XXIII About the third four fruits of the Body of Jesus
XXIII
About the third four fruits of the Body of Jesus
iii. Our third chief evil, as we saw at the beginning of the Twenty-first Meditation, is the wounds of death, by which many souls are heavily bowed down. In these wounds are found our third four evils or weaknesses: 1, the debt of everlasting death; 2, the wasting away of that life which is good; 3, our exile in the misery of the world; 4, the crumbling of our bodies to the dust. Against these evils the fruit of the womb of the Mother of God has power.
1. Our first parents for a small delight of sin sold themselves and their offspring into the slavery of the devil, that is, they gave themselves up to everlasting death. Adam knew that so soon as he had eaten the forbidden fruit he would die the death. He knew that by that deed he himself and all his descendants would die eternally. The Apostle tells us that death came by one man. This death is the certainty of the death of the body here, and the debt of everlasting death hereafter, from which none escape but by the salvation worked by the Redeemer.
2. We waste our time and waste our grace, and thus waste our lives, which God has given to us that we may work for Him. He gives us abundance of grace, but we do not correspond with it as we ought; so our good works are few, and our lives are but poor in His sight. We are weak when we might be strong; and our lives pass away like a shadow when they might be made fruitful and enduring and beautiful in God.
3. When the Patriarchs confessed that they were pilgrims and strangers on earth they showed that they were seeking for a heavenly country. If they had cared about the land from which they came they might have gone back to it; but instead of this they sought for a better land, that is, the promised land of God. For this reason the Church says, with tears, to our Lady the Salve Regina,—‘Hail, thou Queen of Mercy.’ Do not feel it hard if the bad flourish in the world and if you have to suffer. It is not the part of Christian worth to be puffed up by worldly success, but rather to be cast down. The bad can have nothing in Heaven, and you have nothing in the world. So the hope of the good to which you are going should make you glad, whatever may happen to you on the way.
4. As the grass in the field and as the leaves on the trees so is our flesh. It grows, is strong, withers, is dried up, is laid aside. As the flower fadeth so fadeth the flesh of man.
(iii.) Against these four evils are ordained four fruits of the Body of our Lord, to save us from the wounds of death: 1, it frees us from everlasting death; 2, it increases the merits of good lives; 3, it leads us to the land of life; 4, it raises our bodies in the resurrection of everlasting life.
1. The fathers who ate manna died, but not for ever. They ate of the spiritual food of which we eat. They were, therefore, freed by the might of the Body of Christ, not only from death in hell, but also from the death which was in Limbus. What is more, our short death of the body is changed by our Lord’s Body into the life which lasts for ever in Heaven.
2. Our Lord gives Himself for the life of the world, because He gives Himself for the increase of the merits of a good life. As a child grows, by bodily food, in size, strength, and beauty, so the faithful soul, by spiritual food, grows in merit and in holy life.
3. Our Lord is the Living Bread, because He brings us from the misery of this exile to Heaven. St. Ambrose says, ‘A figure of our Lord’s Body went before when God rained manna on the fathers in the desert. For as that bread brought the people through the wilderness to the land of promise, so this heavenly food helps the faithful on their journey through the wilderness of the world, and brings them safely to the land of God.’ Rightly, then, is it called Viaticum, that is, food for the way, for, refreshing us on our journey, it brings us to our fatherland. As there was a tree of life in Paradise, so by Christ, who is the wisdom of God, life is given to the Church. We have now a pledge of everlasting life in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. If, then, the Body of Christ, when taken by us, be a pledge of everlasting life, and if a pledge be not given back till that is received for which the pledge was given, it follows that, in deed and in truth, we are brought to everlasting life by this Body of our Lord.
4. By one man, Adam, death passed on all; and by one man, Christ, there came life to all, and the resurrection of the dead. But the resurrection of the good is very different from the resurrection of the wicked. Though all rise, all are not changed. The reprobate rise in weakness and in ugliness; but the elect of God, because they have partaken either sacramentally or spiritually of the Body of Christ, rise far brighter than the sun. Isaias tells us how the countenances, of the wicked are like faces burnt; while Daniel tells us how the good shine like stars and like the brightness of the firmament to all eternity.
N. As is the seed that falls on the earth, so is the fruit that rises from the earth. In like manner, as your life is when you die, so in its own time will be your rising. Darnell is sown, and there springs up a worthless and troublesome weed; wheat is sown, and there rises a beautiful and useful grain. These things are figured in the King of Egypt’s dream.
1. The seven ears of corn, that were thin and blasted by the hot wind, signify the lost rising in all their hideousness, smitten and withered, in the judgment of the Son of Man.
2. The seven ears, full and very fair, on one stalk, are the elect, rising in their beauty and their brightness, with glorified bodies, in the love of Jesus.
R. With the lost or with the saved we all must be on that day. Let us take good heed, and work out our salvation with fear and trembling, now when it is the day, for the night cometh in which no man can work.
The Voice of the Holy Ghost
iii. About the wound of death; 1. The debt of everlasting death; I am carnal, sold under sin. Rom. 7:14.
The Lord God took man, and put him in the Paradise of pleasure to dress it and keep it; and He commanded him, saying, Of every tree of Paradise thou shalt eat, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat: for in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death. Gen. 2:16, 17.
By one man sin entered into this world, and death by sin; and so death passed on all men, in that all have sinned. Rom. 5:12.
We all conversed in times past in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. Eph. 2:3.
2. The wasting away of good lives; My days have declined like a shadow, and I am withered like grass. Ps. 101:12.
Save me, O Lord, for there is now no Saint; truths are decayed from among the children of men. Ps. 11:2.
Joseph brought his father in to the king and presented him before him, and he blessed him. And being asked by him, How many are the days of the years of thy life? he answered, The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers. Gen. 47:7–9.
The imagination and thoughts of man’s heart are prone to evil from his youth. Gen. 8:21.
3. The misery of our exile; The Lord God had planted a Paradise of pleasure from the beginning, wherein He placed man whom He had made. Gen. 2:8.
The Lord God sent him out of the Paradise of pleasure to till the earth from which he was taken. And He cast out Adam, and placed before the Paradise of pleasure Cherubim and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. Gen. 3:23, 24.
All these died according to faith, not having received the promises, but beholding them afar off, and saluting them, and confessing that they are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Heb. 11:13.
4. The crumbling of our bodies into dust; In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread till thou return to the earth out of which thou wast taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return. Gen. 3:19.
Remember, I beseech Thee, that Thou hast made me as the clay, and wilt bring me to the dust again. Job. 10:9.
The voice of one saying, Cry; and I said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the field. The grass is withered and the flower is fallen because the Spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it. Surely the people is grass. Is. 40:6, 7.
All flesh shall fade as grass, and as the leaf that springeth out on a green tree. Ecclus. 14:18.
As the flower of the grass shall he pass away: for the sun rose with a burning heat and parched the grass, and the flower thereof fell, and the beauty of the shape thereof perished. St. James 1:10, 11.
(iii.) The third four fruits of our Lord’s Body: As to the wound of death; 1. It frees from everlasting death; This is the Bread that came down from Heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead. He that eateth this Bread shall live for ever. St. John 6:59.
I will deliver them out of the hand of death. Osee 13:14.
2. It increases the merit of good lives; The Bread that I will give is My Flesh for the life of the world. St. John 6:52.
I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly St. John 10:10.
In what day soever I shall call upon Thee, hear me; Thou shalt multiply strength in my soul. Ps. 137:3.
3. It brings us to Heaven; I am the Bread of Life.… I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven. St. John 6:48, 51.
By His wisdom the depths have broken out, and the clouds grow thick with dew. Prov. 3:20.
She (Wisdom) is a tree of life. Prov. 3:18.
4. It raises our bodies at the last day; He that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood hath everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. St. John 6:55.
For by a man came death, and by a man the resurrection of the dead. And as in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive. 1 Cor. 15:21, 22.
Behold I tell you a mystery. We shall all indeed rise again; but we shall not all be changed: in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 1 Cor. 15:51, 52.
We must all be manifested before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done, whether it be good or evil. 2 Cor. 5:10.
Pains shall take hold of them.… Every one shall be amazed at his neighbour; their countenances shall be as faces burnt. Isa. 13:8.
They shall go out and shall see the carcasses of the men who have transgressed against Me; their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be a loathsome sight to all flesh. Isa. 66:24.
In the day of judgment He will visit them: for He will give fire and worms into their flesh, that they may burn and feel for ever. Judith 16:21.
They that are learned shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that instruct many to justice as the stars for all eternity. Dan. 12:2.
Then shall the just shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. St. Matt. 13:43.
After six days Jesus taketh to Him Peter, and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart; and He was transfigured before them. And His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became white as snow. St. Matt. 17:1, 2.
Being turned I saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks one like to the Son of Man; … and His face was as the sun shineth in his strength. Apoc. 1:12, 13, 16.
Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of God, and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be: but, we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2.
N. Pharao awoke, and slept again, and dreamed another dream. Seven ears of corn came up on one stalk, full and fair; then seven other ears sprung up, thin and blasted. Gen. 41:4–6.
1. The blasted ears; Behold I come against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will discover thy shame to thy face, and will show thy nakedness to the nations, and thy shame to kingdoms.… There shall the fire devour thee; thou shalt perish by the sword.… Thy destruction is not hidden; thy wound is grievous. Nahum 3:5, 15, 19.
2. The full ears; Star differeth from star in glory: so also is it in the resurrection from the dead. It is sown in corruption, it shall rise in incorruption. It is sown in dishonour, it shall rise in glory. It is sown in weakness, it shall rise in strength. It is sown a natural body, it shall rise a spiritual body. 1 Cor. 15:41–43.
R. With fear and trembling work out your salvation: for it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to His good-will. Phil. 2:12, 13.
Jesus answered, … I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is the day: the night cometh when no man can work. St. John 9:3, 4.
Prayer
Eternal Father, I am smitten with the wounds of death, and the shadow of pain rests upon me, as I go onward to the night in which I can work no more. I come to Thee for help, because Thou dost pity me, remembering the dust, and knowing whereof I am made. Thou art my Father, though Abraham be ignorant of me and Israel acknowledge me not. Thou art my Father from everlasting.
Save me, dear Father, from the pains of the endless woe, and from the breath of the unquenchable fire.
Save me, dear Father, from wasting Thy gifts of grace; from treading the Blood of thy Son under foot; from quenching Thy Holy Spirit in my soul.
Give me light and comfort and joy and peace in this exile of sorrow, in this banishment from Thy home.
Bring me to that home, where Thou art seen face to face and eye to eye: for there the bodies of Thy children are glorified; and there in subtilty and agility, in impassibility and brightness, they serve Thee for ever in the light of Thy kingdom.
Thy kingdom, O my Father, is justice and joy and peace in the Holy Ghost. Seeking for this, I go with the feet of my soul unsandalled and the eyes of my soul veiled to receive Jesus, the Son whom Thou lovest with an infinite love. I go with trembling to receive Him into my heart in the splendour of the Blessed Sacrament. In humility and confidence, in love and fear, I come to the Altar of Jesus for the Living Bread, my heavenly food. Help me to receive It with a soul very pure and loving.
Thanksgiving
I thank Thee, Eternal Father, for giving me this healing balm, this dew of the light, this living water, this Bread of Life. By this Body of Jesus I have life in Thee, and in Thy Son, and in Thy ever-blessed Spirit. If I am faithful, Jesus will raise me up at the last day in His love and light.
Thou, dear Father, hast condemned me to go back to the dust from which I came. I joyfully welcome Thy sentence, as the punishment of my sins, and I love Thee and bless Thee and praise Thee for it.
Thou, dear Father, hast given me for a while my pilgrimage through the desert, and for a while there stand before Paradise Thy Cherubim with flaming swords. But thou hast saved me from the piercing anguish of the endless pain, and from the bitterness of the unbearable woe: for so much didst Thou love us that Thou gavest Thy Son, that all who believe in Him may not perish, but have everlasting life. For this I love Thee and bless Thee and praise Thee.
Thou givest us pain and sorrow; Thou layest Thy dear hand often very heavily upon us, and through much suffering we have to come to Thee; but all that Thou doest is done in love and pity and kindness and compassion and tenderness. Thou chastenest those children whom Thou dost receive. Whatever Thou mayest do to me I will love Thee and bless Thee. In darkness and in storm, in the cold and wind and rain, in the lightning and the voice of Thy thunder, in famine and pestilence, I will always see Thy hand, and will always love Thee. In all things I will trust Thee: though Thou shouldest slay me, I will trust Thee with most utter trust. My heart leaps up with joy at the thought of Thy truth and justice and love.
Thou, dearest Father, art the keeper of Israel, who neither slumbers nor sleeps. Thy eyes are always over me, and Thy ears are always open to my prayers. Thy everlasting arms are round me; Thou hast given me Jesus for my help and safety; and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for He will be with me, the Shepherd of my soul, and His rod and staff will give me comfort and strength.
He is ever my food for the way; I thank Thee forgiving me that food now. Dear Father, give me evermore that Living Bread. For all that Thou ever hast done, for all that Thou doest now, for all that Thou ever wilt do, I love Thee and bless Thee and praise Thee for ever and ever.