September 28
Mortification Causes Us To Die To All Things
Preparation. - Let us, towards the end of the month, prepare for our last journey by consideration mortification, first as a death at every moment, and secondly, as an excellent means of dying as one predestined, according to the words addressed to St. John, which will serve as our spiritual bouquet: “Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord” (Apoc. 14. 13). Blessed are those who, dead to the world and to themselves, die in peace with God!
I. Mortification Is A Continual Death
“Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord; that they may rest from their labors, for their works follow them.” The dead mentioned in the Apocalypse, are those whom mortification causes to die to their senses, to their passions and to themselves, that they may be united to Jesus Christ. This virtue may, indeed, be considered as death at every moment, for it strips us of all sensible and too natural attachment, snatches us away from a sensual life and perverse inclinations, and puts to death the animal man in us, that is, our low and gross instincts, in order to strengthen in us the rational and spiritual man. As corporal death separates our soul from the external world and makes her free to return to God; so also does mortification, by cutting off all the bonds keeping us captive here below, leave our mind and heart free to cling to the supreme Good.
This explains the facility of the mortified soul in making mental prayer. St. Aloysius succeeded in keeping always recollected only by mortifying himself at every moment. The same be said of the Ven. Dominic Blasucci, a disciple of St. Alphonsus, who died in the odor of sanctity when only twenty years old. St. Alphonsus said of him that his only fault consisted in mortifying himself too much.
O my God, when shall I deserve such a reproach, especially from a saint, a doctor of the Church? But I deserve to be reproached rather with dissipation of mind, with giving too much freedom to my senses and with a fondness for comfort, which often scandalizes those I am bound to edify. Lord, enable me to be always recollected, modest and mortified. Wherefore, in the first place, penetrate me with the thought of Thy divine presence and the truths that tend to sanctify me. Secondly, become the master of all my desires, inclinations and affections. And finally, rule my heart, keep it away from evil, separate it from the world and vain pleasures; and help me to practice the virtues pleasing to Thee, and the best able to deserve for me the application of these words: “Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord.”
II. By Mortifying Ourselves We Prepare Ourselves For Death
What renders death holy and happy is the shunning of sin and the practice of virtue. Mortification enables us to acquire these dispositions, for by its means, we close our eyes to the vanities and allurements of the world and our ears to its seductive discourses. Our care to repress our perverse inclinations prevents our being unfaithful to grace; and hence we learn how to control our desires, to restrain our impulsiveness, our anger; and to give stability to our recollection, and does not leave us spend ten minutes without distraction at mental prayer, and even during our thanksgiving after holy Communion. “What can be the matter,” exclaims St. John Chrysostom, “when I converse with a friend about news and trifles, I am all attention; but when I converse with God on the most important subjects, about the great affair of my salvation, my mind is occupied with foreign subjects!” O human weakness and inconstancy!
Mortification remedies this and, moreover, helps us to acquire every virtue. In fact, when we daily repress the faults opposed to the various virtues, we find it easy to attain a perfection, which will be our consolation in our last moments. “Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord.”
Let us examine whether, by keeping an habitual watch over ourselves, we avoid light faults and exert ourselves punctually to fulfill our duties. Are we always careful to be detached and separated from the world and always occupied with God? The practice of continual mental prayer alone requires an unceasing mortification, which compels us to observe modesty, silence, and to banish useless thoughts from our mind and earthly affections from our heart.
Would not such a life, O my God, be an excellent daily preparation for death? Through the merits of Jesus dying on Calvary and of Mary enduring an agony of grief at the foot of the cross, enable me to renounce every thought, every sentiment and every disposition but little conformable to the perfection of the saints. I will employ my every moment in preparing the final one, so as to obtain thereby a holy and happy death, which will enable me to take possession of Thy heavenly heritage. Amen.
