Book: Introduction to the Devout Life

[ready]

Yes, Shin, I agree that this meditation is worth repeating many times.

St. Therese of Lisieux says that gratitude draws down the most graces from God. If we could always be recollected of all of the benefits mentioned in this meditation we have received and be grateful for them - even when we are suffering from our worse trials - we would be open to receiving so much grace from our Lord and would be so pleasing to Him.

[Shin]

CHAPTER XII. FOURTH MEDITATION.

On Sin.

Preparation.

1. PLACE yourself in the Presence of God. 2. Ask Him to inspire your heart.

Considerations.

1. Consider how long it is since you first began to commit sin, and how
since that first beginning sin has multiplied in your heart; how every day
has added to the number of your sins against God, against yourself and
against your neighbour, by deed, word, thought and desire.

2. Consider your evil tendencies, and how far you have followed them. These
two points will show you that your sins are more in number than the hairs of
your head, or the sand on the seashore.

3. Apart from sin, consider your ingratitude towards God, which is in itself
a sin enfolding all the others, and adding to their enormity: consider the
gifts which God has given you, and which you have turned against the Giver;
especially the inspirations you have neglected, and the promptings to good
which you have frustrated. Review the many Sacraments you have received, and
see where are their fruits. Where are the precious jewels wherewith your
Heavenly Bridegroom decked you? with what preparation have you received
them? Reflect upon the ingratitude with which, while God sought to save you,
you have fled from Him and rushed upon destruction.

Affections and Resolutions.

1. Humble yourself in your wretchedness. O my God, how dare I come before
Thine Eyes? I am but a corrupt being, a very sink of ingratitude and
wickedness. Can it be that I have been so disloyal, that not one sense, not
one faculty but has been sullied and stained; not one day has passed but I
have sinned before Thee? Was this a fitting return for all my Creator's
gifts, for my Redeemer's Blood?

2. Ask pardon; ”throw yourself at the Lord's Feet as the prodigal son, as the
Magdalene, as the woman convicted of adultery. Have mercy, Lord, on me a
sinner! O Living Fountain of Mercy, have pity on me, unworthy as I am.

3. Resolve to do better. Lord, with the help of Thy Grace I will never again
give myself up to sin. I have loved it too well; henceforth I would abhor it
and cleave to Thee. Father of Mercy, I would live and die to Thee.

4. In order to put away past sin, accuse yourself bravely of it, let there
not be one sinful act which you do not bring to light.

5. Resolve to make every effort to tear up the roots of sin from your heart,
especially this and that individual sin which troubles you most.

6. In order to do this, resolve stedfastly to follow the advice given you,
and never think that you have done enough to atone for your past sin.

Conclusion.

1. Thank God for having waited till now for you, and for rousing these good
intentions in your heart. 2. Offer Him all your heart to carry them to good
effect. 3. Pray that He would strengthen you.

[Shin]

This is one of the more difficult meditations, for me and I think for many, because we are so stuck in our ways. We see room for improvement, we see in fact the desperate needs around us spiritually far and wide -- and then we think about our own comforts and how hard it is to change, rather than the joy of serving the Lord. We excuse our lack of action rather than accuse ourselves because of the changes necessary.

I pray for the inspiration and strength to change and overcome all our sins and imperfections great and small, so we can truly live devout lives to the Lord, wasting no time throughout our days on useless and selfish tasks.

God help us to make good use of all the graces you give us.

[ready]

This is an excellent meditation for the first day of Advent. It got into just what I was thinking this morning as I was preparing for the coming of our Lord, like we traditionally do in Advent. I prayed that I would break out of all sinfulness with the help of His grace and become holier than ever with this year's Advent time of preparation.

[Shin]

CHAPTER XIII. FIFTH MEDITATION.

Of Death.

Preparation.

1. PLACE yourself in the Presence of God. 2. Ask His Grace. 3. Suppose
yourself to be on your deathbed, in the last extremity, without the smallest
hope of recovery.

Considerations.

1. Consider the uncertainty as to the day of your death. One day your soul
will quit this body ”will it be in summer or winter? in town or country? by
day or by night? will it be suddenly or with warning? will it be owing to
sickness or an accident? will you have time to make your last confession or
not? will your confessor or spiritual father be at hand or will he not?
Alas, of all these things we know absolutely nothing: all that we do know is
that die we shall, and for the most part sooner than we expect.

2. Consider that then the world is at end as far as you are concerned, there
will be no more of it for you, it will be altogether overthrown for you,
since all pleasures, vanities, worldly joys, empty delights will be as a
mere fantastic vision to you. Woe is me, for what mere trifles and
unrealities I have ventured to offend my God? Then you will see that what we
preferred to Him was nought. But, on the other hand, all devotion and good
works will then seem so precious and so sweet: ”Why did I not tread that
pleasant path? Then what you thought to be little sins will look like huge
mountains, and your devotion will seem but a very little thing.

3. Consider the universal farewell which your soul will take of this world.
It will say farewell to riches, pleasures, and idle companions; to
amusements and pastimes, to friends and neighbours, to husband, wife and
child, in short to all creation. And lastly it will say farewell to its own
body, which it will leave pale and cold, to become repulsive in decay.

4. Consider how the survivors will hasten to put that body away, and hide it
beneath the earth and then the world will scarce give you another thought,
or remember you, any more than you have done to those already gone. God
rest his soul! men will say, and that is all. O death, how pitiless, how
hard thou art!

5. Consider that when it quits the body the soul must go at once to the
right hand or the left. To which will your soul go? what side will it take?
none other, be sure, than that to which it had voluntarily drawn while yet
in this world.

Affections and Resolutions.

1. Pray to God, and throw yourself into His Arms. O Lord, be Thou my stay in
that day of anguish! May that hour be blessed and favourable to me, if all
the rest of my life be full of sadness and trial.

2. Despise the world. Forasmuch as I know not the hour in which I must quit
the world, I will not grow fond of it. O dear friends, beloved ones of my
heart, be content that I cleave to you only with a holy friendship which may
last for ever; why should I cling to you with a tie which must needs be
broken?

I will prepare for the hour of death and take every precaution for its
peaceful arrival; I will thoroughly examine into the state of my conscience,
and put in order whatever is wanting.

Conclusion.

Thank God for inspiring you with these resolutions: offer them to His
Majesty: entreat Him anew to grant you a happy death by the Merits of His
Dear Son's Death. Ask the prayers of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints. OUR
FATHER, etc.

Gather a bouquet of myrrh.

[Shin]

This meditation inspires me with trust in God, and peace at heart. When everything is at an end, what else can there be but contrition for all your sins because of love, and hope and trust in the Lord because of love?

I think about how sweet devotion seems in the light of this meditation and how it makes me want to begin again today, to truly do greater that I have so far done for the Lord.

[ready]

This meditation is so great for our Advent preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus will come to us for sure, when we die and at the end of the world. We probably will see him first when we die, so let us always have the "Four Last Things" in mind (death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell) and remain inclined toward the good, so that we naturally will turn toward Him when we die and not toward the punishing fires of Hell. Our habits, good or bad, will play a big role in where we will spend our eternity (in most cases, I think). Let us be resolved to live solely for His glory and for the Kingdom with all our thoughts, words, and actions.

[Shin]

Chapter IX

On Judgment


Preparation

1. PLACE yourself in the Presence of God. 2. Intreat Him to inspire you.


Considerations

1. When the time comes which God has appointed for the end of this world, and after many terrible signs and warnings, which will overwhelm men with fear, the whole earth will be destroyed, and nothing then left.

2. Afterwards, all men, save those already risen, shall rise from the dead, and at the voice of the Archangel appear in the valley of Jehoshaphat. But alas, with what divers aspects! for some will be glorious and shining, others horrible and ghastly.

3. Consider the majesty with which the Sovereign Judge will appear surrounded by all His Saints and Angels; His Cross, the Sign of Grace to the good and of terror to the evil, shining brighter than the sun.

4. This Sovereign Judge will with His awful word, instantly fulfilled, separate the evil and the good, setting the one on His Right Hand, the other on His Left, an eternal separation, for they will never meet again.

5. This separation made, the books of conscience will be opened, and all men will behold the malice of the wicked, and how they have contemned God; as also the penitence of the good, and the results of the grace they received. Nothing will be hid. O my God, what confusion to the one, what rejoicing to the other! Consider the final sentence of the wicked. Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Dwell upon these awful words. Go, He says, for ever discarding these wretched sinners, banishing them for ever from His Presence. He calls them cursed: O my soul, what a curse: a curse involving all other maledictions, all possible evil, an irrevocable curse, including all time and eternity; condemning them to everlasting fire. Think what that eternity of suffering implies.

6. Then consider the sentence of the good. Come, the Judge says, O blessed loving word with which God draws us to Himself and receives us in His Bosom. Blessed of My Father, O blessing above all blessings! inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. O my God, and that Kingdom will know no end!


Affections and Resolutions

1. Tremble, my soul, at the thought. O God, who will be my stay in that hour when the pillars of the earth are shaken?

2. Abhor your sins, which alone can cause you to be lost when that fearful day comes. Surely I will judge myself now, that I be not judged;—I will examine my conscience, accuse, condemn, punish myself, that the Judge may not condemn me then. I will confess my faults, and follow the counsels given me.


Conclusion

Thank God for having given you means of safety in that terrible Day, and time for repentance. Offer Him your heart, and ask for grace to use it well. OUR FATHER, etc.

Gather your bouquet.

[Shin]

When he broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Revelation 8:1

Thoughts of the particular judgement always bring me into a kind of silence. There is much to do.. when you think of your own nothingness compared to the tasks ahead, only with God can they be completed.

[ready]

While I am still alive I am resolved to do my best to keep from sinning so I can be counted among the good sheep on that mighty and terrible day of judgement when our Lord will separate the good from the bad. Can you imagine being cursed by God Himself and told to depart from Him for all eternity and to go down to the fires of Hell! What could be worse than that! We must do what we can now while we have the life in us (and the ability to change) to abhor our sin and to refrain from commiting it in all its forms. This meditation is very sobering to anyone who plays with the fire of evil. In this medition they are able to see clearly that their lack of taking sin seriously can lead them to an unfortunate end, to the eternal separation from God, to damnation with the whole lot of evil-doers who didn't take their sin condition and sin habits seriously enough. Let us pray for the conversion of all sinners so none of us has to edure the pains of Hell and take glory aways from our Heavenly Father.

[Shin]

Originally Posted by ready

While I am still alive I am resolved to do my best to keep from sinning so I can be counted among the good sheep on that mighty and terrible day of judgement when our Lord will separate the good from the bad. Can you imagine being cursed by God Himself and told to depart from Him for all eternity and to go down to the fires of Hell! What could be worse than that! We must do what we can now while we have the life in us (and the ability to change) to abhor our sin and to refrain from commiting it in all its forms. This meditation is very sobering to anyone who plays with the fire of evil. In this medition they are able to see clearly that their lack of taking sin seriously can lead them to an unfortunate end, to the eternal separation from God, to damnation with the whole lot of evil-doers who didn't take their sin condition and sin habits seriously enough. Let us pray for the conversion of all sinners so none of us has to edure the pains of Hell and take glory aways from our Heavenly Father.

Amen.

[Shin]

CHAPTER XV. SEVENTH MEDITATION.

Of Hell.

Preparation.

1. PLACE yourself in God's Presence. 2. Humble yourself, and ask His Aid. 3. Picture to yourself a dark city, reeking with the flames of sulphur and brimstone, inhabited by citizens who cannot get forth.

Considerations.

1. Even so the lost are plunged in their infernal abyss; suffering
indescribable torture in every sense and every member; and that because
having used their members and senses for sin, it is just that through them
they should suffer now. Those eyes which delighted in impure vicious sights,
now behold devils; the ears which took pleasure in unholy words, now are
deafened with yells of despair; and so on with the other senses. 2. Beyond
all these sufferings, there is one greater still, the privation and pain of
loss of God's Glory, which is for ever denied to their vision. If Absalom
cared not to be released from exile, if he might not see his father's face,
how much sorer will it be to be deprived for ever of the blessed vision
of God?

3. Consider how insupportable the pains of Hell will be by reason of their
eternal duration. If the irritating bite of an insect, or the restlessness
of fever, makes an ordinary night seem so long and tedious, how terrible
will the endless night of eternity be, where nought will be found save
despair, blasphemy and fury!

Affections and Resolutions.

1. Read the Prophet's descriptions of the terrors of the Lord, and ask
your soul whether it can face them whether you can bear to lose your God for
ever?

2. Confess that you have repeatedly deserved to do so. Resolve henceforth to
act differently, and to rescue yourself from this abyss. Resolve on distinct
definite acts by which you may avoid sin, and thereby eternal death.

Give thanks, offer yourself, pray.

References:

2 Sam. xiv. 32.

Isa. xxxiii. 14. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who
among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

[Shin]

I find the practice of acts of perfect contrition very spiritually valuable, and I would like to increase these, as well as spiritual communions.

I think, meditating on Hell and the fewness of the saved is one of the best spurs onwards towards true repentance and penance.

And penance is so very necessary!

I have over a hundred quotations on the fewness of the saved.. whenever I read them, it puts a little more ice and steel into my soul to work harder for God and recognize the great need for conversion and gravity of what might once have been regarded as 'small' sins if at all.

[ready]

Considering the many quotes from the past that there are on the fewness of the saved, I find myself a little confused. Why? you may ask. It is because I heard that our most recent Pope has said that he thinks that most souls go to Purgatory. When I heard this I was relieved because I was one of the people who thought that many more souls went to hell these days - especially parents who are not bringing up their children properly...and many of these parents exist. The Church has always taught that parents are responsible for their children's moral upbringing, and so, are responsible not only for their own souls, but the souls of their young ones, as well. I thought that bad parents were sending their children to hell by not bringing them up properly, like St. Pio of Pietrelcina would say, and as a result are sending themselves to hell - but do I understand the situation properly as it applies today?

These days parents aren't bringing up their children properly in the faith, children are bombarded with false information from everywhere on morality and on God - and adults aren't always getting the proper education themselves. If it is through no ones fault, then no one is to be blamed, but then again aren't all of us responsible for educating ourselves on faith and morals according to the teaching of the Church and informing our consciences? It is my understanding that we all have this responsibility before the Lord.

I have read a lot of St. Alphonsus and his books made me feel like many people in our day and age would be damned. But I don't have a grasp on theology or moral culpability like our scholar Pope Benedict does. Remember that before suicides were always seen as the damned. Today we understand the mind, mental illness, stress and a number of other factors that enter into human actions better to find a diminished responsibility (moral culpability) for some who were once thought of as damned.

[Shin]

Sorry for the delay. I've just finished moving, and between that and the nor'easter I've been kept hopping.

On the brighter side, I have enjoyed these meditations so much I thought it a good idea to make them more widely available in the future.

They are now entirely up on the Saints' Prayers website. Hopefully I'll be able to upload some of the other meditations based on quotations on the Saints' Quotes website soon.