Books for Eymardian Formation Book # 1
The Cenacle: The place where love was given to us
A. Eucharist B. Feasts and Liturgical Seasons
He told them, “When you go into the city, a man will meet you carrying a jar of water. Follow him into the house that he enters and say to the master of the house, ‘The teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room that is furnished. Make the preparations there.” Then they went off and found everything exactly as he had told them, and there they prepared the Passover. (Lk 22:10-13)
Selection of Instructions of Saint Peter Julian Eymard to the First Group of Servants According to the themes of the Cenacle And of the Rule of Life
English translation in collaboration: Fr. Conrad Goulet, SSS, Sr. Mary Catherine Perko, SSS Fr. Joseph Roy, SSS and Sr. Dolores Soucy, SSS
The Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, Rome 2005
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ...... 5 HOW TO USE THESE BOOKS ...... 6 SECTION A – THE EUCHARIST...... 7 The Eucharist, Source of Life ...... 9 Jesus, our Strength and our Happiness ...... 10 The Eucharist, the Aim of Everything ...... 11 The Eucharist ...... 12 Holy Communion...... 14 Holy Communion. Continued ...... 16 About Your Eucharistic Goal ...... 19 Jesus Hostia ...... 22 The Eucharist, My Only Good ...... 24 The Eucharist, My Rule of Life ...... 25 The Spirit of Eucharistic Faith ...... 27 The Qualities of Eucharistic Service ...... 28 Mary, My Mother ...... 30 The Life of Love ...... 32 Holy Communion, Life, Nourishment, Strength and Perfection ...... 34 Eucharistic Union ...... 38 Bread. Communion. We Must Reflect ...... 41 SECTION B - FEASTS AND LITURGICAL SEASONS ...... 45 The Annunciation ...... 47 Advent ...... 51 Christmas ...... 53 Christmas. The Contemplation of Love ...... 55 The Presentation of our Lord ...... 58 Lent ...... 62 The Eucharistic Passion ...... 65 Reparation. The Words of Our Lord on the Cross ...... 67 The last days of Holy Week ...... 70 The Resurrection. We must rejoice with the Blessed Virgin ...... 72 The Ascension ...... 74 The Mission of the Holy Spirit ...... 77 Feast of the Holy Trinity ...... 80 Feast of the Sacred Heart ...... 84 The Transfiguration ...... 87
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INTRODUCTION
Since the beginning of the Congregation, the teachings of St. Peter Julian have been used as the primary source of formation for our spirituality and for our religious life. They have nourished the successive generations of Servants.
Why a new collection?
Since the Second Vatican Council, some new questions have come up concerning the sources of our archives, as well as new insights in theology, spirituality, and psychology, with new pedagogical demands. A collection of several decades in the making allows us to look at this gold mine in a different way.
The latest research in the archives allows a new and complete edition of these instructions. Sr. Suzanne Aylwin has compared the manuscripts of various copyists in order to prepare a complete and new edition. Recent insights in the area of spirituality have also guided a new analysis of these texts. We find therein a certain liturgical inclination (sensibility), themes from the French School, a way of reading Sacred Scripture, the contemplation of Christ in his various life situations in union with Mary, and meditations using the imagination according to the Ignatian style. These allow us to see the elements that influenced the thought of our Founder.
From this edition of more than 600 conferences, we thought it wise to make a more limited choice, and to organize the subjects in order to assist initial and ongoing formation. This choice led to organize seven books offering an overall teaching that takes up the themes most developed by our Founder. The titles of these books are the various themes of the Invitation to the Cenacle, and complement some chapters in the Rule of Life. We also kept in mind the twelve major moments when the Founder gave a series of instructions on a single subject (from 3 to 11 conferences). The principal elements have been retained.
We have added points for reflection that could help the formators. Once these conferences have been translated into the major languages of our Congregation, we hope they will once again become a basic formation instrument for Eymardian spirituality touching the key aspects of a global spirituality.
The subjects contained in the different books are:
Book no. 1. The Cenacle: the place where love was given to us: the Eucharist. Book no. 2 The Cenacle: the place where we were taught about love: the spirit of love. Book no. 3 The Cenacle: the gathering place: community life. Book no. 4 The Cenacle: the place of prayer. Book no. 5 The Cenacle: a place of transformation I: the paschal mystery in life. Book no. 6 The Cenacle: a place of transformation II: gift of self. Book no. 7 The Cenacle: the place of mission.
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HOW TO USE THESE BOOKS
This series of Books contains a selection from the instructions of Father Eymard to the first group of Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, as recorded in notes taken by Sr. Marie of the Blessed Sacrament (Boisgrollier), and in various copies of these notes. This selection was intended to be used mainly by directors of formation, who, faced with an abundance of material, needed help to find the more important or useful subjects for a particular topic or for an organized presentation.
We believe this material could also help all those who are looking for an overview of the themes of spirituality taught by St. Peter Julian during the period 1858-1868.
Some underlining and bold characters were added to the texts. The only reason for doing this was to facilitate and clarify the reading and the teaching, by drawing attention to the development of the thought, and to focus on certain phrases in rather long passages. The footnotes at the bottom of the page are generally taken from the complete edition and find their explanation there. We felt that certain omissions were called for. They are indicated by […]. The entire text can be found in the complete edition.
For formation, we think that these instructions could be used in various ways according to the creativity of the one using them:
. preparation for a liturgical feast . conference for a monthly recollection . extracts chosen for adoration in common . conference or extract to enrich an explanation of a chapter/a number of the Rule . of Life . conference or extract to complete an instruction on a theme of the Cenacle . (spirituality) . copies of an instruction given to each participant for personal reflection . simple reading followed by discussion
The points for reflection suggested for the animator can help the discussion or evoke other questions more adapted to the group.
It is my deepest wish that these texts become once again a source of spiritual nourishment for each one of us by fostering a hunger to continue our journey on the paths of our holy Founder and of our first sisters. I present them to you with love and joy,
Sr. Catherine Marie Caron, SSS Rome, December 2003
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SECTION A – THE EUCHARIST
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The Eucharist, Source of Life1
Paris, Monday, June 14, 1858
I have spoken enough to you, my Sisters, about sacrifice, trials, sufferings, of death to self, before speaking to you about Eucharist. Your poor nature must have been frightened at the sight of so many sacrifices, facing such a complete death, you felt as if you had no strength and were unable to overcome so much. It was as if you were crushed, but we cannot let ourselves stop at that. In this death, we must find life in Jesus Eucharistic. The malice of the devil led us humans to put our creator to death, but Jesus Christ has overcome it and drawn immortal life from it. In the Eucharist, he annihilates all in order to give himself. So you see, life always comes from death.
Jesus Christ communicates his life by his grace, by his spirit, and by his truth which (is) Himself.
He does this by his grace, not only as all Christians receive it, but in a special way by our Eucharistic attraction. This attraction is at first through sentiment. We feel happiness and devotion in the Eucharist, but this sweet attraction and consolation will pass. For an attraction to be true, everything must lead to it. Our thoughts, our actions, have no other goal but to see the Eucharist in everything, even in what has no relation to it: reading, sermons, the practice of virtue, meditations, finally all of life. This is how Jesus Christ communicates his spirit.
A mother’s milk transmits to her child her own inclinations, her physical life – healthy or sickly. Jesus, becoming our food, transforms us into himself as the perfect always absorbs the less perfect. We will think as Jesus Christ, behave as he does. As the air we breathe is the source of our material life, likewise living by the Eucharist every day, we will breathe only this divine atmosphere. Like St. Paul who knew only Jesus crucified (cf. 1 Cor 2:2), we will know only Jesus Eucharistic. There we will find the truth of Jesus Christ. In the other states of his life, Jesus does not show us the full truth of Himself: at Bethlehem he shows his poverty and humility, at Nazareth his hidden life, on Calvary his suffering and love. But in the Eucharist Jesus summarizes his entire truth, his entire life.
That is where we can find all the states of Jesus and conform our Eucharistic life to them. He himself will help us; all of his different states will become habitual to us. Finally in this way, he will simplify our life by giving it only one goal, one life: Jesus Eucharistic.
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Points for reflection:
What idea of the Eucharist is Father Eymard presenting to us? How does he suggest that we make the Eucharist the center of our life
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1 All the instructions in this booklet are taken from the Instructions to the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Complete Edition, Rome, 2003. In these Booklets, certain titles have been modified to correspond better to the contents of the retained extracts, or to better reflect the vision which guided the choice of texts. However, in a footnote on the bottom of the page, the numbers and titles which correspond to the complete edition will always be included. This first instruction is # 33. L’Eucharistie, principe de vie. 9
Jesus, our Strength and our Happiness2
Paris, Monday, June 14, 1858
So that you can live this life of sacrifice about which we have spoken, strength is needed. We cannot find it in ourselves who are but weakness and misery, but we will find it in the Eucharist. So that the Eucharist can be our strength, it must become the dominant attraction of our lives, the intention of all our actions; in a word, we do nothing but by it and for it. If a soul is courageous, for an attraction to become its dominant virtue, only one or two weeks are needed. Yes, my Sisters, we find our strength in the Eucharist. Our Lord said to Saint Peter: Satan has asked to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail, and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers. (Lk. 22:31-32) Yes, my Sisters, Satan has also asked to sift you; you make him furious. He does not like you because he has a horror of the Eucharist. He knows that he has no grip on a soul that receives Communion. Therefore he puts into action all that can crush you, if that were possible.
You certainly have all sorts of trials to bear on the part of the demon and the world. Up to the present, they have been almost nothing, only empty words, but you will have many more, my poor Sisters. Be ready for them and draw your strength from the Eucharist. It is only there that you will become strong. You must have the strength of martyrs because you will have much to suffer. How can we be victorious if Jesus is not with us? In the Cenacle, Mary would have died at the deprivation of her divine Son if the sacred species had not remained with her from one Communion to the next, if she had not had Jesus with her. The first Christians understood this so well that they took the Holy Eucharist with them, in order to receive Communion before being martyred. They well knew that they could do nothing by themselves. This is not enough, my Sisters; you must find your happiness in the Eucharist, otherwise you will not endure the struggle and your strength will fail you. A Eucharistic soul’s whole thought is directed to the purpose of her vocation and she should be ever grateful and thankful for this benefit. She must say with Saint Paul: It is no longer I who live, but Jesus who lives in me (cf. Gal 2:20). This thought ought to be its joy in the midst of sufferings. To be with Jesus is heaven! To serve him, to form his court, to be as the angels in heaven, can there be any greater happiness?
Points for reflection:
Father Eymard presents the Eucharist as the principal source of strength in the Christian life. He refers to Sts. Peter and Paul, and to the first Christian martyrs, and to Mary in the Cenacle. What strikes you in these references?
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2 Number 34. Jésus notre force et notre bonheur.
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The Eucharist, the Aim of Everything3
Paris, Tuesday, June 15, 1858
Education is not a way of being; it is a preparation for arriving at a way of being. All our studies are necessary means for arriving at the state to which we aspire. Likewise, my Sisters, the practice of the virtues, of prayer, penance, and charity are not your state, your center; they are but means, preparations for becoming Eucharistic servants. Therefore, all that you do must be done in view of the Eucharist, for love of the Eucharist. Nothing must occupy you outside of the divine Eucharist, it is your form, your clothing. And as the guests of the family's father were not received unless wearing the nuptial robe (Mt 22:11), the same applies to the practice of the virtues, your sacrifices, etc. They are the vestments necessary for you to be presentable before Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Everything must become Eucharistic for you, otherwise you are no longer in your vocation, and the sacrifices it demands from you would become impossible. You cannot always be on Calvary; nature would weaken and give in. Place your sacrifices in the love of Jesus Eucharistic, in this way the bitterness of the chalice will immediately disappear, because love is stronger than death (Sg 8:6). A Eucharistic soul finds all in the Eucharist, and at the feet of the tabernacle it finds strength, light and life. A soul that does nothing but remain silently at the feet of the divine Eucharist will soon become perfect. How can a tepid soul not warm itself before the Eucharist? How can a cold soul not see the ice of its heart melt before this consuming fire?
My Sisters, if there is so little piety, it is because there is fear of the Eucharist. Satan drives away as many souls as it can from Holy Communion and even from churches. There are sinners who, not only do they not want to enter a church, but when they pass in front, pronounce words of blasphemy… This is because the devil knows the power of the Eucharist.
Points for reflection:
The Eucharist especially transforms our way of conceiving reality. Even the bitterness of suffering can be transformed. That which is tepid can be rekindled. Have you noticed how the Eucharist can transform indifference of heart into fervor and devotion? The bitterness of suffering into a love strong as death? What is your experience?
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3 Number 36. L’Eucharistie fin de tout. 11
The Eucharist4
Paris, Tuesday [June 22] 1858 […] When Our Lord was on earth, he was only passing through, as we see in the Gospel, going about doing good, curing those whom he met along the way, the blind, the crippled, those possessed, etc. (cf. Mt 4:23-24) […]
Now, Jesus no longer walks about, he remains (with us), waiting night and day, and will do so until the end of the world. He remains waiting for us, to heal our wounds, to dry our tears, comfort our infirmities. What love! Poor soul, you can come to visit me whenever you wish, and I will wait for you, said Our Lord; I will remain close by, I will not keep you waiting. He waits for his servants. Has this ever been seen in the world? This is not the usual order of things; the servant waits for its master, but the master does not wait for the servant, he does not wait for his subject. Can we imagine such an extraordinary God? His love has made him foolish. Still, if he were waiting for faithful devoted servants in the midst of friends, that would not be so bad; but he waits in the midst of a hostile people and often receives nothing but insults and sacrileges. No matter, he waits in silence, in solitude, and offers no resistance to the sacrilegious hands which could force open the door of the tabernacle, break the holy ciborium, trample the sacred hosts under foot, throw them to dogs … This has happened! Our Lord knew this, his wisdom considered it, but his love overcame all and he stays on, without moving, without weapons to defend himself. Yes, his love has made him foolish. This is what people do not understand.
If only he had fixed a limit or conditions to his real presence in the Holy Eucharist, but no, he promised that he would always be with us. I will not leave you orphans (Jn 14:18), he said to his apostles. Otherwise his promise would not be fulfilled and we would be able to say: Lord, you are not always with us. If at least he had guards at the door for his defense, but no, Our Lord does not need them. Guards are to disperse, to send away. The powerful of the earth have guards, because their weakness would not be able to support the crowd. Jesus could very well have his angels to guard him and keep vigil around his throne of love, but he did not want this. He did not come to earth for the angels. The Eucharist is not for them, it is for humans. It is for humanity that Jesus remains on earth, that he endures such outrages. His love for us keeps him hidden in the host. Such love for humans! How great they are to him!
If Our Lord had manifested his glory in the Eucharist, the splendor of his majesty would have dazzled us, although the weakness of our vision could not have borne it without trembling. If he were to let us hear his voice, however so gentle, we would be frightened. What has Our Lord not done to draw us without fear to himself? He is hidden, veiled, annihilated, he has made himself small in order to be accessible to all, so that all of his children, small or great, could approach him without fear. This is the same Jesus our fathers saw and received; the same sun that shines upon us shined upon them and warmed them. Our Lord in the Eucharist is always the same yet always new, as the sun which rises and sets each day. Our Lord never sets, he is always at high noon, shining, warming all of humanity. We are all admitted to the same table, we all share the same food, the faithful receive as much as the priests, the apostles had no advantage.
It seems at least that Our Lord should have surrounded himself on earth with only pure and virginal souls, but no, Jesus Christ gives himself and lavishes himself equally to all, to the widow, the virgin, the married woman; he excludes no one. He remains in the sacred species as long as they exist. […]
4 Number 43. L’Eucharistie 12
What can we conclude from these few words? That we must often visit Our Lord in his divine tabernacle, rejoicing to have him so near; that we should not leave him alone in our temples. Let us rejoice in his holy presence here on earth, while waiting to contemplate it in glory.
Points for reflection:
1. Jesus who cured the sick remains with us in the Eucharist to continue his healing work in us. This instruction gives us two motives for the permanent presence of Christ in the Eucharist. What are they?
2. By the Eucharist, the love of God is manifested equally to all members and all classes of society. What practical repercussions could this have for us?
3. Saint Peter Julian notes the responses that we owe to the permanent presence of Christ among us, one interior and the other exterior. What are they?
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Holy Communion5 Paris, Friday, [June 25], 1858
My good Daughters, our poor nature is so fragile, our natural weakness is so great that we need to support it and fortify it, because our strength is always diminishing. Everything around us tends to weaken us: dealing with the world with its creatures takes away our strength, even the relationships necessary with pious and religious people, our communication with spiritual persons, all this strips us of our strength. We must ceaselessly make a new start and fortify ourselves, for we fall in our weaknesses. From where can we draw that strength, take the medicine for our infirmities? In Holy Communion, my Sisters, that is the remedy, I dare say, the only one, the sole remedy to all our pain.
Humans are the weakest of creatures. When God created the world, he hurled the sun, a luminous star, into space and said: Go, give light, warmth and make the earth fruitful. The sun, renewing itself every day, always gives us the same light, the same warmth, without ever weakening, because God has put into it a perpetual principle of fertility. It is the same with the stars. The earth also finds its fertility within itself. In creating it God said: Produce fruit for humans. And this earth will never be consumed. All creatures have this seed in themselves, this principle of fertility, they suffice by themselves. God said to the animals: Increase and multiply. Only humans are weak and can do nothing by themselves. Why does this happen to the only creatures made in God's image? God wanted them to depend only on him. He himself wanted to nourish humans, and to be the only one to take care of them; in this way he wanted to oblige humankind to have recourse only to him.
Many mothers, either because of physical weakness or by indifference, give their infants to others to nurse, confiding their care to servants. Our Lord did not want to confide us to anyone. What love, my Sisters! Do we not love a God who loves us so? Because Our Lord is our only strength and in him alone do we find life, we must go to him, take Communion, the food of our souls. We must take Communion because of our weakness. The weaker we are the more we must go to Communion, as when someone orders food more or less strengthening after a time of weakness. Our Lord said: Come to me, all of you (cf. Mt 11:28). If you need to receive Communion every week, you must receive it to strengthen yourself.
Communion is the antidote to our concupiscence. We have all felt and all the saints have felt in themselves this law of sin, of concupiscence. Saint Paul cried out: Who can deliver me from this body of sin? (cf. Rm 7:24) All our senses crave satisfaction: our eyes seek only honors and grandeur, our will wants to rule, our body seeks pleasure, our heart wants to love. So, what will we do? Suppress all, without giving them anything? No, one would be too unhappy. Everyone must have an outlet for passions, not for self-satisfaction, but to change the object. One must receive Communion.
Without Holy Communion it is impossible to advance in the spiritual life. Numerous saints say the same thing when speaking of Holy Communion. As material bread serves to nourish, to strengthen, to make our bodies grow, so Communion, the bread of heaven, must nourish our soul to sustain it, strengthen it, make it live of Jesus; the more we expend our energy, the more we must receive Communion.
When the angel Raphael accompanied Tobias on his travels, he appeared to eat normally to encourage him. When he left, he said to him: Even though you watched me eat and drink, I did not really do so, for my food is in heaven, I am nourished by God. (cf. Tb 12:19). If the angels who are God's servants and ours nourish themselves by God, it is only just that the children eat the same bread as the servants, for we are God's children as much as the saints
5 Number 44. La sainte communion 14 in heaven, only we are still on earth. A father's love is not less for those children who are feeble and sick. We need Communion to fortify ourselves in temptations against faith, hope and charity. But you will say: I pray. My Sisters, this is not enough; without a doubt, prayer is good but not enough. You must receive Communion to triumph over inner enemies, because it is then that God combats with us.
People of the world claim that they do not have time to receive Communion. They leave this to cloistered religious who, they say, have nothing else to do. But exactly persons who live in the world are needier than those who are secluded. They are continually on the battle field where it is very difficult not to be wounded. They must be strengthened and well armed in order not to stumble. Because they are giving themselves more to their neighbor and expend more of themselves, they have a greater need of Communion. It is the same for business people, judges, young people, who are so exposed to the hurly-burly of the world. To them, I would say: Receive Communion every day, and even ten times a day if that were possible.
The devil knows well the strength which Communion gives. For this reason he drives away many persons, because then they will no longer be under his control. Satan does not need to send a legion of demons to guard those who belong to him; only one suffices to guard an entire village. He exaggerates respect for Holy Communion in order to frighten souls and drive them from this source of grace and strength. He is afraid of Holy Communion. Unfortunately he has succeeded too well because today there are very few persons who receive Communion frequently. They say, the law of the Church requires Communion only at Easter and when in danger of death. But those who want to advance in the spiritual life must receive oftener. The Church, knowing the weaknesses of her children, wants them to receive every day and even permits spiritual communions a hundred times a day to those who wish. Spiritual communion strengthens very much, replacing sacramental Communion when the latter is not possible. It unites us to Jesus Christ, his virtues and his love.
Our forefathers received Communion much oftener. When the crusaders went to combat the infidel, they confessed the night before so as to receive Communion. The next day they flew to combat and to victory with the strength of lions. The bread of the strong was given to martyrs before they went to their execution, and Mass was offered on the chest of a deacon. And if priests did not communicate every day, could they give themselves daily to their neighbor as they do? They need Communion to fill themselves with charity.
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Holy Communion. Continued 6
Paris, Tuesday, [June 29], 1858
The Eucharist, my Sisters, is not given only to strengthen us against temptations and passions, it is the remedy, and only true remedy, to all evils. It is the salutary balm which heals the wounds of our soul made by mortal sin which, even though pardoned, leaves a deep scar on the soul that takes long to heal. The sacrament of penance, it is true, pardons us, purifies us, remits the pain of sin; but this wound remains always in our soul, and we must apply a balm which heals it completely. This balm is Holy Communion. Receive Communion, my Sisters; it is the only remedy. Nothing can replace Holy Communion, while Holy Communion replaces everything.
A conversion without Communion is doubtful, not for its effect, but regarding its perseverance. A converted sinner can confess often, can practice mortification, and do considerable penances. Without a doubt these means are a great aid for helping him to break with sin. They even break the chains which bound and held him captive, but I say and assure you that if he is content with that, if he does not receive Communion, he will not persevere. He will be discouraged by the violence of the struggles which he will need to endure against his former passions whose wounds he still carries and which constantly draw him towards falling again. Finally, despairing of victory, he will abandon everything, fall again into an abyss, to wallow in the mud of his shameful passions.
A newly converted person needs Holy Communion to resist his evil tendencies and to heal his wounds. But, he will say, I pray. That’s good but not enough. Even prayer is not enough; I know this by experience. In my different missions, converted sinners, almost in desperation, told me: Since my conversion, I confess often, I pray, I do penance, I fast, I give alms, and I’m always the same, I always fall. I cannot correct myself, there is, therefore, no salvation for me. God's mercy is closed to me. Did you receive Communion? – Oh! No. I stopped short of that. Well, receive Communion and you will find the strength to resist, and the balm which will heal your wounds.
I know that a soul bathed with the tears of penance becomes pure and beautiful. It is like a second baptism by which it is purified, except that it bears the lesion, the wound of pardoned sin. It must begin by closing it completely. The holy Fathers said that a soul purified by penance has more merit than a virginal soul, because it has more struggles to sustain. It is not enough to be converted, to give oneself completely to God in order to be free from the fire of the passions. Certainly not! Sometimes, on the contrary, our temptations increase as soon as we have renounced them […]. Pride rebel s at the least thing, the senses will crave ceaselessly, and the heart which is so attached to creatures will still seek them out. What must this troubled soul then do? It must continue to receive communion until these passions are conquered.
At the beginning of a conversion, it is necessary to receive Communion every day, then diminish later. Persons whose conversion is based only on sacrifice and penance will suffer too much; they will not be at peace. I have heard it said: Before my conversion, I was not so unhappy. That’s because they were not receiving Communion. The more passions you have, the more you must receive Communion. – But I’m so weak. – All the more reason. Because you are too weak to sustain the combat, go to take the king with his army and you will triumph.
Our Lord said: Whoever eats my flesh will have life in him, and again: If you do not eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will not have life in you (cf. Jn 6:49-58). A dead body cannot
6 Number 45. La sainte communion. Suite 16 defend itself. It is in Communion that you will have life. People, passions and worldly pleasures cannot give what they do not have. They can give you a moment of pleasure, but they cannot give you life. It is in Holy Communion only that you will find life. How strong we are, leaning on the arm of the beloved (cf. Sg. 8:5), as it is said in the Song of Songs. When we have the divine spouse, we desire nothing more.
People are carried away by pleasure which they think will satisfy their passions. It is pleasure which is sought in creatures. This seeking for pleasure is a tie which holds us captive. There is pleasure even in pride. Without a doubt this costs, but the pleasure of honors, of a high position, surpasses the distress. Our Lord, knowing our hearts, also draws by pleasure; yes, there is pleasure and sweetness in the service of God. It is painful to be humiliated, but when we think that in this way we are more in conformity with the adorable heart of Jesus Christ, then it is a pleasure for the soul whose entire happiness is to be like the beloved.
Our Lord said: Take my yoke upon you… for my yoke is easy and my burden light (cf. Mt 11:29-30). Who has not sometimes felt the consolations and happiness of Jesus' presence in Holy Communion? It is unforgettable. It is possible to be led astray for a time, but the memory of this happiness is never eliminated. You will perhaps say: I have never felt this; without a doubt the tepidity of my Communions is the cause. But I say to you: You have felt this, but you do not know it. Do you not feel peace of soul in possessing Jesus? It is not necessary to shed tears of tenderness. A humble Communion is always well made; it always bears fruit.
We do not change our Lord into ourselves; our Lord changes us into himself. Ordinary food changes into us; but for our sanctification this food changes us into the Lord. If you are proud, receive Communion; you will soon become humble. How can it be otherwise when you are breathing the humility of our Lord? If you are angry, receive Communion. By daily breathing the mildness of Jesus, you will become gentle. If your senses hold you captive, receive Communion, and soon you will dominate them because you will possess the sanctity of Jesus. Holy Communion will produce virgins and preserve them.
But why does Holy Communion give us so much strength? It is a fact. Just as a mother giving her milk to her child communicates to it her sentiments, her tastes, her virtues, so Jesus Christ, in feeding us with himself, giving us his body, his blood, his soul and his divinity communicates to us his holiness and his divinity. By Holy Communion, we become humble without being aware of it, without effort, without combat, it happens naturally. Our Lord said: Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart. (Mt 11:29)
What can we conclude from these words? That we must receive Communion and do so often, in order to reform our evil inclinations and to heal the wounds left by sin. Without Communion we cannot advance in the spiritual life. Then you ask, how many times must I communicate? Two or three times a week, even every day if you need to. The sicker one is, the more one needs a doctor and medicines; the feebler one is, the more one needs nourishment. Let us receive Communion so that Jesus Christ may be our strength in this land of combat and our glory in heaven. Amen.
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Points for reflection:
These last three instructions lead us to reflect on our relation with the Eucharist, permanent mystery of the love and the presence of Christ among us, and Holy Communion as the response to our weaknesses and the antidote to our passions. According to you, are these reflections important for Christians today? How? Have you other aspects of the Eucharist to propose as answers to the evils of our time?
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About Your Eucharistic Goal 7
Paris, Friday, July 16, 1858
My dear Daughters, bless God the Father, and give him perpetual thanksgiving for having chosen you and called you in his infinite mercy to the most beautiful and most holy of vocations, (cf. Eph 1:3-4) to the Eucharistic service of the adorable person of Jesus Christ in the most Holy Eucharist, under the loving title of Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, in union with the most Blessed Virgin of the Cenacle.
Understand before all else the excellence of this Eucharistic service, in order to acquire all its perfection. You are Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, and your principal work is perpetual adoration at the feet of God hidden in the Eucharist, in a spirit of love, and by the exercise of adoration, thanksgiving, supplication and reparation. This was Mary's life after the ascension of her divine Son. She spent the remainder of her days at the f oot of the tabernacle, honoring the virtues of Jesus' sacramental state, and praying ceaselessly for his Eucharistic reign in souls.
By your vocation, my Sisters, you share the life of the angels. You become the court of the immolated Lamb. You are his beloved family. He has given you to his holy mother to form you in his divine service and to adorn you with her virtues. Jesus' divine mother is your superior; you replace her on earth. She will be your mother and make you perfect servants of Jesus, if you abandon yourself in mind and heart to her maternal direction.
Rejoice then, my Sisters, you could not have a more sublime vocation. The Eucharist is heaven. You will serve our Lord in the divine Eucharist as Mary served him on earth, with all your mind, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (Mt 22:37) Your glory and happiness will be to serve him freely out of love. All will be subordinated to the Eucharistic service of Jesus – piety, virtues, and even religious perfection. You will evaluate everything, my Sisters, in its relation to a better service of the most Holy Eucharist.
The sovereign exercise of your vocation as Servants, my Daughters, is that of adoration. This is the eternal occupation of the heavenly court in which you are called to share successively day and night on earth, at the foot of the throne of love of Jesus Christ our savior. All your virtues, as well as all your actions, must be a preparation or a continuation of your hour of adoration. Fulfill this prayer in the name of the Church that has consecrated and dedicated you for this holy service to its divine spouse. Make it in the name of the Society which has delegated you before its king and God. Adore in union with the pure and fervent adorations of the most Blessed Virgin in the Cenacle. The victim of the sacrifice will be your entire self, for the greater glory of Jesus.
How must you make your adoration? For that, observe the following rules:
1. First of all, be very faithful to the hour assigned by holy obedience, and wait for that blessed hour, as love awaits and sighs for its beloved. Jesus waits for you and calls you to his throne of grace. This is your hour of audience, an hour of heaven for you.
2. Your exterior appearance should be suitable and decent. Entering the chapel, first prostrate on both knees, in order to render to God the homage of your body and soul by this profound witness of your faith and devotion, and then say the Laudes8, etc.
7 Number 50. Les vœux. La règle. La charité. [The vows. The Rule. Charity.] 8 Laudes ac gratiæ sint omni momento Sanctissimo ac divinissimo Sacramento. O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine. 19
3. During your adoration, take the position that is most conducive to your recollection. In the presence of the God of love, forget everything and all your worries, to see, hear, love and serve only Jesus the God of your heart.
4. Your hour of adoration should be consecrated exclusively to honoring our Lord in his adorable sacrament. Honor him according to your spiritual state and according to your attraction of grace. You may vary your exercises of adoration by meditating on the mysteries or virtues of Jesus' life continued admirably in the most Blessed Sacrament; as the poverty of his birth, his obedience, his hidden life in Nazareth, his zeal for souls, the love shown in his passion.
5. Celebrate all the feasts of the Church in the Holy Eucharist, that ever beautiful and holy feast. This is the grace and purpose of all the others, calling to mind the eternal feast of the angels and saints in heaven. Associate yourself to their praise, their thanksgiving, their eternal worship of the immolated lamb, seated on the throne of God his Father.
6. Celebrate also the feasts of God's grace and mercy for you before the Blessed Sacrament especially the anniversaries of your baptism, of your First Communion, of your Eucharistic vocation, etc. But the incense of prayer which is most pleasing to God in the Eucharist, the greatest love, the most perfect sacrifice, is the entire oblation and the absolute gift of your entire self to his love and his Eucharistic reign. Sacrifice to him all your natural repugnancies, your human affections, the anxious cares of life, of health, of the future, so as to abandon yourself entirely to the care of his divine providence and his good pleasure, wanting but one thing, to serve him by sovereign love.
7. Offer to Our Lord in the sacred Host the same respect and the same homage that he offers ceaselessly to his Father.
1. Adore God the Father through Jesus Christ your savior, obedient, humbled and annihilated in the Eucharist to confound human pride and exalt the glory of God. Adore Jesus Hostia as your savior and your God, with all your mind by an ardent faith, with all your heart by a pure and generous love, with all your will by the sacrifice of your liberty, with all your senses by respect and modesty. Adore the divine Host in union with the adorations of all who love him, of the great Eucharistic souls, of the entire Church, but especially with the adorations of the most Blessed Virgin your mother, the first and most perfect adorer.
2. Give thanks through Jesus Hostia to God the Father for having given him to you as your brother, your savior, and your bread of life. In union with the most Blessed Virgin, offer to Jesus perpetual thanksgiving for his divine goodness and his immense love in instituting the Eucharist until the end of time, and for giving you prodigious graces and blessings every day. Especially thank the Good Master for having called you to his Eucharistic service, which is for you the source of your greatest graces. Thank the God of goodness for your parents, your friends, and for all those who don’t thank him. Your adoration will then be a truly agreeable hymn of praise. 3. Offer Jesus to God the Father, for he is the savior perpetually immolated on the altar for the pardon and salvation of the world. Unite yourselves to his state of victim of propitiation, in order to become one single victim with Jesus crucified, to appease the righteous anger of God and obtain grace for sinners, even the most hardened. This is the sacrifice most agreeable to his heart, the greatest homage to his infinite mercy and love
Sigh and weep, my Sisters, because the evil is great, penetrating even into the sanctuary. Your God is offended even in the greatest gift of his love. Sinners take advantage of his silence to insult him, of his humility to show contempt, of his patience to offend him, of his goodness to dare to sell him to satisfy their passions, even to the devil, as another Judas. And this Good Master does not complain, seeks no revenge from his Father. He asks only mercy for his guilty children. He seeks some reconciling soul to enter
20 between divine justice and sinners. He still offers himself as a victim, but he needs a soul to offer his blood, his sufferings, his merits and his death to God the Father, and in this way to achieve its effectiveness through penance and sacrifice.
4. My Sisters, you form an apostolic and perpetual mission of prayer before the throne of mercy. At the foot of the divine tabernacle you must forcefully combat the devil's efforts, the impiety of the world, in order to establish everywhere the Eucharistic reign of Jesus your God. Your Eucharistic prayer must embrace the entire world to convert it to Jesus Christ. Pray especially for the Church and its noble head, the Sovereign Pontiff, for France and those who govern it, the diocese, and the parish which welcomes you with charity, for the Society and all its general and particular intentions. Pray for the apostolic work of missionaries, for the blessed ministry of pastors of souls, in order to obtain holy priests for the Church. Pray for all Eucharistic souls so that they may correspond faithfully to their […] vocation. In order for your prayer to be all-powerful, unite it to that of Mary, your good mother. Kneel beside her, pray with her, offer her piety and love. Her divine Son will answer you in his divine mother.
Let every Friday be especially consecrated to reparation [for offenses] against the most Blessed Sacrament. On that day, do some penance, according to your attractions of grace. […]. You should, especially on that day, weep and remain with your mother at the feet of Jesus, the great victim of propitiation.
Points for reflection:
Hardly two weeks after the gathering of our first sisters, the first verses of the letter to the Ephesians were presented for reflection, where St. Peter Julian gave a description and definition of our vocation as Servants of the Most Blessed Sacrament. What are the principal points of that definition? How does it describe our relation to Mary?
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Jesus Hostia9 (Jesus in the Sacred Host)
Undated
In his sacramental state, Jesus chose the role of victim, as that which corresponds best to his love for his Father and for us. Jesus Hostia: the model of a sister who adores.
1. Jesus, immolated Victim, is always in the state of victim before the throne of God, his Father. St. John says, I saw a Lamb standing on the throne, in a perpetual state of immolation (cf. Rev 5:6). In this state of victim, Jesus offers without end his sufferings on Calvary to his Father. He shows him his open wounds, his pierced hands and feet, his wounded heart, the wounds of his sacred head crowned with thorns.
2. Jesus, perpetual victim of praise, of dependence, of love in the adorable Eucharist for the glory of his Father. A Servant of the Blessed Sacrament must be as a host with Jesus, on the same altar of immolation, continuing in her body the sufferings that Jesus can no longer endure in his glorified body, suffering in her heart the pain and the agony that the divine beatified heart of Jesus can no longer experience. She suffers at seeing the crimes and the sins of humanity and especially their distance from this one and only fountain of salvation, weeping, shedding bitter tears at the sight of Jesus abandoned, insulted, crucified by his children, by those whom he honored and loved the most. The human nature of Jesus has become the victim, the holocaust of sacrifice. Every sense, every faculty, every part of herself must be united to Jesus Hostia and immolated on the same altar.
3. Jesus, perpetual victim of love, desiring without end to be consumed for the glory of his Father and for the salvation of the world. If the heavenly Father had so wished it, Jesus would have continued his passion until the end of the world. Jesus continues that passion of love in souls, his spouses. Through them he continues to suffer and weep, and in them he continues his crucifixion. An adorer must love all that causes her to be sacrificed with Jesus, continuing the crucified love of Jesus Christ. She should measure her love by the height and width of the cross, happy only when she has something to sacrifice for the love of her beloved, loving virtue only because it is a homage to God, a gift made to the love of Jesus, a grace for the salvation of sinners. Mary, victim of immolation on Calvary with Jesus, is also a victim of love in the Cenacle. What a devouring and consuming fire rises up and enlarges her heart! From the Cenacle, Mary was saving the world.
This is the way a daughter of Mary must live and die. She must forget herself to be concerned only with the service and glory of Jesus. She must leave to Jesus, her Good Master, the care of her temporal and eternal future, and be interested only in his glory and the reign of his love, in herself at first then in the entire world. She must love her mind only to know Jesus and submit to faith in his truth; her heart, because it can love Jesus in the Eucharist; her will, because she can serve Jesus in the Holy Eucharist; her body which can act and suffer for Jesus. She must consider her soul and her body, in a word, her entire humanity, as one who raises and nourishes a victim destined as a sacrifice to the Almighty.
Reading: Imitation, Book 4, chap. 8-9.
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9 Number 15 bis. 22
Point for reflection:
Here St. Peter Julian presents the sacrificial dimension of the Eucharist, the relation of Jesus to his Father. He invites us to unite ourselves to this function and to unite ourselves to Mary. How do you live this concretely in your daily life?
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The Eucharist, My Only Good10 No date
The time has come for me to decide whether I want to be a Servant of the Blessed Sacrament or to serve Jesus in another way. Once made, this choice and decision will be forever. I want only one thing, to be a humble and faithful servant of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, and to prove my sincerity. I choose him and take him henceforth for my only good.
This is why:
1. The adorable Eucharist will be my starting point, my rule for judging all creation. No object, science, art, person will be esteemed unless they have some connection of service, virtue, love with the divine Eucharist. What is outside of this will be indifferent to me. What is contrary to his service, his glory, or his love will be my bitter enemy.
2. The adorable Eucharist will be the center of my love and my life. I will love myself only in Jesus Eucharistic. I will see exercises of piety only as service of the most Holy Eucharist, virtues only as servants of the Eucharist, sanctity and the most sublime perfection only as natural and worthy conditions of the Eucharistic service of Jesus, life as a precious time of service to the adorable Eucharist, the greatest graces, the most excellent gifts of God as but the necessary means of serving Jesus Hostia. Hence, I will love the benefactor more than the gifts, the creator more than his creation, the savior more than my salvation, Jesus more than heaven or my happiness.
3. The adorable Eucharist will be my only pleasure on earth. I want no other feasts but his feasts, no songs but his, no joys but his, no satisfaction but his, no other Tabor but the Eucharistic Tabor. Consequently, all that relates to the service, the worship, the glory, the love of the divine Eucharist will be pleasing to me and make me happy. How could I desire and admire anything other than the marvel of marvels, the adorable Host? How could I be happy outside of this Eucharistic paradise, rejoice far from that tree of life, sing on the foreign banks of Babylon? (cf. Ps 136:4) Absolutely not! To be far from the divine Eucharist is to be in exile, and a painful exile; it is a suffering to be without the Eucharist, an agony, the sadness of Adam and Eve outside of paradise, it is a living death. Yet with the divine Eucharist, with this sun of love, all is beautiful, all is good. Poverty becomes royal, obedience divine, purity the wedding ring, the cross the scepter, mortification the royal mantle. At the Eucharistic Cenacle is the wealth of divine love, as the wealth of glory is in heaven. The Cenacle is my wealth, I want no other.
Reading: Imitation, Book 4, chap. 4:16.
tT O tT
Point for reflection:
This reflection and the three following make up a series which served as a vocation retreat. Here he proposes the Eucharist as the center of the life of a Servant of the Blessed Sacrament. How is that done? tTeE O eEtT
10 Number 160. L’Eucharistie, mon unique bien. 24
The Eucharist, My Rule of Life 11
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Jesus said: The one who feeds on me will have life because of me [will live for me] (cf. Jn 6:57) It is only right that the servant will work for the master who nourishes her, that the slave will work for the one who ransomed him, the creature for its God, the Christian for Jesus Christ. Here in the Eucharist, Jesus nourishes me, feeds me with his body, blood, soul, and divinity. I don’t change this divine nourishment into myself, as happens when I eat ordinary bread because the bread is made for me. This divine food changes me into itself. Jesus changes me into himself because Jesus does not exist for me. Rather, I exist for Jesus, who comes to me, as life comes from death, light exists in the midst of darkness, and the soul in the body.
Again Jesus said: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him (Jn 6:56). There is then union of life. Since Jesus is the master, it is only right that he does the commanding in me. Besides, since he is truth and holiness par excellence, it is perfectly right that I listen to him, follow him, and imitate him, as the servant follows the master. Jesus abides in me, establishes his residence, his tabernacle, and his throne within me. As a good servant, it is only proper for me to consult him in everything and to render account to him for everything. I refer to him the honor, praise, and glory of everything that is good and right in his house. Of course, I must not serve two masters (cf. Mt 6:24), but remain completely and forever at his service, as the angels are in heaven, and truly Eucharistic souls are on earth.
My life must be similar to the Eucharistic life of Jesus. Now, this Eucharistic life of Jesus has three characteristics:
1º It is risen. In the most Blessed Sacrament Jesus is not subject to the things of this world – he is dead to them. He no longer has a corporeal place here, no function, no civil status, no physical and human relationships. His human form is no longer visible, his gentle and unassuming voice is no longer heard. One can no longer kiss his feet as the penitent woman did (cf. Lk 7:38), nor touch his sacred clothing as did the sick (cf. Mt 14:36). Simply speaking, Jesus no longer has a natural life among us, as he had during his mortal life. In the same way, I must live this life of Jesus dying to this world. My name, my work, my talents – everything must be left in oblivion, as a natural fruit of death [dying to self].
2º The second characteristic of the Eucharistic life of Jesus is that it is hidden under the veil of mystery. No ray of his glory can be seen, no radiance of his virtues, no flame of his love, no beauty of his graces, no excellence of his gifts, no fervor of his prayer. All is veiled here, all is hidden to human senses, as in the Holy of Holies. This must be the lifestyle of a Servant of the Blessed Sacrament. The simple and ordinary modesty of Jesus and Mary must act as the veil that hides her and merges her with the crowds. Her exterior life of piety, her virtues and charity, everything in her must appear so natural, simple, and easy that no one will notice her sacrifices and the perfection towards which she is constantly striving.
3º The third characteristic of the Eucharistic life of Jesus is that it is completely interior. Jesus does not go out into the world. He remains always in the solitude and silence of the tabernacle. Jesus does not go searching for the lost sheep (cf. Mt 18:12); he waits for it, calling it to himself, and welcomes it with all the tenderness of his love. From the tabernacle Jesus governs, sanctifies and saves the world, without leaving his place of rest and without leaving his Calvary of expiation, his altar of sacrifice, and his throne of love.
Therefore, the place for a Servant of the Blessed Sacrament is to be around the Holy Eucharist, in the midst of the silence and solitude of the senses and of the world. At the foot of the throne of grace and
11 Number 161. L’Eucharistie, ma règle de vie 25 mercy she must seek the conversion of sinners, the sanctification of souls, the kingdom of God on earth; as the most Blessed Virgin was doing most effectively after Pentecost, as St. Theresa and the saints were doing winning nations and kingdoms for Jesus Christ. By adoration a Servant of the Blessed Sacrament must become all-powerful over the heart of God, obtaining for priests the graces of their apostolate, for men the graces of salvation, for society the reign of Jesus Christ, for the Church its victory. To succeed in doing this, however, a Servant of the Blessed Sacrament must be able to say in all truth as St. Paul said: I live, but it is no longer I who live, it is Jesus who lives in me; he is the principle, the grace and the goal of my life (cf. Gal 2:20).
Reading: Imitation, Book 4, chap. 13-14.
Points for reflection:
Father Eymard quotes sacred scripture four times in this text. Which quotation was most striking for you? How can you make the Eucharist the principle, the grace, and the goal of your life?
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The Spirit of Eucharistic Faith 12 Without date
St. Paul said: The just lives by faith. (Rm 1:17). The spirit of faith inspires all his actions… […] To have the spirit of Eucharistic faith means to find joy in the service of the God of the Eucharist, to search for any occasion that gives honor and glory to Jesus Eucharistic. To live the Eucharistic spirit means, then, to make the Holy Eucharist the loving thought of our mind, the royal love of our heart, and the supreme good of our will.
1° The Eucharist, the loving thought of our mind. – This means to allow this loving thought to become natural to us, so that it comes to us effortlessly, simply. Briefly, it becomes habitual and universal, drawing the idea of Eucharist out of everything, making it like the spiritual bouquet of one’s soul. One can easily reach the point of having this habitual thought of the Holy Eucharist, on condition that we make it the center of our life for a week or two, doubling our acts of desire. How happy and free is the soul that thinks in union with Jesus Eucharistic! Such a one becomes a perpetual adorer, always in the rays of this sun of love, with a mind that lives in Jesus Eucharistic.
2° The Eucharist, the royal love of our heart. – Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be (cf. Mt 6:21); that is, all its joys, its desires, and its happiness. The movement of the heart is ever active, like the flame in a well-nourished hearth. The Eucharistic movement of the heart follows its desires, its heartbeat. Jesus Eucharistic becomes not only its joy, but the ardent and powerful passion of its desires, searching for it like Magdelene (cf. Jn 20:13-15) and like the spouse in the Song of Songs (cf. Sgs 3:1-4), sobbing at the separation from the one it loves, longing for him… He seems to be everywhere and she keeps asking everyone about him… And when she finds him, her heart melts at the sound of his voice… She faints with love, and comes alive only to search for him even more eagerly.
3° The Eucharist, the supreme good of our will. – All the good things of this world, all its pleasures and relationships have little value for a soul that has a Eucharistic spirit of faith. […] If she welcomes and speaks with others, it must be for the service or love of the Holy Eucharist. Otherwise, she is like […] a stranger and ill at ease. This is because her only treasure is the Eucharist; her unique pleasure is the Eucharist. It is her element, her grace, and her life. […]
Points for reflection: 1. “Make our entire life a Eucharist.” This phrase from our Rule of Life expresses some of the teaching found in this fragmented conference, and opens horizons to other aspects of the Eucharist. Can you name a few? 2. Here St. Peter Julian insists on the total gift of our person awakened by a deep faith. What transformations does our Eucharistic faith bring to our daily life?
tTeE O eEtT
12 Number 20. Esprit de foi eucharistique.
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The Qualities of Eucharistic Service 13 Without date
How shall I serve Jesus in his loveable sacrament? With all my mind, with all my heart, with all my will, and with all my strength. (Mt? Mk 12:29)
1º With all my mind. The Holy Eucharist will be my dominant thought; his better service will be my ambition; his perpetual service will be my most glorious bond with him. I will be indifferent to whatever cannot be related to the service of the adorable Eucharist, because it is not my task, not my duty as a servant. I will consider as an exercise of Eucharistic service all that obedience requires, all that community life demands, and all that fraternal charity entails and desires. I no longer want any study or learning, except the study and learning of Jesus Eucharistic. The Holy Eucharist becomes my unique book, my habitual meditation, and my heavenly contemplation.
I must come to the point of thinking as easily and naturally about the Holy Eucharist as I do about myself, as about what I love naturally, as about what I strongly desire. The Holy Eucharist will then be for me the habitual exercise of the presence of God, the sun on my journey, my truth and all truth.
2º I will serve Jesus Eucharistic with all my heart. His service will be the goal of all my desires, all my pleasures, all my joys, and all my hopes. Jesus said: Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be (Mt 6:21). Yes, I want no other good than the Eucharist, no other glory, no other esteem, no other affection than that of Jesus Eucharistic. All I desire is that he love me; all I want is to love him uniquely and perfectly. It matters little to me if the world forgets me, despises me, persecutes me, providing I am with Jesus Eucharistic. Even if poverty strips me of everything, even if sickness crucifies me, the devil torments me, heaven tests me and seems to abandon me, I will not complain or worry. I will praise Jesus, my Host of love, and unite myself ever more closely to him. Everything may be taken away from me, except Jesus.
Indeed! As long as I can enter his church, occupy a small corner in his Cenacle, see the sacred Host on its throne, to adore, to love and to serve it – for me this is a kingdom and paradise itself. Everything that I have to do, to give, and to suffer to obtain this grace appears to me as small as a grain of sand, so great a favor for so little a price to receive such a gift. I will love Jesus uniquely, I will tell my joys and sufferings only to him, I will confide my desires and Eucharistic ambitions only to him, I will suffer only for him, and I want to live and die only for him; like the candle burning in front of him, being consumed in silence, but with a flame of love, to the glory of the hidden God.
3º I will serve Jesus with all my will. Without choosing, I will dispose myself to filial obedience in everything, without reservation. Besides, I will love all that obedience will say or show me, without preference other than that of humility, mortification, and the gentleness of Jesus. My entire life will be an adoration, but the desired moment, the royal and holy hour of adoration will be the mobilizing force, the motivation, the goal of all my desires, of all my joys, the time of the spouse’s arrival, the hour of the Passover of Jesus, the hour of audience with his love. Like a thirsty deer, I will hasten to the spring of living water (cf. Ps 41:2). Like an angel summoned by God, I will hasten to his throne; like a child at the birthday of its father, I will bring a bouquet of love to my God.
4º I will serve Jesus Eucharistic with all my strength. I will consecrate my senses to him, to honor him with respect and modesty, and to serve him in fraternal charity. I will consecrate to him my attire, as a humble and pure uniform for his service; my room, that it may stand out for its order and modesty, like a room in Nazareth and like the poverty and cleanliness of a room of His. I will consecrate my health to him, caring for it in order to serve him, sacrificing it willingly drop by drop, like a royal victim of love, consuming it joyfully in his service, like the lamp that burns before his tabernacle. As long as my body can bear another wound, an additional suffering for Jesus, as long as
13 Number 162. Qualités du service eucharistique . 28 its slow and hidden sacrifice can endure, I will love it more than death, even more than the happiness of heaven, I will love it for the greater glory of Jesus, for his Eucharistic reign.
Reading: Imitation, Book 4, chapter 11
Point for reflection:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your mind, with all your heart, with all your will, and with all your strength”. St. Peter Julian applies this text to our Eucharistic vocation. What challenges you the most?
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Mary, My Mother 14 Without date
1. My vocation is beautiful, the most beautiful of all vocations since it attaches and binds me forever to the service of the adorable person of Jesus Christ in his divine Sacrament. It is a privileged vocation because it gives me the right to go directly to his divine person without mediator or intercessor. It is great and sublime, because I share the function of angels at the service of Jesus and the most Blessed Virgin, if I dare say so. However, such a divine vocation requires special qualities, real virtues, and at least an ordinary purity, yet I have nothing, and feel powerless. On the contrary, I have so may defects and bad habits, so much self-love. I lack humility, gentleness, and a spirit of mortification. I don’t know how to pray nor how to meditate. I have only an old routine of piety, with a few week ideas of miserly and immature virtues.
How sad! O my God, you should have at your service all that is most noble, most perfect, most holy. How could you have chosen me – weak and poor, of little worth! I who have so many defects and am so wounded by my sins? Like a leprosy, the old Adam still lives in me! How could I dare accept this grace, to live with the angels, to be in the same house as your divine mother, to remain in your sacred presence and company!
O Mary, my heavenly queen and divine mother, I cannot accept this honor, receive this grace, and become a humble servant of Jesus, unless you agree to form me, to help me grow, to clothe me with your spirit, your virtues, your merits, unless you take me as your daughter, you who are the queen and mother of the servants of Jesus, you who live for Jesus alone, you who love us only in Jesus and for Jesus. Therefore, I place into your hands, good Mother, the grace and formation of my vocation. I give myself to you; give me to Jesus. Given and formed by you, good Mother, Jesus, my dear Master, will willingly receive me and love me in you.
2. The duties of my vocation are great and divine. My life is to be spent in adoration, at the foot of the throne of divine love, doing there what the angels and saints do and will do eternally in heaven – praising his infinite goodness, blessing his great mercy, continually thanking his love, dedicating myself to his glory, immolating myself for sinners, consuming myself for the growth of his kingdom on earth. I must live always with Jesus in the Sacred Host, like the most Blessed Virgin in Nazareth and in the Cenacle, like the saints in glory. I am not to leave in order to serve and follow others. My mission is that of the contemplative Mary Magdalene, with the divine queen of the apostles, praying at the foot of the tabernacle, with St. Catherine of Sienna and St. Theresa, working for the conversion of the world at the foot of the God of the Eucharist.
3. In a very special way, I must honor the interior and hidden life of Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament. I also will be unknown, even by pious and holy people, forgotten by my own family, scorned by the world, dead to everything, in order to live more freely and purely with Jesus in God.
However, how could I fulfill such sublime duties alone? How would I even dare to approach Jesus and serve him? All alone, I would be ashamed of myself. But, my good Mother, since you are willing to become my teacher, you will allow me to adore Jesus with you, to love and bless him with your love and your praises, to pray with your prayers, to serve him with your hands, to love him with your heart, to glorify him with your holiness. Then, I will be like your little servant, your disciple, or better, your child, humbly imitating you in the service of Jesus. I will tell you my faults simply and naively, good Mother. I will speak of my ignorance, my limited knowledge, my little successes. I will entrust to you the modest flowers of virtues that I may have gathered, and you will offer it all to Jesus, and myself along with you. Only on this condition, do I hope to become a faithful Servant of the
14 Number 164 (163?). Clôture de la retraite. Marie, ma mere. [End of the retreat… ] 30
Most Blessed Sacrament. Here I am, therefore, my God, here is your humble and poor servant. Let it be done to me according to your merciful goodness and your grace of love!
Point for reflection:
This meditation on Mary, our mother, is the last instruction of a retreat on the discernment of vocation. It consists in an act of consecration to Mary to obtain the graces necessary for a Eucharistic life. Take time to pray over it in silence.
tTeE O eEtT
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The Life of Love 15 Paris, Monday, November 5, 1860
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will have their fill (Mt 5:6). This is not said in today’s world, where these people are called unfortunate. If you are hungry, you must eat. If you are thirsty, you must drink. Our Lord Jesus Christ considered happiness to consist in satisfying hunger and thirst. In heaven, the saints always live of the Good Lord; they never exhaust him. Their hunger and thirst are always satisfied, and yet they always desire more. There is something similar to this on earth, but since we are exposed to so many temptations and weaknesses, we easily lose our way.
Well! My Sisters, let us meditate on this, on the life of love. […] When I ask you, Are you satisfied? You tell me, No, I’m not satisfied with my meditations, I’m not recollected. We must give something from our abundance, to light and maintain a brighter fire. Be aware of this, nature is inclined to action, to penances, to the practice of virtues. But be careful, this will not bring you happiness. The life of love consists in eating Jesus Christ. This is my nourishment, my life, what does nourishment do? It sustains our natural faculties, develops our organs. If it isn’t good, it doesn’t support us very long. If it’s bad, it makes us sick. If food is good, exercise will not tire us, because the food sustains us. It’s the same with the spiritual life; you must be well nourished. Then you will be sufficiently strong to persevere in doing acts of penance. Virtues would simply be the exercise of zeal, the gift of your superabundance because you will be well fed.
The Good Lord, who knows our weaknesses, tells us in the holy bible: Come, my friends –eat, drink the wine I have prepared for you, become intoxicated, my dear Ones (cf. Pr 9:5). You see, God values the life of the soul, only friends are invited; strangers are not invited to one’s table. Come, friends, eat my bread. What is this bread? The Eucharist is a meal: so then we are satisfied and happy. In eating Jesus, we have the truth, heaven and earth. He is everything. Who eats me, he says, will have eternal life, this life which will never die (cf. Jn 6:51). Drink, my friends, the blood of our Lord. We must be hungry and thirsty to eat and drink – hungry and thirsty for our Lord, for his truth, his virtues, his entire being, to be one with him, desire his reign. This is hunger for our Lord. Without this hunger, we cannot make progress. We can never be satisfied with bad food, with emptiness. Eat, become intoxicated. What does it mean to become intoxicated? It means to drink more than we should, to go to excess, to leave one’s natural state. In the spiritual order, it is the passion of love. Those who don’t arrive at the passion of love are still on the way, not yet happy. We must reach that state: Deus cordis mei – You are the God of my heart (Ps 72:26), says the prophet. To be the God of our heart, he must be our only king, our only treasure.
Notice how Jesus has really put life into the Eucharist. He says: Take. He does not give, he offers. It is up to us to accept this gift out of genuine desire. Drink. See how the fulfillment of the promise is in the same terms, May they all eat and drink, and not merely on rare occasions. The soul that’s not properly nourished becomes weak. We eat the divine Eucharist once in the morning; we should eat it all day long by spiritual Communion, expressing our desire and gratitude for the gift. We should live from our Communion, since a soul that lives from Communion is happy. Why do we go about seeking consolations? Because we have not eaten Jesus Christ in spiritual Communions, we become beggars. Why are we sad? Because we seek something other than our Lord, other than his life-giving love. We become discouraged, as a child starts crying when it no longer sees its mother. We would like to keep our own supply, saying: this is fine, not bad at all! We are tempted to eat our own bread, not God’s. Anyone who is not immersed into the Eucharistic life of love cannot be happy. Such a person is always dissatisfied. Having nothing, the soul asks help from the angels and saints; it goes begging.
15 Number 274. Il ne faut pas vivre dans vos péchés, dans les vertus. Vie d’amour [We must not live in our sins, in our virtues. The Life of Love] 32
My good Sisters, take care to live in the love of Jesus Christ. You must receive Jesus Christ, his truth, his holiness, all that he has. All that you need at this moment lies in him. If a flower does not open, you will not see what it is; if you don’t open a fruit, you will never taste it. Jesus Christ is complete goodness, complete truth, and complete love. You should begin by the virtues you need at the moment. You must be in union with Jesus Christ: Whoever eats me, he says, will live. (cf. Jn 6:57). Life is a communion with him. Fill your heart with great yearnings for his love. If you seek him at Nazareth, or Calvary, he is no longer there; you would simply be a pilgrim [seeking] him.
Whenever I see sadness on your faces, I know you have strayed from the fold, looking elsewhere for mere crumbs. Keep in mind that no one weeps at a wedding feast. You should always be joyful. The Holy Spirit says that the soul which loves shares in a continual feast (cf. Pr 15:15). There is always the tendency to center on the “me”, saying: I want to live. Work diligently to destroy this “me”. With a little more awareness, you will easily see when you go astray. Jesus Christ is always the same, he has all the virtues; do not leave him. If you don’t enter into him, who will give you what you need? Jesus Christ didn’t put his body into the mouths of the apostles. It must be taken. Come, my friends (cf. Pr 9:55), it is said in the Book of Wisdom, and then: Enter into the joy of your Lord (cf. Mt 25:21,23)
What is this joy? It is the reign of God in you. Meditate well on this. For you, life is Jesus Christ; remain in him. Live from him. Don’t remain in your sins, your virtues, the charity of your neighbor. These things are only exercises; they are not a goal.
You may ask, When will I know that I live of our Lord? When in need you go quickly to tell him. When in temptation, the fear of displeasing him will be your first reaction. His wish will be your first desire, not the second. Then he will live in you. But we go to him only after great battles; scouring the world and our self-love, but he’s not there. He is present only by his grace, and he wants to enter in. If he’s already in you, he’s not there as if on a throne; you must come to that. You understand that the devil must not be very happy; he tempts you, it is his malicious right. You understand that our nature will not abdicate its right, it is full of self-love. Yet a will given to the Good Lord will say: nature may have what it needs and no more. I will not listen to the devil. Jesus Christ will live and reign in me, what is his will? That I live of him. That is my whole answer and my whole thought.
Cf. “The Eucharistic Passion, Lent”, February 19, 1861: Booklet 1 B Feasts and Seasons
Point for reflection:
By Holy Communion, our spiritual hunger is transformed into joy. The reign of God lives in us and we are introduced to the way that leads to union with God. How can we promote the development of this grace?
tTeE O eEtT
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Holy Communion, Life, Nourishment, Strength and Perfection 16
Angers, Tuesday, October 24, 1865
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly (cf. Jn. 10:10). My Sisters, these are our Lord’s words, defining his entire mission. […] I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly, that is, a greater holiness and happiness.
What then is this life? This does not refer to this passing temporal life with this suffering. This life is the true life of our Lord Jesus Christ. As he himself tells us, I am the life (cf. Jn. 14:6), since he has come to give us this life. Through what means does he share it with us? The first means is through a life of faith; the second is through the Eucharistic life. The first is intuitive faith, a practical faith and the faith of love. I will not speak about this, since it is only the first step. The life of simple faith is the Christian life; our Lord never placed life in this, but in the Eucharistic life. God had said in the old law: The one who is righteous by faith will live (Hab 2:4; Gal 3:11), but our Lord said: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you (cf. Jn 6:53). Until then, it was only a guide, an angel who stops at the threshold, but the Eucharist is the beginning of life. Let us examine this life carefully.
Life consists of three elements, the first of which is freedom from illness. One who is constantly weary and exhausted can hardly be called healthy. Such a one is to be pitied as a sick person, having no strength. Anyone who is constantly frail is in a morbid state leading toward death, unless God provides a cure. One must be in good health, able to work and take food, and in control of his physical state.
Only the Eucharist can provide this healthy state. The other sacraments do not feed life. Baptism confers life but does not nourish it, the person herself must preserve that life. It is the same for Confirmation which confers the Holy Spirit but does not in fact confirm anyone in grace, the person herself must maintain the grace of Confirmation. While Penance is a great help and gives grace, it cannot preserve and nourish that grace. The Eucharist has no need of the other sacraments to preserve and nourish grace, since it is life itself. Our Lord seems to say, I have given you not merely a stream but the spring itself, a hearth that I kindled unto eternal life, a flame that will never be extinguished because I myself have lit it (cf. Lk 12:49).
The Eucharist is not meant for recuperation like the other sacraments; rather it is the power, the strength of life. But [you will say] the sacrament of Penance gives life; an adult who is baptized is born again. This is true, but as the liturgy says, the Holy Eucharist must follow immediately after Baptism. The Eucharist gives strength to children and to the sick, this is the nourishment that gives us the strength to preserve grace for a while, it is the Eucharist that will give us life. A soul that has not received Communion may work and say all kinds of prayers, yet is not satisfied. Why? The fact is she became weary while working.
Our Lord has reserved sweetness and strength to Communion. At other times he gives himself through angels. Communion is like a good meal. When someone who has worked hard eats a hearty meal, his eyes take on new brightness and he is now fully revived. Communion restores courage to the soul. I’m not saying that the other sacraments leave us wearied. Sometimes, confession seems to wear us down, as we need to forget our sins. While confession and sins bring on tension, Communion is a time to eat, to be seated at the table of God: Taste and see how good the Lord is (cf. Ps 33: 9), says the psalmist. People eat to nourish and increase their strength. The saying goes, “Life is what you eat”. That’s why people who strive for Christian perfection without Communion are trying to fly without wings. After all, one arrives at perfection only through our Lord.
16 Number 546. La sainte communion, vie, aliment, force et perfection.
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You can readily practice the negative virtues, like penance and mortification. This is very good, but one cannot unite oneself to an abstraction. It is impossible to be united with our Lord without Communion, to remain always in the state of grace without Communion. If we don’t receive Communion, we become like a plant that will not flower, we cannot bear the fruits of eternal life. There may be roots and vigorous sap, but there is no life.
Do we want to make a liar of our Lord who said: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you (cf. Jn 6:53)? We must tear out this page from the gospel if Communion is no longer our daily bread. My dear Sisters, it is so true that our Lord has placed in Communion the strength of virtue, that if we abandon our regular communions for which we have permission, then our strength diminishes. The sun hides itself, its light becomes weak.
One who does not receive Communion becomes weak. Such a person becomes apathetic, a condition that leads to death. Some may object that the Church requires Communion only once a year, yet the Church hopes for more. If she made frequent Communion obligatory, she would be condemning half of her children. She does desire it, however. Our Lord did not force his apostles to follow him; he left them free to choose. – What about those who don’t receive Communion? – I am not concerned if they continue to progress. Can you remain in the state of grace with one Communion a year? Then you have what you need, and that is sufficient for you. But when people stay away from Communion, they tell me that their holiness fades away.
As for us priests and you religious sisters, if we were not given Communion, the expectations upon us would be impossible. Therefore, the Church desires it. In a regular lay life, in the religious life, if you want to be more powerful in prayer, arm yourselves with our Lord. Sadly, many do not want to understand this; understanding will come only when too late. Our Lord places himself at our disposal in order to share his life, his graces, but people do not live with their royal king. There is laziness in this.
Anyone who has attained a routine piety may experience a certain natural comfort by omitting to receive Communion. Without admitting it, when one omits to take Communion, there is no need to thank our Lord, to humble oneself and openly acknowledge one’s poverty. This is like students who omit their homework. A worldly person prefers to avoid the sword of sacrifice. Yet other practices of piety will remain. One will not lie down before reciting the rosary, for sleep would not come. Why then would one not hesitate to put aside Communion? It may be that such a good visit would require an act of thanksgiving. One can never welcome a king without expressing gratitude. Without it one does not feel obligated. Sadly, my Sisters, self-love enters even into this deprivation.
How is Communion a spiritual life? It is life for the spirit more than for activity. I wish I could help you understand this clearly. In Communion, our Lord educates us by infusing into us his spirit of holiness and prayer. Actually, his spirit is everything, it is he himself.
Whoever receives Communion benefits more from this Christian and religious Communion than from all the efforts she might make during a whole year, because she would have to work on the details of the virtues. Were she obliged to take all the virtues one by one, she would need a thousand years to finish them all. By ourselves, we progress only gradually to reach heaven – a long process. Through Communion, our Lord himself fills us with his grace and perfection. We cannot take in the whole of him, since our hearts are too small, but the seed is sown, this spirit is sown for our supernatural well- being. Body and soul become the property of our Lord. It is like a crystal in the sun; placed squarely in sunlight, it has all perfections. Remove it from the sunlight, a thousand years will pass before it becomes a lens. Although we are not perfect, we will reach perfection only through Communion.
Usually, our Lord makes us work more after Communion than before, don’t you know that a Christian soul will enjoy the benefit of Communion only later. When our Lord is within us he lets us work with feelings of poverty and humility, gathering up [a little strength] at his feet, so that he will be the goal of it all. When he withdraws, only his soul does so, while his spirit remains. His souls leaves us like honey melting in the rays of the sun. The master wants to teach us the following: Why do you seek for joy? That is why those who receive Communion only once a year seem happier. Since our
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Lord has them only once, he wants to leave them with feelings that they will remember: I was so happy! But this is not yet a grace of holiness, since they are finding such enjoyment in it. This is why they seem happier than do his spouses and faithful friends.
Consider the parable of the prodigal son. The older son complained because he merely had the joy of obedience. As he complained, his father told him, We must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was lost and has been found (cf. Lk 15:32). Therefore, you must not judge your piety by means of your Communions; you will not see it, but we will. As we multiply Communions, they seem to be more difficult and the soul becomes upset. – I was well prepared; I expected to make a good Communion! In spite of a good preparation, I became, as the prophet said, like a brute beast before God (cf. Ps 72:22). I then began to examine if I had sinned, if I had been the cause, and I became afraid. – Poor soul! That’s not what you should have done. You should have said: Good Master, you want me to work, to struggle with virtues. I’m pleased simply to be with you. Allow him to cut and wound. This is working with our Lord. Notice what happens: when there has been some suffering in Holy Communion, the evening will find us wonderfully at peace, if not, our Lord is continuing his work.
My Sisters, you should rather be suspicious of a Communion full of delights. Don’t you think the martyrs suffered before going into combat? They kept motivating themselves in the struggle. You know very well that you must motivate yourselves in times of work and fatigue. You might say: it was my fault. Our Lord treated you as a ten-year-old child. You might say: formerly I was better. But, are you sure? You are fully aware that when one cuts a branch to graft its sap with a foreign sap, the tree would cry if it could – it really suffers. It’s the same with a diseased organ that is cut away, or if a foreign body is taken from a bleeding wound. Our Lord is working in our Communions, sometimes due to our own fault, he works in grace and mercy. Communion is the life of grace, that is life and mercy.
Where then is happiness? The happiness of the body consists in feverish and exasperating sensations that make men like animals; the stronger they are, the weaker man becomes. It’s like a fireplace that burns everything given to it. Spiritual delights are not like that, however. The body may suffer, while the soul is completely uplifted. What does happiness consist in? It is a deep experience of union with our Lord. One who goes to receive Communion uniquely to be united with him becomes aware of a true happiness. There flows a peace that cannot be described. One would like to do something great to express one’s gratitude. O God, yes, there’s a happiness, a love that suffers more than it rejoices, followed by the peace of Communion that nothing can replace.
Observe a soul that experiences the happiness of Communion. You cannot console her by any religious means, prayer or reading. Nothing works. How can you ever hope to console her, once she has the joy of living in Jesus Christ? How can you make her happy with the bread of travelers, when she has been feasting on the living bread, the bread of angels? In the past our Lord wanted her to live on desires and hopes, but nothing can replace Communion, the bread of Asher (cf. Gn 49:20), the bread of kings, the feast of angels – our Lord himself dwells in us and we in him.
People claim that when there is deep empathy there is perfect union. They will exclaim: How happy this person must be! While this is true, we have reached a union with our Lord, who is beauty, goodness, and perfection. While we are on earth this union is little more than a betrothal; it is a union that will continue unto eternal life. We can be sure that it will always keep on growing. It is important, then, that one’s heart be wounded, and wounded by the Eucharist. Everyone has a passion; without that, one would already be dead. If this passion is divine, this is fullness of life. One may at times wonder why the Good Lord allows one to suffer a lot. Poor soul! If you did not suffer, how could you prove your love for him? Besides, God loves you.
Is it enough to offer a prayer? Is it enough to pray for a poor person or for a friend with whom we share everything? Personal suffering is far more meaningful. During the incarnation or his years at Nazareth, our Lord did not yet claim to love us; even during his public ministry he did not make that claim, since he had not yet suffered. The daily weariness of his evangelical work was not yet enough. However, when it came time for him to die, his love for souls revealed itself – I will give my life for
36 you. Just so for us, since we do not always have suffering [to offer], our Lord allows us to experience Communion as a Calvary of humiliation and poverty. For this reason, my Sisters, do not esteem your Communion by the joys you feel but rather by sacrifices.
How was our Lord bound to the cross? By three nails, so let suffering do the same for us. Did you notice that before communion, the priest tells you: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and that he had to die to become living bread? Could the grain of wheat become the living bread if it did not die? First, it has to pass through fire. You cannot call yourself the Lamb of God, but you can call yourself the nourishment of God. To do this, you must become a host; to become a host, you must die and rise. That is the grace that I wish for you.
Points for reflection:
1. The Eucharist is a source of life shared through faith. It nourishes the life received in baptism and confirmation. At the same time, the Eucharist calls us and holds us in the truth. It is an active grace of holiness in us. Can you identify concretely God’s action in your heart?
2. In this conference Father Eymard discusses the feelings of consolation and desolation that can be present in our Communions. What do you remember? What insight do you find here?
tTeE O eEtT
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Eucharistic Union 17 Angers, Tuesday, August 28, 1866
Non relinquam vos orphanos, sed veniam ad vos – I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you (Jn 14:18).
My very dear Daughters, the goodness of God and the love of our Lord, his grace and the wonders he has made in creation, as well as those he created since the beginning of the world, continue to increase. Our Lord acts like a father who finds ways in his advancing years to give ever more to his children. He always proceeds gradually, urging us forward by hope and love. This is why St. John says that he loved his own in a special way unto the end (cf. Jn. 13:1), and for that very reason he gathers all his gifts into a single one. Since our Lord’s generosity has to be ever diverse, giving according to the needs of the times and the final days which are coming, he has to find a way not to exhaust but to expand his goodness.
The Holy Eucharist became the grace of graces, the gift of gifts. I will even say: our Lord loves us more today than he did a hundred years ago. Don’t you see how his great love and goodness passed through many generations constantly multiplying its efforts to reach all the way down to us? Let us bless our Lord for giving us life at a time when exposition of the Blessed Sacrament has greatly increased, and for all the graces that result from it. Never has our Lord been more greatly honored; and never has he been more greatly offended. No, he is not loved; let us deplore the ingratitude of the world.
The Holy Eucharist is a consolation for our love; even more, it develops and perfects it. Listen well to this primary goal: if our Lord had not found this secret, if he had not instituted the Eucharist, we would be very unfortunate. We might complain that our Lord has now diminished and lessened his gifts and closed his heart, that his love ended in the Cenacle and doesn’t come down to us. If our Lord had not instituted the Holy Eucharist, we could doubt that he loves us personally. We would have his gifts, Calvary, etc. certainly, but there would be no love, only mercy. For love, there must be presence.
We would be able to say: I know very well that you are good, that you are merciful towards me, and that you love me from heaven, but with the Eucharist I know very well that our Lord loves me. I mean not just to say that he loves us, but that he loves me, for Communion makes it very personal. I assist at Mass and can say, this is mine, since I had it offered, the priest said this Mass in my name by extending his love, our Lord loses nothing; in his goodness and mercy, he has now found the secret of giving himself to each person. Therefore, I am very sure that he loves me; he is there for me in a unique way. If he had not loved us to this extent, he would not be there, he is present uniquely for the person he loves with an enduring love.
This is so true that if the Christian didn’t have the Eucharist he could say: God no longer loves me. Yes, the cross is there, but Jesus Christ is no longer on it. – Thank God! Do you want to crucify him till the end of the world? Look at the people who no longer come to Mass; they are worse than pagans. They deleted him from their memory, chased him from their hearts, no longer love him. Don’t you see that there is no love? My very dear Friends, when have you shown your love for our Lord? When you received Communion. When we fail to love him, whenever we neglect Communion or do not approach the altar, our inner light diminishes. I know that there are other means, that the cross can nourish our love; but experience proves that when our Lord is not present in one’s heart, there is no love.
Our Lord was expressed basic truth when he said: Non relinquam vos orphanos, sed veniam ad vos – I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you (Jn 14 :18). What happens to a child when it loses father and mother? It becomes an orphan who loves no one and is loved by no one. We would be orphaned
17 Number 581. L’union eucharistique. Aux Servantes et au public. [To the Servants and to the public.]
38 from God! Notice that even with the Holy Eucharist our Lord has all the trouble in the world to preserve our poor hearts, because we are afraid of giving ourselves to him; but the thought that he gave himself to me personally consoles my love.
How would you recognize our Lord’s love if he were not in the Eucharist? You would love him only half-heartedly. That’s why he is present in the holy sacrament of the altar. What would happen to love? As God, our Lord is everywhere; therefore, you would love him as God and not as man. You would relate to him as he was 18 centuries ago, and look for him only in heaven. If our Lord were not present as God and as man, our love would not be complete. Our body would not feel united with his body, our soul would not be united with his soul. We would belong to him only by desire, and our union with him would be imperfect. Then, would divinity offer our homage to his humanity? Do you think this would be proper? How could you do otherwise? How would God relate to men? You would lower our Lord’s dignity.
What did our Lord do to complete his love? He instituted the Eucharist where he unites himself to all that we are, and where we love him because he is all ours. If our Lord were not in the sacrament of the altar, I ask you, how would you adore him? As God, he lives in heaven and you are not there. What would be lacking in your worship? His presence. Who even thinks about our Lord when the sacrifice of the Mass and the real presence are taken away? If you go to pagan and schismatic countries where people do not want to adore him, it is like going back to the time of the flood. He has nowhere to lay his head.
Since Jesus is present, his service is complete, we adore him as God with the perfect homage of our entire being and we adore him as man. Perfect worship establishes love. Is that all? Our hearts love, our bodies too, our senses love as do our eyes. That is why every part of our being must find our Lord in order to become unified and be in natural harmony with him. That is what happens in the Eucharist.
My Friends, one more point. Our Lord was greatly offended, especially as man. His divinity could not be crucified, for it was beyond our grasp. He was crucified as man. How many ungrateful and guilty Christians there are! How many sacrileges still affect our Lord! He has a right to receive reparation. But if the Eucharist is removed, if he is no longer present here, how will you make reparation? How will you make reparation to his human soul when it is not present? – I will make amends to his divinity. – You don’t find there the totality of who he is. You can make reparation to his divine nature, but how will you do so to a human nature that was offended? His body, blood, and soul, all this is Jesus Christ. With the Eucharist, I can offer him homage, satisfy my faith, and even my zeal for his glory. How good God is!
Why don’t we think of him often enough? My Friends, the major problem is that we do not live sufficiently with our Lord, we don’t live in him and for him. I will receive Communion in order to have the strength to carry out my duties of state, to obtain a temporal favor. You are doing very well; this is your right and your duty. But must you stop there? You would be turning our Lord into heaven’s door-keeper, a doctor who binds your wounds. You are beggars before God, before our Lord. But shouldn’t you be children of love? Shouldn’t we adore him for himself, do something for him? I’m speaking in general, since I don’t have the honor of knowing your souls. Very few make their home in our Lord: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him (Jn. 6:56), says our Lord. If he remains in us, he will not be idle. He will remove our weaknesses, so that we can be one with him.
Devout people hardly understand that they must receive our Lord to remain in him, to make him their center. They think of him for half an hour at Mass! During the day, may I ask, although you are Christians, do you think about him? Perhaps you are very careful to offer your actions, but I cannot say that this comes to you as easily as breathing, love doesn’t go that far. Shouldn’t we think of him? My Friends, the sign of love is in our thoughts. Do you think of him even twice a day? That’s a good start, but shouldn’t we improve? God’s words to Abraham are: Walk in my presence and be blameless (Gn. 17:1). Whoever remains in our Lord possesses in him the Father and the Holy Spirit.
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Oh! We don’t really love him. No doubt, there are a few small sacrifices to be done, a few Calvaries, a few crowns of thorns, yes, but the accompanying prayer is always: Lord, have mercy on us, like the apostles during the storm (cf. Mt 8:25). My Friends, our Lord is there, why don’t we call on him? We do not love him. A poor person thinks immediately of his benefactor who is so good and generous. No one need advise him to see his friend. This is spontaneous love. How is it that we never think of our Lord? We think of mortal sins, and our conscience is afraid of him. Why is this happening? We do not have a clear enough idea of his goodness and love. Our response would be to give ourselves entirely to him. It is true that our Lord never complains, but we for our part must not be satisfied with the way we act. As long as a person doesn’t think naturally and spontaneously of our Lord, as long as she needs to be drawn or reminded of him, how sad! We are still half-pagan.
In this city of Angers, who has received more signs of love, more graces than you? No one! O God, is it possible! Do we need pagans to come and reveal this? My Friends, pray a little more to our Lord, offer him the tribute of all you are, the homage of your sufferings, of what you love, of your desires, of everything that pleases you, of your body, of everything. When a poor person uses the money he received to bring a bouquet of flowers, how wonderful that is. I can see that you are generous, you love giving to our Lord. Here he is no longer the king of the poor. Give whatever pleases you, give to his heart.
Listen, my very dear Friends, we are surely not very rational toward our Lord. […] Must we go to our Lord only when everyone has rejected us? I come to you. And our Lord receives us. He is so good and gracious; he would take us from the edge of hell, yet we go to him only with our wounds and miseries. What should you offer him? Your pleasures, your joys, whatever your heart loves. Bring him also a few flowers of virtues; after all, the altar is not always a Calvary.
Our Lord is on his throne. Only a few love him for himself; let us please him by doing so. Why can’t you offer him the sacrifice of your joys? Why not bring to him this beautiful flower? Even if you are not suffering, true love must keep growing. We love our parents and family to that extent; can’t we love our Lord to the same degree? We think of our Lord only as a beggar thinks of his benefactor, when he’s hungry. Let us be generous and creative, finding something to offer him.
Where do you think you can find the purest gift? Where the gift is truly Eucharistic. Yet the gift is always limited. One may imagine doing homage by offering something that one likes; in suffering one cannot even say that all is well. All is privation when there is no love, only self-trust. Even a religious may imagine, Lord, I could be happier with a position of importance in the world. What kind of love is that?
Then, not everyone is called. However, in your own living situation can you not find some flowers to give? Be grateful to our Lord for being here. Were we not here, he would not be in the Eucharist. Offer him then the homage of anything that you can give him, make a gift to his body, to his divinity. Why is he surrounded by worship, flowers and candles? It pleases him. You must be aware that an ordinary citizen is not allowed to offer homage to a sovereign. It is of course forbidden to offer a gift to the emperor, without first acquiring his permission, because the emperor would have to offer something in return. One may not even make a gift to the Holy Father for the same reason; he would be bound to make return gifts to the whole world. Our Lord, however, accepts any gift, because in return he offers infinite favors. When poor persons offer a simple bouquet in homage, their poverty receives greater honor than the recipient of the gift.
Yes, my Friends, the Eucharist is a great joy! Without it, we would die tomorrow. If we were without sin or possessed an ardent love we could say: My God, you can leave me, but he has commanded us to long for heaven where there is perfect love. This is what I wish for you.
Point for reflection: This conference was given in the chapel of Angers to both lay people and religious alike. St. Peter Julian was challenging his flock to a spontaneous love for our Lord. Our Lord begins by increasing our love and desire for him. In the Eucharist his love becomes personal. In return, he is looking for union, love, and spontaneous thought. How can we respond to his love?
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Bread. Communion. We Must Reflect 18
Angers, Sunday, March 22, 1868
My good Daughters, we will not sing the Te Deum at the closing of the retreat – nothing at all. As a closing, do nothing, because the retreat has no ending, it will simply continue, it will continue bearing fruit. You will remain on retreat, to cultivate, water the divine seed which our Lord has sown in your souls. Consequently, it is unnecessary to break this chain, useless to stop the stream; let it flow. We have done nothing but open the door, now it is up to you to eat – the door is open, you must eat. There’s a wonderful and very beautiful thought in the Old Testament. God never told the people of Israel to eat – eating is reserved to the prefigured and promised Eucharist. Look for the Lord, savor him, and taste him as much as you want. In the Old Testament there is no eating, no meal, no nuptials, in a word, no Eucharist.
Notice: God told Adam and Eve, You will eat your bread by the sweat of your brow (cf. Gn. 3:19). This was the first word that the Lord spoke to them, to show them how they were going to have to live. The earth will be cursed; it will produce nothing but weeds and thorns. You have paralyzed my power, in return, I give you the power to cultivate the earth, you will eat your bread by the sweat of your brow. You need to know that in this case, the word bread applies only to the wheat grain, that is why in today’s gospel we read about barley loaves, bread of an inferior quality.
See how good God is. God’s first word seemed to be spoken in anger. Poor Adam, had he understood this word, he should have said: Thank you, I prefer bread to the most beautiful fruits of paradise, those are only for my body, but this I can make grow by the sweat of my brow. It is the grain of wheat, the Eucharist. He didn’t know what this word “bread” meant. He should have said to God: I don’t know what it is. God spoke this word to him; but he didn’t understand, he had cultivate it; but we get to eat it. Is it because the land no longer produced fruit as good as that of paradise? Indeed, the earth remained fruitful. Notice that in the sixth chapter of his gospel, St. John always speaks of bread. This word had been spoken in the earthly paradise; it is the fruit of paradise; this one doesn’t lead to death, but to life.
The second time that God spoke this word was to the Israelites in the desert. God rained down manna. It was a sort of sugar, which had all sorts of tastes according to the desires of each one. It looked like small seeds of coriander. Manna covered only the camp of the Israelites, fell only for them; the desert did not produce it. If it did, then they would not have been astonished. They saw this white snow, and they were all astonished. You can understand why they said: Man hu … (What is this?) (Ex 16:15) Moses told them: It is bread from heaven. […] God himself made it, as our Lord said: My Father fed the Israelites with manna in the desert, and they died, but it is I who give you this bread (Jn 6: 49-50). Our Lord now speaks of the Eucharist. Manna was a figure of the Eucharist.
Our Lord said: Those who eat me live by me; they will have eternal life (cf. Jn 6:51,54,57). He always says, Eat. Notice that when our Lord instituted the Eucharist, he said: Take and eat, this is my body (Mt 26:26). One day a woman inspired by the Holy Spirit cried out: Blessed are those who eat the bread of God in heaven! What did she mean by “Blessed are those who will eat!” In heaven, one is always fed. That is why it is said we must always eat to sustain ourselves, to fortify ourselves, or to have a certain pleasure.
Our Lord did for the soul what sensual people do for their bodies. They live only to eat. All they talk about, all they do is for the sake of eating - to satisfy their gluttony. That is why the evil rich man was punished (cf. Lk 16:19-25). His stomach became his God (cf. Ph 3:19). For eating, there is preparation and work; in the Eucharist, there is also preparation and work. The preparation does not concern you; it is the priest who prepares the bread, who consecrates, and the Church who sets the
18 Number 64. Le pain. La communion. Il faut ruminer 41 table. She is the daughter of Zion, Wisdom. She sets the table, she invites her friends: Come, eat my bread, all is ready (Pr 9:5). God spoke in this way a thousand years before the Eucharist.
Come with the nuptial robe. You cannot be received without it, for it is the state of grace. If you don’t have the nuptial robe, you cannot come (cf. Mt 22:11,12). Then there is the chewing. The work you do must prepare our Lord’s coming to you, this is the work of eating. God made eating pleasant and tasty. Were it not for this, many persons would die of hunger. God, in his goodness, wanted to make eating a pleasure and a stimulant. He only says […] don’t make it your goal. […]
In Communion there is also pleasure; it is sweet, delicious, and divine, the delight of God. When he invites us, he always says: Come, my dove. He says this in the Song of Songs; to invite the soul, he always uses gentle expressions: Come, my dove (cf. Song 2:14). The dove is simple: Come, my sister (cf. Song 4:9); no one is afraid of a brother or sister. Come, my spouse (cf. Song 4:8), one is not afraid of a spouse. Enter into my chamber (cf. Song 2: 4). It’s not even a question of mercy, or forgiveness but of the encouragement that comes from his goodness. You must answer our Lord’s invitation.
What goodness, what charm! There are voices that charm. Our Lord’s words attract and give joy. Do not come merely because he is good and attractive, otherwise you will become your own goal, looking only for your advantage. The manna of paradise is sweet and you would not notice it, like servile persons who pay attention only to sensual pleasure and forget the master who invited them. They end by falling into excess, becoming like a brute. So what should we do? Not to thank the master who invites you is to act like animals. May your eyes be not on the hands, nor on the gifts our Lord gives you, you would be like a beggar. Rather may your eyes be on his heart.
Eat then! But why? We eat only to have strength. When we have to make a long journey, we eat a hearty meal, because without food for strength, we will collapse on the way. Our food must be substantial, because the road is long and difficult. Our journey must be smooth as the flight of birds, so then our food must be such as to sustain us, or we will rapidly become weak. Food is the sign of strength, our Lord nourishes us with himself, he who is the strength of God.
Like Elias, we must cross the desert, fleeing the wicked king who wanted to kill him as did Jezebel. He fled to Mount Horeb, to escape the blows of this evil man. Tired, he sat down in the desert, and fell asleep while praying. An angel said to him: Elias, arise and eat. He had nothing to eat, but the angel had prepared bread cooked under ashes because he still had a long way to go. Elias arose, ate the bread and slept again. The same angel said to him; Eat. This happened three times: Come now, you are well fortified, arise and go to the mountain of your vision (cf. 1 Kgs 19:5-8). And Elias walked for forty days. The angel is the priest who prepares this unleavened bread on the mountain of God, so that we can drink and eat. God says to us: You have a very long road to travel, you must take food to give you strength, for you will have to fight many enemies. Our food determines our health, light food forebodes weakness and sickness.
My Daughters, strength is the first and natural effect of Communion. People say: It sanctifies us. It is true that it clothes us with the merits of our Lord, yet that’s not its primary effect. Its primary effect is to give us strength. We live in our Lord, not to be made happy, since we are not yet in paradise, nor to be sanctified, one should be so beforehand. Before seeing the sun, you will see the moon; you will see the sun again, but the rays are not the sun. The light that we receive is absorbed by a greater light.
Then our Lord will give us an overflow of his beauty -- a little of the saints’ beauty in the next life. He gives us a ray of sunlight. A ray contains all colors except black, since black has no light, all the colors are in the sky. They are only the effect of the sun’s rays, a physical effect desired by the Good Lord.
The Eucharist also gives us virtues. It is God himself who makes us beautiful when he comes in Communion. If we put a bouquet of flowers before a mirror, it will be clearly reflected. Still, there is a difference. Since our Lord is alive, he will be a living reflection in our soul. Understand me, if you embedded me into yourself, you would have my living image in you; I would be the body in which
42 you are embedded. Behold the soul which mirrors our Lord. How beautiful is the soul which communicates! If you could see how our Lord is shining in it, how lovely it is! Look at a crystal in the sun, how beautiful it is! It’s like a lens burning even more brightly than the sun; it can light a fire. It concentrates the rays of the sun.
The love of our Lord for his Father is a paradise in itself. Our Lord is very much at home in the person who has received Communion. Such a soul is just too beautiful to be seen by anyone else. Why is that? Otherwise it would be overcome by pride and become powerless. Imagine what would happen, my Daughters, if you could see it. When St. John saw the angel in the Apocalypse, he fell at his feet. The angel cried out, Do not worship me, I am only your companion, like you, I am but a servant (cf. Rev 19:10). The soul is even more beautiful, similar to the beauty of our Lord. […] If you could see it, your love for them would be excessive, believing them already in heaven because our Lord resides within them. Imagine the contrast if we could see those who cause our Lord to suffer! I prefer not to see the ones that are beautiful rather than have to look at the others. How good is the Lord! It would be impossible to live on earth together with the wicked. We would be tempted to kill them, especially when they crucify our Lord. What God has done is well done. Let us pray that He may grant such souls the strength to love him.
Love that is made up of union and devotedness ignites a fire that is not meant to go out but to consume everything. When you light up a hearth, its flames will absorb and consume everything. One may create a current, but this current will be 100 times stronger after Communion, because after Communion, we have the strength of God himself. In time of need, we will find all the strength necessary to us because in Communion we store up the resources that will be used up during the day. […]
Normally thanksgiving time is difficult. […] Don’t expect too much joy from this moment or you will spoil everything. […] You may feel restless and desire to move about. Please be courteous; don’t become agitated in our Lord’s presence, seeking grace and mercy. – Shouldn’t one say something? – Yes, if you stay calmly at his feet but don’t get upset or hasty, else later you will say: - Was I guilty of sin? Since our Lord says nothing to me, did I make a bad Communion? – Why get upset? Know how to remain at his feet, for our Lord is quiet […] Communion is a moment of rest.
In fact, my Daughters, […] remain in quiet peace; in love, calm, and restfulness you will accomplish much. What happens when you sleep? Nothing; but you rest in order to work better afterwards, you wake up cheerfully. Note how the angel lulled Elias into sleep, while he was asleep, the angel brought him food. Three times he did this, so that he would sleep deeply. Only then did the angel command him to walk in strength. Gentleness follows upon the Eucharist; our Lord confers a certain sweetness as he waits for you. We realize that we are stronger than when we did not receive Communion. Just let go of the self, that constant ego, and concentrate only on our Lord. This is what you must do at the time of Communion. […]
What can I tell you? You must always reflect; you will find ever new sweetness. Here you are on retreat. It has begun; it will finish, or rather continue. All its graces will come back to you in due time. God has his moments of grace, he will make you recall a thought that you didn’t even notice. You will reflect upon it, you will feed on it, you will be well nourished. It’s good to take our Lord in Communion, but he must be eaten, incorporated into oneself, reflected upon. Look at what our Lord said at the Last Supper: If you remain in me and my words remain in you, reflect upon them, digest them, whatever you want will be done (cf. Jn. 15:7). How will this take place? Look at the Blessed Virgin: And Mary kept all these things in her heart (cf. Lk. 2:19,51), that is to say, to ponder them as if to see and savor them in her heart, if you wish, because the word of God is life, to be laid hold of.
Reflect then, as Mary did. You want to read much, reflect a lot, but go slowly. You are reflective creatures whom God has chosen, whom he himself wants to nourish. Piety which always wants to act, do much work, is not real piety. It’s a fever that leads to continual indigestion. Notice that the more a soul approaches our Lord, the more it is nourished – one word is sufficient. Why? Because she finds everything there. It’s very little, but as it is divine nourishment it dilates the soul. […]
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That’s why the soul which always reflects upon this word of God has an intrinsic, inexhaustible supply. Paradise never comes to an end. God never shows himself completely; he shows one beauty after another, that is enough.
Now, what resolution have you taken in the retreat? There’s a Christian resolution and a religious resolution. Take a Christian one that can be seen from the exterior. If not, check fidelity to the Rule. What about the interior attraction? What brought you joy during the retreat, what thought? This is the one. You will understand the attraction of our Lord more by taste, and by peace, than by movement and restlessness. […] Don’t choose what leaves you centered on self, towards sorrow for evil, but what will refresh your soul, to what will lead you to God, who is life.
Behold the great principle: you must live by God rather than by the means that lead to him. We must live by him, by his goodness; even if we have sinned, we must live by his goodness, by his mercy. One of the great missions of the apostolate is to nourish souls, this is our mission. Know well then, my Daughters, that what mortifies you also corrects you. You will crucify yourself more through love than through penance. Notice that health is strengthened more by gentle medicines than by bitter ones.
Finally, my Daughters, eat the good bread of God, the bread of the Eucharist and nourish yourselves with it. Then you will no longer hunger for creatures or for anything that is not God. This is the grace I wish for you.
Points for reflection:
God draws us to himself by peace and goodness. Take the time to reflect upon the word of God and his goodness. Let yourself be nourished by God. How can you make this teaching of Father Eymard concrete and profit from the graces received after Holy Communion?
tTeE O eEtT
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SECTION B - FEASTS AND LITURGICAL SEASONS
tTeE O eEtT
45
The Annunciation 19 Paris, Tuesday April 9, 1861
Today is your feast day, my Sisters, your religious feast. The Annunciation is the feast of the Servants of the Most Blessed Sacrament, your feast before the Good Lord. Externally everything was as usual; that’s fine. However, there’s a continual feast in heaven and for any soul dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament.
The angel found the Blessed Virgin alone. She had no witnesses, because the house in Nazareth was divided into two parts. It lay against a cliff. There was a part that was more withdrawn, where the Blessed Virgin prayed. Then there was the front part of the house, judging from what has been said. What was she doing? Surely, she was at prayer. When God wants to give any grace, this happens during times of prayer. So also with the Blessed Virgin. We always picture her in silence and prayer. That is the state of a virgin living an interior life.
What must she have been praying about? About the coming of the Messiah. She must have been reviewing all the ardent desires of the patriarchs and prophets, repeating their words, calling for the Messiah who was coming to save humankind. That must have been the substance of her prayer. Without knowing exactly, we can say this, since God always prepares souls for the grace he wants to give them. Mary was to be the last desire, the last act of love that would summarize all the others. This is what she was doing, when, in the ardor of her prayer and her love, the angel came to announce the Incarnation.
All the saints tell us that when Zachariah was offering incense in the Temple (cf. Lk 1:9), he was praying for the coming of the Messiah. His prayer was so great and beautiful, that the angel came to announce that he would have a son who would be the forerunner of the Messiah.
The angel appeared to the Blessed Virgin under a human form, since the angels take on a bodily form to come on earth. Since they have no body, they borrow a shape as God wills. And so, the angel came to announce that the Son of God himself would become man, taking on a human form. The Blessed Virgin did not know that this was an angel. However, pure souls always sense, even without seeing, when something is from God or from the devil. The Blessed Virgin reacted, trembling out of modesty – as St. Ambrose says, a virgin should always fear the presence of a man. After this reaction, the angel said: Hail, full of grace (Lk 1:28). As a sign of respect, he dares not mention her name; that would hint at familiarity. Politeness, like respect, does not allow a name when greater respect is called for. Why? One feels unworthy. The name of Mary is so great, so holy, that after the name of Jesus comes the name of Mary. We feel free to add the name of Mary, because the Church told us so. The angel explains what that name signifies: lady, full of grace. The angel chooses the greatest and the most consoling title for the Blessed Virgin: Ave, gratia plena – I greet you (Hail), full of grace. You can imagine that he bowed profoundly to the ground. Mary was to become queen, by becoming the mother of God. That is why the angel Gabriel, great as he was, bowed down.
The word Ave is very beautiful. Our Lord also used it when speaking to the holy women when he had risen: Avete, the plural form: I greet you (Mt 28:9). The angel continues: full of grace. This had never been said before, since all creatures were conceived in the state of sin. This means that in the Blessed Virgin was the fullness of grace. Her will was full of grace and strength, her body was full of holiness. We do not say that a jar is full when it is only half full. Imagine the ocean. Our mind cannot capture a full picture of the sea. Our sight is lost in the distance, as though looking at the air that goes up into the sky. The Blessed Virgin is greater than the ocean. She had to be full of grace, since she is the reservoir of God. All the streams of grace pass through the Blessed Virgin; she is the treasury of God. Therefore, it has to be immense, so that we could all have our share. The angel, in spite of his great intelligence, did not add any other description – God alone knew it. He simply added: Dominus tecum – (the Lord is with you). What does this mean? You are pleasing to God,
19 Number 314. L’Annonciation 47 you are his heaven. Our greatest consolation is to know that the Lord is with us; then, we have no longer any reason to fear.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus – blessed are you among women (Lk 1:42). Why? Because she is pure, completely pure, the strong woman promised to Eve. Besides, she will be mother of the Messiah. I firmly believe that is why she said: All nations will call me blessed (Lk 1:48). Can there be a greater happiness than being the mother of our Lord?
The Blessed Virgin was troubled perhaps for two reasons. When the angel came, she was troubled out of modesty and purity; secondly, after he had spoken, out of humility. She says nothing at all. She is modest, with eyes lowered, to the point that the angel trembled more than the Blessed Virgin and his message was divine. He was announcing the salvation of the world – the union that was to take place between God and human nature. Seeing that she was troubled, the angel said: Do not be afraid, do not be troubled (Lk 1:30). He calms her. One sign of all heavenly visits is this; initially there is a fear that is not easily described. Something like the fear we have before a king, or like the apostles when our Lord performed great miracles, such as when he walked on the water (cf. Mt 14:26). This is what distinguishes a heavenly visit: it begins with fear, a feeling of respect and humility; then God immediately brings calm. He pacifies the soul. Do not be troubled. When our Lord appeared to the disciples who were in the boat, they were afraid; and our Lord told them: Nolite timere – do not be afraid, it is I (Jn 6:20).
The angel brought calm to the Blessed Virgin. He had not yet said anything about his message; Behold you will conceive and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called Son of the Most High. The Lord will give him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob, and his reign will have no end (Lk 1:31-33). He was announcing the Messiah to the Blessed Virgin who listened carefully, silently, so true it is that she was giving us a real lesson in politeness, humility, and respect. In silence, she allowed him to finish what he had to say. When the angel praised her, she did not protest; You are mistaken, I am not full of grace. Within herself she remained humble. Silence is better than words, since self-love often slithers into external things. And the angel had much to say. The Blessed Virgin could have stopped him after the first few words, What is your message for me? She did not want to lose her virginity. When the angel was finished, he waited. He needed the consent of the Blessed Virgin, heaven itself was in suspense: the heavenly Father was giving his Son, and the Son was waiting, as was the Holy Spirit, to become the divine instrument. What modesty in the Blessed Virgin!
With timidity, she would speak the whole truth: How can this be? I made a vow of virginity (cf. Lk 1:34). Never would she renege on that. If to be the mother of God meant that she would lose her virginity, she would not agree: Quomodo fiat illud? – (How can this be?) The angel does not say: You will get married. She was already married to St. Joseph, they lived as brother and sister. He did not say, You will give birth like other women. The angel understood well what was very clear, that the title of virgin took precedence even to that of divine motherhood. Wherever God finds purity, he blesses it, it is the most beautiful of all crowns. The Blessed Virgin had the anointing of purity when she said: I will never agree if I cannot fulfill my vow. How happy the blessed Trinity must have been! God had found a pure soul!
My good Sisters, this is what we have always told you. Remember that the royal virtue of the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament is purity of life and of love. Her virtue is purity itself. The other virtues have some implications of sin. Penance presumes a weakness and rebellion, humility presumes a pride while purity of heart goes directly to God. If God is truth and love, he is purity by essence. He calls himself light, and light is pure.
The angel answered Mary: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and his power will overshadow you; hence, the one born of you shall be called Son of God (cf. Lk.1:35). Notice what the angel says: the Holy Spirit… what will he come to do in the Blessed Virgin? He is already there, since she is pure, but now God will come to her in another manner, in person, Why? He will come there to work, it is the Holy Spirit who will form the body of our Lord with the most holy blood of the Blessed Virgin. He will create the soul which will be united to this body, he will be the divine instrument; His power
48 will overshadow you. The incarnation of the Word will take place in mystery. Since you, (Mary), will be so beautiful, God will cover you with humility. No one will know what is happening, not even the chaste Joseph. The holy one to be born of you shall be called the Son of God, because he shall have no father on earth. Now she is at peace, for she will be virgin and mother. With that clarification, she has no more objections. Notice that the Blessed Virgin makes no acts of humility, she could have said so many things, like, I am not worthy. She spoke of only one thing – her virginity. She could have said: Give me a bit of time, a few days to prepare. The Good Lord knows very well what needs to be done. The world will be saved and God will be glorified.
Since she does not envisage her holiness in personal virtue, Mary says this: Behold the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word (Lk.1:38). At that very moment, the divine Word was conceived in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Son of God became the son of Mary. The incarnation had taken place, and the natural world had a new face. The human race became more privileged than the angels, since the Son of God had taken a bodily form. When a king marries a young girl from a certain family, her entire family shares in the dignity. Now we are superior to the angels and they are inferior to us, due to the redemption. This led to the downfall of the angels, when they saw how human nature would be honored by the Son of Man’s union to it through his incarnation.
Let us reflect on these beautiful words. Notice the simplicity, the prudence of the most Blessed Virgin. Receive grace with humility and with gratitude, avoid false humility, the poor of heart are grateful. When you receive Communion, if you want to be humble, truly humble, you must prepare yourself. When a friend knocks at the door, one does not say, Wait, while I prepare myself. Be humble if you want; but when God comes to visit you, never refuse a gift, a grace, a benefit, simply because you are not disposed the way you would like to be.
The Blessed Virgin says: Ecce ancilla Domini – Behold the handmaid (servant) of the Lord. It seems that she should have begun with a different word. Ecce – (Behold), all is ready, here I am, at the service of God. How beautiful! You do not understand the beauty of this Latin word, Ecce. When the Church presents the sacred Host to you before Communion, she says: Ecce agnus Dei – Behold the Lamb of God. This is an act of faith and of piety. When St. John the Baptist pointed out the Lamb of God to his disciples (cf. Jn.1:29), he pointed with his finger using the same word, Ecce, like the Blessed Virgin. When Pilate presented our Lord , dressed in purple robes, on the steps of the praetorium, he said: Ecce homo – (Behold the man) (Jn.19:5). He shows Jesus to the people, using the same word that the Blessed Virgin herself used.
Do you know what is implied in this word Ecce? The gift of self. Now, what title will the Blessed Virgin give herself? Here we see her gift. If she were to use common language, she would have said: Behold the mother of the Son of God. But she does not take it. Why? Because it is too glorious and the Blessed Virgin is too humble. She has this right but does not take it. Why doesn’t she take this title? First of all, out of humility, but there was another reason. It was necessary for her to make an act of faith: Ecce ancilla Domini. The angel tells her that she will become the mother of the Son of God, giving him a body, the earthly part of his nature. Our Lord’s soul would be created by God, by the Holy Spirit, placing this soul in the body that came from the flesh and blood of the Blessed Virgin. She calls herself the servant of the Lord.
She goes further. He is her creator, her God, and she adores him in his divinity. She recognizes him as her master, her king. She takes the title used when talking to a king, and leaves aside the glory of her divine maternity. It is only a glory, not a virtue. She takes the title that indicates her functions, she will be the first disciple of the Word made flesh. This will be her external practice until Jesus has the strength to do so Himself. What is more, you needed a queen, a teacher. Here is your queen: Ancilla Domini. This is your title, and there is none more beautiful. If the Blessed Virgin had found a more beautiful one, she would have used it. There is none more perfect to express respect, love, dedication. How beautiful! To serve God is to reign.
The Blessed Virgin had the best part. She was never the slave of anyone. She protected her liberty, consecrating it entirely to God. In the same way, my Daughters, you are not at the service of anyone,
49 including ourselves, we would not agree to it. You are not at the service of any person on earth, God called you to something higher. In this way, you have the same functions as his mother, the same rights, and the same joy of self sacrifice. The divine motherhood is given only to the Blessed Virgin. As Servants you have another quality. The Blessed Virgin was the servant of Jesus Christ whom she conceived and cared for as a child. You, on the other hand, are servants of Jesus Christ glorified in the most Blessed Sacrament. She was the first, so as to form others. Adore well with the spirit of Mary. In the presence of Jesus, you will have value only in so far as you offer yourself through the hands of Mary. Therefore, hold on dearly to your beautiful title. This is a new name, never used previously. You are the first. It is not yet public but it has been blessed by the Sovereign Pontiff. One day, you will be proud to have this blessing in writing from Pius IX, when the Good Lord will have glorified him.20
How modest is the Blessed Virgin! Let it be done to me according to your word. She does not repeat the glorious things that are happening to her. Let it be done to me according to your word since this is God’s command. Since faith is in the revealed Word, and since the Church did not yet exist, God came to the Blessed Virgin through the authority of his minister, an angel. God acts through the angel, since the evangelist says: the angel Gabriel sent by God (Lk 1:26). When the Blessed Virgin went to greet her cousin, St. Elizabeth said: Beata qui credidisti – Blessed are you for having believed, because all that has been told to you will be fulfilled (Lk 1:45). She made an act of faith, as we do, when we believe the word of the Church. The angel was the intermediary, the spokesperson of God.
Why didn’t the Son of God come personally? To make an act legal, three persons are involved: the one who makes the act, the notary, and a witness. For a divine act, there had to be a minister, the first among the angels, St. Gabriel. Besides, God was teaching us that he wants us to honor those whom he sends. You understand, of course, that the Good Lord is too beautiful, too great in himself, He sends one of his angels to test our faith.
There you have it, my Daughters, your beautiful feast. Notice that the Church does not call it the incarnation, but the annunciation. It goes to the source – the annunciation is the root, while the incarnation is the fruit. When the angel had finished, he had nothing else to say. He greeted the Word made flesh in the womb of Mary, he greeted the Blessed Virgin for the third time, and he adored his God and master. And all the angels who accompanied him – for sure the house of the Blessed Virgin was full of angels – all adored the Word made flesh. Once Mary had spoken her important consent, they prostrated themselves to adore the Word who had become human, who was made flesh. That was the first adoration, made by the angels. I’m mistaken: the first was made by the Blessed Virgin. She felt him in her womb and, like his first servant, she adored him; then came the angels. When will we see all this?... the Good Lord will show it to us in heaven. If only you could see that little house of the Blessed Virgin! I saw that poor little house myself, that window, that little bowl. This can be seen at the santa casa – (holy house) which is in Loreto (Italy). It is not beautiful, but poor and small.
Finally, the word Fiat… When God willed to create the world, he spoke this word: Fiat, let the earth produce at the command of God (cf. Gn 1:11). The Blessed Virgin used the same word. The Holy Spirit is ever the same in his words as in his actions. The angel left and said nothing more. He dared say nothing more, once the Blessed Virgin became the mother of God. It was enough to bow down to the ground, adore with great reverence, and leave. […]
Points for Reflection:
This meditation is typical of those that follow. We find here a kind of Ignatian meditation with composition of place, identifying the persons, paying attention to the words, becoming one with the sentiments of the persons, and drawing a concrete lesson. Following the French School, we find a focus on the texts from Sacred Scripture, delving into the sentiments and thoughts of the people involved in order to share their state. What aspect of this meditation impresses you most?
20 Pius IX was beatified by Pope John-Paul II in Rome, on September 3, 2000. 50
Advent21 Paris, Tuesday, December 10, 1861 Here we are, my Sisters, in the season of Advent. Let us enter into the sentiments of the Church. The best of all pieties is that which is in relation to the spirit of the Church, because each liturgical feast has its own grace and virtue. The object of the Church’s cult is to honor our Lord in his various mysteries, then the Blessed Virgin and the saints. That is why each season has its grace, each day has its mystery. Pious souls follow the devotion of the Church. […] My poor Sisters, if you could only appreciate the beauty of the Office (Prayer of the Church) during Advent! There we see the Church gathering all the prophecies referring to the Messiah, the writings of all the scholars and saints who waited for him and desired him. How they described his glory, his majesty, his reign, glorifying him in advance. The Church puts all that into its Office. When we have the happiness to understand it, truly this prayer elevates us to God and seems to make the mystery come alive again. And there’s more! There’s something so joyful that it feels like receiving good news.
Advent and Christmas, followed by Lent with its sadness, then Easter! […] Do what the Church does; better still, what the Blessed Virgin did. What was that? She prepared herself for the birth of her divine Son. We don’t know how she prepared, but we can presume it when we consider her treasure, her grace. In her virginal womb was the Son of God made man. While he was in her, she prayed and reflected. She was interiorly with him in all his virtues, in all his states. He was in her what he would later be exteriorly; he was with his mother […]
The Blessed Virgin contemplated our Lord, as you contemplate him in the Eucharist, as he is contemplated in Paradise, as when you have had the happiness to receive Communion. She contemplated him; this was her meditation. You understand that she would not seek an exterior subject, her glance was inward. Our Lord was her master, her light, her truth; she focused on him. What was happening? As truth is accompanied by fire, so her lamp was burning, since God is light, truth and love. Our Lord was inflaming her heart with love, those two hearts were speaking to each other. Hearts speak without words, and understand each other. Two flames together, my Sisters, do not speak, but they understand, the heart speaks through love. The heart of Jesus united with the heart of the most Blessed Virgin in conversations of love. Our Lord spoke, the Blessed Virgin answered; she spoke, praising God. Our Lord truly was united with the most Blessed Virgin; He could not have anyone better.
Sacred Scripture says: I sleep, but my heart watches (Song 5:2). Clearly, even when she slept a bit, her heart was not sleeping, but watching in continual prayer. As St. Ambrose said: The heart does not sleep. Our Lord had his court: it was the Blessed Virgin. She was worth more than all the angels and saints. For nine months he was hers alone. St. Joseph adored from a distance, but the Blessed Virgin possessed him, he was her treasure.
What can we say about what happened during this time of Advent? As the day approached, the love of our Lord became stronger. Like a flame that wants to leap up and out, he prepared himself more perfectly to suffer, to glorify his Father, and the Blessed Virgin accomplished the same acts in her heart, it was a union of love. As Bethlehem approached, she would, so to speak, lose her treasure. Once our Lord left by penetrating her virginal womb, she would have him now outside her body, not within. She would have him in her arms, but not for long. When he would grow into adulthood, he would go out to preach. Even then, she would value her treasure; she would maintain in her heart his every idea, his every word. How happy our Lord must have been! I believe that, although our Lord wanted to be born to save humanity, it must have cost him to leave this holy paradise. […] The spirit of Advent has an echo in Communion. The Blessed Virgin, with the Word made flesh in her womb, is a clear image of Communion. Jesus – he was not yet called “Jesus” – the Incarnate Word had come into the Blessed Virgin in an invisible manner. No one saw him come; he was not yet
21 Number 386. L’Avent 51 born as a man. He came with his spiritual and invisible substance as God. It was when he entered her womb that the Holy Spirit took the blood of the Holy Virgin, and created a soul and then united the two substances. The Blessed Virgin really felt then that she was bearing our Lord. He was man, God-Man, the Blessed Virgin was to be his cloud. In the Bible, the prophets use striking words when they speak of the Messiah. They describe him coming in a cloud, in a small cloud: nebula, a small cloud completely white. The Blessed Virgin is that small white cloud, which hides the Sun of justice, the Incarnate Word. Her body becomes that cloud, which is his cloak, his prison. The prophet Isaiah says that he sees the Almighty descend on a light cloud.
See, my Sisters, how Communion can be compared to the incarnation. Communion is no longer the Word incarnate in Mary. It is Jesus Christ who descends into the communicant by the hands of the priest, not only with his divinity, but with his humanity. He came invisibly into Mary, no one saw him in his body and in his soul. He comes also to us in Communion substantially, invisibly, the same as in Mary. You see him as in a cloud. He could show himself to you as a favor, but his ordinary state is in a cloud. He continues as in his incarnation. The incarnation was only a way to come to us, we receive him whole and entire, glorious and triumphant. The cloud is the sacred species. Let us share the happiness of the most Blessed Virgin, as our body becomes like his clothing, the body of his body. We possess him as the Blessed Virgin possessed him with the difference that with her he became visible, material, tangible. In us he communicates his graces, all that he is. We do not see him, we do not feel him. Our body becomes his body, our soul becomes his soul. No one sees this; we alone can experience it.
What should be happening? Just as the most Blessed Virgin carried him and offered herself to serve him, we should do the same and with the same joy. There’s even more! As a newly born child, he had not yet suffered, nor completed the work of redemption. But when he comes into us, he is richer in a sense than when he came into the Blessed Virgin. What is our response? He does not come into us like he came into the most Blessed Virgin in order to come out. Rather, he comes to remain with us forever, providing we do not cast him out by sin. We have this additional honor: we become his goal. He went through Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Calvary, so as to remain in us permanently.
What was the most Blessed Virgin Mary doing? She was recollected. Therefore, recollect yourselves fully in the Lord, since you are his living tabernacle. Recollect yourselves in him. Since he loves, you should love. Since he works, you should work. He is invisible, but find a way to be with him. This is how to live Advent.
We can no longer expect the birth of our Lord in Bethlehem. That happened once, 18 centuries ago, and it’s finished. We do celebrate the feast as a commemoration. In Bethlehem there was much love, divine caresses. Briefly, the child Jesus was so loveable, that this gives new life to this mystery. It’s as though this beautiful mystery comes back to life. We can relive it in faith and love, not in the past, but in the grace and virtue of the mystery. The basic idea, the purpose of Advent, is the birth of our Lord, in the [present] world, the manifestation of it to everyone. His dwelling place is no longer the stable, but human bodies. While preparing for Advent, let us give him new birth in ourselves and experience Jesus coming to us as at Bethlehem, with this difference that there was more suffering and poverty there, while here there will be more love.
If he loved poverty, I must tell him that I will embrace it. If there was a stable with straw, I will accept that also, so that I can give him – what shall I give? – the kingdom of my heart, to let him reign in me. My poor Sisters, remember this. Rejoice with the most Blessed Virgin, with St. Joseph who knew all these things, and was so very happy to be his first adorer. You might say that these things are so beautiful, and I would like to experience them. So then, sprinkle the tree with plenty of water, light a fire. Love is not in our feelings, it is in our will; it is in action.; it is the gift of oneself.
Points for reflection : The meditation on Advent gives us some principles for a liturgical spirituality. It helps us to discover the spirit of the Church during this season, to honor its graces and its specific virtues. St. Peter Julian invites us to contemplate Jesus with Mary, and to establish a link between the incarnation and Holy Communion. What concrete practice does this meditation suggest for you?
52
Christmas 22
Paris, Friday, December 23, 1859
Here we are on the eve23 of the beautiful feast of Christmas, a mystery full of sweetness and love. Here, Jesus shows himself more loveable, so to speak, than on Calvary. Enter into the dispositions of the most Blessed Virgin, waiting for the birth of her divine Son. Increase your fervor and love, remain in recollection, and unite yourself to Mary to prepare well the celebration of this beautiful feast, so that you may serve the Lord, as he wants you to serve him. Through the prophets Mary knew how Jesus would be born, all he would suffer in his lifetime, and she prepared herself to serve him as he would want and to follow him everywhere. Imitate Mary in her dedication and her love.
It would have been natural for Jesus, the Son of God, to be born in a beautiful palace, or at least, like most children, with a certain amount of comfort, lacking nothing. The children of kings have cribs adorned in gold to receive them, surrounded by all that is most beautiful. But Jesus has nothing. He is born in a rocky grotto that served as a shelter for shepherds. Mary and Joseph are forced to go there, having been rejected everywhere. St. Joseph must have suffered much in these circumstances, but Mary possessed Jesus and was happy. The head of the family must have been very concerned, trying hard to find a suitable shelter for Mary who was about to give birth to Jesus. He had asked everywhere for a place to stay, but it was useless. Even their relatives had refused to receive them. They could find no room in any inn, for fear they could not pay, since they appeared to be poor. With the approaching night and bitter cold, they took refuge in a cave. It is there that our Lord wanted to be born. That is why he allowed them to be rejected by all, to force them to go to the place he had chosen.
That is how God reaches his objective. People tend to get nervous and look for human help, when they have exhausted all means, God then leads them where he wants. So it is with us today. We do not know where God wants to lead us – where he wants to set up his tent. We search perhaps in vain. When the time comes, God will lead us where he wills. God allows this so that we will abandon ourselves to him, to be led like Mary and Joseph. My good Daughters, have courage. If the sun had risen and set only once, how we would have admired its beauty and glory, and how grateful we would have been to God. Our Lord is the sun of justice (cf. Mal 3:20), but he neither rises nor sets. He remains always in his brightness and glory on our altars.
My Sisters, we could not hope for more. On the contrary, now our Lord is like a father surrounded by his children. He cares for us, and we live near him, filled with confidence and abandon, without worries. Later, when we will be more numerous and settled in our own home and when divine Providence will be more generous, our love will not be the same. We may rely too much on our own resources, and not enough on God.
Our Lord will never be more gracious than he is now. Here, we live as a family, and he is the father. My poor Sisters, you will never find greater happiness. Even when you will have external religious signs, you will never have so many graces. In the desert, the Israelites were happier and received more graces than in the promised land, because God was their father, He took care of them and they lacked nothing. In the promised land he was king. A king is much more gracious in the midst of his
22 Number 189. Noël. 23 This conference, without date in Esprit de la Societe (Guillot), is classified in S7bis in 1858 with others without date. This is impossible, since Father was in Rome. Therefore, it is placed here in 1859, a Friday, the usual day that Father came to give his conferences. This Friday was equivalent to the eve of Christmas, since the feast would begin the following day with first Vespers. We could interpret the word “eve” in the popular understanding of “near to”. 53 family, than when surrounded by his soldiers. Jesus was more gracious in the house of Nazareth, living with Mary and Joseph, than in his public life.
Point for reflection:
This meditation invites us to contemplate and to imitate Mary in the mystery of Christmas. How can Mary be a model for us?
tTeE O eEtT
54
Christmas. The Contemplation of Love 24
Paris, Friday, December 27, 1861
My dear Sisters, the feast of Christmas should be one that is close to your hearts, because as Servants of our Lord, your role begins at the stable, since it is the place of his birth. When kings have an heir, the first preoccupation of the king and queen is to choose the most distinguished person in the kingdom to be the governess and tutor of this child. The heavenly Father gave us his Son, and the Blessed Virgin, his Mother, also gave him to us. The Blessed Virgin is noble enough to be deserve a servant. You are servants of Jesus Christ, servants of God. Surely, all the saints are servants of God. But Servants of the Most Blessed Sacrament, that’s different. I do not know of any community that exists with that name, Servants of the Most Blessed Sacrament. We certainly see some who serve Jesus and Mary. However, we have not seen any Servants of the Most Blessed Sacrament, because this will be your role.
Go the crib, not to see the infant Jesus, since he is no longer there, but to see how Mary served the infant Jesus. The most Blessed Virgin was his servant. She calls herself the servant of the Lord. There is no mention of our Lord having any other servants except the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph. He did not allow any others, since these were sufficient for his love. It was necessary that the Blessed Virgin be the first, so that she could form the others. She had to fulfill this role as no one else ever would. She nourished her divine Son with her virginal milk. She cared for him. Her pure and immaculate hands carried him, she carried him as a servant carries an easy and light burden. Besides, she never left him alone, except during the three days that he left her (cf. Lk. 2:41-50). The Blessed Virgin followed him everywhere, even to Calvary (cf. Jn. 19:25-27). A good servant must never be separated from her master.
Study the Blessed Virgin carefully so as to continue her work, not in the same way, since circumstances change; basically it doesn’t matter; it is the same simple exercise of love. In a sense, we can even say that the service of our Lord is better here than at Bethlehem when he was a little child; not better in the perfection of the service, since the Blessed Virgin was a perfect servant, but in the witness of love. There are two veils in the Blessed Sacrament; in Bethlehem, his humanity was visible, but here both his divinity and his humanity are veiled, annihilated out of love. Go to Bethlehem and dwell there.
Learn then, my very poor Sisters, how to exercise the contemplation of love. This is your profession. You were not made for intellectual contemplation. If you had that gift, you should put it aside. The contemplation of love is entirely different. It does not search for its object; it contemplates and enjoys it. For example, contemplate the Blessed Virgin at Bethlehem. See who she is, to have a simple idea of it, something very focused. Use your senses; use your eyes to look at the child Jesus, to see who is with him, the Blessed Virgin his mother, and St. Joseph his foster father, the saint “par excellence”. As you look at them, you will consider their thoughts and actions. You will soon come to an understanding of their thoughts and love.
Look at the child Jesus, at his size, at his face, where he is, notice his scanty covers. The Blessed Virgin had only some poor clothes that she had picked up in passing. St. Luke calls them « pannis eum » (Lk. 2: 7), which means coarse clothes. I already told you that I saw these cloths exposed in St. Mary Major, in a golden urn in a wooden manger. One immediately reflects: Is it possible that these touched our Lord, they are as rough as sack cloth? True, the cloth is white, but very rough. Could the Blessed Virgin possibly have woven it, since it is so badly made? There is a heavy thread and others that are finer. She must have found it, since only the poor would own it. I was not surprised to see men and women shedding tears as they looked at it.
24 Number 389. Noël. La contemplation de l’amour. 55
Ponder the love. We can ask, Why did he do this? While contemplating we ask why. We ask the Blessed Virgin, My dear Mother, why did you put him there? – He wanted it so. It was painful for me to put him directly on the straw. – Why did he do it? – Out of love for you. St. Joseph and I were sad at the sight of such poverty!
I cannot understand contemplation in any other way. So much for our eyes. We are also there, listening. Like a curious servant, we listen to all who come to the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph […].
Sometimes contemplation is more external than internal. This is not the contemplation of love. The mind works and searches. When an idea is conceived and one enters into the mystery, the soul forgets itself, penetrating what it sees. This is what happens when one sees a beautiful painting, or something beautiful, the eyes become fixed and no longer see; the ears no longer hear. This is the contemplation of love. When the soul is fully attentive, it neither sees nor hears anything, because it has entered into our Lord. This is very easy, something you do without even realizing it. When you make a prayerful and fruitful adoration, you say, I ran out of time, it seemed like just a minute. That experience came from the fact that your soul was with God, enjoying him, totally immersed in God.
How can one reach this stage? One must work at it. In the contemplation of love, we must put our senses to sleep, as we do for children who are always crying. What do we do? We draw their senses and their attention to something else. Likewise, we keep our senses busy, while our soul goes with God. If our senses wander, we bring them back with another thought. This is very necessary in the ordinary state of the soul. When God recollects us, we are like fish at home in the water. The Good Lord does everything internally and externally in a very gentle way. He merely wants our cooperation.
My Sisters, to arrive at the contemplation of love, try to be calm, free of all anxiety and of all bondage. Otherwise, we separate ourselves from our Lord; one of our senses is present, the others are not. What’s happening? Each sense contemplates in its own way. But, you might ask, when should we set aside this external contemplation? You will do so without realizing it. The door is open and you will enter. You will gradually make progress, as you apply yourself more completely. Do this for our Lord. Apply your contemplation to the Eucharist. Then you will see how he continues in the most Blessed Sacrament what he began in Bethlehem.
Even if very tiny then, he seems much smaller in the Blessed Sacrament. The host contains him, his adorable body and his divinity as well, smaller now than at the stable, where he lay on straw. The greater his love the more it shrinks to come all the way to us. While his swaddling clothes were little more than rag, he is even poorer now in the Blessed Sacrament where only the appearance of bread clothes him. The child Jesus did not speak, he grew normally, thinking and praying interiorly. This is even truer in the Blessed Sacrament, for our Lord is at the mercy of everyone, there is no movement here nor words spoken. Can you not see that there is more here than at Bethlehem?
There is a major difference, however. He suffered then, now he no longer can suffer. He came to die, now he comes to live. He can no longer die, but all the elements for suffering are still present. Were it possible, his suffering would be even greater. The source of suffering is far greater, leading to agony. Were it still possible, he would be in constant pain. It’s important to contemplate our Lord at Bethlehem in connection with his presence in the Blessed Sacrament. This is what gives life to the Bethlehem scene.
It is pleasant to recall the birth and infancy of one who is dearly loved. This explains why the Church celebrates the birth of Jesus with great solemnity. This is the time when the sun of justice (cf. Mal 3:20) came into the world. Because a servant becomes childlike with the child confide to her in order to rear him. Be childlike with our Lord, childlike in simplicity and love. If Bethlehem were not so far away, if it were in France, I would give you permission to pay a visit.
The stable still exists, it was not destroyed, it is a cave against a cliff. When the Good Lord created the world, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit foresaw all that would exist on earth, the palaces of kings and the homes of saints. When the Father created this cave, he told his Son, this will be your
56 home. The Son loved it, as well as the Holy Spirit. This cave was not the work of human hands; it was perfectly arranged by the Good Lord. The Good Lord was pleased to put together this home. He did not enrich it; his only gift was poverty. Poverty is more precious than glory.
[…] When kings are born, everything shines and canons roar. They have no other way to manifest their splendor. When the Good Lord enters the world, he comes in poverty. […]
Point for reflection:
This Christmas meditation is also a school for contemplation. What method of prayer does it teach you?
tTeE O eEtT
57
The Presentation of our Lord 25
Paris, Monday, February 2, 1863
I have brought you my candle, as a blessing for the house. I’m sure this is mine, since I placed a pin on it to identify it and not be mistaken, since I blessed them all.
The blessing of candles is done with beautiful prayers that you can find in your prayer books. People of faith light candles with great devotion during storms, disasters, and on the occasion of death. In our town, a candle is placed in the hands of one who has died. It is the light of faith and charity. It represents Jesus Christ, as sung in the liturgy. It is the work of bees, the fruit of flowers, drawn from nature’s greatest beauty and fragrance. This candle is the symbol of our Lord Jesus Christ. Take care of it, not for your death, since you are so few for adoration. But when you are many, the Good Lord will take some of you, since he needs some in heaven. To be on fire during our lifetime is better. The Feast of Candlemas gets its name from the candle.
The Presentation of our Lord and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin is a great feast both in heaven and on earth. Heaven has never received so great a victim as our Lord offered by the hands of his mother. And earth has never possessed so great a gift as this fruit of the earth, the flower of Jesse (cf. Is 11:1), the fruit of the virginity of Mary. The earth was so rich that the angels in heaven could never equal a gift in any way comparable to that offered by Mary.
It was foretold that the glory of the second Temple would excel that of the first. The first Temple, built by Solomon, had been destroyed by war during the (Babylonian) Captivity. Upon his return, Zerubbabel rebuilt the Temple with the help of Esdras. Although magnificent, the Temple of Zerubbabel did not equal Solomon’s, which was considered a marvel of the world. When the Jews returned from Captivity and saw this second Temple, they began to weep, since it was so poor compared to the beautiful Temple they had seen, all covered with gold. But a prophet came to say: The Temple that you seem to despise will enjoy greater glory than the first, because it will welcome the conquering Lamb, the Messiah (cf. Hag 2:1-9).
In fact, this Temple became greater upon welcoming our Lord on the day of his presentation (cf. Lk 2:22-38). Nothing was lacking to honor heaven, in the person of Jesus Christ surrounded by all that was great and holy on earth. The old man Simeon was there as the most upright man who had been promised to see the Messiah before dying. Coming on the occasion inspired by the Holy Spirit, he took our Lord in his arms. Enlightened by the Lord, he became a prophet, besides being a priest and upright man. A woman came, the prophetess Anna, also inspired by the Holy Spirit; she burst into joy. Her words are not recorded, only those of Simeon who was a man of authority, being a priest, and high priest, in fact, while Anna was a simple woman who was not allowed to speak in the Temple; yet she spoke from the abundance of her love. Then, of course, there was the Blessed Virgin, the immaculate mother of the Lord, and St. Joseph. Everything combined to glorify the presentation of our Lord. Nothing is mentioned about heaven. Since the infant Jesus does not speak, neither does the heavenly Father, waiting for a more important occasion, satisfied here with receiving the homage of his heart.
What is the basic message of this feast? Here it is. Our Lord is offering himself completely to his Father for the redemption of the world and for his greater glory on earth. The infant Jesus offers himself to live in the midst of work and poverty, hidden for thirty years, followed by his public life and finally his sacrifice on Calvary. Our Lord’s entire life unfolds before his Father who accepts it for his glory and out of love for us. Our Lord placed no conditions on his gift. Neither did the Blessed Virgin. In this offering, our Lord is the model for a religious person seeking perfection, desiring to honor, love, and serve him.
The self-offering of a Christian to God is often done to fulfill the law. The servant, on the road to heaven, finds that the way is long, with his members in constant conflict with the law, a confrontation
25 Number 474. La Présentation de notre Seigneur. 58 between what is mine and what is yours. God does not require more, they are not children, considering their service an obligation. Others give more by offering their piety. This gift is greater than those who preserve their state of freedom. By giving God everything they have, they are offering more than the others. They are serving God out of filial love. These are the upright souls in the world who add counsels to the requirements of law. Thank God, they exist in the world, and are easily recognized. Some bypass marriage to serve God as virgins in the world; they are represented by the most Blessed Virgin. Others are bound by the bonds of marriage, giving all their free time, everything they can. They also gain merits, although they do not carry a lily, they offer the flowers of Calvary with greater suffering. Others find greater calm, giving all they can in the service of the Lamb.
These souls are great, forming the court of our Lord in the world. Oftentimes, however, they take back or set limitations on their gift. A virgin soul is exposed to many dangers, if she has not given everything to our Lord, she may start looking at the confusion around her. How many virgins had started well, who ended up by even losing their crown!
There are many like that in marriage! Because they are restricted, they are unhappy, having kept their freedom and their rights. They are told that they are attempting too much, that they have enough with their duties of state, and they abandon everything. Sadly enough, this advice sometimes comes from priests. These souls are weakened by a misplaced love of neighbor that makes them lose their love of God. They end up in darkness without light. They must be very faithful to preserve the light. If they are, then the Good Lord will send them an angel to guide them.
My Sisters, the Good Lord has offered you a great grace. You could have become like so many others who weakened and failed when faced with danger. They were frightened and changed their mind. There are some people in the world who feel they have a mission to prevent souls from remaining in their vocation. These are pious souls who use piety to snatch from our Lord souls who want to belong totally to him. Many pious women are working for Satan, removing from our Lord those who desire to be completely for him – lightening bolts await them on the last day! A prince who has chosen to marry a certain woman will certainly be irritated by those who have taken her away. You don’t see this as we do; we see this every day. When a young man wants to remain pure, no one dares prevent him. He must stand with sword in hand. If a woman tempts him, she would be considered impudent. But for a virgin, how sad to see her being persuaded by beautifully tempting words! That’s enough about those people.
There is a third group of people who give themselves to the Good Lord in religious life. This is really the presentation of our Lord. Religious life is the gift of all that we are: our mind to think only of him; our heart to love only him with the love of a virgin; our body to become a victim. This is truly the Presentation. Surely, some people have done this in the world, but in religious life one gives everything. In the world people keep their freedom, while here surrender of freedom is the soul of the gift. One remains on the edge of the cliff when keeping the right to take back or overindulge. In religious life we have sacrificed not only our possessions, but also our very selves. What is it we are to do here? We give ourselves totally by vow, and we dare not take anything back without being considered dishonest and misled. Those who have made vows have made the perfect gift, while the others are preparing to do so by making the gift of virtue and love. How fortunate we are.
[…] Many persons in the world aspire to the religious life! God will remember their good will, even if they do not enter. I will not examine the reasons why God does not fulfill their desires. This is his will. While God seems very strict for people in the world, notice how good he has been for us. Not only has he accepted our gift, but he has desired, requested, and even begged this gift from us, thereby committing himself. When I give myself totally, he owes me a response, because religious life is the royal wedding of the Lamb (cf. Rev. 19:7). We can say that the time of novitiate is the engagement, while profession is marriage itself. You are sure of being accepted, your gift will be well received; as soon as you entered his palace, he himself led you by his angels. When Isaac first saw Rebekah, whom Eliezer (Gn. 15:2) had brought from a great distance, and when Rebekah herself saw Isaac, she covered herself with her veil, a ceremonial gesture of respect for the engaged, while Isaac kept his distance, another gesture of respect (cf. Gn. 24:62-66).
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Our Lord called you and prepared you. What an honor for the novices to be called his engaged, and for the professed, his spouses! […]. To form you, our Lord does not need a servant (Eliezer), or angels and saints. He alone will be in charge of forming you to live for his Eucharistic service. Under the same roof, living a Eucharistic life, your goal is found entirely in our Lord for whom you work. What more do you want? While the preparations for marriage may be done by others, the marriage union exists only between two persons, and no one has the right to intrude in your inner relationships. No one is to know; not even yourself. Religious life can prepare and perfect you, but your Eucharistic gift is your own joy!
My good Sisters, oftentimes in my talks there is something lacking. Do you know where your strength lies? Each member, each person finds strength in something; and the soul finds it in a grace. For example, the strength of each animal becomes frightening when used powerfully: the horns of a bull or rhinoceros seem useless, but they are its strength. For others, it is their teeth, like those of a lion. Likewise, each soul has its strength in its natural gifts, each saint has a grace that summarizes all others. Your strength must be in your gift, since it is your crown. It must always be perfect, not for your enjoyment, but to gather more strength. It must be maintained in all its purity.
Our Lord said: I accept your heart and give you my own, on condition that you keep the fire of your love burning, that it be ever beautiful and pure before me (cf. Lv 6:6); I accept the ownership, but you must take care of it. Your reward will be a hundredfold (cf. Mk 10:30). What should we do? If we do not feed it, if we do not supply it with oil (cf. Mt 25:1-13), it will remain fetid. Nourish your gift; in fact, everything we tell you is for this purpose. You can never destroy or annihilate this gift. Yet, despite the fact that your will is bound by chains of love, you remain free. You cannot misuse this freedom without committing a sacrilege. This is your virtue and your glory: I belong to you, as you belong to me (cf. Song 2:16). Be careful lest something arises to diminish your gift, drawing your heart to earthly things, spilling out the precious liquor in your vase. A betrothed has given herself by promise, while a spouse no longer belongs to herself.
My Sisters, take great care of your gift. Our Lord never reneged on his, as recorded by the prophet: Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not; but you have given me a body to do your will (cf. Ps 39:7-9). As our Lord has spoken, so must you do. He made you completely as you are, so that you can be totally his.
Note well that it is through the hands of Mary that our Lord wants to be offered. St. Joseph has no role in the mystery of the Presentation of our Lord, except to accompany Mary. He is not the one who offers our Lord, the Holy Spirit is always true in his goodness and truth. The Blessed Virgin carries the infant Jesus, who belongs to her. What will she do? She will present him to God, the priest is only the minister. She knew full well that he was the Messiah, since the angels had told her. But there was something that she did not know, hidden by God who wanted to allow her the joy of her divine maternity for forty days, as the Church says. She had forty days to enjoy her motherhood, alone with her divine Son. When she finally offers the infant Jesus, keep in mind that she is also offering to follow him in all his crosses and trials. Love feeds only on trials and sacrifices. The most Blessed Virgin had to accept all possible sacrifices, and she did so in fact.
Imagine the Blessed Virgin holding the infant Jesus, offering him to the Eternal Father. There had never been a sacrifice like this. How happy she must have been with her beautiful burden! The infant Jesus would never find priestly hands as pure as those of his mother.
On the scene comes a prophet, the old man Simeon. What will he say? The Blessed Virgin offers herself to all possible sacrifices, since there is no love without suffering. She is ready to suffer with her divine Son whatever the Heavenly Father wishes. Yet, she is taken aback that the Father had only been waiting for this moment to be freed from the delicacy of his love. Simeon says: This child is destined to be the downfall and the rise of many in Israel…a sword of sorrow shall pierce your heart (cf. Lk 2:34-35). He does not say your soul, but your heart, since it is more sensitive. How cruel was this old man Simeon to tell such a thing to a mother! He had just praised God with the words: Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace… for my eyes have seen a revealing light to the Gentiles, the glory of your people Israel (cf. Lk 2:29-32). How could he now bring sorrow to the
60 mother of this child? People would say that he is cruel! She had given birth only forty days earlier, and has already suffered from the cold, etc. Why not leave her thirty years of happiness, allow her to enjoy the hidden life of Nazareth? Wouldn’t it be sufficient to tell her only three days ahead of time, or at the most three years, about the revelations in chapter fifty-three26 of Isaiah! One does not speak about such things to a mother, especially the Good Lord.
[…] The world complains: The Good Lord does not love me. That is the refrain of a lazy person. If he did not love you, he would not give you what will obtain a crown for you in heaven; people want only happiness in their love for the Good Lord. Well then, go among the pagans […] this is not our way. Let your gift of self pass through the hands of the Blessed Virgin, realizing that it is the mother who chooses a spouse for her Son – she has the eye and heart of a mother. You will also realize that, since our Lord wants to have spouses to sing a hymn on Mount Zion (cf. Rev 14:1-3), his mother called you and prepared you for this. Hence, it is through her that you should present, offer, and nourish your gift if you are professed. The infant Jesus did not want to offer himself through any other hands than those of his mother.
Foster, therefore, a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin. You can never love her as much as she deserves. Although you are told that the Blessed Sacrament should absorb your whole life, you must not believe that you should not love the Blessed Virgin. Must we separate her from her divine Son? She accompanied him to the Temple and to Calvary. Thereafter, she suffered even more, since a sword pierced her heart, and it could no longer pierce the heart of our Lord.
What will be the fruit? When you came, you asked to be a good servant of our Lord. You did not dare say, I want to be his spouse. The Blessed Virgin will present you to our Lord as his worthy servant. A servant follows her master wherever he goes, eating what is leftover – yet, how beautiful! You will go with them to Nazareth, and eventually to Calvary, never abandoning them. If you love much, you will suffer much; if you love little, you will suffer little. Your gift through Mary’s hands means to suffer out of love. Unfortunately, some place themselves in suffering, focusing on the thorns before seeing the tree. Begin by the desire to give yourselves and be accepted; later, to share the sufferings he will send.
You give your heart, as a life-giving field that needs to be ploughed and harrowed to receive the grain of wheat. Without that preparation the seed will not penetrate the soil. You give your heart as a living field, a land full of love that the Lord harrows with his cross. It needs to be cultivated and cleared of weeds, […]. The process is painful, tearing out whatever blocks our Lord’s entrance. This is why our Lord works on this field with the instruments of his passion, his cross. Often, there are hard clumps formed by feelings of devotion that lead to a bit of self-love; with determination we must destroy these pests. Our Lord ploughs the heart that was hardening, since his royal way was being obstructed, our Lord will pass with his thorns, he must pass.
The Presentation of our Lord is a major religious feast. I believe that you have given yourselves, and renewed your vows. What is our Lord’s request? He wants us to tell him as he said: I have given you everything, and no longer belong to myself. This is what we must do, what we must say. It is your joy.
Point for Reflection:
This meditation includes two levels of prayer. Composition of place, and a search for the deeper meaning of this feast. What is the most striking for you?
tTeE O eEtT
26 The reference to chapter thirty-two in the copy has been replaced with fifty-three as appears in the instruction of February 2, 1864.
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Lent 27
Paris, Sunday, February 22, 1863
One who aspires to union with God will use mortification as the mystical ladder of Jacob (cf.Gn. 28:12). This is the sign of true progress in the journey towards God. It can even be said that one can go to God only through the cross of Calvary. It is the sharp, two-edged sword (cf. Rev 1:16) mentioned in the Book of Revelations. The journey to life passes through death. To know the state of a soul, this is what must be examined. If its detachment is great, this soul is great; if not, then it is still plodding on the ground and in the mud. Why is mortification the measure of our progress towards God? Because we must set ourselves aside to be united with God.
Mortification spiritualizes our body. The body remains essentially the same, but its tendency to slavery is imprisoned by the grace and love of God. One might say that mortification makes the body transparent. Notice how the body of a pure person seems transparent with purity. It seems to radiate with holiness, in such a way that pure souls become attractive. Even sinners and those with no religion are touched in spite of themselves by the sight of a child or a pure virgin. There is something that attracts them. One is always drawn to what is most perfect.
This does not mean that mortification creates skeletons. You must not think the saints are all emaciated. Some are rather stout; otherwise I would not dare speak. According to a legend, St. Basil was only skin and bones, to the point of being transparent. When I say that the body is spiritualized, I do not say that it is made smaller. Rather, like a crystal exposed to the light, it becomes brilliant and shining. When the virtue of our Lord is in the soul as in the body, there is a kind of light where everything appears calm, like God reigning in the soul. St. Paul says: I drive my body and train it (1 Cor. 9:27). He does not add the conclusion: in order to lift it towards God. The body and the senses are all linked together; the goal of mortification is to bind and control them with the power of virtue, and keep them in their proper place. Sometimes the soul is like a crystal sea without waves or ripples. How easily does the ship travel calmly and quietly towards eternity!
[…] Mortification spiritualizes the body by making it docile to the grace of God. It also clears the mind. The body can be tamed, even if it sometimes hesitates, acting like an alcoholic passing a liquor store. Its base instincts need the chains of mortification to tie it down and keep it still. But the hardest mortification is that of the mind.
Usually, our mind is occupied with two things at once, never quiet. Focusing on one idea, it seeks for another. Since the mind is the seat of pride and self-love, mortification aims at removing from it all that is not from God, setting it free. We can say that mortification tries to free the mind from what is not its true self. Our mind was made to know, love, and serve God. When our mind is preoccupied with material things, the Spirit of God within us reminds us that this is not right. We are always mixing self-love with love of God. We are always feverish. When the mind forgets God, it experiences constant confusion and feverishness. The discipline of the Holy Spirit is needed to control it like an unruly child. As the mind is simplified through mortification, it can better follow its thoughts, since it can now focus on the interior life. An unmortified person, however, cannot do this. There may be some success, but the mind soon escapes, like a child that stops briefly when called, and then quickly runs away.
Our poor mind is so fickle that it cannot be controlled. Our body is different; it can be disciplined, but the mind is like the wind, difficult to grasp. God was wise not to say: Give me your mind. Why? Because it is touring the world. In the book of Job, Satan presents himself before God who asks him: Where have you been? – I have been roaming the earth. He seemed to claim: I am its master.
27 Number 478. La mortification spiritualise le corps, simplifie l’esprit, affranchit le cœur. (Mortification spiritualizes the body, clears the mind, and liberates the heart.) 62
Annoyed, God said: Have you noticed my servant Job? (cf. Jb 1:7-8) Our mind is like that. If God asked where it has been, it has been roaming the earth.
Our goal, then, is to mortify ourselves through the mind (spirit) of our Lord. Some want to mortify themselves through reason, but the mind will not listen to the voice of authority. Others try to mortify themselves through debate, attempting to corner the mind in a box; but it gets away. On the other hand, the grace of our Lord does not imprison the mind, but gives it a good and excellent object; namely, our Lord himself, the rest is nothing. When we want to recollect ourselves for prayer, to take a resolution, we soon begin roaming the world. That’s not the right approach, a sick person cannot cure himself. Mortify your mind by turning to our Lord.
Mortification, however, goes further. Its goal is to set us free. The body holds on to sensuality and rest; the mind is fickle and flighty, interested in transient things. Besides, the Good Lord did not want to remain in the body nor in the mind which are so imperfect, that’s not what He seeks. When one buys a house, one buys everything, even the unimportant trifles. When the heart is given, everything is given.
The ultimate goal of mortification is detachment of heart. What kind of detachment? Detachment from everything, because the nature of a heart is to be a slave, worried and fearful, unable to live on its own, its power is in its affection. When blood passes through the valves of the heart, incoming air would be deadly. The life of the heart is to pulse, or to beat if you prefer, since the heart gives itself totally, holding back nothing. If it has no affections, it looks for a new one, since it is naturally poor.
Mortification liberates us from the slavery of the heart, from its disordered attractions to all kinds of things. Any attachment is disordered if it occurs imperfectly in a way rejected by God. One can be attached to virtue out of vanity or even to our Lord out of selfishness, as did the holy women and the apostles in an excessively physical way. When something is wrong, mortification corrects it. [If] something is sinful, we must not look, but turn away. It is through the heart that evil must be corrected, by taking its affection and going to the Good Lord28. Even if the affection is good, we must beware lest self-love get the upper hand. […] If we are not careful, self-love can pour itself onto the love of God and destroy it.
The goal of Christian mortification is to make us live in the spirit of our Lord. Our Lord has three spirits. In our body, a spirit of mortification and suffering; in our mind, a spirit of truth; in our heart, a spirit of love. If we want him to enter into us, he must sort out our affections. This is the purgatory of the heart.
Mortification purifies us of all that is bad, or that could become bad. It works like fire separating dross from gold. The gold is purified by a fire that consumes everything else. Our Lord’s spirit of love works out this purification, consuming everything bad, guiding what is good, transforming it into something very good. The heart becomes alive. Earlier, it was heavily burdened and could not move, our Lord liberates it to move freely, no longer enchained. This is how mortification acts to place us in the true spirit of our Lord, our true goal.
[…]
What must be done? Ask our Lord for the spirit of mortification. That virtue will never be ours. Although we may perform some acts, it is only when death comes to cut the thread of life that we will have nothing to fear. This is why St. Paul said: Clothe yourselves with the mortification of Jesus Christ; let your loins be girded with the mortification of Jesus Christ (cf. Rm 13:14; 2 Co 4:10); I resolved to know nothing except Jesus, and him crucified (cf. 1 Co 2:2). He understood clearly that was the only road to heaven: If we suffer with Jesus Christ, we will also be glorified with him (cf. Rm. 8:17). Our Lord had already spoken clearly: If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny
28 Possible meaning: In the case of sin, we must cut it out. In the case of something wrong or some deviation, it must be rectified and corrected by turning our affection towards God. 63
himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Lk. 9:23). We must fully understand that we are united with him only through the cross., and consider mortification as a purgatory that makes us stronger.
A sick person who loves good health will not question a doctor or a pharmacist. When told that the medicine is bitter, he takes it. Even if a limb needs to be cut, he wants to live. Mortification will allow the lungs of your soul to breathe, if you fast strictly and you will eat1 the Good Lord. The devil always tries to convince us that something is too difficult. Fear brings on the pain. My good Sisters, become very simple and free, and you will understand what I am saying.
Points for reflection:
During Lent the Church proposes to us a spirit of penance and conversion. Father Eymard helps us to see this as a means of spiritual growth. Do you recognize yourself in one or other of the points presented? Examine your past experience to find an event that illustrates one aspect of his teaching.
tTeE O eEtT
1 S7 bis, variant: eat (present tense). 64
The Eucharistic Passion 29 Paris, Tuesday, February 19, 1861
[…]. My Sisters, during this holy Lenten season only one thought should occupy your mind, namely, the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. It must become your major focus, your great devotion. Your love of God will not be great or strong, unless based on the Passion. You will not understand our Lord’s love, since one understands love only through sacrifices. Our Lord’s greatest proof of love was the passion itself. For this reason St. Paul says that he loves only Jesus and Jesus crucified (cf. 1 Cor 2:2). Anyone who does not base his devotion on the passion of our Lord lives in illusion, or his love is still in its infancy. Our Lord said, No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (cf. Jn 15:13). Since we were all his enemies, he could even have included enemies in his love.
What should you do to honor the passion of our Lord and make this devotion fully alive? Two things are involved: the real sufferings that our Lord endured at the time of the passion, and what he suffered for us. He loved us so much that he was led to sacrifice all that he had. On Calvary he gave us his humanity, his entire life. As St. Paul said: Jesus Christ has loved me and has given himself up for me (Gal 2:20). The great St. Paul is eager to suffer to profess his complete love for Jesus Christ, ever so small compared to God’s love. In his letters, he is always speaking of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, as he does to the Corinthians: Have you forgotten the sufferings of Jesus Christ? Didn’t I speak in so vivid way that you could practically see him on the Cross? When they argued among themselves: I belong to Apollos; I belong to Cephas, St. Paul told them: Is it Apollos or Cephas who was crucified for you, who loved you to the point of crucifixion? (cf. 1 Cor 1:12-13) Not at all.
Therefore, my Sisters, meditate on the mysteries of the passion of our Lord . Take them one at a time, so that your love can mature beyond that of a child. Otherwise, you will be accused of not honoring our Lord in the greatest proof of his love; you will not love suffering and mortification.
What is the Eucharist? Let us never forget why our Lord is present on the altar. What did our Lord Jesus Christ say? This is my body, take and eat; this is my blood, take and drink; in memory of what? Of his passion, because these words of consecration are the very words that our Lord used to foretell that he would be handed over to his enemies. In the Greek, the present tense is used instead of the future: Take and eat, this is my body; this is my blood that is poured out for you (cf. Mt 26:26-27), as though announcing two mysteries that are really one.
The Holy Eucharist is the memorial of the passion of our Lord. It continues the life of our Lord in our midst, his passion of love. His bloody passion is finished, offered for our redemption; but his Eucharistic passion is a passion of love, with our Lord still the victim. Risen to new life, he can no longer really suffer and die. But he takes on the form of a victim, and leaves us do the rest. When we now suffer in union with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, we return to him so to speak his redemptive life. Furthermore, we complete his Eucharistic life. St. John says : I saw a Lamb that seemed to have been slain (cf. Rev 5: 6), but not dead. Why? In order to tell us that we must die for him. He cannot die because of his resurrection; he must die in his members to continue his mission of redemption. To understand this, you should enter into the Eucharist. The details will become clearer. Enter into the Eucharist, and you will see our Lord continuing his passion there in a most loving way.
In the Garden of Olives Jesus is betrayed and sold by Judas (cf. Mt 26:48). How many other Judases still betray and sell him? Reflect on the time of the Institution of the Eucharist until today. Formerly catholic nations have become heretics by hundreds of thousands. Later, the Mohammedans spread in Asia, rather took over half of Africa and Asia. These heretics and Mohammedans had been catholic. And the Protestants, numbering in the millions, were all catholic. Among the Catholics themselves, how many are unfaithful Christians, unfaithful priests! There are plenty!
29 Number 296. Quelques mots sur l’ordination. La Passion eucharistique. [A few words on ordination. The Eucharistic Passion.] 65
This is the broader passion of our Lord, much greater and sadder than that of Calvary. Our Lord is no longer sad, because he is in his glory; but if he could weep, he would have reason to do so. […] Don’t the angels have reason to be sad? Doesn’t Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament seem to be more abandoned than in the Garden of Olives? His apostles were present, even if not very helpful. Nearby he had the Blessed Virgin, his mother.
Don’t you notice that Jesus is alone? Even with perpetual exposition, isn’t it scandalous that practically no one comes to adore our Lord? They say that’s our responsibility. When there is exposition, the king is on his throne and a plenary indulgence can be gained… Our Lord is not recognized, everyone stays home. People of faith would all arise. Various devotions take precedence over our Lord. If there is no one of note, people stay away. Do they come only for the sake of persons? Today, churches are empty. People want personages, not our Lord. All would be attracted if there were beautiful music or some famous preacher. Here, there are a few people who come regularly, but in the provinces churches are closed in many places because there is no one coming. Our Lord is alone. Why doesn’t he leave? Some day he will.
Think of the wicked treatment he received before Annas and Caiphas (cf. Jn 18:12ss). Does he not receive similar treatment in the Eucharist? With the evil blasphemies of newspapers and secret societies, no one has ever been persecuted and maligned like our Lord. This is the hour of hell, very different from the Passion when the Jews had to put him to death because they had no faith in our Lord. Today, some Catholics abuse him. Other wicked treatment and sacrileges also thrive. Sacred hosts are trodden under foot, used for magic, given to animals and to the Jews, without our knowledge. If we became aware of the passion of our Lord in the Eucharist, it would suffice to make us die of sorrow. Although our Lord foresaw all this, he accepted it to come to his children.
He is insulted before Annas and Caiphas. This reminds us of the scandals of priests and religious, since all heresies began with bad priests and bishops who went astray, who were unfaithful to their mission to guide the Church. Heresy never started with the faithful, but with priests. Before Herod: our Lord has been scoffed at for eighteen centuries by learned men. Even today, profane science robes him, so to speak, with a robe of ignominy and disdain (cf. Lk 23:8ss). Before Pilate (cf. Jn 18:28ss), he is confronted with force. For three hundred years, the emperors used force against Christians. All heresies used the same means. Who supports our Holy Father today? No one; his only help is in prayer. There are so many Pilates!
Many hold their positions, fearing to confront wicked men. They have no fear of good men, but still hand our Lord over to the crowds! Will they kill him? No. They have already drawn his blood to the last drop on the Cross. They can blaspheme and insult our Lord, but they can no longer kill him, since he is risen, and will remain until the end of time.
What can we do? Honor the crucified life of our Lord in his Eucharistic passion. The first Calvary led to the second, and we were all there. Let us honor our Lord, with the sentiments of the Blessed Virgin. She was constantly concerned with the sufferings of her divine Son. She knew each of his sufferings from the time of his birth to his death on Calvary. Join her, and St. John. He was the only apostle there. Join St. Mary-Magdalene and the holy women gathering the blood and tears of our Lord (cf. Jn 19:25-27). Like a family member of all who were there, you can easily take on their thoughts and feelings. The Church no longer sings Alleluia and sets aside its festive garb. The Church repents, suffers, groans, lamenting over her children who have done wrong. The devil is very active at this time, and many evil men refuse to recognize our Lord!
Points for reflection:
Meditation on the Passion of our Lord is one way of allowing ourselves to be touched by his Love. It leads us to the mystery of Eucharist. Reflect on the Eucharistic Passion of Christ as it unfolds even in today’s world. What aspects of today’s society do you see being referred to?
tTeE O eEtT
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Reparation. The Words of Our Lord on the Cross30
Paris, Friday, August 19, 1859
My Sisters, do not forget the role of reparation, especially on Friday, or whenever you adore on the other days, in the morning or evening. Actually, the evening is the best time for reparation and propitiation, as you recall the crucifixion of our Lord, our priceless redemption. One is better disposed through union with our Lord. One has a special grace that speaks to the soul and senses; there is something easier and more touching, while the topics under consideration become more striking.
One can adore with an adoration of reparation in several ways. The best is to make it with our Lord on the Cross, offering to the Heavenly Father the sufferings and crucifixion of our Lord for those who offend him every day. One can make reparation through our Lord by participating in the sufferings of his body and soul, begging pardon, offering the sufferings of his body for the sins people commit with their bodies, and the sufferings of his soul for internal sins.
Offering our Lord in this way is the best way to make a good act of reparation. While it is true that he offers himself, I advise you to offer him also, and to join him in offering yourself, uniting your small daily sufferings to his, offering our Lord to himself. This is an excellent way of reparation.
One must pray to make reparation for the sins of the whole world; first our own sins, then for the sins of those in high places, the sins of priests and persons consecrated to God. They offend him so much, due to their high position and many graces. The fault of a child is more painful than that of fifty thousand strangers, likewise that of a spouse against her husband. The closer the relationships, the greater the pain. If you knew all the offenses, sins, and sacrileges of priests, religious women, and those in the world who have made the vow of chastity, you would not have enough tears to shed. Our Lord is so offended! Even if there were only a few, there must be reparation. We may often have become indignant over Judas, but others are even more to be blamed. Although Judas knew that Jesus was a good man, he did not know that he was his God.
Why didn’t our Lord place certain limits to prevent any sacrilege from offending him personally? Bad priests should not dare celebrate Mass out of fear of being struck by lightning. Persons of rank, like sovereigns, do not allow armed assassins to approach them. Yet, our Lord allows them, and even covers them with his mantle to hide them from view, to protect the honor and dignity of the priesthood. One might say, he’s going too far. But that’s the extent of his love, so that good persons will not be shocked and become the first to keep their distance, considering themselves unworthy.
All these things fill one’s heart with sadness. You may not be aware that there are priests who forget their duties. Even if they are not sacrilegious, they become oblivious of what is truly important. Today, I saw a renegade priest begging for food. Unhappily many are easily tempted, making of their priesthood a mere trade for the acquisition of a property or a house, or to enrich their relatives. How sad this is! When a priest is transferred from a poor parish, people say he has been rewarded and must be pleased. Now he is in charge of a thousand five hundred and fifty souls! His stipend is high, his residence comfortable, and the church is also beautiful. As a result, he is truly rich. The care of souls is no longer his first concern. In days gone by the primary objective was the conversion of sinners. Now a poor parish is considered an evil, especially if money is lacking. Priests have become enmeshed in worldly affairs, chatting among themselves about money and positions of dignity.
Sometimes, to encourage a priest, a bishop will give him a better parish, as like a promotion. This is a great temptation, not from the Good Lord’s point of view, but from that of the people, who think that a priest must become a good administrator, to be named pastor of a district. How sad! Here, a pastor receives 4,000 francs, some up to 6,000. It is sad to see while they do good work, they are exposed to
30 Number 172. Les paroles de notre Seigneur sur la croix. 67 many temptations and end up unhappy. In the city, they are invited to parties and dinners. Busy with administration, celebrations, burying of the dead, they would be more pleasing to the Good Lord if they prayed more and celebrated less, instead of spending the entire day around coffins. They have no time to visit our Lord and adore him! Poor priests! The devil encourages all these obstacles and people love to have a priest around to lessen their feeling of guilt. Pray for priests. They are to be pitied in the midst of today’s world. Pray. This is our Lord’s will.
It’s important to pray for priests. If they are good, the faithful are good; if they are bad, so are the faithful. All revolutions come from the sins of priests, not from the sins of others, but from those of priests, even from only one, according to St. Alphonse of Liguori. Crucifixion destroyed the Jewish nation, and there was only one crucifixion.
Among the ordinary faithful in the world, there are very few who love our Lord! They have time for the demands of the world, for make-up, and social visits, but have no time to pray. Their days are totally absorbed with family and social engagements. On judgment day, they will see if our Lord will accept these excuses. There is time for everything except God. The devil has so entangled worldly people that they have no more time for anything, having become instruments of Satan.
Many Christians have become pagan, unbelievers, philosophers, and atheists who offend our Lord! The greater number are renegades and apostates, composed mostly of bad Catholics, not Protestants. There are fewer wayward Protestants than evil Catholics. Voltaire was a Catholic, while Rousseau was a Protestant. But Voltaire and his followers, like d’Alembert were all Catholic. There is no doubt that our Lord sees the small nucleus of faithful ones that please him very much. But he has the heart of a father, seeing so many who go astray, offending him, and getting lost. The little good done by the faithful ones does not equal the evil done by the wicked. Good actions are much less numerous than crimes committed. But our Lord remains because of those who remain faithful. I’m not talking about the pagans, heretics, and idolaters who stay away from him through sin. For if they were faithful, God would send them an angel, a missionary.
My Sisters, when you love someone, your love is not limited to his times of honor and glory, but partakes of his pains and sorrows. Since you have three adorations daily, set one apart for reparation; it will the best. You are practicing these two things: adoration and reparation. You are offering yourself and asking grace from the Good Lord, begging his mercy. To have pity on these poor persons is good, but to heal them is better. When a priest is lost, God will send his angels. He cannot resist a prayer done with trust. We could save the whole world if we knew how to pray. Prayer is more powerful than the malice of men and the devil. The Blessed Virgin converted the people of her time. Those who were not converted had sinned against the Holy Spirit (cf. Mt 12:32). We cannot say, however, that all the other sins were against the Holy Spirit. The prayer of a Christian is the prayer of Jesus Christ, accompanied by penance. How did the saints pray? They simply had recourse to God. Reparation must be an essential part of your life; since your spouse is always crucified, you must always be ready to console him.
There are other ways to sympathize with the sufferings of our Lord and to intercede with him for sinners. One that I like very much is to use the words of our Lord on the Cross, making reparation to God the father, and to Jesus Christ by means of his own merciful words.
The first word: Father, forgive them, they know not what they do (Lk 23:34). They do not recognize you in the Blessed Sacrament, for they are blind. As our Lord prayed for the executioners, the gravity of their sins is diminished. We must ask mercy, using these words for each one: My God, grant pardon for these sinful priests; they are our leaders, your members, your crown. We must give him reasons; although he knows them already, he wants us to express them. We must then reason out, argue, quarrel, and beg for mercy. There are so many people who do not know you; they do not realize that you died for them. Admittedly there are some who do know, but let your goodness then be greater than their wickedness, your grace stronger than their temptations; pardon them. After that, you can speak to Jesus Christ: If they knew your goodness and mercy, perhaps they would surrender; if only they experienced the joy of loving you.
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Then, repeat it again, since love always repeats itself. Always with the same goal, one repeats the same prayer, even if it seems to be always the same, that’s the right thing to do. One must employ one’s imagination, seeing our Lord on Calvary, admiring his goodness, addressing him with his own words. The imagination, the heart, the body, the will – everything is focused on him without distractions.
Move on to the other words: Remember me, says the good thief, when you come into your kingdom; Lord, remember me at the hour of my death (cf. Lk 23:42). The good thief makes a beautiful profession of faith: We have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal (cf. Lk 23:41). He has no fear of the executioner; since he is on the side of justice, he fears nothing. He turns towards the one he considers as truly just, our Lord, and calls him, Lord. Omitting other details, he simply calls him his Lord and God, and makes his request. To a person in high authority, one does not say: Pray. But this is his Lord and God. This confession is much better than that of St. Thomas (cf. Jn 20:28). He calls him his king: Give me the last place, for I am a miserable sinner. Our Lord responds: Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise (Lk 23:43). We must remind our Lord not to forget us and all the others, and ask him to bring us to his kingdom.
Make reparation through the Blessed Virgin, begging her heartily at the foot of the cross. She was offering her son for the salvation of the world, and offering herself to him. It is there that, for the first time, she is mother of everyone, and their salvation is very dear to her heart. We must offer our Lord the anguish and tears of his mother. It is very easy to offer the Blessed Virgin to our Lord. We must do so, since she is the great mediatrix, becoming one in her. We should pause for a while, especially if the timing of our reparation is the hour of the death of our Lord. There is a difference of one hour, more or less, with Jerusalem a little south of us. Before three fifteen, we stand before our Lord on the cross. But after that, the Blessed Virgin remains there on Calvary as the model of reparation. We can spend more time in reparation with her.
The fifth word: I thirst (Jn 19:28). Our Lord is thirsting for souls, their salvation, to see the glory of his heavenly Father established throughout the universe. How shall we quench that thirst? Since he is thirsting for souls, the way to satisfy that thirst is to offer ourselves as bail, to become the victim. Doing this in general or having particular persons in mind, we will indeed slake the thirst of our Lord.
My God, why have you forsaken me? (cf. Mt 27:46) We entreat our Lord not to abandon poor sinners, to pardon them. We beg him not to strike them, to give them a year, two years, three years, ever more time, not allowing them to be struck by death, by the devil. Time is needed to place fertilizer around the tree (cf. Lk 13:8), that it may not be cursed. We appeal to his goodness and mercy; we argue with him (cf. Gn 18:16,33; Ex 32:9,12,32), since we must wrangle from our Lord the things he finally grants to those he loves. Finally, you entrust your soul to our Lord, as you entrust to him the souls of these poor persons. You can then say, they will be saved.
Points for reflection: St. Peter Julian tells us that we have a mission of adoration and reparation. He invites us to share the sufferings of Christ. He suggests various means of reparation. Which one corresponds to your personal grace? Take note of the Scripture passages quoted here. Which one touched you the most?
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The last days of Holy Week31
Paris, Tuesday, April 3, 1860
Here is the schedule for the coming week. Tomorrow, there will be adoration only until noon, to give time to make the repository. Make your adoration in the morning. On Holy Thursday, there will be Mass and Communion in the morning, so that you can eat something. Adoration will be as usual, except there will be no Benediction. On Friday there is the Mass of the Presanctified, and you will still come for adoration. There will be the veneration of the Cross and the Divine Office. Likewise on Saturday, the Mass as usual is at eight o’clock, since that is the most convenient time. In the Roman liturgy, as you know, we receive Communion on Holy Saturday.
What will you do this week? Personally, since I cannot give you any other special conference: the First Communion retreat will use up all my time.
This week we celebrate the mysteries of the Passion. They are great and solemn; meditate on them. You must enter into their spirit, and follow the grace of each day.
Tomorrow, we recall the betrayal of Judas. The Church has always considered Wednesday as a day of sadness. It is a day of penance in many religious orders. When permission is given to eat meat, Wednesday is excluded. On that day, our Lord was sold. This crime is often repeated through bad Communions, and the Church remembers this by the penance that she requires from her children.
[…] Holy Thursday recalls the institution of the Holy Eucharist. The Church forgets about Lent and sings the Gloria in excelsis. But its joy is tinged with sadness since it is so closely linked with Good Friday. This joy was bought at a great price, so great a sacrifice that mitigates the full joy.
This is your great feast, as well as ours, since our Lord gave the Eucharist on Holy Thursday and we were present there. Surely, he had around him the communities that would be marked by the Holy Eucharist. Since we are the most privileged before him, our Lord blessed us ahead of time. Eighteen centuries is nothing for God; everything is present, and we were there. Our Lord was planning the priesthood that would bring Communion to the world, it was the First Communion. If it were not the Lenten Season, this would be our greatest feast, with adoration and the Institution of the Eucharist. We must celebrate it well, and thank our Lord for his goodness and love.
In the Garden of Olives, our Lord remained from nine to midnight perspiring blood and water. It was the passion of love of Jesus Christ. Good Friday will be the passion of his sufferings. You will not sleep, reflecting on this till midnight. The apostles were sleeping, since sadness tends to make one drowsy, as the gospel says: He found them sleeping from grief (Lk 22:45). As his hour approached, their hearts were closing. That’s sufficient material for Holy Thursday.
On Friday, follow Jesus by reading the gospels, aware that at midnight our Lord was arrested, bound hand and foot, and, with a rope around his neck, led to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiphas. Treated like a scoundrel, he entered Jerusalem where, five days earlier, he had come in triumph. That’s the way people are. From Annas he is led to Caiphas, amidst insults and beatings that would not be hurled at the worst of men. Evil leaders went to sleep, while our Lord was handed over to the soldiers of the high priest to be ridiculed all night.
The following morning, when evil leaders woke up, our Lord was led to Pilate for scourging and his presentation [to the crowds] with Ecce Homo. Pilate then forced Jesus across the city to see Herod, who despised him, and questioned him again. The Roman soldiers mocked and insulted him. At approximately nine o’clock, they began the journey to Calvary. Only at noon, when the preparations were complete, was our Lord crucified. You should follow the way of the cross. From noon to
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three o’clock, ponder the Seven Last Words [Cf. Mt 27:46; Lk 23:34, 43, 46; Jn 19:26, 28, 30]. At three o’clock see the death of Jesus Christ, and notice what happens.
With our Lord in the tomb, keep the Blessed Virgin company. Alone and grieving, she had only a few poor Christians and St. John, who could hardly replace our Lord.
She had been very strong, the strong woman, till the very moment of our Lord’s death. She was standing (cf. Jn 19:25), according to the Gospel, and not as represented in some paintings. She stood, facing the cross. When our Lord died, the redemption was complete. The Blessed Virgin must have collapsed under the weight of sorrow. The victory had been won; she could now weep freely with the apostles.
[…]Follow the mysteries of this week. The Eucharist should not absorb your attention at this time. Follow the mysteries, and take part in them. Usually we do this too lightly, in a superficial way. Let us enter more deeply into the sufferings and humiliations of the love of our Lord, so that we may love him more.
Points for reflection:
The Paschal Triduum is the high point of the liturgical year. It is the central mystery that gives meaning to all the rest. In this meditation we are invited to follow each event of the last days of the life of Jesus. What means will you use to allow yourself to be touched by this time of grace?
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The Resurrection. We must rejoice with the Blessed Virgin32
Paris, Tuesday, April 22, 1862
My Sisters, I haven’t seen you for a long time. We are busy with many things. We have to serve the master first; besides, you had some workers here. We will resume our little conferences. It’s not bad that you are occasionally left to yourselves. You have to learn to live from your own means, asking the master’s help. I’m like John the Baptist, a voice crying in the desert (cf. Jn 1:23). I will give you nothing unless the Good Lord gives me something. Since we have often spoken about our Lord, you must be getting to know him a little. It’s good to fast a little; you will listen more attentively.
Let your spirit keep up with the significance of the feasts. Feast days are meant to honor certain events in the lives of our Lord and the Blessed Virgin, as willed and offered to us by God. They are not merely commemorative, since they bring us the same graces. To enter into the spirit of our Lord, we must celebrate the feasts.
Now, we focus on the Resurrection. You would not enter into the spirit of this feast if you wanted to weep and return to Calvary. If that were your particular grace, I would say nothing, but you would not be following the flow of God’s graces. Rejoice with the Church; you have found your lost treasure. There is great joy and happiness in recovering a treasure that had been lost (cf. Lk 15:6, 9, 24). Here is our Lord, our Friend, our Father, and our Spouse. Let us not lose him again. We must rejoice, therefore, and enter into the joy of the Resurrection.
As I said on Sunday, the Resurrection is a triumph. But what catches our attention is not the life of glory, but rather the Resurrection considered in the light of the Eucharist. This is different, and we rejoice over it by saying: Our Lord is risen to unite himself with me. While enjoying the qualities of a glorious body, he even sacrifices all this to come to me.
Our Lord was very happy on the day of his Resurrection. He was entering his glory to reign over us by a new and completely spiritual reign. Our Lord’s joy flowed from his love, since he will now work for his Father’s glory in a much more efficient way. […] After his resurrection, he shared in the immensity of his Father through the qualities of his glorious body. […]
We should rejoice with the Blessed Virgin, who had suffered so much. All the tears of the saints or of the entire universe do not equal the value of one tear of the Blessed Virgin. It is because of love that one suffers, and one’s love comes from grace and good will. No one knows the grace of the Blessed Virgin; it would be an infinite grace if perfection were not reserved for God alone. If the Blessed Virgin suffered so much because of her sacrifice, then her subsequent joy must have been great. Her joy was not like ours, unfortunately, we spoil everything by finding joy in ourselves. In the world it is said that a pious person is happy, but it is external to true piety and grace and is imperfect. What is true happiness? That of the Blessed Virgin. She is happy with the joy of our Lord. She is centered on our Lord, not on the happiness that is centered on self. She was happy over him. Her pure love became the goal of her life. This is why the Good Lord withholds his consolations from us; we become too attached to them, as St. Magdalene who in her unrestrained joy held on to our Lord (cf. Jn 20:17), something he disapproved of. The Blessed Virgin was happy with the happiness of our Lord, her joy was pure, it was the joy of love.
Joy may accompany us at the very beginning; but then the Good Lord removes his consolations, because we become selfish even with his love. We force him to withdraw his embracing love, because we take only his gift and forget about him, like a child who accepts a delicious apple and forgets the one who gave it. The Imitation says that if we do not enjoy consolations, it’s our fault. Contemplation means resting in God, but we do not know how to become free of self.
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The Blessed Virgin’s joy was the expression of her love. You have certainly experienced joy when joy comes to someone you love; you are happy over her joy. The faithful soul is somewhat like that, happy because our Lord is happy. We can then understand a bit the joy of the Blessed Virgin.
Why don’t the evangelists speak of our Lord’s apparitions to the Blessed Virgin? Nothing is mentioned, they could not recount what happened. She must have been the first before all others to receive the visit of Jesus, the Risen One. What occurred? The gospel writers could not express it, since it was too perfect. It was the love of a son for his mother, of the redeemed for her Savior. Love cannot be adequately expressed, especially at such a high degree of perfection. One must respect what our Lord wanted to keep hidden. All we know is that he wanted it. The Church sings the beautiful hymn: Queen of heaven, rejoice! How simple! Pray for us, that’s all. This is a hymn of peace, of joyous festivity, that no worldly song can equal, a hymn of grace and love.
When our Lord was not with his apostles, he was with his holy Mother. I’m sure he was well surrounded by all the saints he had redeemed from limbo, from Adam to the good thief who had just died (cf. Lk 23:39-43). He already had a beautiful court; with Adam, the patriarchs and prophets – I would have liked to see this even for a quarter of an hour – in addition to the angels that never left his side. Although our Lord had a wonderful court in heaven, the Blessed Virgin remained in the Cenacle where he visited her often, not to confirm her faith since she was sufficiently confirmed, but for the good of the Church. He was telling her what must be done, and what he would do later. How happy our Lord must have been to have the Blessed Virgin on earth! In the gospels, unfortunately, one finds not a word of tenderness for the Blessed Virgin. As savior, our Lord wanted to be seen as savior of the world, dependent only on his Father. He might have said something, but the evangelists do not record it. In his risen life, he must have shown her many signs of tenderness, she certainly deserved it.
The point is that suffering is pleasing to God. To be perfect in love, it seems that one must be perfect in suffering. […] You do not have much to suffer, and yet you are surrounded by messengers from Calvary. Why does our Lord act that way? In order to give you an occasion to love. Our Lord said to the disciples of Emmaus: Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory? (Lk 24: 26)
My poor Daughters, do you know what you should do? Penetrate a little into the inner life of our Lord. How I wish this were so! What is most perfect does not always impress the senses. It is through the spirit of faith that we must see what our Lord is thinking, what is happening in his interior life. When you are before the Blessed Sacrament, then, pay attention to what our Lord is saying, doing, and thinking. He is certainly thinking, willing and desiring something. Enter into this intimate life.
Points for reflection: Father Eymard reminds us of the importance of the liturgical year as a means to live the mystery of Christ, and to know him through the eyes and heart of Mary. He invites us to take in a personal way the love manifested to us in every event in the life of Jesus. What practical means do you find here?
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The Ascension33
Paris, Friday, May 18, 1860
My Sisters, yesterday was the feast of the Ascension. This feast continues for ten days, until Pentecost. Ascension is the end, the last feast of our Lord on earth; it is the triumph, the harvest. Our Lord Jesus Christ certainly deserved this triumph, since his poor body suffered much to enjoy glorification and to be seated at the right hand of the heavenly Father. He had suffered such bodily humiliation, he was crushed as under a press (cf. Is 53:5), as the prophet Isaiah says, his appearance like that of a leper (cf. Is 52:14).
Our Lord knew ahead of time all that he would suffer. When one knows in advance that one must suffer, it is worse. We must rejoice over this triumph, since our Lord fully merited it. His soul had suffered so much, with all the sorrows of the Garden of Olives (cf. Mt 26:37-38). He always suffered as he viewed the sins of the world. We should indeed rejoice that this blessed soul will enjoy its glory in heaven. Jesus Christ will be seated at the right hand of his Father (cf. Mk 16:19). As he rises we should say: Worthy are you, O Lord, to receive power, glory and honor forever and ever, because you purchased us with your blood (cf. Rev 5:9, 12), as the saints sing in the book of Revelation.
We should be happy to see the day of reward for our Lord finally arrive. In a sense, love is the loser. Of course, he will return, but not in the same way. He told his downhearted disciples, It is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate (Holy Spirit) will not come to you (Jn 16:7). The sight of our Lord’s body was an obstacle for the apostles who were too attached to it. Our Lord consoled them by saying: It is for your good, it is better for you that I go. As the time drew near, they became sad; they had not learned to appreciate their Good Master. It was like losing a father, a mother. After the Ascension, they were no longer sad. They had learned and understood things better. They could visit the Garden of Olives without sadness. They understood that the glory of their master had required this sacrifice.
What a beautiful day for heaven, as well as for the earth! Here is what is recorded. The Mount of Olives is near Jerusalem. One must first go down from the city, since Jerusalem is built on several hills and surrounded by valleys. The Mount of Olives is not far. One passes through a valley where there is a flooding stream, the torrent of Cedron, with the Cenacle not far away, on a hillside on Mt. Zion. Our Lord gathered his disciples in the Cenacle for the last time. Before leaving them, the evangelists say that he repeated once again the discourse of the Last Supper, with all its goodness and tenderness. He insisted on concord, charity, love of God, and union with him. Even at other times, he had kept telling them: Remain in my love. If the branches are not united to the vine, they cannot have life nor bear fruit. Whoever remains in me will bear much fruit. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you (cf. Jn 15:4-5, 7).
After our Lord had repeated this discourse, with about one hundred twenty disciples who were there, they processed to the Garden of Olives very quietly, passing through the places where our Lord had suffered so much. The apostles could see our Lord, but the rest of Jerusalem could not. It was the first Catholic procession, with the hearts of the apostles set afire, together with the Blessed Virgin, whose immaculate heart was so perfect. They sang hymns and canticles.
When they arrived – the Mount of Olives is not far from Jerusalem, a mere hill – our Lord gave them his last instructions: Return to the city; I will send you the Holy Spirit. The apostles asked a very indiscreet question; how crude they were! Are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? What poor men! They thought that our Lord had to become a great king, and they would be his ministers. With kindness, our Lord told them: It is not for you to know the time when my Father will do this; go now, teach all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and behold I am with you until the end of time. But go first to prepare yourselves; return to the city, until you receive the Holy Spirit that I will send you (cf. Acts 1:4-8).
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Everyone knelt down while our Lord blessed them with the sign of the cross, model of the blessing given by priests. After receiving this very rich and powerful blessing, the apostles saw him rise in their midst. As he was rising, our Lord’s radiance was no longer mitigated. He was radiant like the son, and his clothes shining, white as snow. They saw the spectacle that would be repeated at the end of the world. Jesus rose with all his glory and majesty. You can picture this clearly; the apostles following our Lord with their heart and soul would have liked to go to heaven with him; they remained there for a long time contemplating this sun of grace and love; in particular the Blessed Virgin, who was more perfect, with a more loving heart, and St. Magdalene with a more ardent love than the others.
The apostles remained there, contemplating our Lord. In his goodness, he had wanted them to witness his ascension. While he could have risen quickly above a starry sky, he wanted to go slowly, gradually, to give them the joy of contemplating him. When Jesus Christ disappeared from view, a beautiful cloud, like a robe tinged with golden sunlight, blocked their view of Jesus who disappeared in a stream of light. No one thought of leaving. Jesus was gone, but they remained. Two angels appeared and said to them: Men of Galilee, why are you standing there? This Jesus of Nazareth, who has been taken up into heaven with such glory and majesty, will return at the end of the world; as for you, go and wait in prayer for the Holy Spirit who will come soon (cf. Acts 1:11).
Then the apostles opened their eyes. Entranced, they had witnessed a great triumph. With Mary they came down the mountain. Jesus, their father, was no longer with them; but the Blessed Virgin was their mother. They returned to the Cenacle, where she became mother and queen. Under the guidance of the Blessed Virgin, they made a very good retreat. Mary reminded them of gospel scenes, especially the hidden life of our Lord that she alone had witnessed. She spoke of the incarnation and Nazareth. They knew nothing of this. Jesus was conceived and will return to earth in his sacramental birth. He will be conceived, so to speak, in priests who will give him birth once the Holy Spirit comes. Jesus will come from the heart of priests and remain here until the end of the world.
What was happening when our Lord rose to heaven? Did he rise alone? The apostles did not see him. Only the Blessed Virgin saw him, accompanied by all the saints of earth who formed his escort and followed him everywhere. Among them were Adam and Eve, our first parents, the just man Abel, and Melchisedech; in a special way, a small group had the sole privilege of singing a beautiful canticle of love, the one hundred and forty-four thousand little ones, who in their innocence formed his angelic and human court. The saints who had sanctified themselves for four thousand years were all there, some body and soul. Good St. Joseph, his father, was outstanding in brilliance, along with St. John the Baptist who also had special brilliance. Present also were St. Joachim and St. Ann, the grandfather and grandmother of our Lord, and some kings of Judah.
What a beautiful array accompanied our Lord during his rapid flight! Each saint was singing a special song. The most beautiful was that of David, who had sung it with such glory (cf. Ps 23). Moses was also repeating his triumphal song (cf. Ex 15:1-18), along with the patriarchs and Adam and Eve who sang: O happy fault that merited for us such a redeemer! There were two rows: the larger one, composed only of souls, was singing like the angels, and the other was singing in harmony. Jesus entered heaven body and soul. The souls had every reason to celebrate his triumph.
Until now, the holy city of heaven had been the enclosed garden, the sealed fountain referred to in Scripture (cf. Song 4:12), and no saint had been able to enter. Jesus Christ knocked on the door and the angels inquired, Who is it?, as David records (in the Psalms). Our Lord answered: Open the door, it is the King of glory. Who is this King of glory? It is the Lord of hosts (virtues) who comes from the earth, adorned with his triumph, and he repeats: Open the eternal gates. The angels ask a second time: Who is this King of glory? Dominus virtutum, Rex gloriae (The Lord of hosts, the King of glory). All the souls repeat the refrain with him: It is the King of glory, it is the Lord of hosts (cf. Ps 23:7-10). The doors are opened, and will remain open until the last of the elect will have entered. Then they will be closed (cf. Mt 25:10) for all eternity.
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Jesus Christ entered first, followed by all the saints. He passed by the nine choirs of angels who accompany him with acclamations and praises. There was never anything like this triumphal entry into heaven. Jesus Christ came before his Father, prostrated himself at his feet, not as God but as man, and offered his worship and his wounds, repeating the prayer made in the Cenacle: I have accomplished the work that you gave me to do; now I come before you; glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began (cf. Jn 17:4-5). He showed him his wounds, his claim to glory, and presented him the immense crowd of saints, the first fruits of his victory over hell. The heavenly Father welcomed him, declared him king of heaven and earth. At his name, every knee shall bend of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth (cf. Phil 2:10). What a wonderful day! Jesus Christ placed all the saints on thrones. He designated one to each of the elect adorned with the crown of his own work. This throne could have been one that was left empty by the fallen angels, Cherubim or Seraphim, now to be occupied by humans. Each takes one according to the greatness of his love. My Sisters, the throne of a Cherubim or Seraphim must be reserved for you. Try to beautify this throne so that you may be worthy of it, and that Jesus Christ will not have been mistaken in calling you.
Point for reflection:
In this very imaginative meditation, St. Peter Julian contemplates a page of the Gospel, enriched with various texts from Sacred Scripture. He pictures the glory of Christ, the joy of heaven, and the mission of the disciples whom he leaves behind on earth. Where do you find yourself in this scene?
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The Mission of the Holy Spirit34
Paris, Saturday, June 7, 1862, Vigil of Pentecost
[…] Let us spend this retreat day well, in union with the most Blessed Virgin and the apostles in the Cenacle. We have only one day, while they had ten. Although it is true that we should always be on retreat, let’s make this day worth ten, by silence, solitude, and recollection, so that we will be ready for tomorrow.
Let us reflect on the mission of the Holy Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit has a mission, since he is sent. You know what is written in the Gospel, that he is sent by Jesus Christ who says, If I do not go, the Advocate (Holy Spirit) will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you (cf. Jn 16:7). Clearly, then, the Holy Spirit has a mission. The eternal Word has a mission as Savior, while the Holy Spirit has one as Sanctifier of souls. Alone, Jesus is not sufficient. The Father gives Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ gives himself, but it is the Holy Spirit who forms him in us. As long as the apostles had not received the Spirit, their progress was painful, and slow. After receiving him, they became new men, with the fullness of their grace.
What is the mission of the Holy Spirit us? First of all he dwells in us: Apud vos manete et in vobis est — (He remains with you, and will be in you.) (Jn 14:17). This is a permanent state; the Holy Spirit positively dwells in us. He works in the soul of the just, the faithful, and remains there because that is his goal and mission. St. Paul uses another word, because the Holy Spirit is not merely for the apostles, but is permanently in the Church: Do you not know that you are living temples of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 3:16-17). The body becomes the living temple of the Holy Spirit, as he is in Jesus Christ, although differently of course. This is his dwelling place of love. While he remains there, he’s not idle. What is he doing?
The primary mission of the Holy Spirit is to inspire us, to be the inspiration that reveals our Lord and makes him known to us. Spiritum veritatis – the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father (cf. Jn 15:26). He is sent by the Father and the Son. Therefore, he gives us his own special inspiration, sanctifying us, giving himself, working in us as he worked in the apostles, as he does in the Church, guiding us by his spirit of holiness. Our Lord resides perfectly only in the Eucharist, where he gives himself to us. Outside of that, he is the sun, the public fountain, the stream of the Eucharist, personifying himself in us, becoming our goal. But when the Holy Spirit comes to a soul, he takes control of it and inspires it. Our Lord said: He will reveal me, and guide you to all truth (cf. Jn 16:13- 15). He is the divine inspiration of our souls.
What is his mission? To guide us. It is our duty to consult him, to place ourselves under his direction, to do nothing without him: Docebit vos et vobis est – (He will teach you and be with you) (cf. Jn 14:26). We must ask him what he wants. To do this we must be recollected. His word is within us, not outside as in past times. Although his word in the Church is a powerful and infallible word, in the soul of the just it is a gentle word, a two-edged sword, according to the prophet, that penetrates even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow (Heb 4:12). Audi, filia et vide — (Hear, O daughter, and see) (Ps 44:11). Some say that the prophet should have first said: Vide, since we normally see first, and then hear.
What kind of life should we live? We have a life of grace and a life of nature. Recollection is necessary to hear the answer of the Holy Spirit, to show us the way, the proper road. The Holy Spirit is concerned with our least needs. Every good thought comes from him, such is God’s attentiveness toward us and the work of divine providence in us. He cares enough to give us good thoughts; even the smallest thought is not below him. Let us not neglect listening to him and consulting him, placing ourselves at his feet. The man who consults only his reason, the man who consults only his own
34 Number 420. La mission du saint Esprit. This meditation was given both to the Religious men and to the Servants in the chapel of the Religious men. 77 mind, the man who consults only the reasons of this world is on dangerous ground. Why? When he trusts his own reason, he slows his own progress, while the soul guided by the Holy Spirit makes an act of obedience and love, and acts with greater assurance and perfection. Only interior souls hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. If we do not experience the gentle action of his grace, we are not at home with ourselves; we are being flighty.
[…] What else must we do for him to inspire us? His additional mission is to sanctify us, not merely enlightening us, but making us grow in holiness. He is the sanctifying Spirit, who explains the graces of Jesus Christ in us. This is his mission. Sterile in himself, the Holy Spirit bears fruit in our souls. He has as many children as souls to be sanctified, but he can do nothing without us. We must not merely cooperate with him, but give ourselves totally to him. Notice how an apprentice works under his master, observing him as the master uses a tool, and works with him. So, we must place ourselves under the action of his adorable will. To do this, keep in harmony with this divine action, and follow it. […] If we do not know what he wants, how can we do it? We must consult him, and the Holy Spirit will always make known his will, his good pleasure, providing we make ourselves available to him.
God works peacefully. Peace is a proof of his reign in us (cf. Col 3:15). He may attract us to do good by an insight or something that we know to be good and beautiful. This is the work of the Holy Spirit (cf. Phil 4:8). At other times, some devotion will be felt strongly, with greater warmth. The Holy Spirit comes to us with the tenderness of a mother, and we should follow him. It is not difficult to follow him when we are drawn to the heart of God. At still other times, he manifests himself through a battle. While the soul is in combat, deep down it is at peace, with the peace of God. This is a more extensive action.
What must be done? We must follow the Holy Spirit, and place ourselves at his service (cf. Gal 5:16-17). Consult him in things that are not attractive. In pleasant things human nature gets its share and self-love gets its crown. However, in the grace of sacrifice, one never goes wrong. This is God’s major battle, it requires the sacrifice of heart and will.
[…] Sometimes, the Holy Spirit acts quickly. A leader does not always warn his followers of a sacrifice that he will ask of them on the following day. Men do not act that way. They like to see a fidelity that struggles with self-love. The Holy Spirit will act in this way also. He may give us a premonition, since we are so weak. But occasionally, like a thunder clap, he will suddenly ask a sacrifice from a soul that is ready. Like David, a man living according to the heart of God, one must say: Ecce nunc cœpi, behold your servant. An obedient soul easily discerns what the Holy Spirit wants of her and remains ready to respond.
What other mission does the Holy Spirit have? Not only does he show us the truth, and guide us into it (cf. Jn 16:13), but he also prays in us (cf. Rm 8:26-27), establishing in us a basic attitude of prayer and worship. St. Paul said the body is a temple: templum Dei – [temple of God] [Cf. 1 Cor 3:16]. In a temple, an altar is needed on which to offer the victim. If every temple must have an altar and a victim of sacrifice, what is the altar in the temple of the body? The soul. St. Gregory said: Anima justi templum Dei – (The soul of the just is the temple of God). Who is the priest? The heart. […] Human nature either desires to possess or desires to love. This is the whole of human nature.
To summarize, what is the royal sacrifice we can make? Prayer is the sacrifice of every person, as that of the priest, including the four ends of sacrifice. Priests have two goals, while the ordinary person has only one. He has only one sacrifice – himself. What is his prayer? What is the prayer of an ordinary person? […] The sacrifice, the offering is such a small thing. What has the Church done so that the lay person, like the priest, can have the same victim? This is the work of the Holy Spirit, coming into us and forming in us the same prayer by his grace and love. This prayer becomes divine by the Holy Spirit working in us. Not only does he pray in us, as St. Paul says, with inexpressible groanings – [postulat pro nobis gemitibus inenarrabilibus] [Rm 8:26], he groans in us with the groanings of love and repentance. He identifies himself with us, so that we may pray with him. He forms in us a spirit of prayer, so that we might offer worship to God.
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Understand clearly that we must fully unite with the prayer of the Holy Spirit. We do this by recollection and the gift of self to him, and by praying only as the Holy Spirit inspires and lifts on high. If our prayer were always pure, sending forth an incense of pleasing fragrance before the divine majesty (cf. Ps 140: 2), the Holy Spirit would joyfully exclaim, This is my son. How great will be the joy of our Lord, as well as that of the Father over having given his Son and the Holy Spirit!
Let us not allow the Holy Spirit to remain sterile within us. What must we do? Now is the time to be recollected, tomorrow especially. Let us be recollected in the Holy Spirit, since our Catholic feasts are not just commemorations, they are alive today with the same grace. It is not the apostolic Holy Spirit who comes, but the Holy Spirit our Sanctifier, forming Jesus in our souls. How fortunate we are to know the truth! We will be even happier to put it into practice (cf. Lk 11:28), and happier still to bring joy to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit by responding to and cooperating with our inner graces, by crowning so to speak the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit by our love. This is the grace I wish you. Amen.
Point for reflection:
The Holy Spirit is our interior master, the one who inspires us, and who prays and works in us. In your opinion, how can you increase his action in your life?
tTeE O eEtT
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Feast of the Holy Trinity35 Angers, Sunday, May 27, 1866
My Sisters, today is the loftiest and most sublime feast of our religion, the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. All the others celebrate a particular gift of God or one of the divine persons, like the Feast of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the feast of Jesus Christ himself. This is the feast of the entire Trinity, the three divine persons.
Why doesn’t the Church honor it with the same solemnity as the great feasts of Christmas and Easter? The simple reason is that the great feast of the holy Trinity is celebrated in heaven. We can adore the Trinity, but we cannot experience the joy we have in other feasts when our heart can relate to a tangible, physical mystery, like the Incarnation. Since this feast of the Trinity is that of the three divine persons, the Church could not solemnize it worthily. […]
My Sisters, let’s reflect on how this feast relates to us. Where do we come from? We were created by God, creatures flowing from his love. God created us out of love. Unlike all the other elements in the universe that he created by his power, the human race is the work of his hands. This is why we are his privileged creatures, eternal in his love. I created you from all eternity, says God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; you have always been visible in my love. We are aware that for God there is no past or present, everything is eternal in him, while we are always restricted by time. He already mentioned this through the prophet Jeremiah: In caritate perpetua dilexi te – I have loved you with an eternal love (Jer 31:3). Now you can understand that he always loved us, because we came from his heart, from his love. He loved us and was the first to do so (cf. 1 Jn 4:19). Evidently, he loved us before we had even had the ability and the freedom to love.
Here’s a comparison that will help you understand the gist of my thought. An artist first conceives a masterpiece in his heart. According to Sacred Scripture, God conceived us. Is it possible that God loved us forever, never ceasing for a single moment to love us? Since I know that I am loved by God, I must be a truly noble person. In fact, when Satan offered the entire world to our Lord, whom he really did not know, in return for a single act of adoration, (cf. Mt 4:8-9) he was not giving enough. Let us not forget the source of our existence. God decreed my existence out of positive love. In his goodness he selected from the treasury of his mercy all the graces he would eventually give me. A mother prepares everything for the child in her womb before giving it birth. A master provides for a servant about to go on a journey.
God loves us with a benevolent love. This kind of love hardly exists in the world, for human love is marked by self-interest. God’s love has no such need. While he had no need of us, God created us out of goodness and entirely for himself (cf. Col 1:16). This kind of love is beyond our understanding, for only God can fully grasp it. God’s love has a dual foundation. First, he loved us with an infinite love that is beyond our comprehension. Secondly, his love is totally devoid of self-interest. Our love cannot rise to this level, for we proceed from death to life, from time to eternity. We long for God as needy creatures. […] We are too imperfect.
[…] The holy Trinity is not merely our source of life, it is also our sanctification. The holy Trinity had already intended to give us merits and good works the extent of which is beyond our knowledge. God will grant us heaven as a result of such merits and fidelity. Since we are not aware of their extent, we are obliged to work. God could have dealt with us as he did with the Hebrew people, or with Adam and Eve from the very beginning. This was not his plan. God wanted to be our teacher. The heavenly Father, who engenders his Son from all eternity, wanted to raise us to the same level, not by nature but by adoption. As the Church Fathers wrote, we are no longer mere creatures but have been raised to a divine level. As soon as the holy Trinity adopted us through baptism, we became children of God, growing by grace and all the sacraments.
35 Number 577. La Fête de la Sainte Trinité. Given in the chapel as a sermon for the occasion. 80
Notice how God has destined us to share his very glory in heaven, according to the holiness which is acquired. It happens that the holy Trinity itself desires to prepare personally its chosen ones as though only one existed on earth. Thus, the Father constantly nourishes us, incessantly engenders grace in us, and through his mercy gives us his divine Son. The Son could not give himself; he had to be sent by the Father.
I don’t understand why devout Christians do not honor the Father. Very few do so. Admittedly, everything seems to focus on the Son who is the Word. Yet, why not adore the Father, since everything comes from him? (cf. Rm 11:36) God so loved the world that he gave it his only Son (cf. Jn 3:16), not as a loan, but as a gift, without reservation or condition. This is beyond our understanding. In the holy Trinity, the Father is the one who asked: Who of us will go to save men? The Word answers: Send me. The Father accepts the offer of the Word, as recorded by the prophet Isaiah (cf. Is 6:8), Holocausts of the old Law were not pleasing to you; then I said: Behold I come to do your will (cf. Ps 39:7-8). And the Father replies: Go (cf. Is 6:9).
This explains both redemption and Eucharist. Our Lord would not have instituted the Eucharist on earth unless the Father wanted it and even requested it, so as to continue the gift of mercy down to the last of the elect. St. Paul writes, What’s the use of a gift limited to only a few persons? (cf. Rm 4:16). Such a gift is restricted36, it lacks substance. […] A way was needed to continue the gift to the end of the world. We owe all things to the heavenly Father, since every gift flows from his loving activity (cf. Jms 1:17).
Notice that today’s Christian possesses as much as the first disciples who lived with our Lord because these graces have all remained with us. Were this not so, we would have cause to complain before God. A father needs to love his children equally precisely because they are all his children. Any special favor must go to the weakest and most sickly, who cannot earn for himself. Since no one can go to the Father except through our Lord, this good Father necessarily had to love us, giving us wings from his divine Son, his shoulders to carry us forward. God is truly a Father, and more than a Father; and we reach the Father through Jesus Christ.
See how the Church, in all its prayers, rises to each of the three divine persons, giving glory to each one. There is a proper order, but the persons are distinct. All three are working out our sanctification.
Now, what will be the task of the Son? Jesus Christ has accepted the burden to redeem me and to sanctify me; he gives himself to me in a personal way. One might say: If the Father gives me Jesus Christ, I owe nothing to Jesus Christ, since it is the Father who made the gift. If the Word had not been present when the Father asked: Who among us will go to redeem men? we would owe him nothing. But out of love didn’t he offer himself? Here I am, send me. He loved us then. Already we see the love of the Word offering and giving himself. In return, then, we should love him. Had he not spoken, there would be no redemption.
While the Father makes the gift, he leaves room for a free choice. It was up to the Word to decide how he would save his beloved family. Remember that the heavenly Father, while giving his Son as re-creator and savior, left him free to use whatever means he wanted, except that he had to become God-Man. He could redeem us through glory or through humiliation. If we believe St. Paul (cf. Phil 2:6-7), the heavenly Father had suggested that the Word save the world through his majestic glory, becoming the first among men and princes, as was his due. But our Lord declined. Since man had served him badly, and had sinned by pleasure, he did not want to take this way. He preferred to redeem us through the way of suffering, penance, and Calvary, by pouring out all his blood. Only then was he given the title of savior, by annihilating his own glory. The heavenly Father had not required this, perhaps did not even want it, but love goes beyond what is possible.
Notice also that Jesus Christ could have come gloriously among us as he did for the Jews, but he continued his external annihilation, wanting to give himself to us in the sacrament of Eucharist until the end of time. […]
36 It is limited 81
Now, how does the Holy Spirit sanctify you? My Sisters, the Holy Spirit abides in the souls of the just, our members become his members, our body, his body. He forms us, as our teacher. He applies graces to us, supernaturalizes us, makes our mind conform to the mind of our Lord. He is our master. Every devout person that loves God always has an interior grace. God was not satisfied that our formation be done by an angelic spirit. Not at all. God himself wants to form us, act as our teacher. He does not want to entrust us to a heavenly intelligence, perhaps fearing that we would give our love to someone else. The Holy Spirit is always present in us, continuing the mission of Jesus Christ. He is the one who inspires us, fashions our holiness, and inspires our prayer (cf. Rm 8:26). He even makes our adoration, but with our cooperation.
What is a just soul? One who loves God through the Holy Spirit, and, dare I say it, who glorifies God in him and through him. Notice in the gospel of Pentecost that our Lord says: I will send you my Holy Spirit. He will abide in you, and be your paraclete, your consoler (cf. Jn 14:16-17). What do you want the Savior to say? It is better for you that I go. If I do not go, the Advocate I promised you will not come to you. He will take from what is mine and give it to you; he will give you my merits, my works, and my glory (cf. Jn 16:7, 14). My Sisters, this is how our sanctification is done out of love.
My Sisters, do you think that the holy Trinity is always concerned with us? If God were not infinite, he would be totally taken up with us. If he were not God, multiplying his gifts, one might claim that the one who is redeemed is worth as much as God who is preoccupied over him. One might be in constant admiration. This thought is so great that we hesitate to delve into it: – Am I worth as much as God? – Yes, because he wants to form you in the likeness of his love. – […] He wants to be a father, according to the words of St. Peter (cf. 1 Ptr 1:3-5). How then does he want to love us? As his own child. A father never gets tired of giving to his child.
Is this all? You may have admired, at some time, the biblical account of God sending an angel to help the young Tobiah (cf. Tb 5:4), and yearned to have been in his place. But, we have God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Tobiah did not have the person of the Holy Spirit in his heart as we do, he had only sanctifying grace of Law. We have grace within us, since the Holy Spirit abides in us, while he had grace only from above. For us, the Holy Spirit replaces the Archangel Raphael.
Let’s ponder this idea. When you are in adoration, you need not worry, since the Holy Spirit inspires your prayer (cf. Rm 8: 26). Since he is your teacher, why not pray through him? You understand very well that if our Lord in the most Blessed Sacrament had nothing more than your adoration, it would be worth less. I say this even though I admire you. Even if you had every quality: innocence, brilliance, burning love, you would not deserve the attention of our Lord. It is worth only as much as your person, and rises no higher than your own head. You might object, I have my graces. You are becoming holy, hopefully, but you are not glorifying God as he deserves. For that, you would need to be equal to him.
When an ordinary citizen approaches the king to praise him, what has he done? What has he given to the king? One who has unequal dignity will give praise only from below; equality of persons is necessary to be of value. You were baptized and all you do is good for your sanctification, but you do not give much glory to God. It is impossible for you to glorify him as he deserves. – But at the prie- dieu I thought I was worth the blood of our Lord. – If you have a high regard for your own sanctity, then you are not living in the spirit of self-giving; therefore, you are not glorifying our Lord as he deserves. But you will receive the Holy Spirit.
You know that the Holy Spirit is in you, interceding with inexpressible groaning of a tender love (cf. Rm 8:26). Your prayer will be that of the Holy Spirit, who is given to you to take your virtues and offer them to the Father, he is working out your holiness. The Holy Spirit is given you in order to form Jesus Christ in you who give yourself through him. What happens is, your adoration becomes divine, since now you have all graces and merits. You are not adoring Jesus Christ through him, but through yourself and through someone else. True worship presupposes something unusual. Since you are before a king, things have changed. You are no longer seen with all your weaknesses; marvelously, there is now an equality, and equal dignity. In heaven, when we see how the holy
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Trinity has worked with us, we will marvel at the mercy of God. Even the damned in hell will say, I never imagined that God loved people so much.
What conclusion should we draw from all this? God has arranged everything for us, since he is God and we are his poor creatures. The holy Trinity sanctifies us only to prepare us for heaven which is the glory of God who invites us into himself. We often ask, What is heaven? It is the possession of God who possesses us in his glory, in his love. We are possessed by God like a fish in a pond without shores. In the gospel our Lord tells us: Be faithful in little things, for the person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones (cf. Lk 16:10). Well done, my good and faithful servant, come, share your master’s joy (cf. Mt 25:21). He does enter and possesses him; everything is ever new, since he enters into the eternal goodness that carries him into life, like a mother carries her children. When the father tells us, Come, my daughter, my child, he will receive us as a father. When we think of this in prayer, it seems like a dream; but we then shall see God, take hold of him, and enter into his joy.
Finally, God created us solely to lead us to heaven. He not only sanctifies us, but he also leads us and introduces us there. We could tell those who do not love the Good Lord what St. Paul said: Think about the one who loved you so much that he died for you (cf. Rm 5:8). How can you pay no attention to the one who came to save you in his mercy, since everything he ever did was for you. What a grand awakening we’ll have when we enter heaven! We are God-bearers, as the martyrs used to say; we carry God. There is a manifestation of God in us.
My brothers, this feast begins here on earth and ends up in heaven, where God will have us enter into himself. Then we will possess him and understand him more. Since you come from God and he sanctifies you, where should you go? You are going to heaven, to paradise. You begin in faith until the time when you will really go. You act now through grace and faith what you will continue through love in heaven. This is the grace I wish for you.
Point for reflection:
This conference draws our attention on the creative love of the Trinity. Our God, Three and One, is the principle of our life, the source of our sanctification and redemption, the source of all good. Father Eymard contemplates the love of God for us in our creation and redemption, as well as the prayer of the Spirit in our hearts. What action of God touches you the most?
tTeE O eEtT
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Feast of the Sacred Heart37 Nemours, Thursday, June 7, 1866
In the Office today, we read that, as a memorial of the sufferings and burning love that Jesus showed us during his life, the Church established the Feast of the Sacred Heart as a perpetual memorial of his passion and love. In fact, the essence of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the love that moved him. Love and heart are synonymous. Describing someone we may say, she is a very loving person, highly dedicated. We are really honoring her heart. The heart is the noblest part of the body. It is vital, for blood passes through the heart by means of arteries, and maintains a steady temperature by its continual movement and activity. Arteries conduct blood to all veins and limbs. Coursing throughout the body, blood becomes weak. Returning to the heart, it is warmed again, then brings new life again to the rest of the body. When blood remains congealed in the heart, and no longer circulates, death sets in.
And so, my good Daughters, our physical heart is like that. As the source of life, our heart is more than just something physical; it is the center of joy and pain. People with little heart do not suffer much; great emotions are in the heart – sometimes our heart-pains even cause death. God allows some of these sorrows, divine or spiritual, to affect us, we seem to die. Such was the suffering of St. Theresa when a Seraph pierced her heart with a flaming dart. It seems that she suffered the pains of paradise and the intense suffering of death. The heart suffers more than it rejoices. The heart performs acts of goodness, and good deeds imply love of God. And what causes evil? It is the love […] of creatures; that’s what sin is. When evil stems from our heart, from our affections, it becomes more serious. The sins of the heart are the most displeasing to God. When the heart loves something more than God, then our Lord is evicted from the heart. Pay close attention to sins of the heart.
The life of the heart sums up everything! Notice what God says in the Scriptures, My son, give me your heart (Pr 23:26). The Good Lord loves only the heart, nothing else. Be very careful about this. In the service of God you have only one thing that can please him, your heart. By your chastity, you give your body to God. Your mind submits to obedience. Your imagination is given to your work. But your heart is given, and immediately taken back. We are always taking it back, because the heart always has new attractions. This explains a little about our heart.
Now, what is the sense of this feast of our Lord, this feast of his heart? My Sisters, this feast celebrates the sufferings that our Lord endured, the immense pain that he suffered, not only the three hours of agony on the Cross and the twelve hours that he suffered in Jerusalem, but the sufferings of his entire life. The heart of our Lord suffered throughout his life from the ingratitude of humans toward God. The heart of our Lord was always crucified. We will never fathom his love, since it is infinite. Notice also, that the intensity of suffering corresponds to the intensity of love. Our Lord loves us so tenderly, and suffers so much because he has an infinite love. Our Lord does not suffer out of constraint, but out of choice, because he wants to. He himself chose his own sufferings; that was why they were so beautiful for him, and so touching (striking) for us! As he himself said in the Gospel: It is I who have chosen death out of love for humankind (cf. Jn 10:17-18).
Our Lord suffered for the entire human race, but he also suffered for each one of us in particular. Remember this well, my good Daughters. If you want to stir up your love for our Lord, tell yourself, It is for me that our Lord suffered, for me that he was crucified. In saying this, you are speaking the truth. In his mercy, he wanted to include each human person and suffer for each one in particular, so that each one of us can recognize our own unique and personal redemption. It’s like the sun: it would be the sun even if it brought light to only one person; but since it is so big and embraces the whole world, there is no obstacle to its being the sun for each of us.
We have all made our Lord suffer and weep. Now, what should we do? We should love the heart of our Lord with a love of suffering. From the moment that you became Christians, you were called to
37 Number 578. Fête du Sacré Cœur.
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the Eucharistic vocation. Don’t you see that our Lord’s sufferings gave birth to his love in your heart? And by weeping over the sufferings of our Lord you celebrate his victory once again.
Let us pray for the entire world. Let us celebrate the victory of our Lord for those who do not think about it. Let us tell him, You are worthy of all praise, of all power, because you have been slain (cf. Rev 5:12). Let us pray to him for sinners, that he may enlighten their hearts. In this way you will celebrate the sufferings of our Lord, of his heart. Remember that, when our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, he appeared holding his heart in his hand, a heart encircled with thorns with two openings from which came the flames of love rising up to heaven. At the same moment our Lord told her, Behold this heart that has so loved (humans) men, etc. Pray, my good Daughters; make reparation and console this heart.
This divine heart, risen from the dead, is in heaven where it is honored by a sweet-smelling incense. My Sisters, you have him fully alive in the Sacrament of love. He is there glorified and risen, yes, but he has the same heart, with the same blood. Console him, therefore, for so many sinners who offend him. O yes, my poor Daughters, it is up to you to console him. Behold a heart that has loved so much and receives only indifference and ingratitude in return. It is for you to adore him, and to love him. Love him as much as ten persons, a hundred, a thousand, and you will celebrate his love. Love that suffers nothing is not really love. You cannot separate our Lord’s love from his cross…! When you praise this love, remember that it is encircled with thorns, with sacrifices. You cannot keep them apart.
Behold our Lord with his heart! Oh, if only we could see his heart in the Sacrament of the altar! His heart suffers here more than in Jerusalem. The Jews did not know him, so their guilt was less than ours. Today, Catholics are the ones who offend him; both people and priests abandon him. Many surround him like mercenaries, no longer loving him. His real enemies are Catholics who no longer want to love. Oh, my good Daughters, remember that the four ends of the Sacrifice are your dowry: adoration, the sacrifice of our Lord, perpetual thanksgiving. But reparation and the crucifixion are your burden now. Our Lord is always new in his Eucharistic state. Keep in mind that when you make profession, we place a crown of thorns on your head, not a crown of roses. If you wear white, remember that the saints whitened their robes on Calvary. You must be bleached in the blood of the Lamb (cf. Ap 7:14), otherwise it would surely not be suitable.
My poor Daughters, I do not know if our Lord gave you the grace to keep your heart under control, ever pure. If you have kept your heart free from all evil and unruly affection, you have been given an immense grace, namely, to offer our Lord the most beautiful flower there is, the lily. Now, you must place this lily in the midst of thorns; this is the crucifixion. Place your heart in the tabernacle, better still, place it in the ciborium, not for you to be adored, God forbid!, but to love.
And do you know what beautiful carving I would like someone to make? It would be a ciborium full of sacred Hosts, and from this Sacred vessel flames would be leaping out. Picture it as you will. Then, there would be a small dove that would fly from Noah's ark towards the tabernacle or towards heaven, holding a Host in its beak. The dove would then place its own heart in the ciborium instead of the Host, and the Host would replace its heart. It seems there was a saint, they say, whose heart our Lord replaced with his own, not just in ecstasy, but in reality. The exchange really took place.
Yes, my good Daughters, take your heart and encase it into the heart of our Lord, so that they will become one. Two hearts, united by love, become one. Give your heart willingly to our Lord. If you had the misfortune of allowing your heart to be attracted to others – and you know that the heart is like a vase full of the wine of love, from this vase, our Lord can come and drink, but if we tip it too quickly, it will spill out… you get the picture. If we had the misfortune of tipping our hearts towards others, how ignoble that could be!
Do you know what causes the most sorrow in the service of the Good Lord when we come to know him well? This would be to cast one’s heart into the mire, so that it is overturned and can no longer hold anything. Let us beg pardon from the Good Lord. We need to acknowledge every day that we have not loved him well, but we want to make reparation. If possible, let one week have the value of
85 two. Nothing is impossible for one who truly loves. In order to grant us paradise, divine justice requires only that we follow the law which consists of loving God sincerely and never offending him. So much for the law. However, God allows us to love him with greater purity, with the freedom of friendship. St. Paul (cf. Rm 7:6) tells us that this goes beyond the law. If you say: I will love God according to law and the counsel of love, then this is not the love that our Lord deserves. Let us give ourselves to him with a pure love that we may be at the pleasure of his love. […]
My good Daughters; do not complain. You have our Lord, and when we have our Lord, even if we are crucified on Calvary, we are at peace. The good thief was there [on calvary]. He desired only that our Lord would tell him, You will be with me in paradise (Lk 23:43). Then he suffered no more, he was already in paradise, although still on the cross. You are not on the cross, but on your kneeling bench, with our Lord. Even if you were crucified a bit, you still have our Lord! Always remember this: when the Good Lord wants to grant us some great grace, we must pay the price of suffering.
When our Lord wants to do something great for his Father, when he wants to surprise his Father, when he wants to re-live some mystery of his life in a particular person, our Lord has them gather some flowers38 on earth. Our Lord says that he would like to glorify his Father, and so he says, Here is a good sister, one of my children, one of my spouses who belongs to me. Since I want to glorify my Father, I will let her suffer and have her gather the flowers of Calvary to offer to my Father. And so, when our Lord chooses a soul or a community in this way, we should be very happy. Of course, he must make you recline several hours on the cross so that the flowers that he loves so much may grow in you; the sun of God’s love nurtures these flowers.
My good Daughters, always love our Lord, be joyful, and unite your heart to his. When we love someone, we can guess what he wants, be like that. I had a sculpture made of our Lord on a throne composed of hearts in the form of a crown. It is a crown composed of hearts which of course are for him. From every heart there comes a lily, or a sword, or some thorns. It is a symbol, but in yourselves you must make it real.
Have courage, my good Daughters. And pray for your mother. The Good Lord has really placed her on the cross. Pray. We will recite one Our Father for her, so that the will of the Good Lord [may be done]!
Point for reflection:
This meditation is full of tenderness. Here, St. Peter Julian contemplates love at its purest source, and invites us to give love for love. What new aspect of devotion to the Sacred Heart strikes you in this text?
tTeE O eEtT
38 St. Eymard uses this expression to express the need to offer sacrifice in our prayers. 86
The Transfiguration39
Paris, Tuesday, August 6, 1861
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Transfiguration. In Rome this is a first class feast, feast of the patriarchal church of St. John Lateran, the Pope’s church. We have also celebrated this feast, full of very consoling truths. I will try to explain.
First of all, our Lord took three apostles with him, and led them up a high mountain called Tabor, overlooking the sea. Jesus chose this mountain with its magnificent view of the surrounding area to treat his apostles to an unusual manifestation. Since he wanted to keep this a secret, he chose only a few; others may have talked about it. Our Lord chose three apostles. The first was St. Peter, head of the Church, because he would have much to suffer. Our Lord showed him his glory to console him in his sufferings. The others were St. John, the beloved disciple, and St. James, who would also suffer much and be the first to be martyred in Jerusalem.
Our Lord asked them to pray. They did not know what was coming, since our Lord usually surprises his friends. All four of them were at prayer. St. Luke remarks that while they were praying, the face of our Lord became brilliant like the sun, and his clothes as white as snow (cf. Lk 9:29). This was the effect of prayer; he was transfigured in prayer. Moses and Elijah appeared also, but not with the radiance that showed only in our Lord. He spoke to Moses and Elijah about what he must suffer in a few days. The apostles heard it all, and when he had finished speaking, Moses and Elijah went away, hidden from view.
To restrain them, St. Peter, who didn’t know what he was saying, said to our Lord: It is good that we are here; if you want, let us make three tents. One forgets oneself in contemplation. Our Lord did not respond, because as the writer remarked, St. Peter did not know what he was saying (cf. Lk 9:33). While he was still speaking, a cloud covered them. Until then there was no cloud over Tabor. When the apostles saw it, they became frightened. Then they heard the voice of the heavenly Father: This is my Beloved Son, on whom my favor rests; listen to him. (Lk 9:35). They were so afraid that they fell to the ground, appearing to be dead, and not daring to speak or stand. Jesus Christ approached them, touched them and said: Rise, and do not be afraid (Mt 17:6). He charged them not to tell the vision to anyone until his Resurrection, and the apostles obeyed. This is what transpired at the Transfiguration; now let us see what it teaches us.
The first lesson is the love of solitude and silence. Jesus chose a mountain where no one goes, where one can be alone. It’s remarkable how he loved to pray in high places, seemingly saying that if we want to go to heaven we must lift ourselves up. Our forefathers preferred to build churches on mountains. God loves mountains: our Lord chose Mt. Zion for the Cenacle, and the city of Nazareth was built on a mountain.
Our Lord begins to pray with his three apostles. During this common prayer, he is transfigured. Normally, prayer does not transfigure us, but transforms us. Take note that this occurred during prayer. Our Lord simply unveiled the miracle that was hiding him. He did not take on a brilliance from outside, like the brilliance of the sun. He removed the veil over his body and its faculties, and took up the natural state of his union with the Word, with his divinity. We don’t know how long the Transfiguration lasted. Since the apostles fell asleep in contemplation, we have no idea how long our Lord remained in this state of glory.
My Sisters, this teaches us that when our body will be glorified, the glory will come from the very nature of grace, from the grace of Jesus Christ in us. Do you know how the soul will be glorified in heaven? The grace of God will blossom in it, as well as in the body when it will rise in glory. God will not give it any other glory than the one that is more or less sleeping there. But this grace, this principle of resurrection received in baptism, multiplies through the sacraments, especially the
39 Number 359. La Transfiguration. 87
Eucharist. When our bodies reach heaven, they will carry this grace and will blossom with the glory of God. That is why we show such respect for the bodies of the saints. We carry within us the glory of God, manifested through virtues. Some day, it will be manifested through glory.
Our Lord showed the apostles his beauty so that when they would later see him humbled as the man of sorrows on Calvary, they could remember having seen his glory, and be consoled. In himself he was always the King of glory, but he did not want that glory to shine out. He was so beautiful that the apostles could not look at him directly. He was as bright as the sun that our eyes cannot bear. He was much more beautiful than the sun, much more perfect, since he is the sun of glory. His clothes were as white a snow. Why does our Lord always appear dressed in white? Another evangelist comments, his clothes became dazzling white as wool, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them (cf. Mk 9:3). The words used are always “light, whiteness, purity”, because God is purity itself. Purity is whiteness and light. The difference between the saints in heaven is in the degree of light. They go from light into light, and this brightness is related to the purity of their love. Let us then become very holy.
What were Moses and Elijah doing there? Our Lord enjoyed the witness of these prophets, who appeared as servants. Our Lord was in their midst resplendent in glory, because he is truly the Lord of all. When the heavenly Father spoke, Moses and Elijah faded from the scene.
Since our Lord was about to suffer, the heavenly Father affirmed him, lest the faith of the apostles be shaken. Once they had seen the Lord’s glory, God spoke; This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him (cf. Mt 17:5). The Father expressed this twice – at our Lord’s baptism, when he appeared so humbly (cf. Mt 3:17), and at his glorious transfiguration. Why does he choose occasions that are so different? In the first, he humbles himself to the point of appearing to be a sinner, and is baptized as such. Although the Son is humbling himself, the Father wants to distinguish him from sinners. The Father, on this occasion, does not add: Listen to him. On Tabor he does add, Listen to him. He is your law-maker, taking precedence over Moses and Elijah. This is my humiliated Son who is as glorious as I am.
The apostles are silent, since they are full of fear. This shows us how Good God is not to show himself in all his glory. The apostles must have been used to seeing miracles; they had seen so many, yet they were still afraid. If the Good Lord appeared in his beauty, in his holiness, we also would be frightened. It is a grace for us not to experience Tabor. Notice that the apostles do not say, We will work, we will humble ourselves for you. Not at all! The glory of God is passive contemplation. As soon as they said, It is good for us to be here, that was the end! To teach them an important lesson, our Lord spoke of his coming sufferings in Jerusalem, the disgrace he would have to endure, the torment of crucifixion. They were not paying attention. They merely spoke about their feelings, thinking only about their own happiness.
It seems that the grace of God which comes to us like a Tabor on earth is not a grace of sanctification, not at all. The apostles had certainly seen the glory of our Lord, still they were no stronger than the others on the day of trial. St. Peter forgot and denied knowing Jesus; St. John ran away, and so did St. James, along with the rest. The Blessed Virgin had to bring St. John to Calvary, which proves that, whenever graces of consolation are not seen as an encouragement to work and suffer, these divine graces can make souls weak. I might even say full of self-love.
Our Lord is much greater on Calvary than on Tabor. One might say, If I had seen our Lord on Tabor, I would not have followed the example of the apostles. At the time of trial, we would have acted like them – our Lord has given us so many graces and we have forgotten them!
Why did the cloud surround the apostles? Can’t you see a preview of the Eucharist? In a sense, he was preparing them for the Eucharistic cloud. He will be really present, but through a cloud, as the apostles saw him on the mountain. Our Lord told them not to speak about this until he had risen. He is gently teaching us not to speak about what could redound to our honor and glory, not to speak about our good works! The apostles kept their word, since the grace of our Lord was there to help them.
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My Sisters, this is a foretaste of heavenly contemplation. It seems that in paradise the struggle will be over. The soul will be so united to our Lord that it will forget everything else. It has to forget everything; what could it desire? When one is with Jesus Christ, one does not miss the goods of the world. The apostles forget everything; they want only to remain on Tabor. In paradise, they will possess Jesus Christ entirely. They will see that he is much more beautiful than on Tabor. I truly believe this. Since human eyes are too weak, our Lord was obliged to temper his glory.
My poor Daughters, the Tabor of contemplation is not very threatening. Our Lord offers it to us in his goodness. His face does not shine like the sun, he is as gentle as love. Our eyes will not be strained; sleep will not overtake us threatened by the weight of his magnificence. Love may very well lead us to say, It is good to be at your feet; but an active love will add, Lord, what must we do to please you? This takes place in silence, in solitude, and in prayer. Our Lord reveals himself, makes himself known to the soul; one must desire him and make oneself worthy. The angels will come, not to distract you from his presence, since they are servants. Clouds will come, but love has its own way to find the one who is loved. Love is union. Practice this contemplation of love, since it is the best. It will not leave you lazy or neglectful, because one does not sleep on Tabor. Love is always vigilant.
Point for reflection:
This experience of the glory of the Lord consoles the disciples and readies them for the coming sufferings of the Passion. This meditation includes several points: the Scriptural texts with their lessons, the love of silence and solitude, the transforming effects of grace, strength in the face of suffering, the centrality of Jesus in the history of salvation, and some approaches to contemplation. Develop one of these ideas.
tTeE O eEtT
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