TRIDUUME
1stPrelude.Imagine you see the graveyard of the Novitiate.
2ndPrelude.Ask grace to view all things as those buried there view them at present.
POINTI. Consider the vast amount of good done by those buried there, the fruit produced in countless souls by their labors in missions, churches, colleges, parochial schools, retreats given, sermons delivered, confessions heard, the last sacraments administered, the sick visited, youths prepared for the priesthood and the religious life, etc., etc. All these results are still spreading farther and wider, like the ripples on a pond and last from generation to generation. And by their faithful observance of rules, the labors borne, the sufferings endured, the penance practiced, their acts of charity, humility, piety, etc., they have also accumulated immense rewards for themselves.
POINTII. Consider the heavenly reward now enjoyedby their souls in company with the Saints and the Blessed, with Jesus, Mary and Joseph. How light appear to them now their former sacrifices. How fully they now realize the meaning of these words ofSt.Paul: “The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us†(Rom.viii,18). Think also of the multitudes of souls who are now in bliss with them, and who owe their salvation to the labors and prayers of those of our brethren whose remains lie in this sacred ground.
POINTIII. Consider how little is known now of their individual endowments.To most of the present generation of our younger members few of the names upon those tombstones recall any former memories. All that is now appreciated by their successors is the grand cause for which they lived and died. Their bodily forms, their more or less extensive knowledge, their wit, their poetic power, their eloquence, their taste for music, their talent for mathematics, even the distinguished offices they held, the great services they rendered to the Society and to the Church at large, all, or at least most of this is forgotten by the present generation. And so will be the distinctions which you may acquire during your lifetime to the generations to come. Only that which pleases the eye of God is of real and lasting value. Reflect whether you are not too much in love with temporal distinctions. Resolve to make a thorough self-examination during the three days before you, weighing all concerns in the balance of eternity.
Colloquy.Ask light and grace to make an excellent retreat.
MEDITATIONIIThe Field Ripe for the Harvest
1stPrelude.Imagine you hear Christ say: “Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that he send forth laborers into his harvest†(St.Matth.ix, 38).
2ndPrelude.Ask grace to renew your spirit of zeal for souls.
POINTI.The salvation of souls is the most earnest desire of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was the purpose for which He came down to earth, which was ever before Him during His private life, His preaching, His sufferings and His death; and it is still the object of His intercession for us in Heaven. For He realizes, better than any one else, the immense interests at stake in saving souls. This is the reason of His infinite self-humiliation, His boundless self-sacrifice.
This grand work He wishes to be continued by His ministers, to whom He says: “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.†To do this work He has ever since inspired His dearest friends: the Apostles, all missionaries and pastors, numberless Saints in all ages and all lands.
POINTII. This eagerness is as earnest with Him to-day as it ever was.It is so in particular for this land of ours, where the fields are certainly white for the harvest. And for this work Christ has chosen you: “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you; and have appointed you that you should go andbring forth fruit, and your fruit should remain†(St.Johnxv, 16). It would be a deplorable blindness in us if we failed to understand the importance of the work before us, and not only a sad but a guilty listlessness if we were to set our minds on selfish trifles, and not profit by the golden opportunity offered us to do God’s work and labor generously at the salvation of souls every day of our lives. Of course you cannot at the present stage of your religious life, go forth and preach and give missions and bring non-Catholics into the fold, nor are you urged to do things extraordinary.
POINTIII. What can you do in your present circumstances to lead zealous lives? What does God desire of you?
1. You must acquire thoroughly the spirit of our institute. You are still in the stage of formation to this spirit. Christ had called His first disciples with the words: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men†(St.Marki, 17). So He has called you for the same purpose. Yet He did not send them at once to preach; He kept them in training, instructing and directing them. So He is doing with you. Do not pretend to know better than those put over you; do not criticise and murmur at any time; but pray much to obtain fully the spirit of our Society. Do so particularly during this meditation and this whole triduum.
2. Do the tasks entrusted to you with much zeal and devotedness. All the labor in which any Jesuit is employed by his superiors bears, in some way or other, onthe salvation of souls. Do all your tasks in that spirit.
The military recruit, while in training in the barracks, is already serving his country. His duty is to do it well. You are in the service of Christ the King. For His sake do all to the best of your power. If He intrusts to you some care of your neighbor, as He did to His Apostles and the seventy-two disciples during their time of training, remember it is God’s work you are doing, as aids to Christ, for the salvation of precious souls. Do it all carefully, faithfully, making generously the sacrifices involved in the performance of your duties.
3. Pray for God’s help and His blessings on your labors and on the labors of your brethren.St.Francis Xavier ascribed his wonderful success in pagan lands to the prayers of his brethren in Europe; and no doubt the missionaries of the present day are likewise assisted by the prayers of the whole Society. This is the very Spirit of the Apostleship of Prayer, the zealous exercise of which is sufficient to make you all apostles of the Lord.
Colloquy.Lord, what wilt Thou have me do for the great work of saving souls? Speak, O Lord; Thy servant heareth.
1stPrelude.Imagine you hear Christ saying: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another†(St.Johnxiii, 35).
2ndPrelude.Ask grace to realize fully the importance of practising fraternal charity.
POINTI. Consider our strict obligation to observe fraternal charity.
1. Without it there is no sanctifying grace in the soul.St.John writes: “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death. He that hateth his brother is a murderer†(St.Johniii, 14-15).
2. Christ has chosen this commandment as distinctly His own: “A new commandment I give unto you. Love one another as I have loved you†(St.Johnxiii, 34), and again: “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you†(ib.xv, 12).
3. He makes its observance the distinctive mark of His disciples: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another†(ib.xiii, 34).
4. Without a delicate fraternal charity many religious communities would contain some very unhappy members. And our Society in particular has always shown the greatest solicitude to protect and foster this virtue.
POINTII. How may fraternal charity be violated?
Among religious, violations of charity are not so often committed by actions as they are among seculars, but they are not seldom committed by word or thought.St.James writes: “In many things we all offend. If any man offendeth not in word, the sameis a perfect man†(iii, 2), and again: “The tongue no man can tame, an unquiet evil, a deadly poison†(ib. 8). By calling it a deadly poison, he clearly indicates that the tongue is often the cause of grievous wrong. Now wilfully to inflict a grievous wrong on a neighbor is a grievous sin. But even when the wrong done is of less moment, it is always sinful to some extent. Charity is violated in many ways.
1. By needlessly saying in the hearing of another words that give him pain; and that whether he be our equal or our inferior, and still more if he be our superior.
2. By needlessly making known another’s secret faults.
3. By imputing to another a fault he has not committed; this is called calumny, or slander, and is a twofold sin, adding the violation of truth to that of charity.
4. By putting an unfavorable interpretation on a neighbor’s conduct, expressing it in words.
5. By condemning him in our minds only, beyond the evidence of the facts; such a judgment is rash, even if it be not false.
6. By needlessly suspecting evil of which there is no good proof.
POINTIII. How we should practise fraternal Charity.
We must earnestly make up our minds, and act on the conviction all our lives, that the practice of charity is not a mere devotion, highly recommended but not essential for the attainment of solid virtue.St.Peter writes: “Before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves†(IPet.iv, 8). Our Divine Lord in His vivid description of the Last Judgment lays the chief stress on the duty of charity, and says: “As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me†(St.Matth.xxv, 40). Again He says: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them that calumniate you.... As you would that men should do to you, do you also to them in like manner†(St.Lukevi, 27-31). And He has made our generous disposition to forgive others the condition of our own pardon, teaching us to pray in the Our Father: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them who trespass against us.†ThroughSt.Peter He tells us that: “Charity covers a multitude of sins.†And what is better still, charity prevents us from committing a multitude of sins. If you can accustom yourself never to say an unkind word of or to another, nor think evil of any one, you are on the highroad to sanctity.
Colloquy.Beg of our dear Lord the grace of a generous, delicate and universal charity.
1stPrelude.Behold the scene on Calvary, as Jesus exclaims: “It is consummated.â€
2ndPrelude.Ask eagerly for the spirit of sacrifice.
POINTI. Consider that all our blessings have been the result of sacrifices.When Adam had ruined our race by selfish indulgence, the Son of God restored us to favor by the most tremendous spirit of sacrifice. His blessings to mankind were propagated from land to land and from age to age by men distinguished for the spirit of sacrifice; the Apostles, the Martyrs, the missionaries, the founders of religious Orders, the saintly bishops and priests, to the present day. If we wish to take our share of this glorious task of saving souls, it can only be done by making sacrifices. The minister of Christ who shirks the toils and the privations of his vocation produces little fruit: “Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remaineth alone; but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit.... If any man minister to me, let him follow me†(St.Johnxii, 24-26).
POINTII. The spirit of sacrifice is necessary for our salvation and sanctification.
1. For our salvation. For a person who is not accustomed to refuse himself many, even lawful, indulgences is very likely to fall into temptations and grievous sins. Therefore Holy Job said: “I made a covenant with my eyes that I would not so much as think upon a virgin†(xxxi, 1). On the other hand, Solomon said of himself: “Whatsoever my eyes desired, I refused them not; and I withheld not my heart from enjoying every pleasure, and delighting itself in the things which I had prepared†(Eccles.ii, 10). The result was that Solomon, “the wise man†by excellence, the special favorite of God at first, fellafterwards into most grievous sins: “And when he was now old his heart was turned away by women to follow strange gods ... he worshipped Astarthe .. and Moloch,†etc. (3 Kingsxi, 4-8); and it is not certain that he saved his soul. History and constant experience teach, by frequent examples, that the spirit of sacrifice is necessary to secure our salvation. And our Divine Lord declares in express terms that “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away†(St.Matth.xi, 12).
2. This violence, or the spirit of sacrifice, is still more necessary to work out our sanctification. For this is to be achieved by the imitation of Christ, who says: “If any one will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me†(St.Matth.xvi, 24). And it is an axiom of the spiritual life that one advances in virtue in proportion to the violence he does to himself. Therefore the religious life, which is the school of perfection, calls at every step for generous sacrifices in the observance of that multitude of rules whose very purpose is the sanctification of the soul by the spirit and the practice of sacrifice.
POINTIII. How should we practise the spirit of sacrifice?
1. By carefully observing all our rules. This observance of the rules implies a multitude of self-sacrifices; so thatSt.John Berchmans declared that the common life was his greatest mortification; and the oration of this Saint’s Office exalts him for his fidelity in the service of God.
2. By hard labor in performing the duties imposed on us, especially when these are of an unpleasant kind; for then they require more sacrifice.
3. By rendering all the services we can, even when they are not imposed on us, making ourselves as useful as possible. It is a common saying that what is every man’s business is no one’s business, and thus many services are neglected. But a good religious rather says: this ought to be done, and no one in particular is appointed to do it; so I must do it.
4. By making all sacrifices cheerfully: “For God loveth a cheerful giver†(2Cor.ix, 7).
Colloquy.Ask earnestly for a cheerful spirit of sacrifice.
1stPrelude.Behold Christ rapt in prayer: “He passed the whole night in the prayer of God†(St.Luke,vi, 12).
2ndPrelude.Earnestly ask the grace of becoming a man of prayer.
POINTI. Consider the importance of praying well.
1. Our life is, or at least ought to be, so very supernatural that it needs an uncommon amount of grace to lead it properly. Now the ordinary condition that God requires to impart His grace is prayer, not so much long prayer as good prayer. If we pray well, we shall undoubtedly receive much grace.
2. Our days are filled up with distracting occupations, so that long hours pass in worldly cares or with profane objects of thought, whose natural tendency is to engross our hearts with worldly affections, and turn them from the Creator to the creature. Prayer, fervent prayer, is the most efficient means to counteract this tendency. Without it we soon lose sight of our highest interests and commit at least venial sins.
3. The good we shall do to the souls of others depends chiefly on prayer; for asSt.Ignatius teaches us, it is from the interior that force must flow to the exterior for the end proposed to us (Summary, rule 16).
POINTII. What aids have we to become men of prayer?
1. We have the Holy Ghost, who helps us to pray, crying in our hearts “Abba, Father†(Gal.iv, 6). He is certainly ever ready to help us to become men of prayer; for we Jesuits are called to this, since it is our vocation to teach others how to pray, and thus to form spiritual men.
2. We possess a most perfect system of prayer, given us throughSt.Ignatius in his Spiritual Exercises. This has been a most rich and inexhaustible source of spirituality, as is shown in the works of our writers, and the lives of our Fathers, Scholastics and Brothers through all the periods of our history.
3. All we need to become men of prayer ourselves is diligent application to its practice. To obtain distinguished success in any art or science we need special diligence and a sort of enthusiasm in the practice of that pursuit. He who earnestly wishes to become aman of prayer,—and we ought all to desire this,—should make it his special ambition to perform all his spiritual exercises to the best of his power, and constantly to ask the Lord for the gift of prayer. What is my conduct in this respect? Am I really in earnest to acquire that science of the Saints? What improvements am I going to make in this matter?
POINTIII. What hinders us from being men of prayer?
Not our duties, as is the case with most worldlings. For, although, as we have stated before, our outward duties are apt, to some extent, to turn our minds and hearts from God to creatures, enough time for prayer is left us to repair our spiritual strength day by day, provided we perform our meditations, examinations of conscience, etc., with becoming fervor. In fact, our outward labors, if animated by the proper intention, which our spiritual exercises constantly inspire, will be helpful to bring us nearer to God, just as bodily labor helps the food to promote bodily health. But what hinders us from becoming men of prayer is:
1. Indolence, which manifests itself in various ways. We may not prepare the points of meditation over night with proper diligence, or neglect to call them to mind before falling asleep and again at rising in the morning. We may fail to rise promptly and neglect the morning visit to the Blessed Sacrament. We may assume a listless posture during meditation and at other times of prayer, etc.
2. Inordinate passions; such as ambition, vain glory, sensual attachments to persons, etc., which keepthe imagination and the heart busy with other things during the time of prayer.
3. Neglect of direct conversation with God while He is giving us an audience. Prayer supposes that we speak to Him, by acts of adoration, humility, thanksgiving, petition, contrition, intercession, etc. We need not say many things but yet we should speak earnestly all along the time of the exercise, often repeating the same sentiments.
Colloquy.Ask for an increase of fidelity and fervor in prayer.
1stPrelude.Imagine that Christ speaks to you from the altar, and says: “I am the vine, you the branches; he that abideth in me and I in Him, the same beareth much fruit†(St.Johnxv, 5).
2ndPrelude.Beg to acquire an intimate union with Christ.
POINTI. Consider how powerless we are of ourselves to save our souls, and those of other men.For Christ says: “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me†(Ib.xv, 4). The dogma is this: we can do nothing profitable for Heaven, unless we possess sanctifying grace and be helped by actual grace. Now both of these come to us from Christ, who is like the vine that sends forth its sap into the branches and thus gives life and fertility. So too wecannot save the souls of others by human learning or skill, unless Christ co-operates with us by His grace. Otherwise we are but like sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. If we do not constantly foster this union with God, we waste much labor, as we shall, no doubt, find at our death we have often done.
POINTII. Consider on the other hand how powerful we are when assisted by the grace of God.For Christ says: “He that abideth in me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit.†How so? By the Divine power which then makes use of us to do its peculiar work of sanctification for ourselves and others. Christ adds: “In this is my Father glorified, that you bring forth very much fruit†(ib.xv, 8). “I have chosen you and have appointed you, that you should go and should bring forth fruit and your fruit should remain†(ib.v, 16).
Our labors thus become His labors, as the sap of the vine produces the fruit in the branches. Besides, when our will is one with Christ’s will, our prayers become most powerful, as He adds, saying: “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you†(ib.xv, 7).
POINTIII. How do we strengthen this supernatural union with Christ?He has deigned to tell us this also, saying: “If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my Father’s commandments, and do abide in his love†(xv, 10).
How consoling all this doctrine is! He adds again: “You are my friends if you do the things that I commandyou†(xv, 14). All we need do then to achieve the most glorious results for our salvation and that of others is to be obedient to His voice.
POINTIV. Consider the absolute necessity of this union with Christ.For He assures us of this, saying: “If any one abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch and shall wither; and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he burneth.†This is the lot of all who die in mortal sin, no matter how holy they may have been before. Read the15thchapter of Ezechiel.
Colloquy.O Jesus, may this triduum unite me more firmly with Thee. What wilt Thou have me do?