Book V, Chapter XIII

If thou canst not contemplate high and heavenly things, rest thyself in the passion of Christ, and dwell willingly in His sacred wounds. B. ii. c. 1.. . 217 OF THE GOOD THINGS, FOR WHICH THOSE WHO EMBRACE VIRTUE MAY HOPE IN THIS LIFE

(On these words) — w If thou canst not contemplate high and heavenly things, rest thyself in the Passion of Christ, and dwell willingly in His sacred Wounds.*’ B. ii. c. 1.

Question. — What are the fittest means of acquiring a perfect love of God?

Answer. — To set before our eyes the Sufferings of Christ, to think of them constantly, till our heart is. penetrated with lively sympathy with a God, Who, to save the world, became a Man of sorrows. St. Francis said, that he was never weary in his illnesses, because he always found a sufficient and holy occupation in the consideration of the Saviour’s Sufferings.

One who desires to acquire perfect devotion and simple love to God, must often recall to his memory the whole Life of Christ, but particularly the shame and pains of His Death and, to conceive a lively idea of them, he should make use of some easy method; such as imagining a mountain on which are several chapels, which should be so many stations, and which should severally represent each Mystery of the Saviour’s Passion. In the first He appears sad and in agonies as He was in the garden; in the second, insulted and smitten before the two High- Priests, Annas and Caiaphas; in the third, derided and treated as a fool at Herod’s court; in the fourth scourged, crowned with thorns, and condemned to death at the tribunal of Pilate; in the fifth, dying on the Cross; in the sixth, dead and buried. By accustoming ourselves to meditate on these things, we

; 218 MEDITATION ON CHRIST’S PASSION

I do in mind what St. Charles Borromeo did in fact on the Mount Veraglio, where are many oratories like those of which we have given an idea, in which that i holy Prelate performed his stations with much piety.

In many parts of Christendom there are places thus consecrated to the memory of the Sufferings of Jesus:

I and this is the first practice to be used, if we desire thoroughly to impress on our minds the image of His

2. The second is, in all the evils that we endure, whether sicknesses, misfortunes, persecutions, or voluntary penances, always to remember the wounds of the Saviour. Thus they are strongly impressed on the soul which is inflamed with love for Him Who suffered so much for her, according to these words of our Author: “ No man hath so cordial a feeling of the Passion of Christ, as he who hath suffered the like himself.” B. ii. c. 12. In like manner, in the sorrows, disappointments, fears, and disquietudes, which befall us in this life, we must think of the desertion, the sorrow, all the inward Sufferings which pressed upon our Saviour’s soul, and become united to It by thought and affection.

3. The third is, to read some pathetic discourse or some pious meditation on the Passion of our Lord, in order to be fully instructed therein. Father Louis de Grenada is one of the best writers on this subject. It is also good in the holy week to hear some fervent and zealous preacher for it is certain that a sermon, well composed and well spoken, on this subject, produces great effect on the heart; and that for three reasons. The first is, that we come with good dispositions, and with the design of profiting by it, because we are then thinking of confessing and being reconciled to God. The second, that the preacher may speak as long as he thinks proper without wearying his audience, because the people who usually

THE CHTEF SOURCE OF LOVE TO GOD. 219 complain of the length of sermons, are determined on Good Friday to hear the whole history of the Passion of the Saviour, with all the reflections which should accompany it. The third, that there is no subject more beautiful, or more pathetic, than this. For these causes the preacher has a rich field to expatiate in, and to produce much fruit among his audience.

1 can assert that 1 have felt this, and that 1 speak from experience; for in the year 1628, being at Paris, I had the privilege of hearing a famous preacher, who spoke for three or four hours of the Saviour’s sufferings, with such force, and in so tender a manner, that I was much moved by it. I then comprehended the efficacy of a Passion-sermon well preached; and never since has it come to my mind, but the first impression was immediately renewed in my heart. The preacher was a Jesuit, at that time well known and much esteemed. This was his design, and the division of his discourse. In the first hour he began by exhibiting the Greatness and Dignity of Him Who died for us; which should serve as a preparation for all the rest. Then he simply related the history of the Passion, which he divided into several parts. In the second hour, after a pause, he continued, and finished the remainder of the history. In the third, after another pause, he took the crucifix in his hand, showed it to the people, and conjured all who were present to remark three things particularly in seeing the image of a Crucified God. The first was, the extreme rigour of that justice which the Father exercised on His Own Son; the second, the value of a soul for whose salvation this only Son of God did not spare His Blood; the third, the infinite love of God towards man.

All these things, well explained in this order, and at much length, with great zeal and in a touching manner, produced admirable effects on the heart: u 2

220 FULNESS AND SWEETNESS OF OOD*S PRESENCE above all, they excited a most tender affection for Jesus Suffering, Whose Image impressed on the soul is an inestimable treasure; for when we have ac- quired the habit of thinking of Him and sympathiz- I ing with His Sorrow, we cannot do otherwise than love Him, for the sympathy we feel for Him is at once the principle and effect of His love.

OF THOSE GOOD THINGS, FOR WHICH THOSE WHO EM-