nite, He possesses it in infinite perfection. 'O taste and see that the Lord is sweet,' are the words of King David. If he imposes commands upon us, He strengthens us to fulfil them by His powerful grace, He encourages us by the hope of a magnificent reward; and if we fail, He is ever ready to pardon. He is bountiful to forgive.' APPLICATION. Do you deserve it to be said of you, as has been said of so many Saints, 'Severe to himself, indulgent to others?' Where are your mildness and sweetness? See how far you have failed, and how you should correct yourself. COLLOQUY. DECEMBER 14. ON THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES, CONTINUED. ON THE PROVIDence, justice, AND MERCY OF GOD. 1st Prel. Imagine you hear David saying, 'The Lord ruleth me, and I shall want nothing.' 2d Prel. As in the former Meditation. POINT I. The Providence of God CONSIDERATION. When we call God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, we acknowledge His providence, shown in His care for all His creatures, but for man most particularly, made in His own image, and for a supernatural end. No earthly father could, without sin, be indifferent as to his children's welfare; how much more, then, must our merciful Heavenly Father interest Himself in our happiness! He cares for each one of the nine hundred millions who people this globe as if he were alone upon earth, because, by reason of His immensity, He is everywhere equally present. Holy Scripture thus touchingly speaks of the paternal tenderness of God, confirmed by the belief of every nation: 'Behold, I have graven thee in My hands; thy walls are always before My eyes. Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? And if she should forget, yet will not I forget thee.' APPLICATION. The admirable and amiable action of divine Providence you must have frequently remarked upon in observing the general course of events, and that of your own life in particular. Admirable, because it can draw good from evil, as in the case of Joseph becoming the deliverer of his brothers who sold him; and uses the machinations of the wicked to advance the cause of God and His Church, as is proved by the experience of eighteen hundred years. Amiable, because it has led you, despite dangers and obstacles, to the blessed end of your vocation. AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS. POINT II. The Justice and Mercy of God. CONSIDERATION. These two divine attributes are far from being contradictory; one is the necessary consequence of the sanctity of God, which obliges Him to punish sin and reward virtue; the other is the consequence of His goodness, which we instinctively acknowledge when we call Him the good God. This goodness is spoken of as patience or longanimity awaiting the penitent, as mercy in the pardon of the sinner. 'He is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy.' As God is infinite, so are His justice and mercy, rewarding the just with everlasting glory, and the wicked with everlasting punishment. But He delayeth not His promises,' writes St. Peter, 'as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance." Witness the pardon graciously extended to the good thief, and to so many other illustrious penitents. APPLICATION. Are you not yourself a living proof of the long-suffering and mercy of God, whom you have often provoked, even perhaps after having often received His loving forgiveness? And He has returned you good for evil. Have you not cause to blush at your severity towards your brethren, or towards sinners who do not amend as quickly as you desire? Ask pardon, and promise for the future to endeavour to imitate the long-suffering and patience of God. COLLOQUY. DECEMBER 15. THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES: CONTINUATION AND END. 1st Prel. Recall the words of the Psalmist, 'Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and of His greatness there is no end.' 2d Prel. As in the former Meditation. POINT I. The Greatness of God in His Works. CONSIDERATION. Greatness commands respect, and respect is a part of the homage we owe to God. As it comprehends in itself the rest of the Divine attributes, the Holy Scriptures are filled with the idea of the infinite greatness of God. 'Of His greatness there is no end,' writes King David. To form some idea of His greatness, let us remember that this world of ours is only one of a vast system of planets, and yet is 27,000 miles in circumference, and would take two years and a half to be completely traversed at the rate of thirty miles a day. The sun, being nearly three millions of miles in circumference, could not be traversed at the same rate of speed in less than 274 years; yet this sun, so immeasurably greater than our universe, is supposed to be infinitely inferior to certain of the fixed stars. And all this greatness, as compared to that of God, is as a grain of sand to a mountain! APPLICATION. Let us bear such thoughts in mind prayer, in our visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and at Communion also; when tempted to offend God, or to excite sorrow for having offended Him, they will prove very useful. AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS. POINT III. The Greatness and Immensity of God. CONSIDERATION. To form some idea of the greatness and immensity of God, we may again call the sun to mind, and reflect that it is distant from us at least 95,000,000 of miles. Imagine, if you can, so vast a space; but there are planets twenty times further removed from us than the sun; even their distance is nothing in comparison to that of the fixed stars. The light of some of these fixed stars, astronomers are of opinion, has not yet reached us, though it has been travelling towards us at the rate of 12,000,000 of miles a minute since the creation of the world. And each of these stars is the centre of a planetary system vastly greater than our own. But what are the millions of worlds, that surpass calculation or even conception, compared to God? The wise man answers, 'As the least grain of the balance, and as a drop of the morning dew that falleth upon the earth.' APPLICATION. It is this great God who deigned to become man-who became an infant for our sake in the stable of Bethlehem. Oh, incomprehensible mystery of self-abasement! We are on the point of commencing the Novena that precedes the feast of Christmas; let us endeavour to do so worthily, and to derive from it due fruit. COLLOQUY with the Lord our God. DECEMBER 16. NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS: REASONS FOR MAKING IT WELL. 1st Prel. Ponder the words of Isaias the Prophet, 'Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God.' 2d Prel. Ask that you may have a due appreciation of the reasons for making this Novena with suitable dispositions. POINT I. Characteristics of this Festival: our first CONSIDERATION. The Feast of Christmas is at once the first and last of the Ecclesiastical Festivals; it is the last in the order of time, coming as it does at the close of the year; but it is the first in the order of our Lord's life, and as such we may not doubt it was celebrated each returning year by Him and by His Blessed Mother. APPLICATION. Are not these sufficient reasons for endeavouring to celebrate this Novena, not only with joy and eagerness, but with particular devotion? Should we not endeavour, besides, to make reparation for the lukewarmness with which we have too probably celebrated the previous festivals of the year? AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS. POINT II. The Example of the Church: our second CONSIDERATION. Remark in how many ways our Holy Mother the Church distinguishes the Festival of Christmas: 1st, She precedes it by the four weeks' preparation of Advent; 2nd, She permits Holy Mass to be celebrated at midnight; 3rd, She permits every priest to say three Masses in honour of the threefold birth of our Lord-His being born of His Father from all eternity, His temporal birth at Bethlehem, and His spiritual birth in the hearts of the Faithful; 4th, She dispenses from abstinence whenever Christmas-day falls on a Friday. |