For The Nine Days Following The Feast Of The Sacred Heart
Fifth Day - On Habitual Grace
Preparation. - Jesus is the mystical Vine, and we are unite to Him by sanctifying grace. It behooves us, then, to consider, first, its glories, and secondly, its riches. Thus we shall esteem it above every good, and carefully keep it by fleeing every fault and by constant prayer, "for it is an infinite treasure to men" (Wisd. 8. 14).
II. The Glories Of Habitual Grace.
In the eyes of men it is an honor to be in the service of a monarch; but what glory is it for us to serve the Creator of heaven, the Ruler of nations and sovereigns! The saints always considered it a most noble title to be called the servants of God (Eph. 2. 19). St. Augustine called it a royalty. This advantage alone, derived from grace, ought to make us careful to guard it with a constant and jealous care.
But it confers on us many other privileges. It makes us, not only servants, but friends of God. Friendship requires a certain equality between those who love each other. What does the Lord do to establish it between us and Him? He cleanses us of our sins, by His almighty power alone. He imparts to us the horror of evil and the love of good, and enables us to participate in His wisdom and holiness. And furthermore, who would believe it? He goes so far as to exalt us to the dignity of His adopted children, and, therefore, to make us "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet. 1. 4). O inestimable prerogative, for it gives us a place in the family of the King of kings, making us brethren of Jesus, deifying us by the Holy Ghost, and, as St. Paul says, numbering us among His offspring (Acts 17. 28), so that we call Him "our Father," and expect His inheritance in eternity!
At the thought of such glorious privileges granted to the souls in the state of grace, who would not grieve at beholding so many Christians falling into mortal sin and becoming, in a moment, the unhappy slaves of the devil? What a deplorable subversion! instead of the ravishing beauty received in baptism, the guilty soul contracts the horrible hideousness of the reprobate. Far from being the sanctuary of the three divine Persons, as she had been, she becomes by her prevarication the frightful den of the evil sprits, waiting the permission to precipitate her in to hell. How fatal the effects of t sin!
Adorable Jesus, fill me with esteem and love for habitual grace, which so greatly ennobles our souls with splendid and signal prerogatives. It makes me not only Thy servant and friend, but also thy child, the sanctuary of Thy Holy Spirit. Partaking thus of Thy divine royalty, I find my self constrained to rule over my evil passions, so that I may become like unto Thee. Grant me the victory over pride, which nourishes the vices of my mind, and over sensuality, which promotes those of the flesh. I am resolved rather to die than lose thy friendship by a mortal sin. Enable me faithfully and fervently to practice piety until my last breath.
II. Riches Of Sanctifying Grace.
These riches consist, first, in habitual grace itself, which is of infinite value (Wisdom 7. 14); and then in the infused virtues, both theological and moral, in the gifts of the Holy Ghost; all these ever accompanying in us the friendship of the Creator, are more precious than the whole universe. And how many titles to eternal reward do not these virtues and gifts procure us! According to the Council of Trent, the soul in the state of grace, acting for God, justly deserves an increase of the divine friendship and a degree of glory proportionate to this increase, which is so worthy of our desires. She, moreover, under the title of congruity, draws to herself actual graces more and more abundant and efficacious. "The least act of divine love," says the Angelic Doctor, "is worth eternal life to her," that is, goods surpassing all earthly treasures and magnificence, grander than all the wonders of the firmament.
Were the innumerable host of angels and saints, composing the heavenly court, to combine together to reward us for the slightest meritorious work, for instance, for a short prayer, an act of virtue, they would never succeed in doing so, even if they exerted themselves for millions of years! God Himself could not do so by using His power to create numberless worlds for our sake, and why? Because all natural goods combined cannot equal in value the least degree of supernatural merit. Wherefore the Lord promises to give Himself to us, who is the supreme and eternal good, in return for what we do for His glory. "I am thy reward exceedingly great" (Gen. 15. 1).
How consoling is this doctrine, how capable of encouraging us to serve God unreservedly! What! a few square miles of country excite the cupidity of warriors, so far as to induce them to expose themselves to the dangers and horrors of war and we, soldiers of the cross, would hesitate to combat our evil passions, when there is a question of conquering the kingdom of heaven, which has no end! How great our blindness to prefer our temporary gratification and our perishable goods to the pure joys and treasures of an eternity of bliss! Let us, then, strive henceforth to shun the smallest faults, to repress our evil inclinations, to purify our intentions and our affections, so that our actions and our conduct may be constantly meritorious.
O Jesus, without Thy holy friendship I am a withered twig, unfit to bear fruit. Deign, then, to unit me to Thyself as the branch to the vine-stock, and enable me to bring forth abundant fruits of salvation. Through the intercession of the ever faithful Virgin, preserve me from neglect and sloth in Thy service, and give me the grace, first, habitually to nourish my mind with the thought of the truths of salvation, and secondly, to strengthen my heart with frequent prayer and interior acts that may unite me to Thee and strengthen me in Thy love.
