The spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius : $b adapted to an eight days retreat and six triduums in preparation for the semi-annual renovation of the vows, all for the use of Jesuits onlyCoppens, Charles
Religion
The spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius : $b adapted to an eight days retreat and six triduums in preparation for the semi-annual renovation of the vows, all for the use of Jesuits only
_POINT I._ _Accende lumen sensibus_, “Enlighten our minds.” See what a
change the Holy Ghost produced in the minds of the Apostles. They had
failed to understand the teaching of the Blessed Saviour. He had said to
them: “Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be
accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of
man. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and
scourged and spit upon. And after they have scourged him, they will put
him to death, and the third day he shall rise again.” And St. Luke adds:
“And they understood none of those things, and this word was hid from
them, and they understood not the things that were said” (xviii, 31-34).
And a little while before Christ’s ascension into Heaven the Apostles
asked Him: “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to
Israel?” (Acts i, 6). They were still so blinded that they only looked
for earthly power. But the Holy Ghost came down upon them, and at once
they understood all the meaning of Christ’s doctrine.
Ever since that day the same Divine Spirit has been teaching the Church,
enlightening the minds of its members, enabling them, not only to give a
mental assent to the doctrines proposed, but habitually to take God’s
view of things. This is done by the faithful generally, even very simple
souls, “Thou hast revealed them to little ones” (St. Luke x, 21). This
should be done by us, religious, especially, and it should characterize
our teaching and the tone of our conversations; while on the other hand,
“The sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of
God; for it is foolishness to him and he cannot understand” (I Cor. ii,
14).
_POINT II._ _Infunde amorem cordibus_, “Infuse Thy love into our
hearts.” The Love of God is sanctity, and it is a gift of the Spirit of
God. “The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
who is given to us” (Rom. v, 5). It is the most precious of all gifts
and, like every good gift, it is to be obtained by fervent and constant
prayer. For “Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights” (St. James i, 17). We are
especially encouraged to ask this gift from God, by the fact that Christ
Himself assures us that the Lord loves to bestow this treasure on those
who eagerly ask for it; for he says:
“How much more will your Father from heaven give the Good Spirit to them
that ask him?” (St. Luke xi, 13). Pray for it fervently, on this
occasion in particular.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account