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Bibl. Phil.
Tofontonensa
PIOUS
18
PRACTICES. (
IN HONOR OF
ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA,
Founder of tkt Society of Jesus,
ENRICHED WITH
MANY INDULGENCES BY POPE CLEMENT XIII.
Coll. Christi Regis S.J.
Bibl. Phil.
COLLEGE OF THE SACRED HEART,
(JESUIT HOUSE OF STUDIES.)
WOODSTOCK, MD.
1881.
COPYRIGHTED
BY CHARLES PICCIRILLO,
1881.
STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED AT
THE NEW YORK CATHOLIC PROTECTORY,
West Chester, New York.
PREFACE.
ST. IGNATIUS of Loyola, the founder of the
Society of Jesus, should be ranked among those
apostolic men who have exercised the ministry
of salvation and taught the principles of holi
ness.* Truly he-was born to help men. God
taught him much, and from these heavenly com
munications Ignatius composed his admirable
book of Exercises. This work is exceedingly
well fitted to direct souls in the paths of salva
tion and perfection, f The clients of this great
Saint then look upon him as a mediator and a
patron in the important matter of eternal salva
tion, and as a guide and pattern in the
dangerous paths of the spiritual life. The
* St. Bern. fer. 3, in die. Apost.
t H. R. Rota, to Greg. XV.
IV PREFACE.
virtues of Ignatius, therefore, which are herf
proposed for meditation, will be arranged in ac
cordance with the three degrees of the spiritual
life. Hence, the Saint will be presented as a
bright model — first, in the purgative way; next, in
the illuminative ; and finally, in the unitive. At
the end some considerations will be added on the
Saint's most precious death. Each meditation
will be accompanied by a prayer to St. Ignatius,
three of his practical sayings, an example, a
practice, and an aspiration to be made frequently
during the day. The meditations will be ten in
number, in memory of the ten months which St.
Ignatius spent at Manresa, amid great bodily
sufferings and heavenly joys of soul. These
meditations can be used for the ten Sundays, or
for the nine days preceeding the Saint's feast ;
and for the feast itself, in order to secure his
powerful protection and obtain the grace to im
itate, in some degree, his wonderful virtues.
The meditations will also serve to gain more
largely and surely the plenary indulgences, which
PREFACE.
two Popes granted for the purpose of promoting
and spreading devotion to St. Ignatius. By the
brief " Splendor Paterna glories," our most holy
Lord, Gregory XV., granted a plenary indulgence
to all the faithful, who, on the feast of St. Igna
tius, after confession and communion, shall pray
for the Pope's intention in a church of the
Society.
Clement XIII. graciously issued the following:
DECREE.
PLENARY indulgence of the ten Sundays in
honor of St. Ignatius of Loyola, at the audience
granted by the Holy Father, (January 27, 1767).
Moved by the humble prayer of Lawrence
Ricci, General of the Society of Jesus, our most
holy Lord, Clement XIII., kindly granted a
plenary indulgence for all their sins to all the
faithful, who, on ten consecutive Sundays be
fore the feast of St. Ignatius, or on any other
'en Sundays of the year, shall, with true repent-
".nce, confess their sins, go to communion
VI PREFACE.
make pious meditations, pray or perform other
Christian works in honor of the said Saint, and
for the glory of God, and shall devoutly visit a
church of the Society. This indulgence can be
gained on any one of the ten Sundays. His
holiness willed that this favor should hold good
for all time to come.
Given at Rome, in the office of
the Secretary of the Sacred Con
gregation of Indulgences, on the
day and in the year of the afore-
said audience.
N. CARDINAL ANTONELLI.
S. BORGIA,
Secretary to the Sacred Congregation
of Indulgences.
DAILY PRACTICE.
1. MORNING and evening to do all our actions,
direct all our affections in imitation of St. Igna
tius. Offer them to God in union with the
Saint's affections and merits.
2. Say, in honor of St. Ignatius, ten Our Fa
thers, ten Hail Marys and ten Glory be to the
Fathers, or at least the Glory be to the Father ten
times to obtain some virtue. Say also the fol
lowing Antiphon and prayer: «
ANTIPHOX.
I CAME to cast fire on the earth, and what will
I but that it be kindled.
V. The Lord hath led the just man by right
ways.
R. And he hath shown him the Kingdom of
God.
LET us PRAY.
O GOD, who to spread the glory of thy name,
didst, through St. Ignatius, strengthen thy mili
tant Church with new assistance, grant us that
i
PIOUS PRACTICES.
by his help and imitation of him, we may fight
our spiritual enemies here on earth, and be
crowned one day with him in heaven, who livest
and reignest with the Father in union with the
Holy Ghost, God forever and ever. Amen.
3. Make the meditation, or at least read it
attentively with what follows it. Comply with
the practice, and often during the day repeat the
ejaculation.
FIRST MEDITATION.
PURGATIVE WAY.
St. Ignatius, a pattern of true conversion, by
his ready, generous and lasting surrender of him.
self to God.
I. — Ready. — St Ignatius had already
spent nearly thirty years of his life amid the
splendor of courts or the pomp and circumstance
of war. To prepare his soul to listen to the
voice of grace, God allowed a cannon-ball,
during the siege of Pampeluna, to speed on its
way and break the right leg of the warrior.
Confined to his bed by this event, Ignatius sought
some means to while away the slow-moving
hours. He asked for some of the light reading
of those times ; but Providence so arranged that
no book of the kind could be found in the
house. In place of romances, his friends brought
him a Life of Christ, and "Flowers from the
Lives of the Saints." The reading of these
works was the dawn of salvation for the sufferer.
The grand virtues of the Saints stirred his soul
to its inmost depths. By comparison he saw
his own sins, and how good God had been towards
him. A contest arose in his heart 'between
4 PIOUS PRACTICES.
worldly pleasure and Christian virtue. Each
sought to win him to its own side. But said
Ignatius, if the Saints accomplished such won
ders through the grace of God, why should not
I do as much with the same grace? Hereupon,
he resolved to change his life, to atone for his
sins, and to imitate the bright examples of the
saints. Full of this thought he rose from his
bed and threw himself on the ground, f here
in that humble posture he gave himself wholly
to God, promising never more to seek anything
in this world except God and his glory. This
noble determination sent a shudder through hell
itself. The evil spirits shook the house of Ig
natius as with an earthquake, and split open its
walls. Still, it was then for the first time that
the repentant soldier tasted true peace and joy of
soul.
Blessed is he who promptly answers the call
of God, and makes a full offering of himself to the
divine majesty. Had Ignatius disregarded the
voice of the Lord, he would not be honored now
among the chosen saints of heaven: perhaps he
would be in torments among the lost. People
make light of God's inspirations because they do
not consider the infinite goodness that sends
them, nor the infinite blessedness to which they
lead ; nor the infinite evil to which they expose
FIRST MEDITATION. 5
those who neglect them. "Thou knowest
not from whence he cometh or whither he
goeth."* You know not in what order God
intends to bestow on you his series of graces in
order that you may save your soul. Can you,
then, dare despise present graces, and promise
to yourself others in the future ? What folly !
what rashness ! " Dost thou know the order of
heaven, says God, and canst thou set down the
reason thereof on the earth ? " f
POINT II. — Generous. — To give up the world,
riches, honors, one's home, to embrace Gospel
poverty, mortification of the flesh, and the greatest
self-contempt was now the firm resolution of Ig
natius. Immediately God "gave him a strong
conflict that he might overcome." J His elder
brother, seeing the wonderful change that had
taken place in Ignatius, suspected what he in
tended to do. He therefore appealed to Ignatius
in the most feeling manner. "I beg of you,"
said he with streaming eyes, "by our common
parents, by all our family interests, to look well
into what you are about to do. Do not adopt
any form of life that would brand the house of
'Loyola with everlasting disgrace." On the other
hand, the evil spirit held up before his mind the
* John, 3, v. 8. t Job, 38, v. 33.
t Wisdom, 10, v. 12.
0 PIOUS PRACTICES.
mockery and scorn which the world would heap
upon .him. People will attribute your new life
to cowardice, or to despair at the surrender of
Pampeluna. During this fearful conflict Ignatius
redoubled his prayers; he fasted, and, with many
tears, he sought God to help him. As in his first
danger, the Prince of the Apostles came to deliver
him, so now the Blessed Virgin, with her divine
Infant, appeared to him in order to strengthen
him in his holy purpose. This vision gave
Ignatius immense relief. It made an altogether
other man of him. In it he received such a gift
of chastity that until his dying day he never was
troubled with images or emotions contrary to the
lovely virtue of purity. Eager to show his gra
titude to our Lady, Ignatius went to visit her
celebrated shrine, at Montserrat. Giving his rich
clothes to a poor man, he dressed himself in sack
cloth and girded himself with a cord. Thus
attired, he entered the church, hung up his
sword at the Blessed Virgin's altar, and in accor
dance with knightly practice, spent the whole
night in watching and praying. It was the feast
of the Annunciation. Having made his confes
sion, with extraordinary contrition, he went to
holy communion, bound himself by a vow of
perpetual chastity, gave himself again wholly to
God, and renewed his resolution to lead an
entirely different life.
FIRST MEDITATION. 7
Heroic magnanimity of Ignatius in overcome
ing so many difficulties, and in undertaking
such great and arduous things for God ! We
are terrified by the slighest obstacles — a futile
human respect keeps us back. No wonder that
\ve make no progress in the ways of God. "The
sluggard willeth and willeth not Every sluggard
is always in want. Desires kill the slothful ; for
his hands have refused to work at all. But he
that is just, will give, and will not cease."*
POINT III. — Constant. — Having once despised
the world, Ignatius guarded his heart with all care,
lest any dust of that world should stain, or adhere
to him. For eleven years he never asked his rela
tives for any relief in his poverty, he never wrote
to them, and having once received a package
of letters from home, while he was at prayer, he
threw them unopened into the fire. Some
years after his conversion he fell very sick, and
was obliged to return to his country. Such was
his reputation for sanctity even then, that the
entire clergy came in a body to meet him ; but
as soon as he could escape, refusing the hospi
tality of his relations, he betook himself to the
public hospital and began to beg his living.
Such virtue produced great fruits. Such crowds
* Proverbs, 13 and 20.
8 PIOUS PRACTICES.
came to his instructions that no church could
hold them. He was obliged to preach in the
open fields ; people climbed trees, and got into
every available spot to hear him. Many gave
up their bad lives — dissensions were quelled —
enmities disappeared — laws were made to pro
mote public morality — many good works were
begun and supported at the public expense.
Many reform their lives ; but how easily they
discontinue the undertaking ! Whence this
fickleness ? Former bad passions and evil desires
arise and entice. They are listened to. The
heart is no longer s raight before God : men be
come double-hearted before God, and are in
constant in their works. A double-minded man
is inconstant in all his ways. * Wherefore
"watch ye and pray that ye enter not into temp
tation." f For not he that shall only begin, "but
he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be
saved. " J
PRAYER.
ST. IGNATIUS, model and patron of true con
version, the oblation which thou didst make of
thyself to God with such promptness, magnan
imity and perseverance, was the beginning and
* James I, v. 8. t Matth. 26, v. 41.
t Matth. 24, v. 13.
FIRST MEDITATION. 9
progress of thy wonderful sanctity. I who have
rejected so many divine inspirations, who per
severe so little in my purpose of a good life, and
am like a reed agitated by the wind, tossed
about by my disorderly affections, I fear lest my
pusillanimity and inconstancy be the cause of
my eternal ruin. How long shall I, dull of
heart, resist the Holy Ghost that calls me ? How
long shall I take counsels in my soul.* How
long shall I defer good works, or be inconstant
'in performing them ? Help me, holy Ignatius,
in imitation of thee, to begin, though late, to
consecrate myself wholly and forever to God.
Relying on thy protection, I resolve and prom
ise God that henceforward I shall seek nothing
but him and his glory. O God ! by the merits
and intercession of St. Ignatius, confirm what
thou hast wrought in me, that I may'live faith
ful to thee unto death. Amen.
PRACTICAL MAXIMS OF ST. IGNATIUS.
i. THERE are very few who know what God
would make of them, were they to deny them
selves and give themselves into his hands, to be
elaborated by his divine skill and industry. That
you may rank in this small number, often say
with your whole heart : " Lord what wilt thou
* Ps. 12, V. 2.
10 PIOUS PRACTICES.
have me do ? " * and do with the greatest care
whatever he shall bid you !
2. Though you have a prospect of doing much
hereafter for God, do not neglect to do now
what you can ; otherwise you may lose the one,
and not get the other. Beware of this common
illusion. " Whatsoever thy hand is able to do,
do it earnestly, "f
3. In dangers we should not rely much on
the virtue of beginners. It is like seed in Spring
time : it soon sprouts, but it also sometimes with
ers away from mere contact with the soil. Those
who at the entrance of the spiritual life do not
shun dangers prudently, quickly stray from the
right road. "They became like the grass of
the housetops, which withered before it was
ripeV'J
EXAMPLE.
THE apartment in the Castle of Loyola, in
which St. Ignatius renounced the world and
consecrated himself to God, was held in great
veneration, and in course of time it was changed
into a chapel on account of miracles obtained
there and through the piety of the Saint's own
family. The number of persons who went there
on pilgrimages was very great, especially dur-
* Acts, 9, v. 6. t Eccli. 9, v. 10.
+ Isaiah, 37, v. 27.
FIRST MEDITATION. I I
ing the feast of the Saint and its octave. Some
times there were more than fifteen thousand to
receive holy Communion in those eight days. —
Queen Mary, of Austria, the mother of Charles
II., to satisfy the devotion of the people as well
as her own toward the Saint, built a magnificent
church in his honor at Loyola, and enriched it
with many privileges and precious gifts. In that
church not only did many miraculously recover
their bodily health, but numberless conversions
were wrought and numberless spiritual favors
received. We mention here, briefly, two of the
latter. St. Ignatius there warned a man to con
fess five mortal sins, which, through negligence,
he had left out in a previous confession. The
man complied immediately. Another man who
had a bad memory, could not recall his sins.
He invoked St. Ignatius, and immediately the
man saw all his sins as distinctly as if they were
written out before his eyes. — Bollandists for
July-
PRACTICE.
IN imitation of St. Ignatius, resign your will
to God — and always endeavor to do what is
pleasing to him.
EJACULATION.
THROUGH the intercession of St. Ignatius, con-'
firm, O God, what thou hast wrought in us.
— Ps. 67, v. 29.
12 PIOUS PRACTICES.
SECOND MEDITATION.
St. Ignatius, a pattern of true penance, in the
chastisement of his body, in his interior morti
fication, and in watchfulness over his heart.
POINT I. — In the chastisement of his body. — Hav
ing overcome the world, St. Ignatius wished to
unite himself more closely to Christ. He resolved,
therefore, to conquer self, and first of all, to bring
his body into subjection according to the words
of the Apostle: "They that are Christ's, have
crucified their flesh."* For this purpose he quit
ted Montserrat, and went to Manresa. Not far
from this town he found a cavern, in which he
took up his abode, and there he began his
course of penance. Under the kind of sack that
covered his body he wore an iron chain, hair
cloth, and thorns. Every day he begged his food
from door to door. He fasted entire weeks on
bread and water, except on Sundays, when he
allowed himself some herbs or vegetables, which
he sprinkled with ashes and clay. Every day,
too, he scourged himself severely at least three
times — he spent seven hours, one after the other,
on his knees .in prayer, and the little sleep he
granted himself was taken on the bare ground.
* Galatians, 5, v. 24.
SECOND MEDITATION. 1 3
Once he abstained from food for three whole
days; at another time he prolonged this fast to
the seventh day — when he was found lying al
most lifeless on the grcund. People besought
him to lessen this excessive austerity ; but his
answer was : let me at least suffer a little that I
may attend to the important interests of my
soul.
Take you, also, this advice for yourself.
Suffer a little in this world in order to provide
for the eternal salvation of your soul. Your past
sins require this from you much more than from
Ignatius: your present rebellious concupiscences
call for the same. Endeavor to enable you
to say with the Apostle: " I chastise my body, and
bring it into subjection, lest I, myself, should
become a castaway. "*
POINT II. — Interior mortification. — With the ser
vants of Christ, bodily penance is employed as
a means to subjugate the disorderly affections of
the soul. ' ' Those who are Christ's have crucified
their flesh with the vices and concupiscences, "f
Wherefore, Ignatius, in accordance with the words
of Christ: "If any man will come after me, let
him deny himself." J In addition to corporal
* I. Cor. 9, v. 27 t Galat. 5, v. 24.
\ Luc. 9, v. 23.
14 PIOUS PRACTICES.
austerities, he gave himself with the greatest zeal
to the mortification of the soul. In the first part
of his life he was fond of the praises of men — he
used to pay great attention to cleanliness and
dress. To punish himself for these defects, he
concealed the nobility of his family; he took no
care of his personal appearance; he mixed with
the poorest and filthiest of men, and tried to im
itate their manners. He never combed his hair,
and allowed his finger nails to grow immoderate
ly. Nor did he, while leading this horrid kind of
life, grant his body anything that could please it
or lessen its affliction. Thus it was "he put
away from him the love of self, and of all that is
not God." *
Blessed is he, who by self-denial, has entirely
cast off self-love, so that the love of God alone
reigns in his heart. It is vain to hope for a true
.love of God, unless we first drive out of our
-hearts all love of self. You, who indulge your
self and all your desires; who see no fault in con
stant self-gratification; remember that if there is
.no fault now, there will be presently. The devil
is cheating you, and exulting at your behavior. —
"If thou give to thy soul her desires, she will
.make thee a joy to thy enemies, "f
* Process of his canonization. t Eccli. 18, v. 31.
SECOND MEDITATION. I 5
POINT III. — Watchfulness over his heart. — With
corporal mortification and interior self-denial
Ignatius joined the closest Scrutiny of heart, in
order to pluck and root out of it every evil pro
pensity. "It shall not leave them root nor
branch. "* St. Ignatius was very remarkable for
this self-examination. At Manresa he began to
look into his conscience at noon and in the even
ing. He weighed all his words and thoughts; he
investigated their occasions and causes, whether
internal or external, with the minutest care.
Though he was thoroughly master of himself,
and merely lent, but never gave himself, to the
things of this world, yet such was his watchful
ness over his heart that every hour he examined
his conscience. He learned from the Holy
Ghost another kind of examen, which he called
the particular examen. The practice of this ex
amen consists of selecting a vice or defect that
we wish to get rid of, or a virtue that we intend to
acquire. Then early in the morning we resolve
to resist the vice during the day — we try to fore
see the occasions in which we may be exposed
to fall, and we take our precautions against them-
— About noon we inquire how we have passed
the morning; we mark our faults on a paper
* Malach. 4, v. I.
1 6 PIOUS PRACTICES.
specially arranged for the particular exam en, a
model of which can be found in Fr. de Palma's
little treatise on th'is exercise. Then we com
pare our examen, one day with another, to
see our progress. We beg pardon for our fail
ures, and renew our good resolution. In the
evening, before retiring, we go through the same
process. This exercise, wljen faithfully carried
out, cannot fail to rid us of our defects. It is also
an immense assistance for the acquisition of vir
tue. In this case, we choose the virtue which
we intend to acquire; resolve on it, and exam
ine ourselves about it, as above. But this exercise
must be practised energetically. St. Ignatius
never stopped until he had secured his virtue, or
rooted out his defect. In this way he made
daily progress in the interior life, and attained
high perfection, and extreme purity of soul.
Whoso shuns this care of his conscience
makes little account of spiritual progress. He
loves sin; "he would not understand that he
might do well."* Silly mortal ! when the time
for judgment comes, there will be no room
for correction, but only for damnation. f En
deavor, then, at present, by this twofold examina
tion, namely the general and the particular,
* Ps. 35, v. 4. t St. Austin.
SECOND MEDITATION. 17
to uproot and destroy every defect that is in thee.
Build up, plant in thy soul all the virtues which,
according to thy position in life, God requires
of thee. ' ' Let not your eye spare, nor be ye
moved with pity."*
PRAYER.
HOLY Ignatius ! admirable pattern of penance !
When I consider thy great bodily austerities, thy
self-denial, and thy watchfulness over thy soul, I
feel ashamed of myself, and I blame myself
heartily for my contrary way of living. I seek
pleasure as though I had committed no sin. I
indulge my senses, my concupiscences that are
the instruments and causes of so many offences
against God. I am so blinded by my self-love
that I take no thought of satisfying divine justice,
to which I am so deeply in debt : rather I dare
provoke that same justice by committing new
sins. Oh holy patron ! have pity on my soul !
obtain for me from God, the true spirit of penance
that I need so much, in order that I may bewail
my sins, punish myself for them as I should,
constantly deny my evil inclinations, watch al
ways over my heart, and destroy the poisonous
roots of sin, which still remain in my soul.
Amen.
* Ezechiel, 9, v. 5.
1 8 PIOUS PRACTICES.
MAXIMS.
1. BODILY mortification must not be so severe
as to hinder greater good, nor so slight as to
allow the flesh to grow insolent towards the
spirit. In his additions to his Spiritual Ex
ercises, St. Ignatius assigns the following four
ends for bodily penance. First, to make some
due atonement for our past sins. Secondly, to
curb our present disorderly inclinations. Thirdly,
to obtain graces from God. Lastly, to reproduce
in ourselves Christ crucified. In these four
ways then, under the direction of your spiritual
guide, " bring 'forth fruits worthy of penance."*
2. We should value more the abnegation of
our own will, than power to raise the dead. The
latter belongs to what are called gratia gratis
data, that is to say, graces which do not neces
sarily suppose personal sanctity in their possessor,
and are given for the good of others. But self-
conquest benefits us in this life as well as in the
life to come.
3. To overcome our rebellious nature, it is good
to enter into ourselves, and inquire what we have
done, what we have to do, and what may happen
us. Meanwhile we should be ready for the future.
—Thus — "Set your heart upon your ways, "f
* Luke 3, v. 9. t Aggeus I, v. 27.
SECOND MEDITATION. I 9
EXAMPLE.
THERE can be no doubt that from his throne in
heaven, St. Ignatius looks down with special love
upon Manresa. There it is that he began his
spiritual campaign ; there was his school of heav
enly wisdom, the See of his primitive church,
the witness of the many divine favors that God
was pleased to confer upon his servant. The
people of Manresa showed great charity to Igna
tius whilst he lived among them ; and their
descendants vie with their ancestors in piety
toward their patron. Every spot that Ignatius
had anything to do with is now sacred in the
eyes of the Manresans. The cave in which he
spent ten months has become famous. The
earth and stones found in it are a cure for all
diseases. Over the marble altar of that cave is a
picture of Ignatius, in which he is represented as
looking intently on the Blessed Virgin and her
divine child, and learning, as it were, from them
what he is to write. Beneath this picture is the
following inscription : 4< Here St. Ignatius com
posed his Spiritual Exercises, which were after
wards approved by Pope Paul III." Not far from
the cave, in a church dedicated to our Lady, a
bundle of sharp thorns, that the Saint used to
wear around his body, is kept enclosed in his
20 PIOUS PRACTICES.
silver statue. God has wrought many wonders
by these thorns. In an old hospital of the place
is a chapel that was once the room of Ignatius.
It was in this room that he had the ecstasy,
which lasted for eight days. Over the altar of
this chapel there is a painting of the Saint look
ing at the open heavens, and receiving from an
angel a banner inscribed with the name of Jesus.
— Bollandisls for July.
PRACTICE.
BESIDES your general examen of conscience
for every evening, practice the particular examen
on any defect that you find yourself falling into
oftenest.
EJACULATION.
" PIERCE, thou, my flesh with thy fear,"* O
God, that I also may repent and do penance.
* Psalm 1 1 8, v. 1 20,
THIRD MEDITATION. 21
THIRD MEDITATION.
St. Ignatius, a pattern of endurance in his
travels, in works of zeal, and under persecution
POINT i. — In his travels. — In an ecstasy, God
made known to Ignatius that he had been chosen
to carry the divine name to the nations, to kings,
and to the sons of Israel ; and he showed the
Saint how much he would have to suffer for the
name of Jesus. Yet Ignatius received no distinct
intimation of any suffering in particular. How
ever, his great love for our Lord led him to
Jerusalem with a view to bring unbelievers to the
light of the gospel, or at least to win the martyr's
crown. Worn to a skeleton with austerity, and
relying alone on Divine Providence, he reached
Palestine after many hardships on sea and on
land. Several times he visited, with the deepest
veneration and shedding many tears, the various
spots hallowed by the footsteps of Chrjst, immor
talized by his bitter sufferings, and consecrated by
his blood. His soul overflowed with incredible
sweetness while he was performing these pious
pilgrimages, especially as our Lord himself often
appeared to him at these times. He desired to
spend the rest of his days in the holy places; —
but he was unable to obtain leave from the
22 PIOUS PRACTICES.
Ecclesiastical Superiors in Palestine to satisfy his
longing. With a heavy heart, and amid the same
perils at sea as formerly, he returned to Europe.
There he devoted himself entirely to spreading
the fire of divine love in the cities of Italy, Spain,
and France. Finally, at Paris, God bade him
present himself with his companions to the Sov
ereign Pontiff, and offer his own and their
services for the holy ministry, either among un
believers, or in Christian countries. The life
which Ignatius had led for so many years was so
laborious and so wretched in a human point of
view, that doctors of the Sorbon questioned
whether it were lawful for a nobleman to live in
such penury and abjection, even for the love of
God. But the Saint knew well what he was
doing. Our Lord often "-showed himself to
him cheerfully in the way, and met him with all
providence." *
Perhaps we are afraid of the slightest labor
for our neighbor ; or to visit our Jesus Christ
in the tabernacle. Yet we can undergo fatigue
for the sake of recreation and pleasure. It is
only our steps for God that the angels reckon
in heaven : the others disappear altogether, or
they are numbered among our evil deeds, that
* Wisdom 6, v. 17,
THIRD MEDITATION. 23
\ve may be punished for them. Therefore,
"make straight steps with your feet." *
POINT II. — In works of zeal. — As the Roman
Rota observed, St. Ignatius did not consider
himself the friend of Christ, unless he loved and
cherished the souls that Christ redeemed. His
zeal brought him a plentiful harvest of toil, of
suffering, and of hatred on the part of men.
When he was starting for Jerusalem, he saw
that grievous sins were committed on board the
ship: wherefore, he rebuked the lustful offenders
with great force of language. These, conspiring
with the sailors, resolved to abandon their trouble
some monitor on some deserted island. Ignatius
knew their intentions ; still, relying on God, he
continued to chide the sinners. As they were
nearing the island on which the Saint was to be
abandoned, an adverse wind arose, and blew the
vessel out to sea, so that his enemies had to carry
him, against their will, as far as Cyprus.
There was in Barcelona a nunnery that Igna
tius brought to repentance and a regular life. —
This made some bad men of the place so angry
that they gave him a beating, from the effects of
which he was confined to his bed for three
months. As soon as he recovered, he was again
* Heb. v. 21, 13.
24 PIOUS PRACTICES.
at his works of charity. His friends begged him
not to expose his life again : but his only answer
was : ' ' Nothing better could happen to me than
to die for Christ and my neighbor."
At Paris there was a young man who led an
immoral life. Ignatius wished to convert him.
One cold night in the depth of winter, Ignatius
plunged naked into a pond alongside the road
that the young man followed in going to his
pleasures. As soon as he saw the young man
approach, he cried out to him in a deep, solemn
voice : " unfortunate man ! where are you going ?
Do you see the sword of divine justice suspended
over your head ? Go, enjoy your wicked delights.
I shall remain here in punishment for your sake,
until, by my suffering, I turn the wrath of heaven
away from you." Struck by these unexpected
words, and by the great charity of Ignatius, the
young sinner was ashamed of himself. He re
traced his steps and gave up for ever his evil
habits.
"Recover thy neighbor according to thy pow
er," * says the Holy Ghost. " If any man have
not care of his own, and especially of those of
his house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse
than an infidel." f But above all spare no pains
* Eccli. 29, v. 26. f I Tim. 5, v. 8.
THIRD MEDITATION. 25
to recover the grace of God, if you have lost it;
and avoid in future all occasions of sin. "Strive
for justice for thy soul, and even unto death fight
for justice." *
POINT III. — In persecutions. — The fervent exhor
tations of Ignatius, his holy life, touched many
hearts. Remarkable changes of life, and con
versions took place. These caused such a stir
that Ignatius was looked upon as a sort of en
chanter, or magician. People said that he be
witched men by his talk. He was often thrown
into prison for this reason. However, his inno
cence was proved every time, and he was always
honorably released. These trials did not prevent
persons from crowding around him. He taught
them the Christian doctrine and gave them some
^spiritual exercises. Some compassionated him
~" gat being put in jail. "Is a jail such a misery? "
; osaid Ignatius. " My greatest desire is to suffer for
! o Christ, more jails, manacles, chains, and so forth,
^than there are in all Salamanca." A learned
doctor hearing the Saint speak in this way,
admired the greatness of his soul, and his elo
quence ; and when he reached his house his
exclamation was : "I have seen Paul in fetters."
Every conversion was for St. Ignatius a source of
* -bceli. 4, v. 33.
26 PIOUS PRACTICES.
new suffering and persecution. On the other
hand, new persecutions always brought him an
increase of zeal and of spiritual joy.
Let us blush at our pusillanimity. Not only
we cannot bear persecution for the defence of
virtue and piety, but we cannot tolerate a slight
mockery, a word of contempt. Human respect
drives us from the path of duty. O, henceforth
let us deem ourselves happy should it " be given
to us for Christ not only to believe in him, but
also to surfer for him." *
PRAYER.
MAGNANIMOUS St. Ignatius ! I admire thy
vehement desire to suffer for Christ, which no
waters of labor or of persecution could extinguish.
" Because thou wast acceptable to God it was
necessary that temptation should prove thee."f
Thou didst glory in tribulations, because thou
wast " accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the
name of Jesus." J Faith teaches me what it
taught thee, namely, that tribulations are a
token of special love from God, and have for
scope to make us like unto God's Son in this
world, and in the next, sharers of his glory. My
* Philippians, i; v. 29. f Tobias, 12, v. 13.
Acts, 5, v. 4 1.
THIRD MEDITATION. 2J
lack of love for God is the reason why I find it
hard to suffer for Christ, why I shun the cross
or bear it grudgingly. But if I refuse to be
Christ's companion in suffering, how can I presume
to share his society, and dwell one day with him
in his never-ending kingdom. Wherefore, I
beseech and implore thee, Holy Patron, to ob
tain for me an ardent love for my God that in
imitation of thee " I may never glory, save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.''*
MAXIMS.
1. WHEN God gives one many occasions for
suffering, he is preparing that person for high
sanctity. If, then, you wish to become very
holy, ask God to grant you such occasions.
"Because thou wast acceptable to God, it was
necessary that temptation should try thee," said
the angel to Tobias.
2. There is no fuel that so lights up the love
of God in a soul as the wood of the cross, which
Christ himself used at the sacrifice of his infinite
love. If, therefore, thou desirest to love God,
"glory not, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ."
* Galatians, 6, v. 14.
28 PIOUS PRACTICES.
3. He who fears the world too much, will
never do anything notable for God. God alone
is to be feared ; the judgments of the world
should be despised. " If you had been of the
world, the world would love its own ; but be
cause you are not of the world, but I have
choosen you out of the world, therefore the world
hateth you." *
EXAMPLE.
WHILE Ignatius was ardently laboring for the
good of souls at Barcelona, without the slightest
fear, though persons there had carried their vio
lence towards him so far as even to beat him severe
ly, an event took place that made his holiness very
conspicuous. Two brothers were at law about
an inheritance: judgment was given. The one
who lost the suit was so overwhelmed with grief
and despair that, in a moment of strong tempta
tion, he hanged himself in his own room. The
neighbors came in crowds to see the horrid sight.
As soon as he heard what had happened, Ignatius
too, ran to the house, cut down the dead body,
and ordered it to be laid on the bed. Then fall
ing on his knees, he prayed to God with many
tears, for the salvation of that unfortunate soul.
* John, 15, v. 19.
THIRD MEDITATION. 29
Wonderful to say ! while Ignatius prayed, and
all eyes were riveted in expectation on the corpse,
the wretched man opened his eyes, called for a
priest, made his confession, and then gave up his
soul to God. This miracle was reported through
out the town and all over the country, and it ex
cited everywhere the greatest admiration for
Ignatius. — Bollandists for July.
PRACTICE.
PATIENCE in adversity. Patience hath a perfect
work.*
EJACULATION.
MAY I never glory, save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
* James, I, v. 4.
3° PIOUS PRACTICES.
FOURTH MEDITATION.
THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY.
St. Ignatius a pattern of prayer in his applica
tion to prayer, in the gift of contemplation, and
in the teaching of prayer.
POINT I. — In application to prayer. — The im
mense zeal which SL Ignatius felt for Christ and
his glory, was lit up in his soul by his application
to prayer. At the beginning of his conversion
he did himself much violence for the sake of
prayer. He remained seven hours every day on
his knees in prayer. Gradually, through the
assistance of God, he released himself from sub
jection to the body, and then he attained such a
gift of prayer that as soon as he placed himself
in the divine presence, he was rapt up in God,
his heart glowed as in a fire, and his face was all
ablaze "from the conversation of the Lord."*
During the whole day he felt such sweetness of
soul, he was so lost in God that a look at the
heavens, at the stars, on which he loved to gaze,
the sight of a flower, or of any object in nature,
no matter how trifling, spoke to him of God,
* Exod. 34, v. 29.
FOURTH MEDITATION. 3!
filled his soul with delight, and absorbed him in
divine love. He undertook nothing of any con
sequence, before consulting and begging the
favor of God. The slightest religious duty filled
him with an ardor that appeared exteriorly,
glowed in his eyes, and made him burst into
tears. Indeed, he wept so much in this way that
he injured his eyesight very seriously. Yet the
loss did not affect him in the least. His friends,
however, prevailed on him to ask God for power
to restrain his weeping. The prayer was heard,
for ever afterwards he had such a mastery over
his tears that he could withhold, or let them flow
at will.
Would that we had the habit of seeing God's
power, wisdom, and goodness in every created
object. This gilt is obtained only by persevering
prayer. We pray heedlessly, our thoughts, our
hearts wander ; so that our Lord may say to us :
" What ! could you not watch one hour with me ?
Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temp
tation/'*
POINT II.— The gift of contemplation.— By
continually devoting himself to prayer, Ignatius
attained the highest excellence in that holy ex
ercise. He frankly avowed that at Manresa he
* Matth. 26, v. 40-41.
32 PIOUS PRACTICES.
learned more from God in an hour, than all the
learned men of the world could teach him.
During his contemplations in that blessed retreat,
he was often rapt in ecstasy. He saw our Lord
most clearly in the Sacred Host : he gained a
profound insight into the Incarnation, and other
Christian mysteries. When he recited the Creed,
the adorable Trinity, three in persons one in
essence, was manifest to him, so that he, a man
of no learning, did not hesitate to write a book
on that most august mystery. These visions so
strengthened Ignatius in the true faith that were
there no other proofs of Christianity, he would
not have hesitated to die for it merely on account
of what God taught him at Manresa. In those
raptures, which at times lasted from two even to
eight days, his countenance was lit up, rays of
light encircled his head, and his body was raised
from the ground. During them our Lord and
the Blessed Virgin appeared visibly to him, and
gave him instructions. Ever after this period
of his life, Ignatius enjoyed such union and
familiarity with God that those who knew him
intimately, considered his existence as an un
broken contemplation and one uninterrupted
ecstasy.* Yet though possessing so high a
* James Alvarez de Paz, De vita Spir. Tom 3, lib.
2, c. 3.
FOURTH MEDITATION. 33
degree of contemplation, whenever he intended
to pray, he prepared himself with as much care
as if he were wholly unpractised.
How different is our way of acting in this re
gard ! We go to prayer without any preparation,
and full of distractions. What wonder that our
minds wander as long as our prayer lasts.
Before prayer or meditation, let us bring to mind
the subject upon which we are about to meditate,
or to pray. When praying we should place our
selves before God with great faith and eargerness,
and ask him "to cause the light of his counten
ance to shine on us." * We should also watch,
and keep our mind from running to other
thoughts. " Before prayer, prepare thy soul :
and be not as a man that tempteth God."f
POINT III. — Teaching prayer.— God choose St.
Ignatius for the gaining of many souls, and to
direct them, mainly by his Spiritual Exercises,
in the way of salvation and perfection. Hence,
he led his servant through all the arduous paths
of the spiritual life ; he allowed him to be afflicted
with every form of scruple and temptation, so
that he might learn, by his own personal experi
ence, the heavenly art of guiding souls amid
those dark and dangerous regions. At a later
* Ps. 66, v. 2. t Eccli 1 8, v. 23.
34 PIOUS PRACTICES.
period, St. Ignatius looked back on the origin and
stages of his conversion ; he reviewed its various
storms of temptation, and the serenity that came
after them ; and from what he there learned from
God, or from his own experience, he wrote out
instructions for praying and meditating with
profit to the soul. In the course of time he
enlarged this work, adding to it many useful
observations and directions, and he finally gave
it to the world under the title of "Spiritual
Exercises" It received the full approbation of the
Holy See. - The book. has been of the greatest
assistance to people of every age and class in
society for the choice of a state of life, for their
advancement in the Christian life and their perse
verance in virtue. The Exercises of St. Ignatius
are looked upon as one of the chief means that
God has employed to correct the vices of the
world, and bring back the children of the church
to primitive fervor and discipline. Many would
wish to acquire the science of the saints, but at
no cost to themselves. Vain desire ! No one
ever learnt that science, until he did himself,
violence, and practised what he intended to
learn. Nearly all the holy men that have lived
since the time of St. Ignatius found in his
Spiritual Exercises "that hidden manna which
FOURTH MEDITATION. 35
no man knoweth, but he that receiveth it."*
Would that you also would listen to the divine
voice, and enter the solitude of the Exercises to
j|ear the same voice more distinctly. Then, the
Holy Spirit would speak to your heart, and
teach you whatever is necessary for your salvation
and perfection. "Come ye to him and be en
lightened. O taste and see that the Lord is
sweet." f
PRAYER.
HOLY patriarch Ignatius ! So admirable in the
practice and teaching of prayer, arid for thy gift
of contemplation, look at my heart. It is dull,
heavy, weighed down with earthly affections, be
cause, though God has invited me many times, I
have neglected to devote myself to prayer, that
fountain o( every grace. My cowardliness, my
ungratefulness to God, deserve that he should
drive me from his face, that he should hide that
glorious face from me, since I have not known
the day of my visitation. O holy patron ! beg
pardon of God for me. Beseech him not to turn
away his face from me, or to hide his light from
my eyes, but rather to have mercy on me and
shed the light of his countenance upon me, when
I pray. I resolve to devote every day a certain
* Apocal. 2, v. 17. t Ps. 33, v. 6 9.
36 PIOUS PRACTICES.
time to prayer, to raise my heart to God by fre
quent aspirations in the course of the day — that
in imitation of thee, I may always be united with
God on earth, and, through thy intercession,
merit to enjoy him for ever in heaven. Amen.
MAXIMS.
1. BY meditating carefully and diligently on
eternal truths, we can easily overcome the various
inclinations to evil in which our corrupt nature
abounds. If you do not experience this facility,
blame your negligence in meditation, and correct
it, "I have thought on my ways ; and turned my
feet unto thy testimonies."*
2. He, who in everything that he does, con
stantly keeps God before his eyes, will not feel
less devotion in works of charity and obedience
than in prayer itself. Accustom yourself to this
exercise of the presence of God, and your heart
will rejoice ; ' ' I set the Lord always in my sight,
Therefore, my heart hath been glad." f
3. Grant me, O my God, the gift of true
humility and of loving reverence in thy sight.
This was a common aspiration with St. Ignatius.
By it he constantly kept up an affectionate pres
ence of God. "Let us humble our souls before
* Ps. 118, v. 59. t Ps. 15, v. 8-9.
FOURTH MEDITATION. 37
the Lord God and continue in an humble spirit
in his service."*
EXAMPLE.
WHILE Ignatius was going through his studies
he lost no opportunity to gain souls to God by
his Exercises. The following fact is a proof of his
zeal at that time. Once, in Paris, a nobleman
invited him, in fun, to play some game with him.
1 ' I shall play with you, " said Ignatius. ' ' But what
are to be the stakes," said the nobleman, "since
you have no money ?" ' ' The stakes will be, " an
swered Ignatius, "that if you win, I shall serve you
for a certain number of days in whatever way
you choose ; but if I win, you will serve me as I
please." "Agreed," said the nobleman. They
began the game. Ignatius knew nothing at all
about it ; still, with the help of God he won at
ever}- turn. " I am duly punished for challenging
you," said the nobleman ; " God is against me."
When the game was over, Ignatius took the
loser, gave him the Spiritual Exercises for a few
days, and out of a man addicted only to sloth and
worldly pleasures, he made an earnest Christian
that feared God, and prepared for eternity. — Bol-
landists for July.
* Judith. 8, v. 16.
38 PIOUS PRACTICES.
PRACTICE.
WHEN you go to pray, place yourself in God's
prensece, and do not allow your mind to wander
away to other things.
EJACULATION.
' ' LET my supplication, O Lord, come near in
thy sight, give me understanding according to
thy word."*
FIFTH MEDITATION.
St. Ignatius, the pattern of true humility in his
knowledge of himself, in his love for humiliation,
and in his heavenly gifts.
POINT I. — In his knowledge of himself. — Interior
humility consists in an abiding sense of our own
nothingness, and in a love for everything that can
lead us to contemn ourselves. This is the defini
tion, which, by order of the Blessed Virgin, St.
Ignatius gave of that virtue when he appeared to
* Ps. 118, v. 169.
FIFTH MEDITATION. 39
St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi. In order that he
^himself might reach this knowledge of his own
nothingness, he looked upon all his gifts in the
order of nature and of grace, as so many favors
done by God to an ungrateful man. He claimed
as his own, only nothingness, ignorance, error ;
a fountain of sin, and many actual sins. Think
ing thus humbly of himself, he contrasted him
self, first, with all mankind; then, with the count
less multitudes of magnificent angels, and with the
infinite majesty of God. What are all creatures,
he would exclaim, when put alongside of the
Creator ? "All nations are before God as if they
had no being at all, and are counted to him as
nothing and vanity." * How little I am, then,
before God ! What am I in his sight except dust
and ashes, corruption and worms, whether I con
sider the loathsomeness of my body, or the foul
ness of my soul, from which so many sins and
vices are constantly oozing ! These were the
humble sentiments that he entertained of himself,
and of all that belonged to him. In his own
eyes he deserved nothing but contempt, hatred,
humiliation, and all manner of chastisement.
He thought himself the least of mankind, and the
greatest pauper with respect to everything good
and holy.
* Isaiah, 40, v. 17
4O PIOUS PRACTICES.
You, who make so much of your talents and
deeds, what have you that you did not receive
And if you have received, why do you glory as
though you had not received it ? * ' ' Thy arro
gance have deceived thee and the pride of thy
heart."f Separate every precious gift of God from
your original and vile nothingness, from your
moral depravity, and you will clearly see with
what good right God can say to you: " Behold I
have made thee a little one among the nations,
very despicable among men."J
POINT II. — The love of humiliations. — St. Ignatius
laid down this law for himself which agrees
so well with his very low estimate of himself,
namely to abhor whatever the world loves, and
on the other hand, to desire with all his might
whatever the same world shuns. He set our
Lord, despised and made the last of men for our
sake, before his eyes, as his model in humiliation;
and he earnestly desired to be clothed with the
same garments as Christ, to surfer injuries,
mockery, and insult with him. When he fore
saw that persecution, slander, and other similar
trials were to come upon him in any place, he
remained there with excessive delight. But when
he found people making much of him, he would
* I. Corinth. 4, v. 9. t Jerem. 49, v. 16.
\ Jerem. 49, v. 15.
FIFTH MEDITATION. 41
protest that he was the worst of sinners, and seek
to bring them to a like view of his character.
He did this chiefly when, by unanimous consent,
he was sleeted general of his own Society. He
ordered several ballots at the election, in order to
escape the burden; but the issue being always
the same, how could he refuse to comply ? Still
he put the matter entirely into the hands of his
confessor; he made to him a general confession
of his whole life so that he might judge him un
fit to be general. Finally, in hospitals, among
beggars, and the lowest class of men, in his en
tire way of living he sought with the noblest
magnaminity, means to trample on all vain,
worldly glory, as well as on himself. *
We, who commend ourselves so much, who
are so fretful and impatient when God brings
down our pride by some humiliation, disdain to
imitate Christ our Lord. He who clings to the
world and its laws, seeks honors and fame ; so
he who follows Christ despises the empty glory
of this world; and if he does not love, he at least
ought to bear patiently the injuries, insults and
contempt that accompany the livery of Christ.
" For I have given you an example, that as I
have done to you, so you do also."t
* Bull of canonization. t John, 13, v. 15.
42 PIOUS PRACTICES.
POINT III. — In heavenly gifts, — The false goods
of this world foster pride; but spiritual goods, that
are heavenly gifts, promote humility in the soul
that gets them. Hence, in proportion to the
number of his heavenly gifts, Ignatius experi
enced every day humbler sentiments in his soul.
Supernatural illuminations of the mind, visions,
ecstasies had grown familiar to him; but he
turned them all into new means of self abase
ment. He looked upon himself as a house
threatening to fall, and that could not remain up
right without supports: hence," the mercy of God,"
he would say, "holds me up by these means."
At other times he viewed himself as a broken
stick encased in the gold of divine graces and
surrounded by the gifts of God, instead of the
fire that he so much deserved. Again, he was
a horrid monster, combining so many sins with
so many mercies, such utter unworthiness witn
such crowds of heavenly favors. Once, when
raised from the ground in an ecstasy, and shin
ing with light from heaven, he was heard ex
claiming: "O God ! O God of infinite goodness !
how do you still bear with me, so great a sinner ?"*
Thus his daily increasing humility constantly
fitted him to receive greater spiritual gifts.
* Process of canonization.
FIFTH MEDITATION. 4$
Do you wonder at your being without any
spiritual treasure ; or do you find that God does
not listen to your prayers ? Blame your pride
for all that. God allows us the use of his favors,
but he retains the glory of them for himself. You
arrogate to yourself that glory which belongs to
God alone, and therefore he leaves you bereft
of all heavenly goods, and humbles your pride :
for, ' ' God resists the proud, but gives his grace
to the humble."*
PRAYER.
ST. IGNATIUS! glorious pattern of Christian
humility! thou didst know that away in the ages
of eternity God was never so glorified as when
his Son, for the glory of his Father, ' ' debased him
self, taking the form of a servant — being made
the reproach of men, and the outcast of the
people." I Hence, although adorned so richly
with the gifts of heaven, thou didst, in imitation
of Jesus Christ, continually humble thyself un
sparingly before God and men, and show the
greatest ardor for every kind of contempt ; so
hast thou given the highest glory to God. And
1, who by my origin am nothing, who am covered
over with the filth of sin, and full of pride, al-
* I Pet. 5, v. 5.
t Philippians, 2, v. 7; and Ps. 21, v. 7.
44 PIOUS PRACTICES.
though in utter poverty as regards spiritual gifts,
I have always dishonored the majesty of God !
Wherefore, I am as hateful in the eyes of God
and of men as thou, O Saint Ignatius, wert dear
to them. Holy patron, do not reject my prayer ;
teach me true humility ; enable me to see how
wretched my soul is, that I may despise and hate
myself. I ask all this in order that henceforward
I may, by humility, self-contempt, and hatred
give as much glory to God as I have hitherto
given him offence by my pride. Amen.
MAXIMS.
THE following maxims were delivered by St.
Ignatius in an apparition to St. Mary Magdalen
of Pazzi : —
1. Interior humility consists in a constant
knowledge of our nothingness, and in a love of
everything that can bring us to despise ourselves.
— This humility is like a ladder with so many
rounds that one never gets to the topmost, es
pecially, as by repeated acts the same steps have
to be gone up again and again. Hence, as long
as soul and body remain together, no one should
refrain from the practice of this virtue.
2. Exterior humility shows itself in words, ges
tures and deeds. We ought to shun, as a blas
phemy, any word that does not breathe humility.
FIFTH MEDITATION. 45
Gestures contrary to humility should be avoided
with the same care as those opposed to purity.
Works that do not conform to humility are to be
avoided as a king would avoid dressing his son
and heir as a cow boy.
3. To the oil of humility we must add the
perfume of holy love. Then consider the glory
that acts of humility give to God, the great
works that humility performs and the advantages
that accrue to the humble soul. Thus humility
will be loved, and the soul, with all her might, '
will seek to acquire it.
THE wonderful humility of St. Ignatius stirred
up the wrath of the evil spirit against him. He
declared, by the lips of possessed persons, that he
had no worse eftemy than St. Ignatius ; " he has
as much humility as I have pride." God exalted
his servant for that humility, and gave immense
power over evil spirits.* Crowds of people
could be cited out of whom the Saint drove the
devil, f We shall mention only one among
many, that was a triumph of the true faith over
heresy. At Ostrog, a town in Poland, a Calvinist
woman was possessed. Though knowing only
Roman Breviary. t Raymand, Vol. 9. p. 134.
46 PIOUS PRACTICES.
her mother-tongue, she spoke Latin, German,
and Ruthenian with perfect ease. She re-'
lated things that she had no natural means of
knowing, described events taking place at great
distances, and gave evidence of extraordinary
strength. The ministers of her religion for a
long time tried, but in vain, to expel the devil
from her. At last, they took her to the Rector of
the Jesuit college at Ostrog, and earnestly begged
of him, to say the prayers of the Church over
her, and free her from her wicked guest. The
Rector promised to do for them whatever he
could ; but first he reproached them for their
errors, and made the devil confess the falsity of
Calvinism. He next ordered a fast of three days,
and on the feast of our Lady's Purification, in
the Church of the Society, which was crowded
with people, having repeatedly, invoked the
names- of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Igna
tius, he drove the devil out of the woman,
and forced him to acknowledge that he was
expelled by the power of Mary and Ignatius.
When the poor woman received her conscious
ness she burst into tears of joy, and renounced
the errors of Calvin, while the by-standers ex
claimed : "Great is the Lord, and exceedingly
to be praised."* Great is his mother ! great is
* Psalm 47, v. I.
SIXTH MEDITATION. 47
Ignatius ! The only true religion is the Catholic
religion : — Marian Annals, 1627.
PRACTICE.
• IN accordance with the teaching of St. Igna
tius, "humble thyself in all things, and thou
shalt find grace before God."*
EJACULATION.
O GOD ! infinitely good God ! who still bear-
est with me who am such a sinner.f
SIXTH MEDITATION.
St. Ignatius a pattern of great, active and pro
ductive confidence in God.
POINT I. — Great confidence. — St. Ignatius,
having renounced the world and given himself
wholly to God, placed all his trust in him. It is
wonderful what hardships and contempt he had
to bear wherever he went. He was ill-treated,
* Eccli 3, v. 20.
t S. Ignatius in the process of hia Canonization.
48 PIOUS PRACTICES.
thrown into prison, and suffered everything short
of death.* But equally wonderful, amid all
these crosses and trials, were the serenity of his
soul, his perfect calmness springing from a
heroic reliance on God. He used to say that he
who forgets himself in order to serve God, has
God for his helper ; and God takes more care of
him than such a man could take of himself.
Wherefore, when slandered and thrown into
prison, he asked no one to defend or protect him.
When about to set out for Jerusalem he made
no provision for the journey, and when, as he
was going along, some friends obliged him to
take some money, he bitterly reproached himself
with want of trust in God, and was on the point
of throwing the money away ; on second thought
however, he gave it all to the poor. With the
same confidence, when reduced to the greatest
straits and harrassed by men, he undertook many
works of charity. Living in Rome in times of
great scarcity, and being asked how it was that
while rich people lessened their expenses, he
increased his own, though he had no income to
rely on. " Don't fear " was his answer, " he who
feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies
of the field, will not allow those who work in
* Roman Breviary.
SIXTH MEDITATION'. 49
the vineyard of the Church for nothing, to want
the necessaries of life." Still he did not wish that
hope of this kind should encourage sloth. He
said: "we should do whatever lay in our power,
and that done we were to look upon ourselves
as unprofitable servants, and put all our hopes
in God."
"Blessed is the man that hath not put his
trust in money nor in treasures."* It is good to
confide in the Lord rather than to have confidence
in man. It is good to trust in the Lord rather
than to trust in princes, f They that fear the
Lord have hoped in the Lord ; he is their helper
and their protector. J If you rely on men " lo,
thou trusteth upon a broken staff of a reed, upon
which if a man lean, it will go into his hand and
pierce it. " §
POINT II. — His confidence was active. — Though
the confidence of Ignatius in God was so great,
and though he had constantly wonderful proofs
of the Divine protection ; he still withal con
sidered himself unworthy of being listened to by
God. He, therefore, used every means to pro
pitiate the saints and make them his friends and
intercessors with God. In matters of importance
* Eccli. 31, v. 8. | Psalm 113, v. n.
t Psalm 117, v. 8-9. $ Isaiah, 36, v. 6.
50 PIOUS PRACTICES,
he applied now to the saints, at another time to
the choirs of angels, to plead his cause before the
Queen of heaven. Again he would pray directly
to the Mother of God to urge his cause with her
Son. Finally, he would beseech Jesus Christ with
tears, not to look upon his sins, but on the merits
and intercession of so many of his servants, es
pecially of his own mother, and to move his
eternal Father, and all the persons of the ever
blessed Trinity to grant his request. To his
prayers he added self-flagellations and long fasts
until he obtained what he asked. And when his
prayer was granted, he went the rounds again,
returning his thanks with the deepest and hum
blest gratitude to the saints and angels, to the
Blessed Virgin, our Lord and the adorable
Trinity.
If, in consequence of our many sins, we do not
dare put firm trust in God, let us remember the
influence with him of his servants and friends in
heaven — what Mary can effect with her Son — the
power of Christ with his Father ; let us implore
their patronage by constant prayer, and if need
be, let us employ bodily penance, and then we
shall see the help of the Lord upon us. What
God's justice would refuse to our demerits, his
clemency will grant to so many intercessors. ' 'We
SIXTH MEDITATION. 51
have boldness and access with confidence by the
faith of him.''*
POINT III. — Rewards of this confidence. — From
his very conversion he reaped, through the influ
ence of the Blessed Virgin particularly, fruits of
this confidence in God. He was saved from the
many dangers, hardships and persecutions that
he met with. In his wants, the angels came
several times to his assistance. At one time, our
Lord himself, at another, his Blessed Mother
appeared to Ignatius, and promised him help and
special protection. Among those promises the
most celebrated is the one that was given in a
church not far from Rome. Ignatius had en
tered it to pray, and, as was usual with him, he
was soon lost in ecstasy. Then the Eternal Father
appeared to him surrounded by a bright light,
and pointing to our Lord, who appeared also
carrying his cross, he praised Ignatius and his
companions, and said : "I wish you accept him
as your servant." Hereupon our Lord turned to
Ignatius, and taking him under his protection,
said : " I wish you to serve me. I will help you
in Rome." This promise caused Ignatius the
sweetest consolation. Addressing his compan
ions, he remarked: "I don't know what is to
* Ephes. 3, v. 12.
5 2 PIOUS PRACTICES.
happen in Rome : but this I do know, that what
ever may happen, Jesus Christ will be favorable
to us." He then related to them the foregoing
vision.
O how good is not our God to his servants !
He is so kindly present to them — bestows on
them so much honor and joy — rewards them at
once and increases their joy. Blessed is the man
who relies on the help and fidelity of God alone,
who works out his salvation in filial trust in him
— and who would consider it a sin to entertain a
shadow of doubt with regard to God's sovereign
goodness. ' ' Behold ! God is my Saviour, I will
deal confidently, and will not fear."*
PRAYER.
ADMIRABLE patriarch, St. Ignatius ! I know
now whence came thy unconquerable magnan
imity in working and suffering for the greater
glory of God. It arose from thy filial confidence
in God. " For they that hope in the Lord shall
renew their strength — they shall run and not be
weary, they shall walk and not faint, "f From
this I also learn why I am so weak, that in the
all important affair of salvation the slightest
difficulty frightens me, and makes me give up
* Isaiah, 12, v. 2. t Isaiah, 40, v, 31.
SIXTH MEDITATION. 53
living a good life. All this weakness proceeds
from my little confidence in God. The prom
ises of God are, indeed, infallible, and the
earth is covered with his mercy: yet my hope in
God is not sufficiently strong. The more I rely
on my own powers and in the help of men,
the more I detract from the confidence that I
should place in God alone, the best of Fathers.
Lift up my heart, then, O holy patron, that it
may fix its refuge in God alone — that it may
hope, first for God; secondly, for his kingdom in
heaven ; thirdly, for suitable means here on earth
to earn that kingdom; and, lastly, that among
earthly goods I may seek only those that will help
me to obtain eternal posession of God. Amen.
MAXIMS.
i. CONFIDENCE resting on the favor of men, or
on riches, is false. True confidence is that which,
the greater our penury or our difficulties, the
more it leans on God. St. Ignatius supported
this saying by the words of the Apostle: "But
hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man
seeth, why doth he hope for ? But if we hope for
that which we see not, we wait for it with
patience."*
* Rom. 8, v. 24-25.
54 PIOUS PRACTICES.
2. There is nothing miraculous in God's help
ing his servants who hope in him: it would be
a miracle were he to abandon them. His action
is based on his own promises: "Because he hoped
in me, I will deliver him. ... I will deliver
him, and I will glorify him." *
3. Serve God with all care and zeal: entrust
all your interests and anxieties to him: "It is
easy for the Lord to save, either by many or by
few."f
EXAMPLE.
THE following fact will bring out more fully the
fatherly providence of God in regard to his ser
vants, and at the same time it will show that the
security and reliance of St. Ignatius were free
from rashness. When there was no money in
the house to meet the daily expenses, it happened
more than once that a stranger came to the
treasurer and putting into his hands a bag of
gold coin, instantly disappeared without saying a
word. One evening there was nothing to eat
or drink; nothing to make a fire the next day.
The following morning quite early, a lady sent
a large cart-load of wood to the house. The door
keeper went to put it in the cellar; but remem-
* Psalm 90, v. 14-15. t I. Kings, 14, v 6.
SIXTH MEDITATION. 55
bering that he had left the house-door open, he
hastened back to shut it. What was his surprise
to find in the hall some bushels of wheat and
barrels of wine. No one could ever find out
who sent these presents. By deeds like these,
which often happened, God provided for the
wants of his servants. — Bollandists for July.
PRACTICE.
MAKE acts of hope in God with all your heart.
EJACULATION.
" IN thee, O Lord, have I hoped ; let me never
be confounded."*
* Psalm 30, v. i.
56 PIOUS PRACTICES.
SEVENTH MEDITATION.
THE UNITIVE WAY.
St. Ignatius, a pattern of most ardent love for
God, by his spiritual enlightenment, by his earn
estness and the elevation of his thoughts.
Point I. — His spiritual enlightenment. — Charity
is a heavenly fire that illumines the mind, in
flames the heart, and lifts the entire soul up to
God. The vast light which love for God conver
ged upon the mind of Ignatius, is manifest from
the teaching scattered up and down his Exercises
with regard to meditation, to the discerning of
the actions of the various spirits, what paths are
safe, and what unsafe in the spiritual life. St,
Philip Neri considered him a master in the art
of directing souls, and in the science of the Saints;
for he often saw the countenance of Ignatius
radiant with heavenly light, and thence conject
ured the fulness of light that possessed his soul.
Nor was this excellence of St. Ignatius astonish
ing. God disengaged him from the senses and
showed him by himself, by the angels, the saints,
the Blessed Virgin, or even our Lord himself —
who were all, so to say, on familiar terms with
Ignatius — the power of the Creator, the infinite
SEVENTH MEDITATION. 57
wisdom of the redemption, the order and purpose
of creatures, the efficacy of the sacraments, the
marvellous workings of divine grace in a soul,
and many other wonders of the same kind.
The wise ones of the world who style themselves
enlightened, but who measure withal everything
divine by the senses and human passions, deserve
rather to be called foolish and blind. "The
sensual man perceiyeth not the things that are
of the spirit of God." * The Holy Ghost looks
for a heart free from all the defilements of the
flesh, and a mind cleaving to God with a lively
faith, before he communicates by charity those
teachings, that heavenly learning, which outstrip
our natural powers. " Blessed are the clean of
heart, for they shall see God." f
Point II. — His earnestness, — The charity of God
was poured out in the heart of Ignatius by the
Holy Ghost, who was given to him. J As in the
case of the Apostles, a tongue of fire appeared,
and rested upon him, and he was filled with the
Holy Ghost. § Hence, frequently during day
and night, amid sighs and tears, he opened his
heart to God, particularly to our Lord on the
cross, or hidden in the Blessed Eucharist ; and
* I Corinth., 2, v. 14. | Rom., 5, v. 5.
t Matt., 5, v. 8. $ Acts, 2, v. 3.
58 PIOUS PRACTICES.
breaking forth into his usual exclamation, asking
still greater love for God, he would say: "Lord,
let me love thee, and for no other purpose than
to love thee more." On occasions of this kind,
his affections grew so warm that he fainted, as it
were, and the only signs of life that he gave, were
a flushed countenance and violent beating of his
heart. It cannot be wonderful, therefore, that
no matter how pressed by business, as soon as he
invoked God, or heard the name of Jesus, his
face was lit up, his heart burned, he overflowed
with joy, and he dropped to rest in the embrace
of God, or of Christ. He once made, with great
candor, the wonderful declaration, that he could
not live by the sole powers of nature. Indeed it
was a common impression among those who saw
more closely the fires of divine love, amid which
he spent his days, that he lived his transfigured
life far more on divine charity than on natural
strength. "I live, now not I; but Christ liveth
in me." *
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy
whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with
thy whole mind/'f says Jesus Christ. We do this
when, in comparison with him, we make no
account of all else; when, as St. Ignatius taught,
* Galatians, 2, v. 20. t Matt. 22, v. 37.
SEVENTH MEDITATION. 59
we so employ the faculties of our soul in loving
God, that our memory recalls his love for us, and
his benefits to us; our mind reflects carefully on the
Divine perfections; our will loves those perfec
tions — delights in them— desires eagerly to please
God, to do and suffer all things out of love for
God. Be ashamed of yourself in case your heart
is still far from such love for God. " Look, and
make it according to the pattern that was shown
thee " * in Ignatius. The above-mentioned ex
ercise of your memory, understanding and will,
will kindle the fire of charity in your heart. " In
my meditation a fire shall flame out." f
POINT III. — Elevation of his thoughts. — The
charity in which his soul abounded, so lifted Ig
natius up to God, that he was able to say with
St. Paul: "Our conversation is in heaven." J
Often while meditating on heavenly things, or
amid the sublime emotions of the Canonical
hours, his soul rushed to God with such vehe
mence, that his body was all surrounded with
light, and raised from the ground. He would see
heaven open before him, gaze on its shining
crowds of citizens, and distinguish their pecu
liar glory. Our Lord frequently showed himself
to the Saint in the Blessed Eucharist, and ex
plained to him the ineffable manner in which he
* Exodus, 25, v. 40. I Psalm 38, v. 4.
\ Philippians, 3, v. 20.
6O PIOUS PRACTICES.
at one and the same time dwells under the sacred
species and reigns gloriously in heaven. There
is a little book containing his visions and spiritual
illuminations, which he received at mass, during
a space of four months, while he was drawing up
the constitutions of his Society. He used to put
these favors in a sort of diary so as to foster piety
and keep a remembrance of them. Before his
death, however, he took care to destroy all writings
of the kind; a few leaves escaped his search, and
they form the little book in question. In it he
tells us, that he saw our Lord mediating for him
with the Father, the Blessed Virgin most lovingly
presenting him, her client, to her Son, and ap
proving the Constitutions that he had framed.
Meanwhile, he, himself, was fired with divine
love, but so illuminating and sweet that he felt
himself most closely united to divine love, re
ceived incredible light from it, and" heard voices
and harmonies beautiful beyond all earthly ex
pression. "At times, "the Saint writes, "so high
was I raised, such was the spiritual light vouch
safed to me about God, his unity, the Trinity,
that there seemed to be nothing more for me to
learn. I knew, I felt, I saw. My knowledge
was so surprising, that I incessantly cried out
in admiration: What am I ? What do I merit?
How has this light come to me ? " These, and
SEVENTH MEDITATION. 6 1
»
many other wonders, are spoken of in the afore
mentioned book, and more at length, in the au
thentic inquiry made about Ignatius at Toledo.*
There is a shorter account of all these matters in
an illustrated work on the life of the Saint. Here
is one of its titles: *' He writes the Constitutions of
the Society of Jesus, and has, while doing so,
many visions of the Adorable Trinity, who be
stow much light on him, and of the Blessed
Virgin, who gives her approbation to what he was
writing."
.Blessed soul ! so wonderfully one with God —
and happy in him, as far as one can be in this
world.—" God is not far from every one of us : for
in him we live, and move, and be/'f But our
soul, involved in earthly affections, "has forgotten
God, her Saviour, and has not remembered her
strong helper." J Let us awake, then, and rise
out of the mire of our sins. Let us not love the
world nor the things that are in the world. §
Let us therefore love God, because God first hath
loved us. ||
* See works of the Yen. Father Lancicius. Vol. 2,
opusc. 17.
t Acts, 17, v. 27-28. $ I John, 2, v. 15.
t Isaiah, 17, v. 10. || I John, 4, v. 19.
.
63 PIOUS PRACTICES.
PRAYER.
THY Seraphic love for God, O holy Ignatius,
condemns and puts to confusion my negligence
and lukewarmness in loving him. My heart
is so depraved that it loves earthly goods, and
even my vices and sins ; and has no care to love
the God, whom it was created to love. Thy
heart, whilst thou wert in this world, burned
with a constant desire to enkindle in every one
a great love for God. Now that thou art in
heaven this desire must be far greater. I there
fore offer thee my heart, that thou mayest cleanse
it from all disorderly affections, fire it every day
more and more with thy love, and teach it to
love God the Sovereign good. Whilst, in order
to obtain this grace, I use the words with which
thou wert wont to dedicate thyself wholly to God,
ask for me, I beg of thee, the favor of consecrat
ing myself to God forevermore with all thy
fervor.
MAXIMS.
i. IF the blessed in heaven could grieve, they
would go into mourning as a sign of sorrow and
wailing for those who were once fervent in the
service of God, but afterwards fell into luke
warmness. If you have grown languid in love
SEVENTH MEDITATION. 63
for God, you have grieved Jerusalem that nursed
you. *
2. We should watch constantly over the purity
of our hearts, and by frequent aspirations raise
them to God who is everywhere present : for
charity does not spring up in an unclean, but in
a clean heart, t
3. We should often visit the Blessed Sacra
ment, which is the guarantee and feeder of love.
The time immediately after holy Communion is
most valuable ; and should be entirely given to
God and to divine love ; for then God dwells in
us, and we in him. " He that eateth my flesh
abideth in me, and I in him." J
EXAMPLE.
GOD rewarded the love of St. Ignatius not only
by conferring on him the essential happiness of
heaven, which is man's chief blessedness ; but he
also granted him very great glory here on earth.
He had not yet reached the honors of canoniza
tion when in Catalayud, a town of Aragon, in
Spain, an angel appeared to a pious Canon, who
delighted in having in his house fine paintings
of the founders of the various religious orders.
* Baruch, 4, v. 8. t I Timothy, I, v. 5.
+ John, 6, v. 57.
64 PIOUS PRACTICES.
The angel presented himself as a stranger on his
travels Seeing that the portrait of Ignatius was
not in the Canon's collection, he offered to paint
it. His offer was accepted and he set to work.
A short while after he was summoned to dinner ;
but he refused to go, saying that his work was
going on well and he did not wish to leave it.
At the end of dinner the painter was again called,
and looked for everywhere ; but he could not be
found. He had disappeared, leaving a portrait
of St. Ignatius surrounded by rays of light, and
surpassing in beauty all the others possessed by
the Canon.. This painting was afterwards sent
to Munebrega, and was there very much honored
by crowds of people. Many and great favors
were obtained by those who prayecl before it to
St. Ignatius. Within the space of a month more
than a hundred miracles were wrought at Mune
brega ; among them was the restoration to life of
a boy and a little girl, who had died sometime
previously. — Alphonsus Andrada, History of the
Picture of Munebrega, Madrid, 1669.
PRACTICE.
WITH frequent acts of charity thou wilt love the
Lord, thy God, with thy whole heart.*
* .xathew, xxvii. v. 57-
EIGHTH MEDITATION*. 65
EJACULATION.
LORD grant me to love thee, and for no other
object but to love thee more and more. — St.
Ignatius.
EIGHTH MEDITATION.
St Ignatius a pattern of zeal for souls in his
desires, his labors, and in the works he set on
foot for this purpose.
POINT I. — His desires. — Zeal for souls is an
effect of charity, which makes one love God and
bring others to love him. The greater our love
for God, the greater will be our zeal. From the
beginning of his conversion, love for God burned
so ardently in his soul, that even in the night
time he was found raised from the ground shin
ing with light, and exclaiming amid sighs and
tears ; " O my God ! O my Lord ! If men only
know thee, they would never sin." At other times,
65 PIOUS PRACTICES.
raised from the ground in a kneeling posture, his
eyes dazzling with light, and his face uplifted to
wards heaven, he would say : " Dearest Jesus ! if
men only loved thee." • And as the bitter death
that the Son of God underwent for the salvation
of men, was always present to the mind of Igna
tius, he used often to exclaim : "Would it were
in my power to die a thousand times a day, even
in the worst torments, for Christ and for the salva
tion of one soul." No wonder then that when
he was General of his Society, he led through
the streets a crowd of abandoned women -whom
he had reclaimed, to a house where their virtue
would be out of danger. Whilst he was engaged
in this work some one remarked to him that he
was losing his time, because such women easily
fall back into their sins ; Ignatius answered
that he would consider himself amply rewarded
by merely preventing the sins that any one of
these poor creatures would commit in a night.
How wonderful, too, is not that assertion of the
Saint which the Tribunal of the Rota has so ex
tolled, and which he made with so much earnest
ness, viz : Were the choice given to me, I would
rather serve God here and save souls, in uncer
tainty of eternal happiness, than die at this
moment in the full assurance of going to heaven.
If St. Ignatius preferred the salvation of others
EIGHTH MEDITATION. 67
to his own certain and immediate happiness for
eternity, can we hesitate for our own eternal
salvation to renounce our evil desires and con
cupiscences, and to remove all obstacles to our
neighbors' salvation ? The chief object for which
we have to strive, is eternity. For " all gold in
comparison of it, is as a little sand, and silver in
respect to her shall be counted as clay."*
POINT II.— His labors.— The labors of St. Ig
natius were not behind his vehement desires for
saving souls. From the first days of his conver
sion he resolved to avoid no danger, to shrink
from no toil in trying to bring souls to God, and
to devote himself unceasingly, as long as his life
would last, to this most important work. He
kept his resolution wherever he lived. Hence,
when the process for his canonization began, so
many notable conversions of great sinners, aban
doned women, Jews and heretics, were related
that every city in which Ignatius spent any time,
looked upon him as its apostle. Out of that
first resolve came that devotedness, which the
Holy Church calls remarkable, which led Ignatius,
at the age of three and thirty, for the purpose of
being more useful to souls, to study grammar
first, and afterwards philosophy and theology.
* Wisdom, 7, v. 9.
68 PIOUS PRACTICES.
Later on, he went over these studies again in
Paris, living, meanwhile, on alms, omitting none
of his practices of charity, humility and mortifica
tion, and having to bear ridicule, blows, and
imprisonment, during his labors for souls. How
often, too, did not the devil, as it were, foreseeing
the future, try to interrupt his studies ! When,
in the learning of the Latin grammar, he met
the verb to love, or any other word of the kind,
the enemy would direct his thoughts to God; at
other times, he would fill his mind with light,
and lay bare to him the hidden sense of Holy
Scripture. And all this was done in order to
draw off the mind of Ignatius from his books.
But the attempt did not succeed; it merely gave
Ignatius a new occasion to triumph gloriously
over himself. For, as soon as he saw the wiles of
the evil one, he cast himself at the feet of his
master, begging him in earnest to exact from him
every day, the same task as from the other stu
dents, and to be punished like them, in word or
deed, when found guilty of any negligence in
the performance of duty. If St. Ignatius toiled
so ardently for the salvation of others, we can
imagine what we ought to undertake for our own
souls. In case we do not do much for them, it
is not our want of power, but of will we have to
blame. For grace is always at our door, and at
EIGHTH MEDITATION. 69
i
every moment we can gain new help through
prayer. Well, then, in order that God may not
have to condemn our error on Judgment Day,
when it will be to late to correct it, let us now,
at this very time, " labor the more, that by good
works we may make sure our calling and elec
tion." *
POINT III.— The works he established.—^. Igna
tius "not willing that any should perish, but
that all should return to penance," f instituted a
religious order that should help to oppose idola
try, Judaism, and heresy. That order was also
to restore piety among Catholics, to teach cate
chism, to give retreats and missions, and to pro
mote the frequent reception of the Sacraments.
To the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedi
ence, usual in all religious orders, it adds a fourth,
whereby it binds itself to go on any mission, en
trusted to it by the Holy See, without asking any
pecuniary means for the journey. All these are
works belonging to the Institute of Ignatius.
In conformity with this method of life, he sent
SL Francis Xavier to preach the Gospel in India,
and others for a similar purpose into various
parts of the world. At the same time, he opened
houses of education everywhere for the literary
* II Peter, I, v. 10. t II Peter, 3, v. 9.
70 PIOUS PRACTICES.
and Christian formation of youth. He founded
the German College in Rome, and established
refuges for fallen women, or poor girls in danger,
and orphanages for children of both sexes. In
deed, there was no end to the pious works that
his untiring zeal for souls made him undertake,
and carry on until the day of his death.* Truly,
as Pope Gregory XV. said, Ignatius was a man
very great for saving the elect of God.f He
was a new apostle, as the Rota styled him. He
had a soul larger than the world ; he went
through labors, founded institutions, reaped fruits,
worthy of any apostle.
" God gave commandment to everyone con
cerning his neighbor." J Therefore, everyone
should help his neighbor by the example of good
works, by timely advice, by assiduous prayer to
God. What of those, who, on the contrary, by
their bad lives, wicked example, scandalous
talk, far from gaining souls to Christ, lead them
to perdition? Says our Lord: "Wo, to that man
by whom the scandal cometh." §
PRAYER.
SINCE thou, most holy patriarch, with so much
ardor, with such labors, and by so many insti-
* Roman Breviary. J Eccli. 17, v, 12.
t Eccli. 46, v. 2. § Matthew, 1 8, v. 7.
EIGHTH MEDITATION'. 7 1
tutions, didst seek to save all men, hear, I
beseech thee, the prayers which I suppliantly
address thee, in accordance with the wishes of
thine own heart, Lo ! " I have gone astray, like
a sheep that is lost."* Seek thy wretched little
client, who is covered with the filth of many
sins, constantly harassed by the seductions of the
world, the snares of the devil, and in danger of
eternal damnation. Stretch out thy hands to me
in my poverty, f that I may rise out of the slough
of sin, and enter the path of salvation. Indeed
" I know my sin, and my iniquity is always be
fore me." 1 I am sorry that I so often offended
my God, who is the Sovereign good. Obtain for
me, holy patron, that this sorrow may go on in
creasing until my death, and that through thee.
I may derive mercy from God. " Let thy hand
be with me to save me.'' " Help me and I shall
be saved. || Amen,
MAXIMS.
i. WERE God to cast me into hell without
any fault of mine, my greatest pain would be,
not the tortures of .the place, but to listen to the
blasphemies which are there uttered against God.
* Psalm, 1:8, v. 176. * Psalm, 50, v. 5.
t Eccli. 7, v. 36. U Psalm 118, v. 173, 117*
72 PIOUS PRACTICES.
Learn from St. Ignatius to abhor openly all
offences against God, saying sincerely with him:
"I have hated and abhorred inquity."*
2. In order that talents and other natural gifts
may do good, they must be governed by the in
terior spirit, and draw from it all their force and
efficacy. For we are instruments of the Lord:
" In his hand are both we and our words, and all
wisdom, and the knowledge and skill of works." j"
3. To gain souls to God, a circle of mutual
influence is required; namely, prayer mounting
up to God, and obtaining grace from him; and
patient action, descending to our neighbor. All
the art of gaining souls to God lies in this: "I
have labored in my groanings/' J
EXAMPLE.
As formerly on earth, so now in glory, St.
Ignatius procures heavenly remedies for diseased
souls more readily than for diseased bodies. In
the year 1602, there was, at Gandia, in Spain, a
woman who led an immoral life with a young
man. At last, she began to desire to rise out of
her wretched state, but her bad habits made
fearful opposition to her holy purpose. In her
distress she implored the help of Ignatius.
* Psalm 118, v. 163. t Wisdom, 7, v. 16.
t Psalm 6, v. 7.
EIGHTH MEDITATION. 73.
Scarcely had she hung the Saint's portrait over
her bed, when she felt such disgust for the man>
she had hitherto loved so madly, that she could
not even bear the sight of him. — Bollandists for
July-
PRACTICE.
THROUGH the example of good works, "let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father, who is in
heaven.*"
EJACULATION.
ST. IGNATIUS, let thy hand be with me to save
me; help me, and I shall be saved. f
* Matthew, 5, v. 16. t Psalm 118, v. 173, 117
74 PIOUS PRACTICES,
NINTH MEDITATION.
The heart of St. Ignatius was a pattern of in
terior life towards God; towards himself, and
towards his neighbor.
POINT I. — Towards God. — He who wants to
serve God must be an interior man — that is to
say, he must work far more with the interior
affections of his heart than by external action.
St. Ignatius taught this doctrine, and with sover
eign perfection he directed his heart in accord
ance with it in regard to God, to himself and
his neighbor. And first with respect to God.
For from the date of his conversion, he made
this a law for himself which he never afterwards
transgressed — namely, that thenceforward he
would seek only God and his greater glory.
Wherefore it never entered into his mind to offer
to God, as an expiation for his sins, a single one
of the rigid austerities which he then began to
practice: for he feared lest his own interests should
detract even one tittle from that greater glory.
Every hour indeed he looked into all his actions;
nor was he satisfied with merely avoiding faults
and performing some virtuous deeds during that
time. He also inquired, whether he could not
have served God better; nay, more, when he had
NINTH MEDITATION. 75
several things to do, he always gave the prefer
ence to what he thought would be more glorious
to God. The Rota compresses all this into the
following words: He burned with such love for
God* that he sought for him all day. He thought
of nothing else — desired nothing else — than to
please God, and do his adorable will. He
therefore put himself entirely in God's hands, and
determined to seek him even at the expense of
everything. All his thoughts, all his word sand
works were referred to God as to their end; they
were for God, for His honor and glory alone.
The saying: for the greater glory of God, was a
watchword that was constantly on his lips.
" God created all nations to his own praise, and
name and glory.''* In order, therefore, to cor
respond fully with the end for which he is
made, every one should direct all his actions,
words and thoughts to God and to his greater
glory. Those who do not work for that end,
"their hope is vain, and their labors withou,
fruit, and their works unprofitable." f Therefore,
"whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you
do, do all to the glory of God." \
Point \\.— Towards himself.— " The greatest ob
* Deuteron. 26, v. 19. t Wisdom, 3, v. u.
\\ Cor. 10, v. 31. .
76 PIOUS PRACTICES.
stacle to the rising of our heart to God, is self-
love, "said St. Ignatius, and therefore he reduced
the whole art of spiritual progress to this one
principle: Conquer thyself. Hence, his chief aim
was to restrain the emotions of the soul, and to
overcome every natural repugnance. By nature
he was of a bilious and ardent disposition ; yet
by constant self-resistance he became altogether
another man. Even physicians supposed that
he was of a cold, phlegmatic character, and con
sequently made sad mistakes in their treatment.
This wonderful self-discipline gave him entire
command, as the Rota said, over all the move
ments of his soul and body, and made them
dutiful servants of virtue and of God's greater
glory. But let us learn from the Saint himself
the foundations which he laid in his heart in
order to raise this temple of peace to the greater
glory of God. " It belongs to God," he used to
say, " to dispose of us. Whether he takes any
thing from us or hurts us, or whether he gives
us something and caresses us, he is equally holy
and good. In both cases we should equally love
and praise that goodness and holiness. More
over, as all things are to be loved and feared in
so far as God bids us love or fear them, our*
heart has to direct its loves and fears, according
to this rule, without ever overstepping it, espe-
NINTH MEDITATION. 77
daily as God shows such condescension as to be
honored and glorified by the little services which
we, his lowly creatures, render him." — Would that
we established this law in our hearts : Would
that we were always so disposed and so resigned
towards God, whether he sends us good or evil,
as to seek only his glory, to please him and to
do his will. But if, contrary to his command, we
seek ourselves and satisfy our rebellious desires,
we can never be at peace with him, nor with our
own conscience. "There is no peace to the
wicked, saith the Lord."*
POINT III. — Towards his neighbor. — St. Igna
tius spared no pains to win the good will of men
in order to gain them over to Christ. He began
by studying the dispositions and character of
people with whom he had to deal, and then in
so far as it was allowable, he caught each one
with his own bait, as the saying goes. He
would put up with their harshness and arrog
ance, accomodate himself to their silliness and
folly, bear with and overlook their rudeness and
insulting behavior, and yield to them in all
things as far as virtue would permit. When in
this way he had gained them over to himself, he
set to work upon them, and with slow and cau-
* Isaiah, 48, v. 22.
78 PIOUS PRACTICES.
tious management he gradually brought them to
a sense of duty and the practice of religion.
This holy artifice and the bright example of his
own sanctity reclaimed many from heresy to the
Catholic faith, or from a sinful to a good life, and
induced many also to despise everything earthly
and embrace the salutary counsels of Christ.
But his charity chiefly displayed itself where he
found the fuller image of Christ, namely, among
the poor and his own children, who had given
themselves up to his care and direction. He
was so devoted to the poor and the sick, to or
phans and catechumens, to unfortunate women,
to girls in danger of losing their virtue, and
similar classes of persons, that everyone among
them looked up to him as to a most affectionate
parent. Towards his own children such was his
charity that he considered their temptations and
sufferings his own; and hence, he did everything
to console, direct, encourage and inflame them
with love for God. Nor in doing so did he
content himself with words alone ; he prayed and
fasted for them, and chastised his body in many
ways so as to obtain the necessary graces for
them. Hence, everyone thought himself the
child of his tears and sorrows. In this manner,
unto the greater glory of God, Ignatius was made
all to all, that he might save all.*
* I Cor. 9, v. 22.
NINTH MEDITATION. 79
"This Commandment we have from God,
that he who loveth God, love also his brother."*
"Therefore from love for God charity is patient,
kind, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to
anger, thinketh no evil, beareth all things, "f
It tries to close hell and open heaven to all, in
order that the number of those loving God and
his greater glory should increase forever. Where
fore ' ' to love one's neighbor as one's self is a
greater thing than all holocausts and sacri
fices.!
PRAYER.
IN thy heart, O blessed Ignatius, that was so
upright with God, so severe towards thyself, so
overflowing with love for its neighbor, and always
so intent on the greater service of God, I see, as
in a mirror, the wickedness of my own heart,
and I am covered with shame at the sight.
God created my heart and loaded it with spirit
ual gifts for his own glory ; and I have used
that heart's affections and God's favors to offend
him. While seeking myself and indulging my evil
desires, I am troubled in mind, drawn here and
there ; my conscience loudly upbraids me ; I am
not myself any more. Being, then, almost unable
* John, 4, v. 21. t Corinth. 13, v. 4-7.
$ Mark, 12, v. 33.
80 PIOUS PRACTICES.
to bear myself, how can I sympathise with my
neighbor, or patiently bear his defects. Here,
O holy patron, is a faithful description of my
heart. How different it is from thy heart. I lay
it before thee that thou mayest take pity on it.
Depraved as it is, I offer it to thee that thou
mayest renew a right spirit within it. So, that
like thee, it may seek only God and his glory —
that henceforward I may be at peace with God,
with myself and my neighbor, until through
thee I become a sharer forever in the glory of
God in heaven. Amen.
MAXIMS.
1. FOR him who works with all possible dili
gence a precious crown is laid up in heaven.
This crown is proportioned, not so much to the
good works we do, as to the fervor with which
we do them. God makes more account of our
dispositions than of our deeds. Therefore thou
shalt follow justly after that which is just.*
2. He who has a stubborn and fiery nature
should not lose courage in case he seeks to con
quer that nature. Rather let him be assured
that one victory gained over himself, will be of
greater value before God than many victories
* Dueteron. i6; v. 20.
NINTH MEDITATION. 8 1
over an easy and peaceful nature. God has
given such a man a strong conflict that he may
overcome. *
3. In our dealings with men we ought to imi
tate the angels. Though they dwell on earth for
our protection, still they never cease to love God.
Our conversation should always be in heaven.f
EXAMPLE.
IT was not only while living in this world that
St Ignatius showed the most ardent charity for
his spiritual children. He has done the same
since he went to reign with the blessed in heaven.
There dwelt in Barcelona a widow named Agnes
Pascual, with her son John, a young man of
eighteen. They assisted Ignatius in his need,
and had reaped much spiritual profit from his
direction and intercourse. When he left Bar
celona for Paris, they, out of affection, accom
panied him some miles. As they were about to
part, Ignatius embraced John, and gave him
some advice for the remainder of his life. But
the young man said: "You have done so much
for others that they have embraced a life of per
fection, or have at least made great progress in
virtue. Why do you leave me so unfinished
* Wisdom, 10, v. 12. t Philip., 3, v. 2O.
82 PIOUS PRACTICES.
and imperfect ? What will become of me in
your absence ? If you allow me, I shall follow
you wherever you go." " Take courage," replied
Ignatius, "you will not want occasions for suffer
ing and for working for God. When older
you will marry, and meet with many crosses that
will not allow you to give way to pleasure, or
negloct imploring the Divine assistance. But all
these trials will end in the salvation of your
soul." Events justified the prediction. Some
years after John married, and had a large family.
He was not rich. He lent nearly all the money
he owned; his creditors cheated him, and left
him penniless. At this time Ignatius lived in
Rome, yet he saw everything that happened to
John. He wrote to him to console him, and
make him resign himself fully to God's holy will.
One day John rose before the dawn and went to
church. Ignatius was now dead, and John
prayed to him: "Holy father, who art now in
heaven, thou seest the sorrow and affliction that
have come upon me in accordance with thy
prediction. 1 need patience. I beg thee to
ask it of God for me — and also that according
to thy promise, everything may end well for me,
and that I may save my soul." While John was
praying thus he shed many tears. Suddenly
the entire church was brilliantly lit up. John
NINTH MEDITATION. 83
heard delightful music, and saw a great crowd
of angels and saints in it. Among them was a
man of venerable mien, dressed as a priest about
to celebrate, who having adored the Blessed Sac
rament at St. Eulalia's altar, was incensing it
with sweet smelling incense. Having done this,
as he was about to go away, he approached
John, who was in rapture at the whole vision
and overflowing with joy. Recognizing St. Ig
natius, John threw himself at his feet. The
Saint looked at him smilingly, and said: do you
remember me? I have not forgotten you. Have
courage; everything will turn out well for you,
as I told you. He then gave John his blessing,
and vanished. Immediately John began to ex
claim: O Father! O holy Father Ignatius!
Some priests, who were near, hearing these
words ran to John, and asked him what was
the matter. Weeping and sobbing, John told
them all that had happened. Ever afterwards,
the bare remembrance of the looks, words and
promise of Ignatius on this occasion gave John
the greatest relief and consolation in all his
trials.— Bartoli, Book /., n. 31.
PRACTICE.
FOR the greater glory of God overcome your
self in all things.
84 PIOUS PRACTICES.
EJACULATION.
" NOT to us, O Lord, not to us, but to thy
name give glory. "*
TENTH MEDITATION.
The death of St. Ignatius -was precious— in his
desire for it— in the sentiments attending it— in
the glory that followed it.
POINT I. — His desires. — The more God shed
the light of his countenance upon Ignatius,
whether by -interior illuminations or by visions
in which even our Lord himself treated him with
sovereign affection, the stronger grew his desire
to see God as he is in himself, to be with Christ
and be released from the shackles of the body.
For this reason it was his habit to look up at the
starry firmament, to run over in his mind the
joys of heaven, to express his desires to the king
* Ps. 113, v. i.
TENTH MEDITATION. 85
of glory — to sigh and weep in order to show God
how eager he was, how ardently he longed for
him. He begged God to take compassion on
him and soon dismiss him in peace. Then cast
ing his eyes on earth, he would be filled with
contempt for it and cry out: "How vile the
earth seems to me when I look up at the
heavens ! " When he heard anyone express a
wish to live long, or saw persons taking meane
lest death should overtake them before the end
of this or that work, he would say : " How can
we deceive ourselves with the hope of a long life,
and rob ourselves of the joy of a speedy death,
which God seeks to foster in us by hiding from
us the time at which we shall die." Whenever
he became seriously ill, he would immediately
suppose that he was about to die, and that
thought would throw him into ecstasies, to the
great danger of his health. In those circum
stances physicians used to forbid him to think
on heavenly subjects. Yet in all these burning
desires it was not an end of his labors, or en
trance into eternal joys that he had in view ; for
he was so free from self-seeking that he was often
heard to declare that he could not live if he saw
anything not wholly divine in his heart. Where
fore with the sincerest and purest love he looked
solely to God and his glory : for from his ex-
86 PIOUS PRACTICES.
traordinary insight into the divine goodness, he
knew that he could love and exalt his God with
far greater perfection in heaven than on earth.
We, poor exiles in this vale of tears, if we love
God with our whole heart, should imitate the
holy desires of Ignatius, and often exclaim with
the apostle: " Unhappy man that I am, who shall
deliver me from the body of this death ? " * "I
have a desire to be dissolved and to be with
Christ, j"" Or with David: " Wo is me, that my
sojourning is prolonged. My soul hath been
long a sojourner." J "When shall I come and ap
pear before the face of God ?" § Such desires are
very effective in withdrawing souls from earthly
affections and in imbuing them with heavenly
dispositions. "And every one that hath this hope
in him sanctifieth himself, as he also is holy."||
POINT II. — The dispositions thai accompanied it. —
To fully satisfy the desires of Ignatius, God made
known to him the hour of his death, and that he
would die as he had asked to do, namely, when
no one would expect it, so that visits of condo
lence, and s-o forth, might not prevent him from
using all his time in preparing his soul. He
* Rom. 7, v. 24. \ Ps. 119, v. 5-6.
t Philip, I, v. 23. § Ps. 41, v. 3.
II I. John, 8, v. 3.
TENTH MEDITATION. S/
therefore arranged everything that concerned his
order, and wrote to some friends at a distance to
inform them of his approaching departure. After
that he went into retirement and gave himself up
to contemplation. During this holy exercise a
deadly fever came over him. Yet, though in
wardly he was all on fire, there was nothing
apparent that could indicate an early death. He
seemed, indeed, weak and weary, but these symp
toms, caused no anxiety to those he lived with,
him, or to his physicians. However, Ignatius
knew well that the Lord was coming. He re
ceived holy communion, and secretly sent a
messenger to ask the Holy Father's blessing
and an indulgence. He then spent the last
night of his life in sweet communing with God,
to whom he was hastening with all the energy
of his heart. Relying on what the physicians
had said, the people of the house were without
apprehension, and they ascribed his talking,
sighing and tears; to some of his accustomed
visions. Thus matters went on until up to the
last hour of his life. Then our Lord and his
Virgin Mother, with crowds of angels came to
receive his soul, and take it with them to heaven.
Directly he fixed his eyes on his Redeemer and
the Blessed Virgin, joined his hands, put or^ a look
of wonderful serenity, repeated the holy names of
88 PIOUS PRACTICES.
Jesus and Mary, and fled from earth to rest in
the Lord. " Precious in the sight of the Lord is
the death of his saints." *
Everyone is anxious for the death of the just ;
few, however, prepare themselves for such a
death. Let filial fear and the love of God keep
us now from sin. Let us do now, diligently,
what at the hour of death we shall wish to have
done. Let us now familiarize ourselves with acts
of faith, hope, charity; desire to see God, and
resignation to his holy will ; so that habit may
enable us to elicit them with great fervor when
we are about to die. " We shall reap what we
sow.'5 f
POINT III. — Glory that followed his death. —
" Whosoever shall glorify me, him will I glorify, "J
says the Lord. The glory, then, to which St.
Ignatius is raised in heaven, is measured by the
zeal which he always showed for glorifying God
most perfectly in himself and in all mankind.
We need not wonder, then, at the saying of one
who witnessed the entrance of Ignatius into
heaven, — namely, that he was brighter than the
sun, and no triumph could surpass his. One
of the sons of Ignatius being at the point of
* Ps. 115, v. 15. t Galatians, 6, v. 8.
t I. Kings, 2, v. 30.
TENTH MEDITATION. 89
death, was invited by his blessed father to follow
him to heaven. While the patient was describing
the splendor of his father's entrance into the
house of the Lord, suddenly he was seized with
such joy that he expired, and went to join him.
But to portray more clearly the glory of the
Saint with God, we must relate the vision of St.
Mary Magdalen, of Pazzi. It took place on De
cember 26, 1559, and was given to her in order
that she might see how high St. Ignatius is in
heaven. First, she beheld the glory of St. John,
Apostle and Evangelist. She saw that God
took so much delight in his soul that there
seemed to be no one else in heaven. Next, she
was shown the glory of Ignatius, and she learned
that God was as well pleased with him as with
St. John. Whilst she was looking on and ad
miring the equal glory of the two Saints, God
said to her : " The spirit of John and of Ignatius
was all one. The scope of each of them in all
his actions was love for God and for his neigh
bor. It was with bonds of charity that they
drew souls to God." St. Mary Magdalen, then,
understood from God that his complacency in
the soul of Ignatius was renewed and increased
every time a soul is brought to him through the
direction and spiritual doctrine that the Saint has
left behind him on earth. Hence, in this same
9O PIOUS PRACTICES.
ecstasy the Saint was heard exclaiming : " Of all
who live on earth there is no one whose spirit is
like unto that of Ignatius. For by the exercise
of interior acts he leads souls to salvation and
perfection, and teaches how pleasing such works
are to God. Thence springs a love which ren
ders hard and bitter things sweet and easy, and
makes them be undertaken with the greatest
readiness."* If in heaven Ignatius enjoys the same
glory as the beloved disciple, because both loved
equally on earth, and thereby glorified God in
themselves and in others, do you, also, all your
actions out of a similar spirit for God and for
your neighbor. Glorify God in this way that
now and forever he may be well pleased with
you, and after this exile crown you with honor
and glory for all eternity. " Love is the keeping
of laws, and the keeping of laws is' the firm
foundation of incorruption."")"
PRAYER.
To beg the protection of St. Ignatius at the
hour of death.
How precious, O holy patriarch, was not thy
death in the sight of God. I congratulate thee,
* Revelation of St Mary Magdalen, of Pazzi.
t Wisdom, 6, v. 19.
TENTH MEDITATION. 9 I
and I return the warmest thanks to thee, O holy
Redeemer, and to thy Virgin Mother, who most
lovingly were present with Ignatius when he was
dying. What kind of a death shall I die ? When
I shall be about to die, "the devil will come
down unto me, having great wrath, knowing that
he hath but a short time,"* then truly I shall
be in need of most powerful protection. I im
plore thy aid, holy patron. As- a reward of thy
most ardent zeal for the safety of souls, which
mainly depends on the last moments of life,
God has granted thee special power to protect
thy clients at the moment of death, and allowed
thee often to encourage the dying by thy visible
presence. Therefore, I pray and beseech thee,
not to abandon me at that hour, nor to allow my
soul to go forth from the body burdened with
mortal sin. Grant that now, while I have time,
I may in the spirit of charity, glorify God by all
my works, and thus prepare myself for the final
combat, and merit to enter, after death, into joy
without end. Amen.
MAXIMS.
i. WERE you now about to die, what mode of
life would you wish to have chosen — how would
* Apocal., 12, v. 12.
92 PIOUS PRACTICES.
you like to have done each of your actions ? Act
in that way, and resolve always to do so. In his
Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius lays down this
maxim as a means to repel all the suggestions
of the devil, the world and our own passions :
"O death, thy sentence is good/'*
2. The devil, who is the father of lying, readily
holds out to you a long life so that you may
neglect the present. But if we are certain of the
present, we are entirely in the dark as to the
future. How foolish then to overlook a present
certainty for a future uncertainty. " I know not
how long I shall continue, and whether after a-
while my Maker may take me away."f To stir
ourselves up to do good we should often repeat
the words with energy : Therefore while we have
time let us work good, J and so work it as if we
should die after each action ; that is to say, with
such an intention and fervor that no particle of
its good may be lost to us. " Blessed is that ser
vant whom when his Lord shall come, he shall
find so doing. " §
3. There is another trick of the devil against
which we must guard with no less care. When
that deceiver sees a man serving God faithfully
* Eccli. 41, v. 3. \ Galatians, 6, v. 10.
t Job, 33, v. 22. § Matt. 24, v. 46.
TENTH MEDITATION. 93
in a state of perfection, he tries to turn him away
from perfection, and bring him, little by little,
down to an easier kind of life. For this purpose
he holds up to his mind a form of life quite in
keeping with virtue, yet very different from the
state the man is now in. The devil clothes this kind
of life in colors so glowing and attractive that a
person not on his guard falls into the snare, and
carried away by a semblance of good, gives up
his own excellent state of life to follow that new
one. Again, in order to prevent us from doing
the good we might do, he fills us with a desire
for some greater good, which we shall never be
able to effect. He makes this latter look exceed
ingly pleasant and easy, but meanwhile takes care
to make us abandon altogether the first good we
were doing. Then, changing his tactics, he
strives to keep us from doing that other good
by suddenly connecting with it some unexpected
annoyance, or exaggerating the natural difficulties
that attend upon it. " Your adversary, the devil,
as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he
may devour, whom resist ye, strong in faith." *
EXAMPLE.
THE following wonderful and instructive in
cident happened in the year 1665, at Siclo, in
* I. Pet. 5, v. 8-9.
94 PIOUS PRACTICES.
Sicily, to Father Jerome Zuccaro, a priest of the
Society of Jesus: —
Afflicted with frequent attacks of epilepsy, he
lost the use of his right arm, and had almost
daily hemorrhages. As he grew worse from
day to day, he saw that he would be of little
use in the society, and therefore, as he had not
yet made his solemn profession, he decided
to ask for his dismission from the order. He
tried to write to Rome, to the Father Gen
eral for that purpose — but as soon as he began
to make the effort, his left hand also became stiff
and paralyzed. He dropped his pen, but kept
to his determination of seeking a release from
his vows. Not long after this, Father Zuccaro
was planning a panegyric on St. Ignatius, and
was reading the Saint's life for that object.
Whilst thus engaged, he read of the kindness of
his holy Father towards his wavering sons. Full
of love for the holy Founder, Zuccaro ran to his
altar, and there, bursting into tears, he vowed to
St. Ignatius and to God, that however infirm,
he would remain in the Society rather than en
joy health and riches in the world. A few days
passed on after this vow, and again came another
fit of epilepsy that brought the poor man to
death's door. He then began to invoke St. Igna
tius. Suddenly he beholds him before him, shin-
TENTH MEDITATION. 95
ing brightly, dressed in priestly robes, holding in
his left hand a vase of some kind of liquid, with
a twig in it, and looking very severe. With a
trembling voice Zuccaro said to him: "Best of
fathers ! I am your son. If you reject me, to
whom can I go for help in my present danger? "
The Saint answered: "I do not acknowledge as a
son anyone who does not honor his father.
Jerome, on account of a slight suffering you made
little of the incomparable gift of vocation to a
religious life." "It is so," replied Jerome; "I
confess it. But you know what I have suffered.
You know that I repented; you are aware of the
vow by which I lately bound myself?" Then with
a sweet countenance, Ignatius said: "Take cour
age; I shall see whether you are really my son,
or no. Do you remember the formula of your
vows ? " Zuccaro repeated that formula, the
Saint suggesting eveiy word. "Now," said Igna
tius, " I acknowledge you as my son. You are
near the end of your life — you will die before
sundown." " And will you allow your son to die
without the Sacraments of the Church ? " " Not
at all. Though, by receiving viaticum and Ex
treme Unction, you would have gained much
grace and lessened your purgatory, still the gen
eral confession, which you lately made, is suffi
cient to save you. However I give you your
96 PIOUS PRACTICES.
choice. If you wish to die now, your salvation
is sure. But if you choose to prolong your life,
you must spend it in promoting the glory of
God and the salvation of souls/' The sufferer
left the choice to Ignatius himself. "Choose
for me " said he, "what you know will be for God's
greater glory. " ' ' Very well, then," answered the
Saint. "You will live some time longer; God so
wills. You will recover your health, too; but
remember to use that health as becomes a son
of mine." He, then, lightly struck with the twig,
the head, hands, and feet of the patient, and
making the sign of the cross, anointed them with
the liquid from the vase, repeating as he did so,
the words: " I will strike, and I will heal." * Next
he bade him to offer up three masses, in
thanksgiving; one to the Holy Trinity, another
in honor of the Blessed Virgin, and the third
in his own honor. "For the three acts of virtue
which you have exercised in your illness," con
tinued the Saint, "God has granted you three
graces, namely, life and health — freedom until
the hour of your death from temptations against
Chastity; but they will return, and when they
do, they will be a sign that you are about to
die. Finally God gives you the assurance that
* Deuteronomy, 32, v. 39.
TENTH MEDITATION. 97
you are predestined to eternal glory." Ignatius
then held out his hand to be kissed, and giving
the patient his blessing, said: "May the Lord
bless you, and protect you from all evil, and
lead you to everlasting life." The bystanders
saw the lips of Father Zuccaro moving, but
could not hear what he said. Suddenly he rose
from his bed saying: "St. Ignatius has cured me."
Before sunset, at which time he should have died,
guns were fired, bells rang out, and there was
immense festivity in the town in token of public
thanks to God and to St. Ignatius. — Bollandists
for July.
PRACTICE.
APPROACH the Sacraments of penance and the
Holy Eucharist, as if you were to die immedi
ately after their reception.
EJACULATION.
ST. IGNATIUS ! shield me from the enemy of
my soul, and receive me at the hour of my
death.
ASPIRATIONS
TO
ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA,
Fminder of the Society of Jesus.
BLESSED IGNATIUS, man of God, to whom,
whilst thou wast praying, Jesus appeared, carry
ing his cross, and said : I will favor thee in Rome
— intercede for me with that same Jesus, and beg
of him to take pity on me in life, in death, and
in eternity.
Holy Ignatius, who in writing thy rules and
Exercises, as well as at other times, wast taught by
the Blessed Virgin, from whom thou didst learn
the practice of the particular examen, which thou
didst teach to others, and keep up thyself until
thy death, pray that I may become a good ser
vant and a docile disciple for the Blessed Virgin
and for thee.
Holy Ignatius, among the wonderful graces
ASPIRATIONS TO ST. IGNATIUS. Q9
which thou didst obtain from the Holy Ghost,
was a great share in the cross of Christ — so that
arduous and most mortifying difficulties, hostility
in every form, and open persecution were thy
inseparable companions during all thy life ; ob
tain for me the grace to live on the cross, and
daily to grow in conformity to Christ.
Holy Ignatius, who didst give thyself entirely
to God to be used as an instrument of his glory —
? obtain for me, that I may always rejoice at being,
5 until death, an instrument to serve him.
Holy Ignatius, who wast seen entering heaven
H- at the very hour at which thou didst expire in
Rome; obtain for me the happiness of entering
that blessed kingdom with many titles to glory.
Holy Ignatius, who didst see thy Society
covered with the mantle of the ever Blessed Vir
gin, obtain for me to be received under that
same mantle, and to hide there forever.
Holy Ignatius, whose Society was seen by
St. Teresa gloriously triumphing in heaven; ob
tain for me the happiness to behold and enjoy
that same triumph.
Holy Ignatius, whose sons— St. Francis Xavier,
the apostle of the Indies ; Sts. Paul, John and
IOO PIOUS PRACTICES.
James, the first fruits of martyrdom in Japan ;
St. Francis Borgia, that admirable pattern of
mortification and piety; St. Francis of Hieronymo,
and St. Francis Regis, men of such ardent and
invincible zeal for the saving of souls ; Saints
Aloysius Gonzaga and Stanislas Kostka, such
wonderful examples of innocence and penance;
and also the Blessed Alphonsus Rodriguez, so
deep in humility, the Blessed Peter Canisius, the
mallet of heretics ; the Blessed John Berchmans,
so perfect a reproduction of Aloysius and Stanislas;
together with so many others, — were eminent for
sanctity and miracles — obtain for me, that helped
by their example, I may be their not unworthy
companion.
Holy Ignatius, through whom so many mag
nificent churches have risen to God in various
parts of the world; obtain for me, who am the
temple of the Holy Ghost, that I may promote
the honor of God.
Holy Ignatius, who wast seen scourging the
devil with a fiery scourge, when, by the lips of a
possessed person, he blasphemed Christ, obtain
lor me grace to overcome his power as thou
didst.
ASPIRATIONS TO ST. IGNATIUS. IQI
Holy Ignatius, who didst so often appear in
glory to thy clients, who didst defend, heal and
instruct them; refuse me not the help which I
need at present.
Holy Ignatius, whose Exercises have been
so honored by saints, so highly approved by the
Holy See, and have produced so much fruit
throughout the world; may that fountain of
heavenly teaching never be closed to me.
Holy Ignatius, who wast healed by St. Peter
appearing visibly to thee— who wast frequently
visited by Jesus and Mary; whom St. Philip
Neri saw shining with light, while still on
earth; who didst behold the Infant Jesus under
the Eucharistic Species; who didst spend eight
days in ecstasy; who, while praying, was often
raised from the ground, and didst hang shining
in the air, and wast then heard saying: " O God !
if men knew thee ! . O God ! the love of my
heart;" obtain for me that similar zeal for God's
glory, and a like heavenly fire may always glow
in my heart, and never be quenched by earthly
affections.
Holy Ignatius, who, while teaching others,
didst often say with sobs, "In Christ alone, and in
IO2 PIOUS PRACTICES.
his cross is found true joy ; " and at another time
didst say to St. Francis Xavier : "What will it
benefit a man to gain the whole world, and in
jure his soul ?" — And again : " Conquer, conquer
thyself" — impress these lessons so deeply on my
mind, that I may derive from them fruits worthy
of a disciple of thine.
Holy Ignatius, whom those that did not know
thy name, used to call "the Father who often
looks up to heaven, and speaks of God ; " draw
away my mind from earthly thoughts, and fix it
upon those of heaven.
Holy Ignatius, to whom the Holy Ghost ap
peared under the form of fire ; to whom were
divinely made known the treasures hidden under
the word God, as well as with what love and
reverence that name should be used ; beg of
God not to refuse to shed upon me also the
light of his countenance.
Holy Ignatius, who didst praise a Sodality
established under the name of Divine Love, and
promise it thy assistance ; make my heart the
place of assembly, as it were, of all the hearts
that burn with love for God.
ASPIRATIONS TO ST. IGNATIUS. 1 03
% Holy Ignatius, who art wont to bestow on
thy clients wonderful power over the devil,
great success in softening obdurate hearts, ar
dent love for God, admirable tenderness towards
the young, the sick, the scrupulous, the dying
and the tempted; help me always, but chiefly at
the hour of my death. Obtain for me grace to
overcome myself in all things, to spend every
moment of my life in such a manner that the
last one, that is, the moment of my death, and
all my eternity, which will then begin, may be
for the honor of my great and glorious God.
Holy Ignatius, father of my soul, and worthy
of all veneration from me, I beg of thee, on my
knees before thee, as if I saw thee, not to cease
praying to God for me, that he may grant me
grace always to know his divine will wiih cer
tainty, and to do it with all perfection. Amen.*
* Letters of St. Francis Xavier to St. Ignatius, Book
II., Letter 9.
INVOCATIONS OF ST. IGNATIUS,
UNDER
TITLES GIVEN TO HIM BY EMINENT PERSONS.
1. ST. IGNATIUS, Founder of the Society of
Jesus. — Urban VII 7, and other Pontiffs.
2. Thou, who didst receive wonderful instruc
tion from the Blessed Virgin, in writing the Exer
cises and Constitutions. — Authors of his Life.
3. A man whose dignity has never been suffi
ciently praised. — Paramo.
4- The father of all masters of the spiritual
life. — Ascanio Ordei.
5. A new mirror of holiness and prudence.—
Lewis of Granada.
6. The chief of new Apostles.--4/zw0 Piranno.
INVOCATIONS OF ST. IGNATIUS. 105
7. Untiring opponent of heresy. — Paramo.
8. A great general opposed to Luther. —
Paramo.
9. A vessel of election for the conversion of
the world. — John Chanones.
10. A great pillar and light of the Church. —
Cardinal Pahotti.
11. Protector of the Apostolic Roman See. —
Council of Tarragona.
12. Successor of Paul the Apostle. — John
Chanones.
13. Second Captain, after the Apostles, of the
bark of the Church. — Alvaro Piranno.
14. Apostolic giant in holiness. — St. Francis
X.ivier and John of Avila.
15. Master and leader in the faith — real mar
tyr in a quiet life. — Barnabites.
1 6. Seventh angel of the Apocalypse veiled in
106 PIOUS PRACTICES.
the cloud of heavenly protection. — Council of
Tarragona.
17. Equal to the holiest patriarchs of past
ages. — Cardinal Ludovisio.
1 8. In penance, another John Baptist — in
obedience, Abraham. — The same.
1 9 . Temple of Peace. — Blessed John Texeda.
20. Reviver of the world. — Spanish Martyr-
ology.
21. Sun that scatters all the clouds of error. —
Council of Tarragona.
2 2. Bulwark of the Christian world. — Cardinal
Ludovisio.
23. Prop of learning and piety throughout the
world. — Council of Tarragona.
24. General treasure of the world. — Cardinal
Ludovisio.
25. Volcano of divine love. — Lewis of Valencia.
INVOCATIONS OF ST. IGNATIUS. 107
26. Man full of the Holy Ghost and of heav
enly wisdom. — Paul III. — Augustine Manna.
27. Whom hell proclaimed its worst enemy.—
John Vega.
28. Third prop of the world after St. Dominic
and St. Francis. — Dominic Gravena, 0. P.
29. Who still produces abundant fruit all over
the world by his Exercises. — Paul HI.
30. Who was great in name — greater in saving
souls — who had a soul bigger than the world. —
Gregory XIII.
31. Who taught St. Philip Neri the art of
prayer. — St. Philip Nrri.
32. Whom the mother of God pointed out to
St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, as a master in
humility. — Si. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi.
33. Who always spoke of God's glory, and
always sought it.— Breviary.
io8
PIOUS PRACTICES.
34. Whose great praise it is to have for thy
son, Xavier, the father of a new world. — Breviary.
35. Whose glory it is to have been seen in
heaven as the equal of St. John Evangelist. —
St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi.
Holy Ignatius, honorable under many other
titles, pray for us.
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