Divine Intimacy: Meditations on the Interior Life for Everyday of the Year

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161. GOD’S PILGRIMS
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER

PRESENCE OF GOD - Grant, O Lord, that the things of earth may not take hold of my heart and impede it from aspiring to heaven.


MEDITATION

1. Today the liturgy begins to direct our thoughts toward the coming Ascension of Jesus: “A little while, and now you shall not see Me...because I go to the Father.” The Gospel (Jn 16,16-22) which relates this passage is taken from the discourse that Our Lord made to the Apostles at the Last Supper. His purpose was to prepare them for His departure, before He went to His Passion; but the Church presents to us this farewell speech of Jesus today, before His Ascension. Having accomplished His mission, Jesus must return to the Father who sent Him. One day we shall have to do the same; earth is not our lasting dwelling, but the place of our pilgrimage. Jesus has said so: “A little while, and now you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me....” These words which were enigmatic for the Apostles, who did not understand them, are now clear to us: “a little while ”—that is our short lifetime, and very soon we too must leave the earth and follow Jesus to heaven where we shall see Him in His glory. Then, as our Lord said, “your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you.” However, before reaching this happy state, we have to endure the difficulties, struggles, and sufferings of life on earth. Although it is “ short ” compared with the “eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor 4,18) which awaits us, the Lord knows that for us, overcome as we are by the trials of life on earth, it is “much” and painful. He warns us, therefore, so that we shall not be scandalized: “—You shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice....” The world rejoices and wants to rejoice at any cost, because it is immersed in the pleasures of this life, with no thought of what awaits it beyond. If it cannot escape the inevitable sufferings of life, it tries to stifle its sorrow in pleasure, by contriving to extract from every fleeting moment all the enjoyment possible. A Christian does not do this; he imposes on himself a life of sacrifice and renunciation, in view of heavenly happiness: “You shall be made sorrowful,” said Jesus, “but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.”


2. The Epistle (1 Pt 2,11-19) likewise exhorts us to live on earth with our eyes turned toward heaven. “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul.” The pilgrim cannot delay to enjoy the pleasures and joys which he meets on the road, or he will endanger the success of his journey and may even run the risk of not reaching the end. So the Christian, God’s pilgrim, cannot allow himself to be detained by the things of earth; he can use them and even enjoy them, if Providence puts them in his way, but only with a detached heart which immediately leaves them behind. Nothing can delay him, for he is in a hurry to reach the goal. The life of a Christian is like that of a traveler in a foreign land, who never delays because he is anxious to get back to his own country. The Secret of the Mass very aptly puts on his lips the following prayer: “May these mysteries, O Lord, quench the ardor of our earthly desires, and teach us to love only the things of heaven!” We need this prayer very much, for present satisfactions and goods, with their tangible, concrete character, may always make an impression on our senses and heart, even to the point of detaining us in our progress toward heaven, and of making us forget the emptiness of all earthly things. Another characteristic of the pilgrim is that he is never satisfied until he reaches his native land; this unrest throws a veil of sadness over his life. Thus, the Christian, God’s pilgrim, can never be wholly content until he reaches heaven and possesses God. Today, sighing, he runs toward Him; he quickens his step, sustained by the hope of meeting Him “face to face” some day. His hope, however, is accompanied by a feeling of sadness, because he hopes for what he does not yet possess. His is the holy sadness of those who are seeking God. Let us thank God if He has made us experience this; it is a good sign; it is a sign that our heart has been captivated by His love, and that earthly things can no longer satisfy it. Once again the words of Jesus comfort us: “Your sadness shall be changed into joy.”


COLLOQUY

“O my Delight, Lord of all creatures and my God! How long must I languish for Your presence? O tedious, O painful, O dying life! What lonely, hopeless solitude! When then, O Lord, when, when.... What shall I do, my sovereign Good. What shall I do? Must I desire not to desire You? Ah! my God and Creator, You wound and do not heal; You strike but leave no wound; You kill to give more life! In a word, O my Lord, You do what You wish, because You are almighty! Let it be so, my God, because it is Your will; I have no other will than to love You.

“O Lord, my Creator, my anguish draws this complaint from me, making me speak of that for which there is no remedy until You provide one. My soul is in a narrow prison: it longs for liberty, yet would not move one slightest degree from Your will. O my Glory, either increase my pain or cure it altogether.

“O death, in you is life, and I know not why men dread you! Yet who that has not always loved God would not fear you? Since I am such a one, what do I desire and ask? Will death be the punishment which my faults have deserved? Do not permit it, O my Sovereign Good, for it cost You much to redeem me!

“O my soul, submit to the will of your God; it is best for you. Serve Him and trust in His mercy; when by penance you have won some little claim to pardon for your sins, He will ease your pain. Do not try to rejoice until you have suffered. But, O my true King and Lord, I am incapable even of this, unless You sustain me by Your power and majesty. With Your help, I can do all things” (T.J. Exc, 6).

162. PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Lord, grant that I may always live in Your presence with my interior gaze fixed on You.


MEDITATION

1. The life of continual prayer becomes easier as the soul succeeds in preserving within itself, throughout the day, the awareness of the presence of God. We already know that God is always present within us, that we live, move, and have our being in Him; but while we try during the time of prayer to become more and more aware of this great truth, our consciousness of it gradually fades away in the course of our daily occupations, and we are often surprised to find ourselves acting as if God were no longer present within us.

The practice of the presence of God really consists in making strong efforts to keep God always present in our mind and heart, even when we are engaged in our daily tasks. We can do this in various ways: we can use external objects, such as an image or a crucifix which we wear or put on our worktable, the sight of which will often remind us of God; we also can use our imagination to picture “interiorly” the Lord near us. For, if the humanity of Jesus is not physically present, it is nevertheless always exercising an influence over us—even a physical one—in the communication of grace; hence we can truly “represent to ourselves” this action of Jesus within us. We can also keep a very vivid remembrance of God by using some truth of faith. For example, I can cultivate the thought of the continual presence of the Trinity within me, and try to perform all my actions in honor of my divine Guests; or else I can consider my duties as so many manifestations of the will of God, and so unite myself to this divine will as I perform them. Further, I can make it a practice to view all the circumstances of my life in the light of faith, and therefore, arranged by divine Providence for my good. This will incline me to accept them and to repeat continually to my heavenly Father: “I am content with everything You do.”


2. The practice of the presence of God, especially recommended by St. Teresa of Jesus to souls aspiring to divine intimacy, aims at keeping the soul in close contact with God, present within it. “We must retire within ourselves even during our ordinary occupations,” says the Saint. “ If I can recall the companionship I have within me for so much as a moment, that is of great utility ” (Way, 29).

One might object that this method is more suitable for those who live in solitude than for those who are in constant contact with others; yet St. Teresa applies it, simply and practically, to the latter : “If one is speaking, he must try to remember that there is One within him to whom he can speak; if he is listening, let him remember that he can listen to One who is nearer to him than anyone else. Finally, let him realize that, if he likes, he need never withdraw from this good companionship, and let him grieve when he has left his Father alone for so long, though his need of Him is so sore” (ibid., 29).

Anyone who works, either mentally or manually, can adopt this method in all his relations with his neighbor. Nothing can hinder him from using it even inversely, that is, by applying it to the presence of God in the souls of others. If, unfortunately, God is not present at all times in all men by grace, He is present in essence, as the creator and conserver of their being.

Thus a teacher can always consider God present in his pupils; a doctor or a nurse, in their patients; a merchant or a dressmaker, in their customers, and so on. This thought will inspire in us sentiments of kindness, charity, and respect for all those with whom we come in contact; it will lead us to be interested in them and to serve them, neither for an advantage which we may reap by so doing, nor solely from a sentiment of duty, but as homage to God whom we recognize as present in them. It means, in short, to seek, serve, and
love God present in our brethren. This practice, together with the one suggested by St. Teresa, will be very effective in maintaining our contact with God, whether we think of Him as present in our own soul, or in that of our neighbor. “If you become accustomed to having Him at your side,” says St. Teresa, “and if He sees that you love to have Him there and are always trying to please Him, you will never be able, as we put it, to send Him away ” (Way, 26).


COLLOQUY

“Lord, may my motto be : Thou in me and I in Thee! How beautiful is Your presence within me, in the inmost sanctuary of my soul. May my continual occupation be to retire into myself, that I may lose myself in You, and live with You. I feel You so vividly in my soul, that I have only to become recollected to find You there within me, and in that I find all my happiness.

“O Lord, let me live with You as with a friend! Help me to live in the awareness of faith always, in order that I may be united to You no matter what happens. I bear heaven in my soul, since You, who satiate the blessed in the Beatific Vision, give Yourself to me in faith and mystery.

“Grant, O my God, that my soul may be a little heaven wherein You can rest with delight. In order that I may attain this end, help me to remove everything that might offend Your divine eyes, and then permit me to live always with You in this little heaven. Wherever I am or whatever I do, You never leave me alone; grant that I, too, may always remain with You. At every hour of the day and night, in joy or sorrow, in every work and action, may I always know how to find You within me!

“O my God, Blessed Trinity, be my dwelling, my rest, my Father’s house which I shall never leave. Let me abide in You, not for a few fleeting minutes or hours, but permanently, habitually. May I pray in You, adore in You, love in You, suffer in You, work and act in You alone. Let me remain in You to offer myself to others through You, to attend to all my duties, while always penetrating further into Your divine depths. O Lord, grant that every day I may advance along the path of the abyss that leads me to You, that lets me slide down this slope with a confidence full of love” (cf. E.T. L - I, 1).

163. THE SPIRIT OF FAITH

PRESENCE OF GOD - Give me, O Lord, that spirit of faith which will keep me in contact with You in every occupation and circumstance of my day.


MEDITATION

1. There are two chief obstacles which hinder us from keeping in contact with God while we are at our daily tasks. First, there is the almost entirely worldly, material point of view with which we frequently consider persons and events; second, there is the opacity of creatures, and the painful, disconcerting, and sometimes evil aspect of many occurrences. As long as we are at Our Lord’s feet in prayer, it is easy for us to believe that we can see Him in every creature, in every situation; but when we are face to face with certain persons,
or difficulties, this idea vanishes and we founder in human reasonings which make us lose sight of God and His activities in the world. The remedy for this is to cultivate a deep spirit of faith.

Faith is not limited to knowing God in Himself as the Trinity; it makes us see Him also in all creatures, in all circumstances of our life, since He is always present every-where by His providential action. God knows creatures as they exist in relation to Himself; and faith, showing creatures to us as dependent upon God, makes us, in this way, see and judge them somewhat as God Himself sees and judges them. Faith teaches us that nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in the world which is not subject to divine control. It is true
that God cannot will evil; and therefore He does not will sin or its consequences, such as injustice, litigation, war; but He does permit them, simply to safeguard the liberty of His creatures. However, He sometimes intervenes in situations, even in those caused by sin, so as to make everything enter into His divine plan, which is ordained for His own glory and for the salvation and sanctification of souls. My spirit of faith must be so real that it will convince me that no circumstance, either in my private life or in my relations with others, escapes God’s jurisdiction, which is so wise that it can draw good even out of evil. Consequently, I can see nothing apart from God; I can find Him in any person, in any situation.


2. A soul of faith meets God not only in prayer, but seeing Him in all things, in all things it finds Him; thus, it can keep itself in contact with Him, even in the midst of occupations. The spirit of faith makes it penetrate the opaqueness of creatures and occurrences so that it always finds God. Secondary causes become transparent to it, enabling it to discover at once the First Cause, God, who is present and operating everywhere. To be able to recognize and meet God in every creature, even in the ones that hurt us, offend us, or make us suffer, and in every happening, even the most disagreeable, painful, and disturbing ones—this is a great secret of the interior life. Then the world becomes an open book, on every page of which is written in large letters the one word: God. Before God, His will, His permission, His plans, everything else becomes secondary; we see how stupid it is to fix our gaze on creatures, which are, as it were, only a veil which hides the Creator. However, we need assiduous practice before we can reach such deep faith.

In my contacts with my neighbor—and how many people I do meet in the course of a day!—I can form the habit of greeting Our Lord, present in every creature. In the duties of my state in life and in the orders of my superiors, I can see the expression of God’s will in all circumstances— great, small, or even minute—which cause me boredom, uneasiness, suffering, increase of labor, or change of plans. I must learn to see them as the many means which God is using to make me practice virtue—patience, generosity, charity. My hours of prayer must serve to show me all the details of my life in this supernatural light, so that I may aways be able to find Our Lord in them.


COLLOQUY

“O my God, Your divine presence is everywhere; it sustains, surpasses, rules, and penetrates all things; it is the coefficient for all, and arranges all, so that it governs everything with infinite love and power. Before Your divine presence, all the rest is as nothing; for it is so great and powerful that, in reality, it absorbs everything else and makes it disappear.

“O Lord, grant that I may finally succeed in rising from creatures to You, without losing myself in vain reflections and idle thoughts about creatures; grant that I may do this with simplicity and in a spirit of faith, a living and unshakable faith. You penetrate everywhere with Your goodness, Your infinite personal love, and Your omnipotence. This truth simplifies everything; in it all becomes essentially and substantially one; this truth surpasses, penetrates, and absorbs all the rest, all that is created. O my God, You are in everything! What a treasure! Grant that I may live in this truth as in my center and my place of rest, where nothing can affect me or distract me from You, if I remain well hidden there” (cf. Blessed M. Thérése Soubiran).

Give me, O Lord, such a clear, penetrating glance of faith, that beyond all human creatures and circumstances, I may always see Your hand guiding and directing everything, and continually inviting me to follow You and remain with You. Grant that I may see You more than creatures, You, the Creator, present and operating in everything; teach me to recognize You in each one of my neighbors, and to find You in every event of my life. Do not permit creatures to occupy my mind or my heart; but while my duties oblige me to occupy myself with them, may I tend more toward You than toward them and live more with You than with them.

O Lord, You are the first and great reality, the one, absolute reality in which everything lives and moves! Grant that no human contingencies, which derive their existence from You, may set themselves before my eyes in such a way as to prevent me from seeing You, finding You, and uniting myself to You through everything.

164. LITURGICAL PRAYER

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus, Head of the Mystical Body, grant that while praying with the Church, I may unite myself to Your prayer.


MEDITATION

1. A Christian is not isolated. As man, he belongs to the great human family; as one baptized, he is grafted onto Christ and becomes a member of His Mystical Body, the Church. A Christian is, at the same time, a child of God and a child of the Church; it is precisely in the bosom of the Church that he becomes a child of God. Hence his whole spiritual life, even though it has a personal character which tends toward intimate contact with God, ought also to have a social, liturgical character, which shares in the life of the Church. In other words, the spiritual life of a Christian should be framed in that of the Church, his Mother; it should be associated to all that the Church does in union with Christ her Head to extend His sanctifying action in the world.

Just as our spiritual life is born, grows, and develops in the bosom of the Church, so our prayer, which is the highest expression of the spiritual life, should be inserted in the prayer of the Church, that is, in liturgical prayer. Liturgical prayer has a special excellence because it is not the prayer, however sublime and elevated, of individual souls, but is the prayer that the whole Church addresses to God, in union with Jesus, her Spouse and her Head. It is something like a prolongation of Jesus’ prayer; indeed, it is a participation in those supplications which He Himself always offers to the Father. In the glory of heaven and in humble effacement on our altars, He praises Him in the name of all creatures and intercedes with Him for the needs of each one in particular. “The sacred liturgy is the public worship given to the Father by our Redeemer as Head of the Church; and it is the worship which the society of the faithful render to their Head and through Him, to the eternal Father” (Encyclical: Mediator Dei). Whenever we feel the poverty of our own prayer, let us offer to God the great prayer of Jesus and the Church, associating ourselves spiritually.


2. Because liturgical prayer is the public prayer of the Church, it necessarily gives a large place to acts of exterior worship, such as ceremonies, chants, collective prayers, all of which must be performed with great care. However, this would be insufficient unless accompanied by interior worship. “The sacred Liturgy requires that these two elements— exterior and interior worship—be closely united” (ibid.). Therefore, it is not enough to assist at sacred rites, to take part in ceremonies and collective prayers; this must all be vivified by personal interior prayer which raises the heart to God with the desire of knowing and of conversing with Him. 

Each soul in its own spiritual life is free to give a larger place to liturgical prayer or to private prayer, according to its own devotion ; but these two kinds of prayer must never be opposed to one another. Rather, they must be united in such a way that the one penetrates and sustains the other. As liturgical prayer should be vivified by personal prayer, so personal prayer should be incorporated into liturgical prayer and nourished by it. In fact, as true children of the Church, we should try to sustain our personal prayer by the liturgy.

Following the liturgical prayers—at least on feast days—by means of the texts in the Missal and Vesperal, we can attune our prayer life to the great mysteries of the life of Christ. The Church presents them to us at the various liturgical seasons, when she invites us not only to consider these mysteries, but also to associate ourselves with them. Thus, during Advent, our prayer will be centered on the mystery of the Incarnation; in Lent, it will be focused on the mysteries of the Passion and death of Jesus, and so on.

In this way, the liturgy becomes the central artery of our life of prayer and provides it with very substantial food. Our personal prayer, then, is submerged in liturgical prayer and vice-versa, since after we have contemplated in private prayer the mysteries presented to us by the liturgy, we return to liturgical prayer, better enabled to understand and relish it.


COLLOQUY

“O my God, how discouraged should I be by reason of my weakness and nothingness, if to praise, reverence, and glorify You, I did not have Jesus Christ, my only Good, who does this so perfectly! To Him I entrust my weakness, and I rejoice that He is all and I am nothing.... Yes, O Jesus, in You I possess everything; You are my Head and I am really one of Your members. You pray, adore, humble Yourself, and give thanks in me and for me, and I do the same in You, for the member is all one with the Head. Your holy, magnanimous life absorbs mine, which is so vile and mean” (cf. Bl. M. Thérése Soubiran).

O Jesus, seated at the right hand of the Father, and interceding continually for us, deign to absorb into Your great prayer my very poor one.

“O Jesus, grant that I may adore the Father ‘in spirit and in truth,’ and in order that I may do so, permit me to adore Him by You and in union with You; for You are the great Adorer in spirit and in truth” (cf. E.T. I, 9). You alone are the real adorer, whose prayer and adoration are perfectly worthy of the infinite Majesty. You alone are the perfect praise of the Most Holy Trinity; You wish to associate with this praise the Church, Your Spouse and my Mother. You wish to associate me with it also, Your member and a child of the Church. Grant that by participating in the prayer of the Church, I may likewise participate in Your prayer. Do not look upon the poverty of my personal prayer, but see it united with the sublime, unceasing prayer of Your Spouse; see it joined to the perpetual chorus of praise and petition which Your priests, the souls consecrated to You, and all Your elect, are continually sending up to Your throne. Grant that my voice may not be discordant in this magnificent chorus. Help me then to pray with a real spirit of piety and with an attentive, devout soul, so that my heart will always accompany the movement of my lips, and my interior sentiments vivify every action, every chant, and every word.

165. HOLY MASS

PRESENCE OF GOD - Give me, O Lord, a better understanding of the value and meaning of Your Eucharistic Sacrifice.


MEDITATION

1. The heart of liturgical worship is the Mass. Just as the redemptive work of Jesus reached its culminating point on Calvary by His death on the Cross, so too, the liturgical action, which continues His work in the world, has its climax in the Mass, which renews and perpetuates on our altars the Sacrifice of the Cross. Jesus has willed that the precious fruits of redemption, which He merited on Calvary for the whole human race, be applied and transmitted to each of the faithful in a particular way by their participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. This fountain of grace which Jesus opened on Calvary continues to pour over our altars; all the faithful are obliged to approach it at least once a week by attending Sunday Mass, but we may approach it even daily, each time we are present at the Holy Sacrifice. Holy Mass is truly the “fountain of life.” By offering and immolating Himself continually on our altars, Jesus repeats to us, “If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink” (Jn 7,37).

“The august Sacrifice of the Altar,” says the Encyclical Mediator Dei, “is not merely a commemoration of the Passion and death of Christ, but is a true and proper sacrifice, in which, by immolating Himself in an unbloody manner, the Great High Priest renews His previous act on the Cross.” The Victim is the same, so is the Priest; nothing but the manner of offering is different—bloody on the Cross, unbloody on the altar. If we do not see in the Mass, as Mary did on Calvary, the torn Body of Christ and the Blood flowing from His wounds, we do have, by virtue of the Consecration, the real presence of this Body and Blood. Moreover, as this divine presence becomes actualized under two distinct species, the bloody death on Calvary is mystically renewed by the real separation of the Body and Blood of the Savior.


2. The best way of assisting at Holy Mass is the one which makes us participate most in the sublime action taking place on the altar. The liturgical method is especially recommended; by having us recite the same prayers as the priest, it makes us follow more closely the various parts of the Holy Sacrifice. However, instead of being preoccupied with the exact rendering of the words, which is obligatory only for the priest, we should penetrate the meaning of the different prayers, especially those said at the principal parts of the Mass, such as the Offertory, Consecration, and Communion. Although the liturgical method is very good, it is not the only one; the Encyclical Mediator Dei expressly says, “The needs and dispositions are not the same in all souls, and they do not continue to remain the same in each one.” It is not uncommon, for example, that, after following the liturgical method for a long time with fruit, a particular soul might feel the need of closing the Missal in order to taste a little more profoundly the very substance of the Mass and to “penetrate” it further. This is not going backward but forward. Instead of focusing the attention in a special way on the various ceremonies and prayers, the soul feels the need of “getting into intimate contact with the High Priest” (ibid.), in order to unite itself interiorly with His action, His offering, and His immolation. By doing this, she follows the Mass in a manner which is more contemplative than liturgical; we have the simple “ loving attention” which is the characteristic of contemplative prayer. Without necessarily following the development of the Sacred Rite in all its various parts, the soul fixes the mind and heart upon the Mass drama with a general glance, made keen by love.

Thus we advance in an ever clearer understanding of the Holy Sacrifice, and acquires a more profound “sense” of it, which in turn awakens in us a more efficacious desire of uniting ourselves with the Sacrifice. However, it will be well to return to the Missal from time to time, especially to follow the liturgy on Sundays and feasts; each time our soul does this we will find new light, and a new sense, which will help us to penetrate the very substance of the Holy Sacrifice.


COLLOQUY

“O eternal Father, permit me to offer You the heart of Jesus, Your beloved Son, as He offers Himself to You in the Holy Sacrifice of the altar. Accept, I beg You, this offering which I make You; accept all the desires, sentiments, affections, movements, and acts of His most sacred heart; they are all mine, because He sacrifices Himself for me, and I protest that I do not wish to have in the future any desires other than His. Accept them in satisfaction for my sins and in thanksgiving for all Your benefits; accept them, and grant me by Your merits all the graces necessary for me, especially the grace of final perseverance. Accept them as so many acts of love, adoration, and praise which I offer to Your divine Majesty, for they alone can worthily honor and glorify You.

“O my God, I offer You Your beloved Son, in thanksgiving for all Your goodness to me. I offer Him as my adoration, my petition, my oblation, my resolutions; I offer Him as my love and my all. Accept Him, O eternal Father, for all that You wish from me, for I have nothing worthy of You to offer, except Him whom You have given me with so much love ” (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque).

“What shall I render unto the Lord for all that He has rendered unto me? I will take the chalice of salvation.’ Yes, O my God, if I take this Chalice, crimsoned with the Blood of my Master, and in utterly joyous thanksgiving, mingle my blood with that of the sacred Victim, He will impart to it something of His own infinity, and it will give You, O Father, wonderful praise. Then my suffering will become a speech that proclaims Your glory. O Jesus, grant that I may become so identified with You that I may ceaselessly express You in the sight of Your Father. What were Your first words on entering the world? ‘Behold I come to do Your will, O God!’ May this prayer be like the beating of my heart. You made a complete offering of Yourself to accomplish the will of the Father; grant that will may be my food, and at the same time, the sword which immolates me. Thus, peaceful and joyous, I shall go to meet all sacrifices with You, my adored Master, rejoicing to be known by the Father, since He crucifies me with His Son” (cf. E.T. II, 7 - 14).

166. PARTICIPATING IN HOLY MASS

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus, immolated at every moment of the day on our altars, let me share in Your Sacrifice.


MEDITATION

1. The Encyclical Mediator Dei exhorts all the faithful to “participate in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, not passively, carelessly, and with distractions, but with such ardor and fervor that we shall be closely associated with the High Priest.” It is not enough to be present at Mass; we must take part, “participate” in it. In Holy Mass, Jesus continues to sacrifice Himself for us, and to offer Himself to His Father, in order to obtain divine blessings for us. It is true that Jesus offers Himself through the ministry of the priest, but the priest makes the offering in the name of all the faithful, and they, in union with him—as the words of the Canon indicate: “for whom we offer, or who offer up to You this sacrifice of praise.” This means that the faithful also are invited to offer the divine Victim with the priest. Mediator Dei states it thus: “to unite their intentions of praise, petition, expiation, and thanksgiving with those of the priest, or better, the Sovereign Priest Himself.” On Calvary, Mary did not take a passive part in the Passion of her Son; she united herself with His intentions, and offered Him to the Father. In the same way, when we are present at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we, too, can offer the Father the divine Victim who is ours, because He offered and immolated Himself for all of us. Our praise, petitions, and expiations are only poor things; but if we give them to God united with those of Jesus and made valuable through His Sacrifice, we have the right to think that they will be acceptable to Him and will be heard because of the infinite dignity of the divine Victim Himself. Jesus, the Head of the Mystical Body, sacrificed Himself for us, His members; and being our Head, He belongs to us: He is ours. He is the Victim who, although He immolated Himself wholly on Calvary for our salvation, wills to perpetuate His immolation on our altars. Every day, every hour, we have His offering at our disposal; daily we can offer it to the Father for our intentions.


2. “In order that the oblation by which the faithful offer the divine Victim to the heavenly Father may have its full effect, still one thing more is necessary; it is necessary that they immolate themselves as victims” (Mediator Dei). This teaching, authorized by the Church, exhorts us to take part in the Holy Sacrifice, so far as to become, “together with the Immaculate Host, a victim acceptable to God the Father” (ibid.). Jesus offered Himself as a Victim to the Father by accepting His will in everything, even to the point of willing to die on the Cross for His glory. We offer ourselves as victims to God when, renouncing everything that is contrary to His will, we study to conform ourselves to this divine will in everything, that is, in the exact fulfillment of our duties and in the generous acceptance of all that God permits in our regard. If a duty requires sacrifice, if our life includes suffering, we have the opportunity each morning in the Holy Mass to give the greatest possible value to our sacrifices by offering, as the Mediator Dei teaches, “ourselves as well as all our worries, troubles, sorrows, and misfortunes, together with our divine crucified Head.”

Jesus sacrificed Himself alone on Calvary for our salvation, but on the altar He wishes to associate us with His immolation; for, if the Head is sacrificed, the members must be sacrificed also. Let a poor creature offer in expiation to God his sacrifice and even his life. What value could this have? None, because we are nothing. But if this offering is united to Jesus’ offering, then it becomes, with Him, by Him, and in Him, an acceptable sacrifice to God the Father. Then, when we return to our duties, the remembrance of the offering we have made in the morning will help us to be generous in accepting our daily trials, great or small. The thought that at every moment of the day and night Jesus is immolating Himself on our altars will urge us to continually unite our sacrifices with His, and will stimulate us to live as real victims in union with the divine Victim. What strength and generosity the soul will draw from this living, constant participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!


COLLOQUY

"O Jesus, grant that Your Sacrifice, the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar, may be the source and model of my sacrifice, for my life must also be a holy sacrifice. It certainly is a sacrifice, for life is all interwoven with mortification, detachment, and suffering.... But that my sacrifice be ‘holy, like Yours on Calvary and in the Holy Mass, it must be vivified, offered, and consumed by love. O Jesus, give me a great love which will give value to my sacrifice and make it fruitful for the glory of the Father, the triumph of the Church, and the good of souls.

“O Jesus, divine Priest, what shall I offer You as matter for the sacrifice, as a victim of love who shares in Your Sacrifice? I offer You my heart, my will, my very love, to be entirely transformed into Yours. In fact, in Your Holy Sacrifice You give me an example of this perfect docility, this conformity to the divine will, and this abandonment. This is the offering which I too, make: a generous, total acceptance of every decree of divine Providence, of every divine wish ” (cf. Sister Carmela of the Holy Spirit, O.C.D.).

“O my Savior, in union with the offering and the sacrifice of Yourself which You made to the Father and in His honor, I offer myself to You to be a bloody victim of Your will, a victim immolated for Your glory and that of Your Father. Unite me to Yourself, O good Jesus, draw me into Your sacrifice, so that I may be sacrificed with You and by You. Since the victim must be sacrificed, slaughtered, and consumed by fire, make me die to myself, that is, to my vices and passions, to all that is displeasing to You. Consume me entirely in the sacred fire of Your divine love, and grant that hereafter my whole life may be a continual sacrifice of praise, glory, and love for Your Father and for You” (St. John Eudes).

167. THE DIVINE OFFICE

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus, vouchsafe to associate my poor prayer with the great Prayer of the Church.


MEDITATION

1. The liturgy accompanies Holy Mass with the recitation of the Divine Office which, as Mediator Dei teaches “is the prayer of the Mystical Body of Christ, addressed to God in the name of all Christians and for their benefit, by priests, other ministers of the Church, and religious, who are assigned this task.” The great dignity of the Divine Office lies in the fact that it is not a private prayer, but the official public prayer of the Mystical Body of Christ, whose members do not pray alone, but with Christ their Head. “ When the
Word of God assumed human nature, He intoned in His earthly exile the hymn which is sung in heaven through all eternity. He joined to Himself the whole human community and united it with Himself in the chanting of this hymn of praise” (ibid.). In the Divine Office, “Jesus prays with us as our Priest; prays in us as our Head.... Let us recognize then, ” says St. Augustine, "our voice in His and His voice in us.” What a wonderful gift! Jesus, the Son of God, associates our poor, miserable prayers with His great precious Prayer.

Although the Divine Office is of obligation only for priests and religious who are charged with it by the Church, it can be said that it is the prayer of the whole Christian people, in the sense that it is addressed to God “ in their name and for their benefit.” It is therefore highly praiseworthy for the laity to try to participate in it in some way; for example, the recitation of Vespers on feast days, as well as of Prime and Compline. Furthermore, they can offer to God at every hour of the day and night the great Prayer of the Church, for their own special intentions and individual needs. In this way they can make up for the deficiencies and the brevity of their own personal prayers. Even in the midst of daily occupations, each one can unite himself from time to time by pious aspirations with the “perpetual praise” which the Church sends up to God in the name of all Christians.


2. The Divine Office is made up, for the most part, of inspired texts taken from Holy Scripture. This is why we cannot find vocal prayers that are more beautiful and more suitable for praising the Divine Majesty; in the inspired word, the Holy Spirit Himself “asketh for us with unspeakable groanings” (Rom 8,26). Then, too, these prayers are so rich in doctrine and unction that they help greatly to nourish our personal piety. All these reasons make us understand that “ the interior devotion of our soul must correspond to the lofty dignity of this prayer ” (Mediator Dei), in such a way that “ our soul is in tune with our voice,” as St. Augustine says. Because the Divine Office is the prayer which the Church, together with Jesus, her Head, sends up to God, and because it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, it has great value in itself; but it will have no value for us, so as to increase our union with God and to draw divine blessings down upon us, if it does not become our prayer, if we do not accompany it with our own personal devotion. In the society of the faithful, the Church prays with the heart of her children, with our heart; and the more fervent and full of love this heart is, the more our prayer, the Prayer of the Church, will be pleasing to God. 

Even if the obligation of reciting the Divine Office is not involved, and a few brief prayers only are taken from the Breviary, it is well for all interior souls to try to grasp the spirit of this liturgical prayer and to make it their own. It is a spirit of praise and adoration which desires to render to God perpetual worship in union with Christ and in the name of the whole Church, a spirit of solidarity with Jesus, our Head, and with all the faithful, our brethren; it is a universal spirit which embraces the needs of the entire world, and prays in the name of all Christianity. How the horizons broaden now with the intentions of our prayers! We no longer feel alone in prayer; we have become little orantes beside Jesus, the great Orante!


COLLOQUY

“O Lord, Your ears are not turned toward our lips, but toward our heart; they are not open to the speech, but to the life of him who praises You.

“I sing with my voice to awaken piety within me; I sing with my heart to please You.... Let not my voice be alone in praising You, but may my works also praise You. Grant that I may not cease to live a good life, so that I may praise You without interruption. If my tongue must be silent sometimes, let my life speak to You; Your ears will not be attracted by my voice, but may You attend to my heart.

“I shall not confine my praise to my voice, but I wish my praise to come from my whole being! Let my voice sing, let my life sing, let all my works sing. And if I must sigh, suffer, and be tempted here on earth, I hope that it will all pass away and the day will come when my praises will not fail. My voice may fail, but not my heart.

“It is better for me to use my strength in praising You, than to take breath to praise myself. It is impossible to faint in praising You. To give You praise is like taking food. The more I praise You, the stronger I become, because You are always giving me Your sweetness, You, the object of my praise.

“Help me, then, to praise You, by my voice as well as by my mind and by my good works, so that, as You exhort me in the Scriptures, I may sing to You a new canticle. To the old man, the old canticle; to the new man, the new canticle. If I love the things of the world, my song is old; I must love the things of eternity. Your love is ever new and eternal, ever new because it never grows old. Sin is what has made me grow old; rejuvenate me by Your grace” (St. Augustine).