Part 1

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ORTUS CHRISTI

Works by the same Author:

SPONSA CHRISTI Meditations on the Religious Life.

PASSIO CHRISTI Meditations for Lent.

MATER CHRISTI Meditations on Our Lady.

DONA CHRISTI Meditations for Ascension-tide, Whitsun-tide and Corpus Christi.

LONGMANS, GREEN & CO.

London, New York, Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras.

ORTUS CHRISTI

_Meditations for Advent_

BY MOTHER ST. PAUL

RELIGIOUS OF THE RETREAT OF THE SACRED HEART HOUSE OF RETREATS--BIRMINGHAM AUTHOR OF "SPONSA CHRISTI," "PASSIO CHRISTI," "MATER CHRISTI," "DONA CHRISTI," ETC.

PREFACE BY REV. JOSEPH RICKABY. S.J.

"_Ambulabunt gentes in lumine tuo et reges in splendore ortus tui._" (Is. lx. 3).

LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C. 4 FOURTH AVENUE AND 30TH STREET, NEW YORK BOMBAY, CALCUTTA AND MADRAS 1921

Nihil obstat

JOSEPHUS RICKABY S. J. Censor deputatus.

Imprimatur

[+] EDUARDUS ILSLEY Administrator Apostolicus.

Die 19 Aprilis 1921.

PREFACE.

Reading these Meditations we discover with surprise how much spiritual food is obtainable from a study of the lessons and liturgy of Advent. Mother St. Paul is always a heart-searcher. She presses self-reform upon souls, who to the eye of outward observers and perhaps in their own conceit, have little or nothing to amend. We must always be following Christ, and Christ is ever moving forward. Deliberately to stand still is to widen the distance between ourselves and Him, an ungenerous, not to say a dangerous thing to do. What are called here Meditations may well be taken for daily spiritual reading in preparation for Christmas. Advent after all is a season of joy, and these Meditations must be taken in a joyful spirit. Courage and enthusiasm in the cause of Christ is the supreme need of all Catholics who really _love His coming_. (2 Tim. IV. 8)

JOSEPH RICKABY, S. J.

St. Beuno's College.

NOTE.

Although there are twenty-eight Meditations given in this book they will not all be needed every year, for the length of Advent varies between twenty-two and twenty-eight days. The Third Sunday of Advent _may_ fall as late as December 17th (the first day of the "Great O's") and the Fourth Sunday of Advent be Christmas Eve. The plan suggested, which will suit all years, is to use No. 1 on Advent Sunday and the rest according to choice till December 17th; from then to December 24th Nos. 21-28 should be used.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

1. Ortus Christi (_Advent I_) 1

2. Our Lady's Rest 6

3. My Sins--A Triptych 11

4. The Last Judgment 16

5. Traders and Talents 21

6. Stir up! 27

7. St. John the Baptist, 1 His Preparation 33

8. St. John the Baptist, 2 His Mission 39

9. St. John the Baptist, 3 His Testimony 44

10. St. John the Baptist, 4 His Martyrdom 49

11. St. John the Baptist, 5 His Character 53

12. "Incarnatus est" 58

13. "Ex Maria Virgine" 63

14. "The Lord is nigh" (_Advent III_) 67

15. The Interior Life, 1 Humility 73

16. The Interior Life, 2 Oblation 77

17. The Interior Life, 3 Imprisonment 81

18. The Interior Life, 4 Hiddenness 85

19. The Interior Life, 5 Prayer 89

20. The Interior Life, 6 Zeal 93

21. O Sapientia! _December 17th._ 99

22. O Adonai! (_Expectation of Our Lady_) _December 18th._ 104

23. O Radix Jesse! _December 19th._ 110

24. O Clavis David! _December 20th._ 114

25. O Oriens! (_Feast of St. Thomas_) _December 21th._ 118

26. O Rex Gentium! _December 22nd._ 123

27. O Emmanuel! _December 23d._ 127

28. Christmas Eve _December 24th._ 130

PRAYERS.

Deus, qui de beatae Mariae Virginis utero, Verbum Tuum, Angelo nuntiante, carnem suscipere voluisti: praesta supplicibus Tuis ut qui vere eam Genitricem Dei credimus, ejus apud Te intercessionibus adjuvemur.

O God Who didst please that Thy Word should take flesh, at the message of an Angel, in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary; grant to Thy suppliants that we who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession.

(Collect for the Annunciation, said at Mass every day during Advent.)

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui gloriosae Virginis Matris Mariae corpus et animam, ut dignum Filii tui habitaculum effici mereretur, Spiritu sancto cooperante, praeparasti: da, ut cujus commemoratione laetamur, ejus pia intercessione, ab instantibus malis, et a morte perpetua liberemur.

Almighty, everlasting God, Who by the co-operation of the Holy Ghost didst prepare the body and soul of the glorious Virgin Mother Mary to become a habitation meet for Thy Son; grant that as we rejoice in her commemoration, we may, by her loving intercession, be delivered from present evils and from everlasting death.

(Collect said at Office after the _Salve Regina_.)

Conscientias nostras, quaesumus Domine, visitando purifica, ut veniens JESUS Christus Filius Tuus Dominus noster cum omnibus Sanctis, paratam Sibi in nobis inveniat mansionem.

Purify our consciences, we beseech Thee O Lord, by Thy visitation, that when Thy Son JESUS Christ our Lord shall come with all His Saints, He may find a mansion prepared in us for Himself.

(Little Office B. V. M. Vespers for Advent.)

PRAYER OF VEN. FATHER OLIER.

O JESUS, vivens in Maria, Veni et vive in famulis Tuis, In spiritu sanctitatis Tuae, In plenitudine virtutis Tuae, In veritate virtutum Tuarum, In perfectione viarum Tuarum, In communione mysteriorum Tuorum; Dominare omni adversae potestati, In Spiritu Tuo, ad gloriam Patris. Amen.

O JESUS, living in Mary, Come and live in Thy servants, In the spirit of Thy sanctity, In the fulness of Thy strength, In the reality of Thy virtues, In the perfection of Thy ways, In the communion of Thy mysteries. Dominate over every opposing power, In Thine own Spirit, to the glory of the Father. Amen.

(300 days, once a day, Pius IX, Oct. 14 1859.)

Sancta Dei Genitrix, ora pro nobis. Mater Christi, ora pro nobis. Vas spirituale, ora pro nobis. Vas honorabile, ora pro nobis. Vas insigne devotionis, ora pro nobis. Turris Davidica, ora pro nobis. Turris eburnea, ora pro nobis. Domus aurea, ora pro nobis. Foederis arca, ora pro nobis. Janua coeli, ora pro nobis.

ORTUS CHRISTI.

=Advent Sunday.=

"=Arise=, be enlightened, ... for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is =risen= upon thee.... The Lord shall =arise= upon thee ... the Gentiles shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy =rising=" (ortus).

(Is. LX. 1-3).

_1st Prelude._ A picture of the first streaks of dawn.

_2nd Prelude._ Grace to arise because the Light has come.

POINT I. THE RISING OF CHRIST.

The Church begins her new liturgical year with the words: "_Ad Te levavi animam meam_"--To Thee have I lifted up my soul ("Introit" for to-day)--as though she were straining her eyes to try to see something on the horizon. She cannot see anything very definite yet, but she is full of hope. _Deus meus, in Te confido, non erubescam_--My God I trust in Thee, let me not be ashamed, do not let me lift up my eyes in vain, she cries; and she keeps on looking. This will be her attitude all through the season of Advent, an attitude of expectancy, of waiting, of hope, of trust, of prayer. We know for what she is waiting--the _Ortus Christi_--the Rising of Christ. "The Lord shall arise upon thee" is the promise. "To Thee have I lifted up my soul" is her response. What is in her mind when she sees those first streaks of light? They are to her an earnest of what is coming, an earnest of the Advent of her Lord. St. Bernard says that His Advent is threefold, that He comes in three different ways: (1) In the flesh and in weakness, (2) in the spirit and in power, (3) in glory and in majesty.

The Church knows how much these three Comings mean to her children, and so at the first sign of dawn she forgets the long weary night, and calls to each one: "_Arise_, be enlightened for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." "Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet Him."

Let us then begin our Advent in the spirit of the Church. Let us arise once more as she bids us, rouse ourselves that is, to look with her at the dawn, while we say to ourselves: "Behold He cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills. Behold He standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattices." As we look we hear the voice of our Beloved, He is speaking to His Church. What has He to say as soon as He comes in sight? "_Arise_, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come" (Cant. II. 8-10). It is the same injunction: "_Arise_."

POINT II. THE RISING OF THE CHURCH.

If the Bridegroom is rising, it is evident that the Bride must do the same. He is rising to come to His Bride, she must rise to go to Him. How? By meditating on His Advents; by thanking Him once more for them; by asking herself what use she has made of them hitherto, what use she intends to make during this New Year that is beginning; by preparing herself for them; by remembering that as His Bride she has a very real share in each.

1. The _past_ Coming, "in the flesh and in weakness." We shall think about this coming more especially at Christmas, for which the season of Advent is a preparation. "The bright and morning star" (Apoc. XXII. 16) will by then have risen in all its fulness. The Word will be made Flesh and once more we shall _rise_ in the "quiet silence" of the night to worship our God "in the flesh and in weakness."

2. The _present_ Coming, "in the spirit and in power"--His Coming in grace to the soul, to dwell with it by His Spirit. "In _power_"--because only He Who is omnipotent could work such a stupendous miracle as the miracle of grace. This miracle could never have been worked, had it not been for the first Coming. "The Word was made Flesh" that He might by His death redeem His people and restore to them the kingdom of grace which they had lost in Adam. This second Coming is to prepare us for the third.

3. The _future_ Coming, in "glory and in majesty" when He shall "come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead," and when all will be forced to _rise_ and go to meet Him whether they will or not. It is those, who have _risen_ voluntarily to meet their God in His second Coming, who will have no fear of the third. The second Coming, then, the Coming in grace, is the most practical one for us as we begin our Advent, and upon it we will meditate in our third point.

POINT III. THE DWELLING OF THE BLESSED TRINITY WITHIN US.

This is what God's Coming in grace means--a soul in the state of grace is the host of the Blessed Trinity, neither more nor less. "_We_ will come to Him and will make our abode with him," (St. John XIV. 23) and from the moment that grace enters, the soul becomes the abode of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.

It was at the moment of Baptism that our souls were raised to the dignity of being hosts of God Himself. What happened then? God added to the natural gifts with which He had endowed man _super_natural ones, summed up in the gift of grace. What is that? A participation in His own life, something which makes us "partakers of the _Divine_ nature." (2 Pet. I. 4). He created man thus in the beginning, for He meant man always to possess supernatural as well as natural gifts. He meant always to live with man and talk and walk with him in the paradise of his soul; but Adam chased out the Divine Guest and lost this miraculous privilege for all his children. God, however, could not rest content to be outside the souls which He had created solely that He might live in them, and He devised a way (the first Coming of Christ) by which He might get back to the dwelling which He cherished so much. We need not follow the beautiful story of the Redemption through all its wondrous steps, we know it well enough; we will take it up at Baptism, when the divine gift of life which Adam lost was restored to the soul, when God came back to His chosen dwelling, and the soul regained its responsible position of host to the Blessed Trinity. When Satan had noticed that the soul was left exposed, that it was a human soul only, with nothing divine about it, he naturally had taken possession, as he does of all empty houses; (St. Matt. XII. 44) so at Baptism the Priest said: "Depart from him, thou unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Ghost." Where the Holy Ghost is, there are also the Father and the Son. The Blessed Trinity, then, waits to take possession of each soul, waits to come back to Its own, waits to restore the privilege that man had at the beginning.

Thus the new creation takes place, and the soul is no longer a human soul only, but divine, for the Divine Life within has made it one with Itself. Does man realize this privilege and rise to it? No! For the greater part of Christians we are obliged to say: No. As soon as they come to years of discretion, they invite back the unclean spirit and chase out their Divine Guest. What base ingratitude! And what folly! But God, who is rich in mercy is not repelled by such conduct; His one thought is to go back to His Temple which has been so profaned, and the scheme of Redemption included a method, (the Sacrament of Penance,) whereby, if man would, he could drive out the devil and invite back the Divine Guest. Is God angry? Does He upbraid? Does He allude to the past and throw doubts on the future? No, He _loves_, and all He asks in return is love. Such is our Guest!

Now what is my side of this great question? I am, or if I am not, I can be, a Temple of God. God is living within me. How much do I think about it? I often talk about recalling the Presence of God, but it is His Presence _within_ me that I have to recall. I make Acts of Contrition, of Love. To Whom? To the God within me. Do not let me forget that my heart is an altar where I can, whenever I will, adore God. He is there to walk with me and talk to me as He did to Adam of old. He wants me to live side by side with Him, and talk to Him as naturally as I do to my friend.

Let me try this Advent, as one of the best ways of preparing for the Coming of Christ at Christmas, and for His Coming in judgment, to _realize_ what the supernatural life means, what _God in me_ means, what it means to be the host always of God Himself. The realization will transform my life, will alter my point of view, will change me from a mediocre Christian into one who is filled with a great idea and who is occupied with it every moment of his time--an idea which is ever stimulating him to aim higher. _God in me_--then I am never alone, my life is intimately bound up with God's life. I am a partaker of His nature. O my God, forgive me for having thought of it so little; help me to _rise_ to my great privileges. I thank Thee for letting a few streaks of Thy Divine Light reach my dark soul, and by the time that the Sun of Justice has risen in all His splendour this Advent, may my soul be flooded with the new light which the realization of the Divine Presence within it, will surely bring.

_Colloquy_ with God within me.

_Resolution._ To realize this truth to-day, and every day more and more.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "We will come to Him and make our abode with Him."

OUR LADY'S REST.

"In omnibus requiem quaesivi, et in hereditate Domini morabor."

In all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord.

(Ecclus. XXIV. 11).

_1st. Prelude._ A statue of Our Lady.

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to "abide in the inheritance of the Lord."

That the Church intends us to spend the season of Advent with our Blessed Mother is quite evident to anyone who takes the trouble to study the Liturgy. The Bridegroom is coming, but it is through the Virgin-Mother that He will come; and if we would be amongst the first to greet Him, if we desire a large share of His grace, if we would have no fear of His judgments, we must keep close to Mary.

POINT I. "I SHALL ABIDE IN THE INHERITANCE OF THE LORD."

The Church applies these words to Mary; let us try to see what they mean and how far we may copy her in her determination. "The inheritance of the Lord," what is it? The words bear many interpretations but we cannot be wrong, surely, in thinking that this inheritance was Mary's own soul; it was indeed "the inheritance of the Lord," an inheritance to which the Blessed Trinity had a special right, the Father because He had created her in grace, the Son because He had saved her from the stain of original sin, the Holy Ghost because He had ever sanctified her and kept her "full of grace." But what was it that made _this_ inheritance more pleasing to God than any of the other souls which He had redeemed? Mary's correspondence with grace we naturally answer; but what do we mean by that? We mean, or we ought to mean, that Mary realized to the full that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost lived within her; and hence her resolution to abide in "the inheritance of the Lord," never to leave her Divine Guest, never to forget that she was the host and that it was her privilege to entertain. This is surely the secret of Mary's life and of her correspondence with grace. She dwelt in closest union with the God who dwelt within her.

POINT II. "IN ALL THINGS I SOUGHT REST."

Where did she seek this rest, this calm of which her whole life speaks? Within her own soul with her Divine Guest, in other words Mary lived an _interior_ life. She preferred a life inside with God, to one outside in the world. Hers was a continual realization of God's Presence--of God's Presence within her; and it was this realization which enabled her to find rest in every circumstance of her chequered life. She did not allow outward events to mar her interior calm. Her Divine Guest was always there and to Him she could always turn. The consequence was that she was never agitated, disquieted, excited, anxious, troubled. She dwelt "in the inheritance of the Lord," and there she sought rest in all things whether it was in:

The joy of the Archangel's visit, or the difficulty of her visit to Elizabeth.

The anguish of the reception at Bethlehem, or the joy at the birth of her Son.

The Angels who sang: _Glorias_ at His birth, or the neighbours who made unkind remarks.

The shepherds who came to worship in their poverty, or the Wise Men in all their pomp and splendour.

The ecstasy caused by her Babe's smile, or the distress caused by His tears.

The words of the Angel: "Of His Kingdom there shall be no end," or the words of Simeon: He shall be "a sign which shall be contradicted."

The peaceful home-life with JESUS and Joseph, or the hurried flight into Egypt.

The anguish of losing Him (Desolation), or the joy of finding Him (Consolation).

The active work for the little household, or the times of contemplation at JESUS' feet.

The long, happy days at Nazareth with her Son, or the sad day when He left His Mother's roof.

The account of His success: "All men go to Him," or the account of His failure: "They all forsook Him and fled."

The cry: "Hosannah, blessed is He!" or the cry: "Crucify Him, crucify Him! it is not fit that He should live."

The agony of watching Him suffer and die, or the delight of seeing His glorified Body.

The pain of being left in exile on earth, or the joy of hearing Him say: "Arise, My fair one and come, the winter is over."

* * * * *

_In omnibus requiem quaesivi._--Not that all these things were the same to her, not that she was indifferent or did not care, she cared more than anyone else could, for her heart was perfect and therefore more delicate and sensitive than any other except the Sacred Heart of JESUS. What then was her secret? That she lived with the Blessed Trinity, and that made her see God's Will in all that happened to her, and see it so vividly that she almost lost sight of the particular circumstances, and hardly knew whether they were painful or joyful. The pain was a joy because it was God's Will, and the joy was only a joy because it was God's Will; so she never wanted to change any thing. She sought rest in the holy habitation, the home of the Blessed Trinity; she pondered things over in her heart, that is, she talked about them with her Divine Guest.

POINT III. THE CHILD OF MARY.

The child must copy the Mother. How is it with me? Surely if anyone ought to realize the Divine Presence within, it is a child of Mary! How far do I copy Our Lady in her interior life? What do I know of that deep calm within, into which I can always retire and seek rest, and where I can, if I will, rest so entirely that outward circumstances make little difference? If I have made the same resolution as Our Lady; namely, to "abide in the inheritance of the Lord;" pain and anxiety and difficulty will be an actual source of joy, because they afford an excuse for an extra visit to the Home within, and for longer conversations than usual with my loved Guest. If a difficulty or a humiliation or something that I do not like comes in my way, I shall not be troubled, my first thought will be with my Divine Guest. _He_ has permitted this, even planned it. I will go and talk to Him about it, find out what He means, what He wants me to do and how I can best act in the circumstances to gain glory for Him. This is what is meant by the interior life, and it _can_ be, it _ought_ to be, far stronger than the exterior. It means a holy indifference to everything except God's Will; it means rest and peace about everything that happens, without any desire to have things altered; it takes all anxiety and disquiet and perplexity out of life and leaves a great calm which nothing has the power to disturb _except_ a will in opposition to God's Will.

_In omnibus requiem quaesivi._--Is it so very hard? Perhaps, for it means the spiritual life, and that means a continual battle against self; but it is a battle worth fighting. To fight is not only the way to "_seek_ rest," but it is also the surest way to obtain it; for they alone who are continually fighting to keep the enemy out can hope to detain their Divine Guest within.

_Colloquy_ with Mary. Help me, my Mother, to dwell, this Advent, in "the inheritance of the Lord," and when outward things are too much for me and I am apt to behave in a manner unworthy of a child of thine, do thou lead me by the hand into the place of rest and calm, where God Himself dwells, and where I shall see things from His point of view.

"O God, who didst please that Thy Word should take flesh, at the message of an angel, in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant to Thy suppliants, that we who believe her to be truly the Mother of God may be helped by her intercession."

(Collect to be said every day at Mass from Advent to Christmas Eve.)

_Resolution._ To "abide in the inheritance of the Lord" to-day.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "In all things I sought rest."

MY SINS--A TRIPTYCH.

"The night is past, and the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light."

(From the "Epistle" for the First Sunday of Advent).