantage. — Contempt implants hu- 
 mility. The best preparation for union with 
 God is humility. When God sees it in a soul 
 He takes immediate possession of it and showers 
 on it His choicest graces. An humble soul is 
 like a valley; for, as all mountain waters flow 
 into the valley during rainy weather, so also 
 
On the Third Degree of Humility. 133 
 
 heavenly graces flee the proud, and are gathered 
 in the depth of an humble soul. 
 
 What are the means to acquire this virtue so 
 pleasing to God ? Look at Jesus and learn from 
 Him to love contempt. Our beloved Redeemer 
 has shown us in every virtue the fittest means 
 for its attainment, and for humility there is 
 nothing else but contempt and persecution, and 
 perpetual silence in suffering them. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 O Jesus, my Redeemer, my All ! I now see 
 well what displeases Thee in my heart, and 
 what prevents Thee from dwelling therein. The 
 seeking of the esteem and the applause of others 
 is the evil which renders my heart so hateful to 
 Thee. As long as I do not root out this inclina- 
 tion I cannot come to Thee, O Saviour ! A 
 God who loves humility, and a soul that loves 
 pride, cannot be familiarly united. This detest- 
 able love of honor is so deeply engrafted in my 
 soul that it seems it cannot be completely up- 
 rooted. I have resolved over and over to put it 
 down, and, nevertheless, I still discern it in my 
 heart. My resolutions were only empty words. 
 Had I been in earnest, I would have sincerely 
 loved those who despised me; had I been in earn- 
 est, I would have been well pleased with every 
 humiliation that came upon me. O merciful 
 Jesus, destroy in me all love of honor, in order 
 that Thou alone mayest reign in my heart. 
 
1 34 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 POINT III. 
 
 Its Very Excellence requires that We 
 Love Contempt. 
 
 Did we but know how precious before God 
 the loving of contempt is, we would willingly 
 and joyfully undergo the hardships for which 
 our nature feels a repugnance. Let us then con- 
 sider the excellence of bearing contempt silently. 
 
 First excellence. — It is the greatest sacrifice 
 you can make in this life. We think only of 
 exalting and advancing ourselves. Our own 
 superiority is the point to which all our thoughts 
 and desires of the mind centre. Persons who 
 forego all pleasures, and chastise their bodies by 
 fasting, watching and other austerities, love soli- 
 tude and spend many hours every day in prayer, 
 who patiently endure excruciating pains of the 
 body, are sometimes unable to bear silently cal- 
 umny, contempt, or even a harsh rebuke. This 
 suffices to shipwreck their whole sanctity. For 
 pride cannot be extirpated without a complete 
 victory over nature. This, therefore, is the great- 
 est sacrifice which we can offer to God. 
 
 Second excellence. — To suffer contempt si- 
 lently is the characteristic mark of the following 
 of Christ. 
 
 Our Lord met contempt at every step. He 
 did not always preach, did not always pray, did 
 not always suffer, was not always sad; but al- 
 ways was contemned. Thus, He was at His birth 
 in a stable, as a child in His flight into Egypt, as 
 
On the Third Degree of Humility. 135 
 
 a youth in the workshop of Nazareth, in His 
 mature age when He appeared publicly, and at 
 His death on the Cross. His doctrine, His vir- 
 tues and His miracles were despised. He was 
 despised in His humanity and His divinity. No 
 one, therefore, can have the love of Jesus Christ 
 without the love of contempt. 
 
 Third excellence. — To suffer contempt silently 
 is the key to the Heart of Jesus and the opening 
 to union with Him. In vain do we seek Jesus 
 Christ without contempt. Neither prayer, nor 
 fasting, nor watching, nor any other exercise 
 suffices except dying to self and dying by con- 
 tempt. This alone is the spirit of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Jesus loves souls that thus die and no others; 
 these He enlightens, and to them He reveals 
 His secrets. He sweetens their troubles and 
 makes them find their delight in crosses. With 
 these He keeps up familiar intercourse and ad- 
 mits them to union with Himself. To them these 
 words of Holy Writ apply: " Behold ! I stand at 
 the gate and knock; if any man shall hear My 
 voice and open to Me the door, I will come in 
 to him and will sup with him and he with Me" 
 (Apoc. iii. 20). Are we not then foolish and in- 
 considerate in being troubled by contempt ? 
 Should we not ardently desire a good, which 
 Jesus prizes so highly ? 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 The love of honor must, therefore, die in my 
 soul, and that of contempt must live therein 
 
1 36 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 continually; otherwise I can never be interiorly 
 purified. Accept then, O God, the oblation 
 which I now make. 
 
 (1.) I detest and put away forever all love of 
 honor; I do not wish any one to be occupied 
 for a single instant with me in thought, or es- 
 teem, or love; supposing this should happen 
 against my will, I forego the pleasure which 
 may spring therefrom as something which is an 
 abomination in Thy sight. 
 
 (2.) I love and choose with all my heart the 
 state of contempt. Whatever may befall me in 
 it, through Thy mercy, I will for Thy sake bear 
 silently, and praise and bless Thee. 
 
 (3.) In Thy hands I place now whatever right I 
 may have to my honor and reputation. I will 
 care for it no more than if it were another's 
 good. Accept, O Jesus, this sacrifice; I will 
 renew it every day and in it I desire to live and 
 die. 
 Prayer to obtain the Spirit of Humility. 
 
 Without Thee, O Jesus, all my good desires 
 will vanish like smoke; without Thee I shall never 
 carry out my resolutions. Look, then, on me, O 
 dearest Jesus, with an eye of pity. Give me a 
 heart like unto Thine ! Grant that I may love 
 all Thou hast loved, and detest whatever Thou 
 hast detested. 
 
On the Mental Sufferings of Christ. 137 
 
 fHe&ttatton 1. 
 
 On the Mental Sufferings of 
 Christ in the Garden of 
 Gethsemane. 
 
 point I. 
 
 Christ has led the Way in Suffering all the 
 Mental Trials which are met with on the 
 Road to Perfection. 
 
 The adorable Heart of our dear Redeemer 
 suffered the most terrible anguish and distress. 
 Remember, however, that the Divinity gave 
 Christ as little assistance as the soul of one of 
 the elect gives its mouldering body. He has 
 suffered as He would have suffered had He been 
 a mere man like yourself. His first suffering 
 was overwhelming sadness. Its causes were 
 two-fold: The first was his ardent love for us 
 No mother ever loved her only child as tenderly 
 as Jesus Christ loved each one of us. The 
 second was His Omniscience. He foreknew that, 
 notwithstanding His passion and death, the 
 greater number of wretched mortals would be 
 eternally lost. Thence arose sadness so intense 
 that it alone would have sufficed to deprive Him 
 of life. Great was the sorrow of the heart- 
 broken mothers whose babes were butchered by 
 Herod's cruel order. Greater still that of Jesus 
 on foreseeing the countless millions that would 
 be lost forever. 
 
138 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 The second suffering of Christ was fear. The 
 expectation of death is a terrible torture. It has 
 happened more than once that when death was 
 announced to the young and healthy, their hair 
 became grey in one night through terror. The 
 soul of Jesus suffered far more from the fear of 
 His own death, because there never has been 
 one who could represent to himself, as Jesus 
 could, the impending death with its bitter ac- 
 companiments. 
 
 The third suffering of Christ was an inward 
 struggle. This struggle was between His human 
 and Divine nature. The former felt extreme 
 reluctance to suffer and die in this way, and 
 forced Him to cry out, " Father, if it be possible, 
 let this chalice pass away." It, however, over- 
 came this repugnance and revoked the first pe- 
 tition, in these words, " Not My will but Thine 
 be done." This struggle was so fearful that a 
 bloody sweat trickled down from His body and 
 ensanguined the ground on which He lay pros- 
 trate. 
 
 The fourth suffering of Christ was the agony 
 of death. Nothing more terrible can befall us 
 than the agony of death. A cold sweat bedews 
 our foreheads; our hands and feet become stiff 
 and torpid; we breathe by gasps, till our last 
 convulsive shudder. Let us look now at Jesus 
 in His agony. Instead of sweat, drops of blood 
 run down; He falls on the ground; His heart 
 throbs violently; He suffers, as it were, the 
 agony of death. He would have died thereof, 
 
On the Mental Sufferings of Christ. 1 39 
 
 had not an angel comforted and strengthened 
 Him, in order that He might consummate on the 
 Cross the sacrifice for the redemption of the 
 world. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Astonishment. — O Jesus, Thou wast plunged 
 in a sea of bitterness, of horror, of torment, of 
 agony and of desolation ! In this horrible con- 
 dition I behold in Thee the greatest constancy. 
 Thou didst lift up Thy hands towards Heaven 
 and pray; Thou didst submit to the will of Thy 
 Heavenly Father and prepare Thyself for Thy 
 death on the Cross. This is to love truly and to 
 seek nothing but the Divine pleasure. What are 
 my sufferings compared with Thine, most afflicted 
 Jesus ? And, nevertheless, how soon they over- 
 power me ! I am poured out on exterior things 
 and I am seldom recollected. I feel diffident of 
 Thy mercy. These are the unhappy fruits that 
 dereliction produces in my soul. I am filled 
 with confusion before Thee. Thou art inno- 
 cence itself and art overwhelmed with sadness. 
 I am a sinner and desire naught but consolation. 
 
 Resolution. — Jesus without a single sin is 
 sorrowful unto death, and I, after so many sins, 
 desire to be consoled until death. Henceforth 
 it shall be enough for me to please my blessed 
 Redeemer. Him alone will I seek. Him alone 
 will I love, in darkness or in light, in dereliction 
 or in consolation. 
 
140 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 The State of Dereliction is more profitable 
 to us than that of consolation. 
 
 What peace of mind would we not enjoy in the 
 midst of darkness and dereliction by remember- 
 ing how profitable this state may be to our dear- 
 est interests ! To have an idea of it, let us con- 
 sider the following truths: 
 
 First Truth. — The state of dereliction is more 
 agreeable to God than that of consolation. 
 When our minds are at peace, and devotion 
 swells our hearts, we are satisfied. How blind 
 we are ! A day of dereliction is incomparably 
 better than one of consolation, for, on this latter 
 day, God gives us something, but we give noth- 
 ing to God. He invites us to His table and al- 
 lows us to taste His sweetness. There is liber- 
 ality on the part of God towards us, and none 
 on our part towards Him. In consolation God 
 can find many souls that are faithful, but few 
 that are in dereliction. To be deprived of all 
 light and consolation, and nevertheless to perse- 
 vere fervently in prayer, and to be constant in 
 interior recollection, in mortification, and in 
 other exercises, while we are assailed and tor- 
 mented with temptations, is a sacrifice most 
 pleasing to God. 
 
 Second Truth. — The state of dereliction brings 
 the soul more safely and quickly to the perfect 
 love of God and union with Hkn than the state 
 
On the Mental Sufferings of Christ. 141 
 
 of consolation. To love God perfectly consists 
 in seeking in all things only His Divine will. 
 But what can lead us more securely thither than 
 the state of dereliction ? For a soul that is faith- 
 ful in this state deprives herself of all earthly 
 consolation, and God deprives her of all interior 
 consolation. Thus it becomes, as it were, cruci- 
 fied and dead to self and all creatures. When 
 the window-curtain is raised in a room the sun 
 pours into it rays of light and warmth. So it is 
 with the soul; as soon as it divests itself of all 
 attachments to creatures, God sends into it the 
 rays of His light and the heat of His love. How 
 desirable then is the state of desolation ! As 
 fire purifies gold, and consumes all dross, so the 
 state of dereliction purifies the soul, and destroys 
 in it every inclination to sin. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Oblation. — I behold Jesus in a state of dere- 
 liction, and sorrowful unto death. I also see 
 that the state of dereliction is extremely profita- 
 ble to me, for it brings me to union with Him. 
 Now, then, I offer myself wholly to Thee. O 
 Lord ! I am ready to be deprived of all com- 
 fort, whether it be from Heaven or earth, of all 
 light and of all consolation. I am ready to suffer 
 interiorly and exteriorly, and to bear with dark- 
 ness of mind abandonment and temptations as 
 Thou wiliest. My only consolation, henceforth, 
 shall be the accomplishment of Thy most holy 
 will. 
 
142 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 A Prayer to Obtain Fortitude. — I raise my 
 heart and hands to Thee, O Jesus, to implore 
 Thy mercy. To be deprived of all heavenly 
 consolations, and to seek none on this earth; to 
 feel only darkness in my understanding, only 
 dryness in my will and troubles in my heart, 
 and, nevertheless, to persevere fervently in 
 prayer; to be assailed by temptations, and yet 
 to lead a life of recollection and walk in Thy 
 presence; to feel nothing but bitterness and uni- 
 versal uprising of disorderly affections, and still 
 to be meek, gentle and charitable towards my 
 neighbor, is something very arduous. For so 
 great an undertaking special graces are needed, 
 and for these graces I turn to Thee, O dearest 
 Lord ! 
 
 Note. — In place of the Third Meditation of the day, one 
 of the preceding Meditations is to be repeated. 
 
SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 iHefcitatum 2. 
 
 On the Bodily Sufferings of 
 Jesus Christ while Hanging 
 on the Cross. 
 
 point I. 
 
 We can never suffer in Our Bodies what 
 Jesus has suffered in His Body. 
 
 To understand something of the greatness of 
 the pains which Christ felt we merely have to 
 consider the circumstances. 
 
 First circumstance. — The pains of Christ were 
 in every part and in every member of the body. 
 Look in imagination at His whole body. The 
 hair and beard torn out; His countenance dis- 
 figured; His eyes blood-shot; His cheeks swollen 
 with blows; His mouth shrivelled; His head 
 everywhere pierced with thorns; His hands and 
 feet bored through with nails, and His flesh 
 bruised and mangled all over. His whole body 
 was but one continued wound ! Isaias speaks 
 thus of the suffering of Jesus, " He hath borne 
 our infirmities and carried our sorrows, and we 
 have thought Him, as it were, a leper, and as 
 one struck by God and afflicted" (Isaias liii. 4). 
 
144 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 Second circumstance. — The pains of Jesus were 
 unspeakably cruel and incomparably greater than 
 those ever suffered by any man. Why so ? First 
 on account of the delicacy of His frame and the 
 tenderness of His flesh. " The body of our Lord," 
 says St. Bonaventure, " was more sensitive on the 
 sole of His feet than others are in the pupil of the 
 eye." Secondly. — The most sensitive parts of 
 the body were most cruelly tortured. The thorns 
 were so deeply forced into the head that they 
 penetrated and pierced through the flesh and 
 nerves. The nails were driven by violent strokes 
 of the hammer through hands and feet. Fear- 
 fully excruciating must have been the torment, 
 as the whole weight of the body hung for three 
 long hours from these nails. 
 
 Third circumstance. — The pains of Jesus were 
 without any, even the least, alleviation. He had 
 been hanging on the Cross for two hours; all but 
 a few drops of His blood was shed; His thirst 
 was so burning that He cried out for relief by 
 saying, "I thirst," and yet He was offered but 
 vinegar and gall to increase His torment. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Thanksgiving". — I know not, O Jesus, what to 
 think or say of this terrible scene. All this Thou 
 hast suffered on account of my sins. Faith teaches 
 this. Thy bloody sweat, being treated as a fool, 
 Thy scourging and crowning with thorns, and 
 Thy death on the Cross, all Thy sufferings, O 
 Jesus, were for my sins. All possible thanks, 
 
On the Bodily Sufferings of Jesus Christ. 145 
 
 my Saviour, for every drop of blood which Thou 
 hast shed for me; for all the ignominy, outrages 
 and insults which Thou hast suffered for my 
 sake; for all the pains and torments which Thou 
 hast endured on the Cross. 
 
 Resolution. — But mere thanks are not suffi- 
 cient. I must make Thee, O Jesus, a return for 
 Thy love. Here is now my irrevocable offering: 
 Thou foreknowest the pains, the troubles, and 
 the infirmities of the body that are preordained 
 for me. From this out I submit to all these 
 preordinances, and beseech Thee to carry them 
 out fully in my regard. Thou foreseest, O Jesus, 
 when and by what death I am to leave this world; 
 this appointment I humbly revere and accept. 
 Order the way, the manner, the place of my death. 
 One thing only I ask, and that daily, to die the 
 death of the just. I will suffer and die through 
 love of Thee, as Thou hast suffered and died 
 through love for me. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 Christ's Patience was as Wonderful as 
 His Pains were Terrible. 
 
 These circumstances will illustrate it fully: 
 1st Circumstance. Jesus bore in silence all 
 His pains. Holy Writ compares Christ to a 
 meek lamb; for as it allows itself to be shorn or 
 led to slaughter without resistance or cry, thus 
 also Jesus allowed Himself to be tormented and 
 
146 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 led to death without a complaint. Jesus's whole 
 body was fearfully mangled; He kept silence. 
 Jesus was crowned with thorns; He kept silence. 
 Jesus took the Cross on His shoulders and, 
 though extremely weak, had to drag' it along; 
 still He kept silence. His hands and feet were 
 dug with nails; He kept silence. " He was as a 
 dumb man not opening His mouth," says the 
 prophet (Ps. xxxvii. 14). Thus Jesus acted under 
 the most violent pains, and what do I do ? 
 
 2d Circumstance. Jesus suffered the pains 
 with meekness. There never has been one who 
 had better reasons to feel indignant than Jesus 
 on the Cross. He was hated by all. The hearts 
 of all who stood around were known to Him. 
 He saw in them only hatred and ill-will, and that 
 they were delighted with His pains. He was 
 mocked and insulted by the Pharisees and 
 Scribes. "Vah!" said they, "Thou that destroy- 
 est the temple of God, and in three days dost 
 rebuild it, save Thy own self; if Thou be the 
 Son of God come down from the Cross. He 
 saved others, Himself He cannot save. If He 
 be the king of Israel, let Him now come down 
 from the Cross, and we will believe Him" (St. 
 Matt, xxvii. 40-42). He suffers all with the most 
 perfect resignation and with the most ardent 
 love, so that He felt more keenly the perdition 
 of His enemies than His own pains, for He said 
 to the women, " Daughters of Jerusalem, weep 
 not over Me, but weep for yourselves and for 
 your children" (St. Luke xxiii. 28). 
 
On the Bodily Sufferings of Jesus Christ. 147 
 
 3d Circumstance. Jesus suffered the pains 
 with fortitude, and with the desire of suffering 
 more. Jesus hangs on the Cross, His whole 
 strength is exhausted, His pains have increased 
 to the highest degree. Look into His heart and 
 admire its fortitude. A two-fold love and a two- 
 fold desire burn in it. He loved His Heavenly- 
 Father, and desired to have more strength to 
 suffer still more for Him. He also loved us with 
 an infinite love, and therefore desired to live 
 longer and to suffer still more for us. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Self-Confusion. — What confusion comes over 
 me when I behold Thee, O Jesus, hanging on the 
 Cross ! How hast Thou sinned, O revered head 
 of my Redeemer, that Thou art pierced with so 
 many sharp thorns ? How have you sinned, O 
 beautiful eyes of my Saviour, that you are so 
 clotted with blood ? What have you done omni- 
 potent hands and feet, that you are so cruelly 
 perforated with nails ? What hast Thou done, 
 O most loving Heart, that Thou art pierced by 
 the lance ? My sins lacerated Jesus's body, my 
 sins nailed Him to the Cross, my sins caused His 
 death. 
 
 Acknowledgment and Resolution.— After 
 my sins have done this I will suffer nothing, I 
 will not even acknowledge that I have deserved 
 to suffer; but, by the light of Thy grace, I come 
 to know it now. There is no pain on earth 
 which I have not deserved; there is no torment 
 
148 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 
 in Hell which I have not merited. All I have 
 suffered, till now, is not enough to satisfy for one 
 sin. How unjust then are my murmurs and 
 complaints ! I always suffer less than I have 
 deserved. Henceforth I submit wholly to Thy 
 will, and I adore Thy appointments in the midst 
 of my sufferings. 
 
 flkbitation 3. 
 
 On the Affronts and Outrages 
 which Jesus Suffered. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 There never has been One and never will 
 
 there be one who suffered such affronts 
 
 and Outrages as Jesus Christ. 
 
 It is impossible to enumerate them all. Con- 
 sider some of them, and they will suffice to fill 
 you with confusion and to extinguish your 
 pride. 
 
 1st. False accusations. Without doubt nothing 
 is harder for a noble soul to bear than crimes 
 falsely imputed. Let us enter the courts of 
 Annas and Caiphas and hear the crimes attrib- 
 uted to Jesus. The witnesses are there, and 
 what do they say ? O unheard-of blasphemy ! 
 They say, He takes His repasts with notorious 
 sinners. He is a man of intolerable pride and 
 declares Himself to be God. He spreads impi- 
 
The Affronts and Outrages Jesus Suffered. 149 
 
 ous doctrines and misleads the people. He 
 works miracles by the help of Satan, and as a 
 sorcerer He has secret dealings. Thus the false 
 witnesses spoke of Jesus in the courts of the 
 high-priests, thus they shouted before Pilate's 
 tribunal, thus they cried out in the streets of 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 2d. The ridicule and mockery. — These impious 
 men were not satisfied with accusing Jesus as 
 a blasphemer, they also make Him out a fool. 
 He stands before Herod's tribunal. He keeps 
 silence. Therefore He must suffer affront. 
 "You think too much of this man," said Herod. 
 " He is a fool." At these words of the angry 
 king Jesus was clothed in a fool's garment, and 
 in this apparel He was led through the city 
 amidst the insults and blasphemies of a mocking 
 rabble. This was not the only affront, another 
 followed in Pilate's court. The soldiers, insti- 
 gated by the Jews who were in the crowd, made 
 sport of our Lord, heaping upon Him indignities 
 which Hell alone could suggest: they threw a tat- 
 tered purple garment on His shoulders, they put 
 a reed in His hand as sceptre, they pressed a 
 crown of thorns on His head, they gave Him 
 blows on the cheeks, they spat in His face, they 
 bent their knees in derision before Him. Heaven 
 was astonished at these insults, and the angelic 
 choirs wept. The multitude joyfully looked on 
 and by their sneers, laughter and joyful shouts, 
 increased the pains of Jesus. 
 
 3d. The iniquitous sentence of death. — Pilate 
 
150 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 led Jesus, whose innocence he well knew, before 
 the people, and at the same time he also brought 
 out Barabbas, and said, " Whom will you that I 
 release to you, Barabbas or Jesus, that is called 
 Christ?" Pilate believed that Jesus would be 
 preferred; they however cried out with one voice, 
 "Away with this man, release unto us Barabbas." 
 Who was Barrabas? A seditious man and a 
 murderer; for the Holy Scriptures tell us " that 
 he was for a certain sedition and for a murder 
 cast into prison." Then Pilate "released to them 
 Barabbas, and delivered Jesus unto them to be 
 crucified." This death was the most ignominious 
 and the most infamous; He was crucified be- 
 tween two robbers as if He was the most wicked. 
 Jesus drags up the Cross to Calvary amid the 
 scornful shouts and clamors of the high-priests, 
 and the blasphemous derisions of the Pharisees 
 and Scribes, amid the scoffing laughter and 
 mockery of an innumerable people, to fulfil the 
 words of the prophet, " I am a worm and no man: 
 the reproach of men and the outcast of the peo- 
 ple" (Ps. xxi. 7). 
 
 Pause here and reflect. 1st. Did God the Fa- 
 ther act unjustly in ordaining these outrages for 
 His only begotten Son ? No ! Jesus took upon 
 Himself our sins, and for these sins deserved all 
 He suffered. 2d. Would God treat you in justly 
 in appointing for you affronts and insults like 
 unto those of His only begotten Son ? No ! Sin 
 deserves it, and your conscience tells you that 
 you have sinned. If you believe that sins deserve 
 
The Affronts and Outrages Jesus Suffered. 1 5 1 
 
 such affronts and insults, what intolerable pride 
 then is it not on your part to refuse to suffer 
 through love for Jesus, since He, for the love of 
 you, suffered outrages so cruel ? 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Admiration of Jesus's Meekness. — O Jesus, 
 dear Redeemer, how wonderful is Thy meekness 
 and Thy humility ! Thou art the infinite wisdom 
 which governs Heaven and earth, and Thou didst 
 pass as a fool. Thou wast ridiculed as a mock- 
 king. Thou art infinite sanctity from which all 
 heavenly graces flow, and Thou wast deemed a 
 hypocrite, a Samaritan and a sorcerer. How 
 didst thou suffer these insults? Meekly, hum- 
 bly and silently. Thou didst submit to all of them 
 with the most perfect resignation and without 
 the least resistance. I will also henceforward 
 suffer and endure in silence. 
 
 Self-confusion. — How detestable in Thy sight 
 my pride must be ! I, one whose understanding 
 is so blind, wish to be thought wise, while Jesus 
 was clad in the garment of a fool and dragged 
 through the streets amidst blasphemous shouts. 
 I, whose heart is full of disorders, wish to be 
 honored, while Jesus was accused of being a 
 seducer and a blasphemer. I, who have not a 
 particle of solid virtue, desire to be loved by all 
 and to be preferred to others, while Jesus was 
 thought less than a murderer. How hateful 
 must this my pride be to Thee, O Jesus ! Have 
 mercy on me and put into my mind other thoughts 
 and into my will other affections. 
 
152 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 There never has been One, and never will 
 there be one, who suffered outrages and 
 Insults in the Manner in which Christ 
 suffered them. 
 
 Speaking of this the royal prophet says, " He 
 as a deaf man heard not, and was as a dumb man 
 not opening His mouth" (Ps. xxxvii. 14). These 
 words show us the depth of Chrises humility, 
 and we may well be filled with wonder at His 
 abasement. 
 
 1st. Christ was innocent. A thought never 
 arose in His mind, a word never came to His 
 lips, no act appeared in His life which was in any 
 way blamable. The crimes which were imputed 
 to Him were fabricated. 
 
 2d. Christ was omnipotent and infinitely wise. 
 In an instant He could have crushed His enemies. 
 Had He opened His lips His divine wisdom and 
 eloquence would have put them to shame. 
 
 3d. Christ was omniscient. He knew how 
 His enemies would misconstrue His silence, and 
 that they would not cease to persecute Him till 
 He was condemned to the most ignominious of 
 deaths. He knew that those nearest and dearest 
 to Him, His blessed mother and Apostles, would 
 have to suffer for it. He saw that on account of it 
 His miracles would be derided, His doctrine con- 
 demned, and His new Church most cruelly perse- 
 cuted. All these reasons could not move Jesus 
 
rhe Affronts and Outrages Jesus Suffered. 153 
 
 to speak in His own defence. He kept silence, 
 and He kept silence up to His last breath. What 
 wonderful silence is this, O Jesus ! What a pro- 
 found lesson it inculcates ! But, alas ! how few 
 are there who profit thereby ! Where are the 
 souls that, amidst contumely and affronts, keep 
 silence with Jesus ? They comply with every- 
 thing else; they pray, they meditate, they mor- 
 tify themselves; but to submit without complaint 
 to unreasonable demands, to keep silence when 
 ill treated, to love ignominy and humiliations, 
 this is a burden w T hich few shoulders can bear. 
 Unless we follow Jesus, who is the only way to 
 sanctity, we shall always remain little in His 
 eyes, always contemptible, always hopeless of 
 arriving at perfection. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Esteem and Love of Contempt. — How far 
 
 above the wisdom of the world is Thy doc- 
 trine, O Jesus ! In contempt and ignominy 
 Thou seest all that is beautiful, all that is lovely. 
 Hadst Thou spoken, Thou wouldst have had as 
 much honor as Thou hadst insults; but Thou 
 didst not long for honor but for outrages. I 
 will then henceforth have the same thoughts as 
 Thou hadst, love what Thou didst love, and re- 
 gard contempt as a means of crushing my great- 
 est enemy, pride, and of introducing Jesus into 
 my heart. 
 
 Compunction and Resolution. — What sacri- 
 fice can there be more pleasing to Thy Divine 
 
154 1 he Truths of Salvation. 
 
 Majesty than that of sacrificing my honor and ox 
 bearing contempt in silence? The period of my 
 life the richest in merit was not that in which I 
 felt tender devotion towards God, but that when 
 my best actions were criticised and blamed, and 
 when I was most despised and insulted. I have 
 then been deceived, O Jesus! I was troubled and 
 became sad when I should have rejoiced; I fled 
 from that which I should have sought; I mur- 
 mured when I should have assented. Henceforth 
 I will do as Thou didst do when the hour of 
 Thy ignominy came. Thou didst then say, 
 "that the wofid may know that I love the 
 Father, arise, let us go hence ,, (St. John xiv. 31). 
 This I will also say when contempt comes on 
 me: that Heaven and earth may know that I love 
 Jesus, let us arise and joyfully embrace con- 
 tempt. 
 
 mutation 4. 
 
 On the Love which Christ on 
 the Cross has shown for His 
 Enemies. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 The Love of Jesus was Wonderful on Ac- 
 count of the Circumstances and of the 
 Hatred and Rage of His Enemies. 
 
 Jesus hangs on the Cross; His whole body is 
 one wound; the pains are inconceivable. From 
 
The Love of Christ for his Enemies. 155 
 
 Him turn your eyes to those who surrounded 
 Him in thousands, young and old, of every class 
 and condition, Jews and Pagans, Pharisees and 
 Scribes, the ancients of the people and high- 
 priests. Few there were who took pity on Jesus; 
 all hated and persecuted Him. Consider now 
 the circumstances of this hatred and persecu- 
 tion. 
 
 The first was, the joy of His enemies. Jesus 
 was not a mere man, but a Man-God, before 
 whom all the hearts of those present lay open. 
 He knew their thoughts; He read their malice; 
 He saw their ill will while they shouted with joy 
 at beholding Him on the Cross. They kept say- 
 ing, This impostor deserved no better death; 
 they rejoiced at His torments, and anxiously de- 
 sired that His name might be forever blotted 
 out. All this Jesus saw, and saw it in those for 
 whose love He came down from Heaven, for 
 whose sake He wrought so many miracles, for 
 whose salvation He gave up His life on the 
 Cross. 
 
 The second was the scorn and the derision of 
 His enemies. We feel compassion for the most 
 wicked man in his death-struggle, we even pity 
 murderers on the scaffold, an universal silence 
 reigns, sympathy shows itself on the countenance 
 of the spectators. Quite otherwise was it with 
 Jesus. The more excessive His pains and tor- 
 ments on the Cross, the more unrestrained was 
 the scorn of His enemies. Vah ! some said, 
 Thou hast boasted to be able to destroy the 
 
1 56 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 temple of God, and in three days to build it up 
 again; show now Thy power and save Thy own 
 self. Vah ! said others, He always trusted in 
 God; let Him come now and deliver Him, if He 
 will have Him, for He said, I am the Son of 
 God. "Vah!" said the high-priests, "He saved 
 others, Himself He cannot save. If He be the 
 king of Israel, let Him now come down from the 
 Cross, and we will believe Him" (Matt, xxvii. 
 
 39)- 
 
 The third was the obstinacy of His enemies. 
 Jesus bore His pains with infinite patience. He 
 forgave His enemies and prayed for them to God, 
 His Father, with wonderful meekness. All na- 
 ture proclaimed His innocence and mourned. 
 The sun was darkened, the earth trembled, the 
 rocks split. All this the Jews saw, but did not 
 cease to persecute Jesus. They blasphemed, 
 mocked and cursed Him, and did so till His last 
 breath. It would have been a great consolation 
 for Him to foresee that, at least after His death, 
 their hatred would discontinue; but no ! He 
 foreknew that they would laugh to scorn the 
 miracles of the new law, that they would perse- 
 cute the Apostles who announced the Gospel, 
 that this stubbornness would last till their death, 
 and that they would blaspheme Him in Hell 
 forever. How hard, then, was it not, to love, 
 these impious and accursed men ? Behold on 
 Mount Calvary the multitude of wicked priests 
 who rejoiced that they had brought Jesus to 
 an ignominious death, of wicked Pharisees who 
 
The Love of Christ for his Enemies. 157 
 
 gathered together only for the purpose of insult- 
 ing Him in His pains, of wicked executioners 
 who nailed Him to the Cross. Has the world 
 ever seen men more deserving of hatred than 
 these ? Now turn your eyes to the Cross, and 
 see Jesus like an innocent lamb about to be 
 slaughtered. Heaven admires His meekness. 
 He prayed that the blood which He was shed- 
 ding might bring salvation to His crucifiers. 
 Consider now the persons whom you suppose it 
 is hard to love. Are they false witnesses, who 
 accuse you in the criminal courts ? Are they 
 inhuman beings, who have nothing to offer you 
 in your weakness but vinegar and gall ? Are 
 they bloodthirsty mortals, who wish to nail you 
 like Jesus on the Cross ? No ! They are per- 
 sons whose countenances are sometimes unkind, 
 and who sometimes speak roughly to you. It 
 cannot be very hard to love these your enemies, 
 since Jesus has loved His. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Self-abasement. — No injuries could lessen 
 Thy love, O Jesus ! There were before Thee 
 those who for years most malignantly hated 
 Thee, those who detested Thee as the most 
 wicked of men, those who ridiculed and mocked 
 Thee in Thy most excruciating torments; still 
 Thy love could not be abated, and no murmur 
 dropped from Thy lips, no vengeance dwelt in 
 Thy heart, but of all Thy enemies there was not 
 one for whose salvation Thou didst not offer Thy 
 
158 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 blood, so great and generous was Thy love. 
 And how is mine ? Alas ! It is not a love which 
 deserves the name. An unfriendly look, an un- 
 kind word, a trifling offence, suffice to weaken it 
 or to extinguish it entirely. 
 
 Contrition. — Then I am without love; I 
 whom Jesus had chosen out of so many thou- 
 sands to follow Him; I who willingly secluded 
 myself from the whole world and chose Thee 
 for my spouse; I who have meditated daily on 
 Thy example, and after so many years of re- 
 ligious life, after so many graces and heavenly 
 lights, after so many means and occasions to 
 practise love, lam without love. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 The Love of Jesus was Wonderful on Ac- 
 count of the Circumstances of His Love. 
 
 The first circumstance was the time when 
 Christ prayed for His enemies. 
 
 Jesus on the Cross had to speak to His Hea- 
 venly Father to commend Him His spirit. He 
 had to speak to his beloved mother, to give her 
 over to the care of His dear disciple, St. John. 
 He had to speak in His extreme thirst to His 
 crucifiers. He spoke to none of these. The 
 first words which He uttered were for his ene- 
 mies: " Father, forgive them." 
 
 The second was that the malice of His enemies 
 continued, notwithstanding His ardent love for 
 them. 
 
The Love of Christ for his Enemies. 159 
 
 Jesus might have waited till His enemies would 
 have acknowledged their guilt and humbly asked 
 pardon. Ah ! Jesus would have done so had His 
 love been like yours. I love and I pardon them, 
 said Jesus, while I hear their mockeries; this 
 very moment, while I have to bear their insults, 
 w T hile I actually feel their rage and fury, I par- 
 don them. I offer up My blood for them. 
 
 The third was the excuse which Jesus made 
 in His prayers. 
 
 The Jews had committed the most horrible 
 crime against Jesus. The miracles which they 
 saw, His innocence, which even Pilate acknowl- 
 edged, the accusations which they forged, proved 
 their crime. But what were the words of Jesus's 
 prayer ? " Father, forgive them, for they know 
 not what they do." As if He said, " O Father, 
 I do not say they have not sinned, but their 
 malice is not so great; it is ignorance on their 
 part; had they known Me, they would never have 
 treated Me thus. Pardon them, therefore, as I 
 pardon them; love them as I love them." How 
 wonderful was this love of Jesus for His enemies! 
 Gaze on Jesus on the Cross, and learn from Him 
 to love as He loved. What was there in His 
 enemies to make Him love them ? Human na- 
 ture, which from childhood is always prone to 
 evil. He, therefore, loved them and had com- 
 passion on them. He saw in them a soul He had 
 created to His own image and called to everlast- 
 ing bliss. He desired, therefore, that this noble 
 creation of His should not be deprived of eternal 
 
160 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 happiness. In their treatment of Him, He saw 
 the will of His Heavenly Father. For this rea- 
 son He loved them, and willingly accepted all 
 the sufferings which they inflicted on Him. 
 Lastly, He saw the multitude of sins which He 
 had taken upon Himself, and which the Divine 
 Justice through His enemies was punishing in 
 Him. He loved them, therefore, and offered for 
 them this beautiful prayer. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Compunction. — I now see, O Jesus, the reason 
 why it has been so difficult for me to love those 
 who have offended me. Had I always regarded 
 them as instruments by which the Divine Justice 
 was punishing my sins, how many acts of per- 
 fect love would I have already practised ! My 
 heart would now be more like unto Thine, O 
 Jesus ! My confusion allows me neither to speak 
 nor to look up to Thee. I confess my guilt, and 
 humbly ask Thy pardon. Alas ! O Jesus, I have 
 often meditated on the lofty example of Thy 
 love, I have often admired it, but I have never 
 imitated it. 
 
 Resolution and Supplication. — What then 
 shall I do henceforth, O Jesus? Through Thy 
 grace I now have different sentiments. I have 
 again made a different resolution. I have a dif- 
 ferent will. I shall with all my heart love those 
 who have offended me. I shall meekly and si- 
 lently beai with their faults. Thus Thou, O 
 Jesus, hast loved, and thus must I also love. 
 
The Love of Christ for his Enemies. 161 
 
 Thou art the only teacher of true love. I entreat 
 Thee, therefore, by the wonderful meekness with 
 which Thou hast pardoned Thy enemies, by the 
 endearing and affectionate prayer which Thou 
 didst offer for them, and by the precious Blood 
 which Thou didst shed for them, to give me a 
 love which embraces all mankind on account of 
 Thee, and to bear all that Thou sendest me 
 through others for my salvation. 
 
 END OF THE THIRD WEEK. 
 
 The soul is beginning to be prepared for union 
 with God. We have now arrived at the impor- 
 tant time on which everything in spiritual life 
 depends. We must come to the determination 
 to follow closely Jesus Christ, and to bear with 
 Him in silence interior dereliction and desolation, 
 bodily sufferings, abuse and calumny, hatred 
 persecution. The one who has not the cour- 
 age to walk in this way shall never find God, 
 much less arrive at His pure and perfect love. 
 Consider, therefore, attentively the following 
 truths, and resolve at last to walk this road 
 with your crucified Redeemer, and to persevere 
 in it as long as it pleases His Divine Majesty. 
 
 First Truth. — The way of suffering is the royal 
 road to sanctity. The end for which the only 
 begotten of the Father came on earth was two- 
 fold. The first was, to offer for our sins a sacrifice 
 worthy of the infinite majesty of God. The 
 second was, to be for us the model of the highest 
 
1 62 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 sanctity. To gain this two-fold end Jesus chose 
 the way of suffering, which, beginning at the crib 
 in Bethlehem, continued to His last breath on 
 the Cross. 
 
 Second Truth. — The way of suffering is most 
 profitable. There are two things which God re- 
 quires of a soul before admitting it to union with 
 Himself, entire purity of heart, and perfect 
 virtue. The way of suffering is the most suitable 
 for this purpose. Purity of heart is acquired by 
 suffering in a very short time, for in it the soul 
 finds nothing to give it delight save God alone, 
 and the accomplishment of His holy will. It 
 learns, therefore, to withdraw itself by degrees 
 from creatures, to despise all earthly consolations, 
 and centre all its affection on the supreme good; 
 consequently the way of suffering is best adapted 
 to the acquirement of perfect virtue. 
 
 Third Truth. — The w r ay of suffering is the 
 safest road to sanctity. Consolations have de- 
 ceived many; suffering has deceived no one. 
 Souls there were that were favored w T ith hea- 
 venly lights and seemed to lead holy lives; but as 
 they were not grounded in humility and other 
 virtues, all these extraordinary graces came to 
 naught. This the " Following of Christ" illus- 
 trates: " Some have ruined themselves upon oc- 
 casion of grace of devotion. They became needy 
 and were left in a wretched condition, who had 
 built themselves a nest in Heaven, to the end 
 that, being thus humbled and impoverished, they 
 might learn not to trust to their own wings, but to 
 
The Love of Christ for his Enemies. 163 
 
 hide themselves under Mine" (iii. B., Chap, vii., 
 2). But those who walk in the way of suffering 
 have nothing of this sort to fear. 
 
 Having well pondered on these truths, con- 
 sider now the exercises of the way of suffering. 
 
 First Exercise. To imprint deeply on your soul 
 by frequent meditation certain maxims to en- 
 courage you in the time of suffering. These 
 maxims are: I can never suffer as much as I 
 ought for God. I merit by suffering an infinite 
 good. I can never suffer as much as Jesus Christ 
 suffered through love for me. I can never suffer 
 as much as I have deserved for my sins. 
 
 Second Exercise. To silently bear the petty 
 adversities which daily occur. 
 
 1st. Whenever you have to suffer, reflect on 
 one of the above maxims. 2d. With pure inten- 
 tion offer up what you have to suffer to God. 
 3d. Speak not of your suffering to any one. 
 
 Third Exercise. To offer yourself up to God 
 as a holocaust as long as the suffering lasts. For 
 this purpose be always perfectly resigned to the 
 Divine will; throughout the day renew this act of 
 submission. Patiently await the time which God 
 has ordained for your deliverance. These are the 
 virtues in the practice of which the true imita- 
 tion of Christ consists. I know you have re- 
 solved to acquire them. Offer them yourself to 
 your crucified Lord in the following manner: 
 Joy itself is sorrowful unto death. Innocence 
 itself is pronounced guilty. God hangs on the 
 Cross between two robbers; and all this Thou 
 
164 The TrutJis of Salvation. 
 
 didst suffer for me; for me the blood streams 
 from Thy sacred wounds; for me Thou didst 
 undergo all the tortures of Thy bitter death. 
 Yet, O Jesus, I do not love Thee. What is the 
 reason of this ? I love myself too much; I do not 
 wish to do violence to myself; I cannot bear to 
 suffer. Shall I never die to myself ? I have de- 
 served to live in everlasting flames, and I cannot 
 stand the least adversity. I have deserved to 
 live in endless despair, and I cannot endure in- 
 terior dereliction and aridity. I have deserved 
 to be forever rejected and abhorred by all crea- 
 tures, and I cannot suffer the least contempt. I 
 have deserved to dwell eternally among repro- 
 bates and demons, and I cannot put up with the 
 slightest faults of my neighbor. From this day 
 out I promise to endeavor to resemble Thee, O 
 Jesus ! I will henceforth walk boldly in Thy 
 footsteps. Only by dying with Thee can I live 
 with Thee. 
 
THE FOURTH WEEK. 
 The Unitive Way. 
 
 This day comprises the fourth week of the 
 spiritual exercises. On the first day we medi- 
 tated on our last end and resolved to seek it, cost 
 what it might. To gain this end three things are 
 necessary: 
 
 ist. To bewail our sins, extirpate our evil in- 
 clinations, and keep our hearts pure and unsul- 
 lied. This was the first week's task. 
 
 2d. To follow Christ and strenuously endeavor 
 to acquire the virtues which His doctrine and ex- 
 ample point out. This was the second week's 
 work. 
 
 3d. To love suffering and contempt. No 
 one can attain to virtues without overcoming 
 great difficulties and entirely dying to one's self; 
 for this reason we meditated on the sufferings 
 and death of Christ, and resolved to follow Him 
 closely. This was the duty of the third week. 
 
 When the soul dies entirely to self, it attains to 
 the perfect love of God, in which our end on 
 earth consists. Consequently, to-day we begin 
 by the meditation on the Resurrection of our 
 Lord; that by considering so great a happiness, 
 we may despise earth and all earthly things, 
 renew the resolutions which we made, and be- 
 come thereby fit to enter into close friendship 
 and union with God. 
 
1 66 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 JUrirttaticm 1. 
 
 On the Resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 The Happiness of His Resurrection was as 
 Great as the Bitterness of His Suffering 
 was Terrible. 
 
 Christ's sufferings were of four kinds: excru- 
 ciating pains in His sacred body, extreme sad- 
 ness in His soul, insults and outrages on His 
 honor, and the inveterate hatred of His enemies. 
 Let us now consider what wonderful happiness 
 arises thence. 
 
 ist. Jesus rose with a dazzling beauty of body. 
 To understand this somewhat, reflect on these 
 two points: The glorified body of an elect is of 
 such transcendent beauty that it would enlighten 
 the earth more than the sun in its midday bright- 
 ness. And were the beauty of all the elect in- 
 fused into one body, this united beauty would 
 be naught compared to that of Jesus Christ's 
 body. And yet this is the same body which a 
 
On the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 167 
 
 few days ago was frightfully disfigured, and 
 cruelly maltreated. 
 
 2d. Jesus rose with inconceivable joy in His 
 soul. Were the bitterness of His soul's suffering 
 poured into as many hearts as there were on 
 earth, all hearts would have been broken with 
 grief. In like manner should the joy, which His 
 blessed soul felt, be poured into the hearts of all 
 who have ever been on earth, its great sweetness 
 would take away the life of all. 
 
 3d. Jesus rose with infinite glory to His honor. 
 Angels descended from Heaven to witness the 
 triumph of His resurrection. Jesus is now their 
 King. He is the joy. of the patriarchs, all adore 
 and bless Him as their Redeemer. He is the 
 Judge of the living and the dead, before whom, 
 one day, all the nations of the earth shall 
 appear and either willingly or unwillingly pay 
 homage to His glory. He is the head of the 
 elect; they praise Him forever. Jesus is all this 
 to-day; the Jesus whom Herod derided as a fool; 
 the Jesus whom the soldiers insulted as a mock- 
 king; the Jesus who was nailed on the Cross as 
 a malefactor. 
 
 4th. Jesus rose with the fruition of universal 
 love. I say nothing of the love with which on 
 the day of the Resurrection the angelic choirs 
 were inflamed, and nothing of the love of the 
 holy patriarchs. I speak only of the love with 
 which all the elect shall always burn, for they 
 will praise and love Him forever. 
 
1 68 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Rejoicing at the Glory of Jesus Christ.— 
 
 Now the hour of suffering is past, O Jesus, the 
 day of joy has come. Thy sacred body shines 
 more brightly than the sun, and is the delight 
 of Heaven. Thy soul is inebriated with joys. 
 Thy honor is exalted. Thy name magnified in 
 Heaven and on earth. Thou art the centre of 
 the elect which those who are on earth in- 
 cessantly and ardently seek. I rejoice at this 
 glory and at this happiness. I congratulate 
 Thee on this bliss. 
 
 A Desire of the Same Happiness. — Oh, what 
 happiness shall it be for me to rise one day in a 
 similar manner ! Who can describe what it is 
 to see Thy most beautiful countenance, O Jesus ; 
 to hear from Thy lips words of love; to love 
 Thee and to be loved by Thee, and always to be 
 with Thee ? O happy day ! I ardently long 
 for thee, O Paradise, and yet how little do I do 
 to obtain thy eternal happiness ! 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 Holy Thoughts and Resolutions that arise 
 from the Meditation on the Resurrection. 
 
 First Thought. — As Christ rose gloriously 
 from the dead, so one day you shall rise glori- 
 ously if you follow Him. " Know God hath 
 raised up the Lord, and will raise us up also by 
 His power" (i Cor. vi. 14). 
 

 On the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 169 
 
 Second Thought. — As Jesus by His Cross and 
 suffering obtained the glory of the Resurrection, 
 so you cannot have a like glory otherwise than 
 by crosses and suffering. This same Apostle 
 likewise teaches, " Be mindful that the Lord 
 Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. A faithful 
 saying: If we be dead with Him, we shall live 
 also with Him; if we suffer, we shall also reign 
 with Him" (2 Tim. ii. 8, 11, 12). What will you 
 think of the afflictions and sorrows of life when 
 this beautiful day shall dawn ? O, blessed 
 crosses ! will you say, blessed tribulations and 
 blessed contempt that have procured for me this 
 glory ! 
 
 Third Thought. — The more like to Jesus in suf- 
 ering you shall be the more like to Him will you 
 be in the resurrection. Hear once more the Apos- 
 tle: " Knowing that as you are partakers of the 
 sufferings, so shall you also be of the consola- 
 tion" (2 Cor. i. 7). Mark well these words "as," 
 "so;" they mean, the greater the pains you suffer 
 with Jesus the greater the joys of your res- 
 urrection. The more insults and outrages you 
 undergo on earth with Jesus the greater will 
 be the glory of your resurrection. Are not then 
 pains, insults and outrages the most efficacious 
 means to sanctity and the sweet pledge of your 
 future resurrection ? And you feel miserable 
 and think yourself unhappy when they befall 
 you. How blind you are ! Should you not then 
 raise your hands and eyes to Heaven and thank 
 God ? Who are they who despise you and are 
 
1 70 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 the cause of your grief and adversity ? Are 
 they not those through whom God fulfils His 
 merciful designs; those who make you conform- 
 able to your crucified Lord; those who increase 
 your glory in Heaven — in short, are they not 
 your best friends ? 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 An Act of Faith. — Jesus has risen from the 
 dead. He now enters into His glory, and enjoys 
 in soul and body uninterrupted bliss. This I be- 
 lieve, and moreover if I follow Jesus I shall also 
 rise triumphantly from the dead, enter the hea- 
 venly mansions, and live -forever in glory. There 
 I shall receive the reward of all my sufferings: 
 for a momentary pain, eternal happiness; for 
 one insult, eternal honor; for a brief moment of 
 sadness, eternal joy. 
 
 Compunction. — True it is that God recom- 
 penses each humiliation, insult and contempt 
 with a crown of glory. I have forfeited by my 
 pride and vanity many thousands of these 
 crowns. True also that for each interior deso- 
 lation God bestows a special degree of happi- 
 ness. How many degrees have I lost by my 
 cowardice and tepidity ? 
 
 On the Love of God. 
 
 God's infinite goodness towards us, and His 
 infinite goodness in Himself attract us power- 
 fully to the love of Him. 
 
 
God is Infinitely Good towards us. 171 
 
 fUeirttation 2. 
 
 God is Infinitely Good towards 
 
 us. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 God Deserves to be Loved on Account of 
 His being Infinitely Good to Us here on 
 Earth. 
 
 1st. As God, being eternal, had no beginning, 
 His paternal affection for us had no beginning 
 either, being from all eternity. " Let us, there- 
 fore, love God, because God first hath loved us " 
 (1 John iv. 19). 
 
 For us He created Heaven and earth; the 
 earth as a dwelling-place for our present transi- 
 tory life, and Heaven as an abode for our 
 future eternal life. He has loved and has loved 
 us so ardently that for our salvation He shed 
 on the Cross His blood even to the last drop. 
 Throughout eternity there has not been an in- 
 stant in which He has not thought of us, in 
 which He was not determined to die for us, to 
 make us participate in all His glory and in all 
 His felicity. 
 
 2d. Let us call to mind the many graces God 
 has conferred on us. We need only consider 
 the mystery of the Incarnation; it will suffice to 
 prove how liberal God was to us. A servant of a 
 
172 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 mighty sovereign had stolen from his master a 
 hundred thousand dollars. He was convicted 
 and condemned to prison for life unless some 
 one would reimburse the stolen money. A gen- 
 erous man who had but this precise sum paid 
 the whole amount and set the prisoner free; 
 but by this act of charity he became poor and 
 had to earn his bread by the sweat of his 
 brow. What wonderful love was not this ? 
 When, pray, did this happen ? Who was the 
 miserable prisoner, and who the merciful deliv- 
 erer ? Let us briefly reflect, and we shall have 
 the answer. 
 
 3d. Let us suppose we see Hell opened, and 
 many millions of reprobate souls in the midst 
 of the devouring flames. Christ descends from 
 Heaven and frees one of these damned souls, and 
 reunites it with its body, granting it time for 
 penance. How astonishing would be this act 
 of mercy ! This reprobate deserved Hell more 
 than the others. What special love must Jesus 
 have for this soul ! This is our own case. Thou- 
 sands in Hell have committed fewer sins than 
 we; they have not abused as many graces as we; 
 they have not remained tepid as long as we; 
 nevertheless they are lost, and lost forever, and 
 we live and enjoy graces in abundance. May 
 we not say of ourselves what the Jews said when 
 they saw Jesus weeping over Lazarus, " Behold 
 how He loved him" (St. John xi. 36). 
 
God is Infinitely Good towards us, 173 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Admiration of the Love of God. — Nothing 
 astonishes me more than Thy love for me, O 
 merciful Redeemer! Thou lovest me and hast 
 loved me with an eternal love. "Yea, I have 
 loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore 
 have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee" (Jer. xxxi. 
 3). Thou lovest me with an unbounded love, 
 and to what did this love bring Thee ? Thcu 
 didst become a little child, Thou didst lead a 
 painful life on earth, finally Thou didst die an 
 ignominious death on the Cross. Thou didst 
 love me with a patient love. I have committed 
 a multitude of sins, I have abused so many 
 means, and all this could not lessen Thy love. 
 Thou lovest me yet, and Thou lovest me with a 
 love as tender and affectionate as if I had never 
 offended Thee. I should then love Thee, O 
 Lord, my God, with my whole heart, and with 
 my whole soul, and with my whole strength 
 (Deut. vi. 5). For Thou deservest that I should 
 love Thee with an infinite love, if I could. 
 
 Compunction and an Act of Love. — How 
 ungrateful then have I been in not loving Thee, 
 
 God, with my whole heart ! My Father ! My 
 all ! I had a liking for any one who rendered 
 me a slight service, and I have not loved Thee 
 who gave me all that I have and all that I am. 
 
 1 was fond of the person who spoke kindly to 
 me and did nothing else, and I have not loved 
 God who died for me. Thou hast conquered 
 
174 Tlie Truths**of Salvation 
 
 me at last, O Jesus ! I am thine, exclusively 
 Thine, and Thine forever. I will henceforth 
 love Thee and Thee alone, and love Thee the 
 more ardently the later I begin. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 God Deserves to be Loved on Account of 
 His being Infinitely Good to Us Here- 
 after. 
 
 What does God intend to give us in the next 
 world ? Himself. O incomprehensible Good- 
 ness ! What does this mean ? 
 
 ist. To possess God means to arrive at the 
 goal of all our desires. As soon as the soul 
 leaves the body, it clearly sees by Divine light 
 that God alone is its sovereign Good and its 
 greatest felicity. From this light arises a vehe- 
 ment longing to enjoy this supreme Good. God 
 satisfies the desire and unites intimately to Him- 
 self the soul that has been faithful to Him, so 
 that it is inebriated with unspeakable delights. 
 
 2d. To possess God means to see and love 
 God. Throughout eternity the soul shall see in 
 Him new wonders of His Omnipotence, His 
 Goodness, His Beauty, and of all His other per- 
 fections; so that it will be ravished and eternally 
 transported with delicious sweetness, and forever 
 feel fresh ecstasies of love. 
 
 3d. To possess God means to possess infinite 
 happiness. The happiness we shall enjoy in 
 Heaven is no other than that of God Himself. 
 
God is Infinitely Good, towards us. 175 
 
 We shall taste the very joys, delights, sweetness 
 which God Himself has. How great will be 
 this happiness ! One degree of it would be suf- 
 ficient to make the reprobate forget their pres- 
 ent pains. 
 
 4th. To possess God means to be loved by 
 God with infinite tenderness. He never regards 
 the soul otherwise than as a child that He loves 
 tenderly; as a vessel of predilection into which 
 He desires to pour out all the treasures of His 
 bounty; as a spouse in whom He takes infinite 
 complacency. As He is infinite Power, which 
 immeasurably surpasses all human power, so He 
 is infinite Love, which infinitely exceeds all en- 
 dearments of human love. 
 
 5th. To possess God means to be happy as 
 long as God is happy. What is the happiness of 
 God ? A happiness without end, without inter- 
 ruption, and without diminution. All these at- 
 tributes your happiness will have. It will be a 
 happiness without end. As long as eternity 
 lasts, so long shall it last. It shall be a happi- 
 ness without interruption. For as He is infinite 
 Beauty, there will always remain an infinite 
 variety which you have not yet seen; as He is 
 an infinite Goodness, there always remains an 
 infinite ocean into which you have not yet 
 plunged. It shall be eternal happiness without 
 diminution. 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 An Act of Love. — My only and sovereign 
 Good, my God, how blind have I been ! What 
 
1 76 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 can I do to make a return for such astonishing 
 love ? Behold me, my God, prostrate before 
 Thee, I offer Thee my heart. I love Thee, and I 
 love Thee with my whole soul, with my whole 
 mind, and with all my strength. I hate and de- 
 test all affections and inclinations which are not 
 for Thee. As long as I live I will always prefer 
 Thy honor, Thy will and Thy pleasure to every 
 worldly satisfaction and worldly interest. 
 
 Desire to Love God Perfectly.— Should I 
 love Thee as I have resolved, what would be this 
 love compared to Thine ! Did I possess all the 
 love of the Elect, I might have something to re- 
 pay Thy love. O my God and my Lord, have 
 mercy on me ! Show forth this hour Thy omni- 
 potent power by completely changing my heart. 
 I ask and desire nothing else but Thy love ! 
 
 fUeiritation 3. 
 
 God is Infinitely Good in Him- 
 self. 
 
 POINT I. 
 
 God Deserves to be Loved because He is 
 the Supreme Good. 
 
 On this foundation the perfect love of God is 
 based. We must love God because He is the 
 sovereign Good, and deserves, on account of 
 
God is Infinitely Good in Himself. 177 
 
 Himself alone, infinite love. What do these 
 words God is the supreme Good mean ? They 
 mean that God is a Being who has all perfec- 
 tions; a Being who has them in an infinite de- 
 gree; a Being who possesses and enjoys them of 
 Himself. In order that we may form an idea of 
 God as far as it is possible on earth, we have 
 merely to contemplate a few of these perfections. 
 
 Notwithstanding our most vivid representa- 
 tions of God's goodness in Himself, it will be as 
 incomprehensible for us as the course of the 
 stars to a child. 
 
 1st. God is Infinite Beauty. 
 
 (1.) The Blessed Virgin beholds the beauty of 
 God more than all angels and saints together; 
 and for this reason her glory, joy and happiness 
 are greater than theirs combined. Let us sup- 
 pose God begins this instant to illuminate her 
 mind, and permits her to see twice as much of 
 His beauty as she has seen until now; the suc- 
 ceeding moment He imparts to her a new light, 
 that she may see twice as much of His beauty as 
 she had seen at the first moment; and God con- 
 tinues so for a thousand years, for a hundred 
 million of years. Will the Blessed Virgin then 
 see the whole beauty of God ? No, there will 
 remain of it as much as there is water in all the 
 oceans of the world after one drop has been 
 taken out. 
 
 (2.) The number of the angels is many thou- 
 sand millions, and the least among them has a 
 beauty such that no mortal could behold it with- 
 
178 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 out dying of joy. Let us now imagine God to cre- 
 ate an angel who unites in himself the beauty of 
 all of them. How dazzling would be his beauty ! 
 But still it would be infinitely less than the beauty 
 of God. 
 
 2d. God is an Infinite and Almighty Power. 
 All the men who ever were and ever shall be on the 
 earth till the last day amount to many hundred 
 thousand millions. What an immense multi- 
 tude ! On the last day the trumpet of the arch- 
 angel will sound in the four corners of the earth. 
 " In a twinkling of an eye" the bodies of all de- 
 parted human beings will arise. The souls that 
 animated these bodies shall return into them, 
 and these many hundred thousand millions shall 
 thus revive at these few words, "Arise, ye 
 dead." 
 
 3d. God is Infinite Love. 
 
 God's infinite love is proved: 
 
 (1.) By His bearing with sinners so patiently. 
 He sees them committing the greatest crimes 
 every day, every hour, every instant, murders of 
 every sort, blasphemies, perjuries, sins that cry to 
 Heaven for vengeance, and sins that bring mor- 
 tals to the level with or even below brutes. And 
 what does God do? He preserves their lives, 
 and lavishes on them every day new benefits. 
 And as if he stood in need of them, He, by His 
 enlightenment and by His grace is constantly 
 inciting them to " cease to do perversely, and to 
 learn to do w r ell," (Isa. i. 16, 17). 
 
 (2.) By receiving sinners so magnanimously. 
 
God is Infinitely Good in Himself. 179 
 
 Let us represent to ourselves a person a hun- 
 dred years old, who has never thought of God 
 during his whole life, never spoken of Him, but 
 to blaspheme Him, never done anything for God 
 but to offend Him. Can he still have any hope 
 of pardon ? Hear and be astonished, ye heavens! 
 This impious wretch in the agony of death says, 
 "OGod, infinitely good, I confide in Thy infinite 
 mercy; I am heartily sorry for all my offences, 
 and humbly ask Thy pardon." The pardon 
 shall be instantly granted. " Neither the mag- 
 nitude of your sin," says St. Cyprian, " the brevity 
 of your remaining term of life, nor the extreme 
 need of your last moments, can exclude you from 
 the friendship of God. His infinite love and 
 compassion embrace all who return to Him." 
 
 (3.) By rewarding the just so munificently. 
 Here is this poor miserable human being, who 
 during a whole life has done naught of good, 
 save this single act of true repentance. What 
 reward will God give Him ? The possession of 
 Heaven and the vision and enjoyment of His 
 infinite beauty forever and ever. "He shall set 
 him over all that He possesses." 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Confusion and Astonishment. — O my God, 
 Thou art a Good that possesses all perfections in 
 an infinite degree, a Good that deserves to be 
 loved with an infinite love. This I admit, this 
 I believe. How comes it, then, that my heart is 
 cold, insensible and unmoved ? I even hate what 
 
180 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 might infuse into it something akin to love. I 
 acknowledge and see my misery. O Lord God, 
 how long shall I be poor and miserable ? 
 
 Resolution and Compunction. — I only be- 
 gin to love Thee when I die perfectly to myself, 
 and to all created things. I therefore now abom- 
 inate all the sentiments, all the affections, all the 
 words, and all the works of my life which were 
 not for Thee. Thy love shall henceforth be the 
 object of my thoughts, the aim of my desires, 
 and the motive of my works. But, O my God, 
 though this resolution is sincere, I cannot carry 
 it out without Thy strengthening grace. Cast, 
 therefore, Thy merciful eyes on me. Remember 
 that Thou didst create me merely that I might 
 love Thee; remember that Thou didst shed Thy 
 blood for me that I might be inflamed with Thy 
 love. Destroy in my heart everything that op- 
 poses this love, and kindle therein its flames. 
 
 POINT II. 
 
 God Deserves to be Loved, because He is 
 the Only Good. 
 
 Neither in Heaven nor on earth, neither in angel 
 nor in man, nor in any created being, does there 
 exist anything which does not proceed from God. 
 Survey the universe and all it contains: the dif- 
 ferent kinds of trees, fruits, flowers, and plants ; 
 the beasts on the earth, the birds in the air, the 
 fishes in the seas. From the earth raise your 
 eyes to Heaven: contemplate the wonders which 
 
God is Infinitely Good in Himself. 181 
 
 are there; see the sun whose rays dispense light 
 and heat; the course of the stars, and far above 
 them the everlasting home of the Elect. From 
 these irrational creatures turn to mankind and 
 consider the various gifts with which they are 
 adorned, their diverse qualities, natural and su- 
 pernatural. Afterwards behold in imagination 
 the angelic spirits and their companions in glory, 
 the Saints. View with wonder their heroic acts, 
 their merits, their sanctity, their glory, their 
 magnificence and their happiness. Then say to 
 yourself: 
 
 (i.) Where were these countless millions of 
 the noblest creatures a few thousand years ago ? 
 They were all in the abyss of nothingness, and 
 they would have remained there had not God in 
 His infinite bounty and omnipotence drawn them 
 thence. All their beauty, their sanctity, and 
 their goodness is only a ray which issued from 
 the source of all good, God. Thus faith teaches. 
 This we believe, and therefore should be con- 
 vinced that God deserves to be infinitely loved. 
 Reason tells us this. Whatever is good deserves 
 to be loved in proportion to its goodness. God 
 is an infinite good, therefore He deserves to be 
 infinitely loved. Hence I may infer that if I do 
 not love God with all the powers of my soul, I 
 d© not love Him as I ought, and I act contrary 
 to my obligation if I admit an affection which 
 is not for Him, if I perform a work which is not 
 according to His will, and if I do not carry out 
 the designs of His Fatherly providence. 
 
1 82 The Truths of Salvation, 
 
 AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Confusion. — O my God, I acknowledge and 
 see what Thou deservest, and in what true love 
 consists. A soul that burns with Thy love gives 
 up all attachments to creatures, and tolerates not 
 a single*affection which proceeds not from Thee, 
 and goes not back to Thee. It does nothing but 
 what is pleasing to Thee. It suffers everything 
 for Thee, and resists not Thy ordinances. It 
 gives itself entirely up to Thee, and throws itself 
 with loving confidence into the arms of Thy 
 providence. 
 
 An Act of Love and Oblation. — I can make 
 amends for all by great and constant fervor. 
 Away then with cowardice ! Why can I not do 
 what so many youths in the bloom of their lives, 
 what so many maidens with the extreme delicacy 
 of their age have done? "I can do all things," 
 says St. Paul, " in Him who strengthened me" 
 (Phil. iv. 13). This I also say confiding in Thee, 
 O my God, my Strength and my All ! Accept 
 then, O Lord, and take to Thyself my entire 
 liberty, my memory, my intellect, and my will, 
 all that I have and own. It is Thyself, O Lord, 
 who hast given all this to me, and I now give it 
 back to Thee; all is Thine own property, dispose 
 of it as Thou pleasest. Give me only Thy love 
 — give me Thy grace — and that is enough for 
 me. 
 
 Petition. — Come, therefore, O Holy Ghost ! 
 Thou art love itself, and the source of the Divine 
 
God is Infinitely Good in Himself. 183 
 
 fire which burns in the Saints. Thou art sanctity 
 itself, and the fountain of all the efficacious 
 graces in souls. Thou drawest their affections to 
 heavenly things. Descend then to-day into my 
 heart, cleanse it from all imperfections and en- 
 kindle in it the fire of Thy Divine love. " Com- 
 pel my rebellious will to Thee." Do me violence, 
 I shall not resist; I ask for Thy love, and to 
 obtain Thy love I am ready to do and to suffer 
 all that Thou wiliest. 
 
Self-Examination. 
 Jntrobnctorg llemarka. 
 
 With God's grace, you acknowledge your im- 
 perfections, and are displeased with them; you 
 have a sincere desire to die to yourself and to 
 all creatures; you long for union and an intimate 
 familiarity with Him; you desire to experience 
 the effects of perfect love which He grants to 
 those who seek Him with a pure heart. If de- 
 sires of this sort inflame not your heart, why 
 did you embrace a religious life ? Why did you 
 come hither ? I came to save my soul, you say. 
 But had you not means for this in the world ? 
 If you aim not at perfection, if you strive not for 
 a higher virtue than that of pious people in the 
 world, why did you leave it ? But, thanks to the 
 infinite goodness of God, you have other thoughts 
 now 7 , your heart desires true sanctity. I must, 
 therefore, show T you the path, and you ought to 
 enter on it, and continue in it faithfully and 
 generously. 
 
 For this purpose two things are required. 
 
 i st. You must examine your heart, and search 
 into it to find out all your imperfections, all your 
 evil tendencies, till you clearly see in what state 
 your soul is. This must be done during the time 
 which spiritual writers call the Purgative Way. 
 
Self-Examination. 185 
 
 2dly. After you know well your present state, 
 you must proceed further in your holy under- 
 taking, and so regulate your life as to have a 
 fair hope of arriving at your proposed end — per- 
 fection and sanctity; then you enter on what 
 ascetic writers term the Illuminative and the 
 Unitive Ways. 
 
 When the hour of self-consideration has ar- 
 rived, put yourself in the presence of God, offer- 
 ing it to Him with the purest intention of His 
 greater glory and your own spiritual advantage, 
 and beg earnestly the grace of reforming, ac- 
 cording to His most holy will, all that is imper- 
 fect in your soul. Then begin the examination. 
 Pause very often, without listening to the voice 
 of self-love; consider in the sight of God how 
 you have acted until now. Write down your 
 faults. You will thus soon clearly see how im- 
 perfect your soul is, how deeply rooted its 
 inordinate affections, what degree of virtue you 
 have acquired, what increase of the love of God 
 and your neighbor. In short, you will see how 
 your soul stands before God. And then, end 
 by making an Act of Contrition, offering to your 
 crucified Saviour your resolutions, asking Him, 
 through His most precious blood, the grace to 
 carry them into effect faithfully. 
 
 A thorough knowledge of the actual state of 
 your soul is the most necessary preparation to 
 regulate the future. For if you take one clear 
 and full view of the sins, the imperfections and 
 the bad inclinations, of the abuse of grace, of 
 
1 86 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 your tepidity and carelessness in the practice of 
 virtue, it is hardly possible not to be filled with 
 confusion, not to acknowledge your ingratitude 
 to God, and to feel exceedingly contrite for the 
 many sins of your past life. Hence will spring 
 true detestation of sin, an humble confession and 
 a perfect reconciliation with God. Moreover, 
 at the time of the spiritual exercises there never 
 fails a particular and powerful movement of 
 grace, so that those who do co-operate will eager- 
 ly press forward in the way of virtue. 
 
 Enter, therefore, seriously into yourself, ex- 
 amine every corner of your soul, with determi- 
 nation such as would be needed to destroy your 
 most implacable enemy. Represent vividly to 
 yourself the state of your soul, and look at it 
 until, through horror, you begin to despise and 
 hate yourself thoroughly. 
 
 An examination made superficially produces 
 neither sorrow nor amendment of life; but an 
 earnest and long-continued scrutiny of the soul 
 and its whole load of sins and imperfections is 
 apt to bring on an entire amendment of life. 
 
 What I have just said of the importance of 
 self-examination, applies likewise to the mani- 
 festation of conscience to Him who directs your 
 soul. There is in the direction of souls no par- 
 ticular on which their progress in virtue more 
 depends. Even the most experienced spiritual 
 director can be deceived if you do not clearly 
 unfold your whole self. Almighty God may, to 
 punish you, deny your adviser the necessary 
 
Self -Examination. 1 87 
 
 light; on the other hand, when there is holy sim- 
 plicity and sincerity, heavenly light will hardly 
 be wanting to a spiritual director. 
 
 You must, however, carefully avoid falling 
 into a mistake that frequently occurs. Some 
 souls that truly attain to the knowledge of their 
 interior by a retrospective view of their past 
 sins and imperfections, become sad beyond 
 measure, lose confidence in God, grow timid - 
 and cowardly, and lastly, fall into a state 
 bordering on despair. They turn thus to their 
 own destruction this only means of amendment. 
 But, thanks be to God, it is never too late, 
 where there is a resolute will. Why ? you may 
 ask. Because God is Omnipotent. He can 
 strengthen our weakness, how great soever it 
 may be. He is infinitely good, and refuses His 
 grace to nobody who trusts in Him. He is 
 infinitely merciful, and looks no longer on our 
 former state of life, if we earnestly desire to 
 amend. Thus think of God, guard against the 
 least diffidence in Him; by doing so you will 
 overcome the greatest impediment to your 
 amendment. 
 
 True, God gives to the Christian soul the 
 graces necessary to arrive at perfection, but 
 with a certain measure. He prepares for it the 
 fittest means, but in a limited number; He 
 grants life, but only for some time. If all this 
 is let pass by without fruit, then He withdraws 
 from the soul. He may not, perhaps, cast it 
 from Himself forever, but He considers it un- 
 
1 88 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 worthy of being conducted to union and sanc- 
 tity. Then darkness ensues in the mind, aridity 
 in the will, a life without consolation, a death 
 troubled with fear and anxiety, lastly pains of 
 Purgatory according to the rigor of His justice. 
 In this retreat, perhaps, your measure of heav- 
 enly graces has been filled up; these, perchance, 
 are your last means of arriving at sanctity; it 
 may be these hours of self-consideration are the 
 last of your life. The abuse of grace so long 
 continued should justly terrify you. Waken, 
 then, at once and earnestly employ every mo- 
 ment of the acceptable time. Hear the Apos- 
 tle: " Whilst we have time let us work good*' 
 (Gal. vi. 10). 
 
 " Rise thou that sleepest, and arise from the 
 dead, and Christ shall enlighten thee" (Ephes. 
 v. 14). 
 
 FIRST DAY. 
 
 Examination on Purity of Heart. 
 
 The great master of spiritual life, St. Francis 
 de Sales, says: " The first step for those who wish 
 to arrive at purity of heart is to be free not only 
 from mortal but also from venial sin. The 
 second is that not even an inclination to venial 
 sin should remain in their hearts." 
 
 We will now examine the various degrees of 
 purity of heart, and then you can see in what 
 degree you are. 
 
 The first degree is not to commit easily such 
 
Self -Examination. 1 89 
 
 venial sins as by their nature lead to mortal 
 ones. 
 
 To foster any inordinate affection, when we 
 are conscious that dangerous temptations arise 
 from it, would be a sin of this kind. Not to 
 suppress the first emotion or attack of impure 
 thoughts, to play with them and to be negligent 
 in banishing them, would be a sin of this nature. 
 Another sin of this sort would be to recall to 
 mind vividly some former injury received, and to 
 dwell on it with indignation, when we know 
 from experience that it excites in our soul great 
 anger and hatred. There would be a like sin 
 to give occasion knowingly and willingly to 
 grievous temptations, either by curiosity of the 
 eyes or in any other way. 
 
 I call this degree the lowest because these 
 species of venial sin are the most dangerous. 
 We cannot remain long in this degree: either we 
 endeavor to avoid these sins, and thus ascend to 
 a higher degree, or we lose this degree and fall 
 into mortal sin. 
 
 They who without remorse commit venial 
 sins, and even boast of them as virtues, have 
 not reached the second degree. They tell their 
 confidants all that they have heard of fellow 
 religious, and warn them to be on their guard 
 against them; they persuade others not to be 
 silent on such and such an occasion, but to show 
 their spirit by not allowing such a stretch of 
 authority and the like. This they call true 
 charity. They inspire others with fear, repre- 
 
190 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 hend them, and censoriously impose silence by 
 usurped authority; in acting thus, they look 
 upon themselves as zealous in promoting God's 
 interests and their neighbor's welfare. They 
 speak only of the faults of others, rake up and 
 retail forgotten or new misdeeds, denounce the 
 too great freedom of this or that one, or their 
 love of comfort, and so on. This they call 
 spiritual conversation. Some complain, without 
 remorse, of the Superior's way of acting, criti- 
 cise their decisions, find fault with this and with 
 that. This they imagine is love of discipline. 
 Others listen willingly to those who detract or 
 calumniate, encourage and increase their slan- 
 derous disposition, manifest great sympathy for 
 them, and thus inflame their indignation, and 
 this they pretend is charity. 
 
 Souls subject to these faults are either fear- 
 fully blind, or terribly malicious. For either 
 they are or are not conscious that they sin. If 
 they are not conscious they are in great blind- 
 ness, and indeed in such blindness that during 
 their whole life they place a barrier between 
 themselves and Almighty God. If they are 
 conscious of sinning and still persist, then they 
 are terribly malicious, because exteriorly they 
 praise as a virtue what their conscience con- 
 demns as a vice. 
 
 They who entertain an affection for venial 
 sins have not ascended the third degree. There 
 are generally two sorts of these sins. The first 
 is knowingly and willingly to entertain an in- 
 
Self -Examination. 1 9 1 
 
 ordinate inclination for a person or thing, and 
 never truly before God to rid themselves of it, 
 nor to make any serious attempt to banish it 
 entirely from their hearts. The second is, to 
 harbor deliberately a feeling of indignation or 
 aversion for others, to allow no occasion to pass 
 of letting them feel it, and to make little or no 
 effort to divest themselves of such sentiments. 
 As long as a soul adheres to these affections, so 
 long it continues incapable of acquiring virtue 
 even in a moderate degree. 
 
 Those souls have not yet reached the fourth 
 degree who, although they entertain no inordinate 
 inclination to sinful objects, still keep up certain 
 bad habits of venial sins. Such bad habits are: 
 1st. To criticise without sufficient cause the 
 conduct of others, and to misinterpret their 
 words and actions. 2d. To introduce into con- 
 versation the imperfections of their companions, 
 to make known their secret failings, and to speak 
 of them with contempt. 3d. To murmur and 
 complain about everything and show dissatisfac- 
 tion. 4th. To backbite and carry tales, and thus 
 create dissension. 5th. To grow impatient in 
 difficulties, and let harsh words escape them. 
 6th. To be lukewarm in spiritual exercises, and 
 willingly to harbor distractions. 7th. To become 
 sad beyond measure in adverse circumstances, 
 to grow faint-hearted and to lack confidence. 
 
 Even pious souls may be subject to some of 
 these faults; we will find very few whose purity 
 of heart is not tarnished by some of these de- 
 
192 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 fects. True, in confession they accuse them- 
 selves of them over and over; but what is the 
 use? where the amendment? Tell me whence 
 comes the privation of heavenly light at the 
 time of meditation ? whence the aridity and in- 
 sensibility in prayer? whence the difficulty in 
 the exercise of the presence of God ? whence the 
 lack of Divine graces, which otherwise flow so 
 copiously into pure hearts ? The cause is easily 
 found; one alone of these bad habits is sufficient 
 to draw down upon you these punishments. 
 
 Those ascend the fifth degree who are at all 
 times disposed to undergo the most painful 
 suffering rather than willingly to offend God by 
 a venial sin, but they do not persevere in this 
 resolution. In truth, some pious souls pro- 
 test before God their willingness to persevere in 
 their good resolutions; but, their bad inclinations 
 not being entirely subdued, the flow of grace is 
 not so copious and continued as is required for 
 such a high degree of perfection. They often 
 swerve from their course, and hardly a week 
 passes without their offending God venially once 
 or twice. This state is incomparably superior to 
 the fourth degree, but by no means sufficient to 
 experience the effects of pure love. 
 
 The sixth degree consists in being truly so dis- 
 posed as to be ready at any moment to suffer 
 the most excruciating torments rather than to 
 offend God by a venial sin, and in being de- 
 termined to persevere in this resolution. Thus 
 was the holy and seraphic Catharine of Genoa, 
 
Self -Examination. 193 
 
 who often exclaimed, " O my Lord and my God, 
 I would let my body be torn into a thousand 
 pieces, rather than offend Thee by the least sin." 
 
 We may know that our soul is in this happy 
 state by two signs. The first sign is for us to 
 pass whole months without our conscience re- 
 proaching us with a deliberate venial sin. The 
 second is, if we have committed one, to feel as 
 much sorrow and compunction as if we had 
 been guilty of a heinous crime. The heart which 
 is thus disposed is prepared for union with God. 
 
 The seventh and highest degree is, not only not 
 to commit a venial sin deliberately, but rarely to 
 fall into venial sin, and then only through incon- 
 sideration and frailty. There are only few souls 
 that by continual mortification and by a special 
 grace of God have attained this wonderful purity 
 of heart. They walk the whole day in the pres- 
 ence of God, and no idle thoughts find room in 
 their hearts. They are dead to all inordinate 
 affections, and consequently they are able to re- 
 press the first impulses of them. They have a 
 heartfelt charity towards all; they harbor no 
 suspicions, think no evil of their neighbor; they 
 are masters of their tongue, none but edifying 
 words escape from their lips. Thus they walk 
 and cherish in their hearts a purity which we 
 ought to call heavenly rather than earthly. 
 
 Such was the soul of the saintly Father 
 Lancicius, who, in his written account of con- 
 science, given by order of his Superior, ac- 
 knowledged: 1st. That for a great many years 
 
194 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 no suspicions, no angry or other sinful thoughts 
 had found place in his heart. 2d. That for the 
 space of forty years he never violated the rule 
 of silence. 3d. That for the same number of 
 years he never felt an emotion of an inordinate 
 affection, or a temptation against purity. 4th. 
 That during the space of forty years he never 
 felt a desire of vain honor and esteem. 5th. 
 That for the same length of time he entertained 
 for all men a tender and sincere love, and that he 
 had for his persecutors no feeling of anger, but 
 a sincere love and an ardent desire to do all 
 good to them. 
 
 This is indeed a purity worthy of admiration. 
 Here pause and examine again one degree after 
 another. Bear in mind that this self-examen is 
 the most important part of a religious life. All 
 spiritual exercises whatsoever are not sufficient 
 to bring you close to God, unless you reach the 
 last degrees of purity of heart. 
 
 SECOND DAY. 
 
 One cannot attain to union with God unless 
 the heart be entirely purified; but purity of 
 heart can only be acquired by perfect mortifica- 
 tion of all inordinate affections. Even one evil 
 inclination is sufficient to crowd the soul with a 
 multitude of venial sins, and to render it unfit 
 for the love and communion with God. A clear 
 understanding on this important point is requisite 
 for a fair start. Spiritual writers treat this sub- 
 
Self -Examination, 195 
 
 ject at great length, but I will confine myself to 
 those inordinate affections which are the fertile 
 source of others and do great harm to the soul, 
 viz.: inordinate love, desire of esteem and honor, 
 sloth, sadness, anger and false zeal. 
 
 Examination on Inordinate Love. 
 
 According to St. Francis de Sales, love is 
 threefold: natural, supernatural and sinful. 
 Natural love is respect and esteem, even affec- 
 tion for persons because they are blest with ex- 
 traordinary talent and amiability. This love is 
 neither meritorious nor sinful; it is indifferent 
 unless it be exalted and rendered meritorious 
 by higher motives. Supernatural love is a love 
 of persons in God and for God, because God 
 loves them as His children, and wishes you also 
 to love them. This love is excellent and holy. 
 Sinful love is an inordinate love for persons on 
 account of unworthy motives. 
 
 Let us now examine only the last-mentioned 
 kind. 
 
 Effects of Inordinate Love. 
 
 First effect. — It alienates the heart from God, 
 attaches it to created things. A soul that know- 
 ingly and willingly entertains this love will in a 
 short time undergo a dreadful change. It will 
 feel a vehement inclination for creatures, and 
 equal insensibility towards God and God's in- 
 terest. It feels happy only in the presence, and 
 is miserable in the absence of its idol. As the 
 
196 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 conversation with the beloved person is full of 
 pleasure, the Communion with God is replete 
 with disgust. Prayer is interrupted by perverse 
 thoughts, recollection of mind becomes insipid, 
 and we can quickly see that God does not wish 
 to dwell in a heart in which preference is given 
 to creatures. 
 
 Second effect. — It contaminates and defiles the 
 heart with innumerable sins. Whoever yields 
 to it opens the door to countless failings. How 
 many sinful thoughts and delights, how many 
 inordinate desires, how many idle words, how 
 much murmuring and backbiting, how many 
 calumnies and feelings of aversion are to be 
 found in those w r ho nourish in their hearts this 
 inordinate love. 
 
 Third effect. — It deprives them, in a great 
 measure, of the fruits of holy Communion. True 
 conscience clamors loud enough, upbraiding 
 them for their conduct, and telling them that their 
 life displeases God; but as they love their cap- 
 tivity, they will not free themselves. Whenever 
 they make an Act of Contrition they say it so 
 coldly that they themselves perceive its insuf- 
 ficiency to burst through the chains that bind 
 them. They approach the table of the Lord and 
 brkrg-*& their Saviour a heart full of imperfec- 
 tions which causes Him disgust. No wonder, 
 then, that God pours so few graces into such 
 impure vessels. 
 
 Fourth effect. — It exposes the soul to the im- 
 minent danger of losing the grace of God. To 
 
Self -Examination. 1 97 
 
 foster an inordinate love in the heart for some 
 time, and not to fall into grievous sin, is just as 
 rare as to carry a serpent in one's bosom and not 
 be bitten. They are on the verge of mortal sin. 
 The reason of this is two-fold: First, inordinate 
 love naturally causes great and dangerous temp- 
 tations. Secondly, it deprives of the Divine assist- 
 ance those who seek the danger and remain 
 therein notwithstanding interior inspirations. 
 
 Mortification of Inordinate Love and its 
 Degrees. 
 
 First degree. — To keep the heart free from all 
 inordinate affection. Spiritual persons ought 
 not to entertain a tender or foolish love for 
 any person, nor have a particular intimacy with 
 any one, nor even occupy their minds by the 
 thought of others; they must have their hearts 
 free and not enslaved, so that nothing may dis- 
 tract them at prayer. 
 
 Second degree. — To cherish for another only a 
 supernatural love. This is a high virtue and re- 
 quires a great recollection of mind. Its practice 
 consists in these two points: 1st. Whenever you 
 converse with a person whom you tenderly love, 
 you must purify this feeling and change this 
 natural love into supernatural by making an 
 Act of perfect Love of God. 2d. Observe the 
 same rule whenever you feel this foolish tender- 
 ness for absent persons. 
 
 Third degree. — So to purify your love for 
 others that the love of God may not only have 
 
198 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 the preference, but perfect dominion in your 
 soul. We may love, and even tenderly, but the 
 love of God must always be superior to every 
 other affection. You must, therefore, prefer to 
 have the persons whom you love enemies rather 
 than to break, through love for them, a single 
 rule or be guilty of any imperfection. 
 
 Thus St. Augustine and St. Frances de Chan- 
 tal loved. They both wept and they wept out 
 of tenderness of love; St. Frances for the death 
 of her spiritual father, and St. Augustine for the 
 death of his holy mother Monica. But it is cer- 
 tain that St. Augustine would not have raised 
 St. Monica to life, nor St. Frances her spiritual 
 father, for they clearly knew that their loss was 
 the will of God. 
 
 Fourth degree. — In the person whom you love 
 to see nothing and to love nothing but God. A 
 soul that has come to this high degree possesses 
 great heavenly light, by which it sees God in all 
 creatures and in them loves Him alone. If you 
 hold intercourse with persons blest with natural 
 and supernatural graces, you ought to see God 
 in them, how bountifully He pours out His gifts 
 on them; then with yourw T hole heart you should 
 esteem, love and praise in them nothing but 
 God. If others do you any good, you should 
 think that it was God who inspired them with 
 this good wish to benefit you, and that He uses 
 their benevolence to bestow on you this favor. 
 In this way you may see, love and praise God 
 alone in others. 
 
 . 
 
Self -Examination. 1 99 
 
 "This is rare," says St. Francis de Sales. "We 
 consider the benefits without thinking of God, or, 
 if we think of Him, we remember at the same 
 time the friend, and so mix him up with God." 
 
 Concluding this examination, we can safely 
 say that supernatural love for our neighbor in its 
 entirety is found in very few souls, because 
 there are very few who love God in their neigh- 
 bor, and their neighbor for God alone. 
 
 THIRD DAY. 
 
 Examination on the Desire of Esteem and 
 Honor. 
 
 We are going to attack an enemy who has 
 subjected to his domineering rule the greater 
 part of mankind. We give over our hearts 
 almost entirely to him, perfectly satisfied to 
 allow him to rule over them with absolute con- 
 trol and in undisturbed peace. To banish thence 
 this deadly foe and to enthrone therein humility 
 is an undertaking in which only a few courage- 
 ous souls dare to engage. Honor is so enticing 
 for the mind and heart of man as not to be 
 spurned without a great victory over ourselves, 
 and it is not without much ado that we can put 
 aside our senseless notions on this point. All 
 who have not courage enough to do themselves 
 violence, will fruitlessly engage in this combat. 
 What have you done up to this ? Has pride been 
 your victor and you its victim ? 
 
200 The Truths of Salvation, 
 
 Signs of the Love of Honor. 
 
 First sign, — To have a great esteem of one's 
 self. This is the peculiar effect of this deplora- 
 ble passion. Religious who are subject to it 
 believe that their talents, their prudence, their 
 way of acting, and their virtues are such that no 
 one can justly find any fault therein. They 
 foolishly imagine that every one should esteem 
 them, they think that they are fit for every office. 
 It is their due and theirs alone. All that is im- 
 portant belongs to them by right. Others in 
 their estimation are devoid of all talents, utterly 
 wanting in prudence, and are thoroughly mean 
 and contemptible. Those who are thus dis- 
 posed pompously swell with pride, and are in 
 fact an abomination before God. 
 
 Seco?id sign. — To love exceedingly and ear- 
 nestly to seek esteem and honor. All who are 
 thus besotted have an immoderate desire of 
 praise. They wish to be preferred to others, 
 and if it does not happen they become exceed- 
 ingly sad. They rejoice when others are repre- 
 hended and humbled. They are afflicted when 
 others are praised and exalted. They neglect 
 much good and commit much evil to please 
 men. 
 
 Third sign. — To fear humiliations, to fly from 
 them, or to bear them reluctantly. The slight- 
 est humiliation, how little soever it may be, dis- 
 turbs proud and ambitious persons. A com- 
 mand or an office which seems to them not 
 
Self -Examination. 20 1 
 
 honorable enough, a reprimand or censure of 
 their conduct, a look of contempt, the least sus- 
 picion under which they fall, a harsh word, a 
 contradiction, a sour countenance, a refusal is 
 enough to trouble them. This is an infallible 
 sign that pride is their master, master of their 
 minds, master of their hearts. Hear what St. 
 Francis de Sales says: " Those who complain of 
 cross words must be very tender indeed, because 
 only words were uttered which died away im- 
 mediately. I am much displeased when I hear 
 religious say they have been offended by an 
 abusive expression, for there is a great differ- 
 ence between the buzz and the sting of a bee. 
 We must be extremely delicate, and have ears 
 amazingly sensitive if we cannot bear the hum 
 of a fly/' 
 
 Fourth sign. — To be too much troubled and 
 grieved at contempt and injuries. There are 
 occurrences which are very painful to human 
 nature; as suspicions, false accusations, detrac- 
 tions, public humiliations, abuse and contempt. 
 If religious become sad and afflicted and mur- 
 mur thereat, it is an evident sign that their cor- 
 rupt nature is not yet overcome, and that the 
 love of honor is deeply seated in their hearts. 
 The greater their sadness, the greater their 
 trouble and confusion, the deeper are the roots 
 of pride. 
 
202 The Truths of Salvations 
 
 Mortification of this Inordinate Desire 
 and its Degrees. 
 
 First degree. — To contemn all esteem and love 
 of men, and to judge one's self as truly un- 
 worthy of honor in the sight of God. An humble 
 soul must infallibly believe that whatever is 
 good in it is entirely the work of Divine mere)'; 
 therefore, not to it but to God all praise by right 
 belongs. It must be fully convinced that in itself 
 it is naught but nothingness and sin, and that 
 consequently contempt is its due. " Humility,'' 
 says St. Francis de Sales, " makes us like poor 
 beggars who think themselves the most con- 
 temptible and meanest of all mortals." 
 
 Second degree. — To hate all praise and all es- 
 teem of men, and if possible fly from it. We 
 should never seek human praise, and when, nev- 
 ertheless, it is given us, we must interiorly have 
 a real horror of its emptiness. We must always 
 desire the lowest place, and rejoice when others 
 are preferred. We must live to God in secret, 
 and conceal our good works from the eyes cf 
 men. " If God, by His grace," says St. Francis 
 de Sales of himself, " has made me fit to prac- 
 tise some works of holiness, and used me as an 
 instrument to do some good, I would wish on 
 the day of judgment, when all the secrets of the 
 heart shall be revealed, no one but God alone to 
 know them, and, on the contrary, all men to 
 know my wickedness." 
 
 Third degree. — To bear without trouble false ac- 
 
Self -Examination. 203 
 
 cusations, suspicions, rash judgments, calumnies, 
 abuse and contempt. Those who love humility 
 are not surprised at wrongs done them. They be- 
 lieve they are treated justly, and bear these with 
 calmness and resignation. This is the saying of 
 St. Francis de Sales, " Who is he that sins not, and 
 who in consequence deserves not punishment?" 
 If this punishment is inflicted, let us think that 
 we have offended God, and that it is very just 
 that a creature as an instrument of His justice 
 punishes us. These three degrees are necessary 
 to arrive at union with God. 
 
 Fourth degree. — To accept and suffer wrongs 
 with joy. " Oh, how pleasing would afflictions 
 be/' says St. Francis de Sales, "if we had truly 
 a desire of salvation ! How precious would 
 such occasions be, because they furnish us with 
 the means of practising humility, a virtue so 
 pleasing to God." 
 
 FOURTH DAY. 
 
 Examination on Sloth and Sadness. 
 
 Besides the inordinate love and desire of 
 honor, there are two other evil tendencies which 
 sorely trouble not a few and hinder the whole 
 work of perfection unless they be entirely ban- 
 ished from the soul, viz., sloth and sadness. 
 Truly, the more harmless these two appear the 
 more they injure. 
 
204 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 Sloth. 
 
 Sloth is a certain languor and dejection of 
 spirits which are the cause of one either omit- 
 ting the works necessary to perfection or per- 
 forming them negligently. From this vice rise 
 many grievous evils. The greatest of them is 
 that the soul in consequence loses all relish for 
 spiritual things, regards the best and holiest 
 resolutions and even sanctity itself as something 
 unattainable by human weakness, and therefore 
 passes all its days in continued tepidity. 
 
 Signs of Sloth. 
 
 First sign. — To feel a loathing and disgust for 
 religious exercises. Sloth is for the soul what 
 sickness is for the body. A sick man is not fit 
 for any labor, undertakes it with great difficulty, 
 and cannot continue it through lack of strength. 
 A slothful soul feels thus indisposed. It looks 
 on the hour of prayer as an hour of torment; it 
 begins it reluctantly and cannot keep up its 
 fervor but for a few brief moments, through dry- 
 ness of heart and distractions of mind, and con- 
 sequently it anxiously awaits the end. The 
 examen of conscience is neglected altogether or 
 at most is superficial, confession is either in- 
 sincere or without contrition, and Communion 
 without devotion. 
 
 Second sign. — To perform the spiritual exer- 
 cises without profit. Though slothful religious 
 have gone through them over and over, not a 
 
Self -Examination, 205 
 
 habit of venial sin is corrected, not a single evil 
 inclination weakened. They are as impatient 
 and uncharitable towards others, as obstinate 
 and disobedient to Superiors, as slanderous and 
 as irritable as ever. 
 
 Third sign. — Always to make new resolutions 
 and to keep none. This occurs quite frequently. 
 The slothful are constantly forming resolutions 
 to practise humility, but they soon give up the 
 work, and they remain as proud and as little 
 able to bear contumely tranquilly and joyfully 
 as before. Completely tired of the practice of 
 humility, they try the practice of meekness. 
 This they relish no better, when they perceive 
 that they can bear no wrong done by others 
 without evident uneasiness. The perpetual re- 
 straint required for the rooting out of bad 
 habits is something too trying for sloth. The 
 consequence of the continued changing is that, 
 after twenty or thirty years' trouble, they have 
 no more virtue than in the beginning. 
 
 Fourth sign, — To lead an idle life. Souls sub- 
 ject to this shameful vice have in themselves 
 little spirituality. They live without recollec- 
 tion and without the thought of the presence of 
 God, they hate silence, talk whenever and wher- 
 ever they can, utterly forgetful of interior prog- 
 ress. In all their employments they are so 
 negligent that they cannot be trusted with any- 
 thing of importance. St. Francis of Assisi 
 even calls them gnats and flies, because they do 
 nothing else than to hurt and annoy others. 
 
206 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 "The kingdom of Heaven," says Christ, " suffer- 
 eth violence, and the violent" — not the slothful 
 — "bear it away" (St. Matt. xi. 12). 
 
 Mortification of Sloth and its Degrees. 
 
 First degree. — To be pleased with the spiritual 
 exercises, and to perform them with great fervor. 
 Prayer is to a religious what water is to the fish. 
 A fish cannot live without water, nor a religious 
 without prayer. Truly religious persons never 
 go to prayer without preparation, are never 
 guilty of voluntary negligence, never shorten 
 the time of meditation; they are indifferent to 
 dryness or consolation, to aridity or devotion. 
 Their fervor is the same at all times and under 
 all circumstances. 
 
 Second degree. — To perform these exercises not 
 only with fervor and devotion, but also with 
 advantage to themselves. They who earnestly 
 seek God, seek in prayer neither particular 
 lights nor consolations, but only the amendment 
 of their lives and progress in virtue. When 
 they meditate, they take the resolution to prac- 
 tise on the day such and such a virtue; they 
 also carry out this resolution. When they con- 
 fess, they direct their intention to some venial 
 sin or other, in order to free themselves entirely 
 from their disorderly affections. They receive 
 for the same purpose. This is to be devout in a 
 practical way. 
 
 Third degree. — To persevere in this resolution 
 until the sin ceases, Where there is an earnest 
 
Self-Examination. 207 
 
 will there must be constancy. An example of 
 this is given by St. Francis de Sales, who gradu- 
 ally arrived at such a degree of meekness that 
 every one was astonished. But he spent twenty 
 years in mastering his natural quickness of tem- 
 per. 
 
 Fourth degree. — To lead an interior, recollected 
 and supernatural life. In truly religious per- 
 sons there can be found no idleness, either in- 
 teriorly or exteriorly. They perform every 
 work with an actual good intention. They look 
 upon all adversities as appointments of God, 
 and humbly submit to them; they turn all their 
 thoughts on God, and keep themselves in con- 
 tinual recollection. 
 
 Sadness. 
 
 Love of God and sadness cannot exist to- 
 gether. Where there is true love of God there 
 is no sadness, there dwells tranquillity, peace 
 and joy in the Holy Ghost. But where there 
 is sadness, there is discontent, loathing and 
 nothing but misery. How could it then be 
 possible that two things so much opposed to 
 one another can be in the soul together ? Sad- 
 ness must either leave it or love cannot arrive 
 at its perfection. We find in the lives of the 
 Saints that they shunned sadness as a ruthless 
 enemy of true love, and by all means endeavored 
 to preserve joy and gladness of heart. Now 
 examine yourself, and see how much you are 
 wanting in this holy joy. 
 
208 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 Effects of Sadness. 
 
 First effect, — It robs the heart of all comfort 
 and pleasure and fills it with confusion. Those 
 who are subject to melancholy and sadness 
 truly deserve compassion. On a sudden, without 
 any cause, they become gloomy; their memories 
 are filled with a crowd of sad thoughts; their 
 hearts are depressed, even tears gush from their 
 eyes. They listen to no advice; according to 
 their imagination nobody is their real friend, 
 nobody is sincere and candid with them. If any 
 one admonish them to banish these thoughts 
 from their mind as fallacies and illusion, they 
 become angry and more troubled and confused 
 than before, and show thus love for their mis- 
 fortune. 
 
 Second effect. — It deprives the soul of all devo- 
 tion and communion with God. The thoughts 
 which disturb and confuse the mind draw it 
 ever away from God. The bitterness which 
 depresses the heart, makes an elevation of the 
 spirit to God impossible. 
 
 Third effect. — It is the cause of complaints, 
 murmurs and expressions of contempt. Sad 
 people are subject to many inconveniences; 
 they are always full of suspicions and of wild 
 notions. They are extremely sensitive; an un- 
 friendly mien is sufficient to render them morose 
 and sullen for a whole week. Always full of 
 disquietude and uneasiness, there are an annoy- 
 ance to themselves and to others. 
 
Self-Examination. 209 
 
 Fourth effect. — It drives the soul into misera- 
 ble cowardice, and urges it even to want of con- 
 fidence in God and to despair. This is the last 
 unhappy effect of sadness, that after having de- 
 prived man of all earthly happiness and joy, 
 it robs him also of heavenly consolation and 
 confidence in God. St. Frances of Rome once 
 fell into great sadness, and remained therein a 
 long time. Then St. Onuphrius appeared to 
 her and said: " Put away sadness, my daughter; 
 for a soul that is sad is not fit for the spiritual 
 life; if you do not obey me, you shall lose by 
 degrees all fervor and devotion, fall into pusil- 
 lanimity, and finally into despair." 
 
 Mortification of Sadness and its Degrees. 
 
 First degree. — Always to accept all exterior 
 and interior adversities as from the hand of God, 
 and to bear them for His love. Sadness pro- 
 ceeds from our not having true indifference. If, 
 then, we be ready to submit in everything our 
 will to the Divine will, no adversity will ever 
 bring on sadness. The foundation, therefore, 
 on which interior peace and tranquillity rests is 
 indifference about all which God may be pleased 
 to send us. For this there are only two requi- 
 sites. The first is to believe infallibly that all 
 adversities come from God, that He sends them 
 out of pure love for our greater good, and that 
 He will never desert us if we humbly bow to His 
 holy will. The second is to give one's self en- 
 tirely to God's guidance, accepting with readi- 
 
210 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 ness everything which He metes out to us for 
 soul and body. We must say with St. Francis 
 de Sales, God knows much better than I how to ap- 
 point and ordain all things. Let us, therefore, 
 allow Him to act with us and to treat us as He 
 Himself deems fit, saying to Him, O God, Thy 
 holy will be done, not mine. Thy law and Thy 
 most holy will be forever pleasing to my heart. 
 "Health and sickness, honor and contempt, life 
 and death are in Thy hands. Give me whatever 
 thou wiliest, with Thy grace to be indifferent, 
 and I am and ever will be content. 
 
 Second degree. — In times of adversity, whether 
 interior or exterior, quickly and vigorously to 
 stifle all sadness. If, however, we unfortunately 
 give way to it, no means are better to rid us of 
 this unwelcome guest than these two: The first 
 is to banish thoughts which trouble and disquiet 
 our hearts, and to be assured that our imagina- 
 tion makes more of trifles than they are worth. 
 The second is to fix our thoughts on God, to 
 adore His most holy will, earnestly resolve to 
 bear the trials He sends us with all submission 
 to His Divine will, and to persevere in this exer- 
 cise until the mind becomes serene and the heart 
 is entirely at ease. 
 
 Third degree. — To submit to these trials with 
 tranquillity and contentment. A truly patient 
 soul is never so far influenced by them as to lose 
 interior peace, and thus to be unable to treat 
 with God freely. It never breaks forth into 
 complaints. It feels the Cross, it is true, but it 
 
Self -Examination. 211 
 
 keeps itself interiorly tranquil, perfectly resigned 
 to the Divine will. 
 
 Once an ecclesiastic complained to St. Francis 
 de Sales. The Saint answered: "I have no oil to 
 pour on your wound. I would increase the evil 
 if I treated you leniently. I can do nothing else 
 than to wash it with vinegar and rub it with salt. 
 You say well-tried and wonderful virtue would 
 be required to bear what you suffered without 
 complaint. Your patience cannot be very great, 
 since affliction goes so much to your heart." 
 The clergyman replied, "I have complained only 
 to my bishop, who is my father. Where should 
 a son go when he is sad but to his father?" 
 "O my son," answered the Saint, " how long will 
 you love childishness? Should a pastor of so 
 many spiritual children behave like a child ? Da 
 you wish me to feed you with milk like a nurse? 
 instead of the substantial food which grown-up 
 persons require ? Are not your teeth sound 
 enough to break and eat the hard bread of afflic- 
 tion ?" Such was St. Francis de Sales's answer, 
 and it suffices for the third degree, which is nec- 
 essary for union with God. 
 
 The fourth degree. — To bear all afflictions joy- 
 fully. This degree is very high, and can only be 
 climbed by humility, long self-denial and con- 
 tinued exercises of patience, and by the special 
 assistance of Divine grace. 
 
212 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 FIFTH DAY. 
 
 Two evil inclinations remain to be treated of: 
 anger and inordinate zeal. One cannot suffi- 
 ciently express how pernicious they are. Since 
 they are opposed to our neighbor, they render 
 our whole life useless, and keep us till death from 
 acquiring perfection. 
 
 Examination on Anger. 
 
 Those whose temper is hot and fiery have within 
 themselves a strong and powerful enemy, and if 
 they are not constantly on their guard, and do not 
 endeavor strenuously on all occasions to suppress 
 every outburst of auger, they will never be set 
 free from its tyranny. There have been many 
 Saints who by continual self-denial have so tamed 
 and conquered this passion that they were re- 
 garded as men of cold and phlegmatic, not of 
 choleric and irascible temperament. We must 
 tread in their footsteps if we desire to arrive at 
 perfection. 
 
 Let us see now what power anger has over our 
 hearts. 
 
 Signs of Anger. 
 
 First sign. — To be excited easily, and to boil 
 with impatience and indignation. There are 
 some persons who are like gunpowder. It ig- 
 nites when it comes in contact with the smallest 
 particle of fire, bursts into a flame in «a moment, 
 and explodes with great violence. A disoblig- 
 
 
Self -Examination. 213 
 
 ing word, dropped without mature deliberation, 
 a jest uttered without the least intention to offend,* 
 is enough to set them all on fire. A refusal or a 
 contradiction is sufficient to fill their hearts with 
 aversion and wrath. They are sometimes even 
 full of indignation without any cause for it. 
 
 Second sign. — Through anger and indignation 
 to break forth into impatient words, murmuring 
 and complaints. This is the habit of angry and 
 revengeful persons. If the least inj.ury is done 
 them, they abuse terribly those who have wronged 
 them, and pour out on them their whole venom. 
 They are not satisfied with this, they fill the ears 
 of others with their murmurs and complaints. 
 They imagine this wrong will kill them outright 
 if they bear it in silence. 
 
 Third sign. — To continue in anger a long 
 time, and to persevere in it when once excited. 
 There is a great difference between a fire of straw 
 and of large trees. When a fire is kindled among 
 stubble it causes a quick, glaring flame, but soon 
 dies out, while great trees make an enormous 
 fire, spread destruction all around, and continue 
 glowing with intense heat. There are some 
 who are easily excited to anger and make a great 
 bustle, but in a few minutes it is all over; of- 
 fender and offended are again friends. Others 
 keep up a steady flame, which gleams a long 
 time, harbor a multitude of hostile thoughts, 
 suspicions, rash judgments and contempt, and 
 nourish in their hearts rancor and hatred for 
 whole days, even months. 
 
214 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 Fourth sign, — To have a continual hatred 
 and smothered indignation for a person. This 
 is the most mischievous species of anger. This 
 anger arises from supposed or real injury, and 
 is never laid aside. The angry person nourishes 
 aversion in his heart, and will not treat in a 
 friendly way with the persons he dislikes. At 
 all times, and in every cireumstance, he shows 
 little love for them, and still less kindness. 
 
 Mortification of Anger and its Degrees. 
 
 First degree. — Not to allow in our hearts a 
 feeling of anger or aversion for anybody, or for 
 any reason whatever. We must have a heart for 
 all human beings, and love them with a sincere 
 love. When, therefore, we feel within us a con- 
 trary inclination, we must strive against it with 
 all our might, and never cease until it is rooted 
 out. Let us hear what St. Francis de Sales says 
 on this matter. " We ought to have a charitable 
 and benevolent heart for our neighbor, particu- 
 larly when he offends us; we have no other mo- 
 tive then to love him than the will of God." 
 
 Second degree. — To put down immediately the 
 first motions of anger and aversion. This prac- 
 tice is the only remedy for perfectly overcoming 
 anger and for acquiring meekness. We must, 
 therefore, regard all occasions, which generally 
 excite anger, as special favors of God; overcome 
 ourselves courageously, and endeavor to acquire 
 self-control, self-possession and affability of 
 manners, which are the marks of true sanctity. 
 
 
Self-Examination. 215 
 
 " There are some/' says St. Francis de Sales, 
 " who are all meekness and mildness as long as 
 everything goes according to their desires; but 
 if any one offends them, they fire up immediately, 
 and like the mountains of which the Psalmist 
 speaks, throw up dense smoke. They are like 
 live coals which lie hidden under ashes. It is no 
 great thing to be kind and charitable towards 
 those who are good; but to be affable and gracious 
 towards those who are perverse', to bestow bless- 
 ings and favors upon those who persecute us, 
 to speak to those who have attacked our honor in 
 a friendly way, is a sign of great self-denial." 
 
 Third degree. — To bear insults with good grace 
 and pleasing looks; not to complain to anybody 
 when we are secretly wronged by suspicions and 
 false accusations. But when in our presence we 
 are offended by fresh abuse, and we suppress our 
 rising anger, and approach those who offend us 
 with affability and kindness, is a far greater 
 work. 
 
 Nobody can read without admiration the an- 
 swer which St. Francis de Sales gave on such an 
 occasion. A rough man attacked him once with 
 violent and abusive words. " Sir, this messen- 
 ger," said the Saint, " has provoked you to anger; 
 but I will arrange matters to satisfy you fully. 
 Be assured, that if you should deprive me of one 
 eye, I will look on you with the other as kindly 
 as if you were my best friend." Thus acted 
 this great Saint. What do we do ? We must 
 sincerely love those who do us evil, and return 
 
2i6 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 good for evil. They who love their neighbor 
 only in God and for God, will find in the prac- 
 tice of this degree no great difficulty. Since the 
 motive to love enemies and friends is the same, 
 our hearts, by continual self-denial, can be finally 
 brought to this point, that our love for both be 
 the same. St. Francis de Sales found in this 
 exercise nothing but delight and joy. An in- 
 timate friend once said to him,. " According to 
 my opinion the precept to love one's enemy is 
 the hardest in the Christian law." " And I," an- 
 swered the Saint, " do not know how my heart is 
 made; it may be God moulded it differently from 
 that of others; for I find not only no difficulty in 
 the fulfilment of this precept, but rather much 
 pleasure, so that if God had forbidden us to love 
 our enemies, it would be hard for me to obey." 
 
 What else can we conclude now, but that all 
 these degrees are necessary, if one desires to ar- 
 rive at intimate union with God ? 
 
 SIXTH DAY. 
 
 Examination on Inordinate Zeal. 
 
 This zeal is very insidious; it goes about like 
 a wolf in sheep's clothing, which pretends to 
 protect the sheep, but devours them all. It talks 
 of nothing but discipline, of the rules, of virtue 
 and sanctity; but, in reality, it is an enemy of 
 peace, a destroyer of unity, and the cause of in- 
 numerable sins. Let us reflect on it more at- 
 tentively. 
 
Self ^Examination. 217 
 
 Signs of Inordinate Zeal. 
 
 First sign. — To regard one's own faults as 
 trifling, and to look upon others as momentous. 
 Those who have true love and genuine zeal have 
 always recollected minds, watch closely all the 
 movements of their disorderly affections, remark 
 in themselves the least imperfection or failing; 
 even their virtues appear to them not holy 
 enough. When they are guilty of any unfaith- 
 fulness to God, they feel more contrition than 
 sinners of the world for crimes, and punish them- 
 selves more severely. If zeal has not these quali- 
 ties it is not true zeal, but an effect of anger and 
 the offspring of pride. 
 
 " O God," cries out St. Francis de Sales, " when 
 will the time come in which patient forbearance 
 with our neighbor strikes deep roots in our 
 hearts ?" This is the wisdom of the Saints. 
 Happy those who understand it and act accord- 
 ingly. We desire that others should bear with 
 our infirmities, which always seem to us worthy 
 of pity; but we exaggerate their faults and deem 
 then unbearable. We watch the faults of others, 
 but are blind to our own. Thus we live and flat- 
 ter ourselves that we have a heart filled with 
 zeal. 
 
 O false zeal, how many eyes thou blindest ! 
 Thou growest and becomest grey with years, and 
 goest not away until death ! Truly do the words 
 of our Saviour apply to thee, when He says: 
 " Why seest thou the mote that is in thy broth- 
 
2 1 8 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 er's eye, and seest not the beam in thy own eye ? 
 Or how sayest thou to thy brother, ' Let me cast 
 the mote out of thy eye, and behold a beam is in 
 thy own eye! Thou hypocrite, cast out first the 
 beam out of thy own eye, and then shalt thou 
 see to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye" 
 (St. Matt. vii. 3-5). 
 
 Second sign. — To require virtues of a high de- 
 gree in others whilst we practise none. Oh, how 
 many and great faults are to be found in inordi- 
 nate zeal ! We blame in everything the manners 
 and doings of our Superiors, and yet we require 
 them to love us sincerely, to treat us kindly and 
 to do us all possible good. We criticise every one, 
 and wish to be dealt with mildly ourselves. We 
 attack others with unbridled tongues, and yet we 
 claim for ourselves the greatest forbearance. 
 
 Third sign. — To bear neither admonitions nor 
 corrections, and to wish, at the same time, that 
 others be treated with the utmost severity. "We 
 would have others strictly corrected, but are not 
 willing to be corrected ourselves, The great 
 liberty of others displeases us, and yet we would 
 not be denied anything we ask for. We are 
 willing that others should be bound up by laws, 
 and we suffer not ourselves to be restrained 
 by any means" (Foil, of Christ, i. Book, xvi 
 Chap., 3). 
 
 Fourth sign. — Under pretext of zeal, to in- 
 crease the sins and disorders which one intends 
 to remove. Persons who in their ill-regulated 
 zeal try to better everything, are like foolish 
 
 
Self -Examination. 219 
 
 mechanics, who, in order to fill up an aperture, 
 make many others. What love and meekness 
 cannot reform cannot be reformed at all. Use 
 not, then, severity, and lay not a burden on any 
 one which you would not bear yourself. 
 
 Fifth sign. — Inordinate zeal does away with: 
 Reverence and obedience to Superiors, sincere 
 mutual love of religious for one another, regu- 
 larity in the community life and the spirit of 
 prayer, which makes the cloister an earthly 
 paradise. For what becomes of obedience if 
 everybody is allowed to criticise and to blame 
 the actions of Superiors? Where are love and 
 charity, if every one is permitted to watch, 
 judge, and condemn fellow-religious? Where 
 peace and union, if everybody is authorized to 
 attack others in their absence? Where are the 
 spirit of prayer and recollection, if the mind is 
 full of idle and sinful thoughts, and the heart 
 devoid of true love and compassion? 
 
 Mortification of Inordinate Zeal and its 
 Degrees. 
 
 First degree. — -Never knowingly and willingly 
 to think of anything else but of God, His ser- 
 vice, and your own soul. All who wish to arrive 
 at interior peace and true recollection of spirit 
 must act as if they had neither eyes to see, nor 
 ears to hear. They must regard all things not 
 committed to their care as not concerning them 
 in the least, and occupy themselves as little with 
 
220 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 the faults of others as with affairs happening 
 at a distance. Those who do so will, in a short 
 time, experience great tranquillity and peace; 
 but those who do not, lose both time and pains. 
 
 Second degree, — To bear the faults of others 
 with patience, until a fit occasion offers to ad- 
 monish. The Saint of Geneva thus speaks on 
 this subject: " It is not required that you pun- 
 ish an offender on every occasion, for reason 
 and charity demand that you await the proper 
 time until the other is fit to receive the well- 
 meant admonition. A hot and confused zeal 
 throws down more than it builds up. They 
 who desire to accomplish too much all at once 
 do no good, and even soil more that which they 
 wish to cleanse." 
 
 Third degree. — To admonish only with meek- 
 ness and charity, when admonition is useful. 
 St. Francis de Sales speaks thus on the matter: 
 u They who are obliged to watch others and to 
 correct their faults, must first mitigate the 
 severity of the correction in the fire of an ardent 
 love, otherwise the correction would be like un- 
 ripe fruit for a stomach." If the Saint requires 
 in the Superiors such sweetness and affability, 
 whenever they admonish, how much more will he 
 not require in those who are not strictly obliged 
 to admonish? 
 
 Fourth degree. — To make known the faults to 
 the Superior when we believe our admonition is 
 not profitable. As it is difficult for Superiors 
 always to judge prudently and discreetly when, 
 
Self -Examination. 2 2 1 
 
 where and how long a fault is to be tolerated, 
 how the admonition or correction is to be given, 
 so it is easy for subjects to fulfil their obliga- 
 tions. If you believe that your admonition is 
 not useful, inform the Superiors, and afterwards 
 keep silence on the matter, leaving everything to 
 od, and praying that He may give light and 
 His charity to both parties. 
 
 SEVENTH DAY. 
 Examination on Our Love for God. 
 
 Our sanctity consists in loving God with our 
 whole hearts, and our neighbor as ourselves. 
 Love alone unites us to God. You see, then, 
 what an important subject we have to treat. 
 Consider well the following degrees of this holy 
 love, and examine what and how much is want- 
 ing to you: 
 
 First degree. — To hate and to shun the least 
 venial sin more than all the evils of this world. 
 There is not a more certain sign of true and 
 perfect love of God than this hatred and 
 avoidance of venial sin. To stay whole months 
 without committing a deliberate venial sin, and 
 if it happens to be committed, to be very sorry 
 and to punish severely in one's self the injury 
 done to God, is essentially the exercise of a soul 
 that is holy and that loves God perfectly. 
 
 When the venerable Father Nicholas Lanci- 
 
222 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 cius, that master of spiritual life, was told that 
 a certain religious loved God with his whole 
 heart, he asked immediately whether he en- 
 deavored to avoid every venial sin. Being an- 
 swered in the affirmative, he rejoiced exceed- 
 ingly, and exclaimed, " This is a true love of 
 God." 
 
 Second degree. — Not to let a single movement 
 of an inordinate affection rise knowingly and 
 willingly. Nothing is more delicate than perfect 
 love. It cannot suffer the least thing that dis- 
 pleases its Beloved, and consequently it always 
 keeps a watchful eye over all the motions of the 
 heart, and suppresses promptly those which 
 offend God and sully the souL 
 
 Third degree. — To act with great fidelity ac- 
 cording to the inspirations of God. It is not 
 possible to love God perfectly and to refuse 
 Him what He, by interior lights, and the move- 
 ments of grace, demands. God leaves to the 
 foolish and blind dictates of its bad inclinations 
 a soul that does not allow itself to be governed 
 by His holy inspirations. Then it loses the ten- 
 der devotion it had for God, and deprives itself 
 of all the graces which He had prepared for its 
 advancement. 
 
 A saintly woman called Armella, after she had 
 been raised for many years to the most intimate 
 union with God y once held a conversation with 
 one of her friends; when it was somewhat pro- 
 tracted, God admonished her to break it off. 
 She neglected the warning, to her great sorrow. 
 
Self -Examination. 223 
 
 He immediately withdrew from her His holy 
 presence, and restored it to her only after many 
 tears and austerities. 
 
 Fourth degree. — In all our actions to have no 
 other intention than the sole pleasure of God. 
 At the beginning of each important work say, 
 " For Thy love, O my God, and purely for Thee ! 
 Thy will be done !" To have this thought so 
 present to the mind that God, who penetrates its 
 inmost recesses, may see that it actually seeks in 
 every word and work solely His pleasure, is the 
 work of a perfect soul that is dead to self and 
 already grounded in pure love. 
 
 Fifth degree. — To bear daily adversities in 
 silence and with resignation, and to adore in 
 them the Divine wisdom and goodness. We 
 have to speak now of a very important matter. 
 Imprint it deeply on your mind. God conducts 
 no soul to union with Him until it be well 
 adorned with virtues, and has consequently pre- 
 pared for Him a fit dwelling. But since virtues 
 cannot be acquired without much exercise, and 
 they are more practised in time of suffering 
 than in an active life, God sends every day 
 some trials to accomplish that design — at one 
 time, contempt and insults, that by them humil- 
 ity may be obtained; at another time, rough 
 and disobliging remarks, that meekness may be 
 practised; sometimes a stern command, that 
 obedience may be tried; at other times dis- 
 agreeable aud provoking companions, that love 
 of our neighbor may be exhibited, and then, 
 
224 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 pains, sickness and other interior trials, that 
 resignation to His Divine will may be shown. 
 These are the ways by which God prepares a 
 soul for perfect union. Turn, therefore, in all 
 adversities your eyes away from worldly con- 
 siderations, and adore in all things the hidden 
 wisdom and goodness of God. This is God's 
 preparation for raising you to the highest de- 
 gree of love. 
 
 Sixth degree. — To desire vehemently union 
 with God. When the soul has fulfilled every- 
 thing mentioned in the preceding degrees, and 
 faithfully and constantly persevered therein for 
 some time, then the particular effects of grace 
 generally begin to show themselves. Prayer be- 
 comes full of heavenly light, and God Himself 
 instructs the soul in the eternal truths. The 
 heart abounds with holy affections. Hours pass 
 like moments. A sweet peace keeps the soul 
 ever tranquil, for every passion is conquered. 
 There especially burns in the heart an ardent 
 desire to love God more perfectly, and to be 
 united to Him more intimately. And this de- 
 sire increases so much that hardly a mortal here 
 below is able to bear its vehemence. 
 
 The pious Armella was so enraptured by this 
 desire that she often seemed to be beside herself. 
 She wandered through the woods, and filled the 
 hills and vales with her sighs and lamentations, 
 exclaiming, " Where is my beloved ? Where will 
 I find Him, whom my soul loveth ?" 
 
 True, in many souls which are in this degree, 
 
Self -Examination. 225 
 
 this desire is not so vehement, nevertheless it so 
 occupies their minds that they continually think 
 of God. 
 
 Seventh degree. — To persevere faithfully when 
 God retires from the soul, and humbly and 
 patiently to bear with the withdrawal of His 
 graces. As long as the soul is not entirely dead 
 to self, the influence of grace and the presence 
 of God do not continue. When God thus with- 
 draws, then all at once every light disappears. 
 Meditation, which before was delightful, becomes 
 an insufferable labor, a painful work, a continual 
 combat, a real martyrdom. The tender devotion, 
 the loving inclination for God ceases; the heart 
 is dried up and insensible. The presence of 
 God, which had for whole days solaced the soul 
 and filled it with the sweetest repose, very often 
 vanishes. Such a soul, therefore, is in a very 
 piteous state. It has no consolation from Heaven, 
 and is not allowed to seek any on earth, in order 
 not to prove unfaithful to its Beloved. But in 
 this dereliction the very thing is obtained which 
 God intended, viz., that the soul may learn to 
 forego all consolation, and place its whole delight 
 in His holy will. 
 
 Eighth degree. — To bear humbly the trials of 
 pure love, and remain in them ever faithful to God, 
 however long they may last. If God has chosen 
 a soul which He intends to conduct to the high- 
 est degree of perfection, generally He stops not 
 at darkness and dereliction, but sends it greater 
 and severer trials, namely: an uncommon dere- 
 
226 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 liction and disrelish for all spiritual exercises 
 and practices of virtue, a general revolt of the 
 irregular passions, a continual inability to treat 
 with God; then follow grievous temptations, 
 serious attacks against purity and faith, which 
 often last a long time, extreme sadness and 
 pusillanimity of spirit and almost despair, To 
 this are added divers exterior adversities, con- 
 tempt, persecutions, slanders and so forth. Per- 
 haps you think now that there is not a more 
 miserable state on earth than this ? But not so; 
 it is the happiest of all If God does not lead a 
 soul to union with Himself in this way, a long, a 
 very long time is needed, but otherwise the work 
 is done at once. The violence of the tempta- 
 tion cleanses the soul quickly, and makes the 
 heart so pure that it is very soon fit for the 
 purest friendship with God. 
 
 What must a soul do in this state in order to 
 remain faithful to its Beloved ? 
 
 First. — It must never omit the accustomed 
 prayer, Be assured this time of aridity will not 
 elapse without profit. 
 
 Secondly. — It must always continue its mortifi- 
 cations, and refuse nothing to God. 
 
 Thirdly. — It must never omit the exercise of 
 the presence of God, be it ever so dry, insipid 
 and seemingly unprofitable. 
 
 Fourthly, — It must give itself up wholly to 
 God, submitting to all the dispensations of His 
 providence. 
 
 Fifthly. — It must cherish a filial confidence in 
 
Self-Ex animation. 227 
 
 God, and, as the more various temptations tend 
 to diminish it, it must hope more strongly that 
 He will never abandon it completely. 
 
 Sixthly. — It must not conceal anything from 
 the spiritual director, but must follow his orders 
 with blind obedience. Without this sincerity 
 and submission it is impossible to escape the 
 snares which the enemy lays in this state. 
 
 The soul that faithfully endures this trial shall 
 infallibly arrive at union with God. 
 
 Ninth degree. — To behold God continually in 
 the centre of the soul, and to be engaged without 
 intermission in the exercise of His love. This 
 is the state which is called union with God. Its 
 secret consists in this: A supernatural light 
 illuminates the understanding, and manifests to 
 the soul the presence of God in such a manner 
 that it remains whole days in the intuition and 
 contemplation of His Sacred Majesty. A super- 
 natural strength moves the will and fills it with 
 a heavenly flame, by which the soul turns itself 
 to God and adheres to Him unceasingly with 
 the most ardent affection. The interior conver- 
 sation with God, continual though it be, does 
 not hinder in the least the discharge of exterior 
 duties and employments of office. Nobody is 
 more fit for all functions and for all obligations 
 towards God and the neighbor than such a 
 soul. 
 
 Wonderful are the annals of the Society of 
 Jesus relating to Father James Alvarez, Pro- 
 vincial of Peru, whose union with God was 
 
228 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 astonishing in so many important affairs which 
 he had to transact. During twenty-five years he 
 never lost sight of the presence of God. 
 
 Tenth degree. — To do always and in all circum- 
 stances what is the most perfect and the most 
 agreeable to God. I say always. To do so for 
 a few days is something of which an imperfect 
 soul may easily be capable; but to continue 
 faithfully for whole months is an exercise of 
 only a perfect soul which has attained to the 
 summit of Divine love. 
 
 Such was St. Joanna Frances's. She under- 
 took no work, either by direction of obedience 
 or the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, which she 
 deemed not the most perfect. 
 
 Eleventh degree. — To desire to suffer for God 
 and show the love of crosses and of self-annihi- 
 lation by accepting all trials as special graces 
 and by bearing them joyfully. When a soul 
 has thus far advanced, it has perfect love of 
 God and enjoys the most intimate union with 
 Him. The love of suffering is the characteristic 
 of the Saints, and the infallible sign of the true 
 lovers of God. This precious gift Christ be- 
 stows on those whom He has chosen to ex- 
 perience the highest effects of His love. 
 
 Our Lord once appeared to the Blessed 
 Margaret, Duchess of Savoy, and offered her 
 three dishes. On the first was written contempt, 
 on the second sickness, on the third persecutions. 
 The Saint not only was not frightened but even 
 
Self-Examination. 229 
 
 generously said, " Lord, if Thou wilt, give me 
 all three." 
 
 Twelfth degree. — To lay aside entirely one's 
 own will and to let the Divine Will be sole mis- 
 tress. No one arrives at this state unless by 
 singular effects of Divine mercy. 
 
 St. Francis de Sales speaking of it says: 
 
 " 1st. Such a soul lives in an entire forgetful- 
 ness of itself, so much so that it awaits whatever 
 God ordains without any solicitude and with a 
 complete indifference. When grievous occur- 
 rences press upon it, it turns its thoughts away 
 from them, and sees nothing therein but God 
 alone, praising and blessing His goodness, and 
 letting Him act according to His pleasure. 
 
 " 2d. Such a soul is entirely dead to self, not 
 attaching itself even to the holiest things, nor 
 wishing for any other exercise of virtue than that 
 which God Himself prescribes. ,, 
 
 EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 Examination on the Love of Our Neighbor. 
 
 The love of God cannot be separated from the 
 love of our neighbor; one cannot exist without 
 the other. " This two-fold love," says St. Greg- 
 ory the Great, " is one chain with two links, and 
 one virtue with two exercises." " They are," 
 says another writer, " two flames which rise 
 
230 
 
 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 from one fire, two streams which flow from the 
 same source, two branches which come from the 
 same tree." Therefore, those who wish to know 
 how much love of God they have, need only ex- 
 amine how much love of their neighbor they 
 possess. 
 
 Let us, consequently, examine how much of 
 this love we have. 
 
 First degree. — Never to offend others in word 
 or deed. As the first degree of the love of God 
 is never to sin against Him, so also the first de- 
 gree of the love of others is not to offend them. 
 
 The practices by which this love will be im- 
 planted in our hearts are these: 
 
 First practice. — Never to despise others. 
 Love solely remembers that our neighbors are 
 images and children of God, and on this account 
 it esteems them and banishes all other thoughts. 
 
 Second practice. — Never to form a rash 
 judgment of our neighbor. Love, unless when 
 obliged to do so, occupies itself not one moment 
 with the faults of others. It commits all judg- 
 ment to Him to whom alone judgment belongs. 
 They who observe not this have no regard for 
 perfection. 
 
 " Those," says St. Francis de Sales, " who take 
 proper care of the purity of their own con- 
 sciences form no rash judgments. Only idle 
 people notice nothing in themselves and see 
 everything in others." 
 
 Third practice. — Never to misinterpret the 
 doings of others. Any sensible and discreet 
 
Self -Examination. 23 1 
 
 person /lever willingly examines the actions of 
 Dthers. One who leads an interior and recol- 
 lected life never considers the conduct of his 
 neighbor. 
 
 "Any work," says St. Francis de Sales, "may 
 have different aspects; it should always be looked 
 at on the best side." We should throw the guilt 
 on the violence of temptation and human in- 
 firmity, or on ignorance or thoughtlessness. * 
 
 Fourth practice. — Never to murmur against 
 our neighbors, or to criticise their actions in 
 their absence, or to relate their faults to others. 
 Love is silent in everything, and never speaks 
 except to those whose duty it is to correct. 
 
 Second degree. — To have for others sincere and 
 charitable feelings. This is the foundation of 
 true love. We reach it by the following prac- 
 tices: 
 
 First practice. — Not to allow in our hearts 
 any angry feeling or aversion towards any one. 
 "We are not required," says St. Francis de 
 Sales, " to feel tenderly for every one. This is 
 not in our power. Temperaments are too dis- 
 similar. Many are naturally disagreeable. 
 When we have, however, a dislike and antipathy 
 for any one, let us make for this one an act of 
 true love. We must wish persons of this charac- 
 ter all good, and be ready to do good to them 
 when and where we can." 
 
 Second practice — To rejoice heartily at the 
 welfare of our neighbor. Love has a large and 
 expanded heart; it includes the whole world, and 
 
232 The Truths of Salvation, 
 
 exults at the prosperity of all others no less than 
 at its own. When, therefore, it sees that neigh- 
 bors prosper it is delighted, feels sincere pleas- 
 ure, praises and thanks God that He has thus 
 blessed them. 
 
 Third practice. — In their trials and adversi- 
 ties, to have a real compassion for them. They 
 who have true love cannot behold others in 
 affliction without feeling sincere and heartfelt 
 sympathy and grief for their sufferings, without 
 praying for them to God, and asking for them 
 grace and assistance. A heart without compas- 
 sion is a heart without love. 
 
 Fourth practice — Not to envy others, when 
 they fare better than we. Envy and jealousy 
 are daughters of pride and self-love, but joy and 
 delight at the prosperity of others are signs of 
 humility and holy love. 
 
 Third degree. — Not only to live with all in 
 love and harmony, but also to have them main- 
 tained throughout as far as it depends on our 
 efforts. 
 
 Here follow the practices which may further 
 this degree. 
 
 First practice — To subject our judgment free- 
 ly to that of others, and to give up one's own will 
 and follow that of another in everything not 
 against the law of God or contrary to the rules. 
 They who wish to live peaceably in a com- 
 munity must observe this, otherwise they will 
 not agree with any one. 
 
 There are persons who imagine that they 
 
Self -Examination. 233 
 
 alone are prudent, that their plans alone are 
 wise, and those of others altogether foolish. If 
 they themselves were Superiors, all would be 
 better in a short time. As long as this self- 
 sufficiency is kept to themselves it creates no 
 disturbance nor disunion; but when it shows it- 
 self, it does much harm. I have, say they, more 
 experience; I know matters much better. 
 
 " Nothing is more pernicious to human so- 
 ciety/' says St. Francis de Sales, " than stub- 
 I born persons who continually contradict others. 
 They are the pests of communities, the sowers 
 of disunion and discord. They are detested by 
 every one, while the meek and humble are loved 
 by all." 
 
 Second practice. — Never to repeat what 
 others have uncharitably said. The Devil uses the 
 talking about others' faults and backbiting as the 
 surest means to destroy union and concord. 
 The world considers it as a friendly act, but, 
 in the eyes of God, it is one of the things 
 which He has a horror of. " Six things there 
 are which the Lord hateth, and the seventh His 
 soul detesteth, and what is the seventh ? He 
 that soweth discord among brethren. " (Provs. 
 vi. 16). 
 
 Fourth degree. — To neglect no opportunity of 
 doing good to others. Love is beneficent, and 
 where there is no beneficence there is no love. 
 
 These are the practices of this beneficence: 
 
 First practice. — Never to refuse to do an act 
 of charity when it is asked. This requires lively 
 
234 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 faith; for faith tells us that whatever good w^ 
 do our neighbor for God's sake, we do for God 
 Himself. Whoever believes this firmly will 
 never deny another any act of kindness. We 
 would not have had the heart to refuse anything 
 to Christ, while He lived on earth. Believe, 
 then, that whatever service your neighbor asks 
 of you Christ Himself asks. 
 
 Second practice. — To seek opportunities to 
 do good to others, and to perform acts of charity 
 joyfully, though unasked. 
 
 Love and fire act almost in the same way. 
 Fire extends and consumes all that it reaches. 
 Love does the same; it spreads and benefits 
 everybody it can. 
 
 Third practice. — -To show sympathy and com- 
 miseration for others in times of sickness, by 
 visiting often and by relieving them as much as 
 possible. 
 
 Think of the sick as St. Francis de Sales did. 
 " As long as I shall see," he writes to a sick 
 person, " that you are stretched on the bed by 
 this painful sickness, so long shall I feel a par- 
 ticular veneration for you, as for a creature 
 whom God has visited and clothed with His 
 livery. I shall show you extraordinary honor 
 as His chosen spouse. When our Redeemer was 
 on the Cross, He was proclaimed as King even 
 by His enemies. For this reason all souls that 
 are fixed on the Cross with Christ are declared 
 kings. The angels envy us, because we still can 
 suffer, whilst they never suffered for God." 
 
Self -Examination. 235 
 
 Fifth degree, — To bear silently and meekly 
 with the faults of our neighbor, and to return 
 good for evil. 
 
 The practices of this virtue are these: 
 
 First practice. — To put up with all the incon- 
 veniences we may meet with in our intercourse 
 with others. For this we need but two par- 
 ticulars. 
 
 1st. To show to those who have offended us 
 serenity and affability, and to speak to them as 
 freely as before. 
 
 2d. Not to complain of the offence, but 
 rather to bury it in perpetual silence. 
 
 Second practice. — To do good to those who 
 have offended us, whenever and wherever we 
 can. This is one of the most perfect exercises 
 which mortals can perform in this life. 
 
 The testimony of their consciences, and the 
 inspirations of the Holy Ghost, make them feel 
 then that they have attained the perfection of 
 love. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 Virtue is learned by experience alone. 
 
 Carry out in practice what you have read, 
 heard or meditated upon; then you really make 
 the Truths of Salvation your own. You have 
 hitherto made but small progress in the science 
 of the Saints, because you have practised so 
 little what you have been taught. Follow the 
 example of the Saints,, who, by diligently exer- 
 cising themselves in virtue, obtained a deeper 
 
236 The Truths of Salvation. 
 
 insight into religious truths than learned men 
 could have acquired by years of study, 
 
 Indeed an humble husbandman, that serves 
 God, is better than a proud philosopher, who, 
 neglecting himself, considers the course of the 
 heavens (Foil, of Christ, i. Book, ii. Chap., 1). 
 
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