Part one (11): True Christian Devotion 81

True Christian Devotion 81

and in the lives of the saints, being lost to self, dying to self and self renunciation. It is one of the chief cares incumbent upon you, one of your principal tasks to practise abnegation, humiliation and mortification, both inward and outward: and this development of self-denial is one of the most effective means to form and establish Jesus in you.

4. This great work of forming Jesus in you is incomparably beyond your own achievement, so the fourth and most important means is to have recourse to the power of divine grace, and to the prayers of the most Blessed Virgin and of the saints.

Pray often and fervently to the most Blessed Virgin and all the angels and saints, asking them to help you in this task by their prayers. Surrender yourself to the omnipotent power of the Eternal Father and to His most burning love and zeal for His Divine Son, begging Him to annihilate you altogether, in order to make His Son live and reign in you.

Offer yourself with the same intention, and address the same prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Abandon yourself, and all your possessions at the feet of Jesus, begging Him, by the very great love in which He did annihilate Himself, to come with His divine power to destroy you and establish Himself i n you, saying to Him, to this end:

"0 Good Jesus, I adore Thee in Thy divine annihilation which the Apostle describes in the words: Exinanivit semetipsum (Phil. 2, 7). I adore Thy most great and strong love for Thy Father and Thyself, which did so annihilate Thee. I give and abandon myself altogether to the power of that divine love, that i t may destroy me completely. 0 Most Powerful and Most Good Jesus, do Thou employ Thine own power and infinite goodness to annihilate me and establish Thyself in me. to destroy in me my self-love, my own will , my own mind, my pride, and all my passions, sentiments and inclinations, in Order to establish Thy holy love and make it reign in me, together with Thy divine spirit, Thy most deep humility and all Thy blessed virtues.

"And also annihilate in me all attachments to creatures, and erase me from the minds and hearts of all creatures. Establish Thyself in their place and in mine, so that men may no longer see, esteem, desire, seek or love anything else but Thee, and that men may speak of

Thee only, and do nothing except for Thee. Thus mayest Thou be all and do all in all things, to love and glorify Thy Father and Thyself in us and for us, with a love and glory such as He and Thou deserve." 83-

Proper Use of Consolations and Afflictions

Xxx111. Proper Use of Spiritual Consolations

The life of the Son of God on earth included two contrasting states: a state of consolation and joy, and a state of affliction and suffering. In the sublime heights of His divine soul He rejoiced in all eternal delight and contentment, but in the depths of His human soul and in His body, He endured all kinds of bitterness and pain. So also the life of His servants and members, being a continuation and imitation of His own, is ever a mixture of joy and sadness, of consolation and affliction. The Son of God imparted divine accomplishment to both these opposing states and glorified His Eternal Father just as much in one as in the other; therefore, you must likewise study how to make a holy use of them, so as to give God all the glory He requires of you, that you may be able to say with David, the holy king: I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be always in my mouth" (Ps. 32,2).

It is for this reason that I discuss, at this point, the use you should make of sorrow and consolation, if you are to be faithful to God and glorify Him in times of joy and affliction.

Every saintly writer who has treated of the matter teaches that you should not set much store by consolations, whatever they may be, whether interior or exterior. You should not desire them, nor ask for them when they are wanting in you, nor fear to lose them when they are present, nor consider yourself better than other souls on account of your fine thoughts, your great lights, your various sensible feelings of devotion, your inner sweetness or tears or other such manifestations; for you are not in this world to enjoy yourself but to suffer. The state of bliss is reserved for heaven and the state of suffering is assigned to this earth, out of homage to the sufferings borne here below by the God of earth and heaven. 'Nevertheless, when God is pleased to grant you consolations, you must not reject or despise them, lest you become guilty of pride or

presumption. Indeed, your sole concern should be to use them profitably and to direct all things to the service of God as follows:

1. You must fully humiliate yourself before God, recognizing that you are most unworthy of any grace or consolation. You must remember that He is treating you as weak and imperfect creatures, as little children not yet able to eat solid food, or to stand on their own feet, but needing to be fed with milk and carried in protecting arms, without which care they would perish.

2. Your self-love must not be allowed to feast on these spiritual tastes and feelings, nor is your mind to relax and rest in them at case. Rather, you must trace these joys to their source, and give them back to Him who favored you with them; that is, refer them entirely to God, since He is the principle of all consolation, and He alone is worthy to be enjoyed. Protest before Him that you desire no pleasure but His pleasure and that, with the help of His grace, you are ready to serve Him forever for love of Him, without seeking or claiming any consolation or reward.

3. You should place all your good thoughts, sentiments and consolations in the hands of Jesus Christ, and beg Him to turn them to whatever use He designs for His glory. You should direct them to the advantage of God, using them as means to spur you on to a more ardent love, and a more courageous and loyal service of One who treats you with such gentleness and love, after you have so often deserved to be stripped of all His graces and utterly abandoned by Him.

Xxxiv. Holy Use of Spiritual Dryness and Afflictions

Since the whole life of our Father and Head, our Lord Jesus Christ, was filled with labors, bitterness and pain, both inward and outward, it is scarcely reasonable that His children and members should travel by any other road but His. He is giving you a great grace, so you cannot murmur in complaint when He gives you what He took for Himself and makes you worthy to drink with Him from the chalice, that chalice of suffering given Him by the Eternal Father with so much love, which He presents to you with equal love. This is His way of showing you more love and giving you unmistakable indications that

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your trifling services are pleasing in His sight. Do you not hear His Apostle exclaim that "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (11 Tim. 3, 12); and the Angel Raphael saying to holy Tobias: "Because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary (note well this word) that temptation should prove thee" (Tob. 12, 13); and the Holy Ghost.speaking to us as follows, in Ecclesiasticus: "Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and.in fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation. Humble thy heart, and endure: incline thy ear, and receive the words of understanding: and make not haste in the time of clouds. Wait on God with patience: join thyself to God, and endure, that thy life may be increased in the latter end. Take all that shall be brought upon thee: and in thy Sorrow endure, and in thy humiliation keep patience. For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation" (Eccli. 2, 1-6). These words are divinely inspired and teach you that real piety and devotion are always accompanied by, some trial Or afflictions, either from the world, or the devil, or else from God Himself, who sometimes seems to withdraw from souls who love Him, in order to test and prove their fidelity.

Therefore, do not be deceived into imagining that the paths of God are nothing but roses and delights. You will find there many thorns and labors. But whatever happens, always faithfully love Our Lord, and His love will turn the gall into honey and the bitterness into sweetness. Do better still: resolve to seek all your joy and satisfaction, as long as you are in this life, in crosses and sufferings. They are the means by which you may give God more glory and prove that you love Him, and in which your Father and Bridegroom, your Head, Jesus Christ, took all His joy and pleasure while in this world, since the Holy Ghost calls the day of His Passion, "the day of the joy of his heart" (Cant. 3, 11).

Such is the use you should make of every kind of bodily or spiritual affliction. It is not m y intention, however, to speak in this place of outward and bodily afflictions, since I am reserving that for the sixth part of this book, where you will find an exercise that will help you to bear those trials with true Christian spirit. For the moment, I should like to set before you the way to make use of inward and

spiritual afflictions, such as dryness, sorrows, annoyances, fears and troubles within yourself, feelings of distaste for the things of God, and all the other sufferings of the spirit that come upon souls devoted to the service of God. It is a matter of great importance to know how to use these things well and so remain faithful to God. Here is the way to set about doing so:

1. Adore Jesus in the sufferings, privations, humiliations, anxieties, sorrows and desolations which He bore in His holy soul, according to His own words: "My soul is filled with evils" (Ps. 87, 4); "now i s my soul troubled" (John 12, 27); "my soul is sorrowful even unto death" (Matt. 26, 38). Adore the dispositions of His divine soul in this state of trial and the good use He made of it for the glory of His Father. Give yourself to Him to enter into the same dispositions and to employ your sufferings with merit even as He did. Offer them to Him in honor of His sufferings. Beg Him to unite your afflictions with His own, to bless and sanctify them by His own and to supply for your defects, and on your behalf, employ them as He made use of His own sufferings for His Father's glory.

2. Do not waste energy trying to discover, in detail, the reason for the state in which you find yourself, or in scrutinizing your sins. Humble yourself in face of all your faults and infidelities as a whole, and adore God's justice, offering yourself to Him to suffer all the pains ordained by His holy will, i n homage to His justice, and considering yourself most unworthy that this divine justice should be exercised upon you. You must admit that the least of your sins de~ serves that you should be utterly forsaken by God. When you are in the state of dryness and distaste with respect to the things of God, and you can scarcely think of God or pray except with a thousand distractions, you ought to remember that you are most unworthy of any grace or consolation, and that Our Lord is indeed doing you a great favor when He permits you to live. You have most often deserved to share the lot of the damned, who will not be able for all eternity to entertain any thoughts but those of blasphemy and horror for God. So you must deeply humble yourself before God.

As a matter of fact, that is the intention God has in mind for you at such moments, and that is what He expects. He wants you to

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recognize what you are of yourself and to develop a vivid, immediate and profound knowledge and consciousness of your own nothingness, so that, when He gives you some helpful thought or pious inspiration or some other grace, your pride and self-love may not claim it as your own, ascribed to your own effort, vigilance and cooperation but rather refer it to Him, recognizing that the inspiration comes, not from yourself, but from His mercy alone. Thus you may place all your trust in His goodness alone.

3. Above all, never let yourself be carried away by sorrow and discouragement. Instead rejoice i n three special considerations:

(1) That Jesus is always Jesus, always God, always great and worthy of love, always in the same unchanging state of glory, joy and contentment, and there is nothing capable of lessening His joy and bliss. "Scitote quoniam Dominus ipse est Deus" (Ps. 99, 3). Say to Him: "0 Jesus, it is enough for me, merely to know that Thou art ever Jesus! 0 Jesus, be Jesus forever, and I will always be happy, no matter what happens to me!" (2) Be glad that Jesus is your God, that He is all yours and that you belong to so good and so lovable a Lord, remembering what the prophet David says: Beatus populus cuius Dominus ejus, "Happy is that people whose God is the Lord" (Ps. 143, 15).

(3) Be glad in the knowledge that now you can serve Our Lord with more purity of intention and show Him that you love Him in truth, for love of Himself alone and not for the consolations He has given already. As an effective demonstration of the fidelity and purity of your love for Him, take care to perform your every activity with all possible purity and perfection. The more coldness, tepidity and weakness you feel in yourself, the more should you have recourse to Him Who is your strength and your all, giving yourself to Him yet more earnestly and lifting up your mind to Him more frequently. Continue to make constant acts of love for Him, paying no attention to the fact that you may be making them with less than your usual consolation and fervor. After all, what difference does it make whether you are satisfied or not, provided your Jesus is satisfied? As a matter of fact, it often happens that the acts we make while in a state of dryness and spiritual desolation are more pleasing and agreeable to. Him,

provided we strive to make them with a pure intention of honoring Him, than the things we do with much fervor and sensible devotion. For the latter are generally accompanied by self-love, while the former are more purified. Finally, do not become discouraged over the failings and weaknesses of which you may be guilty in this state; humble yourself before Our Lord, begging Him to repair your faults in His great mercy, and have great confidence that He will do so in His goodness. Above all, keep constantly alive i n yourself an intent purpose and powerful resolution to serve and love Him perfectly and to be faithful to Him, no matter what happens, until your life's last breath, ever trusting in Him to give you that grace i n His great kindness, regardless of all your infidelities.

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Spirit of Martyrdom

Xxxv. Martyrdom, the Perfection and Fulfilment of Christian Life and Sanctity

The culmination and perfection of Christian life is holy martyrdom. The grace of martyrdom is the most powerful miracle that God can possibly work in Christian souls, and to suffer martyrdom for His sake is the greatest and most magnificent thing a Christian can achieve for God.

This immeasurable favor, conferred by Jesus Christ on chosen souls by perfecting their resemblance to Him not only in life but in their very death, and making them worthy to die for Him even as He died for His Father and for them, is the most excellent favor He can grant to those whom He loves with the most special love. Nowhere is the astounding power of His divine love more evident than in the lives of the holy martyrs. Among all the saints, the blessed martyrs command the greatest admiration in the presence of God. So you see that all the greatest saints of Paradise, such as St. John the Baptist and the Apostles, are martyrs. They are Christ's own saints. He Himself calls them that, speaking through the oracle of His Church, Sancti mei, "My saints" (Brev. Rom. Corn, mart. 8 resp.). Although each and everyone of the saints belongs to, Jesus, the holy martyrs belong to Him in an entirely unique and special manner, because they lived and died for Him. For that reason, He shows them extraordinary love and promises them the greatest and most beneficent rewards.

1. Speaking by the voice of Holy Church, He promises that He will give them a special, prominent place in His Father's Kingdom: Dabo Sanctis meis locum nominatum in regno. Patris mei (Brev. Rom., Com. mart. 2noct., 1 ant.).

2. He says that He will give them to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of His God, namely, Himself, as the learned doctors explain. This is equivalent to saying: You have lost a human and

temporal life for Me, I will give you being that is eternal and divine. For I will make you live by my life , and I myself will be your life in eternity.

3. He declares that He will give them hidden manna: Vincenti dabo manna absconditum (APOC. 2 , 17). What else is this hidden manna but the divine love which reigns perfectly in the hearts of the holy martyrs? What is it but the surpassing love that, even on earth, transforms the bitterness of tortures and the hell of torments into a paradise of incredible sweetness and delight, and in heaven heaps upon them eternal and unspeakable joys, in exchange for the brief sufferings they have withstood on this earth?

4. He assures them that He will give them power over all nations, just as He received it from His Father, and such great power that they will be able to shatter the nations as the potter breaks the vessel he. has made (Apoc. 2, 26-28). In other words, He will make them reign and dominate over the whole universe; He will set them up at His right hand as judges of the whole world: judicabunt nationes et dominabuntur populis (Wis. 3, 8). With Him, they shall judge and condemn the wicked on the day of reckoning.

5. He promises to invest them with His colors, namely, white and red, the colors of the King of martyrs, according to the words of the divine spouse: "My beloved is both white and ruddy" (Cant. 5, i o ) .

These are also the colors of the martyrs, for they wear their Master's livery, and are garbed in white.

"They have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the lamb," says Holy Scripture (Apoc. 7, 14). "They shall walk with Me in white," says the Son of God, and "he that shall overcome, shall thus be clothed in white garments" (AP0c. 3, 4-5), because martyrdom is a fiery baptism that purges every kind of sin and clothes the souls of the martyrs in undying light and glory. They are also clad in red (rubri sanguine fluido, sings Holy Church), which signifies their flowing blood as well as the burning love with which they shed it.

6. Christ tells the martyrs that He will write upon them the name of His God, and of His Father, and the name of the city of His God (Apoc. 3, 12), which means, as the pious and learned Rupert explains, that they shall be Christ's father and mother; He shall look upon