Mary’s School of Sanctity                   

Lesson #20 – The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius – SECOND WEEK – FIRST DAY AND FIRST CONTEMPLATION – THE INCARNATION

Now at this point of the Spiritual Exercises St. Ignatius changes the method in which he sets up his meditations because he wants us to do our meditations in a slightly different manner.  Because St. Ignatius wants to encourage us to imitate Our Lord, he sets forth a series of meditations which will be an in-depth study of Our Lord’s Life and virtues.  He will take us through the key mysteries of the life of Christ and have us spend some time in pondering each of them.  However, in these meditations he wants us to paint a scene with our imagination and focus on what we see, hear, and observe actions in the given particular scene.  He has us do this so we can draw lessons for our souls which will bring with them many fruits.  One of these fruits is a greater dedication to Our Lord in our service of Him.

First, we will give the text of what St. Ignatius calls the First Contemplation of the Second Week which is on the Incarnation.  Then we will give some further ideas for the present considerations we are making.  Here we are going to study the circumstances surrounding this very important aspect of Our Catholic Faith, the Incarnation— Our Lord becoming Man through the Hypostatic Union, namely, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity uniting to human nature in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The preparatory prayer is the same as usual, I ask God Our Lord the grace that all my intentions, actions, and works may be directed purely to the service and praise of the Divine Majesty.

The FIRST PRELUDE: is to recall to mind the history of the subject I am about to contemplate.  Here it is how the Three Divine Persons were looking upon the whole extent and space of the earth, filled with human beings.  They see that all were going down into hell, and They decreed, in Their eternity, that the Second Person should become man to save the human race.  When the fullness of time had come, They sent the Angel Gabriel to Our Lady.

The SECOND PRELUDE: is a mental representation of the place.  I will see, in imagination the great extent and space of the world, where dwell so many different nations and peoples.  I will then see particularly the city of Nazareth in the province of Galilee, and the house and room where Our Lady dwells.

The THIRD PRELUDE: is to ask for what I desire.  Here I will ask for an intimate knowledge of Our Lord, Who has become man for me, that I may love and follow Him better.

The FIRST POINT: First, I will SEE all the different people on the face of the earth, so varied in dress and in behavior.  Some are white and others black; some at peace and others at war; some weeping and others laughing; some well and others sick; some being born and others dying, etc.

Second, I will SEE and CONSIDER the Three Divine Persons seated on the royal throne of the Divine Majesty.  They behold the entire face and extent of the earth and They behold all nations in such great blindness, dying, and going down into hell.

Third, I will SEE Our Lady and the angel who greets her.  I will reflect that I may draw profit from this scene.

The SECOND POINT: I will HEAR what the people throughout the world are saying, how they converse with one another, how they swear and blaspheme, etc.  I will also listen to what the Three Divine Persons are saying, that is, “Let us work the redemption of mankind,” etc.  I shall then listen to what the angel and Our Lady are saying.  I will then reflect upon what I hear to draw profit from these words.

The THIRD POINT: I will CONSIDER what the people throughout the world ARE DOING; how they are wounding, killing, and going to hell, etc.  I will also consider what the Three Divine Persons are doing, namely, accomplishing the most Holy Incarnation, etc., also what the angel and Our Lady are doing, as the angel fulfills his office of ambassador, and Our Lady humbles herself and gives thanks to the Divine Majesty.  I will then reflect to derive some profit from each of these things. 

The COLLOQUY: I will now think of what I should say to the Three Divine Persons, or the eternal Word Incarnate, or to His Mother, Our Lady.   I will ask help according to the need that I feel within myself, so that I may more closely follow and imitate Our Lord Who has just become Incarnate.  Close with the “Our Father”.

Considerations for the FIRST POINT: TO USE THE SENSE OF SIGHT

·         SEE the world before and at the time of the Incarnation;

Let us bring to our minds, dear reader, what the world was like before the Incarnation.  Paganism was everywhere.  The Israelites were sorely tempted by idolatry and often fell into the worship of false gods.  Very few of the Israelites were faithful to the Commandments of God and the belief in the Redeemer to come, both of which were required for salvation in the Old Testament.  We can think about the few just people waiting in anticipation for the promised Redeemer.   Mary and St. Joseph were among them.

The Roman Empire had conquered most of the known world at that time.  The Romans occupied all of the land around the Mediterranean Sea including the entire coastline of northern Africa.  They owned all of Spain, France, the Netherlands and all along the English Channel in the north.  In fact, they owned most of the island we now know as Britain.  Also, in the northeast, they owned up to the Black Sea and of course they occupied the Holy Land in the east.  In this we can see God’s Providence because when Our Redeemer would set up the one true Church, He could establish His Church on the foundation of the Roman civil order.  Yet, consider how the majority of people were living in the darkness of Paganism.  On the other continents of the world where people migrated, there was the even greater emptiness of ignorance and sin.  Worldwide unhappiness prevailed.

·          SEE the Trinity overseeing the world before the Incarnation;

Behold in your mind’s eye, dear reader, how God, in His infinite mercy pitied mankind.  Try to picture the great Council of the Trinity looking down on the entire world.  Remember, Jesus is called the Angel of the Great Council.[1]

·         SEE the scene of the Annunciation:

Picture Our Lady praying in her small home in Nazareth.  The Angel Gabriel appeared to her.  Scripture tells us that she was troubled by his voice and his message.  Does this mean that she was not looking at the vision of the angel?  She, no doubt, had perfect custody of her eyes, so we can imagine that she wasn’t looking at the angel.  Or was it that she already had such a life of contemplation that the visitation of angels was a common occurrence and that it was not the vision of an angel which troubled her soul?

Considerations for the SECOND POINT: TO USE THE SENSE OF HEARING

·         HEAR the world in the period before Christ.

Picture the pagan and confused world as St. Ignatius speaks of it in his words given above; let us hear the tumult of the world.  Let us listen to the crowds of the entire world.  The people are going through life completely ignorant regarding the purpose for which they were created. 

As St. Ignatius describes for us in his text above, we can imagine the people as they scream and shout.  They laugh at all types of crude and banal things.  They chatter unceasingly about worthless things.  What a mass of confusing babble!

·         HEAR the Trinity conversing about working out the Incarnation;

As in Genesis God promised to send a Redeemer saying, “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel” [Gen. 3:15].   God is about to fulfill His promise.  The Trinity, in our imagination, is setting out that now is the time to work the crushing of the head of Satan.  Imagine God the Father saying, “Now let us work the redemption of mankind.  Thou, My Only Begotten Son, Oh Word, shalt take flesh.   Behold Thy Mother, Our Masterpiece, will be told of Our Divine Plan.  We know that she will humbly accept the Plan and will be the Cause of Joy to Our adopted sons and daughters.”

·          HEAR what is occurring between Gabriel and Mary.

The actual Scriptural text is given here: St. Luke 1: 26-56

And in the sixth month, [of St. Elizabeth’s expectancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David: and the virgin’s name was Mary.  And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.

 And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.  Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus.  He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever.  And of his kingdom there shall be no end.

 And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?

And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee.  And therefore, also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.  And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren.  Because no word shall be impossible with God.

And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

 And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda. 

And she entered into the house of Zachary and saluted Elizabeth.  And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.  And she cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.  And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.  And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.

And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord.  And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.  Because He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed, because He that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is His name.  And His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him. He hath shewed might in his arm: He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.  He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble.  He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away.  He hath received Israel His servant, being mindful of His mercy.  As He spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his seed forever.  

And Mary abode with her about three months. And she returned to her own house.

Considerations for the THIRD POINT: to consider actions

CONSIDER THE ACTIONS of the people in the world before and at the time of the Incarnation:

In the above sections, we have brought out the sights and sounds of the pagan world before Christ and at the time of the Incarnation; we need now to consider the actions of the people more.

They are living a banal existence.  They do not have any eternal perspective and therefore have no goal or purpose for living.  The people war against each other and the victor enslaves the defeated.  What poor people!  Think of the overall fear that the majority of people are feeling!  They have to fight for survival every day.  Not only do they have to provide for themselves from day to day, but they live in constant fear of being invaded by thieves or some foreign army.  What a terrifying existence for those who do not know God!  The people of most of the nations have no Mosaic Law for guidance and likewise they have no God-given orders about the sacrifices that God wants.  These peoples live for sensual pleasures, riches, pursuit of power.  What an empty existence they must have!  Most of them were working out their damnation and live without any hope of happiness!

They try to tell themselves that they are happy; yet, they know in their hearts that they are not convinced of this.  They commit murders and steal.  They cheat each other and gossip.  They do not trust one another. The Roman soldiers are patrolling the towns and villages.  These soldiers are watching to keep some kind of order. 

CONSIDER THE ACTIONS of the Holy Trinity– the loving providence and compassion that God has for mankind:

As we heard the Council of the Trinity above, we now consider the fulfillment of God’s promise.  Even though the human race was living unmindful of God, He is ever mindful of the human race.   As He said in Jeremiah, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love”.  [Jeremias, 31:3]  God shows that He wants the redemption of the world. “God so loved the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son.” [St. John’s Gospel, 3:16]

From all eternity God knew that He would work the Redemption by sending His Son.  He also knew when He would accomplish this task.  God now sends St. Gabriel with the joyful task of conveying to Our Lady the special mission God has for her, namely, to be the Mother of God.

Let us consider how we have not appreciated His loving care of us as we ought.  We could never be thankful enough for the gifts that God has given us.  The Incarnation alone is a wonderful gift to mankind and we must not forget that the purpose of the Incarnation was in order to atone for the sins of man and to open the gates of heaven which had been closed to man ever since the fall of Adam.  Indeed, where would we be without this Great Act of Love? 

The beautiful reality of the Hypostatic Union of God the Son to human flesh is awe-inspiring in Itself.  God the Son became man and will remain so for all eternity.  What condescension!  What a humiliation!  He wanted to give us a chance to save our souls and He wants to be our friend.    He also wanted to be a model for us to follow.

CONSIDER THE ACTIONS: of St. Gabriel and Our Lady

Let us now take some time to consider this beautiful scene of the messenger of God announcing to the Blessed Virgin, God’s Plan for her, and asking for her consent.

The entire text of this scene is given above as well as the wondrous scene of the Visitation and the Sanctification of St. John the Baptist in his mother’s womb.  We include the entire interchange between Mary and St. Elizabeth because we want to get an intimate understanding of Mary, as well as Our Lord.  Mary’s response to St. Elizabeth, which is known as her Magnifcat, shows her very profound humility.

So, the Angel Gabriel comes to Mary and tells her she is found special in the Eyes of God.  Why is she special?  It is precisely because she is full of grace.  She was full of grace ever since the moment she was conceived because the merits of the Redemption were applied to her long before Our Lord suffered His Passion and Death.  God can make an exception to His decree that all humans contract original sin.  Since He is not limited by the bounds of time, He chose to prevent original sin from ever sullying the soul of the Virgin Mary.

Thus, Mary is a pure vessel of honor and God willed her to be the place where the Hypostatic Union would occur.  Mary has ever been God’s willing handmaid.  Her parents presented her in the Temple when she was three years old.  She was taught in the Temple.  Therefore, she knew the Scriptures very well. 

What did she think when Gabriel announced that she would conceive a son and He would be called Jesus and He would be the Son of the Most High?  And of His kingdom there would be no end?  Her humility was being tested.  She would have known the passage from Isaiah, “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign.  Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel.”

She wondered if Isaiah’s prophesy applied to her.  She was cautious lest the Angel Gabriel’s words were a trap of the devil in order to tempt her to pride.  Her response shows that she did not trust the praise she had been given.  She tests the apparition to see if it is indeed from God.  She knows that she made a vow of perpetual virginity and this vow was done purely out of love for God.  God had showed her that He accepted her vow.   So now, how can this be that she could conceive since she is a virgin and not at all interested in breaking that vow?   So, she inquires of the angel how this conception can take place and indicates to him that she is a consecrated virgin. 

The angel tells her that the Holy Ghost will cause the Conception and therefore the Child so conceived will be called the Son of God.  He also reveals to her the remarkable news that her elderly cousin Elizabeth had conceived a son even though she had been considered barren.  The angel tells her this as his way of proving to her that nothing is impossible with God.

When Mary hears of this extraordinary expectancy of her aged cousin, she is convinced that this apparition is from God.  Therefore, she readily submits her will to God saying, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word.”  She only wants to do the Will of God.  For her His Will is the only thing that matters.  Then, at that moment, the “Word became Flesh.”  Wisdom became incarnate; hence Wisdom became man.

We must remember that Mary was well-schooled in the Scriptures.  She knew that the Messiah was to be the Savior and Redeemer.   She knew that He would suffer a miserable death and be the “Man of Sorrows and the outcast of His people.”

As a mother she would suffer from this future suffering of her Son, and yet, she does not worry about her own future suffering, she only is concerned about doing what God wants.  Again, for her, His Will is the only thing that matters.

She humbles herself and immediately goes to be of assistance to her cousin Elizabeth who must be in need being so old and with child.  Mary’s generosity is “with haste.”

Then we see and hear Mary’s humility again when she sees her cousin and her cousin praises her.  She recites her beautiful canticle giving God all the glory of making her the Mother of God.

We have few words of Mary in the Gospels.  The Magnificat is a masterpiece of eloquent praise of God and giving Him all the credit for the glory and fame which is and will be associated with her.  “He that is mighty hath done great things to me.” 

Concluding thoughts:

Let us be astonished about how God is so loving and merciful to men as to become like unto them.  Ponder the humiliation of the Son of God at His Incarnation.  As St. Paul says, “Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal to God; emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man.  He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.” [Phil. 2:6-8]

Think about how Our Lord wanted to become our model so we could imitate His virtues and His love.  “No greater love hath a man than to lay down his life for his friend.”  What priceless love to not only become man, but to die for the sake of the salvation of men!  When Adam rejected the goodness of God in favor of Eve, Our Lord, the new Adam, reverses this dastardly act by embracing a life of suffering and the most shameful death on the Cross.  He wants us to learn humility, for His whole life was one continuous act of humility.

Think also with wonder about how Mary, the new Eve, rejected anything to do with the serpent – the evil one.  Instead, she exclaims that she owes everything to God.   She proclaims that she wants only to serve God and not act like Eve who wanted to become as a god.

COLLOQUY: How do I begin to thank Thee, O my Supreme Good for Thy mercies in becoming man to save us from hell fire?  O Holy Trinity, how sweet and how loving of Thee to give us an opportunity to share Thy divinity with us!  O, God the Father, how Thou dost provide in the extreme for us by sending Thy beloved Son to be butchered for us wretched sinners!  O, Thou Incarnate Wisdom, our words cannot praise Thee enough for Thine example of a most holy life!  Thou didst become man to be our Model, our Hope, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Friend, and our Beloved Spouse.  What more could we ask for?  Thou hast given all!  O, Holy Ghost, can our lips utter sufficient words to thank Thee for overshadowing Our dear precious Mother Mary and making her the true singular vessel of honor?  Help us, O most Holy Trinity, to love Thee with an ardent love and serve Thee ever more faithfully.  We do not deserve all Thy tender mercies shown towards us.  Help us to humble ourselves ever more and more in Thy Presence and pour forth our hearts in tearful gratitude of love. 

O dear tender Mother Mary, guide us in our homage and love of God.  Help us to imitate Thy virtues, o sweet Virgin Mary.  We, like thee, want to be generous to God and give ourselves completely in His service.  Teach us, O Mary, the countless ways we can sacrifice ourselves for God.

The possibilities for our colloquy are numerous.  The above is only a sample of what could be said.

Now that we have begun our intimate study of Our Lord, we hunger to increase our knowledge of Our Beloved Lord and Redeemer.  We have laid a foundation of desire to imitate the virtues and love of Our Lord.  Hence, in our next lesson we will continue our study of Christ by doing what St. Ignatius refers to as the Contemplation on the Nativity. 

Catholic Candle note:  Lesson 19 (below) is the latest lesson in this series.  Prior articles in this series can be found here: https://catholiccandle.org/category/resources-for-faith-and-practice/on-working-for-holiness/marys-school-of-sanctity/

                    Mary’s School of Sanctity                   

Lesson #19  The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius – ON THE CALL OF CHRIST THE KING [also called The Kingdom of Christ]

At this time, we bring our attention back to the content of the actual Spiritual Exercises.  As we mentioned in the introduction to the structure of the Spiritual Exercises in Lesson#5, St. Ignatius sets out his exercises to be done over a month’s time.  We now enter into the Second Week of St. Ignatius’s plan. We are going to be undertaking the meditation entitled The Call of Christ the King, one of the most famous meditations of St. Ignatius.  As we stated earlier in these lessons, under normal circumstances, we would have at this point of the retreat made a general confession.[1]

Thus, by this means, we have girded our loins and taken the breastplate of justice.[2]  St. Ignatius, having been a soldier once himself, has us consider Our Lord as on His throne inviting us to join the ranks of soldiers in His Divine army.  He is the head of the Catholic army of souls in the Church Militant.  Also, we can consider this meditation as a way to bring The Principle and Foundation back to our minds giving us greater zeal in our service of God.[3]  With this meditation to strengthen us, we can intensify our resolve to follow Christ in whatever He wills for us.

First, we will give the text of St. Ignatius’s meditation The Call of Christ the King and then expound on the various points one can use for his consideration in doing this present exercise.

St. Ignatius says:

The call of the earthly king helps us to contemplate the life of the Eternal King.

The preparatory prayer is the same as usual, I ask God Our Lord the grace that all my intentions, actions, and works may be directed purely to the service and praise of the Divine Majesty.

The FIRST PRELUDE: St. Ignatius calls this prelude “a mental picture of the place”.  Here we will see in our imagination the synagogues, villages, and towns where Jesus preached.

The SECOND PRELUDE: I will ask for the grace that I desire.  Here it will be to ask of Our Lord the grace that I may not be deaf to His call, but prompt and diligent to accomplish His most holy will.

PART ONE

The FIRST POINT: I will see in my mind a human king, chosen by God Our Lord Himself, to whom all princes and all Christians pay reverence and obedience.

The SECOND POINT: I will consider how this king speaks to all his subjects, saying, “It is my will to conquer all infidel lands.  Therefore, whoever wishes to come with me must be content to eat as I eat, drink as I drink, dress as I dress, etc.  He must also be willing to work with me by day, and watch with me by night.  He will then share with me in victory as he has shared in the toils.”

The THIRD POINT: I will consider what the answer of good subjects ought to be to such a generous and noble king, and consequently, if anyone would refuse the request of such a king, how he would deserve to be despised by everyone, and considered an unworthy knight.  

PART TWO

The second part of this Exercise consists in applying the example of this earthly king to Christ Our Lord, in these three points:

The FIRST POINT: If we heed such a call of an earthly king to his subjects, how much more worthy of consideration is it to see Christ Our Lord, the Eternal King, and before Him, all of mankind, to whom, and to each man in particular, He calls and says: “It is My will to conquer the whole world and all My enemies, and thus to enter into the glory of My Father.  Whoever wishes to come with Me must labor with Me, following Me in suffering, he also will follow Me in glory.”

The SECOND POINT: I will consider that all persons who have judgment and reason will offer themselves completely for this work.

The THIRD POINT: Those who wish to show the greatest affection and to distinguish themselves in every service of their Eternal King and Universal Lord, will not only offer themselves entirely for the work, but by working against their own sensuality and carnal and worldly love, will make offerings of greater value and importance saying:

Eternal Lord of all things, I make this offering with Thy grace and help, in the presence of Thy infinite goodness and in the presence of Thy glorious Mother and of all the Saints  of Thy heavenly court, that it is my wish and desire, and my deliberate choice, provided only that it be for Thy greater service and praise, to imitate Thee in bearing all injuries, all evils, and all poverty both physical and spiritual, if Thy most Sacred Majesty should will to choose me for such a life and state.

The COLLOQUY: St. Ignatius does not specify any particular colloquy for this meditation.  However, the above offering could be made and it is desirable to make it or something similar to it.  We should certainly speak to Our Lord and give ourselves completely to Him. 

PART I

Considerations for the FIRST POINT: a model earthly king.

St. Ignatius wants us to imagine what it would be like if an earthly king who was very noble and virtuous called everyone to help him conquer the Muslims.  If this king proposed to conquer the world for Christ and convert the entire world to Christianity, how wonderful it would be if the world truly acknowledged Christ as King!

This type of king is very much like King St. Ferdinand III who lived from 1199 A.D. to 1252 A.D.  He was a very pious king who was devoted to Our Lady and was a Third Order Franciscan.  He devoted his life to purging Castile and Leon of the Moors.  According to Butler’s Lives of the Saints, St. Ferdinand’s body is incorrupt, which is a great reminder to us that God is pleased with those who spend their lives extending the reign of Christ.

Considerations for the SECOND POINT: how the earthly king leads.

In this point, St. Ignatius has us continue to imagine our earthly king who leads us in battle against the enemy.  Here again, King St. Ferdinand fits the description that St. Ignatius sets forth above.  Here is how Alban Butler describes King St. Ferdinand in the Lives of the Saints:

His whole conduct bore testimony to the truth of his solemn protestation, “Thou, O Lord, Who searchest the secrets of hearts, knowest that I desire Thy glory, not mine; and the increase of Thy faith, and holy religion, not of transitory kingdoms.”  He set his soldiers the most perfect example of devotion.  He fasted rigorously, prayed much, and wore a rough hair-shirt made in the shape of the cross; often spent whole nights in tears and prayers, especially before battles, and gave to God the glory of all his victories. In his army he caused an image of the Blessed Virgin to be carried, and wore another small one on his breast, or sometimes when on horseback placed it on the pommel of his saddle before him.[4]

King St. Ferdinand III led his knights into battle.  He fought fearlessly at the head of his army.  His men felt drawn on by zeal and were willing to follow him into the direst circumstances.  He won victory after victory, even when he was greatly outnumbered by the Moors. There was an occasion in which it was testified by his men that St. James the Apostle, appeared at the head of the troops in the armor of a knight.  In this particular battle only eleven lost their lives—one a knight who had refused to forgive an injury, and ten additional soldiers.

King St. Ferdinand won back lands which had been in the hands of the Moors for five hundred and twenty years.

He gave the spoils of war to the Church.  For example, he rebuilt the cathedral of Toledo.  He purified the churches and places which had been desecrated by the Moors and established bishoprics in many places.

What is clear from the account of King St. Ferdinand III was that he fought valiantly with his whole heart for God, and God was with him. This king never once was wounded in battle.  God gave him victory upon victory.[5]   

Considerations for the THIRD POINT: who would not follow such a leader?

With a heart throbbing for the conversion of the heathen and the restoration of the Church’s properties, who would not burn inside to attach himself to such a noble king?  This earthly king, by his example of dedicated love of the Faith and Holy Mother Church, would and should spur us on to die for Christ and His Church.  His zeal would almost seem contagious and irresistible in its intensity.  Would we not long to follow him with confidence in his strength and power?  When we saw his tremendous victories, we would not doubt that he was a man to follow. What remarkable leadership!  What remarkable virtue!  And oh how ashamed we would feel if we did not take up arms and follow such a man!  We would have the deep guilt of having shirked our duty and our life-long vocation of the salvation of our souls.  Who could bear such shame and ignominy of deserting such an upright king and mission?

Now let us turn to the second part of this meditation where St. Ignatius wants us to apply what we considered about the worthy earthly king to the Divine King of kings, Our Lord Himself.

Part II

Considerations for the FIRST POINT: Our Lord Himself calls us to His service.

In this meditation, St. Ignatius is telling us that we must follow Christ for He is truly calling all of us into His ranks.  This meditation may be seen as a call to the religious life, but, in fact, it is a call to be entirely in God’s service.  It harkens back to the Principle and Foundation because this meditation reminds us that we were created to be in God’s service and use this wonderful service to save our immortal souls.

So, in this first point, we consider how, indeed, Our Lord Himself calls us to follow Him.  He says plainly to us in St. Matthew’s Gospel, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matt. 16:24]

See in the following quotes how He beckons us to follow Him lovingly!

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that loveth Me. [John 14:21]

Come to Me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is sweet and My burden light.  [Matt 11: 28-30]

He truly wants us to follow Him in everything.  He wills to be Our Shepherd and to lay down His Life for us.  He not only wants to show us how He willed to honor His Heavenly Father by His death, but He also wants us to realize that He is setting us an example of sacrificing Himself completely for love of God. 

Thus, He wants us to know that we must be willing to follow Him in this way too, namely, unto death.  Listen to what He tells us in the following quotes:

If the world hates you, know ye, that it hath hated Me before you.  [John 15:18]

Remember My word that I said to you: the servant is not greater than his master.  If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept My word, they will keep yours also.  But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake: because they know not Him that sent Me.  [John 15: 20-21]

They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth a service to God.  [John 16:2]  

By these weighty words Our Lord is telling us that we must be willing to follow Him in every aspect of our lives.  He will take care of us and we must not feel overwhelmed because the Paraclete will be with us to guide us.

He wants us to be apostles of the truth and spread His Kingdom.  We must be able and willing to teach Catholic Faith and Morals.  We must teach this primarily by our examples – to truly live a Catholic life during the neo-pagan times in which we live.

Are we the Catholics He desires us to be?  Are we willing to undertake the work of being true apostles of Christ?  Do we have apostolic zeal for the spread of His Kingdom and the salvation of souls?  Are we willing to be an outcast for love of Him?  Are we willing to stand up for Him and Truth?

This brings us to the consideration in the next point— who exactly is called? Is this point for those with a religious vocation only?

Considerations for the SECOND POINT: Every Catholic is expected to heed Christ’s call.

Since the Principle and Foundation applies to us all, it makes sense that Our Lord is indeed calling all of us into His service.  He is Our Creator, Our Father and Provider, Our Redeemer, Our Beloved, and Our Judge.  We owe Him everything.  Our Lord says, “I am the way, and the truth and the life.  No man cometh to the Father, but by Me.” [John 14:6]   

However, we must keep in mind that He lovingly invites us.  Here is how Fr. Hurter, S.J. in his Sketches for the Exercises of An Eight Days’ Retreat explains this invitation:

What is the form of the invitation? Our Divine Redeemer does not stand on His well-grounded rights, He does not force, He does not threaten with thunder and lightning those who hang back.  He appeals to the heart: He appeals to our generosity; He invites us. To what does He invite us?  To the grandest undertaking we can think of: To spread the kingdom of God upon earth; to glorify His Holy Name, to build up the Church of God, which shall stand invincible against all the attacks of hell: “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her”[6]   

Both religious and laity are called to be apostles of Christ and His Church.  Fr. Hurter brings forth another noteworthy point for our apostolate. We give his point as follows:

And what are the conditions which He lays down?  He asks of us no more than He Himself has done; no greater privations than those He took up Himself; no obedience more difficult, no humility more profound, no cross more painful than He Himself submitted to.  He was the Son of God, the Lord of the world, the Innocent, and all that He did was for us.  When we come down to reality, He is satisfied with much less, with the tenth part of what He Himself has done, even with a mere shadow of it.  For such humility, such poverty, such obedience as He practiced, He does not ask us for.[7]

We cannot be indifferent to His Kingdom and the spread of the Kingship of Christ. If we are truly the friends of Christ, we must love to bring souls to Him.  However, if we hunger to bring souls to Him, we sense the real need of beginning with the perfection of our own souls.  So St. Ignatius impels us to dig deeper and to work harder on the perfecting of ourselves.  In his third point, he raises the bar of what we should expect from ourselves.  We must desire our own sanctification.  Let us consider this higher calling alluded to in the third point.

Considerations for the THIRD POINT: Our Lord wants everyone to follow Him, if not in actual poverty in the religious life, then in at least spiritual poverty.

In this third point, St. Ignatius seems to be tying the first two points together for the sole purpose of urging us to strive for high perfection.  We know that the religious life is the best means to achieve the highest perfection; however, St. Ignatius wants us to realize that the laymen are also called to perfection.  He is encouraging the laity to live a life of mortification because this is necessary even for laymen in order to come to the perfection which Christ wants for each of us.   In order to have the deepest friendship and mystical marriage with Christ, which is Our Lord’s plan for every member of the Elect, we must not put any obstacle in His way.

“I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one cometh to the Father but by Me.”  [John 14:6].  By these words, Our Lord shows us that we must wage an interior battle with our own flesh in order to master our lower nature and to be His devoted friend and fellow laborer in the field, winning souls for Heaven.

This is why St. Ignatius tells us that we must be willing to distinguish ourselves in a special service of Our Lord.  We must be willing to literally give everything up for Him and be detached from everything in order to give ourselves interiorly and exteriorly to Him.  Thus, we must fight the battle against ourselves and bring our passions into subjection.  Bearing this complete detachment in mind, we then lovingly root out our disorderly self-love which so often manifests itself in our passions.

Because we cannot help others to come to the Faith if we are not properly disposed ourselves, St. Ignatius reminds us to work hard on our own perfection.

Fr. Hurter explains this concept of properly disposing ourselves when he says:

In saving souls, we are but instruments in the hands of God.  But the force of the master enters sooner and more perfectly into the instrument, the better it is adapted to the artist and, as it were, coalesces with him.  We shall be more useful, docile, and pliable as instruments in the hands of Our Divine Savior if there be less in us that resists Him.  That is, we must mortify and deaden within us all that is opposed to God, viz., our evil passions and disorderly self-love.[8]

Concluding thoughts:

In the light of all these considerations of how Our Lord is inviting our souls to Him in true friendship, we should be very willing to repeat the prayer that St. Ignatius gives us above (in his third point, in the introduction of this meditation).  We should give Our Lord our entire selves to use as He sees fit.  If He wants us to have actual poverty, then we embrace His will.  If He is not causing us actual poverty, then we tell Him that we will heartily embrace the spirit of poverty.  With this resolution we can imitate Him as He desires us to do.  

COLLOQUY:  Oh, dear Lord how can I thank Thee for such a loving invitation to follow Thee in all things, yes, even to death for love of Thee?  Oh, allow me to have the strength to conquer my inordinate self-love so I can give myself entirely to Thee without reserving anything for myself!!  I repeat the words that St. Ignatius gave above.  Indeed, it is my desire to give myself to Thee, to embrace actual poverty if Thou dost wish, and to have a true spirit of poverty so as to imitate Thee my Lord and Master.  I want no extravagant life, nothing that would distract me from abandoning myself completely to Thy holy service.  Please give me strength to die to myself and not to fear to stand up for Thee and Thy Truth.  Be Thou the King of my soul, and this means I will try to show my neighbor that he, too, must have Thee reign in him and in society.

We are now resolved to begin a more earnest and in-depth study of Our Lord and His virtues.  Hence, in our next lesson, we will begin our study by doing what St. Ignatius refers to as the Contemplation on the Incarnation. 

                    Mary’s School of Sanctity                   

Lesson #18  The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius – ON THE MERCY OF GOD

The meditations we have done on hell, with both its moral and physical suffering; death; and the judgments were intended to sober us and to foster sorrow for our sins.  Yet to prevent ourselves from falling for the temptation of discouragement, which is a lack of trust in God, we now add a specific meditation on the Mercy of Our Lord.  Our Lord does not want us to ever forget His Providential care for us.  He wants us to truly appreciate His kindness and His mercy.  This meditation was not included in St. Ignatius’s original Spiritual Exercises.  Still, because appreciation of Our Lord’s Mercy brings great gratitude, humility, and filial love for God, we include this meditation here.

This meditation will be set out in the style of St. Ignatius.

The preparatory prayer is the same as usual, I ask God Our Lord the grace that all my intentions, actions, and works may be directed purely to the service and praise of the Divine Majesty.

The FIRST PRELUDE is the mental representation of the place.  Here it will be to see with my imagination Our Lord as the Good Shepherd or Our Lord on the Cross suffering greatly for my soul.  

The SECOND PRELUDE is to ask for the grace:

To weep tears of gratitude for the many countless blessings and mercies that the Lord has poured out on my soul.  Also, I will beg Our Lord to have continued mercy on me.

The FIRST POINT is to consider what God has done for me.  He has taken such tender care of me.  He had me baptized and has given me innumerable blessings.

The SECOND POINT is to consider how Our Lord died for my sins.  He became Man for the purpose of dying on the Cross for me, a sinner.  He truly wants my salvation and has promised His constant forgiveness if I am truly sorry for my sins.

The THIRD POINT is to consider that Our Lord has not allowed me to die and be condemned to everlasting death in the tomb of hell.  He wants my salvation more than I do.  I must be grateful for His tender mercies that He has shown to me.

The COLLOQUY: I will pour out my heart to Our Lord, the Sacred Heart, and the Good Shepherd of my soul.  I will thank Him for ever seeking my soul, I who am so unworthy of His love.  I will beg Him to keep me ever close to His Heart and to never let me forget what I owe to Him.  I will beg Him to ever increase my love Him..

Considerations for the FIRST POINT: the blessings God has bestowed on me.

We tend to rely on ourselves[1] and do not think about the fact that we need God.  Yet when we reflect honestly within ourselves and look back on our life so far, we find countless things that God has done for us.

We can consider them in chronological order: He created me, He had me baptized as a Catholic etc.  Not only these, but He also gave me (and each of us) insights and knowledge that He did not give to others.  He drew me to the traditions of the Church.  He has given me the means to stay informed about the truth I need in order to maintain my Faith and Morals.  Indeed, He continues to instruct me every day if I truly am docile to what He wants to teach me.

Yes, He even has given me blessings in the form of crosses and I have not been grateful for this fact.  Here is what St. Alphonsus de Ligouri says of how valuable crosses are to us:

The saints have done but little to acquire Heaven. So many kings, who have abdicated their thrones and shut themselves up in a cloister; so many holy anchorites, who have confined themselves in a cave; so many martyrs, who have cheerfully submitted to torments, to the rack, and to red-hot plates have done but little.  “The sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared to the glory to come." (Rom. 8:18.) To gain heaven, it would be but little to endure all the pains of this life. Let us, then, brethren, courageously resolve to bear patiently with all the sufferings which shall come upon us during the remaining days of our lives: to secure heaven they are all little and nothing.  Rejoice then; for all these pains, sorrows, and persecutions shall, if we are saved, be to us a source of never-ending joys and delights. “Your sorrows shall be turned into joy.” (John 16: 20.)  When, then, the crosses of this life afflict us, let us raise our eyes to heaven, and console ourselves with the hope of Paradise.  At the end of her life, St. Mary of Egypt was asked, by the Abbot St. Zozimus, how she had been able to live for forty-seven years in the desert where he found her dying.  She answered: “With the hope of Paradise.”  If we be animated with the same hope, we shall not feel the tribulations of this life. Have courage! Let us love God and labor for heaven. There, the saints expects us, Mary expects us, Jesus Christ expects us; He holds in His Hand a crown to make each of us a king in that eternal kingdom.[2]

With these consoling words to encourage us, let us resolve to forge ahead accepting everything that God deigns to send us.

Let us pass on to the next consideration of how to appreciate God’s mercy that He has shown us.

Considerations for the SECOND POINT: Christ’s sufferings for the salvation of souls.

In St. John’s Gospel, we see Our Lord has such tender love for souls, for He says, “I am the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd giveth His Life for His sheep.” [John 10:11] 

St. Alphonsus tells us in his beautiful sermon on the Mercy of God how Our Lord truly wants our salvation.  Listen to his consoling words:

Oh! With what tenderness does God embrace a sinner that returns to Him! This tenderness Jesus Christ wished to declare to us when He said that He is the good pastor, who, as soon as He finds the lost sheep, embraces it and places it on His own shoulders.  “And when He hath found it, doth He not lay it upon His shoulders rejoicing?" (Luke 15:5.)  This tenderness also appears in the parable of the prodigal son, in which Jesus Christ tells us that He is the good Father, Who, when His lost son returns, goes to meet him, embraces and kisses him, and, as it were, swoons away through joy in receiving him. ”And running to him, he fell upon his neck and kissed him."  (Luke 15: 20.) God protests that when sinners repent of their iniquities, He will forget all their sins, as if they had never offended Him. “But, if the wicked do penance for all the sins which he hath committed. … living, he shall live, and shall not die.  I will not remember all his iniquities that he hath done.” (Ezech. 18: 21, 22.) By the Prophet Isaias, the Lord goes so far as to say: “Come and accuse Me, saith the Lord. If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow.” (Isa. 1:18.)[3]

We can see the tender care Our Lord takes of us and how in the Gospels there are countless examples of His mercies that He shows to us, His poor sheep. He searches for us and the angels rejoice over the repentant sinner, “There shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than ninety-nine just, who need not penance.” (Luke15:7)

He wants us to lean on Him and trust in Him. By doing so, we foster humility.

In our last consideration, we must ponder on how we must be completely committed to showing our gratitude to God by being willing to see our nothingness and our unworthiness of His mercy.  We must also have sorrow for all our sins.

Considerations for the THIRD POINT: I am still alive and I can dedicate the remainder of my life to more fervent service of Our Lord.

Let us see yet another instructive quote from the preaching of St. Alphonsus de Ligouri.

But no!  God cannot despise a humble and contrite heart. “A contrite and humble heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Ps. l: 19.)  To show mercy and grant pardon to sinners, God regards as redounding to His own glory. “And therefore shall He be exalted sparing you.” (Isa. 30:18.) The holy Church says that God displays His omnipotence in granting pardon and mercy to sinners. “O God, Who manifested Thy omnipotence in sparing and showing mercy.”  Do not imagine, dearly beloved sinners, that God requires of you to labor for a long time before He grants you pardon: as soon as you wish for forgiveness, He is ready to give it.  Behold what the Scripture says: “Weeping, thou shalt not weep, He will surely have pity on thee.” (Isa. 30: 19.) You shall not have to weep for a long time: as soon as you shall have shed the first tear through sorrow for your sins, God will have mercy on you. “At the voice of thy cry, as soon as He shall hear, He will answer thee." (Ibid.) The moment He shall hear you say: Forgive me, my God, forgive me, He will instantly answer and grant your pardon.[4]

These words show us again how God will only listen to those who are striving with all their might to be truly His friend.  Those who are indifferent to God do not take the time or make the effort to be concerned about how they live and act.  In the following passage of St. Alphonsus, he shows us the extreme patience God has for souls.

The same Prophet [Isaiah] answers: “The Lord waiteth that He may have mercy on you.” (Isa. 30:18.) God waits for sinners that they may one day repent, and that after their repentance, He may pardon and save them.  “As I live, saith the Lord, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” (Ezech. 33: 11.) St. Augustine goes so far as to say that the Lord, if He were not God, should be unjust on account of His excessive patience towards sinners.  By waiting for those who abuse His patience to multiply their sins, God appears to do an injustice to the Divine honor.  “We,” continues the saint, “sin; we adhere to sin (some of us become familiar and intimate with sin, and sleep for months and years in this miserable state); we rejoice at sin (some of us go so far as to boast of our wickedness); and thou art appeased!  “We provoke Thee to anger; Thou dost invite us to mercy.”  We and God appear to be, as it were, engaged in a contest, in which we labor to provoke Him to chastise our guilt, and He invites us to pardon.  Lord, exclaimed holy Job, what is man, that thou dost entertain so great an esteem for him? Why dost thou love him so tenderly?  “What is man that thou shouldst magnify him?  Or why dost Thou set Thy Heart upon him?” (Job. 7: 7.)  St. Denis the Areopagite says, that God seeks after sinners like a despised lover, entreating them not to destroy themselves.  ‘Why, ungrateful souls, do you fly from Me?  I love you and desire nothing but your welfare.’  “Ah, sinners!” says St. Teresa, “remember that He Who now calls and seeks after you, is that God Who shall one day be your Judge.  If you are lost, the great mercies which He now shows you shall be the greatest torments which, you shall suffer in hell.”[5]

Indeed, these words are both consoling and sobering!  Yes, we must want to show Christ that we belong entirely to Him.  How could we not love Him for His constant display of mercy and kindness to us, unworthy sinners!  So overwhelmed should we be from these powerful inspirations and admonitions, that we should not want to take God’s mercy for granted.

COLLOQUY: How can I thank God for the edifying instructions from the doctors of the Church?  I see more than ever before how I must not take God’s mercy for granted.  He does not owe me anything.  I will thank Our Lord, for giving me many insights.  I will beg Him under the titles of the Good Shepherd, my Redeemer, etc., reminding myself that even though God gives His blessings for free, I must be serious and sober about how I use them.  I will pour out my heart to thank Him devoutly and beg His continued mercy for my soul and for my loved ones.     

In our next lesson, we will consider St. Ignatius’s famous meditation on The Call of Christ the King.  This next meditation begins St. Ignatius’s Second Week which has been referred to as the ‘true’ beginning of the retreat because we are now ready to launch out into the depths of learning about how to imitate Our Lord.

Mary’s School of Sanctity

Lesson #17  The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius –—ON THE PARTICULAR AND THE GENERAL JUDGMENT [In the state of grace VS In the state of mortal sin]

Now after the sobering meditations that we have done on the pains of hell both of the senses and pain of the loss of God, and on death, we now consider how we can  increase our sobriety by meditating on our particular judgment and the general judgment at the end of time.  This meditation was also not included in St. Ignatius’s original Spiritual Exercises; however, since we know that we are poor creatures and cannot be too serious about our salvation, we must endeavor to take more means to help us be as sober as we can.

For the same reason, we should do meditations on hell, on death, and on judgment often in order to keep the seriousness of the goal of our life ever before our eyes.

This meditation will be set out in the style of St. Ignatius.

The preparatory prayer is the same as usual, I ask God Our Lord the grace that all my intentions, actions, and works may be directed purely to the service and praise of the Divine Majesty.

The FIRST PRELUDE is the mental representation of the place.  Here it will be to see with my imagination my particular judgment before God.  My body and soul have been separated and I am aware of my past and know exactly how I have been.  

The SECOND PRELUDE is to ask for the grace:

To weep for my sins while I still have time and to put my life in order before it is too late for me, knowing that my eternity will be determined by the way I live my life now.

The FIRST POINT is to consider what the particular judgment of my immortal soul is.  What is involved in the particular judgment?   Our Lord Jesus Christ will be my Judge.  He will repay me for all I have done and all I have neglected to do.  I will also consider what my particular judgment will be like if I am in the state of grace.  I will contrast this with what my particular judgment will be like if I am in the state of mortal sin.

Furthermore, I will consider that the sentence from the Divine Judge will be final.  I will resolve to live my life now at present the way I will want to be found at my particular judgment— which will occur as soon as my soul leaves my body.

The SECOND POINT is to consider the general judgment.  What will this scene be like?  I will try to form an image in my mind of the valley of Josaphat where the Church teaches that the general judgment will occur.

I will consider Our Lord judging the just and the damned.  On which side will I be?

The COLLOQUY: the possibilities for the colloquy are numerous. I will ask Our Lady and St. Joseph to help me live now the way I would have wanted to have lived when I am called to stand before the tribunal of the Incarnate Wisdom, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

I will now humbly beg Our Lord, Our Lady, St. Joseph or all three to help me live with the thought of pleasing God ever before my eyes.  I want to fear my Judge, Our Lord Jesus Christ with a filial fear, that is, a loving fear of displeasing my dear Lord and the Spouse of my soul.  Because I know that I will die the way I lived, I will beg for the grace of perseverance in my daily struggles and the gift of final perseverance.

Considerations for the FIRST POINT: the particular judgment

I have just drawn my last breath.  My body is motionless and those attending me have already assumed that my soul is gone, but no, my soul’s departure will happen in God’s mysterious way and in His timing.  No one can guess the exact moment.  Some time has passed.  But oh!  It is now, and the pain is like no other pain that I have ever felt before!!!  My will says, “Oh, my Lord, be merciful to me, help me!” [If I am in grace, I do hope I prayed that last prayer well.] [If I am in wretched sin, I did not think to say it but instead I have cursed that awful pain!] This last pain of my life, this tremendous pain, is only lasting one moment, but to be torn asunder in such a manner!!  WOW!! Unspeakable pain!!  Alas, my soul is now severed from my body.  How did I fair?  Lo, the Judge is already here to ask me the ONE TERRIBLE QUESTION—WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE TALENTS I GAVE YOU?  RENDER AN ACCOUNT OF YOUR STEWARDSHIP BECAUSE YOU CAN BE STEWARD NO LONGER!!!

He sees everything I have ever thought, imagined, said, done or left undone.  Nothing is hidden from Him.  I am alone and I must answer.  I know how I stand in that instant of judgment after that ultimate moment of pain, that is, my death.  Now the next instant – THE SENTENCE.  What will it be?

St. Alphonsus De Liguori preached these words:

BELOVED Christians, of all the goods of nature, of fortune, and of grace, which we have received from God, we are not the masters, neither can we dispose of them as we please; we are but the administrators of them; and therefore, we should employ them according to the will of God, who is our Lord. Hence, at the hour of death, we must render a strict account of them to Jesus Christ, our Judge. “You are not," says St. Bonaventure, in his comment on these words, “a master, but a steward over the things committed to you; and therefore, you are to render an account of them."[1]

St. Alphonsus de Liguori goes on to comment on Our Lord’s words, “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it on the day of judgment” [Matt 12:36] by saying:

But if every glance, every idle word, and even good works, shall be judged, with what rigor shall immodest expressions, blasphemies, grievous detractions, thefts, and sacrileges be judged? Alas! On that day every soul shall, as St. Jerome says, see, to her own confusion, all the evils which she has done.[2]

St. Augustine says referring to Our Lord in regard to the particular judgment of each soul that, “He will come in love to the good, in terror to the wicked.”[3]

Keeping these wise words in mind, let us investigate the death of a member of the Elect versus the death of a reprobate.
           

The Particular Judgment for those in the state of grace:                               

 We must remember, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” Ps. 115:15; and “the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them.”  Wisdom 3:1

 St. Alphonsus De Liguori tells us that, “the just man is not afflicted at the thought of being obliged to take leave of the goods of the earth, for he has always kept his heart detached from them.”[4]

Here is another encouraging quote from St. Alphonsus:

He who dies loving God, is not disturbed by the pains of death; but, seeing that he is now at the end of life, and that he has no more to suffer for God, or to offer Him other proofs of his love, he accepts these pains with joy.  With affection and peace he offers to God these last moments of life, and feels consoled in uniting the sacrifice of his death to the sacrifice which Jesus Christ offered for him on the Cross to His eternal Father. Oh! How great the peace of the Christian who dies abandoned and reposing in the arms of Jesus Christ, Who has loved us to death, and has condescended to suffer so cruel a death in order to obtain for us a death full of sweetness and consolation.[5]

Death of the Just

Thus, the soul that dies in the state of grace is a friend of Christ and loves Christ above all things.  What a consolation for this just soul to hear the sweet words, “Come ye blessed of My Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!” [Matt. 25:34] Or to hear the following: “Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord!” [Matt. 25:21]

These are very consoling and peaceful words, indeed!  Our Lord says these words to the straight-to-heaven saints.  Yet to most souls who die in the state of grace the words are modified to convey to the soul the need to expatiate in the horrible fires of Purgatory.  Tradition tells us that these fires are the same as hell, except, of course, the fires in Purgatory will have an end, therefore the souls in Purgatory are not in despair but in holy hope.  Also, it must be remembered that the souls retained in Purgatory suffer with love and longing for Heaven. What consolation for the Holy Souls to know that they will eventually be going to Heaven!

Of course, the souls of the best friends of Our Lord bypass purgatory and enter into the joy of their Lord immediately. They enter upon the reward for their heroic efforts—the Beatific Vision!

One can also think about how the devil will accuse the just man at his particular judgment, however, Our Lady, St. Joseph and the man’s patron Saint will be there to defend him.  From this peaceful pondering of the saved, let us pass on to the terrifying punishment of those who were not friends of Christ.

 
The Particular Judgment for those in the state of mortal sin:

What happens to the one who is so unfortunate as to die in the state of deadly sin [that is, mortal sin]?  

St. Augustine says, “Above shall be an enraged Judge; below, a frightful chaos; on the right, sins accusing him; on the left, the devils dragging him to punishments; within, a burning conscience:  beset in this manner, whither will the sinner fly!”[6]

St. Alphonsus De Liguori tells us,

In the first place, the Judge shall demand of sinners an account of all the blessings and graces which He bestowed on them in order to bring them to salvation, and which they have rendered fruitless. He will demand an account of the years granted to them that they might serve God, and which they have spent in offending Him.[7]

Thus, the reprobate will face his Judge with nothing good to say for himself.  Listen to St. Bernard’s words referring to the sins of the reprobate which will accuse her [meaning the soul of the reprobate]:

Her very sins shall accuse her [the soul] and they shall say: “You have made us; we are your work; we shall not desert you.  We are your offspring; we shall not leave you: we shall be your companions in hell for all eternity.”[8]

In addition to the fitting punishment just described, St. Alphonsus quotes some very striking words of St. Augustine as follows:

The devil will be at hand, and will recite the words of your profession [whether religious vows or other vows made].  He will charge us before our face with what we have done, he will state the day and the hour in which we have sinned.”[9]

St. Alphonsus gives the following impressive quote St. Cyprian describing what the devil will say to Our Judge, “I have suffered neither stripes nor scourges for this man."  Then St. Alphonsus explains the deeper meaning of St. Cyprian’s words.  Basically, the devil is saying here, “Lord, I have suffered nothing for this ungrateful sinner, and to make himself my slave he has turned his back on thee who has endured so much for his salvation. He, therefore, justly belongs to me.”[10]

The reprobate will be overcome by his shame.

St. Basil says, “That she [meaning the soul] shall be tortured more by her shame and confusion than by the very fire of hell.” [11]

Imagine the terror that seizes the reprobate, because he, of course, knows his own guilt for having rejected Our Lord during his life, as he now hears the sentence to DEPART FROM ME into EVERLASTING FIRE!!

God wants no part with this sinner who has hated Him.  This sinner has wanted his own version of so-called happiness without God in the picture and so now this unrepentant sinner will be condemned to unhappiness for all eternity.  He is getting what he deserves.  He really wanted no part with God in his lifetime while on earth, so he can possess no part with God in his eternal death in hell.

By the following strong words, St. Alphonsus exhorts us who are still alive to beware:

"Before judgment, prepare thee justice." [Eccl. 18: 19] Let us adjust our accounts before the day of accounts. Let us seek God, now that we can find him; for the time shall come when we will wish, but shall not be able to find him. “You shall seek me, and shall not find me." [John 7: 36] “Before judgment," says St. Augustine, “the Judge can be appeased, but not in judgment." By a change of life, we can now appease the anger of Jesus Christ, and recover his grace; but when he shall judge, and find us in sin, he must execute justice, and we shall be lost.[12]

Now let us turn our attention to the second point of this meditation, the General Judgment.

Considerations for the SECOND POINT: the general judgment

The general judgment, an article of our Catholic Faith, is a reality which we must drill into ourselves, deeply, and establish this reality into the very marrow of our bones.

If we keep this terrifying day in our minds, then how many evils and sins would be avoided by us?  Yes, we know we must not displease Our Dear Lord, but when we feel frail and sorely tempted or influenced by the world around us, we have to pull out the scene of the General Judgment and fear the whole world knowing the sin publicly that we are being tempted to commit right now.  If we really think about this particular single sin we could commit right now as being viewed by every human being that ever existed, exists right now, and will exists in the future, would we commit this sin?  Would to God that this scene of the terrifying Wrath of God would convince us of the evil of sin, every sin, great or small!

Apocalypse paints the scene of the General Judgment very vividly. First, we know that the present world will be destroyed by the final conflagration.  Nothing will escape this purifying fire. This fire will kill all the rest of mankind.  Every soul will have a particular judgment.  So much for worldly amusements!  So much for seeing the world!  The earth has been defaced by sin so it is fitting that God renew it and make a new heaven and a new earth.  “Heaven and earth shall pass away but My word shall not pass away.” [St Mark 13:31]

Yes, St. Alphonsus puts this fact aptly when he says, “all shall become one heap of ashes.”[13]

Indeed, do we not pray, “Thou shalt renew the face of the earth” in the prayer to the Holy Ghost?  Yes, we want our hearts to be renewed in the dew of the Comforter.

After the final conflagration, the angels will gather the Elect from the four corners of the world.  The trumpet will sound and all will rise again for the great assembly of mankind for the final judgment.  Then the angels shall come and separate the reprobate from the elect, placing the latter on the right, and the former on the left.

St. Jerome used to say: “As often as I consider the Day of Judgment, I tremble. Whether I eat or drink, or whatever else I do, that terrible trumpet appears to sound in my ears, arise ye dead, and come to judgment”[14] and St. Augustine declared, that nothing banished from him earthly thoughts so effectually as the fear of judgment.[15]

We wonder what the bodies of the just and damned look like and how the Elect and the damned will feel.

St. Alphonsus answers our questions in these awe-inspiring words:

At the sound of that trumpet the souls of the blessed shall descend from Heaven to be united to the bodies with which they served God on Earth; and the unhappy souls of the damned shall come up from Hell to take possession again of those bodies with which they have offended God. Oh! How different the appearance of the former, compared with that of the latter! The damned shall appear deformed and black, like so many firebrands of Hell; but the just shall shine as the sun (Matt xiii 43) Oh! How great shall then be the happiness of those who have fortified their bodies by works of penance![16]

But the reprobate, like goats destined for the slaughter, shall be placed on the left, to await their last condemnation.  St. Chrysostom says, “On the day of judgment there is no hope of mercy for poor sinners.” Furthermore, St. Augustine says, “The greatest punishment of sin in those who live in enmity with God, is to lose the fear and remembrance of the divine judgment.”

Continue, continue, says the Apostle, to live obstinately in sin; but in proportion to your obstinacy, you shall have accumulated for the day of judgment a treasure of the wrath of God “But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart , thou treasurest up to thyself wrath against the day of wrath” [Rom 2:5]

 Then sinners will not be able to hide themselves but, with insufferable pain, they shall be compelled to appear in judgment. "To lie hid” says St. Anselm, “will be impossible, to appear will be intolerable."[17]

Fr. Cochem tells us that the bodies of the elect will be beautiful to behold and fragrant, whereas the bodies of the damned will be utterly disgusting and hideous to see emitting such a horrific and vile stench.  The damned will howl and shriek as they are forced by the angels to assemble for judgment in the Valley of Josaphat.[18]

Then the Sign of the Cross and the instruments of Our Lord’s Passion will be brought to be visible by all.  Then Our Lord Himself, the Just Judge will appear.

According to St. Jerome, the presence of Jesus Christ will give the reprobate more pain than Hell itself. “It would,” he says, “be easier for the damned to bear the torments of Hell than the presence of the Lord.”[19]  Hence, on that day, the wicked shall, according to St. John, call on the mountains to fall on them and to hide them from the sight of the judge. “And they shall say to the mountains and the rocks: Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” [Apoc. 6:16.]

With what kindness will Our Lord speak to the sheep, the Elect!!

Let us listen to the beautiful and consoling text of St. Alphonsus:

But now comes the sentence.  Jesus Christ will first turn to the elect, and address them these consoling words: Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…How great will be the joy of the elect in hearing the Judge say to him: Come, blessed children, come to a kingdom; for you there are no more pains, no more fears; you are and shall be saved forever. I bless the blood which I have shed for you and I bless the tears which you have shed for your sins.  Let us ascend into Paradise, where we shall remain together for all eternity! The most holy Mary will also bless her servants, and will invite them with her to heaven.  And thus, singing Allelujas, the elect will enter heaven in triumph, to possess, to praise, and to love God forever.[20]

Let us contrast the above beautiful words St. Alphonsus gives us to ponder with the terrifying words that come from the Lamb of God showing God’s just Anger and Wrath as He speaks to the damned.

But on the other hand, the reprobates, turning to Jesus Christ, will say to Him: What will become of us?  The Judge will say, since you have renounced and despised my grace, Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire. Depart; begone from Me; I wish neither to see nor to hear you ever more.  You cursed, go, and since you have despised by blessing, go accursed.  And where, O Lord, will they go?  Into fire, into hell, to burn both in soul and in body.  And for how many years, or how many ages?  Into everlasting fire; for all eternity; as long as God shall be God.  After this sentence, says St. Ephrem, the reprobate will take leave of the angels, of the saints, of relatives, and the divine Mother. “Farewell, ye just! Farewell, O Cross! Farewell, O Paradise! Farewell, fathers and children, for we shall never see any of you again! Farewell O Mary, Mother of God![21]

St. Alphonsus tells us that the punishment of being separated from the sheep is a huge loss for the damned.  Here he cites St. John Chrysostom, “This punishment alone would be sufficient to constitute a hell for the wicked”.[22]

Then considering the finality of the sentence St. Alphonsus has this to say:

What excuses can save the wicked on that day? Ah! they can offer no excuses. “The just shall see, and shall rejoice, and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.” [Ps. 106: 42.) Their very sins shall close the mouth of the reprobate, so that they will not have courage to excuse themselves. They shall pronounce their own condemnation.[23]

St. Bernard says, that, “the sentence of the elect, and their destiny to eternal glory, shall be first declared, that the pains of the reprobate may be increased by the sight of what they lost.”[24]

Concluding thoughts:

On which side will I be?  I must consider with fear and trembling that I could easily be on the side with the goats.  I must examine my life and amend all defects I detect.  I must ask others for their advice about defects they find in me.  And I must do penance and not neglect my soul.  Indeed I must never forget that I will die the way I have lived and my eternity depends on how I live and how I die.

COLLOQUY: How can I thank God for the instruction I have received from all of these considerations!  What a healthy fear they have stirred up in my soul!  What a desire they have burnt into me to truly want to serve God as I ought and love Him with my whole heart and soul! 

I can beg Our Lord to help me always remember that I will have to render an account of myself to Him.  Likewise, I will beg my Mother Mary to guide and protect me in this life so I can be rendered safe for all eternity.  Also, I will fly to St. Joseph, the Patron of the dying to help me live virtuously, so I can die virtuously and be safe both at my particular judgment and at the General Judgment.  I will close with an Our Father, Hail Mary, and a Glory Be.

In our next lesson, we will consider the great Mercy of God, not only in His Redemption of Mankind, but in His having preserved us in life and having given us the Faith and insights to follow Him well.