Meditation: The Choice of a State of Life: Conformity to the Holy Will of God in the Choice (2): Because of Our Sins We Have Deserved

Because of Our Sins We Have Deserved

To BE ANNIHILATED

Let us consider that as often as we have offended God in any way whatever, we have deserved to lose the being He has given us, and that if He willed to punish us as we deserve, He would have annihilated us, according to these words: "Correct me, 0 Lord, but yet with judgment: and not in thy fury, lest thou bring me to nothing' (Jer. 10, 24)

Now, if we have so often deserved to be annihilated, have we not also deserved all the humiliations, abjections and trials of this life? What would we think of a man who had merited not only death, but extinction, thousands of times? How unbearable are vanity and selfesteem in one who has been drawn from nothing, without any merit on his part, who has been preserved from annihilation as many times as there are moments in his life! How can man be vain when he has justly merited to be returned to nothingness as often as he has offended his Creator and Deliverer!

The Great Evil of Pride

The truth of our nothingness being conceded, let us consider how great an evil is pride, and how very wrong it is to attribute any vanity to oneself in thought, word and action or to seek honor and praise. Pride is an illusion, a lie and a theft. It is a truth of faith that we are nothing; therefore he who esteems himself and thinks himself to be something is a seducer who deceives himself: "he deceiveth himself" (Gal. 6, 3)- He who speaks well of himself is a liar. "For I know that there dwelleth not in me, that is to say, in my flesh, that which is good" (Rom. 7, 18), says St. Paul. He who attributes anything to himself

and seeks honor and glory, is a thief who robs of His property God who is All, to appropriate it to him who is nothing.

How often have we committed these faults? Let us ask pardon of God and beg Him to preserve us from them in future. To prevent our relapse, let us frequently reflect on and what we are of ourselves, and where we would be if God did not continually exercise His mercy on our behalf.

Ejaculatory prayer:

"Correct me, 0 Lord.... and not in thy fury, lest thou bring me to nothing." Corrige me, Domine... verumtamen non in furore tuo, ne forte ad nihilum redigarme (Jer. 10, 24)

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on the Words: Nihil Possumus--"We Can Do Nothing."

God Alone is Mighty

LET us consider that God alone is mighty: (1 Tim. 6, 15). His power is eternal, infinite, immense, immutable and essential; that is, everything in Him is omnipotent, His goodness, His justice, His mercy and all His other divine perfections. He could, in a moment, annihilate all things. Heaven and earth cannot resist His power for an instant. "Almighty is -his name" (Exod. 15, 3) - Sin is the only thing He cannot enact; for ability to sin is not power, it is merely impotence.

Let us adore this divine power. Let us rejoice that we belong to a Master and Father Who i s omnipotent. Let us give and consecrate ourselves to His divine power and beg Him to extinguish in us all power to do evil and make us powerful to do good: "Mighty in work and word" (Luke 24, 19)

OUR LORD ACKNOWLEDGED His IMPOTENCE

Let us consider and adore our Lord Jesus Christ uttering these words: "I cannot of myself do any thing" (John 5, 30), not only as man but even as the Son of God. As He received being and life from His Heavenly Father, He likewise received all power from Him and He acknowledged this in His public profession: "I cannot of myself do any thing." This profession He willed to be written in His Gospel in order to confound our pride and to teach us not to appropriate any part of our performance to ourselves; for even the Son of God acknowledged that of Himself and without His Father, He could do

nothing, and thus referred to His Heavenly Father everything that He accomplished.

Let us consider also that the Blessed Virgin has perfectly imitated her Son in this humility ; and that as a reward the Eternal Father has given all power to the Son, and to the Mother in relative proportion: "All power is given to me in heaven and in earth," says our Lord (Matt. 28, 18). And the Blessed Virgin can say the same in due proportion. Let us rejoice over this magnificent reward of humility and surrender ourselves to the Son and His Blessed Mother, begging them to employ their vast power in crushing our pride and making us share in their humility.

Of Ourselves We Can Do Nothing

Let us consider attentively the truth of these words: Nihil possumus. First, of ourselves we can do nothing pleasing to God. "Without me you can do nothing" (John 15, 5). Secondly, we cannot speak a good word: "0 generation of vipers, how can you speak good things, whereas you are evil ? " (Matt. 12, 34)- "No man can say the Lord Jesus, but by the Holy Ghost" (I Cor. 12, 3). Thirdly, of ourselves we cannot entertain a good desire. "It is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish" (Phil. 2, 13). Fourthly, we cannot have a good thought without the grace of God. "Not that we are sufficient to think any thing of ourselves, as of ourselves: but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor 3, 5). Lastly, we cannot perform the least act of Christian virtue, nor resist the slightest temptation in the world, even for a moment. What a source of humiliation for us! Let us rejoice in this abjection and engrave these truths deeply upon our minds, so that everywhere and always we may acknowledge our futility and our great need of God. This will compel us to have recourse to Him continually, saying frequently: "0 God, come to my assistance; 0 Lord, make haste to help me" (Ps. 69, 2).

Ejaculatory prayer:

"Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me." Libenter igitur gloriabor in infirmitatibus meis, ut inhabitet in me virtus Christi (2 Cor. 12, 9). 110-

On the Words: Nihil Valemus---'We Are Worth Nothing."

Our Lord Wished to Betreated as If He Were Worthless

LET us consider that every detail concerning our Lord Jesus Christ is of infinite value. Every aspect of His divinity, His humanity, His body and soul, His thoughts, words and actions, is of infinite value. Let us rejoice in His sublime worth. Let us thank the Eternal Father for having made everything i n His Beloved Son Jesus Christ so noble and so precious.

Let us consider that our Lord Jesus Christ, although He is infinitely adorable in all things, willed to be treated as though He were of no account. People despised His words, His works, His sacred humanity, His Precious Blood and His life as if they were of no value. Even in our own day He i s similarly treated by Jews, infidels and heretics in the Blessed Sacrament and by many Christians who blaspheme, crucify and trample Him underfoot.

In Consequence of Sin Weare The.most Wretched of All

Creatures

Let us consider the essential truth of these words: "We are worth nothing." There is no creature, however wretched it may be, among insensible and inanimate things, that cannot be said to be better and more precious than we are, on account of our corruption from sin. So we should humble ourselves below the mire, the dust, and the most abject things, and make more account of the most contemptible objects in the world. We may regard ourselves like Jonathan, speaking to

David: "Who am I thy servant, that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?" (2 Kings 9, 8 ) and say with Solomon: "What shall we be able to do to glorify him?" (Ecclus- 43, 30) -

As Children of Adam Wr Deserved Eternal Death

Let us consider these words of our Divine Lord: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men" (Matt, 5, 13)- Consider that as often as we have offended God, we have fallen into the state signified by these words: "Salt that has lost its savour." Hence, we are good for nothing any more but to be cast out of the house of God and to be trodden underfoot by men. Not only that; but we are fit only to be cast into eternal fire, according to the words which our Lord addressed to Ezechiel the prophet: "What shall be made of the wood of the vine? . . . Shall it be useful for any work?" (Ezech. 15, 2-4). No. As our Lord says in the Gospel, it is only fit for the fire of hell: to be "cast into the fire" (Matt. 3, 10)

This is our fitting destiny as children of Adam. Hence we are good for nothing but to be cast into eternal fire. And what is worse, we do not deserve even that the justice of God should take the trouble to cast us into hell, nor that God should ascend His mighty throne to judge us. We should cultivate the sentiments of job, when, after considering the baseness and corruption of man, he exclaims: "And dost thou think it meet to open thy eyes upon such a one, and to bring him into judgment with thee?" (Job 14, 3)

Ejaculatory prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, we are worth nothing." Domine Jesu Christe, nihil valemus.

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On the Words: Nihil Habemus Praeter peccatum

"We Possess Nothing Except Sin."

Although Our Lord Was Filled with Virtue and Grace

He Constantly Humiliated, Himself

LET us consider and rejoice that God possesses in Himself the infinity of good. Let us consider also that there existed not the least shadow of evil in our Lord; yet He humbled Himself as if there had been all kinds of evil and no good within Him. He appropriated nothing to Himself, but referred everything to His Almighty Father, being regarded and treated as if He were destitute of all good, according to the words of Sacred Scripture: "I am the man that see my poverty" (Lam. 3, 1). Yet we who are full of evil and void of all good cannot humble ourselves! We even strive to rob God of what belongs to Him, and to attribute it to ourselves!

Of Ourselves We Are Nothing

Let us consider and weigh the truth of these words: "We have nothing." This means actually that we have nothing in the order of nature nor of grace, neither in heaven nor on earth, neither i n body nor in soul. St. Paul said: "I know that there dwelleth not in me, that is to say, in my flesh, that which is good" (Rom. 7, 18). How much more truly may we say it? If we possess any good, any quality, or any advantage, either natural or supernatural, it is not our own. "What hast thou that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received, why clost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?" (i Co. 4, 7. So far

from being able to glory in the natural or supernatural gifts that God has bestowed upon us, we should derive from them a sense of humiliation, confusion and fear. The more we have received from God, the more we are obliged to render to Him. Yet if we examine ourselves carefully, we will find that we are making very poor use of the graces of God, and that we have more reason to humble ourselves before His Providence than if we had received no blessings whatsoever.

VICE Is DEEPLY ROOTED WITHIN US

Let us consider how destitute we are of every virtue: faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, temperance, prudence, humility, obedience, patience, meekness; and how every vice lies deeply rooted within us. Yet we esteem ourselves and wish others to have a good opinion of us. Let us be profoundly humble; let us learn to know ourselves, to treat ourselves and wish others to treat us as persons destitute of all good and filled with every evil.

Ejaculatory prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, we have nothing except sin." Domine Jesu Christe, nihil habemus praeter peccatum.

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On the Words: Servi Inutiles Sumus-We Are

Unprofitable Servants."

GOD IS SUFFICIENT To HIMSELF AND DOES NOT

Need Any Creature

LET US consider that the first reason why we are useless servants arises from the greatness, sufficiency and plenitude of God, Who calls Himself Sadai, that is, "sufficient to Himself," because He is so sufficient to Himself and replete with good, that He has no need of us nor of any creature of heaven or earth. Even the God- Man, Jesus Christ our Lord, says: "I have said to the Lord: Thou art my God, for thou hast no need of my goods" (Ps. 15, 2).

The fact that God has no need of our goods is an infallible mark of His divinity. That is why, when we offer or give anything to God, we sacrifice it to Him, that is, annihilate it before Him, to testify thereby that He has no need of anything. If anyone presented a valuable horse to a governor and were to kill the animal when offering it, the governor would not be pleased because the gift would be useless to him. But the greatest service we can render to God is to sacrifice and annihilate our offerings, to testify thereby that He has no need of them. This is why Jesus Christ sacrifices Himself on the Cross. Now, if Jesus Christ is not necessary to God, and if all the angels and saints and the Blessed Virgin can say: "We are unprofitable servants," with how much greater truth can we say it?

Let us rejoice that God is so replete with every conceivable good; let us be glad to be useless because He is quite sufficient to Himself.

We Are Nothingness in the Order Both of Nature

And of Grace

The second reason for our uselessness arises from our extreme poverty and our twofold nothingness in the way of nature and grace. Our first portion is the nothingness from which God created us: and the second is the nothingness into which we have fallen by sin, which deprives us of the ability to entertain even a single good thought. Nothing can come from nothing; consequently we are utterly useless and worthless.

Let us ask God to engrave these truths deeply upon our hearts and to preserve us from thinking that we are necessary or useful in any way whatever. God alone is necessary.

By SERVING GOD PERFECTLY WE GIVE HIM ONLY WHAT

Comes from Him

The third cause of our uselessness is implied in the comparison drawn by our Lord in the Gospel. A servant who accompanies his master on a journey does not rest when he reaches home, but must prepare refreshments for his master and then serve him at table; yet even so his master does not thank him, for he has only done the duty he is paid to do. So, our Lord says: "When you have done all these things that are commanded you, say: 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which we ought to do"' (Luke 17, 10)

Now, besides this, there are three considerations which should make us deeply humble: I . When we have done our utmost in the service of our Master, we have done only what we ought to do. 2 . We never do all we could, nor practise all the virtues we might. 3. We accomplish nothing as perfectly as we might, but always with many faults. Even if we were to do everything possible as perfectly as we could, we would still do nothing: for it is God who operates in us. Even in our virtuous actions, we actually give nothing to God, but are continually receiving

from Him. Therefore, if we were to perform the good works of all the angels and saints and were to practise every virtue to an eminent degree, we should still say: "We are unprofitable servants." Let us ask God to imprint all these truths deeply upon our souls and make them fruitful, destroying our pride and giving us true humility.

Ejaculatory prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, we are unprofitable servants:' Domine Jesu Christe, servi inutiles sumus.

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Ninth Meditation

Natura Filii Irae-"We Were Born Children of Wrath."

We Are Children of Wrath Because of Original Sin

By OUR own corrupt and depraved nature we are children of wrath, because we are children of sin and iniquity. This is our second portion, our first being nothingness. We are children of sin and perdition for we were born in sin and in damnation. "We were damned before we were born," says St. Bernard. We have within us the source of every sin. Let everyone examine himself and he will find that he has within him the source of pride, avarice, envy and every other vice. So much so that if God left us to ourselves, we would be as proud as Lucifer, as avaricious as Judas, as envious as Cain, as gluttonous as the rich glutton, who "feasted sumptuously every day" (Luke 16, 19), as choleric and cruet as Herod, as lewd as Anti-Christ, as idle as the unprofitable servant in the Gospel, "the unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness" (Matt. 25, 30)

Let us humble ourselves, contemplating the sins of earth and hell as if they were our own. When any one speaks evil of us, or offends us, let us not complain, but take his part against ourselves, remembering that we bear within us seeds of every evil. When we hear of impious and wicked men, let us consider that we have similar taints of sin in our own person, by reason of which the Church obliges the priest celebrating the Holy Mass to strike his breast and say: Nobis quoque peccatoribus. "Also to us sinners."

We Have a Strong Inclination to Evil

We have such a strong inclination to evil that if God did not continually bear us up, we would fall into a hell of every kind of sin with more impetuosity than a mill-stone hurled into the sky would fall if it were not restrained by a miracle. This weight which drags us down to sin is our self - love. "Self-love is my weight. I am carried by it wherever I go" (St. Augustine, Conf- 1, 13, C- 9 ) - "It almost overcomes the weight of my actions" (Breviar. rom. Comm. un. Mart., Oratio, Infirmitatem). Our own enterprise is the work of sinners. Let us not be surprised when we see anyone fall, but thank the mercy of God which sustains us. Let us have compassion on the errors and lapses of others and never prefer ourselves to anyone. Let us reflect that if God were to give other men the same grace that He has given us, they would be far better than we and derive more profit.