Volume I, Treatise V, Chapter XVII

That We Must Meditate Deliberately on the Mysteries of the Gospel

What will assist us to do so?

Ir is also of very great importance to fathom things well, and not to pass over them lightly, in the meditations we make upon the mysteries of the gospel. For it will be of far greater profit to us, to examine only one deliberately, than to touch on many superficially. It is for this reason that St. Ignatius, in his book of the Spiritual Exercises, makes such an account of those repetitions that, at the end of each exercise, he wishes to repeat this exercise, twice or thrice over: ‘ because, he who seeks, finds; and the gate shall be opened to him that knocks.” (Matthew 7:8); (Numbers 20:11)) Perseverance overcomes all difficulties, and attains its end. Jt was necessary that Moses should strike twice upon the rock, to make water issue forth. And even Jesus Christ himself did not immediately cure the blind man mentioned in the gospel: he first anointed his eyes with spittle, and asked him whether he saw anything? And the man who as yet could not see any objects distinctly, answered him: “TI see men walk that seem to me like trees.” (Matthew 8:24) Then our Saviour touched his eyes the second time with his hand, and perfected their cure. Behold here, what ordinarily happens in prayer; for by means of going over the same matter several times, and persevering therein, we discover those things which at first we did not perceive. Much after the same manner, as when we enter into a dark room; at first we see nothing; but if we remain for some time in it, we begin gradually to distinguish the objects. We must, therefore, dwell a good while in the consideration of the same matter, and not leave off, till we find ourselves disabused of the errors of the age; till we clearly behold these most important truths; and find ourselves confirmed in our good resolutions. For this, as I have said before, is one of the greatest advantages we can derive from prayer, and to which we must chiefly apply ourselves.

Now to come to the means, which may help us to make long and salutary reflections upon these mysteries, I say, when God is pleased to impart his lights to a soul, and to open its eyes, it will find so many things to consider, and such a variety of things to dwell on, that it may say with the Psalmist: ‘“‘ Uncover my eyes, and I will consider the wonderful things of thy law.” (Ps. exviii. 18.) ‘I will rejoice in the consideration of thy promises, as he, who having gained a victory, finds a great quantity of rich spoils.” (Ibid. 162) St. Austin and St. Francis passed whole days and nights in repeating these words: “Who are you, O Lord, and who am I? O that I could know you, O that I could know myself! ‘You are my God, and all things to me.” (Aug. Isa. vi. 3.) This manner of prayer is very conformable to that, which the Prophet Isaias says the blessed make in heaven, when, ravished with the contemplation of the divine majesty, they incessantly sing: “Holy, holy, holy.” The Apocalypse says the same of those holy and mysterious creatures, which were before God’s throne: “They never ceased,” says St. John, “to repeat day and night, holy, holy, holy, Lord God omnipotent, who was, and who is, and who is to come.” (Apoc. iy. 8,

But to attain this, it is necessary that we, on our part, perform our duty, by accustoming ourselves to reflect seriously upon those mysteries, and that we exercise ourselves in penetrating into their particular circumstances. Gerson says, the best Means to succeed in this prayer ts to practise #; and it is nota thing which is gained by the force or acuteness of arguing—nor is it learned by hearing it spoken of, nor by reading many treatises on prayer; but to acquire a knowledge of it, we must set our hand to work, and practise ita long time. When a mother wishes to teach an infant boy to walk, she holds not long discourses with him, to shew him what he must do, but by practising him, she makes him form his steps, and thus, in a very short time, she teaches him to walk alone. It is this means, therefore, we must make use of, to gain the science of prayer. For though it be true, that it is a supernatural gift, and consequently not to be obtained by us, if it comes not from the liberal hand of God; “because it is our Lord who gives wisdom, and prudence; and knowledge proceeds from his mouth” (Proverbs 2:6):

yet it is very certain, that God wishes that we practise it as diligently, as if it were to be obtained by our own industry. He is the eternal wisdom, “who powerfully reaches from end to end, and disposes all things sweetly.” (Wisdom 8:1) Wherefore he acts in the order of grace, as he does in that of are; and as he would have all human arts and sciences acquired by practice; so he would have us acquire the divine science of prayer, in the same manner. It is only because they do not practise contemplation, says Gerson, that there are now-a-days so few contemplatives. Formerly, monasteries were filled with them, and now it is very hard to find in any convent a person that gives himself to prayer; now-a-days we are so far from the practice of contemplation, that even if we speak of it, we are looked upon to speak of some speculation, or of such metaphysical abstraction, as is not to be understood. ‘This difference, says he, proceeds from our not following the method of the ancient fathers, who made prayer their constant practice, and took care that it should be practised likewise by such as they received into their monasteries, as we see in the rule of St. Pacomius, and of other primitive founders of orders. Wherefore Gerson gives this counsel, that in all religious houses there should be men of learning and piety, long experienced in the exercise of prayer; and that they should take care to form betimes the novices, by an assiduous practice thereof. And St. Ignatius has so punctually followed this counsel, that in his Constitutions he not only ordains, that in every house where novices are brought up, there should be one put over them, to instruct them in the exercise of prayer; but he would, moreover, have a spiritual] prefect appointed in all culleges, who should have an eye upon what regards the practice of prayer, and examine how every one acquits himself of that duty.

There is still another thing which may help us to persevere a long time in the exercise of prayer: and this is, to have an ardent love of God, and a very great affection for spiritual things. “Because I love your law, O Lord,” says the prophet, “it is the subject of my meditation all the day long.” (Psalms 118:97) ‘“¢ And I meditate,” says he, in another place, “upon your commandments, which I love.” (Ibid. cxviil. 47.) In effect, if we loved God tenderly we should willingly pass whole days and nights in thinking of him, and should never want matter to work upon. A mother that tenderly loves her son, wants no one to put her in mind of him, nor to urge her to think upon him. She herself thinks often upon him; and if any one speaks ever so little of him, her heart is touched with a tender affection, and their words draw tears from her eyes. A widow also, that tenderly loved her husband, cannot hear him spoken of without shedding tears on his being recalled to her memory. If natural love, therefore, has so much power, what shall I say‘ of supernatural, Nay, if the libertine’s irregular love has so much influence over him, that it sets him, as it were, beside himself, and hinders him from thinking of anything but the object of his criminal passion, what wonders would not the supernatural love of the goodness and infinite beauty of God effect, since grace is incomparably more powerful than ¢either nature or vice can be? If God were your only good, and chief treasure, your heart would be continually wafted towards him; “because, where your treasure is, there is your heart also.” (Matthew 6:21) Every one thinks very willingly of what he loves, and of what is most to his taste: and, therefore, the holy Scripture gives us this invitation: “Taste and see how sweet our Lord is.” (Psalms 35:9) We must taste God, before we see him; that is to say, we must love him, to be able to think upon him, and the more we think upon him, the more we shall love him; for love, according to the opinion of St. Thomas, augments itself by contemplation; and as it is the beginning, so it is also the end. Hence it is that when we love God, we are easily induced to think upon him, and contemplate him; and the more we contemplate and think upon him, the more we love him. Because that which is good excites us to love it, and the more we behold it, the more we love it; as also the more we love it, the more joy and pleasure we feel in beholding and thinking of it.

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