Meditation for Sunday

This day thou mayest think of the Lord’s Descent into Hades, and of the appearance to our Lady, to the holy Magdalen, and to the disciples. And, after these, thou shalt contemplate the Mystery of His glorious, Ascension.

As to the first, consider how great must have been the joy of the holy ones in Hades in receiving their Redeemer in this Visitation, and what praises they would render for this salvation so much desired and looked for.

Those who return to Spain from the East Indies, say they hold all the trouble and danger of their voyage well repaid with the joy they feel on the day of their coming home. If banishment for one or two years, and that voyage, can cause such joy, what must a banishment of three or four thousand years, now ended, have caused to these holy ones when they became possessed of so great salvation, and came back to the land of the living !

Consider, too, the joy which the most holy Virgin must have felt in the sight of her Risen Son; for this is certain, that one who had felt most the sorrows of the Passion, would also feel most the joy of the Resurrection. What would she then feel in seeing before her her Son living and glorious, accompanied by all those holy ones who had risen with Him ?

Consider the joy of those holy Maries, and especially of that Mary who stood ‘weeping at the Sepulchre, when she saw the Loved One of her soul, and cast herself at His Feet: when she found Him risen and alive Whom she had been seeking as dead! And observe, that, after His Mother, it was to this one He appeared first, who most loved, most persevered, most sorrowed, most diligently sought Him ; for so mayest thou hold it for certain, that thou, too, shalt find God, if thou seek Him with like tears and like diligence.

Consider the manner of the Lord’s appearance to the two disciples as they went to Emmaus. Observe how affably He showed Himself to them, how familiarly He accompanied them, how lovingly He, at first, concealed Himself from them, and then, in the end, revealed Himself and how, when He left them, it was with all the sweetness of honey. Let, then, thy conversations be such as theirs were, and treat the subject of them, the sorrows and the Passion of Christ, with feeling like theirs ; and, most certainly, thou shalt not fail to find that same Presence and Companionship with thee in thy remembrance. As to the Mystery of the Ascension consider, first, how our Lord delayed this — ascending up to heaven for the space of forty days, during which time He appeared many times to His disciples, and taught them, discoursing with them “ of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And this was because He would not ascend up into heaven, or separate Himself from them, until He left them such as would be able to ascend with Him in spirit. From this, thou mayest see how those who, with too great boldness, allow their minds to fly up suddenly to this height, are often left without this personal Presence of their Lord, that is, without the sensible consolation of devotion.

It is in this the Providence of God shines forth so marvellously, and His mode of dealing with His people at different times, and in different circumstances; how He favours the weak and governs the strong ; how He gives milk to the little ones, and strong meat to the great ones; how He PACS toes.

consoles one and tries another; and so deals with everyone in the way which shall be most profitable. From this we may see that neither the favoured one should presume, seeing the being favoured implies “weakness, nor should the unconsoled despair, seeing that it is often that consolation is not given because of the strength He knows them to possess.

In the presence of His disciples, and in their sight, He ascended into heaven, because they were to be witnesses of those marvels; as he is the best witness of God's dealings, who has himself experienced them. If thou wouldst know in very dee how good and kind and gentle God is with His people, how great His power, and what is the efficacy of His grace and love, of His providence and of His consolations, ask it of those who have proved them. They will give thee all-sufficient witness. Christ desired also that they should see Him’ while ascending into heaven, following Him in spirit and with their eyes, that they might the more fully feel His departure from them, and that His absence might impress upon them their loneliness ; for that would be their best preparation for receiving the grace He would send them. ‘When Elisha asked of Elijah the gift of a double portion of his spirit, the good Master answered him, “If thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee.” So shall they — be heirs of the Spirit of Christ, whose love shall have made them feel His departure from them, who shall mourn His absence, and shall feel themselves to be in exile here, ever longing for His Presence.

It was so that holy man felt who said, “Thou art gone, my Consoler, and hast taken no leave of me; thou didst bless — thine own when going forth on thy way, and I saw thee not. Angels promised thy return, and I heard it not.” We may think indeed what must have been the — loneliness, the regret, the cries and tears of the most holy Virgin-Mother, the Beloved Disciple, the Magdalen, and all the Apostles, when they saw Him depart, and pass out of their sight, bearing with Him all the affections of their hearts. But with all this we read that they “returned to Jerusalem with great joy,”? because of the great love with which they loved Him. For the same love which made them so feel His departure, made them also, on the 2 Kings ii. 10, 2 S. Luke xxiv, 52.

other hand, rejoice in His glory, for true love “seeketh not her own,” but the good K of the loved one.

It remains for us, therefore, to consider with what glory and joy and exclamation and praises the Great Captain of our Salvation would be received into the ‘Heavenly City; what would be the welcome and reception given Him ; what it would be to see there men and angels all gathered together, and all together wending their way to the holy city, to sit upon those seats so long left vacant; to see the most Sacred Humanity ascend up far above all, and take Its seat upon the right hand of the Eternal Father. All this is much to be pondered over, that thou mayest see how well laid out are all labours borne for the love of God; how He Who humbled Himself and suffered more than all His creatures is here highly exalted above all, that they who would love and seek after the true glory may learn from this the way to promote this glory; that is, may humble themselves that they may be exalted, and make themselves subject to all that they may be lifted up above all.