THE THIRD DAY
1stPrelude.A captain of infantry had been ordered by his general to lead his company at the first dawn of light the next morning up a neighboring hill where the enemy had just planted a masked battery. To spend the intervening night he had a log cabin allotted him. He felt it was a dangerous task assigned him, as he was likely to be shot while ascending the hill at the head of his men. Yet he faltered not, for he was brave. But before lying down to rest, he lit a candle, pulled out his prayer book, and knelt down to prepare himself for a good death.
Imagine that God gives you the present hour to prepare for your own approaching death.
2ndPrelude.O Lord: give me the grace of making to-day a thoroughly good preparation for death.
POINTI.It is absolutely certain that I shall die, it is only a matter of more or less delay; “It is appointed unto men once to die” (Hebr.ix, 27). “Dust thou art and into dust thou shalt return” is the sentence pronounced on me, as on all men. No sensible man doubts this, yet many try to forget it, and live as if the sentence were not for them. O my Lord God! I will not be so foolish; and I accept with humility thesentence of death. I have deserved it, and I will suffer it in punishment and expiation of my sins.
POINTII.All the circumstances of my death are very uncertain.1.The time.No one but God can assure me of another day of life. Many are at this moment in vigorous health who will be dead to-morrow. I may be one of them: “If thou shalt not watch, I will come to thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know at what hour I shall come to thee” (Apoc.iii, 3). A thief comes when least expected. Many are sick for a time and yet expire suddenly before they realize their danger. Even many of the Saints were called away in the middle of their most important careers:St.Francis Xavier when on the point of entering China,St.Thomas Aquinas before he could finish his Summa of Universal Theology,St.Bonaventure during the General Council of Lyons, etc. Am I ready? Was I ready at any hour of last year?
2.The placemay be anywhere; we cannot find a spot secure against the shafts of death.
3.The manner; It may be sudden, whether from a latent disease which we never suspected, or from any of the multitudinous accidents so common in the modern rush of life.
Or it may be preceded by weeks of suffering in an unconscious or semi-conscious condition. Even when the danger is known to others, it is often hidden from the patient. My Lord God! I humbly submit beforehand to all the circumstances Thou hast determined shall attend my death, to all its physical and mental sufferings, to its sudden stroke or lingering approach.Only grant me the grace of being well disposed when it shall arrive. Make known to me, I pray, what sacrifices I must make that I may be well prepared.
POINTIII.What shall be my sentiments when death is nigh?Some rejoice at its approach; likeSt.Paul, they wish to be dissolved and to be with Christ. Many are horrified when it comes, and wish in vain that they could live their lives all over again. Now is the time to prepare, then it will be too late. Many again, even good Christians and religious, would then wish to make some more or less important changes before expiring. Now is the time to make them.
I have seen a novice dying most joyously, with these words on his lips: “I know I am going to Heaven.” I have seen a religious priest, who had led a pious and zealous life, bursting into tears on his deathbed, explaining that he now realized how much more he could have done for God and the good of souls, and how bitterly he regretted his former negligences. And yet he was a model pastor of souls. What shall be my sentiments?
Colloquywith Jesus and Mary, begging earnestly to know now what is still wanting to me, that I may provide in good time; “O Lord! make me know my end—that I may know what is wanting to me!” (Ps.38).
1stPrelude.Imagine that your soul has left your body and is now to be judged by Christ.
2ndPrelude.Ask earnestly that you may understand all things now as you shall then, and that you may act accordingly.
POINTI.Consider when that judgment will take place: “It is appointed unto men once to die, and, after this, the judgment” (Hebr.ix, 27). Human tribunals delay trials to take evidence; not so God. One moment we may be sinning or meriting, the next moment we are judged for it. No warning is given beforehand, as for a college examination. The rich man of whom Christ said that he was going to build new barns, saying to his soul: “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thy rest, eat, drink, make good cheer,” was rebuked by the Lord, saying: “Thou fool, this night they will require thy soul from thee” (St.Lukexii, 16-20).
Be ever ready. Make frequent acts of perfect contrition. Make every confession as if it were to be the last of your life.
POINTII.Consider the persons present: 1.The soul; Father Gaudier,S. J., describes it thus: “It receives a novel manner of knowing, without the body, by which its entire life is represented to it at a glance. It thoroughly understands what is the nature of created things, its own present condition and the new aspect of things; and it sees itself naked, solitary and deserted by all, with nothing but its good and bad works, in the presence of its Judge. Hence arises a very different view of its own concerns and all created and external things from what it had before. Besides, its will is changed; for all love of created goods isvanished, and in its stead there is a most powerful impulse towards God as its last end. This tendency, now that the hindrance of the body is removed, urges it most forcibly to this union” (Introd. ad Solid. Perfect.,p.196).
2.Christis now manifested to the soul. He is the God who condemned to eternal woe the rebel angels, Judas, and all who are in Hell, and who has rewarded all the Saints with eternal bliss. As man, He is now going to examine what fruit the soul now before Him has produced. No other parties can well be expected to be present, except, perhaps the Guardian Angel and an evil spirit, ready to execute the sentence.
POINTIII.Consider the account to be rendered, of every thought, word, action and omission from the first dawn of reason till the last breath. Even good works may contain many imperfections, asSt.Paul explains by this comparison. “Other foundation no man can lay but that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man’s work shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work, of what sort it is” (ICor.iii, 11-16).
The examination will embrace all the Commandments of God and of the Church, the duties of one’s state of life, the proper use of one’s talents, one’s opportunities, etc.
a.There aretwo consoling thoughtsin this matter.
1. The religious vows probably act as a second Baptism, cancelling all former debts.St.Thomas attributes this effect to the perfect dispositions of the person making them. If this is the reason, then it would seem that the renewal of vows may have the same effect, whenever it is made with equally good dispositions.
2. Whatever has once been forgiven remains forgiven. Merit when lost may return, but forgiven sins do not return.
b.Yet there aretwo classes of sins that may well cause anxiety.
1. Those of which we have never truly repented, perhaps because we were too proud to admit we were to blame, and laid the blame on others instead.
2. Those sins which we have very often confessed, but which we have made no serious efforts to avoid in future, perhaps because we had no real contrition for them.
POINTIV.The sentencewill be just what is deserved; for a judgment is not an act of mercy, but of the intellect seeing the truth of things and pronouncing accordingly: “I will judge thee according to thy ways, and I will lay upon thee all thy crimes. My eye shall not spare, neither will I show mercy” (Ezech.vii, 8, 9). “Then will he (the Son of man) render to every man according to his works” (St.Matth.xvi, 27).
If a mortal sin be there, all is lost: “If a just man shall turn away from his justice and shall commit iniquity—he shall die in his sin, and his justices whichhe hath done shall not be remembered” (Ezech.iii, 20).
The sentence will be final, because there is no appeal to a higher tribunal, and we can no longer merit a change: “The night cometh when no man can work” (St.Johnix, 4).
The sufferings of Purgatory come to an end, but merit neglected to be acquired can never more be gained.
We may well exclaim withSt.Magdalene de Pazzi: “It is a terrible thing to have to stand before the judgment seat of God.”
Colloquy.Ask to understand all things now as you shall realize them at the judgment.
The main purpose of the first part of the Spiritual Exercises, or whatSt.Ignatius calls the first week, is to purify the soul from all stains of sin, and to strengthen it against all temptations to sin in future. Of course mortal sin is the principal evil to be destroyed, it is the greatest evil in the world. Since the religious life is essentially the way of perfection, it presupposes the destruction of mortal sin; being the way of the counsels, it supposes the observance of the Commandments.
Yet it is quite proper that religious in their yearly retreats should review the Exercises of the first week, the meditations regarding mortal sins and the fear of the Lord, not so much to obtain pardon of sins committed,as to strengthen their resolutions and to take precaution against committing sins in the future. In fact, as a rule, religious do not commit mortal sins; and, although they must be constantly on their guard against temptations,—because, while the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak,—yet it is a consoling truth that they rarely fall so low. A religious that frequently commits mortal sins lives far below the normal standard of his state of life. He is indeed greatly to be pitied, and is in serious danger of becoming a reprobate. Of course no one should ever be discouraged, but such a person should arouse himself to fervent prayer and vigorous exertions; he is walking on the brink of the precipice.
Whoever has come to the present part of the Spiritual Exercises is supposed to have conceived an intense horror of mortal sin. But we ought not to be satisfied with attaining this first degree of purity of conscience; we ought to strive seriously to attain the second degree, or to confirm ourselves in the same; that is, we ought also carefully to avoid the commission of all deliberate venial sins. We must distinguish between two kinds of venial sins, the deliberate and the indeliberate. Both kinds suppose that, while committing them, we are aware that we are doing something which God forbids, or omitting what He commands; else we do not really displease Him. But the sin is deliberate when we fully notice the evil, and do it nevertheless with full consent of our free will; else it may be called indeliberate. Indeliberate sins will escape from time to time even very virtuous persons, owing to our unrulypassions and the weakness of the human will in consequence of Adam’s sin and of evil habits.
Each of such faults, singly considered, could be avoided; for whatever cannot be avoided at all cannot be laid to our blame; but all cannot be avoided together. Thus a beginner may be able to pronounce correctly every word on a page of his reader, but will not proceed far without making some mistakes.
So we cannot avoid all indeliberate venial sins a long time together, unless God give us an extraordinary grace to do so.
But with the ordinary grace of God a virtuous person may avoid all deliberate venial sins. For this purpose we must first of all convince ourselves of the great evil contained in every wilful offense of God; for by such offense a poor mortal puts his will above the will of his Creator and Lord. This evil is so great that no creature, nor even all creatures united, could by their own power fully atone for it.
This becomes more evident when we consider some examples of the severe punishments inflicted by the Lord on those guilty of such offences. Thus when King David had committed an act of vanity by ordering an enumeration of all his subjects to see how great a monarch he had become, which seems to have been only a venial sin, the Lord sent to him the prophet Gad, to give him the choice between three punishments, namely three years of famine, three months of flight before his enemies or three days of pestilence on his people. He chose the pestilence, and it carried off seventy thousand men (IParal.xxi).
Moses for a venial fault was refused the honor of leading the Chosen People into the promised land, which would have been a fitting crown of all his labors. His sister Mary, for some murmuring against her brother, was stricken with a leprosy and humiliated before all the people. In fact, leprosy is a striking figure of the effect of venial sin on the soul; for it disfigures the soul without depriving it of life. If a visible leprosy were usually the effect of wilful venial sin, men would be as anxious to avoid such an evil as they are now to escape that bodily plague.
Then there are the pains of Purgatory to be considered, which are deserved by venial sins; they are worse than any pain known to us in this life. For, asSt.Thomas remarks, they are different in kind: the fire of Purgatory is not created for the service and comfort of man, but for his punishment and torture. The examples of its duration which have been made known by revelations to saintly souls are proofs of the terrible evil such offences are in the sight of the just, all-holy God. Father Faber, in his “All for Jesus” says: “In the revelations of Sister Frances of Pampeluna, we find that, among some hundreds of cases, by far the greater majority suffered 30, 40 or 60 years” (pp.394, 395).
There results besides from venial sins a still worse consequence than any transitory suffering, namely that they expose us to the danger of committing mortal sins and losing our soul for eternity. This happens in two ways, naturally and supernaturally.
1. It isnaturalfor man, when he does a good or abad act, to become thereby more inclined to do the same again under similar influences and circumstances; thus habits are contracted of virtue and vice. The commission of venial sins therefore inclines the soul to sin more readily thereafter, and to sin, not only oftener, but also more grievously; and thus venial often lead to mortal sins. This is not theory only, but the teaching of constant experience. For instance, a religious has acquired great purity of conscience, he is a model of modesty; but he begins to neglect his rules, he gets accustomed to glance rather freely at indelicate objects, he becomes habituated to indulge his curiosity. Still he would shrink from anything impure. But his imagination becomes more indelicate, his passions less restrained, wilful venial sins multiply and grievous falls may follow sooner than he expected. Mortal sins themselves may become habitual, and who can tell where the evil will end? Even if only one mortal sin were thus brought about, the evil is the greatest of misfortunes. But this growing habit is likely to get still worse.
2.Supernaturallya similar process is going on. By every act of virtue we obtain, along with the merit, additional actual grace to merit more; but when we sin, we fail to obtain this new accession of grace; and thus it becomes less likely that we shall do better next time. We may thus lose more and more grace by repeated venial faults; and in face of an unusually strong temptation, we may be so weak as to yield assent. No one becomes very bad on a sudden; but many gradually lose their virtue and become reprobates. Historyis full of such examples, and daily experience ought to be a constant warning against such danger.
But even if there were no danger of mortal sin (which is, of course, a false supposition) a religious has a special reason to avoid all deliberate sin in the fact that he has been made a favorite disciple of the Blessed Saviour. When he wantonly offends the Lord, he deserves to some extent the reproach originally addressed to the Chosen People, and afterwards applied to Judas: “If my enemy had reviled me, I would verily have borne with it. And if he that hated me had spoken great things against me, I would perhaps have hidden myself from him. But thou a man of one mind, my guide and my familiar, who didst take sweetmeats together with me; in the house of the Lord we walked with consent” (Ps.54). We would not willingly grieve or insult a friend; and is not Jesus our dearest and most devoted friend? Certainly it ought to be one of the principal resolutions of the retreat to strive earnestly and unceasingly to avoid all deliberate sins.
It is highly proper that we should not conclude this first part of the retreat without striving earnestly to arouse within our hearts a deep sorrow for all our sins, and that for the most perfect of motives, namely because by them we have offended God, who is infinitely good in Himself and infinitely bountiful to us. Forthis purpose we are going to spend this hour of meditation in considering various manifestations of the Divine goodness.
1stPrelude.Imagine you behold the return of the Prodigal Son, whom his aged father clasps most affectionately to his heart.
2ndPrelude.Ask earnestly for an intense love of God and a perfect contrition for all your sins.
POINTI.Consider the parable of the Prodigal Son, in which the Lord Jesus Himself has given us a most striking picture of the goodness of our Heavenly Father. We may read to advantage the whole parable (St.Lukexv, 11, etc.), but chieflyxv, 20-24: “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 to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, I am not now worthy to be called thy son. And the 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 eat and make merry; because this my son was dead and is come to life again, was lost and is found; and they began to make merry.”
Not a word of reproach, no limit to the pardon, only expressions of happiness, and solicitude to restore the boy’s honor. Thus does God act with sincere penitents.
POINTII.As the feast prepared is to-morrow’sHoly Communion, we will consider in the next place how ChristpreparedHis Apostles for their Communion. “Before the festival day of the Pasch, Jesus knowing that his hour was come, and that he should pass out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
“And when supper was done—he rises from supper, and layeth aside his garments and having taken a towel, girdeth himself, etc.” (St.Johnxiii, 1-5).
The washing of the feet is the image of the Sacrament of Penance, in which Christ washes away our sins in His sacred blood. What a wonderful invention of His infinite love: And how we ought to love Him, in return, instead of offending Him by sin. Elicit an act of contrition.
POINTIII.Consider that other manifestation of Divine love, the institution of the Blessed Sacrament: “Whilst they were at supper Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke, and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye and eat, this is my body. And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them saying: Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto the remission of sins” (St.Matth.xxvi, 26-28).
Could we conceive any greater love than that Christ should feed us with His own sacred body and blood? And yet, when we sin, we turn against Him, as when a serpent bites its benefactor who warms it in his bosom. My God, pardon me! My God, I love Thee above all things! I am most sorry for having offended Thee!
A consoling fact like the following may give us a more sensible appreciation of the favor granted us in the reception of Holy Communion. On All Saints Day, 1612,St.Alphonsus Rodriguez had received the Blessed Sacrament with his brethren, when the good Lord showed him in a sensible manner His presence in the hearts of all those who had just communicated, so that he beheld the Saviour resplendent with glory, whole and entire in each of the religious (Life ofBl.Alph.Rodr.by a Lay-brother,p.82).
POINTIV.Imagine you visit a church or chapel at midnight. Jesus Christ is there then, as at every hour of night and day. He is praying for you to His Heavenly Father, because he loves you, and He knows you need abundant graces to lead a worthy life. It was when Blessed Margaret Mary was adoring Him in her convent chapel that Jesus appeared to her on the altar pointing to His Sacred Heart, and saying: “Behold the Heart that has loved man so much, and I receive nothing but coldness in return.” He longs for love; and certainly we did not love Him when we sinned. O my Jesus! I wish to love Thee. I detest my sins.
Colloquywith our dear Lord, protesting to Him that I love Him sincerely with my whole heart and soul, that I am most heartily sorry for having offended Him, because He is infinitely amiable, begging that I may love Him more and more.