Thee. Thou hast shown me that love is manifested by sacrificing ourselves for the object of our love; give me that share of suffering and tears which is my part in the heritage of Thy Cross, and if I desire to reign with Thee hereafter, may I not refuse to be crucified with Thee on earth. Conclusion. It Let us love to examine with the eyes of faith the progress which the supernatural life is making in our souls. It is infused into us first in holy baptism. is abundantly bestowed upon us in the Holy Eucharist. Hereafter, in heaven, we shall enter into its fulness at the hands of Jesus Christ. Let us live with this desire and this hope ever before our eyes, and our object will most certainly be attained. THIRD MEDITATION FOR HOLY THE DIVINE CALL. Preparation. OUR LORD calls us to the Holy Table by the precepts of the Church, by the voice of our spiritual guide, by the inspirations of grace, or by a sensible attraction to the Holy Table. Hasten with faith at the Saviour's call, He wills to fill your soul with holy joy, to lend a favourable ear to your prayers, and to dispense to you his greatest benefits. I. 'The Master is there' (St. John x.). Whatever path we may take on earth, we are certain to meet with Jesus Christ, who casts 'a gracious smile' upon our wants, our desires, our prayers. He is our Guest in our earthly exile, He is On whatever side we turn also a captive here below. our eyes, a cross, a trial says to us, 'The Master is there.' Love retains Jesus in the tabernacle more strongly than the nails affixed Him to the sacred tree. A prisoner there, He sacrifices for us the liberty which He confers upon us. He is, then, the Prisoner of love; He refuses to leave me for a moment, but is not this because He desires that I should often approach Him there? How could I ever have endured the bitter sadness of my life had I not been able to look towards the Church and say, Jesus is there? had He not given me to feel that He is really present with us there? And when I know that He abides there for my sake, how can I fail to go to Him? or being there, how can I quickly tear myself away? What happiness to be enabled to say further, Jesus is THERE to give Himself to me! O most dear Master, prostrate before Thee in the Blessed Sacrament, which I am about to receive, I believe simply and sincerely that Thou dost give me Thy Body, Thy Blood, Thy Humanity, which reigns above in the brightness of eternal glory. What joy to be thus united to Thee! But how great are the duties this privilege imposes upon me! Give me that ardent love with which Communion should inspire me in Thy service. II. 'I stand at the door and knock' (Apoc. iii. 20.) Our Lord Jesus Christ should always find the door of my heart open to Him; but so highly does this Blessed Saviour respect our liberty, that He stands at the door until it pleases us to open it. He pursues us with His tenderness, He endures our resistance patiently, He is never discouraged, never weary, but waits for a favourable moment to enter and obtain the wished-for love. Even if we refuse to receive Him, He bears with us still. Instead of departing in anger, He waits! How often has Jesus already knocked at the door of my heart since the day on which I first received Him? He has knocked as many times as He has called me to His Holy Table. When I sin, He provokes me to remorse and to repentance. He knocks to awaken me to fervour. If I open not to Him for awhile, but seem to forget my Heavenly Friend, He mourns to find me so deaf to His call, so forgetful of His love, so prompt to turn my thoughts to other objects. My remorse for past offences and my desire to love Jesus more, are two powerful incentives, which excite my soul to combat all the seductions and pleasures of the world. Their sharp pressure has often saved me from receiving a mortal wound. It is indeed too true, Lord Jesus, that I have often refused to give Thee entrance into my heart. Conscious of deserving Thy reproaches, fearing to meet thine eye, I have chosen to turn a deaf ear to Thy gentle solicitations. Too deeply absorbed in transitory things, and certain of Thy return at some future time, I have said impatiently, Wait, O my God, I am busy with other things, other persons. I am thinking of myself, of my dress, of my pleasures-wait!' And not until some mistake or disappointment, weariness or remorse, came to turn my wandering thoughts to Thee, not till the hour of sorrow, did I arise and open to my God. O Jesus, knock loudly at the door of my heart, enter it as a Sovereign, and bestow upon me the abundant graces of Thy presence. Open to me also, when in my turn, during my last moments, I come to knock at the door of Thy mercy. Hide me all my life long in the shadow of Thy sanctuary, and in the great and awful Day of Judgment suffer me not to be separated from Thee. III. Surge Arise.' The soul in seeking that invisible Being who is its eternal happiness, obeys its truest impulses and satisfies its greatest needs. The absence of God is the soul's greatest torment, while His presence becomes under certain circumstances a source of disquiet and alarm. This is because our souls know God sufficiently to long for Him, but not sufficiently to be always absorbed in Him; hence come distractions and inconstancy; we have always need of God, and yet are always ready to forget Him. We experience every moment in our daily life the power and the love of Jesus, but, shut up within the narrow prison of our earthly existence, we do not sufficiently realize it; we are too slow to seek by faith and prayer the higher regions of His presence. Be quick to answer the voice of Jesus. If your passions weaken its force, or make you deaf to its appeals, impose silence upon them. Collect your thoughts. Drive away all those worldly thoughts which throng in upon your imagination even at the foot of the Altar, and hasten to obey that heavenly voice. Jesus beheld me surrounded by the things of this world, absorbed in some, tormented by others; He pitied my misery, but I did not always listen to His voice. Then I hungered, but my hunger remained unsatisfied; I wept, and my tears were not wiped away; for what in this world could give me true food or comfort? And yet I continued to love that world which promised so much but performed so little ! Call me yet again, Lord Jesus, my sorrows have rendered me more obedient, more docile. I thank Thee for all the favours Thou hast conferred upon me, and more especially that Thou hast never permitted me to find permanent and tranquil enjoyment in any created thing. I have suffered everywhere and always. 52 He bears w remorse a to fervour. to turn my wound. refused to of deserv I have cl tions. 1 certain o impatien things, o dress, of mistake to turn r hour of s O Jesu it as a So graces of door of 1 Day of Ji Thee. |