The Twelfth Day of June

The First Desire of the Heart of Jesus: the Glory of His Father.

To glorify God the Father, in making Him known, loved and served, such was the object of all the affections of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the motive power of all Its actions, the end of all Its sufferings. Not only at His entrance into the world, but in the accomplishment of each mystery, in each step of His career, our divine Lord repeated constantly: "Behold me, my Father, behold me: what wouldst Thou that I should do to glorify Thee? I have engraven this law in the depths of my heart, it shall always be my rule." He was not troubled about Himself, nor His concerns, nor His own personal glory. "I seek not my own glory. My glory is nothing" (John, viii. 50-54). Oh! what admirable zeal and what purity of love! In truth, the Heart of Jesus seeks for Itself only contempt, humiliations and shame. He imposes silence on those who praise Him, hides Himself from those who seek to make Him king, whilst He hastens to meet the executioners who, on the day of His passion, bring Him chains and a cross. It was by accepting humiliations, a thorny crown, and an infamous gibbet that He honored His Father, and that the bleeding royalty of Calvary, which He so ardently desired, will establish the glory of God throughout the world. Then will He exclaim on the last day: "I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do."

Consider, Christians, that it is impossible to love God and not to feel an interest in his glory. Thousands of apostles, missionaries and heroic women, have made the sacrifice of their country, their families, their possessions, their lives even, in order that God should be known, loved and served in childhood, youth and all ages of life. It was because these noble souls knew how to love, because each day they said, with hearts filled with a holy jealousy for the honour and glory of God: "Our Father, who art in heaven, may Thy name be hallowed, exalted and praised. May Thy kingdom come in all hearts and command all affections. May Thy will be everywhere venerated and loved over the whole earth, as it is in heaven." Let ns examine ourselves and see if these are also our sentiments; if we have not too often preferred our repose and our interests to the greater glory of God; if in our hearts we feel for the evils which oppress the Church and religion, so as to be able to say with the Psalmist: "The reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon me" (Psalm lxviii. 10).

EXAMPLE.

A religious of the Order of St. Francis, named Alphonsus, had laboured successfully in propagating the kingdom and glory of God amongst the Indians. To evangelize these poor souls sitting in the shadow of death; to make them know and love the Creator of heaven and earth, was the object of his zeal and his preaching. Often was he heard to exclaim: "All for Thy glory, O my God; nothing except for Thy glory!" After some years, he resolved to abandon his apostolic works, and retire to a solitary place, that he might attend only to his personal sanctification. He had been an apostle and a missionary, now he would become a hermit. One day as he was kneeling before an image of the Sacred Heart, and praying with great fervor, he heard a mysterious voice which appeared to come from the Heart of Jesus, and which said to him: "Your prayers are pleasing to me, Alphonsus; but your preaching and your apostolic journeys were still more pleasing in my sight, for they caused many to bless and honor my Father. There are in India thousands of souls who neither know nor invoke His holy name: will you allow them to perish? And will you be indifferent to the glory of my Father, that glory which was the object of all my toils and sufferings?" The religious replied, weeping: "Lord Jesus, I refuse not to labor; I will become again the apostle of Thy heavenly Father, and so long as I know there exists a corner of the earth where He is not known or loved, I shall never enjoy a moment’s rest." He left his solitude and returned to India, where he honored God by the toils of his apostolate, and, finally, by the pains of martyrdom.

PRAYER.

Grant, O Lord, that Thy glory may be the end of all our thoughts, words and works, and that we may take as our motto these sublime words: "All for the greater glory of God." O Jesus, kindle in us this divine zeal, that it may consume us as victims and holocausts entirely sacrificed to the fire of Thy love. Amen.

PRACTICE.

Speak to someone about the great love God the Father has for us in that He gave us His Son to suffer and die for our salvation.