Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

On the Repentance of St. Peter, and the Despair of Judas Iscariot.

I.

Judas betrayed his divine Master and Peter denied him. Judas, in despair, destroyed his own life and Peter was converted. From whence comes this difference? Is it because Jesus looked at Peter? But he spoke to Judas. He warned him of his crime. He threatened him with terrible chastisements. He treated him as a friend and assailed his heart with all the inspirations and charms of divine love. Notwithstanding these facts, St. Peter was converted and Judas despaired. Oh, judgments of God! Terrible is the effect of your visitation on men! Oh, malice of the human heart! Oh, admirable results of the mercy and justice of God!

II.

Judas was lost because he did not desire to be saved. He had powerful graces before he sinned. He had the grace of repentance after he had sinned. But these graces were of no avail because he abused them, resisted them, and was hardened in evil; because he had communicated unworthily, and was too much attached to the things of the world; because he sinned through malice, knowing the sanctity of him whom he betrayed; and through ingratitude, delivering up to death him from whom he had received so many graces. Oh, it is a perilous thing to abandon one’s self to evil passions, to resist the grace of God, and sin with knowledge!

III.

St. Peter was raised, because he fell through fear and weakness. He did not renounce his Master in his heart although he denied him with his lips. His apostasy was criminal but excusable, as it was caused by terror, surprise, and unexpected events. He always loved his divine Master, but fear triumphed over love. It was his first fault. The dangers which threatened him of being seized and delivered into the hands of the infuriated Jews prevented his reflecting on his crime, hearing the cock that crowed, or remembering the prediction of Jesus Christ. As soon as he was conscious of his fault he did penance, and did not, like Judas, despair.

Resolution: As soon as I commit a sin I will not despair but immediately repent and do penance, and if the sin is mortal, I will make going to confession my highest priority.

Prayer: O my God, grant me the grace of true repentance for my sins, that with the penitent Peter I may one day join the company of the blessed where thou livest and reignest forever, world without end. Amen.

By a Member of the Society of Jesus, edited and amended by J. Scott Bailey, C.Ss.R.
© ASG

Monday of the Third Week in Lent

On the Fall of St. Peter.

I.

St. Peter denied his divine Master, who had preferred him to the other Apostles, and appointed him chief bishop of his Church. He denied him, after having made the most solemn protestations of love and fidelity. He denied him, as his God and Master, in these words: " I know not the man." He denied him thrice. He denied him with curses and imprecations. Behold the progress of evil! Behold how from slight faults one may fall into great and dreadful sins! Be compassionate towards this Apostle, while you are astonished at his fall, and seek the causes thereof.

II.

St. Peter fell because the love that he bore our Lord was lukewarm, and he followed him afar off. A soul that is lukewarm does not take long to fall into great sins, for lukewarmness is a mixture of charity and concupiscence, grace and nature, devotion and coldness, which, like tepid water, partly cold and partly warm, cannot remain together without one or the other of its contrary qualities being destroyed. Concupiscence, in a measure, increases, and charity diminishes. That which does not advance goes backwards. Besides which, the soul must have consolation, and cannot live without it. And that which is lukewarm, not being of heaven, it is compelled to seek it on earth and of earthly things, and having no fervor, its venial sins lead quickly to those that are mortal. Added to this, these infidelities cause God to withdraw many of his graces, and the devil overcomes with ease an opponent so feeble and languishing. Is not this your state? Is this not the origin of your fall?

III.

St. Peter fell because he depended too much on his own strength. He did not know how necessary was the assistance of divine grace to him. He did not understand his own weakness. He was filled with pride and presumption. He said in his fervor that nothing could move him, and even seemed to exalt himself over the other Apostles when he declared that if all of them should abandon Jesus, yet he would never be wanting in fidelity to him. He was so possessed with a good opinion of himself that when his divine Master told him that he would deny him thrice he did not believe him. He declared that he would not, as if the Son of God could deceive himself. Oh! it is truly a dangerous thing to presume on our own strength and trust only to our good resolutions. Is not this the cause of your fall? Do you not trust too much your heart and mind, your passions and weaknesses? Do you have frequent recourse to God? Do you pray to him continually to guide and defend you?

IV.

St. Peter fell because he threw himself rashly into the occasions of sin. He went into the house of Caiphas, not to defend his Master, but to see all that should happen, and hear all that was said. He fought among the soldiers, and was arrayed against them. He was, apparently, intrepid, until the voice of one servant frightened him, that of another made him tremble, that of a soldier overthrew him and made him deny his Master with curses and imprecations.

Fly from the companionship of the wicked, unless you desire to become like them. What safeguard have you to preserve your chastity among the lewd and immodest? How can you remain sober in the society of drunkards, or humble with those who are haughty? You must surely resemble those with whom you associate; if not, you will soon become like them. You have grace to withdraw from them, but no promise of its continuing with you if you remain with companions who are evil.

Resolution: Knowing that I cannot overcome temptation and sin on my own, I will pray every morning and night for the grace to overcome them. I will also call on the Blessed Virgin whenever I am tempted and whenever I am about to enter an occasion of sin.

Prayer: O my God, without thy help and thy grace I cannot overcome sin and temptation. Relying on my own strength I am lost to the eternal torments of hell. Grant me the grace never again to rely on my own abilities, but only on that grace and strength that comes from thee. Mary, Refuge of Sinners and Mediatrix of grace, obtain for me from thy Son the grace to ever be mindful of thy help, especially when tempted to sin.

By a Member of the Society of Jesus, edited and amended by J. Scott Bailey, C.Ss.R.
© ASG

Third Sunday of Lent

The Gospel: Luke 11:14-28.

At that time, Jesus was casting out a devil, and the same was dumb. And when he had cast out the devil, the dumb spoke, and the multitude were in admiration at it. But some of them said: "He casts out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils." And others, tempting, asked of him a sign of heaven. But he, seeing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation, and house upon house shall fall. And if Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Because you say that, through Beelzebub, I cast out devils. Now, if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. But if I, by the finger of God, cast out devils; doubtless the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keeps his court, those things are in peace which he possesses. But if a stronger than he come upon him, and overcome him, he will take away all his armor wherein he trusted, and will distribute his spoils. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathers not with me, scatters. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through places without water, seeking rest; and not finding, he said: ‘I will return into my house, whence I came out.’ And when he is come, he finds it swept and garnished. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and, entering in, they dwell there. And the last state of that man becomes worse than the first." And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that gave you suck. But he said: "Rather blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it."

Meditation for the Third Sunday of Lent:
On Relapses into Sin.

I.

The oftener a sin is pardoned, the less excusable it becomes. As sins increase in number, so do they increase in malice. The second fall is dangerous: old wounds are incurable. Sins pass into habit, and from being habitual become necessary, after which they grow more frequent and heinous; then habit becomes stronger; grace more feeble; resisting more difficult; the spirit more incapable of seeing; the will more infirm; the passions more rebellious; devils more powerful, and their power more tyrannical.

What ingratitude, to offend God after having received so many blessings! What contempt, to abandon him after he has so often pardoned and received us! What treachery, to betray him after having made so many promises! What malice, to outrage and crucify him in your heart, after he has bestowed so many graces on you!

II.

Is it thus that you mock God? Is it thus that you despise his love, laugh at his patience, and abuse his goodness, presume on his mercy, make war with his sweetness, and waste his graces? Is it thus that you trample under foot the blood of Jesus Christ, and render his passion fruitless, stifle his Spirit, drive him from your heart, and prefer the service of the devil to his?
After abundance comes poverty; after rain, dry weather; after the heat of summer, the ice of winter; after day, night; after consolation, affliction; after grace, chastisement; after love, contempt; after patience, anger; after insults and injuries, vengeance!

Resolution: If I have not done so within the past month, I will diligently prepare myself with a careful examination of conscience and go to confession within the week.

Prayer: Oh my God, my Father, and my King, how can I presume to appear before thee after so many treasons and infidelities, after so much contempt and ingratitude? My sins have, in a manner, changed my nature. Those which, formerly, were my weaknesses, are now a species of contempt, ingratitude, and malice. Those that were formerly but the involuntary result of my evil passions, are now impenitence and hardness of heart. Those that were pardonable faults, are now crimes without excuse, and second falls without remedy.

The number of my sins is infinite; the weight of them insupportable, and their malice without excuse. Oh my God, I am resolved to forsake my evil habits, and the proximate occasions of sin; I will frequent the sacraments, and spend the rest of my life in penance! Oh my God, deprive me of life if I do not desire to be converted! Take me from the world, if I wish not to break the ties that bind me to it. Bestow no more graces on me, if I am so miserable as to abuse them. I ask only grace to weep for my sins, and do penance for them as long as I live.

By a Member of the Society of Jesus, edited and amended by J. Scott Bailey, C.Ss.R.
© ASG

Saturday of the Second Week in Lent

Again on the Outrages that Our Lord Received in the House of Caiphas

I.

The high priest solemnly entreated Jesus, in the name of God, to say whether he was truly the Son of God. Jesus answered that he was. Caiphas, upon hearing this, rather than prostrating himself in adoration of his God, rent his garments and, turning to the other priests said, "‘What more need have we of witnesses? Behold, you have heard his blasphemy: what is your opinion?’ And they responded, saying, ‘He is guilty of death’" (Matt. 26:65-66).

I proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God and yet, like Caiphas, I do not adore, do not love him as I ought. Rather than adoring my God who gave his life for me on the cross I set up false gods around which I center my life. Whatever is more important to me than my loving Redeemer is an idol that I worship and adore.

II.

All those present began to spit in Jesus face and to abuse him. They slapped him with their hands and struck him with their fists. Not satisfied with this, they tied a cloth over his adorable face and ridiculed him saying, "Prophesy to us. Who struck you?" And all this Jesus suffered in silence and humility to pay the penalty of the insults that I have offered to God my heavenly Father.

III.

It is my sins and insults that Jesus suffered at the hands of the priests and soldiers. Whenever I have blasphemed or worshiped the false gods of power, money, social position, self-love, or pride I have joined the ranks of Caiphas and his cohort. But despite this, Jesus lovingly waits for me to put aside my idols and adore God alone.

Resolution: I will list those things that are idols in my life so that I can put them in their proper place and make Jesus Christ my one only God.

Prayer: Behold thyself, O my Jesus, become the butt of jokes and mockery. How can men see thee in such humiliation for love of them and not love thee? And how have I been able to go so far as to outrage thee by so many sins knowing that thou hast suffered so much for me? Forgive me, O my love. I will not displease thee again. I love thee above all things who art my supreme Good, and I repent above every other evil of having despised thee and turned away from thee. O Mary, my Mother, beg thy ill-treated Son to pardon me.

Adapted from a meditation of St. Alphonsus Liguori by J. Scott Bailey, C.Ss.R.
© ASG

Friday of the Second Week in Lent

On the Outrages That Our Lord Received in the House of Caiphas.

I.

Consider the outrages and insults our Lord submitted to from his enemies, in the house of Caiphas. He was spit upon, he was blindfolded, he was treated as a false prophet; he was declared a blasphemer, he was judged worthy of death.

You do the same whenever you offend God. You repeat these outrages whenever you offend or scandalize your neighbor. Jesus Christ declares that he suffers whatever evil is done to the least of his disciples, as the head feels whatever injury is inflicted on the smallest member of the body. It is, then, striking Jesus Christ to strike your neighbor; it is hating Jesus Christ to hate your neighbor; it is scoffing at Jesus Christ to scoff at your neighbor.

II.

Suffer, like Jesus, the most injurious words that may be said to you. Suffer, with Jesus, all outrages that are offered to you. Are you greater than he is? Are you more holy and innocent than he is? Jesus suffered, and you would escape suffering! Jesus did not take revenge on his enemies, and you seek revenge on yours!

Resolution: In reparation for the sins I have committed against my neighbor and thus against Jesus I will today show kindness to someone I have wronged in the past.

Prayer: Oh, Jesus my Savior, I deserve to be despised and maltreated by creatures, since I have had the insolence to despise and maltreat thee. I deservedly merit their blows, since I have so often raised my hand against thee! I hear thee declared guilty, and I wish to be thought innocent! I behold thee unjustly condemned to death, and I shrink, with pain, from the thought of dying! Oh, my sweet Savior, I wish to die for thee, since thou hast given thy life for me! I will bear with patience the injurious words and actions of those who hate me, since thou hast suffered the most base and malicious treatment for me.

Oh, dear Jesus! silence me when I complain of the malice of those who desire to harm me; restrain me when angry impulses urge me to speak. When I have offended or injured my neighbor, say to me: "Why do you strike me? Why do you dishonor me? I hold as done to myself, that which is done to the least of my members."

By a Member of the Society of Jesus, edited and amended by J. Scott Bailey, C.Ss.R.
© ASG

Thursday of the Second Week in Lent

On the Blow That Jesus Received in the Presence of the High Priest.

I.

What greater insult can be offered to a noble or royal personage, than to strike them? Jesus is a person of infinite dignity, and he received a blow from the hand of a poor insolent slave, who had come with the Jews into the garden of Olives, and, being wounded by one of the disciples, was cured by his divine power. He received it in a great assemblage, composed of the priests and princes of the people. He received it in the manner of a correction, as if he had committed some grievous fault, and been wanting in proper respect to the high priest. He received it with extreme patience. He asked why he was struck, lest by his silence he should give them cause to believe that he consented to their accusations, and acknowledged himself guilty.

II.

Jesus desired to be struck: 1st. To repair the insult offered to God by the first man who disobeyed his word and in a manner contradicted him. 2nd. To repair, by his ignominies, the shame and confusion of our nature which was transformed by the sin of Adam into a degraded and sensual one, as he repaired our infirmities by his weakness, and delivered us from the sting of death by dying. 3rd. To afford us an admirable example of sweetness and patience by suffering so great an outrage without uttering a threat against his enemies or drawing vengeance on them as he could have done.

III.

You have enemies. What injury have they done you? Is it comparable to that which was inflicted on the Son of God? Are you of more account, more innocent and holy, than he is? How many sins have you committed? As often as you have sinned, so often have you struck Jesus. And do you presume, after this, to complain of the ill-treatment you received from men who are your equals and superiors? Do you desire to be revenged on your enemies? to return evil for evil? Do you dare to murmur against the providence of God, who has given you a blow on the cheek by the hand of the wicked, in punishment for the outrages you have offered him?

Resolution: I will patiently endure any ill treatment and wrong that is done to me today and in future in reparation for my sins.

Prayer: O Lord, I will say nothing, but keep silence, believing that it is thou who hast struck me by the hands of my enemies. Thou dost neither desire their sin, nor cooperate therein; but it is thy will that I should suffer the pain that I have merited by mine. It is not Satan who has caused me to suffer this loss; it is not men. who have outraged me; it is the hand of God that has chastised me. I will submissively bear the weight of his anger, because my offences deserve it. I will be silent, and not complain, because thou, O Lord, hast afflicted and humiliated me. I turn to thee my other cheek, and beseech thee to spare me not in this life, that I may receive pardon in the life to come.

By a Member of the Society of Jesus, edited and amended by J. Scott Bailey, C.Ss.R.
© ASG

Wednesday of the Second Week in Lent

Jesus Is Taken By His Enemies.

I.

Jesus, addressing the soldiers, said: "Whom seek you?" They replied, "Jesus of Nazareth!" There are some who, like the Jews, only seek Jesus to take him, outrage, and crucify him. There are others who seek him only to love and serve him, but the number is small. Whom do you seek in your designs, your devotions, and prayers? Is it Jesus or yourself? Is it his honor and glory or your own? If you seek God with a pure heart your happiness and contentment will abound until the measure of your joy is filled to overflowing! All of your troubles, anxieties, and doubts arise from your seeking yourself instead of the will and glory of your heavenly Father.

I have sought him, but I have not found him. Why is this? It is because you do not seek him at the proper time or place. You seek him in the garden of delights, and he is only to be found in the field of conflicts and sorrows where he sweats great drops of blood and water. You seek him in palaces, and he is only to be found in a stable, in the temple, or on the cross. You seek him after he has stood knocking for a long time at the door of your heart, but it is too late; he grew weary of waiting; his locks were heavy with the dews of night, and he has gone away. You seek him coldly and with indifference. He is strong and swift. It is necessary to run that you may overtake him.

II.

Jesus said to the soldiers, "‘I am he,’ and they went backwards and fell to the ground." What a Captain who makes his enemies fall to the earth by a single word! What will be his power when he comes to judge them, if he is so powerful when they come to judge him? Oh, how terrible it will be to the wicked at the hour of death, to hear him say "I am he" whom you have betrayed, outraged, and crucified! But how full of sweetness and consolation he will be to the just, who, having lived piously, are received by him after death with these welcome words: Fear not, "I am he" who redeemed you. "I am he" whom you have served, honored, and obeyed! Fear not, he will say to you in your temptations, ‘I am he" who has proved you, visited you, and sent this or that affliction to try you, and I will deliver you.

III.

The just fall as well as the wicked, but in a different manner. The just fall into venial sins, the wicked into mortal sins. The just fall through surprise and frailty, and the wicked through premeditation and malice. The just fall forward on their faces as the Apostles did on Mount Thabor, the wicked fall backwards like the Jews in Gethsemani. The just know wherein they fall and quickly raise themselves, but the wicked know not when they fall and fear to rise or think it too difficult and troublesome a task to do so.

Oh, my soul, what do you seek? Is it Jesus of Nazareth? Behold your divine Master in the hands of the soldiers, who bind him with thongs, buffet him, and treat him with violence! Do not abandon him in his desolation as the other disciples did, but remain with him even unto the end. They said, at the Last Supper, that they would never abandon him, but go with him, to prison and to death, notwithstanding which, they basely forsook him when he was seized by his enemies. Do you not often act thus? What pious and tender protestations have you not made to him in holy communion, and yet how frequently have you not betrayed and abandoned him in the hour of temptation!

Resolution: I will seek Jesus where I know he is to be found today and thus I will give of myself to someone who is poor, sick, or suffering, knowing that I am giving of myself to Jesus who said, "As often as you do it for the least of these my brethren, you do it for me."

Prayer: When you were delivered into the hands of thine enemies, O Jesus, thou didst not seek to escape but went willingly, a lamb led to the slaughter. The soldiers sought thee and found thee and, though it was for evil ends, they kept thy company. I too have sought thee and found thee, but unlike those who sought to destroy thee, I have abandoned thee. Let me seek thee always and only thee. Let me seek thee in this transitory life and find thee lest I shall lose thee in the next. Thou alone art worthy of all my love. I give it all the thee and without reserve. Only open my eyes to thy sacred countenance that I may recognize thee in the poor and suffering. For if thou dost not, I shall not recognize thee in thy glory when thou shalt call me out of this life and I shall be eternally lost. O Mary, obtain for me this grace from thy Son, for he refuses nothing if thou shouldst ask it of him.

By a Member of the Society of Jesus, edited and amended by J. Scott Bailey, C.Ss.R.
© ASG