Reflection #34
On Prayer before the Most Holy
Sacrament of the Altar
Meditation, wherever it is made, pleases God; but it seems that Jesus Christ especially delights in the prayer which is made before the Most Holy Sacrament, since it appears that there He bestows light and grace more abundantly upon those who visit Him. He has left Himself in this Sacrament, not only to be the food of the souls who receive Him in Holy Communion, but also to be found present at all times by everyone who seeks Him. Devout pilgrims go to the holy house of Loreto, where Jesus Christ dwelt during His life, and to Jerusalem, where He died on the Cross; but how much greater ought to be our devotion when we find ourselves before a tabernacle, where this Lord Himself now dwells in person, who once lived among us and died for us on Calvary!
It is not permitted here on earth for persons of all ranks to speak alone with kings; but with Jesus Christ, the King of all Heaven, all--both noble and plebeians, rich and poor--can converse at will in this Sacrament and remain as long as they will to lay before Him their needs and to seek His graces. And there Jesus gives audience to all, and hears and comforts all.
Men of the world, who know no pleasures but those of earth, cannot comprehend what pleasure can be found in spending a long time before an altar, where there is a consecrated Host. But to souls who love God, hours and days passed before the Blessed Sacrament seem but moments because of the heavenly sweetness which Our Lord there makes them taste and enjoy.
But how can worldly people expect to enjoy these sweetnesses if they keep their hearts and minds full of the earth? St. Francis Borgia used to say that in order that divine love may rule in our hearts, we must first banish from them the world; otherwise, divine love will never enter into them, because it finds no place to rest: "Be still, and see that I am God," said David. (Psalms 45:11). In order to have a relish for God and to taste how sweet He is to them that love Him, our hearts must be empty, that is, detached from earthly affections. Wouldst thou find God? "Detach thyself from creatures, and thou shalt find Him," says St. Teresa.
What should a soul do when in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament? It should love and pray. It should not stay there in order to experience sweetnesses and consolations, but only to give pleasure to God by making acts of love, by giving itself wholly to God without reserve, by stripping itself of all self-will and by offering itself, saying: "O my God, I love Thee and desire nothing but Thee; grant that I may always love Thee, and then do with me and with all that I possess whatever Thou pleasest." Among all acts of love, the most agreeable to God is that which the Blessed continually exercise in Heaven, that is to say, rejoicing in the infinite happiness which God enjoys. For, as we have already said, the soul in Heaven loves God immeasurably more than itself and therefore desires the happiness of its Beloved far more than its own; and seeing that God enjoys an infinite happiness, it would thereby feel an infinite delight; but as a creature is not capable of an infinite delight, it is at least quite filled with joy, so that the happiness of God constitutes its joy and its Paradise. These acts of love, even when made by us without any sensible sweetness, please God greatly. For the rest, God gives to His most beloved souls the enjoyment of His consolations in this life, not always, but only rarely; and when He does give them, He gives them, not so much as a reward for their good works (the full recompense of which He reserves for them in Heaven), as to give them more courage to suffer with patience the troubles and adversities of this present life and especially to bear with the distractions and dryness which pious souls experience in prayer.
As for distractions, of these we must not make any account; it is enough to drive them away when we perceive them. For the rest, even Saints suffer involuntary distractions, but they do not on this account leave off prayer. Neither must we do so ourselves. St. Francis de sales said that, if in meditation we did nothing but drive away distractions again and again, our meditation would nevertheless be of great profit. Then, as for dryness, the greatest pain of souls given to prayer is to find themselves sometimes without any feeling of devotion, weary of it and without any sensible [i. e., "perceived"] desire of loving God; and with this is often joined the fear of being under God's displeasure on account of their sins, for which He may have abandoned them; and being in this utter darkness, they know not of any way of escaping from it, for it seems to them that every way is closed against them. Let the devout soul, then, continue firm not to leave off meditation, as the devil intends. At such times, let the soul unite its desolation with that which Jesus Christ suffered upon the Cross; and if it can say nothing else, it is enough to say this, at least by an act of the will: "My God, I desire to love Thee; I wish to be wholly Thine. Have pity on me; abandon me not!" Say also, as a holy soul used to say to God in a time of greatest desolation:
It is not permitted here on earth for persons of all ranks to speak alone with kings; but with Jesus Christ, the King of all Heaven, all--both noble and plebeians, rich and poor--can converse at will in this Sacrament and remain as long as they will to lay before Him their needs and to seek His graces. And there Jesus gives audience to all, and hears and comforts all.
Men of the world, who know no pleasures but those of earth, cannot comprehend what pleasure can be found in spending a long time before an altar, where there is a consecrated Host. But to souls who love God, hours and days passed before the Blessed Sacrament seem but moments because of the heavenly sweetness which Our Lord there makes them taste and enjoy.
But how can worldly people expect to enjoy these sweetnesses if they keep their hearts and minds full of the earth? St. Francis Borgia used to say that in order that divine love may rule in our hearts, we must first banish from them the world; otherwise, divine love will never enter into them, because it finds no place to rest: "Be still, and see that I am God," said David. (Psalms 45:11). In order to have a relish for God and to taste how sweet He is to them that love Him, our hearts must be empty, that is, detached from earthly affections. Wouldst thou find God? "Detach thyself from creatures, and thou shalt find Him," says St. Teresa.
What should a soul do when in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament? It should love and pray. It should not stay there in order to experience sweetnesses and consolations, but only to give pleasure to God by making acts of love, by giving itself wholly to God without reserve, by stripping itself of all self-will and by offering itself, saying: "O my God, I love Thee and desire nothing but Thee; grant that I may always love Thee, and then do with me and with all that I possess whatever Thou pleasest." Among all acts of love, the most agreeable to God is that which the Blessed continually exercise in Heaven, that is to say, rejoicing in the infinite happiness which God enjoys. For, as we have already said, the soul in Heaven loves God immeasurably more than itself and therefore desires the happiness of its Beloved far more than its own; and seeing that God enjoys an infinite happiness, it would thereby feel an infinite delight; but as a creature is not capable of an infinite delight, it is at least quite filled with joy, so that the happiness of God constitutes its joy and its Paradise. These acts of love, even when made by us without any sensible sweetness, please God greatly. For the rest, God gives to His most beloved souls the enjoyment of His consolations in this life, not always, but only rarely; and when He does give them, He gives them, not so much as a reward for their good works (the full recompense of which He reserves for them in Heaven), as to give them more courage to suffer with patience the troubles and adversities of this present life and especially to bear with the distractions and dryness which pious souls experience in prayer.
As for distractions, of these we must not make any account; it is enough to drive them away when we perceive them. For the rest, even Saints suffer involuntary distractions, but they do not on this account leave off prayer. Neither must we do so ourselves. St. Francis de sales said that, if in meditation we did nothing but drive away distractions again and again, our meditation would nevertheless be of great profit. Then, as for dryness, the greatest pain of souls given to prayer is to find themselves sometimes without any feeling of devotion, weary of it and without any sensible [i. e., "perceived"] desire of loving God; and with this is often joined the fear of being under God's displeasure on account of their sins, for which He may have abandoned them; and being in this utter darkness, they know not of any way of escaping from it, for it seems to them that every way is closed against them. Let the devout soul, then, continue firm not to leave off meditation, as the devil intends. At such times, let the soul unite its desolation with that which Jesus Christ suffered upon the Cross; and if it can say nothing else, it is enough to say this, at least by an act of the will: "My God, I desire to love Thee; I wish to be wholly Thine. Have pity on me; abandon me not!" Say also, as a holy soul used to say to God in a time of greatest desolation:
"I love Thee, though I seem to be
But hateful in Thy sight;
And I will ever follow Thee
Where'er Thou turn Thy flight."
But hateful in Thy sight;
And I will ever follow Thee
Where'er Thou turn Thy flight."
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