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6th Sunday after Pentecost - Confidence in God

7/20/2019

WHILE meditating on the different circumstances of this day's Gospel, you shall find... in it the great foundations of Christian confidence, viz., the knowledge of God, His goodness, and His power.

First Point.—The knowledge of God is the first foundation of our confidence in Him. See, by the Gospel of to-day, how all that concerns us is of greatest concern to Jesus, in the past, the present, and the future. For the past: Jesus reminds His disciples that during three days the people followed Him. He therefore knows how long we have served Him, and He has counted all the moments. Our divine Saviour adds: "Some of them have come from afar." Not only does He count the time, but He knows all that it has cost us to come to Him—the temptations we have resisted, the obstacles we have overcome, and the sacrifices we have imposed on ourselves. There is not a step taken for Him that He has not seen and which He does not remember. Ah, how sweet it is to serve a Master who knows so well all that we have done for Him!

For the present: Jesus warns His disciples that the people are in great need and that He has not wherewith to nourish them. Whatsoever may be the situation in which we are, God sees us and knows all our needs; He knows our misery and our poverty, our losses and our misfortunes, our afflictions and our pains, our temptations and our weakness, our spiritual and temporal wants. Men do not know them, and often they wish neither to know them nor to believe them. Why then do you place your confidence in men, and not in God alone? Why do you not seek your consolation in this sweet thought, that God sees everything and knows everything?

For the future, Jesus reminds the apostles of the danger of sending the people away without having given them some nourishment. Ordinarily it is the future which is the cause of our greatest solicitude; it is the future which the demon employs frequently to disturb and discourage us; but why are we disturbed by a future of which we are ignorant? God only knows it; let us leave it to His care. Not only does He see the future, but He sees it in relation to us; He sees what must befall us, whether it be happy or unfortunate, and He knows the means to put away from us whatever may be injurious and to procure for us whatever may be advantageous. Let us therefore place in Him our entire confidence. Then shall we give Him the most glorious worship that is possible for us, and we shall find, for ourselves, the most precious blessing, viz., peace of heart.

Second Point.-The goodness of God is the second foundation of our confidence. Jesus, having called His disciples, said to them: - "I have compassion on the people." The knowledge which God has of our needs is not a sterile knowledge. Alas', men, for the most part, when they see us in affliction remain insensible. The fortunate ones of the world hearing of the sufferings of the poor, are but little moved and neglect to bring them assistance. But it is not so with our God. The sight of our miseries excites in Him the sentiments of tenderest compassion: "I have compassion on the multitude because they continue with Me now three days and have not what to eat; and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way." What treasures of tenderness are enclosed in the heart of Jesus, since these words escaped from His lips. O my amiable Saviour, whose heart is sensible to all miseries, shall Thou behold mine and not be moved?

The knowledge which God has of our needs stirs His Sacred Heart with compassion; it does more, it prompts Him to assist us. Jesus, having represented to His apostles that the people who had followed Him for three days had nothing to eat added "I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way." Listen to these words you who follow Christ and who are faithfully attached to Him! Yes, in His service you shall suffer. He will test your fervor and your constancy to a certain point, but He knows how far and how long your strength will last, and He will not allow you to be tried beyond that. Everything seems to be wanting; your condition has become desperate; relatives, friends, protectors, all have abandoned you ; but your God will never abandon you, He will assist you. Where shall this assistance come from ? This is the objection which the apostles raise. "Whence then should we have so many loaves in the desert, as to fill so great a multitude?" 'Whence shall come the assistance? You do not know, nor can you foresee; but should it not suffice to know that God wishes we should have it, and that He does not wish we should be abandoned in our need? Rest assured in the bosom of His infinite goodness, persevere in the sentiments of the fullest confidence, and you shall not be deceived.

Third Point.—The power of God is the third foundation of our confidence in Him. "And taking the seven loaves which His apostles gave Him, He blessed them and distributed them to the people. All did eat and were filled, and they took up that which was left of the fragments, seven baskets. And they that had eaten were about four thousand men, without counting the women and children." What a prodigy ! What abundance ! And yet this prodigy of power God renews every day in favor of His children.

In the general order of nature every year the earth is covered by new riches to provide for all our needs, the plants grow again, the animals are multiplied, the grains and fruits are reproduced. This prodigy as admirable as it is constant; a prodigy which should give us an exalted idea of the power of God and fill our hearts with tenderest gratitude. But, ungrateful and unfaithful as we are, we think only of enjoying the gifts of God, without ever thinking of the omnipotent hand which has lavished them.

This prodigy is renewed every day in the special order of His providence. God has secret resources for those who put their trust in Him. The miracles which He employs are not always shining and sensible miracles, but they are the miracles of a Providence as attentive and as admirable as they are hidden. We find some just and charitable souls who aid the poor, assist the unfortunate, contribute to the decorations of the altars, assist in all good works, and who, however, are never in need themselves. The more they give, the more they have to give, without knowing whence or how the abundance comes. Everything prospers with them, and goods seem to multiply in their hands. Whatever they give is as a seed which produces a hundredfold. It is the consequence of their confidence in Him whose providence governs everything and provides everything.

This prodigy of power is renewed every day in the order of grace. The miracle of the multiplication of loaves is the figure of the Eucharistic bread. In what profusion the Lord has provided for the nourishment of our souls? Not only does He give us His grace, but He gives us Himself, who is the Author of all grace. If we are in need, if we are weak and languishing, the fault is our own. Do we need the bread of the strong, or is the bread of the strong wanting in strength? It is we who need it; we are wanting to ourselves, allowing ourselves to die of hunger in the midst of abundance, either because we refuse to eat of this bread which is offered us, or because we do not partake of it with the necessary dispositions.

O my God, Thou beholdest all my temporal and spiritual needs. Thy goodness is moved by them, and Thou wishest to help me; Thy power is infinite, and nothing can resist Thee. In whom shall I hope if I do not hope in Thee? Ah, Lord, the more pressing my needs shall be, the more my soul shall languish and the greater shall be my confidence in Thee.

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

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5th Sunday after Pentecost - On Christian Justice

7/6/2019

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JESUS, in the Gospel of today, warns you that if your piety would be agreeable to God, it must excel the justice of the Pharisees. He reproaches these hypocritical men, by declaring that all their justice was most culpable since it was purely exterior, wholly incomplete, and most interested.

First Point—The justice of the Pharisees was wholly exterior. Jesus said to them: "You are careful to cleanse the exterior of the cup regardless of what is within it," and for this reason He calls them "whited sepulchres" St. Luke also speaks of the justice of the Pharisees: "I am not as the rest of men." In what do you excel, vain and proud man ? " I fast twice in the week and I pay the tenth of all I possess." He boasts only of his external works, and they that resemble him are attached only to the external observances. The Pharisee does not abandon or despise the practices of piety, or the ceremonies of religion. Exterior worship is a duty, and the sloth or false shame which makes us neglect it is a sin. But it is quite another thing to be engaged solely in exterior works of piety, and to put aside the virtues which are in the soul; this is really to possess a Pharisaical justice.

If your piety be true, it must be united to virtue. To be pious without being virtuous is to cleanse the outside of the cup without putting in it the perfume which must attract the pleasure of God; it is to resemble those whited sepulchres of which the Saviour spoke, which appeared beautiful in the eyes of men, but which were within full of dead bones and corruption. If, therefore, you wish that your worship may be an act of adoration, and not a falsehood, it must be the expression of your interior sentiments; otherwise you shall merit this reproach of the Saviou: " These people honor me with their
lips, but their hearts are far from me." Yes, says Bossuet, to say prayers, to go to church, assist at the holy sacrifice, to take holy water, and to kneel without having the spirit of all this, is pharisaical justice. It seems to have some exactitude, but it is reprobated by God, who wishes to have, particularly, the homage of the heart. Is this deceitful piety, which was so common in the Mosaic law, very rare in the Church of Jesus Christ ? Alas, how many Christians pride themselves on their regularity, and place all their perfection in the fulfillment of the exterior duties which religion commands, while they neglect what is most imperiously commanded—to restrain their temper, regulate their inclinations, and repress their passions!

How many are considered as devout people because they are assiduous in the temple, and who are vain, sensual, angry, and detractors? They are scrupulous at the slightest neglect in their habits of devotion, but they have no remorse for their numerous defects. The reason of this inversion of principles is not easily understood. The external practices are not so difficult as the exercise of interior virtue the performance of some acts costs less than self reformation. We, therefore, abandon the duties which require combats against ourselves, to indulge in practices which are more to our tastes. Guard well against this deceitful piety, which will hopelessly ruin you because it forms in you a conscience which is truly false.

Second Point.—The justice of the Pharisee, was incomplete. True justice, that which shone in the lives of the saints, is an act of obedience and fidelity to all the commandments: it fulfilled all the law. Jesus has said: "He that loves Me shall keep My commandments." He did not say some of My commandments, nor for some time only, but all the commandments, and always, and at every age. The Pharisees chose, according to their caprice, those commandments which were convenient for them. They practiced certain observances which were to their taste, and neglected the most essential precepts. This is the reproach which Jesus made to them, and with a severity of language which clearly shows the indignation with which this vicious piety inspired Him. "Woe to you, Pharisees, hypocrites, because you are exact in paying tithes, you are faithful in observing certain legal ceremonies, and you forget the essential duties of justice, charity and mercy."

The Pharisees considered it a crime to gather a bundle of straw on the Sabbath day, while on that same day they formed intrigues against Jesus. They took care to wash their hands before their repasts, and charged the apostles with a crime for neglecting this practice ; but at the same time they violated the precept which commanded them to honor father and mother. This is certainly a strange combination of piety and sin which can be explained only with difficulty. If we are unfaithful in little things, and stand firm in greater matters, this would be a consequence of our poor human frailty; but that we should discover a piety whose character is to be exact even to scrupulosity in little things, and to neglect things which are essential, is one of the grossest illusions. But it is so frequent that it cannot be guarded against too much. Look upon it as one of the pitfalls which the demon places for souls which he sees strongly attached to virtue. If he tempted them to commit sin, these souls would reject the temptation with horror. Having no hope to seduce them, he strives to lead them astray. He employs, however, the contrary means. It is through their very taste for piety that he tempts them. He places before their eyes the means of apparent perfection, but not real, and inspires them with an unwise ardor in their exercise. Because these practices are to their taste, they remain faithful to them nevertheless. And one of the scandals of the world, one of the reproaches which irreligion urges against piety, is to behold true obligations, those which the profession of piety imposes and which justice and charity prescribe, sacrificed to false duties.

To avoid all illusion, we must distinguish well between what is only mere counsel and what is of precept; between the things which are of simple perfection and those which are of rigorous obligation. We should be faithful to the first through love, and to the others through duty. To do that which is only a counsel and to neglect that which is a precept is the sign of a false devotion; to do only that which is of precept and to despise what is merely of counsel is a sign of slothfulness; but to faithfully attend to both, the precept and the counsel, is indeed perfection.

Third Point.—The justice of the Pharisees was interested. They sought only the esteem of men, and cared little for the esteem of God. They prayed to be seen, they gave alms to be applauded, and they fasted to earn for themselves the reputation of being just men. Men, charmed by all their external beauty, honored and venerated them; but Jesus, who read their hearts, exclaimed: "Woe to you, hypocrites, who pretend to pray in public, and who sound the trumpet when you distribute alms, you have already received your reward." But is your virtue really exempt from that gross pride which was the only motive of the Pharisee ; is it wholly disinterested? Pride is very subtle, and there are many little winding ways by which it enters our soul. That your piety may be disinterested it is necessary in all you do—prayers, alms, good works, confessions, communions—that you should have but the single intention of pleasing God; every other motive shall be a stain on your soul, if it be not completely effaced. And now, is your piety truly disinterested ? Indeed, it is not a hypocritical piety, but is it truly God, only, you seek in your devotion? Is it He or His consolations? Is it the thought that you wish to honor God which makes you desire to receive holy communion so often, or that prompts your prayer on certain days? Or is it because you find a certain pleasure in the performance of these exercises of devotion? If God should withdraw that sensible pleasure you experience, would you continue to pray and approach the sacraments? Have these exercises of devotion ceased to be agreeable to the heart of God when they ceased to be consoling to you? Then it is not for God that you have been virtuous and faithful; it was for yourself. We should fear the anathema hurled by our divine Saviour against the Pharisees: "They have already received their reward."

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

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4th Sunday after Pentecost - On the Church

7/6/2019

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"THE Gospel of today contains a grand and beautiful instruction. If we reflect upon it well ... we shall find in it all the prerogatives which distinguish the bark of Peter, that is to say, the Holy Roman Catholic Church, and the signs which manifest our love for her.

First Point—"And Jesus, going up into one of the ships, which was Peter's." If Jesus entered the bark of Peter, it was not by chance He did so. He has wished to teach us that if we would find this bark we must seek it in the Church which Peter and his successors conduct and govern. The ship of which Peter is the head is the only one which carries Christ; the others are not with Him nor is He with them. They do not carry His doctrine to the different parts of the world; they carry only the sad inventions of men. Thus the Lutherans, the Calvinists, the Greeks, and the Anglicans are not the Church of Jesus, because they are not in the bark of Peter. The true Church is one in its doctrine, in its worship, in its hierarchy, while the others change their morale, their creed, and their worship according to caprice, to climate, and to the passions of men. In their eternal variations and in their multiplied creeds they openly contradict Jesus, who, in praying for His Church, said to His Father: "Keep them, that they may be one, as you and I are one." The Holy Roman Catholic Church, which is your mother, since it is from her bosom you have drawn your Christian life, possesses unity of doctrine, and, although she has countless children scattered over all the countries of the world, she everywhere teaches to all the same doctrine; among the savages as well as in civilized countries, to the children of the king as well as to the children of the poor, and she owes this unity of belief to her hierarchy divinely instituted. The Sovereign Pontiff has received, in the person of the Prince of the apostles, the mission to "confirm his brethren in the faith," and as a vigilant sentinel he watches over the integrity of the faith and repudiates every change in it. Think, for an instant, on this phenomenon of the unity of faith, in the multiplicity of the faithful! Two men cannot be in accord for a quarter of an hour, and yet millions of men during nineteen centuries believe the same truths and without discussion submit their intelligence to the same faith. How can this wonder be explained?

Represent to yourself a man seated on a rock in the midst of the ocean, and insisting that the waves should observe a uniform motion. You would exclaim: "This is truly a wonder." Well, there is a man who, from his seat on the rock on which Jesus has built His Church, commands disturbed minds and insists on a uniform method of thinking, and that man is the Pope. At his feet he beholds the rise and flow of human opinions which disturb and overthrow everything in the world, while he does not change, and by his authority he maintains unity in the Church. Is it possible not to see the finger of God in all this?

Jesus in the bark of Peter confirms the truth of His words in the wonder of the miraculous fishing. Thus He has granted to His Church, and to her only, the grace of working miracles in all ages and in all countries. This is the divine mark by which we recognize the bark of Peter. The flight of demons, the resurrection of the dead, the gift of prophecy, and the healing of those who were hopelessly sick—this is what you shall find on every page of the Church's history. While the apostolic men proclaimed God's truths, He confirmed their preaching by miracles. A miracle is a palpable, invincible proof; it is the seal of God placed on the divine word sent from heaven to earth. By the gift of miracles God tells us: It is I who have sent these men, and the proof of it is that I have clothed them with My power, and if they had not been sent by Me would nature obey them? "God," says Bossuet, "has the right to make Himself believed, and also the means to make Himself heard. As soon as an affirmation is signed by these two words, "I the Lord" and as soon as that signature is legalized by His inimitable seal—the miracle—it is He who speaks, it is He who commands, and we have only to believe and obey! Jesus commanded Peter to launch his bark out into the deep. What does this mean ? It indicates the exalted life, wholly supernatural and heavenly, to which the Church, by her doctrine, by her morale, and by the omnipotent power of her sacraments, leads us. In her fold, and there only, we behold the divine virtues brightly shining and men rising to the highest degree of sanctity and perfection. Is this character of sanctity found among the dissenting sects? No, in this regard God has struck them with an eternal sterility, and you shall never find among them a single man who, by his heroic virtues, has won the admiration of the world, as a St. Francis de Sales, a Vincent de Paul, a St. Charles Borromeo, and others.

The deep waters to which Peter was commanded to go represent those regions of the world which are most distant. The Saviour seemed to say to Peter: "I shall place under your shepherd's staff all the nations of the earth. You shall preach the Gospel to every creature, you shall guide the sinners back to the fold, you shall convert the pagans, and of all the people you shall make but one sheepfold, one flock, of which you shall be the only shepherd." And so Catholic Rome extends her activity over the whole world—in the islands of America and Oceania, among the most uncivilized people of Africa as well as among the polished cities of Europe, everywhere Peter baptizes, preaches, and converts souls, and, whatever may be the obstacles, he shall always continue until he shall have landed in the haven of safety the last soul that shall ever live on earth.

It is recorded in the Gospel that the bark of Peter was almost submerged. The Church also has been exposed from time to time by tempests so formidable that her enemies have said: "It is all over for the Church," and her friends trembled while expecting to see her engulfed by the flood of human passions. But they who hoped and they who feared for the ruin of the Church did not know the extent
of the promises which Jesus had made to His Church when He said: "The gates of hell shall not prevail against her." Relying on this promise, true Catholics entertain no fear for the Church; they know that Jesus is with her, that He conducts her, He prays for her, and that sooner or later she shall come forth triumphant from all her trials. The past gives assurance for the future. A brutal and barbarous persecution passed over the Church during three hundred years, and the Church triumphed in the conversion of her executioners. Heresies then followed; they were reduced to helplessness, while she remains full of life and prosperous, and the branches which have separated from her' languish and ultimately die. The war of passions, pride, pleasure, and impiety arises in every age; the attacks are so violent that the bark of Peter is rudely shaken, but she is never submerged. The enemies of the Church die penitent or impenitent, and silence promptly falls about their tombs, and the Church stands erect on the ruins of her oppressors. This perpetuity of the Church, in the midst of the instability of human things, is one of the most striking proofs of the divinity of her origin.

O Church of God, my mother, I am devoted to you from the depths of my heart, I wish to love you and obey you, and to remain faithful to you until death. Guide me, enlighten me, and conduct me to the haven of salvation.

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

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2019 - 2020 Maidens for Mary and Crusaders for Christ Student Planners

7/6/2019

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The printed copies of the Maidens for Mary and Crusaders for Christ 2019-2020 Student Planners are now available to purchase. These planners begin with August of 2019 and end with June of 2020. You may view them by looking at the scribd file below. A print your own PDF file can be found here. They are copyrighted, so please abide by the copyright laws.

You can purchase a printed and bound version by clicking here: Bellas Little Shoppe. THEY ARE PRINTED AND READY TO SHIP.

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Spiritual Communion

7/1/2019

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CHAPTER XV
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
"If any man shall hear My voice, and open lo Me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him,and he with Me."—Apocal. iii, 20.
THESE talks on communion would not be complete if nothing were said of spiritual communion.
Now, the catechism of the Council of Trent, called also the Roman Catechism, because it is the official formulary of the Roman doctrine, uses the following words: "The shepherds of souls should teach their flock that there is not one manner only of receiving the admirable fruits of the sacrament of the Eucharist, but that there are two: sacramental communion and spiritual communion."

Spiritual communion is little known, and still less practiced; and yet it is a special and incomparable source of graces. "It is, by itself," says Father Faber, " one of the greatest powers of the world." "By it," writes St. Leonard of Port-Maurice, " many souls have attained a high perfection."

To derive from this inestimable treasury all the wealth which it contains it must be understood:
(1) in what spiritual communion consists;
(2) what graces it confers; and
(3) in what manner it may be practiced.

In what does spiritual communion consist? It is, in the first place, a communion; the Council of Trent states this expressly. It is therefore an actual participation in the graces of the Eucharist, although distinct from the sacramental participation properly so called. We have already seen what graces flow into souls from the Eucharist; so that it is enough, in order to estimate the value of spiritual communion, to know that it does truly confer upon us a considerable proportion of those graces. We shall presently see in what measure and to what extent. This communion is effected not externally, as in sacramental communion, but spiritually; that is, internally and mentally, without any material and corporal action; spiritually, that is, again, supernaturally or divinely. It is also called "interior communion," communion of the heart, invisible or mystical communion, because it unites us with Jesus in a secret and mysterious manner, without a visible sign as in sacramental communion. It is also called "virtual communion," because it has the power of making us participate in the fruits of the Eucharist.

What must one do in order to communicate spiritually? Is it enough to make acts of faith and love toward Jesus present in the Eucharist? No. We must expressly formulate the desire to communicate; and in order that this desire may be sincere we must be so disposed that we could communicate sacramentally, if it were possible. On the other hand, a simple desire, if deep and sincere, no matter how brief and rapid, is sufficient to constitute spiritual communion. Obviously, the longer the desire is prolonged the more fruitful is the communion. But by a simple impulse of the heart toward Jesus present in the Eucharist we communicate spiritually, we participate in the graces of sacramental communion. How can this be ? I will explain.

Our Lord is in the Eucharist for us; and His desire to come into us, to be wholly ours, to possess us, to live in us, is a supreme desire that asks only that it may satisfy itself. "I am consumed with the desire to give Myself to thee," said our Lord to the venerable Jeanne Marie of the Cross; " and the more I give Myself the more I desire to give Myself anew. After each of thy communions I am like the pilgrim devoured with thirst, to whom a drop of water is given, and who is thereby made to thirst yet more. It is thus that I aspire continually to give Myself to thee." Jesus addresses these very words to each of you. Jesus wishes to enter your heart every day by sacramental communion; yet even that does not suffice Him; He would come again and again, without ceasing. This divine desire is realised by spiritual communion. "Every time thou desirest Me," He said to St. Mechtilde, "thou dost draw Me to thee. A desire, a sigh, is enough to make thee possess Me."

Our Lord has often revealed to saintly souls, and in different ways. His ardent desire to unite Himself with us. To the blessed Margaret Mary He said: "Thy desire to receive Me has so sweetly touched My heart, that if I had not already instituted this sacrament I should have done so at this moment, in order to give Myself to thee." Our Lord charged St. Margaret of Cortona to remind a monk of the word of St. Augustine: "Believe, and thou wilt have eaten;" that is to say, make an act of faith and desire towards the Eucharist, and you will be nourished by that divine food.

To the blessed Ida of Louvain, during a mass at which she could not communicate, Jesus said: "Call Me, and I will come!" "Come, O Jesus I" she cried at once, and felt herself filled with happiness as though she had really communicated. And after a spiritual communion of which she tasted the full delight, St. Catherine of Siena heard our Lord say to her: "In such manner and place as may please Me I can, I will, I am able marvellously to satisfy the holy ardours of a soul that desires Me."

This desire of Jesus to unite Himself to us is infinite and all-powerful; it knows no other obstacle than our liberty. Jesus has multiplied miracles in order to enclose Himself in the host that He may give Himself to us. What does it cost Him to work one miracle the more, to give Himself to us directly without the intervention of the sacrament? Is He not master of Himself, of all His graces, of His divinity? And if, being called by a few words, He descends from heaven into the host between the hands and at the will of the priest, will He not descend directly from heaven into our hearts if He is called by the ardour of our desire ?

O marvellous power of the human soul! O power of a sincere desire, inspired by love! Power which allows each one of you to realize for herself, in a certain manner, what the priest accomplishes for all the faithful! Hagar, flying to the desert and seeing that her child was dying of thirst, sent up a despairing cry to heaven, and a spring of pure water welled forth immediately to save mother and child. Cry, therefore, to God, telling Him your desire, and God will reply to you in causing a spring of eternal life to well forth from His heart to sanctify your soul!

A poor savage has no priest to baptize him, but he sends the voice of his desire up to God: behold him baptized ! A poor sinner turns to God. In the midst of her confusion she lifts her eyes towards the infinite Goodness; she thirsts for love and forgiveness: behold, she is forgiven ! You cannot approach the holy table; either you have already communicated or some obstacle prevents you. Gaze upon the host in the tabernacle with eyes of longing; declare your hunger and thirst to Jesus. Say to Him: "Jesus, come; I die without Thee!" Jesus will hasten: you will have communicated.

During mass the priest takes the host between his hands; he recollects himself, he bows himself, and he speaks a few words. Immediately the heavens open; Jesus hastens, at the voice of His friend who calls Him: behold Him between the hands of the priest! And you, pious soul ! Meditate profoundly; shape an ardent wish within your heart. Touched and urged by this desire, Jesus will hasten to His well-beloved: behold Him in your heart!

O ineffable Goodness, O infinite generosity, O unbounded munificence, O bewildering love! It is no longer God who is sovereign Master; and the creature is no longer servant. The creature becomes the sovereign mistress of God; and God makes Himself the eager andobedient servant of the creature. "I come not among you," said Jesus, "to be served, but to serve." Spiritual communion is truly an infinite power given to the creature over the Creator, to the pious soul over Jesus ! Father Faber is right: "Spiritual communion is one of the mightiest powers in the world!" * How express the innumerable fruits which spiritual communion brings us ? All is summed up when we say that it is a communion; that is, a participation in the Eucharist and the graces of sacramental communion. The Council of Trent, speaking of the usage of the admirable sacrament of the Eucharist, distinctly states that ** some receive it spiritually: these are those who, partaking in desire of the celestial bread which is set before them, taste the fruits and the benefit of the sacrament." Thus, according to the Council of
Trent, and according to all theology, spiritual communion is a spiritual manducation of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore all that we have said of the fruits of sacramental communion is also true of this, although in a different manner and in a less degree.**

The first effect of spiritual communion is therefore to increase our union with the humanity and the divinity of the Word made flesh. This is its principal effect, its essential advantage; all other graces received proceed from this. Briefly they are as follows: Fervour is revived. "Spiritual communion," says the Cure d'Ars, "revives the soul as a bellows does the fire which is covered with ashes and about to die. When we feel the love of God growing cold, let us make hastily a spiritual communion !" Poor heart ! it so easily loses its heat, so soon becomes covered with ashes ! Spiritual communion revives the fire and makes the flames of fervour break forth anew. In the midst of our trials during this pilgrimage here below sadness is forever taking possession of us; and our hearts become filled with heavy mists. Spiritual communion dissipates this mist like the morning sun; it brings joy back to the heart and sets the soul at peace. It also keeps us in a state of recollection; it is the best means we have to preserve us from the dissipation of our thoughts, from frivolity and all the wanderings of the spirit and imagination. It accustoms us to keep our regard fixed upon Jesus, to preserve a sweet and constant intimacy with Him, to live always heart to heart with Him.

It detaches us from all that is merely sensible and earthly; it makes us disdain passing vanities, the pleasures of this world, which are only for a time. "It is the bread of the heart !" said St. Augustine. "It is the healing of the heart !" It keeps the heart from all that is impure and imperfect, it transforms it and unites it closely to the heart of Jesus. It renders our relations with Jesus more tender and familiar. It makes our devotion to Him warmer and deeper. It enables us to taste more fully the charm and sweetness of His presence.

"When I make the sign of the cross," writes St. Angela of Foligno, "and place my hand on my heart, in saying "The Son ". . . I experience a rush of love and a great tenderness, because I feel that Jesus is there."

Spiritual communion places Jesus there, in the very centre of our heart; His presence is permanent and brings us infinite happiness. Spiritual communion has also a wonderful efficacy in effacing venial faults and remitting the penalties of sin. Pious souls who communicate spiritually often and well will be exempt from the flames of purgatory. Jesus will bear them straight from earth to heaven, as He did
the soul of Joan of Arc, which was seen at the moment of her death to mount directly to paradise in the form of a pure white dove.

Spiritual communion will give to those souls which have communicated well a surprising glory in heaven. Our Lord told St. Gertrude that every time we regard the sacred host with devotion we augment our eternal happiness, preparing for ourselves blessings above in proportion as we have multiplied our desires full of love and longing for the Holy Eucharist here on earth. Souls that have often communicated in spirit will shine in heaven with peculiar splendour, and will taste especial joys, sweeter and more holy than those known to others.

Spiritual communions, day by day increasing our desire to receive Jesus, urge us to sacramental communion, prevent us from missing it by our own fault or negligence, send us to communion more frequently, and dispose us to communicate better and to receive more abundant fruits therefrom.

Spiritual communion is, according to the testimony of all the saints, the best preparation for sacramental communion. Remember, too, that spiritual communion may be offered for the sake of our neighbour; either on behalf of the living or the dead. St. Margaret Mary recommended spiritual communion on behalf of the souls in purgatory. "You will greatly comfort these poor afflicted souls," said she, "by offering spiritual communions on their behalf, in order to redeem the bad use they have made of sacramental communions."

Finally, you must understand that you receive all these benefits and graces which flow from spiritual communion according to your dispositions; that is, according to the value of your desires. The more intense your desire to communicate, the purer, the more prolonged, the more fully will you participate in the fruits of the Eucharist and all the favours which we have enumerated; and this without other limits than the ardour, extent, and keenness of your desires.

The saints are unanimous in exalting the marvels of spiritual communion. They go so far as to say, with the venerable Jeanne Marie of the Cross, "that God by this means often fills us with the same graces as in sacramental communion"; and with St. Gertrude and Father Rodriguez, that "sometimes the graces are still greater, for," says the latter, "although sacramental communion is in itself of a greater efficacy, yet the fervour of desire may compensate for this inequality."

What more precious encouragement to spiritual communion could be given? How can one urge you further to make such communions frequently .'' When will you make them ? You will do so always during mass, when you attend without being able to communicate sacramentally. "You must," says Rodriguez, "devour the divine food with the eyes of the spirit. You must open the mouth of the soul, with an ardent desire to receive the celestial manna, and to savour its sweetness slowly in the heart."

You will make a spiritual communion, according to the advice of St. Alphonsus Liguori, at the beginning and the end of your visits to the blessed sacrament. What a wonderful manner of employing this precious time! Jesus is really there, a few paces distant, filled with the desire to come to you. Long for Him with the same ardent desire, and He will come and unite Himself to you in a consoling intimacy. You will leave the church inflamed with love. You will make a spiritual communion in the morning, as soon as you have awakened from sleep. "At your awakening," said our Lord to St. Mechtilde, "long for Me with all your heart. Draw Me to you by a sigh of love, and I will come, I will perform in you all your works, and I will suffer in you all your pains."

You will communicate in spirit after your prayer, or at the end of your meditation, on finishing your spiritual reading, before or after reciting the rosary, and at night as you fall asleep. You may communicate spiritually ten times, twenty times a day, as often as you will; for a few short moments suffice, a few words of prayer directed to Jesus present in the Eucharist imploring Him to come to you. It is not the time that signifies; it is the ardour, the vehemence of the desire, the hunger and thirst of the soul, the eagerness of the heart.

As for the formula, the best will be that which comes most spontaneously, most sincerely from the inmost recesses of your being. That in which you put the most love, and above all the most tender, pure, generous, and disinterested love; that in which you feel most sure of making Jesus feel that you love Him for Himself. You will say to Him:
"O Jesus, come; oh, come ! I have need of Thee; my soul sighs and languishes apart from Thee; I hunger and thirst after Thee; all is dreary when Thou art not here! "O Jesus, I cannot live far from Thee; I die without Thee. O Father, Friend, O Well beloved, come, I beg Thee, come! O Love, Love, instill into my heart all the ardour of the seraphim and all the most radiant feelings of Thy divine Mother !

"O infinite Love, come Thou Thyself and love in me; come, and kindle in my heart all the most ardent desires that have consumed Thine own! "Above all, O Love, may I love Thee for Thyself! May I forget myself, lose sight of myself, lose myself in Thee ! Enter into me, that I may live no longer, that Thou alone mayst live in me ! " As Thy Father is glorified in Thee, so be Thou glorified in me ! Take all that is in me to make it Thine forever!" Enter into me to continue Thy works. Thy prayers, Thy virtues, Thy sufferings. Thine expiations. Thy merits ! "O Jesus, O Well-beloved, nothing for me, but all for Thee, and forever ! Enter into me, live in me, that we may be consummated in one!"

Thus you will make your spiritual communions, or in other terms still warmer, with expressions yet more ardent. Often even you will say nothing, you will remain silent, for the lips become incapable of formulating the desires of the heart when the heart is carried away and ravished by divine love ! Then it is unspeakable suffering not to be able to express what one feels. But Jesus sees this inner suffering, and to Him it is perfect homage; it fills Him with joy, for it reveals more love than all the words and cries of the most impassioned heart. And all these desires, all these impulses, all these feelings that Jesus Himself awakens within you, and which He feels more than you—I leave you to think whether He will not reward them.

By the ardour of their desires for spiritual communion, the saints have often obtained miracles. Hosts have left the hands of the priest and given themselves spontaneously to them. Angels, sometimes the Blessed Virgin, or St. John, or our Lord Himself, have appeared to them and given them the sacrament. You will not be granted such miracles. No matter, if you do really, though invisibly, obtain the same graces. And these graces you will receive, if you consider, on the one hand, the worth and value, the excellence and the nature of spiritual communion; and if, on the other hand, you will remember with what ease you can effect it, at any hour of the day or night. How ungrateful then you would be, how culpable and inexcusable, if, understanding spiritual communion and the incalculable riches which it contains, you were not to resort to it, at least once a day, and much oftener still!

For of all the means of sanctification is there one which is more within your reach, more efficacious, and more marvellous ?

* However, spiritual communion must not be confounded with sacramental communion; still less must the latter be dispensed with on the pretext that the former will take its place. communion is also true of this, although in a different manner and in a less degree.*
**Our Lord one day showed the pious Paula Maresca a golden ciborium containing her sacramental communions and a silver ciborium containing her spiritual communions; He thus marked their relative value.

Source: HOLY COMMUNION by MONSEIGNEUR DE GIBERGUES, Imprimatur 1923

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