beauty of virtue than in their own deformity, which is only discovered in proportion as the love of God is established in us.

Thus it is we ought to deal with our neighbour; hearing with his faults till he knows them himself, and endeavouring in the meantime to move him mildly to the love of virtue: by this means we shall the better dispose him to receive grace, the light of which will afterwards discover to him the true value of everything: Jacob shall not now be confounded, said the prophet Isaias, xxix. 22, neither shall his countenance now be ashamed: but when he shall see his children, the work of my hands, in the midst of him sanctifying my name. Because the time of his shame is not come, he esteems vanity, he still loves the evil he has done; but when he begins to resolve to serve God sincerely, then he will be sensible of the obstacles he has put thereto, he will blush at the baseness of his affections, and the falsehood of his judgments.

A great deal of prudence is necessary for profiting by those circumstances, in the conduct of souls. St. Paul gives this advice to the perfect (Galat. vi. 1), if a man be overtaken in any fault you who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. And the prophet Isaias foretold of Christ, that the bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench-Isaias, xlii. 3. For though the smoke be incommodious, yet it shows some remains of the fire, and prudent charity, far from extinguishing it, awakens it, as one may say by its breath, in order to make it increase.

However we must observe, that this meekness is commonly unprofitable to those who desire to be spared continually in their faults, and that it is good to use a little rigour in regard of them, beaause there appears to be malice in them, and knowing their own weakness, they testify thereby their willingness to persevere therein. There are often found in religious communities such kind of spirits, who would have their superiors accommodate themselves to all their inclinations; but the same charity which inspires that condescension for certain persons, who, by reason of natural weakness, cannot elevate themselves higher, forbids it in regard of those whom a too great attachment to their own will renders difficult to be brought to obedience.

VII. What ought here to comfort us in the little good we do, is that Christ received the services and good will of the Apostles, though it was very imperfect, with as much goodness as he afterwards accepted of their labours and heroic actions. He said to them the night before he died: I will not now call you servants! for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you.-John xv. 15. And elsewhere, you are they who have continued with me in my temptations.-Luke xxii. 28.

Consider who it is that says these things, and to whom he says them: it is the Son of God who speaks thus to those who had already expressed so much weakness, and who were to testify still more the ensuing night. He favourably received from them the least actions of an imperfect virtue, to teach us that he is always satisfied with what we do for him, when we do what we can; that the simplicity and purity of our intentions make him excuse the defects of our works; that a very little good on our part is sufficient for drawing upon us the treasures of his mercy; and that he considers in the present graces which he communicates to us, the satisfaction he will receive from us hereafter.

A great instruction both for those that command and those that obey. It is an extreme imprudence in superiors to exact all things from all persons, and to lay the same burdens on the strong and on the weak; since they ruin the principles of good government thereby. And it is a lamentable weakness in inferiors, to complain that more is laid upon them than upon others who have fewer talents than they. Thus a prudent director ought carefully to examine, what those who are subject to his conduct can do, according to their strength and grace. He ought to bear with the weak, assist them in what they are capable of doing, exhort them to continue, and to expect nothing from them beyond their power: otherwise he will discourage them, make them abandon the exercise of virtue, and entirely ruin them at last.

VIII. Jesus Christ, for two reasons, chose rather to bear with the imperfections of his Apostles, than to make them perfect all at

once.

First, to show us in them how earthly affections hinder the communication of the Holy Ghost, the gifts of perfect charity, and that intimate union with God, to which we are called. For whilst they were attached to the corporal presence of our Saviour, by a sensible love, they were incapable of receiving the divine light; and it was necessary for him to depart from them in order to purify

their love.

Secondly, because being appointed for great things, for which they needed to receive extraordinary graces, they ought first to be humbled; that being afterwards filled with the Holy Ghost, they might despise themselves by the remembrance of their ancient meanness. Those pillars of the Church needed to have foundations of humility proportioned to their elevation; and nothing was more capable of establishing that virtue in them, than the knowledge of their own miseries.

IX. God deals in the same manner daily in regard of those whom he elevates from earthly love to the contemplation of heavenly things. He bears with their weaknesses, ignorance, complaints and their other imperfections. He comforts them some

times by his presence, and afflicts them by concealing himself. He makes them feel sometimes the sweetness, and sometimes the severity of his spirit. He raises them up with great care he supports them and humbles them: he chastises them and caresses them; he restrains them and excites them, as a father full of goodness, who makes to himself a sweet occupation of the education of his children.

The apostles were not the sole objects of his friendship; he still stretches out his arm to us all, his power is not diminished, his goodness is always the same, and he has no less care this day to maintain his spirit in every one of us, than he formerly had to preserve it in his disciples. Wherefore we ought to have the same acknowledgment to this charitable Father as they had; and we shall be no less saints than they were, if we are as faithful.

CONTEMPLATION.-On Christ in his patience in bearing with the defects of his Disciples.-I. Show me interiorly, O Lord! the time wherein thou wouldst have me to bless thee; and imprint in my heart all the acknowledgment I ought to have for thy benefits. Thou callest us all, but who can come to thee, if thou dost not bear him up? Thou wilt have all men to love thee, but who shall love thee, if thou dost not give him thy love? Thou wilt be known by the whole world, but who can know thee without thy light? The necessity I have of thee is born and increases with me; the obligations I lie under to thee urge me continually; but I can only satisfy my obligations and gratitude by thee; and without thy goodness, without thy help, and without thy conduct, what can I do, O thou God of my soul! cast then upon me the eyes of thy mercy; give me those interior ears which make thy voice be heard. Give me the desire of following thee, the ardour of seeking thee, and the strength to come to thee. Give me the knowledge of my miseries, that I may fear them; and the sight of the dangers of this life, that I may avoid them.

I confess, O Lord! that I am unworthy of the favour I beg of thee: that I even deserve to be punished, and cast far from thee, for presuming to ask new favours, after having abused those which thou hast already bestowed on me, and without having expiated the sins I have committed against thee. But the sinners whom thou hast received, the thief to whom thou gavest Paradise, and the sinful women whom thou didst fill with thy grace, support my confidence, and give me hopes thou wilt not reject me; for they could never have been converted, nor sought, nor followed thee, if thy light and divine power had not incited them interiorly.

Why should I not, O divine Jesus! expect all from thee, since, in order to declare thy truths to me, thou hast sent not angels from heaven, but ignorant, weak, and sinful men, in whom I see no less the defects of our nature, than the gifts of thy grace? Such were

thy disciples, even when they were with thee; ambitious, jealous, vain, wavering in the faith, and full of base views and terrestrial affections. Thou didst choose them nevertheless such as they were, and didst lead them with thee everywhere.

There was one among them that was a publican, another that was to deny thee, and a third that was to betray thee, and whom thou wouldst yet have forgiven, after so great a crime, if he had begged thy pardon. They were almost all so weak, that they abandoned thee; and so heavy that their minds were always fixed on the ground. They had the divine light before their eyes, and saw not: they were fed with the bread of life, and were not fortified thereby.

with a charming Thou wert their Thou communi

As the best of fathers, thou treatest them sweetness, and they did not learn to love thee. defence, and they were afraid of everything. catedst thy divine secrets to them, and they did not beg thy spirit of thee, in order to penetrate the depth of them. Thou promisedst them eternal blessings, and they had nothing but temporal views. Thou taughtedst them a heavenly doctrine, and they profited not thereby. What do I say, O Lord? they beheld him with their eyes, whose life was the admiration of angels, enriched heaven, filled paradise with joy, and they knew him not.

II. Why didst thou suffer them, O Lord! to be at the same time so near and so far from thee? How couldst thou restrain thy love so long, and not inflame them at first with that divine fire? Why didst thou wait till they should see thee no more, for bestowing thy gifts upon them, since thou lovedst them so tenderly? Without doubt it was on my account, O eternal wisdom! that thou dealedst so with them: for I am persuaded that it would have been more agreeable to thee to have reigned absolutely in them from the first moment of their vocation, to have purified their hearts, to have possessed them entirely, and to have filled them with the riches of thy grace, as thou didst afterwards. But thou didst judge it more proper to bear with their defects for some time, to show me in those, who were to be the masters of Christian perfection, the pillars of the truth, and the light of the world, what I ought to hope for from thee, and that all my miseries are not capable of stopping the course of thy mercies.

O certain refuge of thy poor creature! it is not only in thy father's house that there are many mansions, there are also many in thy heart, since thou receivest all into it. St. Thomas, though incredulous as he was, the thief, the publican, the leper, and the public sinful woman, find place therein; and Judas himself would have been received into it, had he not voluntarily abandoned himself to despair. It is in that loving heart that darkness is dispelled, imperfections are consumed, terrestrial affections are destroyed, interior troubles are composed, and the whole man is sanctified.

III. What then! shall this heart so great, so open, so charitable, be shut against me alone, O my God! and shall not thy miserable creature find a place in it, where it may behold all its vices destroyed, and its spirit renewed by the power of thine? I adore thee, O divine heart! wholly burning with the flames of pure love. I adore thee, O eternal light! O sun that always rises and never sets! fountain that flows without ceasing, and never diminishes! ocean of infinite blessings which cannot be fathomed! sweet refreshment of travellers! comfort of all those that weep! refuge of those that are tempted! sanctuary for all sinners! Receive me, O divine Jesus, into that heart, where I presume to hope that I am written by thy eternal love. Where shall all my weaknesses be consumed, except in that furnace of love? And if there be not room for all, how, O my God! art thou the Saviour and Redeemer of all?

It is true, my vices are much greater than the imperfections of thy apostles: for they proceeded only from weakness, ignorance, and simplicity. They did not leave, they accompanied thee everywhere, in prayer, in thy journeys, at table, in labours, and in poverty. They remained with thee in thy temptations, they loved thee in such a manner as they could, and their defects were not capable of separating them from thee. But mine, O Lord! proceed from malice. I fly without being pursued; I depart from thee daily; I am inconstant in thy service; and I do not even stay for the temptation to abandon thee.

Thy disciples heard thee with eagerness, and I shut my ears against thy word. They humbled themselves when thou didst reprove them, and I excuse myself when corrected. They address themselves to thee in their miseries, in order to be cured of them, and I am filled with presumption in mine. Their simplicity attracted thy love, and my pride renders me worthy of thy hatred. O heavenly physician! who seest the depth and corruption of my wounds, couldst thou bear the horror of them, if thou hadst not for me the tenderness of a father? Wouldst thou expect me so long, if thy heart was not full of mercy? Wouldst thou forbid me to despair if thy sweetness was not ineffable? Wouldst thou invite me to receive such great blessings, if thy liberality was not infinite.

Is it thou then, O divine Jesus! that seekest me? and am I him whom thou desirest to unite to thee? Behold me here before thee, O my love and sovereign good! Who hinders thee now from obtaining what thou desirest? Who stops the execution of thy designs? Wouldst thou have me remain such as I am? Wilt thou still bear longer with me? Art thou resolved to leave me separated from thee in the region of the shadow of death? Why dost thou not cast thy eyes upon me? Shall I be the only one