“But he said to him: A certain man made a great supper, and invited many. And he sent his servant at the hour of supper to say to them that were invited, that they should come, for now all things are ready and they began all at once to make excuse . . . . Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant: Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the feeble, and the blind, and the lame. . . . Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. But I say unto you, that none of those men that were invited, shall taste of my supper” (Luke 14, 16–24).First Prelude: Represent to yourself the house of the Pharisee, and Jesus at table with numerous guests.
Second Prelude: Grant, O my Saviour, that I may always approach the Banquet of love, with a realization of my spiritual indigence in order to partake in full measure of the graces of Thy bountiful visitation.
First Point
The Great Banquet to Which Jesus Invites Us
Holy Church has chosen the Gospel of the great supper, for the Sunday within the octave of Corpus Christi, in order to call our attention to the wonderful Banquet of the Holy Eucharist. Jesus invites all to receive this heavenly Food, which He has purchased at the infinite price of His Precious Blood. But oh, must He not complain that so many do not follow His invitation and remain at a distance from His Table, because the world with its cares and pleasures has ensnared them? He sends His servants to call those whom He has invited, but they will not come: they all begin with one accord to excuse themselves. —Oh, the blindness and folly of these unfortunate ones, that they prefer a temporal possession, a miserable pleasure, a vain honor, to the highest Good, as it were, rejecting heaven for earth.
As a host invites his friends in a particular manner to appear at his table, so the Lord has invited religious, who were so happy as to leave behind the vain goods of the world. He wishes to open to them the treasures of His mercy and at His holy Banquet, enrich them with heavenly gifts, in order to indemnify Himself for the ingratitude of so many disobedient, blind souls. May He not expect that we correspond to such infinite love, with all zeal, with all solicitude and gratitude? But who should believe that even among religious, some should be found, who, though surrounded by heavenly light, close the eyes of their soul so as not to recognize the infinite worth of the gifts of God? While they do not turn entirely away from God, they frustrate His great designs by their infidelity, by their attachment to trifles, and by their inconstancy and willful faults hinder the effects of Holy Communion. How must such indifference grieve the loving heart of our Divine Saviour, Who desires so ardently to bestow His gifts especially upon those, whom in His infinite mercy, He has chosen to follow Him on the way of the evangelical counsels. How will the Lord treat these unfaithful souls, who constantly reject His grace? For a time He will bear with them lovingly, then, however, He will withdraw His graces and special enlightenments, and finally abandon them to their tepidity and misery. He will choose other souls more zealous and generous who will glorify Him by their gratitude and fidelity.
O my Saviour, grant that I may never repay Thy infinite love with such ingratitude.
Second Point
Our Spiritual Destitution Is No Obstacle to Grace, Provided We Have Confidence and Good Will
Since those who were invited first despised the invitation, the Lord said to His servants: “Bring in the poor and the feeble, the blind and the lame,” and referring to the guests invited He said: “None of them shall taste My supper.” Those who were invited last, heeded the invitation, because their poverty and feebleness made them realize their need of refreshment. By these poor are understood, according to St. Gregory, those who consider themselves poor and feeble and who are, therefore, humble of heart. These are most capable of receiving grace because “God gives His grace to the humble.” We who are invited to the Holy Table, are all spiritually poor, feeble, blind and lame, but unfortunately all do not realize it, or will not confess it. To such as these we can apply the words of the Apocalypse, “You say you are rich and have plenty and you know that you are miserable and pitiable, and poor and weak and naked” (Apocalypse 3, 17).
How important is it, therefore, for us to realize our great need, in order to be moved to implore with intense desire those graces which the Lord imparts at the Holy Table to all who appear before Him with true hunger and thirst after justice. Yes, let us admit that we are poor—poor in grace, poor in virtue, poor in merit. Poor and miserable we are, since we prove unfaithful to our holiest resolutions, and succumb so easily to the slightest temptations. We are blind in reference to the great truths of Faith, which we so seldom make our rule of action.—We are lame for want of courage; lame on account of the enormity of our sins. Let us, therefore, go to the Banquet of Love with the ardent desire to be released from our misery, fervently confiding in the power and goodness of God Who “longs to fill the hungry with good things.”
Affections: O sacred Banquet, in which Christ is received, the soul is filled with grace and the pledge of future glory is given! I come to Thee, O Lord, in the Sacrament of Thy Love, since Thou knowest how poor and needy, how destitute of virtue I am. Behold, I stand before Thee, miserable and poor, pleading for grace and mercy. Refresh a hungry beggar! Inflame my coldness with the fire of Thy love, dispel my blindness by the light of Thy presence. Make all temporal joys bitter for me and let me despise and forget all created things, bearing patiently all difficulties and trials. Let me not depart from Thee hungry, but deal with me according to Thy mercy.
Resolution: At my visits to the Blessed Sacrament and at Holy Communion I will excite fervent acts of humility, confidence and desire for grace.
Spiritual Bouquet: “Bring in the poor and the feeble and the blind and the lame.”
Soul of Christ . . .
Second Prelude: Grant, O my Saviour, that I may always approach the Banquet of love, with a realization of my spiritual indigence in order to partake in full measure of the graces of Thy bountiful visitation.
First Point
The Great Banquet to Which Jesus Invites Us
Holy Church has chosen the Gospel of the great supper, for the Sunday within the octave of Corpus Christi, in order to call our attention to the wonderful Banquet of the Holy Eucharist. Jesus invites all to receive this heavenly Food, which He has purchased at the infinite price of His Precious Blood. But oh, must He not complain that so many do not follow His invitation and remain at a distance from His Table, because the world with its cares and pleasures has ensnared them? He sends His servants to call those whom He has invited, but they will not come: they all begin with one accord to excuse themselves. —Oh, the blindness and folly of these unfortunate ones, that they prefer a temporal possession, a miserable pleasure, a vain honor, to the highest Good, as it were, rejecting heaven for earth.
As a host invites his friends in a particular manner to appear at his table, so the Lord has invited religious, who were so happy as to leave behind the vain goods of the world. He wishes to open to them the treasures of His mercy and at His holy Banquet, enrich them with heavenly gifts, in order to indemnify Himself for the ingratitude of so many disobedient, blind souls. May He not expect that we correspond to such infinite love, with all zeal, with all solicitude and gratitude? But who should believe that even among religious, some should be found, who, though surrounded by heavenly light, close the eyes of their soul so as not to recognize the infinite worth of the gifts of God? While they do not turn entirely away from God, they frustrate His great designs by their infidelity, by their attachment to trifles, and by their inconstancy and willful faults hinder the effects of Holy Communion. How must such indifference grieve the loving heart of our Divine Saviour, Who desires so ardently to bestow His gifts especially upon those, whom in His infinite mercy, He has chosen to follow Him on the way of the evangelical counsels. How will the Lord treat these unfaithful souls, who constantly reject His grace? For a time He will bear with them lovingly, then, however, He will withdraw His graces and special enlightenments, and finally abandon them to their tepidity and misery. He will choose other souls more zealous and generous who will glorify Him by their gratitude and fidelity.
O my Saviour, grant that I may never repay Thy infinite love with such ingratitude.
Second Point
Our Spiritual Destitution Is No Obstacle to Grace, Provided We Have Confidence and Good Will
Since those who were invited first despised the invitation, the Lord said to His servants: “Bring in the poor and the feeble, the blind and the lame,” and referring to the guests invited He said: “None of them shall taste My supper.” Those who were invited last, heeded the invitation, because their poverty and feebleness made them realize their need of refreshment. By these poor are understood, according to St. Gregory, those who consider themselves poor and feeble and who are, therefore, humble of heart. These are most capable of receiving grace because “God gives His grace to the humble.” We who are invited to the Holy Table, are all spiritually poor, feeble, blind and lame, but unfortunately all do not realize it, or will not confess it. To such as these we can apply the words of the Apocalypse, “You say you are rich and have plenty and you know that you are miserable and pitiable, and poor and weak and naked” (Apocalypse 3, 17).
How important is it, therefore, for us to realize our great need, in order to be moved to implore with intense desire those graces which the Lord imparts at the Holy Table to all who appear before Him with true hunger and thirst after justice. Yes, let us admit that we are poor—poor in grace, poor in virtue, poor in merit. Poor and miserable we are, since we prove unfaithful to our holiest resolutions, and succumb so easily to the slightest temptations. We are blind in reference to the great truths of Faith, which we so seldom make our rule of action.—We are lame for want of courage; lame on account of the enormity of our sins. Let us, therefore, go to the Banquet of Love with the ardent desire to be released from our misery, fervently confiding in the power and goodness of God Who “longs to fill the hungry with good things.”
Affections: O sacred Banquet, in which Christ is received, the soul is filled with grace and the pledge of future glory is given! I come to Thee, O Lord, in the Sacrament of Thy Love, since Thou knowest how poor and needy, how destitute of virtue I am. Behold, I stand before Thee, miserable and poor, pleading for grace and mercy. Refresh a hungry beggar! Inflame my coldness with the fire of Thy love, dispel my blindness by the light of Thy presence. Make all temporal joys bitter for me and let me despise and forget all created things, bearing patiently all difficulties and trials. Let me not depart from Thee hungry, but deal with me according to Thy mercy.
Resolution: At my visits to the Blessed Sacrament and at Holy Communion I will excite fervent acts of humility, confidence and desire for grace.
Spiritual Bouquet: “Bring in the poor and the feeble and the blind and the lame.”
Soul of Christ . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment