Moments of Silence

1. Such is the speed of modern life that many people forget God and do not even pause to think about themselves. Action is everything. There is no time for reflection, no time for prayer. Life has become mechanical and superficial, for nobody has the time nor the inclination to think about spiritual matters.

What is the result? Since men are not machines but living beings composed of soul and body, and are capable of feeling and of passion, their lower inclinations break loose and insist on being satisfied. In the absence of prayer and of all effort to lead a good life, grace is lacking to inspire the mind, to strengthen the will and to keep the heart pure. Rapid materialistic progress has accustomed men to accept as inevitable the most shameful falls. The absence of any kind of contact with God makes the soul the slave of sin.

Examine yourself. Perhaps you have not yet sunk to this low level of spirituality and are still capable of feeling remorse and the urge to do good. But you must listen for God's voice, and a certain amount of silence is necessary if His voice is not to be drowned in the tumult of the world. We are in real need of solitude, recollection and prayer.

2. Even though the Apostles lived in times which were very different from ours, they were asked by our divine Master to spend a little time in solitude and recollection. They had been sent by Jesus to preach in the villages of Palestine and had been successful in their mission. When they returned they told our divine Redeemer with some satisfaction what they had accomplished in His name and with His grace. They may have been inclined to boast a little, and it is quite certain that they had become spiritually dissipated as a result of their work. So Jesus said to them: Come apart into a desert place and rest a while. (Mark 6:21; Mt. 14:13; Luke9:10; John 6:1)

We must take this advice also, for a certain amount of silence and recollection is absolutely essential. We should go on retreat every year and set aside one day every month for the same purpose. We need to spend at least a quarter of an hour every day in meditation, if possible a quarter of an hour in conversation with Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist or, if we cannot do any better, an interval of prayer in some other secluded place. If we have not been doing at least this much, let us make sure to do so in future.

3. Solitude and recollection will make our lives more peaceful and more purposeful and will enable us to co-operate with God's grace by striving to become more perfect. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, says St. Paul, and put on the new man, which has been created according to God injustice and in holiness. (Eph. 4:23-24)

The turmoil of a purely external life leads to hardness of heart, tepidity and sin. Recollection and prayer place us in contact with God, Who will give us the grace to lead holy lives.

St. Paul the Apostle

1. St. Paul was by nature fiery and zealous. Once he discovered the truth, he was ready to die for it. Originally he was convinced that Judaism contained the whole truth, and for this reason he hated the Christians, whom he regarded as a sect which had corrupted the sacred Hebrew tradition. The deacon Stephen was the first victim of his persecuting zeal. As he was being stoned and beaten to death this saintly young man prayed for his persecutors. It may be that in this moment his eyes, shining with faith and love, encountered those of the man who hated him. Soon afterwards Saul (this was Paul's real name) left Jerusalem for Damascus carrying letters investing him with new powers for the persecution of the infant Church. On the way this headstrong but sincere enemy of Christianity was suddenly dazzled by a light from Heaven. He fell to the ground and heard a mysterious voice saying: Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me? Terrified, he answered: Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus, the voice said, whom thou art persecuting. (Acts 9: 1-5) From that day Saul was changed completely. Under the influence of divine grace he became the Apostle of the Gentiles.

Before he set out on his missionary journeys Paul went apart into the desert of Arabia, (Cf. Gal. 1:17) where he remained some time in prayer and recollection. Then he went to Jerusalem to pay homage to the Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter (Gal. 1:18). After this he began his apostolic travels, in the course of which he encountered all kinds of hardship and danger. The Jews frequently hunted him in order to put him to death. He was often cruelly scourged and flung into prison, and several times he was shipwrecked and had miraculous escapes from death. (Cf. 2 Cor. 11: 23-27) He bore everything joyfully however, in order to prove his love for Jesus Christ. Charity was always his main incentive. The love of Christ impels us. (2 Cor. 5:14) Charity, he said himself, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (Cf. 1 Cor. 13:4-13) His charity was so great that he could truthfully say: Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not inflamed? (2 Cor. 11:19)

St. Paul could make this claim because his heart had become identified with the Heart of Jesus. Therefore he could say: It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me; (Gal. 2:20) and: For me to live is Christ and to die is gain; (Phil. 1:21) and: I am hard pressed from both sides-desiring to depart and to be with Christ, a lot by far the better; yet to stay on in the flesh is necessary for your sake. (Phil. 1:23-24)

Let us meditate on this ardent love of God. Let us cast aside our coldness and indifference and ask St. Paul to set us on fire with divine charity.

2. We can learn other virtues from St. Paul besides his zealous love for God and for his fellowmen. We can also learn from him the virtues of humility and of apostolic fervour. The Apostle of the Gentiles reached such heights of sanctity as to feel himself transformed into Christ Himself and to deserve to be taken up into the third Heaven where he enjoyed a foretaste of eternal happiness. Nevertheless, he considered himself unworthy to be called an Apostle and realised that all his gifts came to him from God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything, as from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. (2 Cor. 3:5) Whenever we succeed in any project we should think on the same lines, because it is only when we are humble and depend on the grace of God that the success of our actions will redound to the glory of our Creator. If the cancer of ambition or of self-love should corrupt our purity of intention, our work would not be blessed by God and would not make us worthy of everlasting life. Let us repeat often: "All for You, with You and in You, my God."

3. "Always breathe the life of Christ; place your trust in Him; and live as if every day were your last." (St. Athanasius, "Life of St. Anthony," n. 91.)

St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles

1. Jesus was walking one day along the shore of the Sea of Galilee when He saw two fishermen casting their nets into the water. He approached them and said: Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Mark 1:17) These two fishermen were brothers named Simon and Andrew. The divine Master won their hearts immediately, so that they left their boat and their nets and followed Jesus. Simon was later called Peter and became the leader of the Apostles.

Peter's generosity and great love for Jesus are evident in the pages of the Gospel. When our Lord foretold the institution of the Blessed Eucharist, many of His disciples were scandalised and left Him. "Do you also wish to go away?" Jesus asked His Apostles. St. Peter answered Him without delay. Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou bast words of everlasting life, and we have come to believe and to know that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God. (John 6:69) On another occasion Jesus asked His disciples: Who do men say the Son of Man is ? The Apostles hesitated and began to suggest the names of various Prophets. But St. Peter was inspired to make the reply: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Then our Lord appointed him Head of the Church. Blessed art thou, Simon Bar Jona . . . thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whrtever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. (Mt. 16: 15-19) By these words there was instituted the loftiest and most ancient of the dynasties, the Papacy. The successors of St. Peter will rule the Church to the end of time and no power, neither persecution nor heresy, neither human tyranny nor false civilisation, will ever succeed in destroying this citadel of truth and goodness.

When a band of hired ruffians arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, His-disciples were terrified and did nothing. Peter was the only one to show any courage, drawing his sword in defence of his divine Master. Later Jesus was brought in chains before the Sanhedrin and was condemned to death. Peter had not the heart to leave Him to His fate. He was too generous for that, even if he was too hasty and went on to deny Jesus three times. But he repented quickly and regretted his fault for the rest of his life. Even in his sin we can discern Peter's generosity of spirit.

Before he went to Rome, Peter had flouted the authority of the Synagogue of Jerusalem and had endured prison and undertaken long journeys in the course of his mission. Providence brought him to Rome, where he established the Roman Church which he was to sanctify by the shedding of his blood. He was crucified close to the Vatican hill from which his successors would one day govern the Christian world. His martyrdom bestowed an invincible strength upon the Church for all time.

2. It is good to admire the fidelity of St. Peter and the designs of divine Providence in making him the visible Head of the Church, but it is far better to follow his example. His love for Jesus led him to leave his family and his fisherman's trade in order to follow Our Lord. It led him to undertake long voyages, to endure imprisonment, and to face martyrdom. What can we do for the love of Jesus? Remember that if love is to be sincere it must be generous and effective.

Secondly, let us meditate on and imitate the ardent and fearless faith of St. Peter. He was not afraid to preach the teaching of Christ before the Sanhedrin. He was not afraid of Herod, who cast him into prison. He was not afraid of the Roman Emperor, who caused him to be crucified. Our faith should be steadfast and lively like his.

Finally, let us imitate Peter in his repentance. Although he loved Jesus very much and had such great faith in Him, in a moment of weakness and of imprudence he denied Him three times. All his life, however, he wept bitterly for this sin. Whenever he heard a cock crowing, it was as if an arrow had pierced his heart. He was not satisfied until he was hanging upon the cross like his divine Master and could prove his love for Jesus by a martyr's death.

3. Protect your people, 0 Lord, and keep them safe always, trusting as they do in the protection of your Apostles, Peter and Paul. Amen.

Steadfastness in Suffering

1. We are all obliged to suffer in soul and body. Suffering begins at birth and ends at death. "The whole life of a Christian is a cross," (Sermon 31) says St. Augustine. For this reason we have to develop the virtue of patience. Let patience have its perfect work, says St. James, that you may be perfect and entire.(James 1:4) If we are to be perfect, we must accept sufferings and trials from the hands of God and offer them to Him in a spirit of harmony with His holy will. In this way all our actions become valuable, for they are acts of reparation and of love which will be rewarded in Heaven. Both our joys and our sorrows are sanctified if we offer them to God, Who arranges everything for our own good. The Saints longed to suffer because they loved God and knew that suffering is the only true way in which we can prove our love. Suffering is the best medicine for the soul, for when it is endured with patience it purifies us and prepares us for Heaven. "If God does not punish you for your sins," says St. Augustine, "it is a sign that you are no longer counted among His sons." (Lib. de Pass., c. 5.) Whom the Lord loves, he chastises, St. Paul writes, and he scourges every son whom he receives.(Heb. 12:6)

Suffering is in fact a gift from God. It reminds us that we have not been created for this world, but for Heaven, in prepa­ration for which we must carry our cross with patience in the footsteps of Jesus. No matter what we do, we must suffer. Either we bear trials patiently and gain an increase of merit, or we rebel against them and gain no merit at all. When we suffer, let us think of the two thieves, both of whom were tortured in the same way. But the good thief accepted his torments with patience in reparation for his sins and was saved, while the bad thief rebelled against his sufferings and was most probably damned forever.

2. When we feel depressed, or when we are tempted to strike out angrily against human injustice and misunderstanding, there are two considerations which should help us to be patient. (1) The first is the reflection that everything comes to us from God or is at least permitted by Him. Why should we rebel against the will of God? Jesus was innocence itself, yet He willed to suffer for love of us. Are we unwilling to suffer for love of Him (2) The second is the realisation that we are sinners who have offended God many times and deserve to be punished. It is necessary to accept patiently all the sufferings which God sends us in expiation of our sins. We are receiving what our deeds deserved. (Luke 23:41) Above all, we ought to resolve never to give way to anger in word or in deed when we are offended. On these occasions we should wait until we have calmed down and have asked God for peace of mind. Before we do anything we need time for reflection and prayer. If we act in this way we shall not have to be sorry afterwards. Patience can help us to achieve anything and will eventually help us to gain Heaven.

3. Christ has suffered for you, leaving you an example that you may follow in his steps. (I Peter 2:21)

External Mortification

1. The interior mortification of self-love and of our sensual inclinations is not enough. Bodily mortification is also necessary. St. Paul provides the reason. The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. (Gal. 5:17)

Original sin disturbed the perfect harmony which existed between man's body and soul. I see another law in my members, said the Apostle Paul, warring against the law of my mind. (Rom. 7:23) Even when he was caught up to the third heaven, he experienced the rebellion of the flesh against the spirit. (2 Cor. 12:7)

There is no such struggle between the flesh and the spirit in brute animals, which are concerned only with the satisfaction of their sensible appetites. It is because he is endowed with reason and an immortal soul that man experiences this conflict. The result is that either the soul is conquered and becomes the slave of man's lower instincts or the soul is victorious and uses the body as an instrument of virtue.

We can see from this how necessary it is to mortify our bodies so that they will not rebel against the mastery of the soul. Our body will be either the faithful servant or the relentless tyrant of the soul.

Mortification and penance are the only methods of keeping the body under control. I chastise my body, says St. Paul, and bring it into subjection. (1 Cor. 9:27) He cites the example of competitors in the arena who abstain from everything which could prevent them winning. If they are prepared to do this, he adds, in order to gain a perishable crown, we should be even more prepared to abstain from anything which could interfere with us obtaining an everlasting reward. (1 Cor. 25)

Unless you repent, Our Lord had already said, you will all perish. (Luke 13:5) The Saints appreciated the severity of this warning and subjected themselves to incredible mortifications such as lengthy fasts, bloody scourgings, and privation of sleep and personal comforts.

What penances do I perform? Little or none, perhaps? If so, it is not surprising that my body rebels and causes me to fall into sin. We must follow the example of the Saints in this matter if we wish to remain in the state of grace.

2. In the first place, we must accept with resignation from the hands of Christ all the sufferings and humiliations which we encounter during life. Not only should we accept them, but we should offer them to God as a proof of our love. The Saints were happy to suffer for the sake of Jesus; we should at least suffer with resignation in expiation of our sins. This is still not enough, however. They who belong to Christ, St. Paul warns us, have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. (Gal. 5:24) Salvation is impossible without voluntary penance. (Cf. Luke 13:5) It is false piety to insist that we should not treat cruelly the body which God has given us. Such an attitude of indulgence could cause the loss of the soul, which is a far greater treasure. As St. Paul writes, the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that will revealed in us. (Rom. 8:18)

Suffering voluntarily undertaken for the sake of Jesus purifies the soul and gives us a great peace when we see the body subdued and converted into an instrument for the sanctification of ourselves and of others.

3. Principle: So great is the happiness which is in store for me that it is a pleasure for me to suffer. (St. Francis of Assisi.)

Interior Mortification

1. In the spiritual life, as in the physical order, death is the beginning of life. Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. He who loves his life, loses it; and he who hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life everlasting. (John 12: 24-25)

This passage of the Gospel epitomises the doctrine of Christian mortification-it is necessary to die to ourselves in order to live in God. Anyone who is full of himself and of worldly matters has no room in his heart for God. It is not possible, as St. Alphonsus points out, to fill a vase with earth and then to fill it with water. There is no room left for the water, and if a little of it enters the vase it is no longer pure water, but muddy.

We must empty ourselves of ourselves and of worldly things in order to fill ourselves with God. Jesus told us this quite clearly. If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself. (Mt. 16:24)

If anyone denies himself in order to do God's will in all things, he has achieved real interior mortification. Moreover, he has perfect peace, which consists in being established in the love of God.

This does not mean that all self-love is wrong. In fact, there are two kinds of self-love. We can love our own true good, which is God, and therefore desire to live in harmony with this supreme good in this life in order to enjoy it as our eternal reward. This kind of self love is founded on the love of God, Who is the main reason why we love ourselves. But if we prefer our own pleasure and satisfaction to God, then our selflove is disproportionate and wrong and leads us into sin.

The first thing we must do, therefore, is to mortify our inordinate self-love. In other words, we must deny ourselves in matters where self-love is keeping us apart from God, Whom we should love more than anything else in life.

2. In the process of mortifying self-love, we mortify our other passions also, because it is the origin of them all. It is as well to bear in mind, however, that no matter how much we curb our passions, they never die. We need to be always on our guard for fear that they may reassert themselves too strongly.

It is necessary for us to increase our love for God because, as St. Augustine points out, it is divine charity which conquers our passions. Constant prayer and union with God also help us to achieve interior mortification. Prayer without mortification is an illusion which does not last long, so that it is necessary to combine fervent prayer with self-denial.

We may not be capable of the extraordinary mortification which the Saints practised, because our health or the obligations of our state in life may make these impossible for us. But if we deny ourselves often in small matters, these will be so many steps in the ladder which will help us to reach Christian perfection.

3. Principles:

If you desire to love God and to become holy, mortification will be a source of joy.

Resist your evil inclinations at once so that they cannot grow in strength. Readily accept from God any difficulties which you encounter. Abandon yourself entirely to His will.

Purity of Intention

1. Purity of intention consists in doing the will of God in all things from the motive of pure love. We should not be egocentric, but theocentric; in other words, we should perform all our actions, not for our own satisfaction, but to please God. Since God is our final end, everything should be done for Him. Why are we so often agitated and discontented? It is because we are looking for success and for the approval of men. If we do not get these, we imagine that we have failed and have accomplished nothing.

Men judge the value of an enterprise by its external success and by the amount of work which went into it. It is not so with God. He judges the value of our actions from the sincerity of our desire to please Him and to prove our love for Him. This is enough for Him; success is not necessary. If we do everything for the love of God, we shall always be content as the Saints were, whether our projects succeed or fail. We shall have achieved our purpose if we have pleased God.

Purity of intention in our actions is fundamental in the Christian life. If thy eye be sound, Jesus Himself tells us, thy whole body will be full of life. But if thy eye be evil, thy whole body will he full of darkness. (Mt. 6:22) Man seeth those things that appear; but the Lord beholdeth the heart. (I Kings 16:7)

A man who works solely for the love of God will have great peace of soul in this life and an everlasting reward in the next. But if in our actions we seek our own satisfaction or the praise of men, we shall have already received our reward on earth and cannot expect to receive it in Heaven. They have received their reward. (Mt. 6:2)

Purity of intention, inspired by the love of God, transforms even our most trivial actions and makes them pleasing to God. Without it we lose all merit in the sight of God.

Do you remember the Gospel incident of the poor widow who offered her last two coins in the Temple ? Others were there offering up large sums of money, but she could not have given more. Amen I say to you, said Jesus, this poor widow has put in more than all those who have been putting money into the treasury. (Mk. 12:41-44)

2. St. Alphonsus indicates the signs by which we can judge whether our actions are performed from the pure intention of pleasing God. (1) The first sign is that you are not disturbed when your projects are unsuccessful, but retain the same composure as if you had succeeded. This will be the case when you are working for God alone, so that once you realise that God has not desired your efforts to succeed, you no longer desire it either. You know that He is not concerned with the outcome of your work, but only with whether you have undertaken it with the purpose of pleasing Him. (2) The second proof is that you are as pleased with the good which is worked by means of others as if it had been achieved through you. (3) The third sign is that you do not long for one position rather than another, but are content with whatever Providence has arranged for you, so that you seek- only to please God in everything which you do. (4) The final proof is that you do not look for approval or gratitude because of your good actions. If you are not appreciated or are ill-treated in any way, you retain your peace of mind because you have already achieved your purpose, which was to please God by working for love of Him. (Cf. Al Divino Servizio II, 7)

3. Principles:

God alone is deserving of all our love.

We should do everything which we should wish to have done at the hour of death.

We should live on earth as if nothing else existed but God and ourselves. (Ibid)

Belonging Entirely to God

1. Willing or unwilling, we belong entirely to God. God created us from nothing, and all that we have is His - soul and body, material and spiritual gifts, and the world in which we live.

God has given us everything, and at any moment He can take away the life which He gave us. It is useless, indeed senseless, to rebel against Him or to try and release ourselves from His absolute dominion. Admittedly, He has given us free will and we can disobey and offend Him, but even if we do so we still belong completely to-God and He has absolute power over us.

He has created us for Himself alone, for He is the final goal of all things. We can never escape from His authority.

Do we rebel and hurl towards God the cry of Satan: "I will not serve"? Even if we do, whether we are in sin or in the depths of hell we still belong to Him. We shall have to bear eternal witness to His infinite love and mercy, as well as to His infinite justice.

We have been created for God's glory, and God is glorified both in His goodness and in His justice. We should meditate deeply on this tremendous concept. How much better it is for us to belong wholly to God in love and in obedience than in the chastisement of His justice. How much better it is to obey and serve Him as our Sovereign Lord, to honour Him as our Father, and to love Him as the Spouse of our souls.

All our thoughts and desires should, therefore, be directed to Him and all our plans and actions should be offered to Him. If we are attached to worldly possessions and persons, if we arc vain and ambitious, and if we yield to our passionate inclinations, our hearts do not belong completely to God. We are guilty of theft if we do not offer our hearts entirely to God, because they are entirely His. Moreover, we do ourselves a grave injury, because we can find nothing but disillusionment in the love of creatures and in the satisfaction of our senses. God alone can fully satisfy our hearts, which were made for Him alone.

2. Let us reflect on the extent to which God is deserving of all our love. He is our Creator, our final end, and our Redeemer Jesus was not satisfied with giving us part of Himself, but He gave us Himself completely. Although as God He was infinite, He could not have given us more.

One drop of His blood or a solitary tear would have sufficed to redeem us from our sins. But He shed His blood to the last drop and gave His life for us. Better still, He willed to remain amongst us in the Sacrament of the Eucharist as our constant spiritual nourishment.

3. What more could He have done in order to merit our love If He has loved us as much as to give us Himself completely, why are we grudging in our relations with Him? Why do we share our hearts between Him and the world, or worse still, between Him and sin 2 There is nothing to prevent us from loving creatures as well as God, but they should be loved in God and for God. They should form a ladder which enables us to climb towards God. Every disproportionate affection, whether in regard to ourselves or to others, is an injury to God. If we really belong entirely to God, we should be at peace. Since virtue is difficult, it is difficult to belong completely to God, but the effort gives us a foretaste of the happiness of Heaven. If we really love God, nothing is difficult, but everything seems simple and pleasant. Perfect union with God will give us the pure joy which the Saints experienced.

Spiritual Communion

1. Anyone who sincerely loves Jesus Christ will not be satisfied with receiving Him daily in the Blessed Eucharist. Often during the day he will feel the need of uniting himself again to the divine Spouse in an act of love. This is what is known as spiritual Communion. It is a natural and spontaneous act for a true lover of Jesus.

I am the vine, yon are the branches, Jesus has told us. He who abides in nie, and I in him, he bears much fruit ... as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. (Cf. John 15:4) Since the supernatural life flows into our souls from Jesus, we must maintain our union with Him even when He is not sacramentally present. It is true that the divine grace remains in us as long as we do not fall into mortal sin, but it grows weaker under the influence of worldly attractions and temptations. It is necessary to revive the grace that is in us when we feel that it is waning. For this purpose Spiritual Communion is very useful, for it is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (Summa Theologiae, III, q. 8, a.1 ad 3) and an outpouring of live in which we beseech Jesus to come and take complete possession of our hearts. This practice was recommended by the Council of Trent (Session XIII, c. 8) and was frequently used by the Saints in order to keep alive the fire of divine charity in their souls and to guard themselves against the onslaughts of the world, the flesh, and the devil. If we act in the same manner, Jesus will always be within us and we shall always be in Jesus. If God lives in us, who can harm use? If God is for us, who is against us? (Rom. 8:31)

2. Jesus not only desires to come to us, but He desires to remain continually present in us with His love and grace. If anyone love me, he will keep my word, He tells us, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him. (John 14:23) It is enough for us to love Him and to be ready to keep His commandments. Such an act of sincere and effective love for Jesus will cause Him to enter and to remain in our hearts even after the sacramental species has been consumed. This is Spiritual Communion, which consists mainly in the yearning for Jesus. I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and what will I but that it be kindled? (Luke 12:49)

3. St. Thomas calls the Eucharist "the Sacrament of love." (Opusc. 38:25) When love is ardent and sincere it longs for constant contact with the beloved. Spiritual Communion can be made in a single instant, for it requires only an act of faith and an act of love. Jesus, come into my heart, for I have need of You. I love You, my Jesus; keep me close to You always.

Ejaculation: 0 Jesus, I cling to You with all my heart.

Frequent Communion

1. Even as our bodies need their daily sustenance of food to restore the energy which they have lost, so it is with our souls. The nourishment of the soul is the grace of God. There is no better way of acquiring and increasing this grace than by Holy Communion, because Communion gives us Jesus Himself, Who is the origin of grace. Spiritual perfection consists in union with God. We can achieve perfect union with God in Holy Communion, by means of which we live the life of Jesus. He who eats me, he also shall live because of me. (John 6:58)

Anyone who loves Jesus fervently receives Holy Communion every day. If a man does not do this, it is a sign that he does not love Jesus perfectly. The early Christians were continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread in their houses; (Cf. Acts 2:46) in other words they received Communion every day. It was Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist Who nourished their faith and gave them the strength to endure martyrdom. This custom prevailed in many places up to the time of St. Jerome and St. Augustine, who wrote "This is your daily bread; receive it daily in order to benefit daily from it." (De Verbo Domini, Serm. 28) To those who believed that they were unworthy to receive every day, St. Ambrose said: "A man who is unworthy to receive every day will still be unworthy in a year's time." (Bk. 5, De Sacramentis, c. 4)

We should not stay away from daily Communion because of our unworthiness nor because of our lapses into sin. "Because I am always sinning," said St. Ambrose, "I am always in need of medicine." (Ibid) Humility is the basic virtue necessary in a Christian, but it should not be a reason for abstaining from Holy Communion. St. Thomas commented that, although it may be pleasing to God to stay away from Holy Communion out of humility, He is far better pleased with the love and confidence of a soul that receives Him. (Cf. Summa Theologiae, III, q. 8, a. 10 ad. 3) The Church, like Jesus, desires us to receive Communion daily, although it only binds us under pain of sin to receive once a year during Paschaltide in accordance with the decree of Innocent III, which was confirmed by the Council of Trent. We are also required to receive the Blessed Eucharist if we are in danger of death.

2. For the practice of daily Communion, however, we should have the approval of our confessor. We should be fully determined to preserve ourselves free from every sin, especially from grave sin, for otherwise we could not approach the Eucharistic table. (If anyone receives Jesus with mortal sin on his soul, he commits a terrible sacrilege.) This practice, moreover, should help us to avoid every deliberate imperfection and venial sin, and should inspire in us a lively spirit of Christian charity. "Receive Communion everyday," said St. Augustine, "because it will help you every day ... but you must live in a manner which will entitle you to communicate daily." (De Verbo Domini, Sermon 28)

Frequent Communion, therefore, will enable us to set out upon the road to perfection without relaxing in our resolution and without any false scruples. "Two kinds of people," wrote St. Francis de Sales, "should receive Communion frequently: the perfect and the imperfect; the perfect in order to preserve their holiness, the imperfect in order to reach perfection." (Introduction to the Devout Life, c. 21) Let us ask the advice of our regular confessor. We shall be fortunate if we can approach the Sacred Banquet every day, or at least very often, for we shall be sure that we are on the path to holiness.

3. Heart of Jesus, burning with love for us, inflame our hearts with love for You.

St. Aloysius Gonzaga

1. St. Aloysius Gonzaga is one of the outstanding models of holy purity for young and old alike. We are told that when he was nine years of age and was in the city of Florence, he went to the Church of the Annunziata to pray before the picture of our Blessed Lady. It was then that he experienced the ardent desire to consecrate himself to God. He was the eldest son of Prince Ferdinand Gonzaga and, therefore, heir to his father's title. But from this moment he was determined to spend his life in the service of God. He made a vow of perpetual chastity and placed himself under the protection of the Blessed Virgin.

Now his life became a continual ascent towards perfection. His chastity, which he had offered to Our Lady, remained spotless until his death. The spirit of evil could make no headway against his angelic virtue. This was a grace which he merited as a result of his prayers and penances. He often spent three or four hours kneeling in prayer and contemplation. Even at night he rose from his bed in order to pray. His mind and heart were in Heaven rather than upon earth. His prayer was an intimate conversation with Jesus, Mary, and the Saints. Innocent though he was, he practised severe mortifications. Believing himself to be a great sinner, he scourged his body until his blood flowed freely, and deprived himself of food and sleep.

Do we wish to preserve our purity and to become saints: If so, let us remember that without prayer and mortification this is impossible. Jesus said to His disciples that they must always pray and not lose heart. (Luke 18:1) Pray, He said again, that yon may not enter into temptation, (Luke 22:40) and further: Unless yon repent, you will all perish . (Luke 13:5)

2. One might say that the entire life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga was a miracle of purity and of heroic penance. The source of his sanctity was the ardent love of God which he cherished from his childhood days. He loved God above all things and with all his strength. Therefore, long hours of prayer were a joy to him; the service of God in the Society of Jesus was his main desire; and mortification was a loving offering which he made in expiation of the sins of men.

The heart of St. Aloysius, however, was not closed to men because of its supreme love for God. His love for God overflowed into a vast love for his fellowmen. He finally fell a victim to his own heroic charity. When he was only twenty-four years of age he devoted himself so earnestly to the care of those who had been stricken down by a plague that he caught the infection and died a peaceful death. In his final moments he smiled and announced that he was happy to be leaving this world.

Do we desire to merit as peaceful and holy a death as this a Let us imitate St. Aloysius by living lives of purity henceforth, even if we have not always been as faithful as.he was in this regard. Let us imitate also his love for God and for his neighbour, his spirit of penance, and his fervour in prayer.

3. St. Aloysius, obtain for me from God, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, purity of life, the spirit of penance and of prayer, and a great love for God and for my neighbour.

The Eucharistic Life

1. The Eucharist in our spiritual life could be compared to the sun in the physical life of the world. The sun gives light, heat and life. We can imagine what a terrible thing it would be if the sun set one evening and never rose again! Darkness would envelop the earth once more as at the beginning of creation. The cold would become relentless and life would be gradually extinguished everywhere. Men could for some time depend on their reserves of artificial light to illuminate their creeping agony, but life would slowly decline until it ended in death for everything and for everybody. Such would be the spiritual life without Jesus, especially without Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist, Who lives amongst us as our only true Friend, Who hears, helps and nourishes us.

He is the sun of our souls, the source of our enlightenment, fervour and consolation. Are we weary and discouraged beneath the weight of our daily cross and of our sins? Let us go to Jesus and He will help us to carry our cross. He will wash away our sins and give us the supernatural strength never to sin again.

Let us unite ourselves to Jesus by frequent Communion, by a daily visit to Him in the Tabernacle, and by making a spiritual Communion whenever we cannot receive Him in the Blessed Eucharist. Let us make fervent ejaculations whenever we find our cross too heavy for us or when we are strongly tempted.

Many people go on long pilgrimages to famous Sanctuaries, such as Lourdes, Fatima and the Holy Places of Palestine. These are certainly worth while, but we should not forget that the greatest sanctuary of all is close at hand. It is in every church which contains Jesus in the Tabernacle. Here we have Jesus Himself, really present and anxious to listen to us and to help us. The Saints could find no greater joy on earth than to pray before the Blessed Sacrament.

2. The Eucharistic life, which is the life of union with Jesus especially by means of daily Communion, transforms us and makes us holy. It preserves and increases in us the grace which is the supernatural life of the soul. The Eucharist of itself does not bestow grace, because it is a Sacrament of the living. It is our food, and food is not given to the dead, but to the living. For this reason we should receive Holy Communion free from the stain of sin. The Eucharist, moreover, remits venial sins, strengthens us in our resolutions, and increases our charity. Venial sin is a sickness of the soul. Just as natural food banishes listlessness and vulnerability to disease, our Eucharistic nourishment has the same effect on our spiritual life.

It is because the Blessed Eucharist increases our love for Jesus that it weakens our evil inclinations. The Eucharist and sin are mutually exclusive of one another, because the Eucharist is Jesus and sin is the devil. Our Eucharistic food, moreover, produces in our souls a spiritual consolation which is a foretaste of the happiness of Heaven. Let us listen to Jesus living within us. He will enable us to forget our worldly cares and will raise us to a higher plane where by God's infinite goodness we shall continue to grow in virtue.

3. May the Most Blessed Sacrament be for ever praised and adored.

The Holy Mass

1. The sacrifice of the Mass is the noblest act of our religion. In it is renewed in a real but unbloody manner the Sacrifice of Calvary.

Jesus desired to remain with us throughout the centuries in the Blessed Eucharist as our friend, comforter, and spiritual food. Similarly, not being satisfied with having shed His precious Blood on the Cross for our redemption, it was His wish that this sacrificial action should be renewed daily in every corner of the world in such a way that everyone could participate in it and benefit from it. When we are present at Holy Mass, therefore, we should imagine that we are on Calvary at the foot of the Cross on which our divine Redeemer is voluntarily giving His life as an innocent victim for our sins.

Let us see Him hanging between earth and sky, a holocaust of propitiation between God and men. Let us see Him imploring with His dying glance forgiveness for His executioners and for us sinners.

Let us imagine, moreover, His most holy Mother as she gazes sorrowfully upon her suffering Son. With love far greater than that of any other human creature, she offers herself in union with Jesus for our salvation.

We should make a similar offering when we assist at the Sacrifice of the altar. We should sacrifice ourselves along with Jesus. If we are tormented by sufferings, let us offer them up along with those of Jesus. If we are troubled by passionate inclinations to sin, let us sacrifice these bravely along with Jesus for love of Him. If we are full of hatred and coldness towards others, let us sacrifice these feelings for love of Jesus, Who forgave everybody and prayed even for His executioners.

Let us remember that the Sacrifice of the Mass should be our sacrifice also. It is not only the priest who offers it, but we offer it along with the priest and with Jesus. "Receive, 0 Holy Trinity, this oblation which we make to Thee." Let us unite the offering of our entire selves to the Sacrifice of Jesus and we shall obtain great spiritual benefits.



2. Let us meditate on the fact that the Sacrifice of the Eucharist was instituted for four ends, namely:

(a) To honour God.

All the Angels and Saints of Heaven and all the human beings upon earth could not possibly honour God as He ought to be honoured, because they are creatures who derive everything which they possess from God. Only Jesus the God-Man could offer the Eternal Father the infinite honour due to Him by offering Himself.

(b) To make adequate satisfaction for all our sins.

In so far as they are a revolt against God, our sins are in a certain way infinite. This is because they offend an Infinite Being. Only Jesus, being at the same time man and God, could offer for us, His brothers, an infinite satisfaction to the Eternal Father. Only He could redeem us from the debt of crime and punishment which we had contracted by offering Himself without reserve in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. It must be explained, however, that although the Mass is of infinite value in itself, God applies this value to us in a finite way only, according to His good pleasure and according to our dispositions. For this reason we should do well to attend Mass as often as possible and with the maximum fervour.

(c) To give thanksgiving to God for all the benefits which we have received from Him.

(d) Finally, to obtain all the graces and favours of which we and other people stand in need. The Mass is an extraordinary gift. Let us attend at Mass with recollection and devotion. It will be for us the source of every grace and virtue.


3. Let us pray:

Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water flowing from the side of Christ, purify me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O my good Jesus, hear me.
Hide me within Thy wounds.
Never permit me to be separated from Thee.
From the malignant enemy defend me.
At the hour of my death call me;
And bid me to come to Thee,
That with Thy Saints I may praise Thee
For everlasting ages.

Amen.

Holy Communion

1. Let us meditate on what an extraordinary thing Holy Communion is. Jesus, God made man, really descends into us, poor creatures though we are. We become the living temples of the Holy Trinity.

Not alone does Jesus come to us, body, soul and divinity, but He also becomes our food. There is a great difference, however, between the nourishment of material food and the spiritual nourishment which we receive from the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. When we take ordinary natural food, we assimilate it. In other words, we cause it to become blood of our blood and flesh of our flesh. When we receive Holy Communion, on the other hand, it is we who must be assimilated and changed into Jesus. Each of us should become, therefore, another Jesus, in the manner indicated by St. Paul: It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me. (Gal. 2:20)

Material food becomes human and is assimilated into our being. Our Eucharistic food assimilates us into Itself and, in a certain sense, deifies us. This is why St. John Chrysostom calls it a mystery which transports us into Heaven.

Before this can happen, however, it is necessary for us to approach Holy Communion with the necessary dispositions. These are: (1) A lively and active faith, which will enable us to recognise in the white Host the person of Jesus Himself, full of goodness, mercy and love, eager to shower upon us all the treasures of His Heart. (2) Purity and freedom not only from mortal sin, but also from any deliberate attachment to venial sin. (3) Deep humility, because Jesus loves the humble and holds the proud at a distance from Him. He wishes us to be like Him, in other words, meek and humble of heart. There must be no worldly ambition, therefore, no love of honours, riches or human greatness, no inordinate affection for things or persons. There must be only a great desire to please God alone and to offer Him our whole life, including every thought and action. (4) Finally, an ardent love for Jesus, which will consume all our imperfections and unite us to Him so intimately that we shall be transformed into Him.

2. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus truly claimed that one Holy Communion made with perfect dispositions was enough to produce a saint. When we receive Holy Communion properly we are transformed into Jesus and, therefore, we become holy. We live no longer as ourselves, but we live in Jesus. Not alone are we purified of all our imperfections, but we are emptied of ourselves in order to receive Jesus into ourselves. Jesus becomes the dominant thought in our minds and the central desire of our hearts.

Holy Communion, therefore, should be a supernatural miracle which causes us to live the life of Jesus.

This is the reason why the early Christians gathered daily at the Eucharistic table. They felt the need of achieving every day the transformation of their souls into Jesus. They hungered for Jesus, they burned with love for Him ; they were as one in heart and in soul.

Let us examine ourselves and see if our Communions have anything like this effect on us. Let a man prove himself, says St. Paul, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the cup; f r he who eats and drinks unworthily ... eats and drinks judgment to himself. (I Cor. 2: 28-29)

We should examine ourselves before Holy Communion and make an act of sorrow for our sins and imperfections. Then we shall be able to approach Jesus with love and confidence. We need not be afraid, for it is He Who invites us. It is He Who desires to be united with us in order to make us like Him.

3. Let us go to Him with repentance, with humility, and with love. Then He will make us holy.

Ejaculation: May the most Holy and Divine Sacrament be at all times praised and thanked.

The Feast of Corpus Christi

1. St. Thomas refers to the Blessed Eucharist as the greatest of all Jesus Christ's miracles.

All the other miracles were accomplished in an instant or, at the most, protracted over a few years, like the raising to life of Lazarus, or the widow's son at Naim. The Eucharist, on the contrary, is a miracle which continues throughout the centuries and all over the world.

The other miracles, moreover, gave us a part of the power and goodness of Jesus. But the Eucharist gives us Jesus Himself with all His graces and gifts. It was not enough for Our Lord to offer Himself on Calvary as a propitiary host for our sins. It was not enough for Him to shed His precious Blood for our redemption. It was not enough to give us the Church to instruct us and to guide us on the way to Heaven.

He wished to give us Himself in addition. He wished to remain with us as our companion on our mortal pilgrimage and as the spiritual nourishment of our souls.

The power of Jesus is as infinite as His charity. Nevertheless, in the Eucharist this power and charity are, as it were, exhausted. Only the immense love of God could conceive such a miracle.

When we consider this mysterious gift which Jesus has given to each of us, we cannot say that it is too difficult for us to conquer the perverse inclinations of our corrupted nature and that we lack the strength to continue on the way of perfection. Everything is possible with Jesus. I can do all things in him who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

Let us go to Jesus and take our nourishment from Him. Then, like St. Paul, we shall be able to do everything in Him Who is our strength and our support. In union with Jesus we shall be able to conquer sin and to become holy.

2. Human words cannot express the beauty and depth of the passage from the Gospel which to-day's liturgy of the Holy Mass offers for our meditation. It is the passage in which Jesus promises the institution of the Blessed Eucharist.

My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me and I in him. As the living Father has sent me, and as I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he also shall live because of me. This is the bread that has come down from heaven; not as your fathers ate the manna, and died. He who eats this bread shall live forever. (John 6: 56-59)

No human being could have visualised or uttered such words. Only the God-Man could have spoken them.

Even outside the Eucharist God communicates with us, descending with His grace into our souls. We feel that He is present; we experience His supernatural influence and inspiration, His appeals to us to do good. But in the Eucharist we have far more than this. We have the God-Man as the food of our souls, through which we live His own life, so that like St. Paul it is no longer we who live, but Christ Who lives in us.

This intimate and mysterious union has been compared with the unfathomable union in which the Son of God lives the life of His heavenly Father, because by means of the Eucharist we should live the supernatural life of Jesus. As a result of this transformation there can be no further place in us for sin, nor for disordered affections and desires, but only for virtue and for God.

3. This is the Feast of Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist. Let us enkindle in ourselves a more intense faith and love; let us adore and love Him on behalf of those who neglect to do so. Let us resolve to live an Eucharistic life.

Ejaculation: I adore You at every moment, 0 living Bread from Heaven, 0 most wonderful Sacrament.

What the Holy Spirit requires of us

1. What does the Holy Spirit desire of us? He wishes to transform us and to make us holy, and for this He wants our co-operation. We should give our co-operation generously in the manner of the first Christians. These were in close contact with the college of Apostles and tried hard to put their teaching into practice.

In the early days of Christianity every house was like a Church. This should still be the case to-day. We should be bound together spiritually under the influence of the Holy Ghost and under the guidance of the teaching authority of the Church. We should practise the Church's teaching and try to diffuse it among others.

The early Christians also persevered in prayer, and in daily participation in the Sacrament of the Altar. There can be no spiritual life without prayer, because it comes from God. The Holy Spirit speaks to those who humbly and earnestly invoke Him. Our best prayers are those which we say when we receive Holy Communion, however. Then we have Jesus Himself within us with all His graces.

If we receive Holy Communion with the proper dispositions, we can acquire the spirit of charity towards God and our neighbour which is the sum total of Christianity. We can make ourselves holy and can ask for the ability to co-operate in the sanctification of others.

A further characteristic of the early Christians was that they possessed everything in common. We are accustomed to call this attitude of common ownership an evangelical counsel rather than a command. It is the spontaneous outcome of that true and efficacious charity which flows from the Holy Spirit and makes all men brothers.

There is no strict obligation on us to give away everything which we possess for the benefit of our neighbour. But we havea real obligation to help our neighbour as far as lies in our power when we see that he is in need. Otherwise we cannot say that we love our neighbour as ourselves and therefore cannot claim to be genuine Christians. He who does not love abides in death, (I John 3:14) wrote St. John. He who has the goods of this world, he continues, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart to him, how does the love of God abide in him? My dear children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue, but in deed and in truth. (I John 3:17-18)

It is worth our while to reflect on these tremendous words and to act according to their sense. In modern society there is excessive luxury on one side and excessive poverty on the other. Christianity in its truest sense, therefore, is not being practised. How do we behave in this matter?

2. The Holy Spirit, coming into our souls, asks us to do four things in particular.

(I) To keep far from us everything which could be displeasing to God.
This means that we must avoid sin, which is hateful to God and brings about the death of the soul. When the sin is grave, it destroys charity in us; when it is venial sin, it diminishes our fervour and capacity for good action. We have become the temples of the Holy Spirit. Let us do our best, therefore, to keep ourselves pure and free from every stain of sin. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Eph. 4:30)

(2) To avoid contamination by the spirit of the world, which is repugnant to the Spirit of God. The world is selfish, and we should be on fire with love for God and for our neighbour. The world is vain and proud, and we should love obscurity, recollection and humility. The world looks for happiness in honour, wealth and pleasure, in the passing goods of this life. We, on the other hand, should seek our happiness in eternal and heavenly values because God alone can satisfy our hearts and make us happy.

(3) To avoid affections which are too human and sensual. Only the clean of heart can see and enjoy God. All the objects and all the people of this world should form for us a ladder which leads to God.

(4) To seek the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit in recollection and in prayer.

We should listen for His voice within us, inspiring and advising us. We should do obediently whatever He desires, no matter what sacrifice this may entail.

3. O Holy Spirit, sweet guest of my soul, remain with me, and grant that I may always remain with You.

The Three Grades of Perfection

1. God's great commandment could create in us a sense of confusion and fear. You are to be perfect, He orders us, even as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mt. 5:48) Is it possible for weak creatures like us to achieve the perfection of God Himself? At first sight this commandment seems quite impossible, but it is possible for us to act upon it with the grace of God. We must understand it properly, in any case. We shall never reach divine perfection, but we are obliged by Our Lord's command to strive towards it constantly by every means in our power. Perfection should be our most ardent desire, and not merely a theoretical ideal, but a practical aim. This practical intention can inspire our entire life in such a way that it will become a continual ascent towards sanctity and towards God. We need never lose heart even when we suffer a set-back in our spiritual progress. God allows us to fall so that we may be humbled and may place our trust in His grace instead of in ourselves.

2. According to St. Ignatius there are three grades of perfection. The first consists in being ready to avoid mortal sin at all costs, even to the ultimate sacrifice. Circumstances may require us to be martyrs for the faith by being prepared to shed our blood rather than deny Jesus. Circumstances may also require us to be martyrs for our Christian way of life by being prepared to lose everything, health, fortune, and friendship, rather than commit a mortal sin. We are all obliged to reach this first grade of perfection. If anyone refuses to recognise this, he is already in a state of mortal sin in so far as he is prepared to sin grievously rather than make' any real sacrifice. Such a man loves himself and his own comfort more than he loves God.

The second grade of perfection consists in a state of indifference to created things, to everything except God, whether it is to health or sickness, wealth or poverty, praise or blame, success or failure. All these things can be used equally well in the loving service of God and in the salvation of our souls. The first grade of perfection is based on the love of God. The second is founded on the love of God alone, so that we are indifferent to everything else as long as we love, serve and give glory to God. We seek other things only in so far as they can help us to know and love God better. We avoid them in so far as they can keep us apart from Him.

3. The third grade of perfection consists in preferring suffering to pleasure, humiliations to honours, and the cross to an easy life. By these means we imitate Christ better and show our love for Him. The way of the cross is the way of Jesus and is the only path to holiness. It is easier for those who walk this path to be detached from sin and from the world and to remain close to Jesus. This is the way which the Saints chose.

In which grade of perfection are we? Even if we are still far from the peak of the third grade of perfection, we should nevertheless work hard to reach it. It is particularly essential that we should stand firm in the first grade by being faithful to the motto of St. Dominic Savio: "Death rather than sin!"

Faith and Charity

1. Faith is a gift from God. (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa II-II, q. 45) We should, therefore, ask for it in our prayers. Faith cannot enter into a proud soul because God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble . (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5) If a man does not pray, his faith grows weaker and he may lose it altogether. Faith must be nourished continually by grace which is obtained through prayer. A man who is in a state of mortal sin loses his faith, especially if he is a slave to impurity, because only the clean of heart can see God. (Cf. Mt. 5:8) St. Thomas knew what he was talking about when he said that "faith is the foundation of the entire spiritual edifice of the Christian life." (Summa, III, q. 73, a. 3) It is faith nourished by grace which raises us to the supernatural level, where everything which we do, say or think becomes meritorious in the sight of God. My just one lives by faith. (Heb. 10:38) The keener and stronger our faith is, the firmer is the foundation of our spiritual life and the more numerous are our good works. This is not to say that faith excludes all study and investigation. In fact, the more lively is our faith, the more earnest will be our desire to understand better the terms, in which our faith is expressed and to explore the intimate connection between divine revelation and human knowledge. Study of this kind will prove a refreshing experience because it will bring us to the threshold of the contemplation of eternal truth. Reason is not humiliated but ennobled by the light of revelation, which raises it to a higher plane.

2. Faith is a wonderful thing. As has been said, it is a supernatural gift from God which we should keep alive by prayer. Faith alone is not enough, however. It is the foundation on which we must build the structure of our Christian life. It is especially necessary for it to be united to the flame of charity. "Without love," says St. Augustine, "there is only the faith which the devil has," (De Caritate, 10) because, as St. James explains, the devils also believe and tremble. (James 2: 19) We, however, should believe and love. We must combine faith with charity towards God and towards our neighbour. Our faith should be active. As St. Paul says, it should work under the influence of charity. (Gal. 5:6) Without charity and good works, faith is a lifeless thing. If we really believe, we should love God above all things, even more than we love ourselves; and we should be ready to make any sacrifice for Him, even the sacrifice of our lives. Faith should induce us to think constantly of God and charity should urge us to do everything for His sake rather than for any lesser purpose. If we lack this kind of charity, we cannot claim to be sincere Christians.

3. Our faith should be suffused by love of our neighbour as well as by the love of God. We should love our neighbour as ourselves. Does anybody really practise this fundamental Christian precept? Once again, let us contrast the magnificent mansions and places of entertainment of the rich with the slums and hovels where thousands are living in conditions which are not fit for rational human beings. Is this Christianity? Is this the teaching of the Gospel? What would Jesus say about such aspects of modern life ~ It would seem that the Gospel is still a closed book for many Christians. Let us examine ourselves on this commandment, which is so generally ignored that the consequences are likely to be disastrous for everybody. Let us investigate how much responsibility we bear for this sad and dangerous state of affairs. Let us make appropriate resolutions which will save us from the peril of God's final and fearful condemnation: Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire . . . As long as you did not do it for one of these least ones, you did not do it for me. (Cf. Mt. 25: 41-46)

Fasting and Abstinence

1. Nowadays fast and abstinence take the form of precepts of the Church which bind us under pain. of mortal sin. Before they were commanded by the Church, however, they had been commanded by God. God made the first law of this kind when He ordered Adam to abstain from the forbidden fruit. Moses made particular laws of fast and abstinence for the Jewish people. He also fasted himself, as did the prophet Elias. My knees totter from my fasting, writes King David, and my flesh is wasted of its substance. (Psalm 108:24) Prayer is good with fasting and alms, (Tob. 12:8) says Tobias. Jesus fasted for forty days as an example to us and He warned us that the devil can be conquered only by prayer and fasting. (Mt. 17:20) In a more general way, He warned us that: Unless you repent, you will all perish (Luke 13:5) One of the means of doing penance most often recommended in Sacred Scripture is fasting and abstaining.

Why, you may ask, should Our Lord and the Church command us to mortify ourselves in regard to food? There is a strong reason. It is an act of obedience to God, our absolute master, Who does not demand anything of us save for our own welfare. Secondly, it is an act of reparation for our sins. In the third place, it enables us to subdue our carnal impulses and in this way makes us more obedient to the law of God. A man who cannot mortify his appetite for food will certainly not be able to resist the temptations of the flesh. There is a connection between all these things. If we cannot subordinate our bodily appetites to our spiritual faculties and to the divine law, we shall not be able to raise ourselves from the level of an animal existence to contact with God through prayer and the practice of virtue.

2. It is irrelevant to object that there is no harm in eating one kind of food rather than another. In fact, this is not a question of food at all. It is a question of obedience to the laws of God and of the Church. God is the supreme Lord of heaven and earth and it is wrong to disobey His commands. Similarly, it is not permissible to disobey the precepts of the Church which esus Christ founded to be our infallible guide. God commanded the Hebrews to abstain from blood-meat and from so-called unclean animals. Today the Church has set aside a minimum number of days of fast and abstinence. How can we ignore the commands of God and of the Church? To do so would be an act of rebellion against the highest of all authorities as well as a sign of indifference to our eternal salvation. Even the purest of the Saints, such as St. Aloysius Gonzaga, constantly mortified themselves in this way. "If you have sinned, do penance," writes St. Augustine. If we reflect on the number of our sins, the insignificant degree of fast and abstinence demanded by the Church today will not seem excessive. Indeed, we should be glad to fast and abstain a little more than is necessary in order to expiate our sins and to gain control over our carnal instincts. Let us show God how much we love Him by being prepared to undertake voluntary mortification.

3. Other objections are sometimes raised against fasting and abstaining. These include poor health, excessive work, a frail constitution, and so on. Such reasons for exempting ourselves should be carefully considered before God and in consultation with our confessor. If they are genuine, we are entitled to omit fast and abstinence either partly or entirely. God is more interested in our good intentions than in any material act, which is demanded only as a proof of our good will.

If we cannot actually fast and abstain we can mortify ourselves spiritually. We can curb our tongues by avoiding idle and uncharitable conversations. We can mortify our eyes by avoiding looking at anything which might lead us into danger. We can mortify our hearing by seeking 'a certain degree of solitude and silence. We can mortify our bodies by depriving ourselves of unnecessary luxuries. Above all, we must abstain from sin and from the occasions of sin. This is the basic fast which we are all obliged to keep at all costs by means of constant and fervent prayer.

The Mercy of God/Our Desires

Pride

Putting Christianity into Practice

1. Imagine what the world would be like if the Gospel of Christ were practised in its entirety everywhere and by everybody. It would not, of course, become another earthly Paradise, because suffering and death are the legacy of sin and Our Lord did not remove these when He redeemed us but made them a necessary element in our purification and spiritual elevation. Nevertheless, the full practice of Christianity would transform the world. A little reflection will convince us of this. Men would love God above all things and their neighbour as themselves, The sincere and ardent love of God would cause wickedness, brutality and every kind of immorality to disappear. Love of their neighbour would make men brothers in reality, so that there would be no more wars nor threats of conflict. The enormous wealth which is squandered on weapons of destruction could then be diverted to good works. There would be no more poverty, because if men loved one another those who had more than enough would give to those in want. There would be no more prisons, because there would be no more criminals. There would be no need for a police force because everyone would do his duty of his own accord. The reign of love, which is the reign of Jesus Christ, would triumph upon earth. Excessive wealth and the selfish love of case and pleasure would disappear on one hand, while on the other the extreme need of those who can never be sure of a meal, nor of a roof over their heads, would be palliated until they had been raised to a standard of living consistent with the laws of God and with the dignity of men. The love of our neighbour as ourselves would solve every individual and social problem in this life. Men would grow into a vast community of brothers devoid of all barriers of hate, selfishness, and greed. This is not an Utopian dream, because it is the clear teaching of the Gospel. Jesus did not preach the impossible. He taught us the standards of the perfect life which we are all obliged to try and lead.

2. It was something like this which took place in the early years of the Church, when the love of God and of their neighbour was a transforming leaven in the lives of the faithful. Give that which remains as alms, Christ has said, and behold, all things are clean to you (Luke 11:41). This precept was not, at this time, a dead letter, nor was it interpreted in a selfish and quibbling manner. It was a lofty reality. Now the multitude of the believers were of one heart and one soul, the Acts of the Apostles relates, and not one of them said that anything he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common . . . Nor was there anyone among them in want. For those who owned lands or houses would sell them and bring the price of what they sold and lay it at the feet of the apostles, and distribution was made to each, according as any one had need (Acts 4:32-35). This is what it really means to love one's neighbour. It could not be called Communism, for that is a system of oppression which violates the laws of nature and the most sacred rights of humanity, such as the liberty, dignity and faith of the individual. No, this is Christian charity, the charity which complements and ennobles justice. Nobody was under any obligation to sell all he had and give it to the poor, (Cf. Acts 5:4) for to do so was not a command but an evangelical counsel of perfection (Cf Mt. 19:21). Everybody believed, however, that he had an obligation to love his neighbour as if he were himself.

Do you love your neighbour as yourself? Take a look around you. How many people have no food, whereas you may have too much? How many have no home, while you have far more possessions than you need? How many live in squalor, while you may be surrounded by luxuries? Remember that you are not a sincere Christian, but only a fraud, if you do not love your neighbour as yourself. It may be true that this is only a natter of charity, not of strict justice. But, as St. Alphonsus said, it is much the same thing if a man is damned for lack of charity as for lack of justice. Meditate on this with a view to forming generous resolutions.

3. Only the universal practice of Christianity could change the world. Even after a period of twenty centuries it is true to say that for many Christians the Gospel is an unexplored book, the principles of which have yet to be fully realised in their ordinary lives. None of us can change the world on his own, but each of us can accomplish that part of the task which depends on himself. Do we really love God whole-heartedly and above all things? Do we really love our neighbour as ourselves? Let us examine ourselves earnestly and find out how far we have still to go. Our love of God may be too feeble and this may be the reason why we have not achieved spiritual perfection. Our love of our neighbour may not be as generous as it should be. If this is so, we shall have to answer for it to God when He pronounces that terrible sentence on those who have been rejected: Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not take me in, naked and you did not clothe me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit me (Mt. 26:41-43). Let us resolve to be charitable and generous to the poor.