The Necessity of Meditation

1. "With desolation is all the land made desolate, because there is none that considereth in the heart." (Jer. 12:11)

Very often the world is plunged in the desolation of evil because there is nobody who will speak with God in the silence of his heart and try to regulate his life according to His holy commandments. It is in a particularly outstanding way today that the heresies of actionism and externalism dominate the great mass of mankind. To act, to rush, to arrive...above all, to arrive! But to arrive where? In this frantic, frenzied and tumultuous race, in which good people are often found competing, two very sure things are forgotten, namely, that we shall finally arrive at death, and that from death we shall pass on to eternity. The whole course of our lives, therefore, should be directed towards this end. But if we are to keep this end in view, prudent reflection is essential, especially meditation, made with the assistance of the Divine light, on the eternal truths.

Absorbed in the deafening din of the world around us, it is difficult to hear the voice of God. At least for a little while each day, we must create within ourselves a zone of silence in order to listen to His voice. Since God speaks readily in the silence of the heart, let us recollect ourselves before Him in this quiet oasis. At least a quarter of an hour of daily meditation is essential for the life of Christian. This should be the jumping-off board for all the actions of the day, if we wish these to be correct and productive of good.

2. The masters of the spiritual life assure us that without the practice of meditation it is almost impossible for the just man to persevere in virtue, or for the tepid to become fervent, or for the sinner to be converted. God, it is true, can work miracles. At times the grace of God can strike the sinner with the suddenness of a thunderbolt and convert him. But it is the ordinary rule of the spiritual life that meditation on the truths of eternity, especially on the last things, stirs up the soul and moves it, under the influence of Divine grace, to form good resolutions. Even though the first fervour diminishes, the daily repitition of this pious practice revives and strengthens such good resolutions, and causes them to be realised in activities which are in accordance with Christian teaching.

Sin and tepidity cannot co-exist with the practice of daily mental prayer, if this is carried out as it should be. If we keep our hearts united to God and listen willingly and attentively to His voice, we shall be able to effect in ourselves that total renovation of which St. Paul speaks: "But be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, which has been created according to God, in justice and holiness of truth." (Eph. 4:23)

3. There are various ways of meditating. Each one should choose whichever suits his own character and dispositions. It will always be necessary for him at the outset, however, to place himself in the presence of God, asking for light and strength from Him; then to reflect on certain truths in an effort to apply them to his own particular circumstances and needs; and finally to make the necessary resolutions and beseech God to bless them and make them fruitful.

It is very useful, moreover, to recall to mind frequently during the day the resolutions which have been formed, and to accompany these reflections with short prayers, ejaculations, and acts of love for God.

The New Year

1. This is a new gift which God in His infinite goodness gives to us. But every gift of God demands on our part a generous expression of gratitude, which should result in positive acts of virtue. Gratitude is an empty and short-lived sentiment unless it is accompanied by a sincere intention of performing good works.

Time is the price of eternity, because with time we can purchase an eternity of happiness or misery.

Consider this great truth. Every year is like a ladder in our lives. Now, it is necessary that this ladder should lead us, not perilously downwards towards evil, but upwards towards Heaven, even if with faltering footsteps.

The New Year opens today as a blank page in the diary of our lives. What do we intend to write there? The usual inanities and sins, perhaps? Let us reflect before God and in the light of the eternity which awaits us. This is the time for great decisions. It is necessary that we should offer our resolutions to God along with a humble and fervent prayer that He will strengthen us to comply faithfully with His grace.

2. During these days it is customary to exchange, verbally or in writing, good wishes for the New Year. But these poor greetings are often nothing more than conventional phrases. Men lack the power to transmute such good wishes into reality. God alone is the source of every material and spiritual good; therefore He alone can ensure that these benevolent expressions are translated into deeds of Christian renovation. Since today is the beginning of the New Year, it is especially important for us to ask God more fervently and insistently to bless the resolutions which we are making for ourselves and the good wishes which we are showering on our friends.

These wishes have no meaning, and these resolutions have no force, if they are not accompanied by fervent and persevering prayer.

3. It is suggested in The Imitation of Christ that if we were to get rid of at least one habit of sin every year, we should soon be holy. If we have not tried to do this in the past, let us propose to do it in the future. This year let us select the principal defect which we possess, the sin into which we are most accustomed to fall. Let us seek to eradicate it with all the strength of our soul, assisted by the grace of God which will certainly not be denied us. Let us request for this purpose the most powerful patronage of Mary Most Holy. Let us pass this day in close union with God and under the maternal mantle of our Heavenly Mother. Finally, let us promise earnestly that all the days of the New Year will follow the same pattern.

Preface

"Pray for me," the well-known spiritual writer, Father Cordovani, once wrote in a letter to a friend, "that I may not die without having led some soul to sanctity and without having written some book which will continue to preach the Gospel long after my voice has been silenced for ever."

In writing these pages I have desired likewise to do a little good, first of all for myself and secondly for those who may wish to read and reflect upon them. I hoped to accomplish something for myself in that I wrote down these short daily meditations in order to be able to remember them more easily and to be able to turn to them whenever the opportunity should arise. Then, on the advice of enlightened friends, I decided to publish them in the hope that they might prove useful to others.

It was my intention to produce an edifying rather than an erudite work. This explains the simple style and the repitition of certain ideas. I have found it convenient to return to these ideas at regular intervals in order to impress them more deeply on the mind and heart of the reader.

There are many well-written books of meditations, but they are either too long and therefore inaccessible to many classes of people who complain that they have not got time to read them, or they are written in an antiquated style which is not acceptable today. The result is that many persons, including some who are genuinely holy, never make a meditation at all, and this is a very great loss.

I have done my best to be concise and, at the same time, to offer an abundance of ideas, in the hope that the reader of these pages may derive from them material for useful reflections and for profitable resolutions.

May God and the Blessed Virgin bless my labour so that it may be the source of good for many souls.

- Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Introduction

These meditations of Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1885-1971) were first published in Italian in 1959 by Casa Editrice Marietti, Turin, Italy and translated in 1964 by Desmond Williams and Brian Powers for The Newman Press.

If it is found that I am infringing on copyright laws I will delete this blog right away but this book seems to be out of print so perhaps the greater good would exonerate me from any offense against a man-made law (I am completely open to correction).

Throughout the posts I shall put my own emphasis on certain passages in bold. I shall also provide titles for some of the meditations which did not have one in the original text. These titles will be followed with a star. Ultimately, I am hoping that these meditations will help others to continue growing in their union with God which is the most important matter this side of eternity.

"Mental prayer is nothing else, in my opinion, but being on terms of friendship with God, frequently conversing in secret with Him who, we know, loves us."

- St. Teresa of Avila