For The Nine Days Following The Feast Of The Sacred Heart

Seventh Day - On The Remembrance Of God

Preparation. - The means of faithfully corresponding with grace is, first, always to consider ourselves as being in God, and secondly, to consider in Him our neighbor and all events. Let us retain, as our spiritual nosegay, this beautiful saying of St. Paul: "In Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17. 28).

I. We Should Consider Ourselves As Being In God Only.

He who wishes to belong truly to God, should accustom himself to life in Him, as in the light of the day which enlightens us, and in the air we breathe. And is He not, indeed, the sun and the atmosphere of souls? And if we withdraw from His vivifying influence, do we not suffer death from sin? As a fish laid out of the water on the shore, languishes and soon expires, so also does the soul die when it no longer draws from God its nourishment and strength. From Him alone, as from our first Principle, do we receive the life of nature and the life of grace. Is it not, then, just and useful to think of Him and His benefits?

It is, moreover, even necessary for us. Let us, in fact, measure, if we can, the abyss of ignorance, helplessness and misery into which we are plunged out of God, and we shall realize how indispensable it is for our perseverance, to keep united to Him and never to lose sight of Him. We are like mariners constantly exposed to storms and shipwreck on a tempestuous sea in the darkness of the night. What will become of us, if we fail to invoke Him, who alone can assist us against our invisible foes? How can we, without His sweet remembrance, re-animate our courage, strengthen our hopes and repress our propensity to evil?

Let us, then, never study our weakness and corruption, outside the light of the Lord and the look of His goodness, for the knowledge of our misery, without the thought of His mercies, would throw us into despair. Let us take care always to unite confidence in God to an humble opinion of ourselves, for therefrom every kind of good will come to us. Instead of being so easily troubled, worried and discouraged, we shall rely on the Almighty, and He will make us invincible against the attacks of our foes, and nothing shall then cause us to waver, for we shall be supported by the power of Him, in whom we possess life, motion and being in the order of both nature and grace. "In Him we live and move and have our being."

O my sovereign Lord, constantly recall to me Thy delightful remembrance, for, first, it will teach me to know Thee and trust in Thee, and secondly, it will show me how much I ought to depend on Thy wisdom, power and holiness, that I may act conformably to Thy good pleasure, the supreme rule of my conduct.

II. We Should See God In Creatures And In Events.

It is not enough to contemplate ourselves in God, but we should, moreover, consider in God every thing that exists. That fellow-man, who, looked upon outside of God, appears to us so whimsical, so excentric, so full of defects, when considered in the Heart of the heavenly Father, who bears up with him, forgives him, tenderly cares for him, appears to us, what he really is, a living image of the Creator, the price of the blood of Jesus, the adopted child of the eternal Father, predestined to the glory of the elect. When viewed in God, he seems to change his nature and character, and, notwithstanding his lack of talent and virtue, appears worthy of love, and we are, therefore, led to consider him with respect as a sanctuary of the Lord and a a created likeness of the uncreated Being.

The same is the case with the events of life. When looked upon in themselves and according to our notions, they are disagreeable to us, when they are opposed to our will; but when regarded in God, who orders or directs them, they bear the stamp of His wisdom and goodness; and how can we then dare to find fault with them! Who are we that would venture to resist the Almighty? Has He not the right to punish or try us? And is it not preferable to undergo in this life the salutary blows of His mercy, in order to escape those of His justice in the next? Crosses accepted with this view lose their bitterness. "When we are once resolved to suffer," says St. Teresa, "the pain is over." In fact, what makes it hard for us is our repugnance to embrace affliction. Let us remove this repugnance by an act of resignation, and we shall at once be relieved.

Let us then resolve to accept the smallest crosses with a heart generous enough to endure martyrdom. Such a disposition will lighten all our burdens, will dull the sharpness of the thorns and briers bordering the path of this life of misery.

O my God and my Father, the more the thought of Thee is effaced from my soul, the more I am inclined to discontent and murmur. Through the merits of Jesus and Mary, take possession of my affections and desires; rule over my imagination, fill my memory with the remembrance of Thy benefits, and my mind with the unctuous light of Thy presence. This will facilitate for me, first, the bearing of the defects of my neighbor, and secondly, patience in opposition, infirmities and annoyances.