Day: October 21, 2024

Thought for the Day – 21 October – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION XIX

The Gift of Grace is a Great Good
and the Loss of Grace is a Great Evil
“Man knoweth not the price thereof.”
(Job xxviii: 1)

FIRST POINT:
THE Lord say: “ If thou take the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth.” (Jer.xv: 19) He who knows how to separate things precious, from things vile, becomes like God; he rejects the evil and he chooses the good.
Let us note how blessed is the gift of the grace of God and how sad is the loss of it. Men do not consider the value of Divine Grace, they know not “the price thereof” and, therefore, they barter it away for nothing, for a passing vapour, for a little land, for an animal pleasure; yet it is an Infinite Treasure, one which renders us worthy of the friendship of God.
… So that a soul in grace, is a friend of God.

The heathens, who were deprived of the light of faith deemed it impossible that the creature should have any friendship with God and speaking according to natural light, they said justly, since friendship can only exist amongst equals; or, as St Jerome says: “Friendship, either finds or makes equals.”
But God has in many places of Holy Scripture declared that, by means of His Grace, we may become His friends, if we observe His laws: “Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you: henceforth I call you not servants but I have called you friends.” (St John xv: 14, 15).
Whence St Gregory exclaims: “Oh, marvellous condescension of Divine Goodness, we are not worthy to be called slaves and yet, we are called friends!”

How fortunate would he reckon himself to be, who had a King for his friend!
But it would be audacity in a subject to claim to have a friendship with his Prince but yet, it is not audacity for a soul, to claim to be the friend of its God.
St Augustine relates that two courtiers were once in a Monastery of Hermits and that one of them took up the life of St Anthony Abbot to read. “He read and his heart was drawn out from the world.”
Then turning to his companion he spake thus: “What do we seek? Have we any greater hope than that of being friends of the Emperor? And through how many dangers is thi, the greater danger, arrived at? And how long will this friendship last?
Friend,” he said, “fools, that we are; what do we seek? can we hope by serving the Emperor for more than his friendship? If we obtain it, we expose ourselves to the greater danger of losing our eternal salvation. But no, we shall not succeed in this, so difficult will it be to obtain Csesar for a friend. But if I will it, even now, I can become the friend of God!”
Whoever, then, is in the grace of God, becomes His friend, nay, rather, he becomes the child of God. “Ye are gods, ye are all the children of the Most Highest.” (Ps Ixxxii: 6).
This is the “high calling” the Divine Love has obtained for us through the mediation of Jesus Christ.
“Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God.” (i St John iii: i). Moreover, the soul who is in grace, becomes the spouse of God. “I will even betroth thee unto Myself in faithfulness.” (Hos ii: 20). Therefore, the father of the prodigal son, when he restored him to his favour, ordered, in token of his espousal, to “put a ring on his hand.” (St Luke xv: 22).
The soul becomes also the temple of the Holy Ghost.
“Ye are the temple of God and tfye Spirit of God dwelleth in you.” (i Cor iii: 16).

Affections and Prayers

Therefore, O my God, my soul, whilst it remained in Thy Grace, was Thy friend, Thy child, Thy spouse, Thy temple but then, in sinning, it lost all and became Thy enemy and the slave of hell.
But I thank Thee, O my God, that Thou hast even given me time to recover Thy Grace. I grieve that I have offended Thee, more than for every other evil, O Infinite Goodness and I love Thee above all things.
Ah, receive me again into Thy friendship and in Thy pity, do not reject me. I know well, that I have deserved banishment from Thee but Jesus Christ merits that, being penitent, Thou shouldst receive me again, for the sake of the sacrifice of Himself which He made to Thee on Calvary.

“Thy Kingdom come.” My Father for so has Thy Son taught me to call Thee, come by Thy grace to reign in my heart. Grant that it may serve Thee only, live for Thee only, love Thee only.
“And lead us not into temptation.”
Do not suffer the enemies so to tempt me that they may conquer me.
“But deliver us from evil”
from hell but first, from that sin which alone can bring me to hell; from the great evil of falling into sin and so, of being
deprived of the grace of God.