CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF Cornell Catholic Union 3 1924 031 256 153 olin.anx Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031256153 Union Librsiy. MAl^RESA: OBTHI 3KE1TUAL EXERCISES OF ST. IGNATIUa /or (Smxdl Msu # VEW EDITION. New York : THE CATHOLIC PUBLICATION SOCIETY, COITTENTS. (ttbee rii Prayer of St. Ignatius, "AnimaChristi" . . . . xxvii Introduction to the Retreat ... 3 Introduction to Meditation 9 The ten Additions 12 Preparatory Exercise— Meditation on Betreat . . .15 PART I. FIRST WEEK. Introduction to Considerations on the End of Man , . 20 Principle or Foundation of the Exercises . . . .21 Development of the Principle — End of Man' . . .22 Continuation „ End of Creatures . . 31 Continuation „ Indifference with regard to Creatures 37 First Exercise on Sin — Sin of the Angels . . . .42 Second „ Sin of Adam 47 Third „ Personal Sins . . . .53 Fourth „ The infinite Malice of Mortal Sin . 60 Fifth „ Effects of Mortal Sin . . . 67 Sixth „ On the number and greatness of our personal Sins 75 First Exercise on Hell 79 Second „ „ Application of the Senses . . 87 First Exercise -^n Death 89 Second „ „ The last Agony . . . . wi Third - ■• State of Man after Death . . da iv CONTENTS. TAeB 102 108 On the particular Judgment On Venial Sin First Exercise on the Prodigal Son— His "Wanderings . HI Second „ „ His Return . . 117 SECOND WEEK. Intention, &c., of the Second Week 12S On Contemplation; or, the manner of meditating on sen- sible objects 125 On the Eeign of Christ (Contemplation) . . . .126 On the Incarnation (Meditation) 133 On the same (Contemplation) 138 On the Nativity (Meditation) 141 On the same (Contemplation) 145 On tlie same (Application of the Senses) . . . .147 On the hidden Life of Jesus Christ at Nazareth (Meditation) 150 On the same (Contemplation) 155 On the same (Application of the Senses) .... 157 On the Public Life of Jesus Christ 158 The tw» Standards 165 The three Classes 172 The three Degrees of Humility . . . • 177 THIRD WEEK. Int-ention, &o., of the Third Week . . . On the Eucharist (Meditation) .... On the same (Application of the Senses) . . On our Lord's Discourse after the Last Supper On the Passion — Jesus in the Garden of Olives On the saiiiu — Sufferings and Death of Jesus Christ . 206 On tlio same — Contemplation on the Death of Jesus Christ 212 On the same — (Application of the Senaea) ... 218 182 185 191 194 202 CONTENTS. » FOURTH WEEK. FAGS Intention, &c., of the Fourth Week . .... 218 On the Resurrection (Meditation) 219 On the same (Contemplation) ...... 225 On the Life of Jesus Christ in Heaven .... 228 On the Love of God ........ 234 Prayer, " Suscipe" 236 On Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary .... 241 On the same 246 Becommendatious fur the last day of the Exercises . . 252 PARTIL Method of particular Examination ..... 255 General Examiiiation of Conscience 257 Method of General Examen ...... 259 General Confession 260 Rules of Penance ; or, tenth " Addition" .... 261 Rules for Discernment of Spirits, for the First Week . 263 „ „ Second Week . 268 On the Choice of States 271 Of Amendment or Reform 276 Rules for Temperance 277 Rules for Distribution of Goods and Alms . . . 279 The Scruples 281 Rules of the Orthodox Faith 283 Divers Manners of Praying 287 PART in. ABRIDOMENT OF THE FIRST PART OF THE EXEItOISES. Fundamental Meditation — ^EndofMan . . 291 tJudof CreatuT«i ...... . 994 n CONTENTS. FASI Indifference in regard to Creatures . . 297 On Sin — Its Punislinient .... . 300 On the same — Personal Sins . 305 On the same — Malice of Sin . 308 On the same— Effects of Sin . . an On Hell . 314 On Death . 317 On the same ...... . . . 32C On the Judgment . 323 On the Prodigal Son . . . . . . 8'J6 PART IV. Mysteries of the Life of our Saviour, distributed by St. Ignatius into fifty-one subjects of Meditation, with the passages from the Gospels indicated . , 331-354 PART V. TABLES. 1. Arrangement of Subjects for a Retreat of 30 days . 2. I, ,t 15 „ 3 ij ti o »i • 4 Another 6 Readings from the New Testament and from the" Imi- tation of Christ" proper to each of the principal nigaetf ....... 355 359 361 362 PREFACE. The name of " Spiritual Exercises" indicates that the faithful who come to the school of St. Ignatius to make a retreat are called upon to use the faculties of their understanding and their heart. They come to act for themselves, not to see another act ; in acting they come to exert themselves, not to give themselves up to barren . contemplation ; they come to exercise, not their body and its organs, but their soul and its chief powers — the understanding and the will. The object of this undertaking, altogether interioi and practical as it is, is clearly pointed out by the title even of the book.* Nothing vague, idle, or purely spe- culative, is to occupy man in the retreat. He comes to learn to conquer himself; to free himself from evil passions; to reform the disorder, great or-little, of hig past life, and to regulate it for the future by a plan con- formable to the Diviue will. Can man, during his short sojourn on earth, — becoiiie, too, by baptism a Christian the disciple and subject of Jesus Christ, — oau he pro- pose to himself an end more noble, more holy, more glcrifying to his Creator? To attain so high an end, many obstacles must be overcome, and manj' means made use of. Solitude ; silence ; cessation of ordinary business and study ; all reading foreign to the Exeicises ; the setting aside of all * " Spiritual Exercises ; chosen with a view to lead Man to conquer himself, to disengage hinisell' Ironi the latal influence of evil affections, and, with bil heart thus set free, to trace out for himBelf the plan of a truly CimBtian life," Till PREFACE. preoccupation as to the futuie, and all thoughts (although pious) which are not in harmony with the work of each day ; recollection of the senses ; restraint of the eyes, and the ohscurity which favours it ; confession of sins, which puts an end to remorse and calms disquiet; finally, wise counsels, which prevent too much eifeivesoence, exaltation, or fatigue, — which point out illusions, arouse languor, moderate indiscreet fervour; — such are the principal precautions taken to overcome the ohstacles which might injure this work of reform. The natural means employed, according to the de- gree of moral and physical strength of each one, are — ex- amination of conscience; meditation; the study, or rather the contemplation, of Jesus Christ ; reading of passages chosen from the holy Gospel and from the " Imitation of Jesus Christ ;" penance ; and i-ecourse to the advice of a director. Finally, by prayer, by mortification, by receiving the holy Sacraments of penance and the Eucharist, the as sistance of God infinitely good is sought, in order to cooperate with the efibrts of His faithful creature. Thus, all obstacles being set aside, man employs all his resources in reforming himself, and God adds to His goodwill the succours of His grace and the cooperation of His infinite power. The object of retreat is sublime. The means it em- ploys are powerful ; but are they equally certain, andai-e they chosen with wise discretion ? Do they not excite in man, with danger to his head or his heart, sentiments more factitious than natural, constrained rather than spontaneous ? St. Ignatius has foreseen this objection. " Let the nature, the length, the number of tlie exercises, be always suited," he says, " to the age, the capacity, the health, the good-will of the person in retreat ; let no one be burdened ; let each one do only what he can with profit, what he himself desires in the plenitude of his - will, without ever going beyond his strength or the grace PREFACE. U of tht moment, without ever passing the limits fixed for him by a prudent director enlightened by experience." Moreover, we have only to define the principal exer- cises we have named, to show evidently that they are all as prudent and discreet as they are powerful and efiica- cious. These definitions will assist the reader in form- ing for himself a more exact idea of them, and one which will become more readily practical. 1. Examination. When the attentive soul looks in upon itself, in order to compare its thoughts, its words, its actions, with the commandments of God and the Church, to sigh over the opposition which it finds be- tween its conduct and the Divine law, this exercise is called " Examination," and is either general or particular, according as it refers to all the faults committed, or to only one kind, — quotidien, or that which is made every day, or that which is preparatoiy to ordinary or extra- ordinary confession. St. Ignatius recommends this ex- ercise above all others, as withovit doubt the most con- ducive to a knowledge and reform of ourselves, the most favourable to reflection, and the least likely to load to exaltation and enthusiasm. He wishes this examination to be made with exactness and frequently, but without exaggeration or sciniple. The methods which St. Ignatius traces out for each of these examinations are remarlcable for their simplicity and efficac}'. The following is for the daily general ex- amination : After you have recollected yourself, you will thank God for the graces He has bestowed on you during the day ; you will then beg of Him light to know your ingratitude, and grace to detest it. Then you will think over the different hours or the diffeient occupations of the day, examining your thoughts, words, actions, or omissions. Aftei- having seen the number of vour faults, you must repent of them by exciting yourself to sincere sorrow ; and, finally, you will make a firm resolution to •void them for the future. I PREIACE. To arrive with certainty at amendment of life and the correction of our faults, the " Particulaj' Examen" is still more useful. It goes direct to the predominant sin or vice of our character ; in order to vanquish its enemies, it begins by isolating them, and attacks them one by one. The method of proceeding is this. Each morning you fix the exact point to be arrived at in this single combat. Every time during tlie day that you remark one of those faults which you wish to avoid above all others, >ou must oifer to God some testimony of your repentance, and to yourself some means of recalling your fault, e.g. by placing your hand on your heart (in such a way that this sign cannot be remarked by others). After noon and at night you will seek in your conscience the number of your failures.* You must note the result of this inquiry, and compare your progress of the day with that of the day before, that -of the week with the preceding week, being careful that your faults diminish each day. Thus you will bestow the same care in extirpating your faults and cultivating the opposite virtues, that the merchant does in calculating his receipts and expenses ; the inter est that a sick person takes in being informed of the progress of his cure or sickness ; the constancy and vigi- lance of the general of an ai-my, who is always well in- formed of the manoeuvres and movements of the enemy. Finally, with regard to an examination preparatory to confession, you may make use of a form. St. Ignatius gives a vei-y abridged one, preferring to leave the director to add what is suitable to the capacity and disposition of each one, rather than to trace out himself a catalogue of sins, necessarily inapplicable to many. You may also, ac- cording to the method called " The first Manner of Pray- ing," take the commandments of God and the Church, and the principal duties of your state, and on each one ask yourself the following questions : "What does this Boramandment or this duty prescribe ? In what have I *8aep.Si6. PREFACS. Xi been unfaithful ?" Before going from one to the other, maJie an act of contrition ; and to offer some satisfaction to God, and to obtain the grace of being more faithful henceforward, recite a short piayer. By this means your examination of conscience has the fii-st of those qualities it ought always to have — it has sorrow ; it com- prises, moreovei", meditation and instruction. Hence ' The first Manner of Praying" should be taught to all, and practised even when we are not preparing for con- fession. 2. Meditation. When the memory has recalled to the soul the lecoUection of some dogmatical or moral truth, when the understanding exerts itself to penetrate it, and tlie will to submit to it, attach and devote itself to it, we then say that we meditate. Meditation is also called the " Exercise of the three Powers of the Soul." The subject of the meditation should be considered beforehand, and divided into two or three points which fix the memoiy, and contain each one some circumstance worthy of attention. From the commencement of the exercise, the person in retreat must occupy his memory, his imagination, his will, with the subject of the mystery to be meditated on. This begfnning is called the " pre- lude." The memory supplies the two or three points prepared; the imagination forms a sort of picture of them, if it can do so without constraint, and without dwelling on it too long; the heart asks in a fervent prayer that it may know and love. The whole is done in the presence of Jesus Christ, who sees us, and in a respectful attitude which renders to Him at once the homage of our souls and of our bodies. The soul, having thus seized the entire subject, has only to be penetrated and nourished by it. Reflections, colloquies, or conversations with God, affections, are the necessary results of the remembrance, and the attentive consideration of the objects. There the soul finds light, unction, a feeling of the Divine presence or of the Divine Ul PREFACE. will; there it rests without being anxious to proceed fai-tlipv. The body also is kept in the attitude which our experience has shown to be most favouraV'le to recollection. This exercise, which lasts an hour, being finished, the person in retreat must employ another quarter of an hour in examining how he has conducted himself during the hour he has conversed with the Lord, giving Him thanks for any success, and sighing at His feet for whatever negligences he has been guilty of. This method, without comparing it with others, is incentestahly a simple, prudent, and practical one. There is in it nothing subtle, embarrassing, or minute. The flight of the soul is directed without being shackled; the means which unite the soul to God are all employed in it, but only in accordance with the end to be attained. We find in it all that is useful, and nothing superfluous. 3. Contemplation. In this age, so little contemplative, we must define exaotlj' what is meant by contemplation. We contemplate rather than meditate when, after the memory has recalled the whole, or some detail, of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, the soul, in a state of profound recollection, employs itself in seeing, hearing, considering the different circumstances of the mystery, for the pur- pose of being instructed, edified, and moved by it. This contemplation takes the name of "Application of the Senses" when the soul nourishes itself at leisure, and without the employment of the understanding, on all that the mystery offers to it to see, to hear, to taste, to feel, almost as if the fact present to the imagination passed before the eyes, and affected all the bodily senses. Thus, in meditation, it is the understanding which is exerted on am abstract truth, of which it seeks to be con- vinced ; in contemplation, it is the soul that applies itself to the Incarnate Truth, which represents to itself the practical teachings of the Man-God, which apphes itself to see, to hear, the Word made flesh — to " eontemplate" Him ; such is the word which has been chosen to ex- PREFACE, till pregs these acts. Let us show, in a fell)ened in justice by this Divine grace, he says to Him at tlie end of the last week, " Since Thou hiist given Thyself entirely to me, let me now belong wholly to 'J'hee : take me ; keep me !" Sus- oipe, Domine, universam meam libertatem ! If he says at first to Jesus Christ, as Jesus Christ Himself said to His Father, " All Thine is mine ;" he adds at the end, "All that is mine isTliine!" The gift is reciprocal, the exchange perfect, the transformation is complete. While the disciple thus advances by this way, which leads from hell to heaven, St. Ignatius conducts him from the more simple and easy to what appears at first the more unusual and more arduous. First, he proposed to him only oonsideraticnis entirel}' rational, without pi'escribing either time or method for making them, without even giving them that name of meditation which alarms inex- perience. Thus, he leads him to desire and willingly re- ceive the metliods of examination and meditation indi- cated above. The " Triple Sin," or the history of tlio fallen angels, of Adam cast out of Paradise, of man damned for his personal sin, shows, by the most natuial and the easiest appUcation of all, how meditation is the ex- ercise of the three powers of the soul, and what is the use of the preludes and the colloquies. The subject of Hell, which soon follows, and which ought to speak so strongly to the imagination, serves as a model of tlie " Application of the Senses." As soon as our Lord presents Himself, it is by contemplation that we apply ourselves to study- ing Him as our model. What a first exercise had disco- vered to us, frequent repetitions should impress more deeply on the soul. During the third and fourth weeks certain views of faith, or considerations, as touching as they are practical, are proposed for additional points o/ contemplation. In the work of each week the faithful is directed by »(ivioe and rules which ought to actuate direct, and, at PRGFACB. XlC] need, moderate his zeal. Among tlie multitude of lessons that mystic theology might give him, and with which an inexperienced person would not have iailed to saturate him, St. Ignatius, with a rare sobriety, a profound wis- dom, an exquisite discernment, has chosen those most suitable for his purpose. During the first week he in- structs in examination of conscience, meditation, discern- ment of different spirits, which solicit to good or evil a soul yet in sin or just emerging from it; he teaches the necessity and the pi-actice of penance ; he teaches us to know and to avoid scruples ; he shows the advantages and the facility of malting a good general confession. During the second week, he continues to enlighten the steps of the person in retreat by rules for the discern- ment of spirits. He renders contemplation easy to him, and directs him in the choice of a state, if he be in a po- Bition to choose one; and if his state is already fixed, he teaches him to reform it, in the detail of his conduct, on the model of Jesus Christ. If he has wealth to distri- bute, he recalls to him the rules of the Gospel. The third week is best chosen to teach the disciple of Jesus Christ, attentive in 0(mtemplating His sufl'erings, the manner of conforming to his Divine model as to the care to be given to the body, especially in his meals. For the rest, the nearer the person in retreat draws to the end, the more he acquires experience, and the less he re- quires to have this sort of rules multiplied for his in- struction. St. Ignatius, though giving advice suitable to the fourth week, and, in general, to paschal time, feast- days, to the happy position of a soul that Jesus Christ fills with His peace and inebriates with His joy, — does not assign any special study for this time of hapjjiness. The different manners of praying, the meditations on the life of our Saviour, the observations on scruples, on alms, the rules of orthodox faith, of discernment of spirits, are, as a body of reserve, jjlaced near this army ranged for battle, ^vhich we have just passed in review. The di- IJdi ^ttEFACfi. rector, according to the need of the person in retreat, pre- sents to him as a defence in iiis combat, as a torch on his path, such a rule, such a raediUition, such a method of conversing familiarly with God, as he judges best. The first manner of praying may be usefull}' taught to all ; the second and third assist in making vocal prayer intel- ligently and experimentally. The meditations, of which St. Ignatius only indicates the principal points, refeiring to the Gospel for the developments, are made after the model traced at the beginning of each week. The rules of orthodox faith, written at the time when the pretended reform raised its standard against the Church, are not less useful to meditate on now than in foi-mer days. No- thing, again, can be more luminous, more profound, more practical, than these indications given by St. Ignatius for discerning the different spirits that act on oui-s, for the purpose either of saving or destroying us. All these rules (whatever may be the modest name attached to them, such as " annotations or additions") are all peneti'ated by the spirit of the Gospel, by the doc- trine of the Church, the traditions of experience, the teachings of the highest philosophy, enlightened and di- rected by faith. This may be illustrated by a single fx ample. At the end of the second week we find the rult of " election." Here is the summary of the rules so deeply important in their object, — " the choice of a state." God can only make His good jjleasure known to us through our senses by an act of His omnipotence, oi to our understanding by a manifestation of His Word, oi to our heartf by an interior touch of His Spirit. The first voice is that heard by Matthew at his counter, by Paul cast to the earth on the road to Damascus. It has to be mentioned because the Lord sometimes employs it ; but it is the farthest removed from the ordinary ways of Pro- vidence, and it would be presumption for us to wait for it to lead us to act. The tliiid is the most frequently aeard, and we learn to discern with certainty the move ments that the Spirit of God impresses on the heart of His creature by consulting the rules for the discernment of spirits. Finally, the second is manifest when the un derstanding, free from all the influences of the heai-t, ex amines and sees by reflection, by the study of its apti tudes, by the comparison between such and such a way, that which in the present case is the most direct and the most certain, in order to arrive at the final end of every free being — salvation. After having discovered by this meth"d (which may be called the analytioal) the advan- tages of such or such a choice, and the manifestation of the Divine will by such or such an interior voice. St. Ig- natius wishes that, for greater certainty, another mode (which may be called the synthetical) should be employed. Thus, if they wish to put the decision at which they think they have arrived to the proof by the thought of approaching death, of the judgment of Jesus Christ, they ought to ask themselves. Have I chosen this course solely with a view to the interests of my salvation? Should I counsel this choice to one of my friends who, in the same dispositions that I am, should ask my ad- vice ? Moreover, we must pray before, during, and after the deliberation ; and the director is at hand, not to sug- gest or give the impulse, but to smooth the way, set aside the obstacles, dissipate the illusions, recall the rules, lead us gently to observe them, and applaud tlie choice made according to God's will. EnUghtened by lessons and advice equally wise, the course, for any person who is able to fulfil the conditions mentioned above, lasts for about thirty days. Each day he devotes four hours (not consecutive) to meditation ; al- most evei-y night he takes from his rest another hour for this purpose. This hour at night is so silent, so profoundly calm, so favourable to recollection, that those who dunng their retreat have devoted it to the first exercise, have praised the inspiration of St. Ignatius, and have con- gratulated themselves on their courage. Two quartert an PREFAcfi. of an hour, one in the middlo of the day, the other befor*. sleep, are given to examination of conscience. Some chapters of the " Imitation," the narratives of the Gos- pel which develop the subject of meditation, are nearly all the reading. He visits the church, assists at Mass ; he may see his director every day. According to the needs of his soul, according to the mysteries meditated on, he practises more or less penance; suiTounds himself with darkness, or enjoys the perfume of flowers and the serenity of the heavens. The number of days of each week is not fixed ; each ends when its aim is attained. The iirst, for a siixner not submissive to grace, may be very long ; for a soul already i-econciled to God, it will be much shorter ; but it must never be omitted, even in a retreat of eight or ten days. When the end of man has been deliberately considered, we find in the book of St. Ignatius meditations pointed out only for one day, with this remark, however : if the spiritual profit of the person require it, let him continue to meditate on the consequences and the chastisements of sin. The second week, when its object is the choice of a state of life, has frequently to be prolonged. St. Ignatius has appointed meditations for it for twelve or thirteen days, although it may not reach that term, oi- may continue longer. The third is only half as long as the second in its plan. The fourth, like the first, is left entirely to the discern- ment of the director. In tracing out this great and perfectly-arranged plan, St. Ignatius has never for a moment lost sight of the in- firmity of man, of the variety of his resources and his wants, and of the multiform action of grace in the heart. So, in opening this sublime course to elevated minds and generous hearts, in directing their efforts towards the highest perfection, in stimulating their emulation by the most noble motives, in making, in short, the best use of thch capacity and strength, the author of the " Exercises" has not forgotten the infinitely greater number of limited t>IlEFACE. XX? capacities and feeble wills. One of the first rules that this great man lays down for the director of a retreat is, " that he adapt the exercises to the age, the capacity, the strength of the pet'sou about to perform them ; that he never impose too heavy a burden on an unenlightened mind or a faint heart ; that he never propose any thing to any one which is not in proportion to his present strength and good-will." Thus a very few only of chosen ones will be allowed to go through the whole course of the exercises. Those of the first week, and the different manners of praying, will suit a great number of persons ; but they ma}' require to be modified even for them. It will suffice for many to be taught how to examine their consciences ; to meditate half an hour every morning on the commandments of God, or the cajjital sins ; to confess and communicate every week, and to practise the works of mercy. One who is able to do more, but is much occu- pied, may, if he can spare an hour and a half everj' day, receive from his director the developments of the subjects disposed in their natural order, as well as the correspond- ing rules and methods. Evei-y day, when he returns home, he must devote an hour to meditation, returning the next day and the day after to the same subject, so as .,0 supply by this double repetition the efiect which the continuation of the exercises would have produced. Thus St. Ignatius makes himself "all to all men;'' he sacrifices to the utility of each the beauty and har- mony of his plan; or, to express it better, his plan is to carry to the highest state of perfection those who are capable of it, and yet to be useful to more limited minds and more imperfect wills. Magnificent as a whole, his book is precious in its smallest details. The appi'obation of the Holy See is remarkable in that it relates 10 every part as well as to the entire work. We will cite these remarkable words, which have far more authority than any praise of ours : " After having examined" (says Paul III. in his Bull Pastoralis Officii) " these Exercises and ixyj PHteFACte. Rules, and from the information and testimony of tlie examiners, we declare them full of piety and holiness, and that they are and will be very useful and advantage- ous to the edification and profit of the faithful. We wish also, as is suitable, to take into consideration the abundant fruits that Ignatius and his companions constantly produce through the whole world by the as- sistance of these spiritual teachings. Therefore, by our apostolic authority, by the tenor of these presents, and of our certain knowledge, we approve, praise, and fortify by all the authority of this writing, these teachings and spiritual Exercises, considered in the whole and in each part which they contain ; earnestly exhorting all the faithful of both sexes throughout the woild, each and eveiy one. to be instructed in sn good a school, and to profit by such holy lessons." To this solemn approbation and confirmation the succeeding Pontiffs have added many spiritual graces in favour of those who perform the said exercises. Alexander VII., Benedict XIV., Gregory XVI., have granted a plenary indulgence to all the faithful who during eight days, or at least during five days, perforrt the exercises of St. Ignatius under the direction of a Father of the Society of Jesus. After having cited the testimony of the sovereign Pontiffs, we hav&uo need to quote those of the Saints and the great Doctors of the Church. May this book be the means of making the teachings of the holy founder of the Society of Jesus better ap- preciated ; may it, together with this Society, — always combated by hell, always protected by its Divine head. — conduce to the greater gloi-y of God, to the honour of our I,ord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and the salvation of many souls ! ?BAYEE or ST. I INATIUS, « ANIMA CHEISTI,- WHICH IS USED JFTEN DUKINQ THE EXERCISBS. Anima Christi, sanctifica me. Corpus Christi, salva me. Sanguis Christi, inebria me. Aqua lateris Christi, lava me. Passio Christi, conforta me. bone Jesu, exaudi me : Intia tua vulnera absconde mb ; Ne permittas me separari a te : Ab hoste maligno defends me; In hora mortis mess voca me, Et jube me venire ad te, Ut cum Sanctis tuis laudem te In saicula sieculorum. Amen. Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water out of the side of Christ, wash ai& Passion of Christ, strengthen me. good Jesus, hear me ; Hide me within Thy wounds; Suffer me not to be separated from Thea Defend me from the malignant enemy; Call me at the hour of my death, And bid me come unto Thee, That with 'J'hy Saints I may praise XhM For all eternity. Amen. I LOVE, I love Thee, Lord most higll! Because Thou fii-st hast lovM me ; I seek no other libeitv But that of being bound to Thee May memoiT no tliought sug'gest But shall to Til y pure g'lory tend ; My understanding find no rest Except in 'I'hee, its only end. My God, I here ])rotest to Thee, No other will have I than Thine: Whatever Thou hast giv'n to me, I here again to 'i'hee resign. A.11 mine is Thine, — say but the word; Whate'er Thou wiliest sjiall be doni I know 'I'hy love, all-gracious Lord ; I know it seeks my good alone. A.p;ut from Thee all tilings are nought} Then grant, my supremest blis% Qrant me to love Thee as I ought ; Thou givest all in giving this I THE Sptritnai (tmasts 0f St Jlgnattofi Spiritual tttvtUts. INTEODUCTION; BUNG INSTRUCTIONS FOB PERSONS MAKING A RETREAT, TEACHIHt THEM WHAT THEY ARE ABOTTT TO DO, AND THE RULES THE! SHOULD OBSERVE DURING TIUC EXERCISE*. I By Spiritiml Exercises is understood certain opera- tions of the mind and heart, such as the examination of conscience, meditation, contemplation, mental and vocal prayer, which are employed in order to free the soul from its irregular affections, and so to put it in the way of knowing and embracing the will of God to- wards it. 2. As it is the soul which is to be exercised in mak- ing a retreat, we must seek from our spiritual guide only what is necessary to enable it to act with uprightness and certainty. We must not expect from him many words or long explanations, nor to hear long sermons or interesting lectures. It is not the quantity of food, but a healthy digestion, which nourishes the body ; so it is not the great amount of knowledge communicated, but the manner in which the heart receives it, and is nou- rished by it, that satisfies the needs of the soul. More- 4 SPIRITOAL EXERCISES. over, experience proves that the heart will receive with delight, and with g-reater real .profit, what it discovers for itself, either by its own reflections, or by the lin-ht shed upon it by Divine grace, than what is presented to its inteUigence by lengthened discourses. 3. These Exercises engage both the understanding and the will of man. The understanding seeks by rea- soning to obtain the full knowledge of the subject pro- posed to it; the will produces the various affections which result from the knowledge acquired. In these acts of the heart, wherein it approaches God and con- verses with Him, the faithful soul ought to be careful never to forget the inward as well as the external respect which the presence of the Divinity requires. 4. Although St. Ignatius has divided the Exercises into four series or weeks, each consecrated to a special work of reform, or a distinct study of our Lord Jesus Christ, it must not be supposed that these weeks are necessarily of seven days. Bach one ends when its aim is attained : this happens soonest to the most dili- gent, and those whom the grace of God influences most quickly ; later to those who, notwithstanding their good- will, are longer tried by contending feelings. Generally, the complete course of these Exercises re- quires about thirty days. 5. The person in retreat will find every thing easy, and himself wonderfully assisted by grace, if fi-om the beginning he brings to God a large and generous heart ; if he abandons himself with all his wishes and all his liberty to the action of his Creator ; if he is disposed to allow his Sovereign Lord to order him, and all that concerns him, according' ^o His good pleasure. SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 6. The rules which are given for the discernment of epirits will assist the soldier of Jesus Christ — sometimes consoied by Heaven as he will be, and sometimes a prey to desolation — to know and avoid the snares laid for him by his enemies. If he neither feels consolation, nor sadness, nor other movements of the heart, he must examine himself carefully on the manner in which he performs these Exercises. Does he perform them at the time prescribed, and in the manner pointed out? Does he observe the methods and rules traced out for him ? In moments of temptation and dryness let him encourage himself; let him reassure himself with the hope of soon being- consoled ; let him, moreover, have recourse to the counsels of his spiritual director. 7. It is well for the person in retreat to concentrate his thoughts on the subject presented to him at the moment, without preoccupying himself at all about the day or the week which is to follow. Let him give an hour to each of the Exercises of the day ; and as the evil one uses every means to make us shorten tliis time, let him take care to be able to reassure himself always with the thought that he has lengthened rather than shortened it. 'I'he time will appear short if it pass in the midst of consolation, but very long in moments of deso- lation and dryness. It is at these times that it would be well to prolong the Exercise, to conquer ourselves, and to show the enemy that his attacks are not only re- sisted, but turned to the advantage of our souls. 8. When consolation is abundant, no vow or pro- mise should be made without having taken time to re- flect and consult. When the soul, on the contrary, feels inclined towards things inferior or less perfect, everj SPIRITUAL BXERCI8EB. effort must be made to elevate it and give it a contrarj direction. To obtain this grace from the God of all goodness, besides assiduous prayer, let other pious ex- ercises be added; beg our Lord not to allow us to obtain or keep any thing, whether honours, riches, or happiness, until our irregular inclination for these things has been reformed, and rendered subordinate to the in- terests of His service and glory. 9. That the director may guide with certainty the soul placed under his care, and judge of its spiritual progress, we must faithfully tell him, not precisely our own thoughts and opinions, or our sins (the latter will be told in confession), but the agitations and dif- ferent movements which the Spirit of God, or the evil spirit, may produce in us. 10. In order that the number, the length, and the nature of tlie Exercises may be suited to the age, capacity, and inclination of the person in retreat ; that no one may be overburdened, and all may have what is suitable to their particular dispositions and wants at the time, — each one will receive from his director, at the beginning, a rule fixing the hours of rising, of medi- tation, of meals, and the other exercises and occupations of the day. His spiritual guide also will visit him as often as he thinks requisite, setting him the employment for each day as well as the directions, advice, and en- couragement, which he judges to be suitable and useful. The author of the Exercises, like the Apostle, made himself all things to all men. To strong-, able, generous- minded men, and to those who are masters of their time and of their state of life, he recommends four medita- tions a day of an hour each ; another meditation of an hour SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 7 in the middle of the night; an examination of conscience in the middle of the day, and another before going' to rest. Some relaxation will be allowed these porsons, if required, during- this laborious course. Persons who unite all these conditions, except the time, and who cannot give more than an hour, or an hour and a half a day, the rest of their time being occupied in their ordi- nary avocations, will receive directions how to occupy themselves each day for an hour. By these means they will advance more slowly, but nevertheless in order, and will secure the continuity of the Exercises by one or two repetitions of each meditation. The Exercises of the first week are those which are suited to the capacity and devotion of the gTeater number. Such will come out of the retreat with a deeper fear of God, having made a good general confession, knowing how to examine their consciences well, and to approach the Sacraments more regularly. Others again must be sa- tisfied with less. To these the commandments of God and the Church, and the method of examining their consciences and going to confession, will be explained ; they will be instructed in the three methods of prayer which are mentioned fiirther on. It is desirable that such persons should devote half an hour every morning to these Exercises, and that they should approach the Sacraments every week or fortnight. 1 1. But those who have their time at their disposal, and who wish to derive all the benefit possible from these Exercises, must perform them exactly as they are laid down. They must place before their eyes, either written or printed, the principal points of the Medita- tions, and the abridgment of the methods, that they may 8 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. not escape their memory. Their progress in the spiritual life will be the more rapid according- as they more com- pletely separate themselves from their acquaintances and friends, and from worldly tlioug-hts and business. Therefore such must, if possible, leave their homes and retire to a more solitary room or house, and only come out to assist at Mass and the Offices of the Church, so as not to meet with interruptions. This solitude will procure, among-st others, three gTeat advantages : first, in separating in this manner from friends, relations, and worldly affairs, ' we shall obtain abundant grace from Heaven. Then, as the mind is less distracted dur- ing this voluntary retreat, and not drawn off to other subjects, the thoughts are more easily fixed and concen- trated on the one thing necessary, — the service of God; and the will follows the subject which the understanding offers to it with all the liberty and energy of its nature. In fine, the more the soul is disengaged and separated from creatures, the more she is at liberty to follow and 'attain to her Creator and Master, who only approaches her to enrich her with the infinite gifts of His bounty.. 12. That the relations between him who gives the retreat and those who make it may be as agreeable and as profitable as possible, neither must lose sight of this advice : Every good and pious Christian must be dis- posed to receive in a favourable sense and to take in good part every word susceptible of being so received and understood, rathiii than to take it in a rigorous ano objectionable sense. If it happen that the expression k not defensible, ask the perston his intention in saying it , and if he is really in error, point it out to him in a charit- able manner, that he may set himself right on the point INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION, WITH THE EECOMMEKDATIONS OF ST. ISNATIHS, CAUiED TMi " TEN ADDITIONS." Meditation consists in calling- to mind some dog" matic or moral truth, and reflecting' on or discussing this ti-uth according to each one's capacity, so as to move the will and produce in us amendment. Thus, if you have to meditate on the sin of the angels, you will call to mind how they, having dis- obeyed their Creator, forfeited grace and were cast out of heaven into hell. You will then reflect attentively on this subject, so as to feel confounded by and blush at the multitude of your sins, compared to this one single sin which ruined the rebel angels. In fine, you will conclude that you have often merited the same punishment as they, since you too have so often sinned. To meditate useftilly, observe well the following rules: Before Meditation. 1. The subject should be divided into two or three points, that the meditation may be rendered more easy by a division which is naitural and easy to remember. 8. Before beginning, we must by a preparatory prayer beg of God by His grace to direct all the powers and operations of our souls to His service and glory alone. 3. Tlie heart having taken this proper and gene- rous resolution, the faithful soul must impress the sub- ject proposed on the mind, the imagination, and the wilL 10 8PIBITDAL EXERCISES. If the subject of the meditation is a history,— for example, that of the Prodigal Son,— the irwmory must recall the principal facts. This is the first prelude as g-enerally used, particularly during the second and fol- lowing weeks. The imagination seizes its object by placing it in a certain spot which the mind represents to itself. This has caused the name of " composition of place" to be given to the second prelude. If the meditation is on some visible object, such as the birth of Jesus Christ, we must figure to ourselves the place where this mys- tery was accomplished, — the stable at Bethlehem, the manger, &c. If the mind is occupied by a truth purely intellectual, — for example, the misery of sin, — we may assist ourselves by a picture of a soul imprisoned in the body, banished among animals in this vale of tears. The object of this prelude is to give the soul the im- pression that would be produced upon it by the sight of a picture representing exactly the subject of meditation^ or, still better, by the sight of the place where the mys- tery occurred. We must avoid in this, even more than in other points, all violent efforts of the mind, or loss of time. Since every person's imagination is not suffi- ciently lively and docile to succeed easily in this pre- lude, it must be set aside if it prove an embarrassment. The will is exercised in soliciting a grace accord- ing to the mystery: for example, contrition, sorrow, joy, &c. During the Meditation. 1. We must endeavour to understand and feel in- wardly the truth on which we meditate, rather than think much on it. SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 11 2. If facility and consolation are experienced, we must beware of vain satisfaction. We must never make a vow lightly or without advice. Our reflections and sentiments must always be directed towards oui own amendment. 3. , In times of dryness and desolation we must be patient, and wait with resig'nation the return of conso- lation, putting- our trust in the goodness of God. We must animate ourselves by the thought that God is always with us, that He only allows this trial for our greater good, and that we have not necessarily lost His grace because we have lost the taste and feeling of it. 4. Meditations should be ended by one or several Colloquies. These are familiar conversations in which we speak to God like a son to a father, a servant to a master, one friend to another, a criminal to ajudg/; sometimes acknowledging our faults, sometimes ex- posing our wants, sometimes asking graces. These colloquies are addressed to the Blessed Virgin, to our Saviour, or to God the Father, sometimes to all three successively. This is the part of the meditation requir- ing the most liberty and confidence, but also the most respect. They must be concluded either by the " Ave Maria," the " Anima Christi," or the " Pater," accord- ing to the person to whom they are addressed. These cdlloquies may take place not only at the end, but at the beginning, or in the course of the meditation, as devotion may inspire. When we address ourselves to Jesus Christ, and beg Him to intercede for us before God, it must be understood that we consider Him, not simply as God, bu*. in His human nature as our Mediator and Advocate. IS SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. After Meditation. When two meditations liave been made, it is custo- mary to repeat them once or twice. This method is very useful, for it often happens that the first view of a mystery offers food chiefly to the curiosity of the mind ; but, this desire of knowledge once satisfied, the soul returns calmly to its first impressions, and can more easily give free course to its affections ; for it is in tiie affections of the heart that the fruits of an exercise con- 'sist. In these repetitions we must avoid all long- rea- sonings, and only replace before our eyes, and run ovei', so to say, our first thoughts, dwelling on them with our will and heart. The use of the colloquies should be more frequent during the repetitions than during the Exercises. ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE FORM OF EESOLUTIONS, WHICH WILL ASSIST tIS IN MAKING THE EXERCISES WELL, AND OBTAINING FHOM GOD WHAT WB ASK OF HIM. 1. On lying down, before going to sleep, during the short time which will suffice for repeating the " Hail Mary,'' I will fix the hour of my rising, and review in my mind the points of my meditation. S. On awaking, immediately excluding all other thoughts, I will apply my mind t > the truth on which I am going to meditate ; at the same time I will ex- cite in my heart suitable sentiments. For example, be- fore the Exercise on the "triple sin," I will say to my- self while I dress, " And I, loaded with so many graces, the object of predilection to my Lord and King, I stand SPIRITUAL EXERCI8E8. 13 convicted of ingratitude, of treason, of rebellion, before His eyes and those of His whole court.'' Before the Exercise on personal sins, " Behold me, a criminal de- serving death, led before my Judge loaded with chains." These sentiments must accompany the act of rising, and will vary according to the subject of meditation. 3. Standing a few paces from the spot where I am going to make my meditation, I must recollect myself, raise my mind above earthly things, and consider our Lord Jesus Christ as present and attentive to what I am about to do. Having given to this preparation the time required to say the " Our Father," I will offer the homage of my soul and body to our Saviour, assuming an attitude full of veneration and humble respect. 4. I will then begin my meditation, if I am alone in my chamber or elsewhere without witnesses, in the posture most suitable to the end I propose to myself, sometimes with my face bowed to the earth, sometimes standing, sometimes sitting ; only observing that if I obtain what I seek kneeling, or in any other attitude, I ought to remain so without seeking any thing better. In the same way, if any particular point causes me to experience the grace which I am seeking, I must re- main there calmly until my devotion is satisfied, with- out caring for any thing more. 5. After having finished the Exercise, I will either walk about or sit still, and examine how it has succeeded. If it has not, I will ascertain the cause, sincerely re- pent, and make finn resolutions for the future. If the success has been satisfactory, I will make acts of thanks- giving, and resolve to foUow the same method for the future. 14 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 6. I will lay aside during the first week all joyfiil thoughts, such, for instance, as the glorious resurrec- tion of Jesus Christ. This thought would dry up the tears which I ought at this period to shed over my sins. I must rather call up thoughts of death and judgment, in order to assist my sorrow. 7. For the same purpose, I will shut out the day- light, only allowing sufficient light to enter my room to enable me to read and take my meals. 8. I will carefully avoid all laughter, or any thing itrhich can lead to it. 9. I will not look at any one, unless obliged to sa- lute them or say adieu. 10. The tenth " recommendation" wiU be found is the Second Part, under the title of " Rule of Penanoe " 16 PREPAEATORY EXERCISE. Veni Creator, Ave maris Stella. Invoice St. Joseph, your angel guardian, and your patron saints. Then read attentivelji the xabject of meditation which is to open the Exercises. MEDITATION ON EETEEAT. FIBST CONSIDERATION. What God has prepared for you in retreat God has prepared for you a superabundance of Hii graces in this retreat. It is the same in retreat as in the great solemnities of religion and in ceitain privi- leged sanctuaries of Mary. Jesus Christ has graces for every day ; but He reserves His choicest ones for the days on which the Church celebrates the great myste- ries of His life on earth. Mary is always our bene- factress and our mother; but she has favourite sanc- tuaries, to which she attaches her greatest blessings and miracles. The privilege of a retreat is to draw down upon us all the graces of God in their greatest pleni- tude. " Behold, now is the acceptable time : behold., now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. vi. 2). Consider, with St. Bernard, that it has been in retreat that God has always pleased to signalise His greatest mercies towards men. It was in retreat on Sinai that Moses received the tables of the law ; it was i» the retreat of Carmel that Elias received the double 16 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. spirit which animated him ; it was in the retreat of the desert that John Baptist received the plenitude of the Spirit of God ; it was in retreat that the Apostles received the gifts of the Holy Ghost; it was in re- treat that God converted the most illustrious peni- tents, that He laised up the most fervent apostles of the new law, that He inspired the founders of religious societies ; in fine, it was in the retreat of Nazareth that Mary Lecame the mother of God ; and it may he said that all the life of Jesus Uhrist was a retreat. " Soli- tude was witness of the vigils of Jesus ; solitude heard the prayers of Jesus ; solitude saw Him come into the world, preach, be transftgured, die, rise from the dead, ascend into heaven" (P. de Celles). Believe, then, and rest assured that all the graces of God await you in this retreat. Who are you who this day begin these holy Exer- cises ? Who are you ? A soul established in virtue ? You need renewing. The most solid virtue is a per- fume which evaporates, a mirror which tarnishes, a water which becomes impure in the midst of the world. " Bless the Lord, my soul, .... who satisfieth thy desire with good things ; thy youth shall be renewed like the eagle's" (Ps. cii. 1, .5). To you the grace of a retreat will be one of renovation. Who are you? A soul divided in the service ol God? a soul embarrassed by a multitude of human affections ? You have now to detach your heart from creatures. " How long do you halt between two sides ? If the Lord be God, follow Him" (3 Khigs xviii. 21). For you the grace of retreat will be a grace of de- tachment. 9PIHITITAL EXERCISES. 1* Who are you ? A soul given to worldly pleasures ? one who does not pray, or prays badly? You must return to yourself and to God. " Return, ye transgress- ors, to the heart" (Is. xlvi. 8). " We ought always to pray" (Luke xviii. 1). For you the grace of retreat will be one of recollection and prayer. Who are you? A soul struggling with long and violent temptations ? You need strength to resist. " If you return and be quiet, you shall be saved : in silence and hope shall your strength be" (Is. xsx. 15). For you the grace of retreat will be one of firmness and perseverance. Who are you ? Lastly, are you a guilty soul ? per- haps a soul grown old in sin, perhaps an impenitent soul, perhaps a soul struck with blindness and hardness? And if this question alone does not make you trem- ble, certainly you are a hardened soul. Ah ! you re- quire nothing less than all the gTaoes of God ; and this retreat offers them to you, — the grace of light on your state, on the enormity of your faults, on the greatness of your losses for eternity, on the judgments of God which menace you; the gTace of compunction; the grace of firm resolution ; the grace of a real and solid conversion. SECOND CONSIDERATION. What God asks of you in this retreat. God requires two things of you,- on which depend aU the graces of the retreat. 1. Recollection of spirit. You are in retreat to listen to C|od. " I will hear what the Lord God will 18 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. speak within me" (Ps. Ixxxiv. 9). But the voice of God only makes itself heard in the repose and silence of the soul. It is true that the voice of God, having once fully penetrated the heart, becomes strong- as the tempest and loud as the thunder ; but before reaching the heart it is weak as a light breath which scarcely agitates the air. It shrinks from noise, and is silent amid agitation. " The Lord is not in the earthquake" (? Kings xix. 11). Retire into your heart with God, to meditate, to pray, to weep, to speak to the Lord and to listen to Him. You will not be alone when you are with Him. " How can he be alone who is always with God ?" says St. Ambrose. If you are deprived of the conversation of men, you will enjoy that of the saints, of the angels, of Jesus Christ.* 2. Perfect docility of heart. This comprises three things : fidelity to rules ; application to the exercises ; obedience to all the movements of grace. Be afraid of refusing any thing to God : however small the sacrifice may be, perliaps our conversion, our salvation, may de- pend on it. A single word of the Gospel converted St. Anthony ; a word from a sermon converted St. Nicho- las Tolentino ; a fact of history, a reading, a conver- sation, began the conversion of St. Augustine, of St. Ignatius, of St. Francis Xavier. Can you tell to what sacrifice God may have attached the change of your heart? Enter, then, into the disposition of the pro- phet : " My heart, Lord, is ready" (Ps. Ivi. 8). Do not fear to be too generous with God, and do not be • " I call to me whom I will : I possess the society of saints ; a troop of angels accompany me : I e^joy converse with Jesus Christ Himself." St. Jerome. StlRITUAI. EXERCISES. l9 afraid of the sucrifices He may ask of yon ; this sweet experience will force you to cry out with St. Augustine, " How sweet has it been to me to be deprived of the miserable delig'hts of a fiivolous world ! and what incomparable joy have I felt after a privation once so dreaded !" Cast yourself^ therefore, at the feet of Jesus Christ, and say to Him, " Lord, Thou hast given me a Eoul capable of knowing and loving Thee ; I return it to Thee, not adonied with the grace and virtue that Thou bestowedst on it in baptism, but covered with the scars and wounds of sin ; cure it, heavenly Physi- cian, and restore to it its pristine life and beauty. " Lord, I offer Thee my imderstanding ; enlighten it with Thy brightest light. ' Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death' (Psalm xii. 4). " Lord, I offer Thee my memory ; blot out from it the remembrance of the world, and leave in it only the memory of Thy mercies to bless them, and of my sins to weep for them. " Lord, I offer Thee my heart ; change it by Thy gfrace. ' Create a clean heart in me, God, and renew a right spirit within me' (Psalm 1. 19). " Lord, I offer to Thee the senses of my body, the powers of my soul, my whole being ; dispose of them for my salvation and for Thy greater glory. * I have put my trust in Thee, Lord ; I have said Thou art my God ; my lot is in Thy hand' " (Psalm xxx. 15). Pater. Ave. ^ FIRST PART. DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEDITATIONS AND OuW TEMPLATIONS OF THE FOUR WEEKS' SPIRITUAJ EXERC3ES. FIRST WEEK. Introduction to considerations on the end of man. 1. The consideration on the end of man serves as a commencement to the Exercises. It is called ihefoun- dation, because it is the basis of the whole spiritual edi- fice. It will be seen in the sequel, that the other meditations are only a consequence of this, and that it is upon this that all the success of the retreat depends. It is necessary in this Exercise to know thoroughly the end for which God created us, to resolve generously to make sacrifice of every thing- which can divert us from this end, to look with indifference on every thing but that which leads to it, and even to cany our hwo- ism so far as to choose whatever brings us to it most surely and rapidly, be the cost ever so great. 2. The object of this study is not precisely to excite gratitude towards God by recalling- the benefits of crea- tion ; it is rather to show us the end for which we were created, and to teach us to look upon the benefits of God as so many means for obtaining that end. Thus, even StJHITUAL EXERCISES. 91 in this first meditation, the mind must concentrate its thoughts on itself, and inquire what conduct has hitherto been observed, either xvith regard to the end or the means, the wanderings and errors into which we have been betrayed, and how those creatures that should have been the means of raising us up to God, have been abused so as to separate us from Him. But the princi- pal point is to impress well upon our minds the truth of our final end ; for as the foundation of an edifice sup- ports the whole building, so this first truth may be said to support all the others, in such manner that the success of the other meditations will be in proportion to the success of this. 3. The time to be given to this consideration has not been determined; but to render the beginning easier, eacli one is at liberty to devote the time most suited to his strength and his devotion, unless his director should have laid down some rule for him. PEINCIPLE OR FOUNDATION. Man was created for a certain end. This end is to praise, to reverence, and to serve the Lord his God, and by this means to an-ive at eternal salvation. All the other beings and objects which surround us o the earth were created for the benefit of man, and to be useful to him, as means to his final end ; hence his obligation to use, or to abstain from the use of, these creatures,* according as they bring him nearer to that end, or tend to separate him from it. • By the word creatwrea, St. Ignatius'here means, in general, 22 SPIRITUAL EXERCISE*. Hence we must above all endeavour to establisb ill ourselves a complete indifference towards all created thing-s, though the use of them may not be otherwise forbidden; not giving, as far as depends on us, any pre- ference to health over sickness, riches over poverty, honour over humiliation, a long life over a short. But we must desire and choose definitively in every thing what will lead us to the end of our creation. DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRINCIPLE OF THE EXERCISES. PIEST PAET OF THE TEXT, The end of Man. Text of St. Ignatius: Man was created fm' this end : to ■praise, reverence, and serve the Lord his God, and by this means to arrive at eternal salvation. This meditation comprises three great truths which are the foundation of all the Exercises: I come from God; I belong to God; I am destined for God. That is to say, God is my first principle, my sovereign Mas- ter, my last end. First Truth: I come from God. CONSIDERATIONS. 1. Where was I a hundred years ago? I was nothing. If I look back a hundred years, I see the world with iti all things which are distinct from God and ourselves ; all we find in nature, in society, as well as in the supernatural order j aQ events, all states of life, all the situations in which man findt himself firom time to time. gPlKlTlJAL EXERCISES. 23 empires, its cities, its inhabitants ; I see the sun which shines to-day, the earth on which I dwell, the land which gave me bii'th, tlie family from which I sprung-, the name by which I am known : but I, — what was 1, and where was I ? I was nothing, and it is amidst nothingness I must be sought. Oh, how many ages passed during which no one thought of me ! For how can nothing be the subject of thought ? How many ages when even an insect or an atom was gTeater than I ! for they possessed at least an existence. 2. But now I exist. I possess an intellect capable of knowing, a heart formed for loving, a body endowef' with wonderful senses. And this existence, who gave it me ? Chance ? — Senseless word ! — My parents ? They answer in the words of the mother of the Machabees : " No, it was not I who gave you mind and soul ; it was the Ci-eator of the world" (2 Mach. vii. 22). Lastly, was I the author of my own existence ? But nothing- ness cannot be the cause of existence. It is to God, then, that I must turn as my first beginning. " Thy hands, Lord, have made me and formed me" (Ps. cxviii. 73). " Thou hast laid Thy hand upon me" (Ps. cxxxviii. 5). Thou hast taken me from the abysi of nothing. 3. Consider, my soul, the circumstances of thy creation. (1.) God created me out of His pure love. Had He any need of my existence, or could I be necessary to His happiness ? "I have loved thee with an everlasting love" (Jer. xxxi. 3). (2.) God created me, and the decree of my creation is eternal like Himself. From eternity, then, God thought 24 SPlRITtjAr- EXERCISES. of me. I was yet in tlie abyss ofnothing-ness, and God g^ave me a place in His thoughts ! I was in His mind, and in His heart. " I have loved you with an everlast- ing love." (3.) God created me, and in creating me preferred me to an infinite number of creatures who were equally possible to Him, and who will for ever remain in nothmg- ness. God, how have I deserved this preference ! " I have loved thee with an everlasting love." (4.) God created me, and by creation made me the most noble of the creatures of the visible world. My soul is in His image, and all my being bears the stamp, the living stamp of His attributes. (5.) Lastly, God created me, and He has continued His creation during every moment of my existence. As many as are the hours and moments of my life, so often does He make me a fresh present of life. * AFFECTIONS. Sentiments of humility at the sight of our nothing- ness. " My substance is as nothing- before Thee" (Ps. xxxviii. 6). Sentiments of admiration. " What is man, that Thou shouldst magnify him ? or why dost Thou set Thy heart upon him?" (Job vii. 17.) Sentiments oi gratitude. "Bless the Lord, m} soul, and let all that is within me bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all He hatb done for thee" (Ps. cii. 1, 2). SPmiTTTAL EXKRCISES. 35 Second Truth : I belong to God. CONSIDERATIONS. 1. I come from God ; hence, I belong to God. 'jfod 16 my creator ; hence, He is my Lord and my M&Titer. To deny this consequence would be to deny my reason. 2. The Lord enters into judgment with me, and deigns to argue His rights at the bar of His creature. Is it not true that the master has a right to the services of his servants or of his slaves ? Is it not true tha*; the king has a right to the obedience of his subjects 'I the father, to the submission as well as the respect i f his children ? Is it not true that the workman has a right to dispose of his work as he chooses ? And I, the cres , ture of God, do I not belong more to God than the slave to his master, than the subject to his sovereign, the child to his father, the picture to him who painted it, or the tree to him who planted it ? Does not God possess over me all the rights of men over the creatm-es, and in a higher degree, and by more sacred titles? What is there in me that does not belong to Him, and is not the fruit, so to say, of His own capital, and there- fore His property ? " What have you that you hav« not received ?" (1 Cor. iv. 7.) What would remain to me if God took back all that He has given me ? If God took back my mind, what should I be ? — On a level with the brate animals. If He deprived me of life and motion, what should I be ? — A little dust and ashes. If He took away my substance and my whole being, what should I be ? — A sim])le nothing. my God ! all I have comes fi'oiu Thee; it is just that all in me should belong to Thee. " Lord, just art Thou, and glorious in Thy 26 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. power, and no one can overcome Thee. Let all creatures serve Tliee : for Tliou hast spoken, and they were made; Thou didst send forth Thy Spirit, and they were created" (Jud. xvi. 16, 17). 3. Consider, my soul, the characteristics of the dominion of God. (1.) Essential dominion. It was not necessary that God should draw me from nothing;. But since God has created me, it is necessary that I should he His. He would cease to be God if, bfing- my creator, He ceased to be my sovereig'n and my master. (2.) Supreme dominion. I belong- to God before every thing, and above every thing. Properly speak- mg', I belong to God alone, and men have no other rights over me except such as God has given them. • Their rights, then, are subordinate to the rights of God ; and their authority must be always subjected to the authority of God. (3.) Ahsohde dominion. God can dispose of me according to His pleasure ; He can give or take from me fortune, health, honoiu-, life; my duty is to receive every thing from His band with submission and with- out complaint. (4.) Universal dominion. Every thing in me is from God ; therefore all in me belongs to God. The domi- nion of the Lord extends to all the stages of my life, to all the situatiohs in which I may be placed, to all the faculties of my souJ, all the senses of my body, to every hoin- and moment of my existence. (5.) Eterncd dominion. Tlie dominion of God is im- mortal, like mvself ; it begins with time, and continues throuo-h eternity ; dentli, which deprives men of all SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 27 their rights, is unable to do any thing agpainst the rights of God. (6.) Irresistible dominion. We may escape the do- minion of men ; hut how escape the dominion of God ? Willing- or unwilling, we must submit to it; we must either live under the empire of His love, or under that of His justice ; either glorify His power by free obedience, or glorify it by inevitable punishment. " man, who art thou that repliest against God ? Shall the thing formed say to him who formed it, why hast thou made me thus ? " (Eom. ix. 20.) AFFECTIONS. 1. Adoration. " Thou art worthy, Lord our God, to receive glory and honour and power ; for Thou hast created all things" (Apoc. iv. 11). "Come, let us adore and fall down before the Lord that made usj for He is the Lord our God" (Psalm xciv. 6, 7). 2 Regret. " Is this the return thou makest to the Lord, foolish and senseless people ? Is not He thy fiitlier, that hath possessed thee, and made thee, and created thee ? Thou hast forsaken the God that made thee, and hast forgotten the Lord that created thee" (Deut. xxxii. 6, 18). 3. Submission. " Lord, I am Thy servant; I am Thy servant, and the son of Thy handmaid" (Psalm cxv. 16). Third Truth: I am destined for God. CONSIDERATIONS. 1. God is not only my creator and my master, He is also my last end. A God infinitely wise must haw 28 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. proposed to Himself an end in creating me; a GkxJ infinitely perfect could only have created me for His glory ; that is to say, to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him. 2. my soul ! dost thou wish for a proof of this great truth ? (1.) Ask thy faith; it will tell thee that God made all for Himself: " The Lord hath made all things for Himself (Prov. xvi. 4). That He is the heginning and the end of all things ; " I am the heginning and the end" (Apoc. i. 8). That the greatest of the com- mandments is to adore, to love, and to serve God: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God;" "Thau shalt adore the Lord thy God, and Him only shah thou serve" (Matt. xxii. 37, iv. 10). (2.) Ask thy reason ; it will tell thee that there must be some proportion between the faculties of man and their object. Hence there is nothing but the infinite per- fections of God which can be the objects of a mind and heart craving with an intense desire to know and to love. (3.) Ask the creatures ; they will tell thee, by their imperfection, their inconstancy, their weakness, in a word, by their nothingness, that they are far too in- significant to be the end of thy being. " Vanity of vanities, and aU is vanity, except to love God and to serve Him alone" (Imit. of Christ, i. 1). (4.) Ask thy heart; it will tell thee that thou art formed for happiness, and that thou requirest happiness without alloy, happiness without limits, an eternal hap- piness ; that is, that thou requirest nothing less than God Himself. (6.) Ask thy own experience; it will thee why it v SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 29 that, when thou hast heen faithful in serving God, peace has dwelt within thy breast; why it is that, when thou hast separated thyself from Him, thou hast felt nothing but disg-ust, emptiness, and remorse. Peace of heart is the fruit of order faithfully kept, faithfully observed. " We were made, Lord, for Thee, and our heart is restless until it finds peace in Thee" (St. Aug.). 3. Thus my end is to know God, to love God, to serve God; this, therefore, is all my duty, all my greatness, all my happiness. (1.) All my duty. "5?w!, I must know, love, and serve God. I must understand well this word, my soul. I must be convinced that it is a real necessity. It is not necessary that I should possess talents, for- tune, pleasures, an honourable position in society ; it is not necessary that I should have a long life ; it is not necessary that I should exist ; but, supposing that I do exist, it is necessary that I should serve God. An in- telligent creature that does not serve God is, in the world, what the sun would be if it ceased to shine, what our body would be if it ceased to move. It would be in the order of intelligence what a monster would be in the order of the bodily frame, (2.) All my greatness. I am not made for a mor- tal man ; I am not made for myself; I am not made for an angel. An intelligent and immortal being, I am too great for a creature, however noble, to be my end. My end is that of the angel ; is that of Jesi:s Christ; is that of God Himself. God does not exist, could not exist, except to know Himself and to love Himself; and I only exist, or could exist, to know and to love God. 30 SPIRITUAL BXERCISB8. (3.) All my happiness. I cannot serve God in time without possessing Him in eternity. I cannot give my- self wholly to God without His giving- Himself wholly to me. " I am thy exceeding great reward" (Gen. XV. 1). His glory and my happiness are inseparable. It is, then, a question of my eternal destiny, and I my- self am the arbiter of it. my soul ! picture to thy- self on one side Heaven, with its ineffable delights ; on the other Hell, with its fires and its despair; one or other will be thy eternal heritage, according as thou shalt have served or offended the Lord on earth. It is for thee to choose. " I call heaven and earth to wit- ness this day that I have set before you life and deatb, blessing and cursing. Choose, therefore, life, .... that thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and obey His voice, and adhere to Him, for He is thy lite" (Deut. XXX. 19, 20). AFFECTIONS. 1. Sorrow for the past. "0 God, Thou knowest my foolishness, and my offences are not hidden from Thee" (Ps. Ixviii. 6). 2. Contempt for creatures. " All those that go far from Thee shall perish : Thou hast destroyed all those that were disloyal to Thee. But it is good for me to adhere to my God" (Ps. lixii. 27, 28). 3. Love of God. " What have I in heaven ? and beside Thee what do I desire upon earth 1 Thou art the God of my heart, and my portion for ever" (ib. 86, 26). SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 81 CONTINUATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRINCIPLE OF THE EXERCISES. SECOND PAKT OF THE ','F.XT. End of Creatures, Text of St. Ignatius : 4.11 other beings or objects placed around man on earth have been created for him, to serve as means to assist him in the pursuit of' the end for which he was created. FIRST CONSIDERATION. Creatures are from God. Creatures have the same origin as myself. They, like me, have been taken from nothing, and He who drew them from nothing was God ; but what difference between their creation and that of man ! 1. Like me, they occupied from all eternity the thoughts and heart of God ; but they held only the second place. God loved me for Himself, because I was destined for His glorj' ; He loved creatures for the sake of man, because they were destined for the use of man, and because they only have reference to God distantly and through the medium of man. 2. Like me, creatures have received a being which is in some sort the efflux of His august perfections ; but they have not, like me, the honour of being the living image of God, and made in His likeness. 3. Like me, they were created for the glory of God : but they have neither the understanding to know Him, nor the heart to love Him ; they are incapable of pos- sessing Him ; they can onlj glorify Him in a very in- ferior and imperfect manner, that is, by the servicei 32 ' SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. which they render to His servants. " Know, man, thy dignity" (St. Leo). SECOND CONSIDERATION. Creatures belong to God. Creatures cannot have the same orig-in as myself without having" the same master. They come, then, fi'om God, and belong to Him. God Las the same do- minion over them as over me. Hence conclude : 1. I must, then, make use of creatures with a spirit oi dependence, according to the order of the Divine will, not as a master who disposes at his pleasure, but as a stewai-d who must render an account to his lawM su- perior. 2. I must make use of creatures with a spirit of gratitude, like a poor man who of himself has no right to the use of the things of this world, and who holds every thing from the liberality of God to whom all belongs. 3. 1 must also make use of creatures with a spmt oifoa/r ; for on one side my corrupt nature constantly inclines me to the abuse of created thing's, and on the other God will rigorously punish this abuse, which over- throws all the economy of creation. Let me look back at the past. In what spirit have I made use of creatures up to this day ? Has it not been in a spirit of independence ? Almost always with- out consulting the will of God ; often even contrary to the order of His adorable will. Has it not been with a spirit oi ingratitvde ? my God, when have 1 thought of raising my heai't to Thee, and thanking Thee for Thy gifts ? Has it not been with a spirit of senm- BPIRITTTAL EXERCISES. 83 ality and of selfishness ? only seeking myself aud my pleasure in creatures, without thinking of the Divine justice, which will not fail to ask of me an account of so criminal an abuse. Let us accustom ourselves hence- forward to read on every creature these three words — " Receive, give, fear ;" as if it should say, " Receive the blessing I offer you ; give thanks to thy Creator for it ; fear the judgment which will be passed upon you according to the use you have made of me" (Rich, de St. Victor). THIRD CONSIDERATION. Creatures are for God through the medium of man. Creatures were formed for an end as well as myself, and this end is the glory of God ; for God could only create for His Glory. Creatures deprived of understand- ing are not made to glorify the Lord directly ; they are made to serve man, who, in exchange for their services, must lend his intelligence and heart to praise and love God, and thus make them to conduce to the glory of their common Creator. This, then, according to the light of faith and reason, is the order of my relations with God and with creatures. I am for God, and crea- tures for me. From this follows that I cannot, like worldlings, make creatures my end without making myself guilty and miserable. To place my affections on creatures would be to render myself guilty, — 1. Guilty towards myself; for it would be to de- grade myself. " Such as the love of man is, such is he himself. Dost thou love the earth? thou art earth. D 84 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. Dost thou love God ? What shall I saj ? thou art God" (St. Aug.). 2. Guilty towards creatures; for it would be to turn them away from their end, and do violence to tiieir nature. The Apostle tells us that they groan and suffer because sinners make use of them against God (Rom. viii. 22) ; and a holy doctor represents them as raising their voices against the sinner, and demanding vengeance. " All created things cry out, each according to their manner, and say : This is he who abused us. The earth says, Why must I bear upon me this mon- ster ? The water says, Why may I not instantly suffo- cate him ? The air says, Why do I not deprive him of my benefits ? Hell says. Why do not my flames devour and inflict on him a thousand tortm-es '/" (St. Bonav.) 3. Guilty towards God. Guilty of injustice, because I should thus use the being's which belong to Him con- trary to His will ; — guilty of a species of idolatry, for I should take from Him the first place in my homage, and substitute the creature in my thoughts and heart; — guilty of a kind of impiety, for it would be to attack all His attributes, — His goodness, which I should abuse ; His wisdom, the plans of which I should derange ; His power, which I should turn against Him. To place my end in creatures would be to render myself miserable ; — miserable for eternity ; I should lose at ouce both God, from whom I should be for ever se- paiated, and creatures, who would become my everlast- mg torment ; miserable in time, — tor how can cre'atm'es constitute my happiness ? Creatures whose being' is so li- mited, — what a void they would leave in my heart! Crea- tui'es so iiill of impei'fections, — ^what a source of disap> SPIKITUAI. EXERCISES. 35 pointment and disgust ! Creatures so fi-agile and perish- able, — what a source of regret ! Creatures so inconstant, so unfaithful, — what a source of distrust and fear ! Crea- tures become my end, made the enemies of God, — what a source of remorse ! FOURTH CONSIDERATION. How creatures glorify God in leading man to God. I was made to know, to love, to serve, and possess God : this is my end ; now creatures teach me, — 1. To know God. The order of the world reveals to me His wisdom : the stars announce His power — " The heavens show forth the glory of God" (Psalm xviii. 1) ; the ocean declares His immensity ; the fertility of the earth praises His providence ; the flowers of the field recall His beauty ; the existence of the wicked even is a homage to His patience and His mercy. " Thou hast given me, Lord, a delight in Thy doings : and in the works of Thy hands I shall rejoice. Lord, how great are Thy works,! The senseless man shall not know, nor will the fool understand tliese things'' (Psalm xci. 5-7). 2. To love God. It is the goodness of God which has bestowed them upon me ; it is His love which works for me through each of His creatures ; it is He who warms me by the light of the sun ; it is He who nourishes me by the fruits of the earth ; it is He who clothes me by the garments which cover me. A God who serves me by means of His creatures, and serves me with so much constancy and so much goodness, — what a mo- tive to love Him ! " The eyes of all hope in Thee, Lord. All wait upon Thee that Thou give them their food in season. What Thou givest them, they gather 36 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. up ; when Thou openest Tliy hand, they shall be filled with g-ood" (Psalm cxliv. 15, ciii. 27, 28). 3. To serve God. Consider, my soul, how they do the will of their Creator. They do it with pleasure, says the Holy Spirit. " The stars liave given light in their watches, and rejoiced : they were called, and they said, Here we are ; and with cheerfulness they have shined forth to Him that made them" (Bar. iii. 34, 35). They do it with respect. " He sendeth forth light, anditg-oeth; it obeyeth Him with trembling" (Bar. iii. 33). They do it with promptitvde. " Who walkest upon the wings of the wind ; who makest His angels spirits, and His ministers a flaming fire" (Psalm ciii. 3, 4). They do it with an immutable constancy. " By Thy ordinance the day goeth on, for all things serve Thee" (Psalm cxviii. 91). Thus, my soul, every creature serves the Lord. Shall I be the only one that refuses to serve Him ? shall I be the least faithful of His servants, because I am of all others under the strongest obligation ? 4. All creatures assist me in Tnenting the possession of God; for there is not one that may not be the occa- sion of some virtue, and therefore the subject of some merit. Thus : — There are some creatures the use of which is india« pensably necessary, — those, for example, which are des- tined to sustain my existence. What occasions for prao> tising moderation and detachment ! There are some things to which we must submit, though nature shrinks from them, — for instance, sick- ness, poverty, humiliation, mortification, 60 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. counsels of Satan ; Adam listened to the insinuations of his spouse. And you? What has been the cause oi your fulls? Has it not been a temptation imprudently listened to '! 2. Sensuality. The beauty, the apparent sweetness of the forbidden fniit seduced our first parents : " they saw it was good to eat and fair to the eyes." And have not all your faults, at least your more grave ones, been sins of the senses ? 3. Cowardice. With the lights of his intelligence, with the rectitude and good inclinations of his heart, with a conscience so upright and delicate, it was easy for Adam to remain faithful. And you, formed by religion, by a Christian education, what resources against temptation have you not found in your faith, in your conscience, in your heart, where grace has planted such holy inclinations ? 4. Contempt of God. Nothmg arrests Adam, — neither the bounty of God, which has suriounded him with benefits ; nor the authority of God, of which his reason loudly proclaimed the rights; nor His justice, of which the threats were so express and so formidable. And have not you, when you committed sin, had as little regard to the benefits, the authority, or the threat- ened judgments of the Lord ? 5. Blindness. Our first parents believed the word •f the tempter, nnd they did not believe that of God. On the faith of Satan they persuaded themselves that they sliould not die, that they should be like gods : " You shall not die the death, you shall be as gods" (Gen. iii. 4, 5). And their eyes were only opened when the sin was committed : " And the eyes of them botlj SPIRITUAL EXRRCTSES Al were opened" (Gen. iii. 7). Is not this the exact pic- ture of youi' past bhndness ? In the moment of temp- tation have you not soug'ht to deceive yourself by fool- ish reasonings on the justice of God, and on His mercy ? Have you not soug'ht to persuade yourself that sin is not so gTeat an evil, — that God is too good to punish you ? And is it not true that it was only after the sin that your blindness ceased, and that your eyes were opened to the light i THIRD CONSIDERATION. Adam after his ain. 1. Meditate well on the tenible sentence of God on guilty Adam. Because thou hast eaten of the for- bidden fruit, the earth shall be cursed ; it shall only bring- forth thorns ; thou shalt eat thy bread in the sweat of thy brow until thou returnest to the earth from which thou didst come out ; for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return (Gen. iii. 19). 2. Consider the accomplishment of the Divine sen- tence. A German prince, wishing to inspire his son with a great horror of war, ordered a painter to repre- sent the different scenes of a bloody battle, and to write these words at the bottom of the picture : " Behold the fruits of war !" Imitate this prince, you who medi- tate at this moment on the fall of oui' first parent ; repre- sent to yourself all the evils which have follov/ed it, and say to yourself: Behold thej'niifs of sin. Consider the soul of Adam deprived of grace and original justice, and disfigm'ed by sin: Behold the fruits qfdn. 52 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. Consider his faculties wounded, as it were, wounded. mortally ; bis mind given up to doubt, ignorance, error , his heart, without inclination for g'ood, the sport of a thousand passions ; his conscience, which has lost its peace, and is tormented by remorse : Behold thejruits of sin. Consider the revolution which took place in nature : the inclemency of the seasons, the revolt of the animals, the sterility of the earth, which of itself only produces thorns and thistles : Behold the fruits of mn. Consider the tribulations of Adam : the sweat of Ks daily work ; the sorrows of sickness and infirmity ; his desolation at the death of the innocent Abel ; all the troubles of his heart and spirit; and after nine hundred years of penitence, the final trial of death : BeJwld thefr-uits of mn. Consider the anger of God in pouring vengeance for this first sin on all the descendants of the first culprit ; represent to youi-self the miseries of men in all ages, — contagions, wars, disasters, violent deaths; so many tears shed, so many crimes committed, so many chil- dren for ever deprived of the sight of God, so many souls cast into hell. See here the consequences of one sin : Behold the fruits of sin. 3. End by turning back on yourself, and comparing the sin of Adam with your own personal sins. On the side of Adam a single sin, a sin committed before the Incarnation, a sin committed before he had any experi- ence of Divine justice; above all, a sin which he repented of immediately, and which he expiated by nine centuries of penitence : and on your part so many sins, sins com- mitted in a nature sanctified bj >Tesus Christ; sins com- SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 53 mitted in the face of the Cross and in the sight of hell; sins, perhaps, which you have never expiated ; sins, perhaps, of which you have scarcely repented. " God, what have I not to fear from Thy justice 1" AFFECTIONS. Fear. "Whoknoweth the power of Thy anger, and for Thy fear can number Thy wrath ?" (Ps. Ixxxix. 11.) Confusion. " All the day long my shame is before me, and the confusion of my face hath covered me" (Psalm xliii. 16). Regret. " There is no health in my flesh because of Thy wrath : there is no peace for my bones because of my sins" (Psalm xxxvii. 4). Beg the mercy of God. " Have mercy on me, God, according to Thy great mercy" (Psalm 1. 1). THIRD EXEECISE. Personal sin punished in man. Preparatory Prayer. First prelude. Represent to yourself the flames of hell in which thousands of condemned souls are burning. Second prelude. Tlie same as last. CONSIDERATIONS. Consider that at this very moment, when you ou earth are meditating on the malice of sin, there is per- haps in the depths of hell a soul that God has for ever condemned for one single mortal sin. 54 SPIRITUAL EXERCISBi. 1. Consider what this soul was before its dn. For a long time, perhaps, it had received much less grace than you who now meditate on its misery ; and yet it may have persevered in virtue through many years ; its childhood may have heen sanctified by inno- cence and piety ; in youth it may have remained pure in the midst of the strongest passions and most violent temptations. It had preserved its baptismal innocence, perhaps, up to the fatal moment which witnessed at once its fall, its death, and its reprobation. It may have lived many years in the friendship of God ; practised great virtues, and given great examples of piety ; per- haps received the spirit of prayer, like St Louis Gon- zaga ; the spirit of mortification, like St. John of the Cross ; the spirit of zeal, like St. Francis Xavier. Per- haps it had received a great gift of prayer, hke St. Theresa ; perhaps the gift of miracles, like Judas before his crime. Think what acts of virtue, what victories, what sacrifices, what merit in such a life, what titles to eternal glory ! What are you in comparison with this soul ? Compai-e your faults with its virtues ; — the cor- ruption of your heart with its innocence ; youi- sensual life with its mortifications ; your dissipation and forget- fulness of God with its habits of prayer, &c. And yet you may, if you choose, be one of the elect ; and this is a reprobate soul, and will remain so through all eternity. " How is the gold become dim, the finest colour is changed !" (Lament, iv. 1.) 2. Consider what this soul has become since its sin. It committed but one single mortal sin — one mor- tal sin after ten, perhaps twenty years of a holy life, full of good works. A. single mortal sin ! And if this SPIRITUAL EXGROISES. 56 anh«p|)y man fell with the knowledge and consent necessary to constitute a mortal sin, j'et he perhaps only sinned from weakness ; perhaps was carried away hy some strong' passion ; perhaps after long temptation, perhaps after long- resistance. Are your faults of this kind ? And if, during your life, you have only com- mitted one such sin, do you not helieve yourself almost innocent ? Yet the justice of God overtook this unhappy soul, without leaving any interval between the mortal sin and death. All is over with it after the first crime ; no grace, no repentance, no pardon ; it is lost for all eternity. " How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearch- able His ways !" (JRom. xi. 33.) If God had struck this soul a few hours earlier, death would have found it in a state of grace ; this soul would have been saved ; it would have possessed God. And now that it has entered eternity with mortal sin, it is for ever deprived of the sight and the possession of God, who is its end and its whole felicity. It would have been in the highest heavens and in the society of angels ; and now it is in the de[)ths of hell and in the company of demons. It would have been clothed with glory ; and now it is surrounded with flames. It would have been inundated with peace and the joys of para- dise ; and ngw it is torn with remorse, and condemned to never-ending tears and despair. It would have lived in heaven for ever, to love and bless God ; and now it lives in hell but to blaspheme Him, to curse Him, to hate Him, through all eternity. God, what a fearful catas- trophe ! And thig is the work of one single mi I 56 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 3. Consider what this soul might have been if God had allowed it time to acknowledge and expiate its sin. After the first burst of passion, who knows if it would not have returned to itself; if reason would not have regained its empire, conscience made its reproaches heard, faith shown the depth of the abyss into which it had fallen, grace solicited the heai't, the habit of prayer brougiit it back to the foot of the cross? The goodness of its heart could not have resisted the voice of Jesus Christ: " Wh}' persecutest thou Me?" (Acts ix. 4.) For is not this what passes within you after each of Your falls ? Who knows whether a few houi's after his sin, absolution — or perhaps even before absolution, per- fect contrition — might not have restored him to the friendship of God, to his innocence, and to all his merit ? Perhaps he might have spent the rest of his life in weeping over this one fault; perhaps he might have made this one sin the subject of constant repentance ; he might, like Magdalen, like Augustine, have made the memory of this fault a motive for more fervent love. Now his mortal career would be ended, he would be at the feet of Jesus and Mary in heaven ; and we might perhaps be invoking him on earth as a model of peni- tence and holiness, as an illustrious example of the power of grace and Divine mercy. But this time for repentance, which might have been so well employed, was refused by God; and this soul is lost, and fo'- ever. the depth ! To inspire -yourself with a still greater horror of sin, ask yourself what this God is who thus punishes B single mortal sin. Has He ceased to be a God of SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 67 wisdom ? No ; in punisliing in this manner He always acts according- to the immutable rules of His infinite wisdom : " the depth of the wisdom of God !" (Rom. xi. 33.) Has He ceased to be a God of g-oodncss and mercy ? No. At the moment that His vengeance over- took this soul, He had no hatred but for the siri ; and guilty as that soul was, He loved it as His creature, as the price of His blood, better than you love the work of your hands, better than a mother loves her only son : " For Thou lovest all things that are, and hatest none of the things which Thou hast made, because they are Thine, Lord, who lovest souls" (Wisd. xi. 25, 27). Has He ceased to be a just God '! No ; the angels in heaven applaud the equity of His judgments j and in hell this condemned soul itself is obliged to render ho- mage to the justness of the sentence which condemned it : " Thou art just, Lord ; and Thy judgment is right" (Psalm cxviii. 137). What an evil must one mortal sin not be, and who would not fear to offend a God who punishes so rigorously ? " Who shall not fear thee, Kifig of nations ?" (Jer. x. 7.) Now return to yourself. (L) How long is it since you committed mortal sin the first time ? (2.) Why did not God strike you dead after this first sin, as He foresaw that you would make use of your life to sin again and again, and with so much ma- lice? (3.) Why has God spared you until now, when every thing demanded your condemnation, — the inte- rest of His perfections, which you have outraged ; the interest of His graces, which you have trampled under 68 SPIRITUAL EXKRCISE9. foot ; tlie interest of souls, whose loss you have caused by youi- scandals ? (4.) What was there in y.ou to inspire God with so much mercy towards you ? If He considers the past, • — your baptismal innocence lost, a guilty childhood, a youth given up to pleasure ; if He considers the present, — a heart attached to sin, rebellious against graces, resplved not to make a sacrifice of its passions ; 'if He should consider the future, — iniquities multiplying with years, infidelities growing with graces. And yet God has left you life, and with life grace to return to Him, to repent, to merit heaven ! What mercy on His part ! You ought to look upon youi-self as a soul saved from hell by a singular privilege of Divine goodness ; you should say. Lord, if Thou hadst called me before Thy tribunal on such a day, at such an hour, and after such a fault, I should now be in hell among the lost ; in hell I should shed useless tears over my sin. I will shed them on earth, that they may be- come efficacious and meritorious for heaven. In hell I should have performed a useless and hopeless penance, on earth I will perform a useful penance, in the hope of obtaining my pardon; — in hell I should see all creatures armed against me for my torment ; I will detach my heart from all earthly creatures for Thy love ; — in hell I should have no other occupation than blaspheming and hating Thee ; I will spend my life on earth in blessing and loving Thee. AFFECTIONS AT THE FOOT OF THE CEUCIFIX. Sorrow and Shame. "My God, I am confounded, and ashamed to lift up my face to Thee : for our iniquities SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 59 ire multiplied over our heads, and our sins are g-rown up even unto heaven" (Bsdras ix. 6). Gratitude. "I have sinned, and have oiFended, and I have not received what I have deserved" (Job ixxiii. 27). " It is because of the mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed" (Lament, iii. 22). Fidelity/ for the future. " I will praise Thee, Lord my God, with my whole heai-t, and I will glorify Thy name for ever : for Thy mercy is great towards me, and Thou hast delivered my soul out of the lower hell" (Ps. Ixxxv. 12, 13). COLLOQUIES WHICH MUST BE EKEQUENTLY BEPEATED DUKINO THE FOIXOWINO MEDITATIONS. The first will be addressed to Mary the Mother of our Saviour, om- Lady and our Queen ; we shall sup- plicate her to intercede for us with her Son, and to ob- tain for us the three graces which are most necessary for us : first, a full knowledge, a true detestation, and a lively feeling of our sins ; then a reformation of our- selves such as God expects of us, ind such as this thorough knowledge and profound horror of our past disorders should produce ; finally, the happiness of pro- fiting by this sad experience of the sinfulness of the world, which we bitterly deplore, by renouncing for ever the world and its vanities. This colloquy will end by an Ave Maria. The second will be addressed to Jesus Christ our Lord and Mediator. We shall beg of Him to obtain for us these three graces fiom the Eternal Father. We shall recite at the end the prayer Anima Chnsti. 60 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. The third will be addressed to God the Father, that He may deig'n to grant us this threefold favour, and we shall end by saying the Pater. FOURTH EXEBCISE. On the infinite malice of mortal sin. Preparatory Prayer. First 'prelude. Present yourself before God as a criminal appearing before his judge, and about to hear his sentence. Secand prelude. " I groan in Thy sight as one guilty ; shame hath covered my face, because of my sin; spare me, a suppliant, my God."* FIRST CONSIDERATION. A God offended by man. Consider attentively the greatness of the God who is offended ; the nothingness of the sinner ; the matter and the motive of the sin. 1 . The greatness of the God who is offended. What is God ? Who is like to Him in greatness? Nations before Him are as a drop of water ; the universe as a grain of sand ; the whole human race as nothing. " Be- hold the Gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, aiid are counted as the smallest gi-ain of a balance. Behold the islands are as a little dust ; all nations are before Him B8 if they fiad no being at all" (Isaias xl. 15, 17). • " Ingemisco tanqunm reus : Culpa rubet vultus meus : Supplicaiitl pai'oe, Deun." Dies Irm, SPIRITUAL EXEKCI8ES. 61 Who is like God in power ? He created all by a word : " He spoke, and it was made." He preserves all by His will : " Upholding all things by the word of His power'' (Heb. i. 3). One word of His can chain the ocean : " Hitherto shalt thou come, and shalt go no further" (Job xxxviii. 11). One look of His makes the earth tremble : " He looketh upon the earth, and maketh it tremble; He toucheth the mountains and they smoke" (Ps. ciii. 32). ' And before His face the mountains melt : " The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord" (Ps. xcvi. 5). Who is like to Him in holiness ? In His eyes the just, the very saints, appear defiled : '"' The Heavens are not pure in His sight" (Job. xv. 15). He even finds sin in His angels : " And in His angels He found wicked- ness" (Job iv. 18). Who is like Him in justice, in wisdom, in goodness? "Thy justice is as the moun- tains" (Ps. XXXV. 7). " Of His wisdom there is no numbei'" (Ps. cxlvi. 5). "All things are naked and open to His eyes" (Heb. vi. 13). " The Lord is sweet unto all, and His tender mercies are over all His works" (Psalm cxliv. 9)» Finally, who is like to God ? He has lived from all eternity: "But Tliou, Lord, endurest for ever" (Psalm ci. 13). Behold His name ; " I am who am" (Exod. iii. 14). His empire is heaven and earth: " Heaven is My throne, and the earth My footstool" (Isaias Ixvi. 1). His palace is the hght : " He inhabit- eth light inaccessible" (1 Tim. vi. 16). His vestments are beauty and glory : " Thou hast put on praise and beauty" (Psalm ciii. 1). His carriage the clouds and the wings of the wind : " Who makest the clouds Thy 62 SPIRITUAL BXERCISB8. chariot, who walkest upon the wing-s of the winds" (Psalm ciii. 3). His subjects and His ministers are the angels : " Who makest Thy ang-els spirits, and Thy ministers a burning- fire" (Psalm ciii. 4). And tbis is He whom the sinner has dared to offend : " Be astonished at this, ye heavens" (Jer. ii. 12). 2. The nothingness of the sinner. Who art thou, man, tliat dai-est to measuie thyself Kith God? " Who art thou that repliest against God?" (Eom. ix. 20.) Thou art but flesh full of impurities : "Unclean flesh" (Ezech. iv. li). Behold the corruption of thy natui-e : as dried grass ready to fall beneath the scythe : " All flesh is grass" (Isaias xl. 6). Behold thy weakness: a leaf the sport of the wind : " A leaf that is carried away with the wind" (Job xiii. 25). Behold the in- constancy of thy heart : a vapour scarce formed, and abeady dissipated in the air — this is thy life : " It is a vapour which appeareth for a little while, and after- wards shall vanish away" (James iv. 15). A little dust and ashes ; behold thy origin and thy end upon earth : " Dust and ashes" (Eccles. x. 9). And it is thou who darest to raise thyself*ip against God : " Thou hast lifted thyself up against the Lord of Heaven, and thou hast said, I will not serve" (Dan. v. 23; Jer. ii. 20). 3. The matter of tlie sin. That is to say, a law of God transgressed ; — a law infinitely pleasant, a law in- finitely wise, a law the accomplishment of which was so easy, a law to which were attached such consoling pro- mises, such terrible threats for time and eternity : " And thou saidst, I will not serve." 4. The motive ofthe sin. "To whom have you likened Me ? said the ImvA" (Isaias xlvi. 5). To a passion at SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 63 which you blush, to a pleasure which passed so quickly to a little gold which melted in your hands. Did you not find in Me all you vainly seek in creatures? "With Me are riches and glory ; o-lorioiis riches and justice'" (Prov. viii. 18). Why, then, drink these corrupt waters ? " And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the troubled water?" (Jar. ii. 18.) These waters wliich only increase your .thirst : " Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst ag'ain'' (John iv. 13). " Be astonished, ye heavens, at this : They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living' water, and have dig'ged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer. ii. 12, 13). SECOND CONSIDERATION. A God offended by man, and offended in all His attributes. What is it you do when you are so unhajjpy as to commit a mortal sin ? By this single sin you outrage God in all His titles, and in all His perfections. Yuu outrage God the Father in profaning this su- pernatural being, this participator of His Divine nature which He gave you in baptism : " Partakers of the Di- vine natuie" {^2 Peter i. 4). You outrage the Word Incarnate- You dishonour Him in rendering subservient to the devil your soul, His spouse; you trample His blood under foot, and make His sufferings and death useless ; you renew His passion and crucify Him again in your heart ; " Crucify- ing again to themselves the Son of God" (Heb. xxvi. 6). You outrage the Holy Ghost. You grieve this Holv Spirit (Eph. iv. 30). You do more, you re- sist Him : " You always resist the Holy Spiiit" (Acts 64 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. vii. 51). You do more, you stifle Him within you: ' Extinguish not the Spirit" (1 Thess. v. 19). You outrage God in all His titles. As creator, in revolting; against His supreme dominion ; as legislator, by violating His laws ; as redeemer, by despising- His grace ; as your friend, by provoking His enmity ; as your father, by braving His authority ; as your king, by banishing Him from, your heart, which is His throne. Yu2i outrage His unify. You make divinities of your ])assions, which have your heart for an altar, your thoughts and affections as a homage, your soul and your eternity as a sacriiice. You outrage His infinite perfections. To Him you prefer a creature full of imperfections, who is a mere nothing, and whom death will soon take from you; and you prefer serving the devil, wlio is deformity itself, at the risk of falling into hell, rather than serve God, who is perfect beauty, and promises you heaven. You outrage His wisdom. By sin you reverse the order of His providence ; you turn creatures away li'om their end, and you destroy the harmony of the universe. You outrage His holiness. You dishonour His fea- tures in your soul, and you cast His image down in the mire of your passions and vices. You outrage His immensity. If men were to wit- ness your sin, their presence would recall you to youj duty ; you know that God is every where present, that you commit iniquity under His eyes, and as it were in His bosom ; and yet the presence of God, thrice holy, does not deter you from crime. You outrage His j'usti^ie. If sin could destroy your BPMIITUAL EXERCISES. 66 fortune or your reputation, you would not comrviit it ; and because it exposes you only to the ana-er of God, to the rigour of His judgment, you commit it witliout fear, and as if you had nothing to dread from His justice. You outrage His patience. If God left no interval between the crime and the punishment of the culprit, would you dai'e to offend Him ? Is it, then, the longa- nimity of God which inspii'es you with the boldness to sin? Finally, and to say all in one word, you go still farther, and are guilty qfdeicide: " Sin, as far as it is possible to it, destroys God" (St. Bern.). It is true you cannot actually destroy God ; but you do so in your heart. Why? Because the contempt you offer to His perfections occasions Him such lively displea- sure that He would die of it if, by His nature, He were not impassible and immortal. WTiy? Becaiise, in preferring a vile creature before Him, you take from Him the very essence of His being, that sovereign amiability which deserves to be loved above all things. ^Vhy? Because, in consenting to sin, you deprive God of the life He lived in your soul ; you make Him die within you ; it may truly be said that your heart is His grave. " Be astonished, ye heavens, at this" (Jer. ii. 12). THIRD CONSIDERATION. A God offended by man, notwithstanding the many motives which should induce him not to offend. Consider how many reasons there are to induce you to remain in submission to your God. F 66 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 1. Your respect for your felhw-creatiires. You aie so small, so humbly submissive before your masters; in presence of a sovereign, of im enemy, of a powerful protector; you bow down before tlieir most unreason- able notions, their most absurd caprices; — how is it that you are daring only against God, the first of masters, the most powerful of protectors, the most for- midable of enemies ? 2. Wliat you exact from others. You are so tena- cious of j'our authority ; you are so jealous of your honour and your rights ; you insist with so much eager- ness that all should give way before your ideas and your will ; — how is it, than, that you respect so little the authority, the rights, the honour of your God? 3. The xacrijices you make for the world. When the world speaks, nothing stops you ; you obey at every risk, at the price of your repose, of your pleasure, of your libeity, of your passions ; sometimes even of your life. Why, then, when the Lord commands, is He not obeyed in the same manner? Why is it that tiien alone sacrifices are difficult and appear impossible ? 4. The promises you have made to God. You glory in respecting your pledged word ; you would rather die than feil in your oath. Why do you feel a horror of per- jmy onlj' when it regai'ds men ? Why does it no longer appear infamous when it regards God ? Did not God receive your vows in baptism, on the day of your first communion, often in the holy tribunal ? Has, then, the oath, which is so strong to bind man to man, no strength to bind man to God ? 5. The benefits you have received from God. You hold every thing ijom God ; — intellig'ence, imagination, SprRrTTTAL EXEnClSES. ^7 heart, senses, talent, fortune, authority, birth, rank, youth, lite. You can only sin by making' use of His gifts. What black ingratitude is it, not only to forget your benefactor, but to return Him evil for good, to make use of His own gifts to insult Him, to force Him to act against Himself, and to turn against Himself His own bounty and power, which preserve you. " Thou hast made Me to serve with thy sins, thou hast weaiied Me with thy iniquity" (Isaias xliii. 24). AFFECTIONS. Place yourself at the foot of the crucifix, like a per- jured friend at the feet of his friend, like a rebel subject at the feet of his king, like a parricide son at the feet of his father. Humbly ask of our Lord Jesus Christ the pardon of your sins. Pater. Ave. FIFTH EXERCISE. The effects of mortal sin on the soul of the sinner. Preparatory Prayer. Mrst prelude. Present yourself before God like a eriminal loaded with chains, brought from the dungeon of a prison and placed before the tribunal of his judge. Second, prelude. Beg of our Lord that He will vouchsafe to show you the sad state of a soul which has been so unhappy as mortally to offend God: " Give me, Lord, that I may see" (Luke xviii. 41). 68 SPIRITUAL EXERCtSR8. FIRST CONSIDERATION. By mortal sin we forfeit the friendship of God. When you were in a state of g-iace, God dwelt in • your soul : " If any man love Me, My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our ahode with him" (John liv. 28). The most august bonds united you to Him. He called you His people ; " Thou art My people" (Osee ii. 24). His friend : " I have called you iriends" (John xv. 15). His spouse : " Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse" (Cant. iv. 9). His children : " Behold what manner of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be, the sous of God" (1 John iii. 1). Another self: " I have said ye ai-e g'odrj" (Psalm Ixxxi. 6). But what a change since mor tal sin entered into your soul ! That moment God left your heart : " Woe to them, when I shall depart fi'om them" (Osee ix. 12). To His friendship has succeeded hatred : " Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity" (Psalm V. 7). You have ceased to be His people : " Ye are not My people, and I will not be yours" (Osee i. 9). In His eyes you are now an enemy on whom He has sworn vengeance: " I live for ever; I will render vengeance to My enemies" (Deut. xxxii. 40, 41). He no longer recognises you as His spouse : " I know you not" (Matt. XXV. 12). In you He no longer sees any thing but the child of Satan : " Y« are of your father the devil" (John viii. 44). He has no longer any thing for YOU but maledictions : " If thou wilt not hear the ?oicu of the Lord thy God, cursed shalt thou be in the •ity, cursed in the iield, cursed shall be the &uit of tbv SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 6& womb. And all these ciivses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue and oveitake thee, until thou peiish" (Deut. xxviii. 15-17, 45). He arms every scourg-e against you : " Death and bloodshed, strife and the sword, oppressions, famine, afflictions, scourges ; — all these things are created for the wicked" (Ecclus. xl. 9, 10). guilty soul, consider what thou hast been, and what thou now art, in the eyes of thy Lord ; and sigh deeply at the sight of thy misery. " Thou wast the spouse of Christ, the temple of God, the sanctuary of the Holy^ Ghost ; and as often as I say ' thou wast,' I must needs groan, because thou art not what thou wast" (St. Aug.). SECOND CONSIBERATION. Mortal sin deprives us of all the gifts of graoe. 1. It destroys the beauty of the soul. A soul in a state of gi'ace attracts the looks and ravishes the heart of God : " I will fix my eyes upon thee" (Psalm xxxi. 8) ; " Behold thou art fair, my love" (Cant. i. 14). But mortal sin destroys all trace of this beauty : " All her beauty is departed" (Lament, i. 6) ; and covers the soul with a hideous leprosy, which makes it an object of horror to God and His angels. 2. It deprives the soul of all merit. Even if you united in yourself all the merits of all the saints toge- ther, all their alms, all their prayers, all their austeri- ties, all their sacrifices,— »a single mortal sin would be enough to destroy all : " If the just man turn himself away from his justice, and do iniquity, all his justices which he hath done shall not be remembered" (EzecL xviii. 24). 70 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 3. It deptives the soul of xll power of mmting Yes ; if you are in mortal sin, all your good works are useless to obtain heaven. Spend all your goods in alms ; embrace the most rigorous austerities ; convert the whole world, if it be possible ; give your body to the flames, — St. Paul assures you that all this is useless for salvation if there be a single sin in your heart : " If I have not charity, I am nothing" (Cor. xiii. 2). To what can I compare you, unhappy soul ? " To what shall I compare thee, or to what shall I liken thee, daughter of Jerusalem ?" (Lam. ii. 13.) To a vine loaded with fruit suddenly destroyed by the storm; to a temple unexpectedly overthrown; to a ship that the tempest suddenly sinks with all her treasures ; to a rich city which fire has reduced to a heap of burning ashes : " To what shall I equal thee, that I may com- fort thee? Who shall heal thee?" (Lam. ii. 13. THIRD CONSIDERATION. Mortal sin deprives us of our liberty. When you are in a state of grace, you are free: " Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Cor. iii. 17). You enjoy the sweetest, the most honour- able liberty; the only liberty that no power in the world can deprive you of, liberty conquei'ed for you by the blood of Jesus Christ : " The freedom where- with Christ has made us free" (Gal. iv. 31); which consists in freedom from every yoke except that of God, which we cannot lose without degrading our- selves. But have you had the unhappiness to sin mor- tally ? You have become a slave : " Whosoever com- mitteth sin is the servant of sin" (John viii. 34). You SPIRITUAL EXEncrSES. 71 are given ovci- to sin : " Sold unHer sin" (Rom. vii. 14). Tlie devil reigns as master in your heart, wliich is your prison: " He hatli built against me round about, that I may not get out" (Lam. iii. 7). Eacli day he tightens his chains about us-: " He hath made my fetters heavy'' (Lam. iii. 7). Every thing witliin you is enslaved, your faculties, y9ur senses, your ta- lents, your fortune. Is it not true tliat, in this sad state, you have often wished to return to God, to pray, to confess, to avoid the occasions of sin, to break through the habit of sin ? Did the devil permit it ? Has he not treated you as the centurion in the Gospel treated his soldiers : " I say to one, Go, and he goeth ; and to another. Come, and he cometh ; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it" (Luke vii. 8). Has he not al- ways said to you, " Bring, bring" (Prov. xxx. lb) : — again this passion ; again this sin. Has he not al- ways been obeyed ? Finally, is it not the story of your slavery that St. Augustine tells with so much force when he describes the servitude of his own passions : " I sighed, chained as I was, not by iron, but by my own will, stronger even than iron. My own will held ine bound ; and it was of it that the enemy of salvation made use to enchain me, and surround me on all sides by inextricable bonds" (Conf. b ok viii. c. 5). FOURTH CONSIDERATION. Mortal sin robs us of peace of heart. A soul which belongs to God knows no trouble or fear: "The just is bold as a lion" (Prov. xxviii. 1). The heart of the just is like an eternal festival: "A secure mind is like a continual feast" (Prov. xv. 15). "2 SPIKITTTAL EXERCISE* Even in the midtt of tribulation lie tastes ineffable joys " I exceedingly abound with joy in all my tribulations" (2 Cor. vii. 4). But iiow different is it with the sinner; every where he carries a trembling- heart, a heart a prey to sorrow : " If you will not hear the voice of the Lord, He will give thee a fearful heart, and a soul consumed with pensiveness" (I)eut. xxviii. 15, 65). Tribulation and anguish penetrate the depths of his soul : " Tribu- lation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil" (Rom. ii. 9). Remorse is in the conscience like an arrow which lacerates it: "I am turned in my an- guish whilst the thorn is fastened" (Psalm xxxi. 4). And his life is like the waves of the sea tossed by a storm : " The wicked are like the rag-ing sea" (Isa. Ivii. 20). God has no need to arm the hand of man against the sinner ; his conscience pursues him incessantly, and is at once witness, judge, and executioner ; it accuses, condemns, and tortures him. Sometimes it pursues him in the midst of serious occupations, like David, — " 1 walked sorrowful all the day long, there is no peace for my bones because of my sins" (Psalm xxxvii. 4, 7) ; sometimes amidst pleasures, like Baltassar; sometimes amidst the pains of sickness, like Antiochus ; almost always in silence and solitude, like Cain. To some it rejiroaches the pleasure of a moment purchased by a long repentance : " What fruit, therefore, had you tlien in those things of which you are now ashamed ?" (Rom. vi. 21.) To others it shows all the bitterness of iniquity : " Know thou, and see that it is an evil and a bitter thing for thee to have left the Lord thy God" (Jer. ii. 19) To some it recnlls incessantly the ingratitude and malice of their sin : " Thy own wickedness shall reprove SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 73 thee, and thy apostnsy shall rebuke thee" (Jer. ii. 19). To others it shows the sword of God's justice suspended over their heads : " Looking round about for the sword on every side" (Job xv. 22). It causes cries of ven- geance to be heard around them : " The sound of dread is always in his ears" (Job xv. 21). It disturbs their sleep with threatening visions : " Thou wilt frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions'' (Job vii. 14). " sinner, what misery is yours ! How much are you to be pitied if your conscience thus pursues you ! Yet you are still more so if your conscience leaves you in peace" (St. Aug.). For this peace of a gTiilty con- liciencc is the certain sign of the great wrath of God. FIFTH CONSIDERATION. Mortal sin destroys the soul. The soul is the life of the body, and God is the life of the soul. Thus sin kills our soul in separating it fi'om God : " The sotil that sinneth, the same shall die" (Ezech. xviii. 20). Look at the man who has mortally offended the Lord ; he walks, he sees, he speaks, and you think he lives. Ah ! what lives in him is the body, the soul has ceased to Hve. " The most noble part is extinct; the house stands, but the inhabitant is dead. Chris- tian, there is no longer any feeling of piety in your heart if you weep over the bodj' from which the soul has departed, and yet shed no tear over the soul from which God has departed" (St. Aug.). And what difference is there between a corpse and a soul in mortal sin ? A corpse has lost the use of all its senses. Is not this a faitMil image of the sinner ? 74 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 1. A dead man no longer sees. Every thing ought to strike tlie eyes of the sinner ; — the state of his soul, the grave ready to open for him — ;i)idgment, hell, eter- nity; and the sinner sees nothing! 2. The dead no longer hears. Every thing speaks to the sinner ; — conscience, grace, events, ministers of religion ; and the sinner hears nothing ! 3. The dead are hisen-^hle. Neither insults nor honours, neither tlie attentions of men nor their con- tempt, can touch them. God moves heaven and earth to touch the sinner ; lie endeavours to rouse him, some- times hy henefits, sometimes by afflictions; and the sinner remains insensible ! 4. The dead exhale an infectious odour. A corpse, if not placed in the grave, spreads around it a fatal contagion. The sinner exhales an odour of corruption; the contagion of his scandals spreads death around him, and the infection of his vices makes him an object of horror to just men, to angels, and to God. fatal death ! death which deprives us, not of the life of nature, but of the life of grace; that is to say, of the life of God ! WIjo will give us tears to bewail thee ? " Who will give water to my head, and a foun- tain of tears to my eye? ? and I will weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people" (Jer. ix. 1). AFFECTIONS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS. " Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all that He hath done for thee ; . . . . who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thee from destruction" (Pa. '"•^-*>- Pater. Av.. SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 76 SIXTH EXEKCISE. On the number and greatness of our sins Preparatory Prayer. Mrst Prelude. Present yourself bnfore God like a criminal who appears at the tribunal of justice, and is about to hear liis sentence. Second prelude. " I groan in Thy sight as one guilty ; shame hath covered my face, because of my sin; spare me, a suppliant, my God," FIRST POINT. Recall all the sins of your life. 1. The sins of childhood. Since the first dawn of rea- son, of what have I thought? To whom did I give the first movements of my heart ? What use did I malte of my first moments of liberty ? Alas, Lord, I seek in vain any time, any place, which has seen me without iniquity ! When I was still young, I was already a sin- ner before Thee (St. Aug.). 2. Sins of youth. Where shall I not find memories of sin ? I find them every where : in the shelter of my father's house, in the schools where I went in search of learning, in the various scenes of my plays and diver- sions, in the societies formed around me by a common education, in the places even where sin should never enter, — in the sanctuary of Thy temples, my God, and even at the foot of Thy altar ! 3. Sins of riper age. Interrogate, my soul, the course of years which succeeded those of early youth. Where was the day that had not its sin? Examine those societies, those affairs, those employments; what do they recall but grave and frequent falls ? Examine 76 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. all the laws of the Lord ; is there one which you hiive not transg-ressed ? Examine past temptations; how many are there before which you did not fall ? Examine all your faculties ; which is there that has not been guilty ? Examine all j^our senses ; which of them is there wlii6b has not served as an instrument of sin ? my God, I confess I have sinned beyond all measure: " I confess to Almighty God that I have sinned exceed- ing-ly." SECOND POINT. Consider the malice of all your sins in themselves. What deformity in my sins, my God ! They must, indeed, be of an infinite ugliness, since they are opposed to Thee, Lord, who art infinite beauty. 'What ingratitude in my sins ! All I had was from Thee, and I have dared to say : Go from me ; depart from my senses, which only live through Thy power ; depart from my lips, which only received movement to praise Thee; depart from my mind, which receives light from Thee alone, and from my heart, which only re- ceived feeling from Thee in order to think of Thee and to love Thee ; depart from my being, which Thou only gavest that by it I might serve Thee. What audaiAty in my sins ! I have dared to say, I will not obey : I have said this to Thee, and on the brink of the tomb, on the brink of hell, above which Thou boldest me suspended by the slender thread which I call life. What folly in my sins! I have left Thee, my Father, my Supreme Beatitude ! and for whom ? for a perfidious master, for a hateful tyrant, for the most cruel of exe- Gtttiouers, for Sataa. SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 77 Finally, what malice in my sins ! I have sinned, carried away by passion ; I have sinned deliberately ; I have sinned publicly, and with scandal ; I have sinned and remained at rest in my sin, notwithstanding so many lights, so many good examples, so many instances of Thy justice, so many exhortations from Thy minis- ters ; notwithstanding the counsels and prayers of virtu- ous parents; notwithstanding the calls of conscience and remorse. " I confess that I have sinned exceedingly." my God ! if a man had once treated me as I treat Thee every day of my life, I should hate him for ever, — what do I say ? If I had treated a man as I have treated Thee, I should hate myself, and I should never forgive myself the malice of my heart. " I con- fess that I have sinned exceedingly." THIRD POINT. Consider who you are that have so offended Grod. What are the angels before God ? What are all men, compared to the angels ? What am I, compared to the whole of mankind? Like one leaf in the midst of an immense forest, a drop of water in a stream, a grain of sand on the shore of the ocean, an atom in tlie immensity of the universe ; and it is I, vile and worth- less dust, who have not feared to declare myself a rebel against God : " Thou saidst, I will not serve" (Jer. ii, 80) FOURTH POINT. Consider who God is, whom you have offended. Against whom have I rebelled, my God, when 78 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. I committed sin ? I, weakness itself, revolted against strength. I, lowness itself, revolted against sovereign greatness. I, evil itself, revolted against infinite good- ness. I, who am only corruption and darkness, revolted against wisdom and sanctity itself I, who am nothing, revolted against the Being of all being-s. "Be asto- nished, ye heavens, at this, and, ye gates thereof, be very desolate" (Jer. ii. 12). FIFTH POINT. Conclude by a fervent address to God and His creatures. Be astonished that, after so many iniquities, all crea- tures should not have armed themselves against you, that they should have continued to serve you, when you were incessantly insulting their God and yours. Be asto- nished that God has not withdrawn His gifts from you ; that He has left you this fortune, this credit, these ta- lents, this mind, this heart, this life, which you abuse to offend Him. • Then ask pardon of all the perfections of God which you have offended. Pardon, justice of my God, for having so long braved Thy thunder ! Pardon, holi- ness of God, for having so long stained the purity of Thy sjght by my crimes ! Pardon, mercy of God, for having so long despised Thy voice ! " Show mercy to a poor penitent, whom Thou hast so long spared in his impenitence" (St. Bernard). COLLOQUY. Return thanks to the mercy of God, and solemnly promise at the feet of Jesus Chiist never more to offend Him. SriRITUAI. EXERCISE8. 79 FIRST EXERCISE ON HELL. Preparatory Prayer. First prelvde. Imagine to yourself the height, the breadth, and the depth of hell. Second prelude. Ask of God a lively fear of the pains of hell, so that, if ever yon are so unhappy as to lose the grace of the love of God, at least the fear of punishment may deter you from sin. FIRST CONSIDERATION. The habitation of the damned. It is Ml. But what is hell? The Holy Spirit calls it the place of torments (St. Luke xvi. 28). A prison, where the condemned shall be imprisoned by the justice of God, to be tormented through ages of ages : " They shall be shut up there in prison" (Isaiah xxiv. 22). A region of misery, a darkness where an eternal horror dwells : " A land of misery and darkness, where the shadow of death and no order, but everlasting hor- ror dwelleth" (Job x. 22). A lake of fire and brim- stone : " They shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone" (Apoc. xxi. 8). A deep valley, where a torrent of sulphur rolls, lighted by the breath of the Lord : " For Topheth is prepared from yesterday, prepared by the King, deep and wide ; the nourishments thereof are fire and much wood ; the breath of the Lord, as a torrent of brimstone, doth kindle it" (Isaias xxx. 33). A burning furnace : " Thou 80 SPIRITUAL EXEHCISE9. shalt make them as an oven of fire" (Psalm xx. 10) Tlie depths of an abyss : " He opened the bottomless pit" (Apoc. ]x. 2) ; the smoke from which darkens the sun like the smoke from a vast fumace : " And he opened the bottomless pit ; and the smoke of the pit arose as the smoke of a great furnace" (Apoc. ix. 2). Finally, the anger of the Almighty is like a wine-press, m which an angTy God will trample upon and crush His enemies : " And He treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of God the Almighty" (Apoc. xix. 15) ; " I have trampled on them in My indigna- tion, and have trodden them down in My wrath" (Isaias Ixiii. 3). SECOND CONSIDERATION. The company of the danmed. In hell a triple society will form the torment of the condemned. 1. The society of his body, which, to the infectious corruption of a corpse, will unite all the sensibility of a living fi'ame, and every member of which will have its torment and its pain. 2. The society of devils. " There are spirits that are created for vengeance, and in their fury they lay on grievous torments" (Ecclus. xxxix. 33). Damned themselves, they have no other occupation but to tor- ture the damned. Not being able to revenge their re- probation on. God, they revenge it on man, His image ; they pursue God in the condemned, and they pursue Him with all the hate and fiiry that can enter the hearts of demons. 3. The society of an infinite number of wretched SPIRITaAL ];XERCISE8. 81 creatures damned like himself. Represent to y oni->elf an assembly so hideous, that even in the gallej's and p'isons of human justice you could not find any thing- lnns of his reprobation, who never cease to accuse him of their misfortune, and who find a horrible consola- tion in tearing him to pieces ! " They have opened their mouths upon me, and reproaching me they hav^ struck me on the cheek ; they are filled with my pains' (Job xvi. 11). THIRD CONSIDERATION The punishment of the reprobate through the powers of his soul. 1. Torment of the imagination. The imagina- tion of the daijined presents his misery to him with in- credible clearness. It represents to him all the plea- sures of his past life. See how happy thou wert on « 82 SPIRITUAL BXERCISE8. earth ; thy life was but one tissue of delight and joy , all that is passed and can never return : " All those tilings have passed away" (Wis. v. 9). It shows him all he has suffered, all that he has yet to suffer. Oh, what years thou hast burnt in hell, and yet thy eternity is not begun ! Oh, what ages and millions of ages will pass, and thou wilt have no other occupation but to burn ! It shows him heaven, with all its felicity. How happy thou wouldst be near Mary, near Jesus Christ. Listen to the songs of the blessed ; behold those souls which love and possess God for all eternity. All that is lost for thee. " The wicked shall see, and shall be angry, he shall gnash with his teeth and pine away; the desire of the wicked shall perish" (Psalm cxi. 10). 2. Torment of memory. The memory of the damned will recall all his sins : " What ii-uit, there- fore, had you in those things of which you ai-e now ashamed ?" (Rom. vi. 21.) It recalls all the trouble taken for advancement in this world : " What doth it proiit ?" (Wis. V. 8.) It recalls all the graces received — faith, a Christian education, the example of so many virtuous persons, the instructions of the ministers of Jesus Christ, the Sacraments of the Church. " And have been able to show no mark of virtue" (Wis. v. 13). It recalls the warnings that were given on earth. How often has he not heard that it is terrible to fall into the hands of the living God, that there is no mercy in hell ! Why didst thou not listen to these wise warn- ings i" " Did I not protest to thee by«the Lord, and tell thee before ?" (3 Kings ii. 42.) 3. Torment of the understanding. The under SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 33 sftanding of the reprobate never ceases to show, him the deformity of sin, the greatness and beauty of God, the justice of the punishment of hell. Thou wert made for God ; why hast thou refused Him thy heart ? God is so gTeat, He is so perfect. He is so good ; who de- served thy love and service as He did ? UngTateftil ! thou bast abandoned thy benefactor. Perjured ! thou hast dared to break thy oaths. Parricide ! thou hast wished to kill thy Father. Begone ! suffer for all eter- nity; an eternal hell is not too much to punish thy crime. " Thou art just, Lord, and Thy judgments are right" (Psalm cxviii. 137). 4. Torment of the will. Represent to yourself how the condenmed soul is tormented. By its regrets: It was so easy to save myself. Oh, why did I abuse the time and the grace of God ? By its remorse: Woe to m? ! I was mad, a wretch ; I am lost through my own fault. By its jealousy : Why was such a one saved ? He had committed greater sins than I; he had received fewer graces than I ; he is happy in heaven, and I burn in hell. By its desires : Oh, that I might re- turn to the earth, that I might receive a few years of life ; I would frighten the world by the rigours of my penance. Its reaching after God: Oh, that I might yet see Thee, Lord ; that I might love, that I might possess Thee ! Its imprecations : My prayer, then, is useless. Malediction upon me ! perish the day of my birth ! destruction fall on my body, on my soul, which the anger of God pursues! perish this unpitying God, who has notliing but vengeance for me ! " The wicked shall gnash his teeth and pine away; the desire of the wicked shall perish" (Psalm cii. 10). 84 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. FOURTH CONSIDERATION. The torment of the damned in all his senses. 1. Torment of sight. The aspect of this dreary prison, — of the damned, tlie companions of his misery, — of tlie demons, the executioners of the vengeance of God, — of the cross of Jesus Christ printed on the vaults^ — of these terrible words engraved on the gates of hell, "ever, neoer" — of those flames which roar ai'ound him. 2. Torment of hearing. The groans of so many millions of the damned, — the howls of their despair, — tnelr blasphemies against God and against the saints, — their imprecations on themselves, — their cries of rage as they invoke death or annihilation, — the reproaches they address to themselves, — the maledictions with which they load their accomplices, — the noise of the flames devouring so many victims. 3. Torment of smell. The horrible infection which exhales fi-om so many bodies, which preserve in hell all the cori'uption of the grave : " Out of their carcasses shall rise a stink" (Is. xxxiv. 3). 4. Torment of taste. A maddening hunger, — "they shall suffer hunger like dogs" (Ps. Iviii. 7, — the violence of which shall compel the damned to devour his own flesh : " Every one shall eat the flesh of Lis own arm" (Is. ix. 20). A devouring thirst, and not one drop of water to refresh his parched tongue,^ no drink but v,rormwood and gall : " Their wine is the gall of dragons and the venom of asps, which is incur- able " (Deut. xxxii. 33). For refreshment, a chalice which the anger of God has filled with fire, with sul- 8PIHITUAL EXERRISE3. 85 phur, and the spirit of tempests: "Flames and brim- stone and storms of winds shall be the portion of their cup" (Ps. X. 7). 5. Torment of touch. The damned will be enveloped in flames as in a garment. The fire will penetrate al' the members of his body, — and what a fire ! Not fire Uke that on earth, which is a gift of the divini bounty, but a fire created by justice to punish sin j not a fire lighted by men — and yet what terrible power in a fire which calcines marble, melts metals ! — but a fire lighted and kept up by the breath of God, who avenges His offences, and avenges them without mercy, and avenges them according to the extent of His justice and His power ; a fire which does not consume the victim, but which at one and the same time exhausts and renews that sensibility, and thus renders the pain eternal ; a fire armed with the attributes of God ; — His anger to punish, His knowledge to distinginsh the senses which have been the most guilty, His wisdom to proportion the chastisement to the degree of crime ; a fire so penetrating that it in a manner so identifies itself with its victim, that it boils in the veins and in the marrow,— that it escapes and re-enters by all the pores, — that it makes of the damned a burning coal in the midst of the furnaces of hell ; a fire which unites in itself every torment and every pain, which infinitely surpasses any thing man can suifer fi-om sickness, — all that tyrants ever made the confessors of Christ to en- dure : " Which of you can dwed with devouring fire, which of you can dwell with everlasting burnings" (Is. xxxiii. li). 86 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. FIFTH CONSIDERATION. Torment of eternity. How many years or centuries will the damned be chained in this prison ? For ever. How many years or centuries will he groan in tears of regTet and despair? Fw evei\ How many years or centuries will he be condemned to the society ol'demons? For ever. How many years or centuries will he burn in flames 1 For ever. Will God, then, never have pity on his misery ? Never. Will there not be any interruption of his tor- ment ? Never. Will he not at any time receive any mitigation of his pains? Never ; sbN-a.'^s, never. Stretch your imagination, — add years to years — ages to ages; multiply them like the leaves of the forest, the sand of the sea-shore, the drops of water in the immensity of the seas ; — you will not yet conceive the meaning of those two words, ever, never. "What number of years can equal eternity, since it is without end ?" (St. Aug.) COLLOQUY. Cast yourself at the feet of Jesus Christ. , Eepre- sent to yourself this innumerable multitude of souls that sin has precipitated into hell. Retmn thanks to our Saviour, who has jireserved you from this dreadful eternity, and has hitherto followed you with His mercy and His love. Pater. Ave. •PIRITUAL EXERCISES. 87 SECOND EXERCISE ON HELL. Preparatory Prayer. First and second prelude. Same as last. APPLICATION OF THE SENSES. 1. Application oj^ the sight. Consider in your mind the vast fire of hell ; souls shut up in bodies of fire, as in an eternal prison ; wicked spirits constantly employed in tormenting' them. 2. Application of the hearing. Listen to the groans, the howls, the cries of rage, the blasphemies against Christ and His saints, the mutual maledictions of the danmed. 3. Application of the smell. Imagine you smell the fire, the brimstone, the infection which exhales fi:)in so many hideous corpses. 4. Application of the taste. Taste in spirit all the bitterness, the tears, the regrets, the remorse of the damned. 5. Application of the touch. Touch in imagination those devouring flames which in hell consume not only the bodies of the reprobate, but the souls themselves. What do you think of them ? Could you inhabit these eternal furnaces for a few hours? "Which "of you shaU dwell with everlasting burning?" (Is. xxxiii. 14.) End, at the foot of the crucifix, by addi-essing tc yourself the following questions : 1. WJiatare those souls that suffer in hell? Souls created, like yours, to love and possess God, — souls for whom God had given His heart. His blood. His life j 88 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES upon whom He wished to bestow His glory for all eter- nity. 2. What do they suffer ? Pains truly infinite ; for, except in the being' of the sinner, the infinite is every where ; — in the offence which is avenged, in the wis- dom which invented the pain, in the justice which de- crees it, in the power which ajjplies it and which makes it etprnal. 3. Wlty do they suffer? For mortal sins, perhaps less enormons or less multiplied than yours. 4. What led them to kell? The way which you perhaps have followed until t!iis day, — the way of self- love, of sensuality, of tepidity. COLLOQUY. And now converse with Jesus. At the foot of the cross recall to mind that all the reprobate are so, either for having' refused to believe in His coming as a saviour, ■or for not obeying His precepts; — the crime of men before His coming on earth, of the condemned of His time, and of those who have come after Him. Attach yourself to Him, then, with heart and mind, that He may save you from eternal death. Finish by acts of lively grati- tude that He has not allowed you to fall into this fright- ful abyss, following you even to this day, not with maledictions, but with imspeakable goodness and infinite mercy. Pater, Ave. a SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 8d FIEST EXERCISE ON DEATH. Preparatory Prayer. Mrst prehtde. Transport yourself in thought to the bedside of a dying man, beside a grave open to receive coffin, or to the middle of a churchyard. Second prelude. Ask of our Lord a salutary fear of death, and the grace to be ready at any moment. FIRST CONSIDERATION. What is death ? 1. To die is to bid farewell to every thing in this world ; — a farewell to your fortune ; farewell to your titles and your rank ; farewell to your pleasures, to your friends ; farewell to a part of yourself, your body; and, saddest of all, farewell for ever to this world. 2. To die is to be abandoned by all whom j'ou leave behind ; by your friends and acquaintance, who think no more of you ; by your heirs, who will perhaps scarcely speak of you except to dispute your property; by your dearest relatives, who will soon weary of shed- ding tears, or even bestowing a thought upon you. 3. To die is to leave your house for a deep narrow g^rave ; it is to wait the day of judgment under a stone, in a coffin six feet under ground, without any other garment than a shroud, without other society than reptiles and worms, without other titles than an in- scription, which few will read and which time will soon efface. 4. To die is to pass into the most humiliating state, the nearest to nothingness ; it is to go where youi 90 SPIRITUAL EXKnciSES. bodily senses will no longer act ; where you can see no- thing-, not even your own destruction ; where you will no longer hear any thing, not fiv n the work of the worms wliich devoui- you ; where you will hecome the prey of corruption and the food of the most hideous reptiles ; where you will slowly fall to pieces ; where you will decompose into an infectious corruption. " Under thee shall the moth be sti-ewed, and worms shall be thy co- vering" (Is. xiv. 11). " I have said to rottenness, thou art my father ; to worms, my mother and my sister" (Job xvii. 14). 5. Lastly, to die is for your soul all at once to leav this world, and enter in a moment into an unknown re- gion called Eternity ; where it goes to hear from the mouth of tlie Lord in what place it must make that great retreat which will last for ever ; whether it is to be in heaven or in the depths of hell. SECOND CONSTDEHATION. Must I die? Most certainly. But what assures me of it? B,en- son, which tells me that a body constantly undermined by time must finally fall to dust. " A mountain falling Cometh to naught, and a rock is removed out of its place. Waters wear away the stones, and with inun- dation the ground by little and little is washed away. How much more shall they that dwell in houses of clay, who have an earthly foundation, be consumed ?" (Job xiv. 18, 19} iv. 19.) Faith tells me tliat a sentence of death has been pronounced against all men : " It is appointed unto men once to die" (Heb. ix-. 27). Hx- pwimice shows me in all places and at all hours man 8PIRITtrAL EXERCISES. f)l cast down and trampled under foot by tliat terrible king- called Death : '■ Destinction treads upon him like a king-" (Job xviii. 14). Man has raised doubts on all truths ; but who has ever doubted the certainty of death ? " There is no man that liveth always, or that hopeth for this" (Eccles. ix. 4). To almost all the questions that might be asked about you the an- swer would be "perhaps.'' Shall you have a large fortune, g-reat talents, a long- life ? Perliaps. Will your last hour find you in the friendship of God? Perhaps. After this retreat, shall you live long in a state of grace ? Perhaps. Shall you be saved? Per- haps. But shall you die? Yes, certainly. Will a day arrive when to health shall succeed sickness, then agony, tlien the last sigh ? Yes. Will there be a day when the bell will toll for your burial, when your name will be inscribed in the register of the dead, when your coffin and your tombstone will be ordered, and when your servants will carry you from your apartments to your grave? Yes. Shall you be laid in the bosom of the earth to moulder away, to be eaten by worms, and CO crumble into dust ? Most certainly, yes. " It is appointed" (Heb. ix. 27). Take every precaution you please, — use the most wholesome food, surround youi-self with the most deli- cate attentions, consult the ablest physicians, — you will not escape this decree of death. Say, where are the jj-enerations which have preceded you? Where are the monarchs who ruled your fathers, the g-enerals who commanded their armies, the magistrates who admi- nistered justice ? Where are your fathers ? Those whose name and title you bear, — where are they ? Id 92 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. the grave, — in eternity ! Know that you will one day ■" have the same end as they, and that to-morrow, per- haps, it will he your turn to fall under the stroke of death : " Yesterday for me, and to-day tor thee" (Ecclus. xxxviii. 23). THIRD CONSIDERATION. Shall I die soon ? - Consider that the measure of your life is this time, of which the days, the hours, the moments, press upon, and as it were swallow up each other. How, then, can you flatter yourself that death is far off when it has already beg-un for you? From the moment of your birth to this hour, what have you done but die ? Count all the years, the weeks, the days, the hours, which united make up what you call your age, — what are they but so many steps towards the grave ? You are like the candle, which is consumed in giving light, and gives light in being consumed ; like it you live in dying, and in living die. An action continued without interrup- tion is soon accomplished. All other human actions have some cessation — ^business, study, pleasures, sleep, every thing, in fact, has some interval. There is but one action whioh is never interrupted, and this action is death ; death which began with your first sigh, and will end with your last. How can you be long before you die, when you began to die at your birth, and are dying every moment of the day and night ? What is your age ? Is it twenty, thirty, forty, or fire you still older ? What do these past years a})pear to you — years already passed into eternity like waves into the ocean ? How quickly they are gone ! Be per- SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 93 siiaded that your future years will pass as quickly, if even there are years befoi'e you. Death will take from you tlie future, as it took from you the past, with the rapidity of lightning'. And this is the life of all ; the Holy Spirit says it is like the track of a ship on the ocean, the flight of a bird through the air, or an arrow shot by a vigorous hand ; it is like the froth on the edge of a stream, like a little dust on the plain, like a vapour which a breath of wind dispels for ever. FOURTH CONSIDERATION. When shall I di^ " It is not for you to knoiv the times or moments, which the Father hath put in His own power" (Acts i. 7). " Watch, for you know not the day or the hour" (Matt. XXV. 13). It is not for us to penetrate the secrets of God ; but it is for us to watch, that we be not sur- prised. For how many terrible uncertainties are there not in death! (1.) At what age shall you die? In old age, in middle age, or in youth? " Watch, for yim know not." (2.) What kind of death shall you die ? Will it be a sudden death, without time to prepare yourself? Will it be after a long illness, which will dejn-ive you of the use of your senses, the use of time, of grace, of the sacraments? Will it be after violent pain, which will render it out of 3'our power to attend to your everlasting salvation ? Will it be from a fall, from fire, from the weapon of an enemy ? " Watch, for you hnorv not." (3.) In what place shall you die ? Will it be in your own house, or in that of strangers ? At table, at play, at the theatre, at church ? Wi^ 't be in 94 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES your bed, or in a prison, or on the scaffold ? " Watehf for yoii know not" (4.) What day shall you die? Will it be in ten years ? Why not this very year ? Why not this month, this week ? Why not even this day? "Watch, for you know not." (5.) During- what action shall you die ? There is not one action that may not be your last. You praj' — why slioiild not death strike you while you pray ? You study — vvlij should not death strike you in the midst of this study? You sleep — why should not this sleep be eternal ? Not one of your words, not one of your movements, which may not be followed by the silence and stillness of denth. " Watch, for you know not." (6.) In what state shall you die? Will it be in a state of grace, or in a state of sin ? Again the same uncertainty. All that we know is that death is the echo of life, and that we almost always die as we have lived. ' Watch, for you know not." FIFTH CONSIDERATION. How often shall I die ? Once only. "It is appointed unto men once to die" (Heb. ix. 27). This is what is most terrible in death : in this great and decisive action all errors are irreparable ; the misfortune of a bad death is an eternal misfortune. If you could die twice, you might reassure yourself as to the risks of your eternal salvation. If you were lost the first time, you might be saved the second : but it is not so ; you have but one life, one soul, one death. Once lost, you are lost for all eternity. And on what does a good or a bad death depend ? On a sing^le moment I What is required to consent to SPIRITUAL EXEHCISE9. 9.'> temptation ? A moment! What is required moitally to offend tlie Lord '{ A single instant ! Consider well that no more is necessary to decide your eternity ; one moment is enough to ensure your damnation. On this moment depends eternity ! If you had died such a year, such a day, such an hou" of your life, when you were the enemy of God, wliere would you he now ? You would be lost, and lost lor ever ; for it is written, " If the tree fall to the south, or to the. north, in what place soever it shall fall, there shall it be" (Eccles. xi. 3). Are \'ou not seized with terror at the thought of the danger to which you have voluntarily exposed your soul ? Resolve to live moi'e carefully for the future, and hasten to assure youi'self of the sanctity of your death by the sanctity of your life. AFFECTIONS. Fear. " Enlighten my eyes, that I never sleep in death, lest at any time my enemy say, I have pre- vailed against him" (Ps. xii. 4, o). Desire. " Do with me according- to Thy will, and aommand my spirit to be received in peace" (Tob. iii. 6). Resolution. " All the days in which I am now in warfare, I wait until my change come. Thou shalt call me, and I will answer Thee" (Job xiv. 14j. COLLOQUY. Represent to yourself our Lord dying on the cross, and recommend to Him the hour of your death. Pater. Ave. d6 SPIRITUAL E^ERCtSfid. SECOND EXEKCISE ON DEATH. FIRST CONTEMPLATION. Your agony. Preparatory Prayer. 1. Application of the sight. Contemplate — (1^ Youi apartment faintly lighted by the last rays of day, or the feeble light of a lamp ; your bed which you wiU never leave except to be laid in yom- coffin ; all the objects which surround you and seem to say, You leave us for ever ! (2) The persons who will surround you : your servants, sad and silent ; a weeping family, bidding you a last adieu ; the minister of religion, praying near you and suggesting pious affections to you. (3) Yourself stretched on a bed of pain, losing by degrees your senses and the fi'ee use of your faculties, straggling violently against death, which comes to tear your soul from the body and drag it before the tribunal of God. (4) At your side the devils, who redouble theh efforts, to destroj' you ; your good angel, who assists you foi the last time with his holy inspirations. 2. Application of the hearing. Listen to the mono- tonous sound of the clock which measures your last hours, and says at each movement. Behold yourself a second nearer to the tribunal of God ; the sound of yoiu- painful laboured breathing, and that tenible rattle, the forerunner (5f death; the stifled sobs of those who surround j'ou ; the prayers of the Church recited in the midst of teai-s : " From on evil death, from the pains of hell, from the power of Satan, deliver him,0 Lord." " Depart, Ghi'istiau soul, in the name of God Almighty, who SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 97 created you, — in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who died for you,— in the name of the Holy Ghost, who sanctified you. Deliver, Lord, the soul of Thy servant from the perils of hell, as Thou didst deliver Noe from the deluge, Abraham out of Chaldea, Job from Ms sufferings." And from time to time the priest will suggest to you these words, which the Church places in his mouth : " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Mary, mother of grace, mother of mercy, protect us from the enemy and receive us at the hour of death." Meditate well on these words now, which sickness will not allow you to meditate upon at the hour of your death. 3. Application of the taste. Eepresent to yourself all the bitterness of the dying agony : " Doth bitter death separate in this manner ?" [1 Kings xv. 32.) For the vresent, what bitterness in this separation from your possessions, your rank, your pleasures, your friends, your relatives, your body ; in the weariness, the sadness, the fears, which precede the last moment ! For the past, what bitterness in the memory of your whole life, ui which you perceive so many infidelities, so many graces not corresponded with, so many grave sins, so many scandals ! For the Juticre, what bitterness in the thought of the judgment you have to undergo, when you must give an account of all your works, when you will hear the decisive sentence of your eternity ! " death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee !" (Ecclus. xh. 1.) 4. Application of tlie touch. Imagine yourself holding in your feeble hands the crucifix, which the priest presents to you ; imagine yourself touching your own 98 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. body, which will soon be only a corpse. How cold youi' feet ! Your ai'ms, shrivelled by sicknebs, begin to stiffen. How painfully your oh st labours with your unequal breathing, which soon will cease ! Your heart, which beats with a scarcely percejitible movement, your face hollowed by fever and covered with cold sweat, — is it not in this state you have seen friends, near relatives, dying? It is in this state your friends and relatives will see you before long. Make these reflections to-day, which your agony will soon inspire in those who witness it. End by a colloquy with our Loi'd dying : " Into Thy hands, Lord, I commend my spirit" (Psalm XXX. 6). Pater. Ave. THIRD EXERCISE ON DEATH. SECOND CONTEMPLATION. Your state after death. Preparatory Prayer. Mrst and second prelvdes. The same. Application of the mght. Consider — 1. A few mo- ments after your death. Your body laid on a ftineral bed, wrapped in a siiroud, n, veil thrown over your face; beside you the cnicifix, the holy water, fi-iends, relatives, a priest kneeling ))y your sad remains, and reciting the holy prayers, " De proliiiidis claiiiavi ad te, Domine;" the public officer who writes in the i-egister of the dead all the particulars of your decease, — such a death, such SPIRITUAL EXKRCISES. 99 a year, such a day, such an hour, — the servants all occupied vvitli the preparation for your funeral. 2. The day after your death. Your inanimate body enclosed in a coffin, covered with a pall, taken from your apartment, sadly carried to the foot of the altar, received by the priest of Jesus Christ; deposited before the Lord present in the Tabernacle ; then, the Holy Sacrifice over, laid in its last home, the g-rave. Consider well the dismal field where the eye sees nothing- but tombs ; this open grave where they are laying- your body, the priest who blesses you for the last time, your relatives and friends who contemplate the s]iectacle with fear, theg-rave-dig-ger who ends the scene by throwing- earth on your coffin. 3. Some months after your death. Contemplate this stone already blackened by time, this inscription begin- ning- to be effaced ; and under that stone, in that coffin which is crumbling- bit by bit, contemplate the sad state of your body ; see how the worms devour the remains of putrid flesh; how all the limbs are separating; how the bones are eaten away by the corruption of the tomb! See what remains of the body you have loved so much! — a something- which has no name in any tongue, and on which we cannot think without disgust. Application of the hearing. Go through again the different scenes where you are the spectacle. Listen — (1.) To the dismal sound of the bells which an- nounce your death, and which beg- the prayers of the faithful for your soul. (2.) The prayers which they recite at the foot of your bed : " Saints of God, come to its assistance. Angels of God, come to its help; 100 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. receive his soul. Eternal rest ^ve unto him, Lord ; and let perpetual light shine upon him." (3.) The I'emarks of the servants who speak of you. (4.) Your friends and relatives, who communicate to each other their reflections on your death, and mutually console each other for your loss. (5.) The assistants called in to aiTange your funeral, who speak of you with cold indifference. (6.) The chants of the Church during' the funeral service : " Deliver me, Lord, from eternal death in that dreadful day when the heavens and the earth shall tremhle, when Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire ; — that day, a day of wrath, of calam- ity, and of misery ; that great and very bitter day." (7.) The conversations of the persons whom duty, friendship, or civility call to your funeral. (8.) What is said of you in society after your death. Examine well all these circumstances, and conclude by making a resolution to detach youi-self from creatm-es, and be- long to God alone. Application of the smell and the touch. Imagine yourself respiring the odour yom- body exhales when the soul is departed ; the infection it would give out, if it were taken from the coffin a few months after your death. Imagine you touch this damp eai-th, where they have laid you; this shroud in which they have wrapped you, and which is now in rags ; this bare skull, once the seat of thought; these dismembered limbs, which once obeyed all the orders of your will; — in fine, this mass of corruption, which the sepulchre has enclosed a few months, and the sight of which is horrible. In presence of this terri'ile scene, ask jour- SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 101 self what are health, fortune, friendship of the world, pleasures of the senses, life itself : " Vanity of vanities, all is vanity" (Eccles. i. 2). End by a colloquy with our Saviour dying : " Into Thy hands I commend my spirit, Lord." Fater. Aoi, 102 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. EXERCISE ON THE PARTIGULAE JUDGMENT. Preparatory Prayer. First prelude. Represent to yourself the tribunal of Jesus Christ, and youi' soul brought into the presence of its Judge to give an account of all its works. Second prelude. " Remember, most loving Jesu, that for me Thou didst humble Thyself to this mortal life. Let me not be lost, I beseech Thee, on that grea* day."* FIRST CONSIDEnATION. The time and the place where the judgment will he held. The time will be that at which you breathe your last sigh. Represent to yourself your relatives and friends examining your lips and heart to find a breath oi a beat which may yet eive. token of life. While they are still asking whether you belong to time or eternity, you are already before the tribunal of your Judge. And where is this tribunal ? In the room where you have just expired, beside your death-bed, before your corpse, before those who surround yoxw inanimate re- mains, and who assist at this terrible scene without desiring it, and probably without thinking of it. SECOND CONSIDERATION. The accused. It is your soul, but your soul alone with its works ; * " Eecordare, Jesu pie, Quod sum causa tuse viae ; Ne me perdas ill! die." SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 103 " Their works follow them" (Apoc. xiv. 13). Your soul suddenly illuminated by the lights of eternity, embracing at one glance the extent of its obligations, all the consequences of the graces it received, all the circumstances of the sins it committed : " In Thy light we shall see light" (Ps. xxxv. 10). Your soul in the presence of God, without the power to escape this awl'ul sight. What a situation for the sinner ! A world- ling in the presence of that God he has never truly loved; a voluptuary in the presence of a thrice holy God, who has witnessed all his excesses, and is about to punish them ; a careless man in presence of that God of whom he thought as little as if He had not ex- isted ! THIRD CONSIDERATION. The accusers. 1. The devil. Satan will stand before the tribunal of Jesus Christ repeating the words of your consecra- tion to the Lord. He will recall your baptismal vows. He will say, " You were asked, ' Do you renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil ?' and you replied, ' I do renounce them.' How, then, have you kept your promise ?" Then turning towards our Lord, " I did not sweat blood for him ; I was not crowned with thorns for him ; I never shed a drop of blood for him ; I was not suspended to the cross one moment for him. And yet he did not serve yov., but me. I never gave my life for this soul ; and yet it was not to you he gave himself, it was to me. Pronounce the sentence, then, and let him belong to me through sin, since he would not belong to you by grace." 104 SPIRITUAL EXEKCI9E9. 2 The angeh. Your g^uai-dian angel will reproach you with rejecting his inspirations, despising his coun- sels, sullying his looks by your sins which he witnessed: "Arise, God, and judge Thy own cause" (Psalm Ixxiii. 22). The angels charged with the souls of your brethren will reproach you with your scandals, and de- mand vengeance for your fatal example, which perhaps caused their loss: '^ Arise, God, and judge" The angels who watch before the holy altars will reproach you with that indiiFerence wliich kept j'ou from the holy table, or even fi'om the temples of Jesus Christ ; those irreverences which have so often outraged the holiness of sacrifice or prayer; the word of God listened to with worldly dispositions ; the Sacraments rendered useless by tepidity, periiaps profaned by sacrilege. " Arue, God, andjvdge" 3. Your own conscience. Your conscience will place your whole life before your eyes ; it will show you all your works, which will say : Do you know us ? we are your works: " It was thou who didst us ; we will not leave thee" (St. Bern.). At each accusation of the devil or the angels, it will bear witness against you: " It is true thou art guilty of this iniquity ; it was such a day, at such an hour, thou didst commit this sin." POURTH CONSIDERATION. The Judge. It is Jesus Christ, once your father, your spouse, your friend, your brother ; but who now, forg-etting all these titles, is only your judge, — and what a judge ! A Judg« infinxtely holy; He has an infinite boiTor of everjr SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 105 ■ill; however small. A Judge thoroughly omniscient-^ there is no sin so small, so secret, that He does not know it and reveal it. A Judge infinitely just ; there is no sin that He leaves without vengeance. A Judge rmthoxit appeal; whose sentence it is impossihle to re- voke. A Judge all-powerful; how can man escape the chastisements of His justice ? Behold, then, the Judge before whom you will appear to give an account of His graces, and His blood shed for you ! What will be- come of your soul in presence of such a Judge ? " What shall I do when God shall arise to judge?" (Job xxxi. 14) FIFTH CONSIDERATION. Tour defence at the judgment of God. If you appear before the tribunal of God in mortal sin, what will you answer to your accusers ? " All ini- quity shall stop her mouth" (Psalm cvi. 42). Will you excuse yourself by your ignorance ? But they will oppose to you the lights of your conscience and of the Gospel, and the instructions of the Church and its ministers. Will you excuse yourself by your weakness? But they will oppose to you the strength of grace. Will you excuse yourself by your temptations ? They will oppose the means God gave you to overcome them — prayer, the Sacraments, &c. Will you excuse yourself by the scandals which led you away ? They will oppose all the holy examples which ought to have strengthened you in virtue. Finally, leaving all excuses, will you have recourse to the intercession of holy Mary and of the Saints, to the mercy of Jesus Christ ? The Blessed Virgin, the Saints, can no longer do any thing for you* 106 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. and Jesus is now the God of justice, not the God of mercy : " My eye shall not spare them, neither shall I show mercy" (Ezech. viii. 18). SIXTH CONSIDEHATION. The sentence.^ To the just it will be said, " Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning." To the wicked it will be said, " Be- gone, ye cursed, into everlasting five, prepared for Satan and his angels" (Matt, xxv. 34, 41). Begone : that is to say, every tie between us is broken ; go far from Me, wandering sheep, I am no longer your shepherd ; go far from Me, faithless spouse, I am no longer thy spouse ; go far from Me, unnatural child, I am no longer your father; begone, you shall have no part in My friend- ship, in My kingdom, in any thing belonging to Me. My Mother is no longer your mother; My angels are no longer your guardians ; My saints no longer your protectors. Begone, ye cursed, cursed in every sense, which has each its punishment, — cursed in thy mind, which shall never have one good thought ; cursed in thy heart, which shall be given up to despair without end. Begone to everlasting fire, — to that fire where thou wilt have a furnace for thy dwelling, flames for thy food, burning coals for thy couch, devils for thy society, tortures for thy repose ; to that fire which will last as long as I am God. Begone to the fire ^irepared for Satan. I take heaven and earth to witness it was not prepared for thee. I protest before angels and men that I neglected nothing to save thee from this eternal fire. Behold My angels, to whose cai'e I committed thy SPIRITUAI, EXERCISES. 107 soul. Behold My Mother, whom I gave thee for thy mother and patroness. Behold My wounds, and My heart open and pierced for thy salvation. But since thou wouldst not have My graces and My friendship, begone from Me, and begone for all eterni*-,y : " Dep^ from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." AFFECTIONS. Colloquy, first, at the feet of Jesus crucified: " most jiist Judge, bestow upon me, I beseech Thee, the gift of pardon before that day of reckoning. Behold, I groan in Thy sight as one guilty; shame covereth my face because of my sfti. Spare me, a sup- pliant, my God."* Second, at the feet of an image of Mary: " Mary, at once the Mother of God and the mother of the sinner, mother of the Judge and of the criminal, let not God your Son condemn your son the sinner." Pater. Ave, • " Juste Judex ultionis, iDgemisco tamquam reus; Donuni fau leiiiissionis, Culpa rubet Tultus meus: Ante diem rationis. Supplioanti paioe, Deiu." 108 SPIRITUAL EXERCISBS. ON VENIAL SIN. Preparatory Prayer. First prelude. Represent to yourself the fires of purgatory, and a soul in these fires expiating the sins it committed on earth. Secand prelude. Ask of God the knowledge and the hatred of venial sin. FIRST CONSIDERATION. The malice of venial sin. Venial sin is essentially an offence against God. It is consequently a contempt of the majesty of God, an ingratitude towards His goodness, a resistance to His will, an injury to all His perfections ; — a slight injury if compared to that which mortal sin offers to God, hut very serious if considered in itself; for it is an offence against Infinite Majesty by a .vile creature, and for a vile motive. Venial sin is, then, really the evil of-God. Meditate well on these words : An evil against God; that is to say, an evil so great that it surpasses all the temporal and even eternal evils of creatures. The destruction, or above all the damnation, of the whole human race would be a great evil ; and yet it would be a sin to wish, if we had the power, to save the human race from destruction or hell at the price of one venial sin.. It is an evil so great that all the sacrifices and virtues of creatures render less glory to God than one venial sin takes from Him. SPIRITUAI. EXERCISES. 109 It is an evil so great that neither the mind of man can comprehend it, nor his will hate it as it deserves to be hated, nor any expiation of his suffice to repair it. For it requires nothing less than the mind, the will, and the atonement of a God. SECOND CONSIDERATIOK, The effects of venial sin. Venial sin, it is true, does not destroy in us habitual grace ; but, nevertheless, how deplorable are its effects in the soul ! 1. It imprints a stain which tarnishes its beauty. It is to the soul what an ulcer is to the body. 2. It weakens the Hghts of the spirit and the fer- vour of the will; and from that arise languor in prayer, in the use of the Sacraments, and in the practice of Ghristian virtues. 3. It deprives the soul of the superabundance of gi-aces — choice gTaces, which God only gives to purity of heart. 4. It deprives the soul of a greater degree of grace and glory which it would have acquired by its fidelity, and which is lost by its fault. A God less glorified eternally, less loved, and less possessed, — such are tlie consequences of venial sin to the soul. 5. It leads to mortal sin as sickness leads to death ; for the repetition of venial sins insensibly weakens the fear of God, hardens the conscience, forms evil attach- ments and habits, gives fresh strength to the temptations of the enemy of our salvation, nourishes and develops tko passions. Hence the Holy Spiiit says, " He that no SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. contemneth small things, shall fall by little and little" (Bcclus. xix. 1); and that of our Saviour, " He that is unjust in that which is little, is unjust also in that which is gTeater' (Luke xvi. 10). THIRD CONSIDERATION. The punishment of venial sin. Even in this life God has often inflicted most ri- gorous vengeance for venial sin. Moses and Aaron were excluded from the promised land in punishment of a slight distrust ; the Bethsamites were stmck dead for an indiscreet look at the Ark; seventy thousand Israelites were carried off by a destructive scourge in punishment of the vain complaisance of David in the numbering of his subjects. But it is above all in the next life that venial sin is punished with the most alarming rigour. Enter in spirit this blazing prison, where the justice of God pu- rifies His elect, and meditate attentively on the follow- ing circumstances : 1. What is the victim sirffering in purgatory ? It is a predestined soul ; a soul confirmed in grace, and that cannot lose it ; a soul so dear to God that He is impatient to give it the most magnificent testimony of His love, that is to say, the possession of Himself. 2. Wliat does it suffer f Pain which man cannot conceive; that is, fires which differ in nothing from tliose which devour the damned — it is the opinion of St. Augustine, confirmed by St. Thomas, " The same fire forms the torment of the damned and the purification of the just j" and the privation of God, which delivei's SPIRITUAL RXERCI8ES. Ill aj) the soul to all that is most agonising in regrets and desii-es. 3. Why does it mff'er ? For some of those faults which almost every moment are committed from the wpakness of our will. End hy looking into your conscience. Examine the i'acuities of your soul and the senses of your hody. Call to mind liow far divine faith regulates the use of them with regard to God, yonr neighbour, and your- self Examine all the venial faults you commit each Jay in these different points, through ignorance, levity, or weakness — perliaps even with malice and reflection. Humble yourself before God, and say with the pro- pliet : " For evils without number have surrounded me; mv iniquities have overtaken me, and I am not able to see. They .ire multiplied above the hairs of my head, and my heart hath forsaken me. Be pleased, Lord, to deliver me" (Psalm xxxix. 13, 14). Collui^uy with the Bh^ssed Virgin and our Saviour. Pater. Ave. FIRST EXERCISE. The prodigal son. Preparatory Prayer, First prelvde. Represent to yourself the prodiaral i5(in returning to his father after long wanderings. Second pndiide. Ask of our Lord the grace to imi- fffltfi the repentance of tlie prodigal, and, like him, ob- tain pardon for your past sins. 112 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. THE WANDERINGS OF THE PRODIGAL SON. " A certain man had two sons ; and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his suhstance. And not many days after, the younger son, gathering all together, vpent abroad into a far country, and there wasted his substance, living riotously. And after he had spent all, there came a mighty famine in that country, and be began to be ir want. And he went and cleaved to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him to his farm to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks the swine did eat : and no man gave unto him" (Luke XV. 11-16). Consider well all the circumstances of this history. 1. He is young. The passions of youth : hei-e we see the -cause of his error. Youth is the age of illu- sions : the prodigal promised himself a happy and bril- liant life away from the paternal mansion. Youth has a passion for pleasure : the prodigal sighed after gaieties of the world ; he envied other youths of his age the pleisures of idleness, the noisy joys of their amusements, the success of their mad passions. Youth is, above all, jealous of its independence : the prodigal is weary of the constraint his father's presence imposes on him ; he wishes to be the master of his liberty, and the arbiter of his destiny. Look within yourself: what have been the causes of your errors, if not the illusions of the world, the passion for pleasure, the fatal love of independence '{ 2. " Fatlier, give rtie the portion of substance tluit falleth to me." He asks of Jus father that portion of SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 113 the lieritag-e which comes to him. Wknt inffratitiia'e ,' The name alone of f'atlier, ouglit it not to have recalled to him all the benefits bestowed by paternal tender- ness, the cares which surrounded his infancy, the lively affection of which he received fresh testimonies every day ? What unju.it pretensions ! This substance which he claims belongs to his father, who received it from his ancestors, or who perhaps owes it to a long series of labours or to prudent economy. By what right does he take it during his father's lifetime ? and what title has he to exact the division of a fortune not yet belong- ing to him ? What foolish tementy ! This property once in his hands^ what will become of it ? Scarcely will he be master of it before he will dissipate it in luxury and debauchery. Apply these reflections to yourself. Is not God your Father in the order of na- ture and in the order of grace ? When you left Him to serve the world, did you not act like the prodigal, ask for j'our portion of the heritage, that is, the free disposal of youi'self, as if you were not the property of God, who created you and redeemed you, as if you could for a moment become master of yourself without making yourself miserable ? What ingratitude in youi departure from God ! what injustice ! what folly ! 3. "And not many days after he went abroad into afar country." Being now master of his property, the prodigal goes into a distant country. If he remained in the neighbourhood of his father's house, too many memories would trouble him in the midst of his plea- sures ; he would be in constant fear of the remonstrances of his father's friends, the presence perhaps of this father himself, the reproaches of his own heart. To I 114 SPIRIT.UAi, KXERClSfe. give himself up to pleasure with less trouble and more 'iberty, ae goes into a distant country. An image this of your wanderings, when you gave yourself to tiie world You dreaded the exercises of piety, prayer, frequenting of the Sacraments ; the society of good peo- ple ; even meeting the ministers of Jesus Christ, whose zeal might have brought you back to Him ; your own reflections and the reproaches of your own conscience ; — all these you feared. You fled as far from yourself and as fiir from God as possible, for fear that grace should find you out and restore you, even against yourselfj to your Father and God. 4. "And there wanted his substance, living riot- ously." Away from his father, the prodigal child lias soon dissipated his fortune. He does not consider that it is the fruit of his father's toil ; that it is his sole re- source for the future ; that this fortune, however bril- liant it may be, must come to an end in the expenses of luxury and sin. A few months are scarcely passed, and there remains to him nothing of his riches, nothing but dread poverty : " He wasted his substance.'' And what treasures of grace have you not dissipated, far from God ! Recall to mind all these losses, and weep for them with tears of blood, — loss of the friendship of God; loss of your past merits; loss of those holy inspi- rations, which you have continually despised; loss of those good examples rendered useless; loss of that Christian education of which you have abjured the principles ; loss of those happy dispositions of nature, of that taste for virtue, that uprightness of heart, of that delicacy of conscience, of those favourable tenden- cies to piety ; loss of your talents, which you have prog- SPlHITUAt EXERCISES. lift tituted to tlie service of pleasure and sin ; loss of yuiir reason, of your faith, of wliieli you liave perhaps even smothered the light. Wiiat a sad use of the gifts of your God ! " He wasted his suhstance in riotous living." 5. '• He began to he in want, and he cleaved to one of the citizens ; and he sent him into his farm to feed swine." Sad consequences of the profusion and liber- tinism of the prodigal! — want, slavery, degradation, and infamy. Want. A great famine falls upon the country where the prodigal has gone; and, his riches wasted in luxury, he is left in shameful poverty. In vain he ad- dresses himself to the companions of his excesses, to the friends on whom he had bestowed pleasure and for- tune ; he is left alone without resource, and forced to beg his bi-ead from the pity of a stranger. This coun- try a prey to famine is the world. This hung'er is the devouring hunger of the passions, which incessantly cry fi'om the depths of the guilty heart, " Bring, bring" (Prov. XXX. 15). This indigence is the emptiness of a soul tormented by the want of happiness, and begging- it in vain from creatures, which only offer him agitation, regret, disgust, weariness, and afflictions without end. my God, how true it is that in losing You the sinner loses all ! " What can be more lost than what is out of God ?" (St. Bernard.) " What do you possess if you possess not God '" (St. Aug.) Slavery. What a sad change ! This young man so jealous of his liberty obliged to take service with a hard and unfeeling master ! he who was such an enemy of all restraint reduced to the lowest occupations! he 10 haughty confounded . with the vilest slaves I And 116 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. is not this the humiliating; state of the sinner t Like the prodigal, he is the slave, not of one master, but of innumerahle tyrants ; — slave of Satan, wfho reigns over his mind, his imagination, his heart, his senses ; slave of his inclinations, which every moment require the sacrifice of his repose, his conscience, his reason ; slave of the world, and so must respect its judgments, ap- plaud its maxims, spare its susceptibility, humour its caprices, satisfy its exigences, dissimulate, and suiFer without complaint all its ingTatitude and injustice; slave of habits, which become a sort of necessity and second natm-e, and which defy all the efforts of grace, all the reflections of reason, all the remorse of con- science. What a slavery ! " Such is the fate of who- ever refuses himself to his Father" (St. Chrysol.). Degradation. The prodigal reduced to feed un- clean animals, and even oavying them their degi-ading food. What disgrace ! It is that of the sinner away from his God. There is no pleasure, however gross and bnital, from which he does not seek happiness ; he even descends to envy the lowest libertines their most shameful excesses, their most monstrous debauches. He even envies the stupid condition of the brutes, wish- mg to have like them no law but instinct, no other destiny than the gratification of sense : " Man, when he was in honour, did not undei'stand : he hath been compared to senseless beasts, and is become like to them" (Ps. xlviii. 13). SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 117 SECOND EXERCISE ON THE PROJ>IGAL SON. Preparatory Prayer. Firsl 'prelude. Represent to yoursiilf the prodigal wn returning' to his father after long wanderings. Second prelude. Ask of our Saviour the grace to imitate the repentance of the prodigal, and to obtain from Him the pardon of your past wanderings. THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAI,. The prodigal returning to himself, said, " How many hired servants in my father's house abound with bread, and I here perish witli hunger. I will arise and will go to my father, and say to him : Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee : I am not now worthy to be called thy son ; make me as one of thy hired servants. And rising up, he came to his father. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion ; and running to him, fell upon his neck and kissed him. And the son said : Father, I have sinned against heaven and befoi'e thee ; I am not now worthy to be calted thy son. But !he father said to his servants : Bring forth quickly the first robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet ; and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it, and let us make merry : bpcause this my son was dead, and is come to life again ; was lost, and is found" (Luke xv. 17-24). Consider two things : the conversion of the pro- digal, and the welcome which he receives from his father. 118 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 1. The conversion of the prodigal. (1.) The viisfortunes of the prodigal are the begin' fling of his conversion. He had forgotten his father when he was rich and happj' ; miserable and poor, all his thoughts turned to this father so unjustly aban- doned. Acknowledg-e the value of affliction ; God always visit-s with His grace those whom He visits with tribulation. (2.) The prodigal, thus cast off by the world, re- turns to himself, and begins to reflect on his vn/i/ip- piness and his sins. The injustice, ingTatitude, and perfidy with which the world recompenses oui' services, will they not make us also return to ourselves ? What subjects of reflection does not a soul that has left God for creatures find in itself! God, what have I gained by leaving- Thee ? What rest, what happiness have I found in the world? Was it requisite, Lord, to take from Thee my heart, renounce Thy grace, lose my peace of conscience, risk my salvation and my eter- nity, for pleasures so fleeting, so empty, so degrading ? (3.) Setuming to himself, the prodigal comparet, his state to that of his father' s servants: " How many hired servants in jny father's house abound with bread, and I here perish with hunger !" Unfaithful soul, what a difiierence between your state and that of the servants of God ! what peace in their souls ! what inte- rior joy! what fullness of consolation, even in the midst of their sacrifices ! In your heart, on the contrary, what troubles ! what bitterness ' what agonies ! What a diiference between you and them ! Recall what even your heart was under the empire of the Divine grace ; aee what it is become under the empire of sin ; and SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 119 by the troubles of your present state learn to regret the happiness of your past condition : " Who will grant ine that I might be according to the months past, ac- cording' to the days in which God kept me?" (Job zxix. 3:) (4.) The prod} gal arins hiviself with a noble and courageous resolution : " I will arise and go to my father." He does not stop at words and wishes only, He does not put off his change to a distant future. He is not afraid of the talk and the raillery of the world at the change. He does not di'aw back before the sacri- fice of his attachments and his passions. What an ex- ample of true conversion ! (5.) Finally, It is by the humble avowal of his faults that the prodigal wishes to return to his father's favour : " I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee." Let that be the first step also of your conversion. Go, throw yourself at the feet of Jesus Christ, present in the person of the priest, and say to Him, I have sinned ag-ainst heaven and before Thee ; against heaven by the scandal of so many iniquities committed in the light of day ; before Thee by so many secret sins, which, though buried in my heart or hidden in darkness, are not less clear to Thy invisible eye. Ah ! I am not worthy to be called Thy child— too happy if Thou- wilt deign to admit m« among Thy servants : " I am not now worthy to be called thy son : make me as one of thy hired servants." 2. The welcome the prodigal receives from his father. (1.) " When he roas yet a long way off, his father taw him, and was mooed with compassion." His fathei 120 SPIRITUAL EXERCISE9. perceived him at a distance, and was immediately moved vvitli compulsion. .Sn, vvlieii feelings of repentance arise m your iieart, fiod looks upon you with pity. He for- gets every thing, — your revolt against His will, your having- despised His mercy and His justice, your having resisted His grace, your obstinacy and hardness in sin ; He no longei- rem.embers that you were ungrateful and rebellious, He only sees in you youi- misery and your penitence. (2.) " He ran to Mm, fell vpon Ms neck, and Mssed Mm." Does it not seem as if the prodigal's father ought to have waited for his son ; then, restraining his tenderness, leave him for some time at his feet, and only grant pardon to the importunity of his prayers ? Far from that, this father runs to meet him, throws liimself on his neck, and clasps him to his heart. See in this description the goodness of God : you abandoned Him ; and now that weatures abandon you, ought He not to withdraw Himself in His turn? Does He not owe it to His honour to reject your heai't as creatures do 1 to His holiness, not to encourage sin by so easily foi-giving a sinner like you ? to His justice, by treating you as He has tieated so many unhappy ones, whom He punishes in hell without pity for the same crimes you commit so boldly ? And yet He seeks you ; He does not wait for you to ask pardon, He offers it to you ; He does not allow you to remain at His feet, He em- braces you and pi-esses you to His sacred heait : " Thus does this Father judge, thus does He chastise, thus does He give His erring son, not the rod, but a kiss. I ask you, then, where is there room for despair ?" (St. Chrysost.) SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 121 (3.) "Bring forth quickly the Jirst robe, and put it on him, andput a ring on his hand." To pardon the repentant son seems little to this tender father ; he wishes to restore to him all the marks, and at the same time all therights, of his first condition. No reproaches tor the past, no trial for the future; immediately he reinstates him in all the prerogatives of his birth. Thus the Lord treats the soul which returns to Him. In restoring' to him His friendship, He restores all that sin had deprived him of; and He restores it without delay •- " Our Father does not know what it is to make us wait for pardon" (S. P. Chrysol.). With pardon what will you not regain '! innocence, peace, your merits, your rights to the glory of heaven, your title to the esteem of the good, ail your dignity as man and Chris- tian; and all this you regain in a single moment : "At this very moment I may, if I desire, become the friend of God" (St. Augustmej. (4.) "Bring hither the fatted calf, and let us eat and make merry." Finally, the prodigal's father orders a splendid feast to celebrate the return of his son ; and he wishes all his friends and his servants to take part in the joy of this feast; "For," said he, "my son was lost, .tnd is found ; he was dead, and is alive again." So the heavenly Father celebrates your return by a solemn festival, where He gives you the body of His Divine Son, who is every day offered, in order to be given to us at the Eucharistic table. He invites just men and angels to rejoice at our spiritual resurrection; He wishes that the day of our conversion should be a feast-day for all the family, that is to say, for his Church. After this, 122 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. why dc we delay returning" to the arms and the heart of this good Father ? COLLOQUY. Cast yourself at the feet of Jesus Christ, like the prodigal child at his father's feet, and solemnly promise aever more to forsake Him. Anima ChristL 123 SECOND WEEK. THE INTENTION OF THE SECOND WEEK, AND SOME RECOMMENDATIONS PROPEK TO IT. The aim of the first week is to know how far we have wandered from the path which leads to our last end, to duplore so great an error, and to conceive an ardent desire to return to this path, never more to quit it. The purpose of the second week is to propose to our- selves Jesus Christ as the true way, as He Himself says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father hut by Me" (John xix. 6). Jesus Christ is, in fact, the Divine model whose example must re- form and regulate our lives. And as the life of our Saviour is the vei'y perfection of holiness, it follows that the more faithfully we imitate Him, the more perfect our lives will be ; and as perfection is our end, to ap- proach nearer to our end, is to be nearer repose and happiness. Thus, the more our life resembles that of Jesus Christ, the happier it will be. The recommendations proper to this vceek are — 1. To undertake the Exercises with great courage and a sincere desire to follow tbe way of God, as it shall be manifested to us. This disposition is so neces- sary for tbe fruit of the Exercises, that it would be better to interrupt them than to continue them with an un- decided will. 2. After the meditations, any spare time may be em- ployed in reading some useful work, but one more cal- 124 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. culated co nourish piety than give rise to curiosity — such as some of the works of St. Bernard, of Louis of Granada, the Imitation of Christ, the Lives of the Saints, and the Holy Gospels. It must be observed, however, in order to avoid distraction, that if the woi'k treats of the mysteries of our Saviour, we must not stop to dwell upon any other mystery than the one on which we are to meditate then or during- the day. 3. In the observance of the additions there must be the following- modifications : (1 .) On waking- you must recall the subject of medita- tion, and excite in yourself a great desire to know more particularly the mystery of the Word incarnate, that you may love Him with more ardour, and serve Him with more fidelity. (2.) During the day you must frequently recall some event in the life of our Saviour, from the time of His in- carnation to that of the mystery which is the subject of the present meditation. (3.) In the time of meditation, make use ofbght, or of obscurity, according as the one or the other appears most suitable to the sentiments and affections we desire to excite in ourselves. With regard to corporeal morti- fications, they must be regulated according to the mys- tery we are meditating- on ; for some of the mysteries should excite us to penitence, some to other virtues. When meditation has for its immediate object the mysteries of Jesus Christ, it naturally takes the form of contemplation. It is therefore necessary here to trace out the method of contemplation and the applica- tion of t- tbeir hist end, in offending' God, in serving- the vlevil, in dying' as sinners and reprobates, and precipi- tating- themselves for ever into hell. (2.) 'I'he holy Trinity, which suffices to itself, which finds its happiness in its' own perfections, without hav- ing- need of creatures, and which, instead of over- whelming criminal men with its justice, casts upon them looks of pity and mercy. (3.) The blessed Virgin Mary, retired in the humble house at Nazareth, and absorbed in prayer. (4.) The angel Gabriel descending- from heaven and saluting- Mary, as Mother of God, full of grace, blessed among- women. Practical reflections and affections 2. Listen to the words. (1.) On earth and among men words of hatred, of scandal, imprecations, blasphemies. (2.) In heaven, words of clemency and charity ; — the august Trinity, which decrees the incarnation of the Word ; the Word, who offers Himself to the Father for His glory and the salvation of man. (3.) At Nazareth, the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary : " Hail, Mary, iiill of grace ; the Lord is with thee ; blessed art thou amongst women. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most Hig-h shall overshadow thee. And therefore the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke i. 28, 35). The answer of Mary, who humbly submits to the will of the Lord : " Behold the 140 SPIRlTtTAL EXERCISES. handm-iid of Ihe Lord, be it done to me according '.ii thy word" (Luke i. 38). Practical reflections and aiFections. 3. Consider the actions. (1.) On earth. The diverse crimes of men ; — the sacrilegious worship paid to idols and demons ; the disorders of their plays, feasts, pleasures ; their endea- vours to supplant and even to destroy each other. (2.) In heaven. The charity of the three Divine Persons towards man ; with what love the Father gives us His own Son ; the Word consents to become incar- nate ; the Holy Ghost forms the union of the Divine and the human nature. (3.) At Nazareth. The respect of the angel m the presence of the Blessed Virgin ; the trouble of Mary on hearing the words of Gabriel ; her love for virginity, which she prefers to the honour of the Divine mater- nity ; her humility and obedience to the will of Heaven. Practical reflections and affections. COLLOQUY WITH THE THREE PERSONS OF THE ADORABLE TRINITY. Adore the infinite charity of God, who deigns to save men, notwithstanding their unworthiness and in- gratitude. Hender thanks to the Word incarnate. Address yourself to Mary, and beg of her to obtain for you the grace of a tender love and faithful imitation of her Son. Anima Christi. Pater. Ave. S^IRITTJAI, EXERCISES. 141 ON THE BIETH OF JESUS CHEIST. MEDITATION. Preparatory Prayer. First prelude. " It came to pass that in those days there went out a decree fiom Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city And Jo- seph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Naza- reth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, to be enrolled with Mary his spouse. And she broug'ht forth her first-born son, and wrapped him m swaddling'-clothes, and laid him m a manger ; be- cause there was no room for them in the inn" ^Luke ii. 1-7). Second prelude. Represent to yourself the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem, — its length, its windings, its roughnesses. Then this cave where the Saviour was born, representing it according to your imagination, as wide or narrow, on a level with the road or in a hol- low, as commodious or incommodious, &c. Third prelude. The same as in the preceding me- ditation. Since the fall of our nature by sin, a triple disorder keeps the heart of man away from his final end, — pride, love of riches, attachment to the pleasures of sense. The birth of Jesus Christ opposes to these disorders His humility, His poveHy, His sufferings. 142 SPIRITUAL EXERClSBib FIRST POINT. The humility of Jesus Christ in His birth. 1. He humbles Himself, even to acknowledging Himself tlie subject of an idolatrous prince. To obey the edict of Augustus, — an edict dictated by pride, — He wills that His holy Mother should take Him to a strange country, where at His birth He should be in DOTerty and want. /^ 2. He is the Messiah promised to th^j^rid ; fore- told by the prophets many ages before; expected by the people ; whose coming the earth has siglied after, and to Whom it has cried, " Oh, that Thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down !" (Is. Ixiv. 1.) And at His coming He would remain unknown ; He allows His people to treat Him as a stranger, and that His own should deny Him like a mendicant who begs for public charity : " He came unto His own, and His own re- ceived Him not" (John i. 11). 3. He intentionally hides the greatness of His birth; He who is of the royal race and of the blood of David wills to be born as the son of a poor artisan ; nay, He wills to be born as even the children of the poor are not bom, — in a stable, in a manger, in the society of vile animals. 4. Not only does He hide His divinity under the guise of humanity, but He debases His humanity itself to the infirmities and weaknesses of infancy. What a humiliation ! This God-Man become like little chil- dren ; like them, deprived of the use of speech, of the liberty of movement ; dependent in every thing on the will of those around Him ! SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 14S Let us look in upon ourselves. How opposed are the maxims of the. world, and the maxims of our cor- rupt nature, to the example of Jesus Christ ! Let us beg of the Divine Infant to change our hearts by His grace; let us ask of Him that we may understand and love the way of humility. SECOND POINT. The poverty of the birth of Jesus Christ. 1. He is born in a strange country, out of His mo- ther's house, where He would have found what is never wanting eveii to the mo t neglected of poor children, a roof to shelter Him and a cradle to rest in. 2. He is born in the most miserable place in the little city of Bethlehem. Whilst the poorest around Him have an asylum. He is banished to a wretched building, open to the wind and rain. 3. His cradle is a little straw in a manger, so that His birth resembles that of the lowest animals. He is reduced to such misery that He can say with ti'uth even now, " The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests ; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head" (Luke ix. 58). . 4. Every thing around Him participates in His pov- erty ; — His parents, who scarcely possess a few ooars:- garments to clothe Him with ; the poor shepherds, who at the voice of the angels leave their tiocks to come and adore Him. Consider that this wretchedness of the Son of God was not necessary and compulsory, like the poor in the world ; it is free and of His own ciioice. Conceive a high idea of this poverty, which appeared so precious 144 SPIRITUAL EXERCTSEB. to our Lord, that to espouse it He quitted heaven and His g'lory. Above all, understand the necessity of de- iaclinient, nnd be persuaded that diseng-ag'ement from O'eatures is the only true way which leads to God. THIRD POINT. The sufferings of Jesus Christ from His birtb. Consider that the suffering's of Jesus commenced with His life ; that they beg-in in His cradle, never more to leave Him but with His last sig-h on the cross. 1. He suffers in His sacred body; for He is born in the depth of winter ; at the hour when the cold is the most piercing ; in a |)lace where He is exposed, thinly clothed, to all the inclemency of the weather. 2. He suffers above all in His soul, which has the full exercise of its faculties. He suffers from the re- buffs He exjjeriences in His tribe, and even in His own familv, where none know Him. He suffers yet more for the troubles of Mary and Joseph, whom He sees repulsed witii contempt from all the houses in Beth- lehem, and inconsolable not to find any other asylum for Him but a stable. 3. He suffers, with the intention of suffering during' His whole life, toil, hunger, thirst, perpetual poverty, the most profound humiliations, the scourges, and the cross ; and all this for me. Let me, then, seek to pene- trate the motives which induce Him to suffer so much for love of me, and seek it for my instruction, and above all, for my edification. COLLOQUIES WITH JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH. Adore Jesus Christ in His cradle ; beg Him to be SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 140 born in our liearts; ask Him to come to us with the virtues He teaches us in the manger, — with humihty, detachment, spirit of sacrifice. Beg' the powerful in- tercession of Mary and Joseph to support our prayer. Anima Christi. Pater. Ave. ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST. CONTEMPLATION. Preparatory Prayer. Mrst prelvde. The same as in the preceding me- ditation. Second prelude. Represent to yourself a ruinous stable, find at the end of it a manger, where Mary and Joseph are adoring the Son of God, who is lying in it between two animals. Third prelude. Ask a grace conformable to the present mystery, and to your spiritual wants ; for ex- ample, humility or detachment. FIRST POINT. Contemplate the persons. The Holy Virgin, St. Joseph, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is just born, the angels who surround the manger, the shepherds w1io have hastened to the crib of the new- born Child. Represent to yourself the Divine beauty of the Saviour ; the modesty, meekness, and hunjility im- printed on the features of Mary ; the simplicity and re- collection of Joseph ; the rapture of the angels; the joy of the shepherds. Imagine that you are beside the I. 146 SPIRITUAL KXERCISES. mang'er with Mary and Josei)b, to contemplate Him, to serve Him Consider what dpii-itiia! fniit you ought to draw from this sight; and to tliis end ask yourself. Who is this that is just born ? Why did He choose for Himself, and for all that were dearest to Him in the ■"orld, — that is, Mary and Joseph, — humiliation, pov- «i'ty, pain? What is that treasure of graces which God has hidden in detachment from all things ? &o. SECOND POINT. Listen to the words. 1. The conversations of Joseph and Mary during the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem ; — how they beg an asylum at the inns, and in what terms they are »efused ; what they say to each other at the sight of the stable where they are obliged to take shelter; their efiusion of heart beside the crib where Jesus reposes. 2. The words of the angels. One of them says to the shepherds, " I bring you tidings of great joy that shall be to all people ; for this day is born to you a Saviour in the city of David." And the others sing in concert, " Glory to God in the highest ; and on earth peace to men of good will" (Luke ii. 10-14). 8. The conversation of the shepherds among them- selves : " Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass" (ib. v. 15) ; their ex- pressions of faith and admii'ation at the sight of Jesus Chi-ist; their conversation with Mary and Joseph. THIRD POINT. Consider the actions. 1. In Joseph and Mary: — The fatigue of the jour- ney ; the contempt and the rebufis they suffer at Beth- SPIRITUAL K.XKRCISEP. 147 lehem , their solicitude and trouble to find an asylum ; their cares to provide a more convenient nnd worthy cradle for the Divine Child': and in all this the admirable virtues which they practise ; — their patience, their inte- rior peace, their union with God, their lively faith, and their ardent love towards the Saviour. 2 In the shepherds : — The contrast of theu- docility with the hardness of the inhabitants of Bethlehem ; their adoration, and their homage to the new-born Child. 3. Above all, in Jesus Christ : — The extreme depri- vation in which He chooses to be born ; in which hence- forth we shall see Him live and die. If we again ask ourselves, why these deprivations of the Son of God? — ah ! it is for us ; for our instruction, and for our salva- tion. Colloquies with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, as in last meditation. ON THE SAME MYSTERY— APPLICATION OF THE SENSES. PRELIMINARY REMARKS.* 1. By the imagination, the soul can render an ob- ject present, and as it were see it, hear it, taste it, &c. So that to apply this faculty of the soul and the five senses to a truth of religion (according as it is suscep- • These remarks or explanations are given here because they are so placed by St. Ignatius, and because, though the applica- tion of the seohcs is employed iiom time to time during the first week, it becomes of daily u«e in the second. 148 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. tible of it), or to a mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ, is what is called application of the senses. 2. The application of the senses differe from medi- tation in this : that in the one the intellig'ence proceeds by reasoning', discoursing- on the attributes of God, and the causes and effects of mysteries ; while in the other, it is confined solely to sensible objects — to what can be seen, heard, touched, &c. It is not that the application of the senses, in order to be useful, does not require some reasoning and reflections, but they should be short, simple, and rapid. 3. This exercise generally contains five points; or four only, when the senses of smell and taste are joined together. The following is the method : First point. Represent to yourself the different persons, together with all their circumstances, and en- deavour to draw some spiritual fruit from each. Second point. Listen to their words, or to what it may be supposed they say. TTiird point. Taste interiorly the sweetness, or bit- terness, or any other sentiment, of the person you are considering. Fourth point. Respire, as it were, the perfiime of the virtues, or the infection of the vices, the sulphur of hell, the corruption of dead bodies, &c. Mfth point. Touch interiorly the objects ; for ex- ample, the eternal flames, the vestments of our Saviour; kiss His footsteps, the manger, &c. After two meditations or contemplations, it is usual to repeat the two together twice, and then to follow with the application of the senses on the same truths or mysteries. • SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 149 APPLICATION OF THE SENSES ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST. The preparatory prayer and the three prehides as in the preceding- meditation. 1. Sight. Contemplate the stable which is falling' in ruins ; the mang-er where Jesus Christ reposes on a little straw ; the coarse swaddling clothes in which He is wrapped ; the animals which warm Him with their breath ; the Divine Infant Himself, who fixes His eyes on us, and extends His arms to us ; Mary and Joseph praying before the manger; the shepherds coming to adore the new-born Child whom the angel has announced to them ; all heaven attentive to the great event which is being accomplished at Bethlehem; and, at the same time, the profound indifference of the rest of men to the coming of the Son of God. Practical reflections and affections. 2. Hearing. Listen to the discourse of the strangers going to Bethlehem ; to the conversations of Mary and Joseph during' the journey ; to the words of the inhabi- tants of Bethlehem, who repulse them ; to Jesus Christ, who speaks to His heavenly Father, who speaks to us by His cries and His tears ; to the angels singing in the heavens, ''Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace ;" to the shepherds making inquiries from the holy family about the birth of Jesus. Practical reflec- tions and afi«ctions. 3. Taste. Taste interiorly the bitterness of the hearts of Mary and Joseph ; the peace of their souls ; their joy at the sight of the new-born God. Unite your- self in spii'it to the abasement, the tears, the puveity, 150 SPIRITUAL ISXERCISES. the prayer, p.ll the virtues of our Saviour m His birth. Practical reflections and affections. 4. Touch. Kissrespectfully the walls of the stable, the stravr in the mang-er, the swaddling- clothes, the sacred hands and feet of Jesus Christ. Practical reflec- tions and afiBctions. Colloquies as in the preceding' contemplation. Anima Christi. Pater. Ave. THE HIDDEN LIFE OF JESUS AT NAZARETH. MEDITATION. Preparatory Prayer. First prelude. Jesus having- been found in the Tem- ple by Mary and Joseph, left Jerusalem and returned with them to Nazareth, and was subject to them; and He advanced in wisdom and gi-ace with God and man (Luke ii. 51, 58). Second prelude. Represent to yourself the humble house at Nazareth, the workshop of St. Joseph, &c. Third prelude. Ask of God a gTace conformable to the -present mystery and to your wants ; for ex- ample, the love of a retired life, of retreat, of labour, of prayer, of obedience, (fee. The Gospel only teaches us three things regarding- the life of Jesus at Naaareth : — 1. That He obeyed: " He was subject to them'' (Luke ii. 52). 2. That He worked with His hands, and at the work of an artisan : " Is not tliis the son of the carpenter" (Mark "i. (J). 3. Tliat " He grew in wisdom, in age, and m g-race be- fore God and before men" (Luke ii. 62). SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 161 FIRST POINT. At Nazareth Jesus obeyed. Consider the obedience of Jesus Christ in all its circumstances. 1 . Who is He that obeys ? It is He who is rea- son by essence ; He whose will is sovereignly wise and independent ; it is the Word of God. 2. Wlwm does He ohey? His creatures. He obeys •Joseph and Mary, whom He infinitely surpasses in lights and in sanctity ; who derive, and can only de- rive, lig-ht and holiness from Him. He obeys even strangers, who command Him like a mercenary ; that is to say, He submits His will, the most noble and most upright that ever was, to wills full of weakness, of igno- rance, of caprice — wills only made to obey Him. 3. In what does He ohey? In every thing that was commanded Him ; consequently in the most trifling things, even in tlie meanest things ; — for example, in all the details of care . required by a poor household, and the station of a mechanic who earns his bread by the sweat of his brow. 4. How long does He ohey ? For thirty years, that is, not only during His childhood, when obedience is both a necessity and a duty for man, but also in the strength of age, when, according to the ordinary laws of nature and society, every man is arrived at the time when he has a right to govern himself. 5. Horn did He ohey ? In the most perfect way that can be conceived. By obedience of action, which executes promptly and to the letter ; obedience of mind, which does not reason on the motives of the order or \6" SPIRITUAL KXRRCISES. its nature ; obedience of heart, whicli submits with love to tlie orders of man as to the orders of the Divine will. Let us examine ourselves, ottr thoughts, our feel- ings, our conduct, with regard to oliedience. Let us beg oui' Lord to teach us by His example tlie value, the ne- cessity, the practice of this virtue. SECOND POINT. At Nazareth Jesus worked. Represent to yourself what passes in a poor family. A mechanic engaged in manual labour; liis wife occu- pied in the lowest domestic offices ; a child sharinp- the toils of both, first assisting his mother, and then, as his strength increases with his age, helping his father in the labours of his trade ; — this is a faithful image of what took place at Nazareth. Consider attentively — 1. 7^e dignity of Him who thus labours. How is the condition of a workman regarded by the world? What pity is inspired by the misfortune of a man who is obliged, by reverse of fortune, to descend to this con- lition ? From this conclude how little suitable such a condition is to Jesus Christ; to the descendant of David ; the Messiah who might labour in public with such success in the promulgation of the Gospel ; to a God. 2. The painful and humiliating circumstances of this work. It is the work of a carpenter, working in wood ; using roug'h tools ; his time and toil hired out to any master who will pay him ; recommencing each day the same fatigues, scarcely inteniipted by hasty SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 153 meals and a short sleep ; living; unknown and despised, like those poor artisans, whose fate is never pitied, who often think themselves fortunate in meeting- with per- sons to hire their services. Such is the position of Jesus Christ ; — thus is accomplished what the prophet said of Him : " I am poor and in labours from my youth" (Ps, Ixxxvii. 16). 3. In what manner Jesus Christ rvorlts. Enter into the heart of Jesus Christ. Prayer is constantly united in it to the work of the hands. In the midst of bodily fatig-ues, Jesus blesses the justice of His Father, that has condemned man to water the earth which g-ives him bread with the sweat of his brow (Gen. iii. 19). When He receives orders. He adores in creatures the supreme dominion of His Father ; when He receives payment, He returns thanks to His pro- vidence, which gives subsistence to all men ; when He suffers disdain and rebuffs, He accepts them as a reparation to His glory outrag'ed by sin. 4. The motive of the labour of Jesus Chi-ist. Among so many different professions, why did Jesus Christ choose one so laborious and so low ? It is to teach men that since original sin they have two great disordeis to combat, — pride and luxury, — and that tlie only way to arrive at their final end is by the path of humiliation and suifering. 5. The merit of the labour of Jesus Christ ; a merit so excellent tliat it fixes the looks and complaisance of His celestial Father. At the same time that Jesus Christ hides Himself at Nazareth, there are in the world famous politicians, celebrated orators and poets, captains of high renown; but the eyes of the Lord ar'' 164 SPIRITUAL EXRRCTSES. .urned from all these men, and I'est on Nazareth, a city so despised, and of which it was said, " Can any thing g-ood come from Nazareth?" (John i. 46.) They are fixed on the Son of the carpenter; Him alone the celes- „..il Father points out to His angels, saying, " Behold My heloved Son" — how He obeys, how He humbles Himself, how He annihilates Himself, for My glory and My love. THIRD POINT. At Nazareth Jesus Christ grew in grace and wisdom before God and before men. Jesus Christ could not grow interiorly in virtue, since from the first moment of His conception the plenitude of grace dwelt in Him, and therefore the wor.ls of the Gospel signify that each day He produced new acts and allowed new marks of holiness to appear. Represent our Saviour to yourself in spirit as if you contemplated Him with your eyes ; follow Him in all the details of this life, so simple and so common; study all the vii'tues that were developed in Him with age : — 1. Humility, which makes Him prefer to the la- bours of an apostolic life obscurity, retreat, a hidden life in the worksiiop of a mechanic. 2. Detachment, which makes Him support with joy the most painfiil privations in His dwelling. His dress. His food ; in a word, all the wants of the poor. 3. Chanty, which fills His heart with an immense compassion for the miseries of men ; above all, with a burning zeal for their salvation. 4. Modesty, which regulate."! admirably His looks, His words, all His movements, all His steps. SPIRITUAL EXERCI8ES. 155 5. Recollection, wliicli, in the midst of conversatioUt work, 01- recreation, always keeps His holy soul elevateu and united to the Divinity. 6. Perfection in the commonest actions; so that it is written of Him " that He did all things well" (Mark vii. 37). Recall to yourself that holiness of life' depends on the sanctity of ordinary actions ; conse- quently, that it is hy the perfection or imperfectioii of the actions of common life that we approach our end or g'o farther from it. Take, then, Jesus Christ for ^'our model, and learn from the example of His private life to do all things well. COLLOQUY. Let us adore Jesus Christ as our master and model ; humble ourselves for having- followed His examole so little; beg of Him, through the intercession of Joseph and Mary, to give us the intelligence to understand and the strength to practise what He teaches us. Anima Christi. Pater. Ave. HIDDEN LIFE OF JESUS AT NAZARETH. CONTEMPLATION. Preparatory/ Prayer. Preludes, same as in the meditation, p. 150. FIRST POINT. Contemplate the persons. .(1) In this world, men, thinking only of advancing themselves : — the learned, the rich, the great, — all 156 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. jCCTipied with thoughts of foitune, elevation, celebrity ; the poor, who envy them, wlio cannot resign them- selves to indigence and deg-radation. (2) At Nazareth, Maiy in silence and prayer, attending to the cares of a poor household ; Joseph working with his hands in an obscure workshop ; Jesus associating Himself with the troubles and labours of His parents ; the grace spread over all His sacred person — " Grace is poured abroad in Tliy lips" (Ps. xliv. S) ; the modesty of His countenance and demeanour ; the recollection which keeps His mind and heart constantly united to His Father. (3) Finally, in heaven, the angels, who look on this scene with admiration ; and the celestial Father, whose looks dwell with complacency on His beloved Son. SECOND POINT. Listen to the words. They are few. Charity or necessity alone interrupt occasionally the silence of this family, whose conversa- tion is in heaven. They are always regulated by hu- mility, by meekness, by zeal, in a word, by the Spirit of God. They are always holy and perfect. St. Joseph speaks little; Mary still less; the Infant God scarcely ever. In the holy house at Nazareth they convei-se little with men, but they converse constantly with the heavenly Father. Recollect yourself profoundly, and listen to these holy conversations, which ravish the angels. THIRD POINT. Consider the actions. The painful toil to which the Son of God voluntarily submits ; — how He assists Mary in her domestic cares : SPIPITUAL EXERCISES. 157 how He shares with Joseph the rude and humble trade of a carpenter; with what simplicity and zeal He obevs the least wish of His parents ; with what patience He bears the fatigues of His condition ; with what humility He resig-ns Himself to the caprices, the repulses, the dis- dain of strangers, who command Him as a hireling- ; His charity in His relations with His neighbour ; His fervour in prayer ; His divine perfections in the smallest actions, &c. COLLOQUY WITH THE THREE PERSONS OF THE HOLY FAMILY. Adore Jesus Christ in the humble exercise of His liidden virtues, and beg- of Him to fill us with His Spirit. Ask, through the intercession of Joseph and Mary, the grace to imitate after them the examples of the Divine Saviour. Anima Christi. Pater. Ave. HIDDEN LIFE OF JESUS AT NAZAKETH. APPLICATION OF THE SENSES. Preparatory Prayer. Preludes, as in the preceding contemplation. 1 . Sight. Consider St. Joseph, the holy Virgin, our Lord Jesus Christ, at their work, their repasts, their prayers, their intercourse with their neighbours ; the angels, who look with love on this holy house; the heavenlj' Father, who takes delight in His Son ; (fee. 2. Healing. Listen to the words of Jesus, of Mary, of Joseph ; their silence their recollection ; their 158 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. conversations, regulated by meekness, humility, mo- desty, &c. 3. Taste. Taste the peace which fills their souls, their interior joy, their bitterness,