Chapter III: Part 3

When the messengers had gone, JESUS began to talk to the people about His faithful Precursor, whom they all knew so well. "What went you out in the desert to see?" He asked them. Was it "a reed shaken with the wind?" Was it "a man clothed in soft garments" and living delicately? Was it "a prophet?" On another occasion He spoke of him as "a burning and a shining light" (St. John V. 35). What praise this was on the lips of the Master! The four points He picked out are characteristics that He appreciates not only in John but in all who are preparing for His Coming. Let us see where we stand with regard to them.

1. _A determination of purpose._ "What went you out into the desert to see? A reed shaken with the wind?" No, but a man of one idea, and who pursued that idea through all difficulties and opposition and failure, not counting the cost. I want to copy John the Baptist. I want to prepare the way of the Lord in my heart, how shall I do it? Not by allowing myself to be a reed shaken with the wind, trying very hard for a day or two and then giving all up and saying it is no use; not by making good resolutions and then quietly dropping them because they have been broken. No, but by a steady, determined effort, in spite of many failures, to overcome in myself everything which I know will be a hindrance to my King pursuing His way in my soul. He is never disappointed by my failures; these are more than made up for directly I tell Him that I am sorry. What pains His loving Heart is cessation of effort, giving up the fight, running away from the enemy instead of standing up to be knocked down again, if my Captain thus wills to give me another opportunity of meriting, and of practicing humility. Saints are not made by victories all along the line, but by repeated failures humbly and patiently accepted, with a firm determination that each failure shall be the _last_. But what is the use when I know I shall fail again? I do not know; I need not fall, it is my own fault if I do. To do less than have a firm determination about the future, would be to lay down my arms. Every effort made for God leaves me holier, and as long as I keep on trying I am making progress in the spiritual life, though I cannot see it.

2. _Self-sacrifice._ "But what went you out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Behold they that are in costly apparel and live delicately are in the houses of kings." John prepared for the Coming of his King by a life of self-sacrifice, every day giving up for the sake of Him Who was coming all the things that were just as dear to his nature as they are to mine. What part is self-sacrifice taking in my preparation for my King this Advent? I have no need to go into the desert or live the life of a hermit. It is the little tiny acts of self-sacrifice known only to my King and me which are so pleasing to Him. It is wonderful what notice He takes of little things which are done out of love to Him. If we could promise Him a certain number of these little acts every day--perhaps six or ten, or even _one_--and mark them down to ensure their being remembered, it would be a preparation very precious in His sight. To do a hard thing just because it is hard, to keep silent when I could say something sarcastic or clever but not quite charitable, to bear little physical sufferings without letting everybody know about them, to be cheerful and bright when I am feeling tired and moody, to accept all that happens to me as coming straight from God's Hands, especially all the little crosses that come to me through others--these are the things that will make me a saint and I cannot keep Advent or any other season better than by practicing them. Nothing is too small for my King to notice. Let me then be generous and give Him all I can, remembering that as long as the little act _costs_ me something, it is sure to be acceptable to Him; "He must increase, I must decrease," and it is by self-sacrifice that this great work will slowly but surely be accomplished in my soul.

3. _Fidelity to duty._ "But what went you out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet for ... amongst those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. But he that is the lesser in the kingdom of God is greater than he." John was more than a prophet, because he not only prophesied of Christ as so many other prophets had done, but he was the last of the prophets, the immediate Forerunner of the Messias. No office could be greater than this and no one else ever held it, it was unique and made John "more than a prophet." Nevertheless, Our Lord said: "He that is the lesser in the kingdom of God is greater than he"--_lesser_ in holiness and in office, but _greater_ in dignity and privilege, because he is a member of the Holy Catholic Church and a partaker of her Sacraments. Thanksgiving that I am a member of the Holy Catholic Church should often find a place in my heart, and especially during Advent when the Church begins again to spread out before me all the treasures of her Liturgy and when my thoughts and meditations are centred round Him Who is coming to be incarnate for that Church, to die for it, to make a plan which will enable Him to be with it "all days, even to the consummation of the world" (St. Matt. XXVIII. 20), and finally to judge it that He may "present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Eph. V. 27).

If my privileges are greater than those of St. John the Baptist, my responsibilities are greater also. As I think how faithfully he fulfilled one of the greatest offices ever entrusted to man, let me remember that I too have a special office given me to fulfil, and it is no less important for me to fulfil it faithfully, than it was for St. John. It may be that my office is a very lowly one, that I have only one talent, but JESUS is taking notice how I am trading with it. What have His messengers to say when He asks: "What went you out to see?" Let the season of Advent inspire me to be up and doing--faithful in that which is least, living as one who has to give an account of each talent, each occasion of merit, each opportunity of influencing another, each inspiration of grace.

4. _Light giving._ "He was a burning and a shining Light." This was the secret of John's greatness, of his humility, of his courage, of his zeal. His heart so burned with love for God and zeal for His service that it shone out on all with whom he came in contact.

Let me make one last examen on myself here. Do I feel sometimes that my influence on others is very small, that my light seems to be hidden under a bushel, that try as I will, I cannot make any impression? May it not be that I am thinking too much about the shining of the light and too little about the burning? The candle must _burn_ before it can _shine_. If my heart is in constant touch with the Sacred Heart of JESUS it will burn with His love and zeal, and the shining will follow as a matter of course, I need not trouble about it; but if I allow anything to separate my heart from His, even ever so little, the fire in my heart will die down; there may be a little glow left, unless I leave it too long, but there is not enough to "shine before men." "What went you out to see?" What answer would those with whom I live, those who know me best, have to give?

_Colloquy_ with JESUS and St. John the Baptist.

_Resolution._ To win the approval of JESUS to-day by the way in which I prepare for His Coming.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "What went you out to see?"

"INCARNATUS EST"

Regem venturum Dominum venite adoremus. [Come let us adore
the King our Lord Who is to come.]

_1st. Prelude._ Picture of the Annunciation.

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to understand the mystery of the Incarnation.

POINT I. VENITE ADOREMUS.

"Come let us adore the King our Lord Who is to come." These are the opening words of the Invitatory which the Church uses every day at Matins during the first fortnight of Advent. Let us turn then from the Precursor, who has taught us so many lessons, to JESUS Christ Himself. What is He doing during these months of waiting before Christmas? He, too, is preparing, preparing for the work for which He has already come into the world, although He is not yet manifest. John the Baptist has pointed Him out to me: "Behold the Lamb of God!" Now I will do what his disciples did--leave "the Friend of the Bridegroom" for the Bridegroom Himself. He has become incarnate for me; it behoves me then to keep as close to Him as possible, to love Him with all my heart and to copy Him as far as I can. He is God and therefore there can be nothing imperfect about Him; from the first moment of the Word being made flesh in the womb of His Mother till "she brought forth her first-born Son" on Christmas day, His faculties, His reason, His intelligence, His sensibilities were all in a state of perfection; He knew the past, the present, and the future; and He, the Source of grace, was pouring forth grace on all around Him. Directly we understand this, we feel that we must draw near, not only to adore but to sympathize, to wonder, to love, to learn, to imitate. For those who understand the Incarnation, His work did not begin on Christmas Day, but on the Feast of the Annunciation, when Mary said: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to Thy word." What happened at that moment? The Holy Ghost overshadowed her, the Body of Our Lord was formed from her pure blood, God created the human Soul to dwell in it, and by the act of the Incarnation that Soul and Body became the Soul and Body of the Word, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity; Mary became the Mother of God and Gabriel worshipped before the Tabernacle of the Word made flesh.

Mary was the next to adore; Joseph, Elizabeth, John, Zachary followed, and there may have been other privileged ones to whom Our Lord Himself revealed His secret; but the world at large went on as usual--it "knew Him not." The same thing happens every day in our midst. When the priest with his God hidden on his breast passes on his way to give the Bread of Life to some sufferer, only a few privileged ones know the secret and offer their silent adoration. _Venite adoremus._

POINT II. DIVINE ADORATION.

It was a _new life_ that Our Lord entered upon at the moment of the Incarnation. He had had His Divine Life from all eternity, but God had never before been man. He now for the first time could express Himself through a human body. God could adore with human lips, could love with a human heart, could suffer through human senses, could plan with a human intelligence, could reason with a human mind. The consequence of the union of the two natures was that the human nature was perfect, more than perfect--it was Divine, and God received at the moment of the Incarnation, the first perfect human act of adoration, the first perfect human act of love, of humility and of all the other virtues. The God-Man could adore perfectly, because being God He knew God and knew what adoration was fitting for God; it was God adoring God and yet it was a human act, the act of a man like ourselves. At that moment God received what He wanted from one of the human race. The first breath drawn by His Son Incarnate made it worth His while to have created man in spite of the Fall. He received not only reparation but all He expected from the human race when He first created it. He was satisfied, and would have been satisfied even if that first moment had also been His last on earth. The Incarnation would have done its work, the justice of God could have required no more--a human will was perfectly submissive to His Will, a human heart beat in unison with His, a human creature offered itself as a victim for the race: "Behold, I come to do Thy Will, O My God," I have desired it. (Ps. XXXIX. 8, 9). God received at the moment of the Incarnation a higher act of worship than He had ever received from all the nine choirs of Angels, and that act was a _human_ act. Did the Angels who fell understand this and was this the cause of their rebellion? It is true that this first moment of the Incarnation would have more than satisfied God, but it was not enough for the God-made-Man. He would go on, on even to the death of the cross, not to satisfy His Father's justice, but His own love, and to show to those whom by His Incarnation He had made His brethren to what lengths love can go. Every breath He drew was as perfect as the first--a perfect offering, a perfect act of adoration; every beat of His Heart until He said: "Father, into Thy Hands I commend My Spirit," was a perfect act of love; every act, every thought, every word perfect, because they were the acts, thoughts and words of _God_.

POINT III. THE PRACTICAL CONCLUSION.

What have I to do with these sublime truths? Everything, for He was incarnate _for me_. What does it mean? It means that He is my Brother and that He is giving to God what God must have, but what I cannot give Him; and that all I have to do is to unite myself to Him and to offer my imperfect acts of adoration, love, humility with His perfect ones. He has given Himself to me, that I may give Him back to God--a perfect offering with which God will be entirely satisfied. My God, I cannot adore Thee as I should, though I desire to do so with my whole heart, but JESUS is there incarnate for me, He is adoring Thee perfectly for me, accept His adoration and mine with it. My God, I love Thee, but I cannot love Thee enough, I cannot love Thee as I ought, I cannot love Thee as Thou deservest to be loved, but JESUS is incarnate for me, He has a human Heart which is loving Thee _perfectly_; I put my heart inside His, accept His love and mine with it. My God, I want to be perfectly submissive, perfectly humble, a perfect victim, but great though my desires are, I cannot arrive at the perfection which Thou dost require. Oh, look upon my Brother incarnate for me, accept all His perfections; let me offer my little struggles and desires and efforts with all that He is doing, for is it not all for me? "_Through_ Him and _with_ Him and _in_ Him."

Let me go to Nazareth to Mary; she will welcome me for she knows that He has become incarnate _for me_. The Angel has just left her to take back her _Fiat_ to Heaven. I will take his place and on bended knees before that holy shrine where the new Life has just begun, I will meditate. Never before perhaps have I so felt the need of thanksgiving, of adoration, of wonder, of love. All I offer now and from henceforth must pass through Mary to her Son, Who will offer my gifts with His own to His Father.

_Colloquy_ with God-Incarnate.

_Resolution._ To thank God often to-day for the Incarnation.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "He was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made Man."

"EX MARIA VIRGINE"

"Apud me est fons vitae." [In me is the Source of life.]

_1st. Prelude._ Mary, just after the Angel had departed from her.

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to understand Mary's part in the Incarnation.

POINT I. MARY SHARES ALL WITH HER SON.

All the joy that the Incarnation brought to the Blessed Trinity, Mary to a great extent must have shared. There was the joy of God the Father, because He saw His designs in creating man fulfilled, His justice satisfied and a human creature doing Him perfect homage and bringing Him so much glory. There was the joy of God the Son, because at last He was united to our human nature, because He being God had nevertheless a human Soul and a human Body, to which He could unite all the Divine perfections, and by means of which He could carry out all His Father's designs for the lost human race. There was the joy of the Holy Spirit Who had overshadowed Mary and by His Divine power created in her a Soul and a Body so beautiful that they were worthy to be taken by the Eternal Word and for ever united to the Divinity. The Holy Ghost saw now a human Soul into which He could pour _all_ the grace that would be needed by the whole human race. Of His fulness all were to receive (St. John I. 16).

And what was the means whereby all this joy was given to the Blessed Trinity? The Body which had been formed from the most pure flesh and blood of Mary. She had lent herself at God's request to be the instrument used, and now she was the Tabernacle where the God-Man lay hidden. As He shared His life with His Mother, since it was her blood which was coursing through His Veins, so He shared all His acts with her. That first perfect act of adoration made by a human Soul to God was shared by Mary--she adored too. That first whole-hearted oblation of a human Soul to God was shared by Mary when she said her: "_Fiat mihi secundum verbum Tuum_." That first perfect act of love from a human Heart was shared by Mary for how close was the union between the Sacred Heart of JESUS and the most pure heart of Mary! When JESUS made acts of reparation of humility, of conformity to His Father's Will, Mary made them too--she could not but do so, for her life was so closely bound up with that of her Son; He became the mainspring of all she did. It was the charity and humility in _His_ Heart that made her go to visit her cousin Elizabeth and make herself her handmaid; it was _His_ salutation that made hers so powerful with regard both to Elizabeth and to the infant John; it was the thanksgiving in _His_ Heart which overflowed into hers and made her sing her _Magnificat_. That Mary spent the nine months in adoration we may well believe, but she spent them also in union with her Son, sharing all with Him and giving us a perfect model of the interior life--which means not only that God shares in the acts of the soul, but also that the soul shares in the acts of God, Emmanuel--God with us--in order that we may be "with the King for _His_ works" (1 Paralip. IV. 23).

POINT II. MARY MY EXAMPLE.

He was incarnate for me, and His Mother is my Mother; it is to her that I must look now to teach me how to spend these days before His birth. Teach me, my Mother, to follow the great example which you set. Teach me, too, to rejoice in the wonders of the Incarnation. Who should be more filled with joy than I for whom He was incarnate? Teach me what the interior life means, teach me to allow Him to be the mainspring within me of all I do, so that the life which I live is not mine but His, the words which I speak not mine but His,--JESUS acting, thinking, speaking through me. This is the interior life which Mary understood so well and lived so perfectly during her time of waiting. There is, however, another side to the interior life, and this is the one we want to meditate about more especially, while we are thinking of the Son of God incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. He has taken human nature, my nature, and joined it to the Godhead. He has made Himself a partaker of my human nature in order that I may be a partaker of His divine nature. I must not only think, then, of His working in and through me, but of my working in and through Him. Mary entered into and shared not only His Acts of adoration and love and praise, but also the work He had come to do, His plans for the Redemption of the world. "They dwelt with the King for His works, and they abode there" (1 Paral. IV. 23). How true this was of Mary! It is in this that I must try to copy her. "I will abide in the Tabernacle of the Most High," and I will offer myself for _His works_, His interests shall be mine, He shall feel that _one_ soul at least, sympathizes and cares and intends to co-operate in the great work He has come to do.

Let me, then, as the season of Advent is fast passing, ask myself once again: Am I doing all I can for the spread of the Kingdom which He came to this earth to set up? Am I trying to look at the world with the eyes of love with which He regarded it, when He first made Himself incarnate for it? Am I helping His poor, tending His sick, instructing His ignorant, bringing Home His sheep, loving His little ones, comforting His sorrowful ones? Such are "His works," and if I would do them, I must dwell with the King and learn to do them in His way--I must live an interior life.

POINT III. ALL PASSES THROUGH MARY.

It is only those who do not understand the Incarnation who stumble over this statement. What could be more natural? If He chose to redeem the world through Mary, to do all His great works which depend on the Incarnation--such as the foundation of the Church with all her Sacraments--through Mary, is it strange that when I want to help the King in His works, I should do the same and put my little gifts for the King into her hands? Rather would it be strange if I wanted to work on a different plan from my King's. She is the _Janua coeli_, _the Turris Davidica_, _the Sacrarium Spiritus Sancti_; the Tabernacle where He was incarnate for me. Through her and by means of her, He hands me all the graces I receive. What more natural than that I should make use of such a messenger to take back my offerings? And do they lose in the transaction? Surely they must gain, first because she will purify them and add to them her own merits and graces, and secondly because a gift presented by His own Mother cannot but be enhanced in value.

Blessed Grignon de Montfort says: "God has chosen her for the treasurer, steward and dispenser of all His graces, so that all His graces and all His gifts pass through her hands; and according to the power she has received over them, as St. Bernardine teaches, she gives to whom she wills, as she likes, and as much as she likes, the graces of the Eternal Father, the virtues of JESUS Christ and the gifts of the Holy Ghost." We may, if we like, "do all our actions with Mary, in Mary, by Mary, for Mary, in order to do them more perfectly with JESUS, in JESUS, by JESUS, and for JESUS, our Last End."[1]

If I am a child of Mary in anything more than in name, I shall not hesitate to use this great privilege which is offered to me, knowing that by so doing, not only will the value of my prayers and penances and actions be enhanced in God's sight, but my merits and graces will be increased. Mary will see to it that her children who thus trust her have a Benjamin's portion.

_Colloquy_ with Mary, asking her to obtain for me during this waiting time the grace to trust her with all my secrets for her Son.

_Resolution._ To dwell "with the King for His works" to-day.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ Janua coeli, ora pro nobis.

"THE LORD IS NIGH"

"Brethren, rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice.
Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh. Be
nothing solicitous; but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your petitions be made
known to God. And the peace of God which surpasseth all
understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ JESUS."

(Phil. IV. 4-7).
(The "Epistle" for the Third Sunday of Advent).

_1st. Prelude._ Before the Tabernacle.

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to remember the Presence of God.

The Lord is nigh because by His grace He is within us, because by His omnipresence He is "not far from every one of us" (Acts XVII. 27), because in the Blessed Sacrament He is with us "all days, even to the consummation of the world" (St. Matt. XXVIII. 20) and because it may be _to-day_ that He will come in judgment. In consequence of this nearness of our God to us, from whatever point of view we regard it, St. Paul tells us that there are certain practices which are incumbent upon us.

POINT I. "REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS."

To rejoice _always_--this is my duty, because the Lord is nigh. When joy is absent from me, it is because faith in His nearness is absent. When clouds hide the Sun of Justice, and I am disposed to be sad and despondent, let me make an Act of Faith in His Presence: My God, I know that Thou art within my soul, because I have reason to believe that I am in the state of grace. My JESUS, I believe that Thou art there in the Tabernacle. My God, I believe that Thou art truly present behind every person and every circumstance and every trial. My JESUS, I believe that it may be to-day that Thou wilt summon me to stand before Thee as my Judge.... I shall find that Acts of Faith, such as these, will help to dispel the despondency and send me on my way rejoicing. How can I do anything but rejoice when I think of the Divine Inhabitation? Can I be sad when I realize the presence of JESUS in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and all that means to me? Can I allow circumstances and trials to depress and crush me when I know with what infinite love and care they have been arranged for me by Him who hides _Himself_ in each one of them? And if the thought that the Lord is nigh in judgment can hardly in itself be a thought that brings joy, yet, when I know how much value He sets on joy, I should like Him to find me rejoicing when He pays that always unexpected visit to my soul. The Lord is nigh, therefore _rejoice_. To rejoice _in the Lord_ is always possible, it only means a realization of the supernatural, and as soon as that is realized, everything is seen in a different light. "In Thy light we shall see light" (Ps. XXXV. 10), and "at Thy right hand are delights even to the end" (Ps. XV. 11). It is just because the Lord is nigh that I cannot but rejoice, and it is only when I forget His Presence that the clouds have the power to chill and depress me and rob me of my joy. St. Paul is afraid that I _may_ forget, and so he adds: "_Again_ I say: Rejoice."

POINT II. "LET YOUR MODESTY BE KNOWN TO ALL MEN."

The Greek word which is translated "modesty" means more, it means fairness, kindness, gentleness, moderation, self-restraint, not insisting on strict justice. These are the qualities by which I am to be known to all men, _because_ the Lord is nigh. He is within me--always if I will by His grace and often by the Blessed Sacrament. I may truly be said to "bear God in my body." What follows? I am His representative to the world; He is living His life in the world through me; if people want to know something about God and what He is like, they ought to be able to find out by watching my life.

The Lord is nigh--my gentleness has to recall this fact to others. "The servant of the Lord must not wrangle, but be mild towards all men." (2 Tim. II. 24). He must not stand up for his rights, though strictly speaking he may have them; he must not be wedded to his own opinions and ever anxious to give them; he must not argue and strive to show that he is in the right, which means that everybody else is in the wrong. No, if he does these things, he is giving an altogether false representation of Christ Who is within him, of the Lord Who is so nigh.

Some people are gentle by nature, but it is not this natural quality of gentleness, often a mark of weakness of character and will, which is to be known to all men. It needs a strong will and much self-restraint to show the gentleness of Christ; it means the temper kept in check when slighting, insulting or unkind words are said; it means keeping silence when misjudged or falsely accused because "JESUS was silent;" it means keeping back the cutting word or the stinging sarcasm and letting them die away before His Presence; it means giving up a cherished plan or desire and letting no one except Him Who asks for the sacrifice know what it costs; it means being able to let a matter drop, though we may be in the right--such is the gentleness of Christ, which we have to make known so that by our behaviour others may be attracted to Him Who is so nigh. What a point it would give to our preparation for His Coming this Advent, if each day found us striving to let our gentleness win others to Him and make them long to know the Babe of Bethlehem.

POINT III. "BE NOTHING SOLICITOUS."

Take no thought, for your Heavenly Father knoweth that you have need. Do not be solicitous, careful, anxious about anything, there is no need for the Lord is nigh. He knows what is best for His child. He can alter things if He likes, leave all to Him. All worry and anxiety only come really from want of faith. Does a child worry when its father is near? No, it leaves everything to him without any care. The Lord is nigh, be nothing solicitous. The way may seem blocked, but it is not blocked to Him; the Lord is still nigh, "He knoweth my way" (Job XXIII. 10), is it not enough?

Let me love and trust and continually talk to Him Who is so near; let me remember that I am never alone, that the difficulties and problems and sorrows of life concern _two_, that the responsibility is _shared_, that the important business of life is a _joint_ one. Surely with such a Partner, One who is never absent but always nigh, I need be in _nothing_ solicitous.

POINT IV. "IN EVERYTHING BY PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION WITH THANKSGIVING, LET YOUR PETITIONS BE MADE KNOWN UNTO GOD."

The conclusion I arrived at in the last point is a just one, but I am not on that account to do nothing. He must have my active co-operation and whether I am working for my own salvation or for the salvation of others or, which ought to be the case, for both, I must in _everything_ I do, let my petitions be made known unto God, that is, I must never act on my own responsibility. I am going to see such and such a person, come with me; I have this letter to write, tell me what to say; I have a difficult matter to settle, give me the necessary wisdom and tact; I am going to rest, or to take my food or my recreation, I want Thee with me all the same--such must be my requests. What about my mistakes, the things I forget and leave out, the faults that I mean with all my heart not to commit, but which I am always falling into all the same? Ah, it is here that the inestimable benefit of having such an all-powerful Partner comes in. Instead of bewailing my incapability, which only makes me still less capable, I must make my requests known to Him. What sort of requests will these be? I have committed that fault, made that same mistake again, please forgive me and correct it; I have forgotten to say something I meant to say, please say it for me; I have been stiff, unyielding, ungracious, discourteous, harsh, severe, please make up for my deficiencies and whatever happens do not let them judge Thee by Thy representative, make them understand that He for whom I am working is never anything but gracious and gentle, that He never breaks the bruised reed nor quenches the smoking flax; do not let me spoil Thy work. Such are the prayers and supplications by which I should continually be making known my needs to Him Who is always nigh.

And what about the thanksgiving? This is most necessary, otherwise, ashamed though I am to confess it, I shall be attributing the successes to my own powers and skill and capability! It seems hardly credible, but unfortunately past experience tells me that it is all too true. In order to guard against such a distorted and absurd view of things, St. Paul tells us not to forget the _Thanksgiving_. The Lord is nigh, let me turn to Him and say: _Deo gratias_, for it is He Who has prevented my awkwardness from spoiling His work. He loves to be thanked and He notices when He is not. Let me be thoroughly persuaded that the work _is_ all His, and that if anything succeeds that _I_ do, it is only because He has allowed _His_ success to pass through me, thus thanksgiving will not only be easy but natural. But who is ever going to persuade me that no glory is due to me? "Who is sufficient for these things?" He Who condescends to be my Co-worker. He can do even that, if I love Him sufficiently to _want_ Him to have all the glory.

POINT V. THE RESULT--PEACE.

"The peace of God which passeth all understanding (shall) keep your hearts and minds in Christ JESUS." This will be the result, not of Our Lord being nigh, but of our _realization_ of His nearness. A great peace will _keep_, that is, take possession of, our hearts and minds. Everything will be right because it comes straight from God's Hands. "_My_ peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth do I give unto you" (St. John XIV. 27). God's peace passes the understanding of the world, it has nothing to compare with it. It passes the understanding of God's children too. It is one of the mysteries with which He blesses His own and makes life possible for them in a world of turmoil.

_Colloquy_ with Him Who is nigh.

_Resolution._ To remember that I am never alone.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "The Lord is nigh."

FOOTNOTE:

[Footnote 1: "The Secret of Mary unveiled to the devout soul" by Louis-Marie Grignon de Montfort.]

THE INTERIOR LIFE. (1)

HUMILITY.

"I am Thy servant, I am Thy servant and the son of Thy
handmaid."

(Ps. CXV. 16).
Janua coeli, ora pro nobis.

_1st. Prelude._ The Gate of Heaven.

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to enter that gate and learn.

We are going now to keep very close to Mary. She is passing all these precious days in communion with her Son and He is teaching her what conformity to Himself means. But she has Him not for herself alone but for all those for whom He has made Himself incarnate and has come to die. The time passed within that "Gate of Heaven" was the first stage of His earthly journey and He was there for me, for my learning. He was already my Model. Let me go, then, to-day to the "Gate of Heaven," go to Mary and ask to be allowed to study some of those heavenly lessons which were so dear to her heart. _Janua coeli, ora pro nobis._ "Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any who implored thy help or sought thy intercession were left unaided. Inspired with this confidence I fly unto thee.... O, Mother of the Word Incarnate despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me."

POINT I. THE HUMILITY OF JESUS.

We cannot contemplate this stage of Our Lord's life without being struck first of all by the humility and self-abasement of it, by the way in which in some sense He _annihilated_ Himself that He might do His Father's Will. St. Paul says: "He emptied Himself ... being made in the likeness of men" (Phil. II. 7). He stripped Himself, robbed Himself of all that He possessed: _Semetipsum exinanivit_. We know that Mary, His created Home, was chaste and pure, that no breath of sin had ever touched her, that the Holy Spirit Himself had overshadowed her and had undertaken the preparation and the adornment of the earthly Tabernacle of the Word; but pure and holy though she was, Mary was only a creature and He was the Creator. He was God and she was one of the human race. His place was on the highest throne of Heaven and yet "He abhorred not the Virgin's womb" but there lived hidden from the sight of all, like any other infant and yet wholly unlike, because He had full possession of His faculties and intelligence. In the manger He will be _seen_, and so will be loved, pitied and worshipped; there will be many consolations which will go far to lessen and soften His humiliations, but _here_, He is alone, hidden; His very existence not even suspected. He has annihilated Himself, made Himself nothing. He could have taken our nature, had He so wished, without all these humiliations; why then did He despise not the Virgin's womb? Because this is to be His principle all through His life, He will love "unto the end." He will leave nothing undone that He could possibly do. He came to do His Father's Will and He will do it thoroughly. He will bear all the humiliations because He wants to be my Model and to teach me that there is only one way of learning humility.

POINT II. THE HUMILITY OF MARY.

Mary, though she cannot see Him, is sharing intimately all His humiliations. She knows as no one else can all He is going through; and because she is His Mother she feels more intensely than anyone could what His humiliations are, she can never forget them. She shares all with Him and He lets her; her sympathy is His consolation. Of all the virtues of the interior life, humility is the one which is the most strongly marked in Mary, and perhaps more strongly during these nine months than at any other time. It was her humility which attracted the Eternal Word from Heaven to take up His dwelling in His earthly Tabernacle. It was her humility which made her visit her cousin Elizabeth. It was her humility which made her sing in her _Magnificat_ of the great things God had done for her and how He had regarded the low estate of His handmaid. It was her humility which made her ready to suffer any humiliation rather than disclose God's secret to St. Joseph. It was her humility which made her incapable of resenting all the humiliations she had to bear at Bethlehem on Christmas Eve--and all this humility, all this power to bear humiliations, came from the fact that she was living an interior life, living a hidden life with her Son, looking at everything from His point of view and not from her own.

POINT III. "LEARN OF ME."

Now let me turn from the interior life of JESUS and Mary to my own. JESUS lived His interior life for me. If He allowed Mary to share it, He will allow me, for He said once that He counted as His Mother all those who do His Will. His Will is quite clear: "Learn of me for I am _humble_." Dare I go to the "Gate of Heaven" and say that I want to learn to be humble, that is, that I want to copy JESUS and Mary in their humiliations? It takes a great deal of courage to ask for humiliations, and perhaps it is almost impossible to do so without some pride lurking in the request; but what I can do is to be so anxious to learn to be humble as He bids me, that I ask for strength to bear the humiliations that He sends. How _do_ I bear them? Do I say: Oh well, it is a humiliation, I must bear it! or, Oh well, I shall never learn humility without humiliations! or: I am always getting humiliations, some people are, but I gladly accept them! All such speeches have their source, not in humility but in pride. Can we imagine Mary talking like this? Humiliations will never do their blessed work of making me humble if I thus use them to attract attention to my supposed virtue. A humiliation is spoiled the moment it sees the light; it has no strength left in it wherewith to produce humility. Do I want to be humble? Then let me go to that quiet retreat where JESUS is humiliating Himself for me, let me take all my humiliations there. When I am left out, forgotten, despised, when my help is unasked, my opinion disregarded, when things are said of me that are hard to bear, when reflections are made on my actions, let me go at once to where JESUS is hidden and hide myself and my pain there, my one fear being lest anyone but He should suspect my pain, and this not from stoicism or natural self-restraint, so pleasing and consoling to self, but because I am afraid of spoiling my chance and preventing the humiliation from doing its work. If I can only deposit it safely in His Heart before another sees it and robs me of my jewel, all will be well. He who suffered all those humiliations for me, will know how to ease my pain, He will tell me what a consolation it is to Him that His child understands and is trying to make a faithful copy.

_Colloquy._ O Mary, "Gate of Heaven" keep the gate wide open and beckon me in whenever you see me in danger of falling through my pride. You know the dangerous moments, please forestall them for me, and when I am safe, and listening to the Sacred Heart beating for me, the pain of the humiliation will be turned into joy and perhaps I shall make Him feel that His humiliations have not been in vain.

_Resolution._ To examine myself to-day on how I take my humiliations and to resolve how I will take them for the future.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Learn of Me for I am humble."

THE INTERIOR LIFE. (2)

OBLATION.

"Sacrifice and oblation Thou wouldest not, but a Body Thou
hast fitted to Me. Holocausts for sin did not please Thee.
Then said I: Behold I come. In the head of the book it is
written of Me, that I should do Thy Will, O God."

(Heb. X. 5-7).

_1st. Prelude._ "Thy holy Tabernacle, which Thou hast prepared from the beginning" (Wisdom IX. 8).

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to be generous.

POINT I. THE OBLATION OF JESUS.

As soon as the Word had taken possession of His earthly home, He began to live His new life--a life in all its fulness of knowledge and of grace and which will ever remain at its highest point, a life of infinite worth, a life lived for others, a life abounding in merits and satisfactions, a life of contemplation and yet of activity, a life to be studied carefully by all who seek to live an interior life and specially by those who for the love of their Incarnate God hide themselves in the cloister.

This new life was before everything else a life of _oblation_. The first act of the Word Incarnate was to offer Himself to His Father: Here I am; I have come to do Thy Will and I have come to do it not for Myself but for all creation; I offer Myself to do what it cannot do and to satisfy Thy claims. He made Himself, then, from the first moment of His existence a _Victim_--a Victim laid on the altar. This was His first posture, and He will keep it not only during this first stage of His life, but all through His life and all through His Sacramental life, whether the Host is offered to God at the Holy Mass or is living Its life of a Victim in the Tabernacle; and in Heaven He will still be "the Lamb as it had been slain."

With the oblation of Himself, so acceptable to the Father, the Victim offers all that concerns Him, all for which He has come to this earth, all His designs for man's salvation. He submits all His plans for His great building, the Holy Catholic Church, of which He offers Himself to be the Chief Corner-stone, dwelling in it as its life throughout all time. He offers Himself also to bear all the effects of His oblation and to drink the chalice to the dregs. He offers Himself as a Surety for the whole human race and for it He offers all His merits and satisfactions. He keeps nothing back--the whole of the life just begun is offered for the glory of God and the salvation of the world. It is a whole burnt-offering, a holocaust offered at its very beginning to Him Who "spared not even His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all." (Rom. VIII. 32).

POINT II. THE OBLATION OF MARY.

Mary lived her life with her Son and to her He communicated His secrets. It is impossible to imagine that He did not reveal to her His plans and designs which were the reason of His coming to this earth, and how He was going to carry them out. She knew, then, that she was the Mother of a Victim; and when He offered Himself to God, she joined in, offering herself and her Son for all that He wished. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord!" Here I am, I offer myself to Thee, do what Thou wilt with me. This was Mary's attitude all through her life from the time when her _Fiat_ was a sign for the Incarnation to take place, till she stood on Calvary's Hill assisting at the offering of the Victim. Truly had the Mother of Sorrows caught the spirit of her Son; all through her life she regarded Him as a Victim. When He was forty days old she formally offered Him to God, and her life though bound up with His was nevertheless detached from Him, as from something given to another. Now at this early stage of His life, Mary is learning her lesson and gaining her strength. She is doing it by leading an interior life, hidden with her Son.

O my Mother, as I come to-day to the holy Tabernacle "prepared from the beginning" where the Sacred Victim lies hidden, help me to make my life one with His as thou didst, help me to detach myself from everything for His sake and to say my _Fiat_ whenever He asks for it.

POINT III. LEARN OF ME.

If I want to live an interior life, I must model it on the life of JESUS hidden in the womb of His Mother. He wants me to lead it for He is ever saying: Learn of Me Who led this life for you. An interior life must be essentially a life of oblation. This is its foundation: the offering of the soul as a holocaust to God and then regarding itself as a victim, all it has and does and is and thinks and plans, belonging not to itself but to God. It lies on the altar waiting to be consumed; it is not surprised when it is treated as a victim and feels the flames, not surprised, that is, when it is forgotten and thought nothing of; its life is _hidden_, how should people remember it! If it has to suffer, it considers it the most natural thing in the world for a victim. If its plans are all frustrated, it knows that it is lying there on the altar to do God's Will, not its own, and that this is only the fire consuming the victim; if it did _not_ happen thus the victim might indeed be surprised and anxious, wondering whether God had accepted its sacrifice. "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service" (Rom. XII. 1). The sacrifice is ever _living_, and ever being consumed. The victim feels keenly all the many processes by which God shows that He has accepted the offering, but if it copies its Model, there will be no complaint, no drawing back of the offering, no wishing that it had chosen an easier course, no wondering whether it had made a mistake in its vocation; rather will there be joy in its heart because in its humble way it is like its Master, and each fresh touch of the fire will be to it a fresh proof that God has not forgotten it, but has taken it at its word and counts on it to be all that it promised to be. What is necessary for all this? Only one thing: _Love_. If I love, I can do it. "Walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and given Himself an oblation for us."

O my little JESUS, hidden there for me and offering Thyself for me, teach me to be generous, teach me to love Thee as Thou deservest; help me to lie quietly and unresistingly on the altar. I am not alone. Thou art there, bearing all with me and giving me the necessary strength to bear all for Thee. Help me to sacrifice willingly all my cherished desires and tastes, all my will. Thou didst withhold nothing from me, help me to withhold nothing from Thee. So shall I make Thee some reparation for all the time wasted in the past, for all the sins committed against Thy love; so only can I obey Thy command: "Learn of Me," and make some little return for Thy infinite love.

_Colloquy_ with JESUS and His blessed Mother.

_Resolution._ To offer myself as a victim to-day.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Walk in love as Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered Himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God." (Eph. V. 2).

THE INTERIOR LIFE. (3)

IMPRISONMENT.

"I was in prison and you came to Me." "Lord when did we see
Thee ... in prison?"

(St. Matt. XXV. 36, 39).

_1st. Prelude._ Turris Davidica.

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to visit Him in His prison.

POINT I. DEPENDENCE.