Second Meditation.—On the End for Which We Are Created.
PREPARATION.
_1. Place yourself before God._
_2. Pray Him to inspire you._
CONSIDERATIONS.
1. If God has placed you in this world, it is not because He had need of you; for you are of no use to Him whatsoever. But He has desired only to exercise His goodness toward you, by imparting to you His grace and glory. To this end, He has given you understanding to know Him, memory to remember Him, will to love Him, imagination to set before you His benefits, eyes to see the wonders of His works, a tongue to praise Him, and so with the other faculties.
2. Since you were created and placed in the world for this purpose, you must carefully avoid and reject every action contrary to it; and as for those that cannot serve you, you must despise them as vain and superfluous.
3. Consider the misery of the world, which thinks not of this, and lives as though it believed itself born only to build houses, plant trees, amass riches, and occupy itself with frivolous amusements.
_Affections and Resolutions._
1. Be confounded, reproaching your soul for the misery in which it has lived until now; a misery so great that it has thought little or not at all of all this. Alas! you must say, what was I thinking of, O my God, when I was not thinking of Thee? What did I remember, when I forgot Thee? What did I love, when I did not love Thee? Alas! I ought to have nourished myself with truth, and I filled myself with vanity; I served the world, and the world was made only to serve me.
PREPARATION.
_1. Place yourself before God._
_2. Pray Him to inspire you._
CONSIDERATIONS.
1. If God has placed you in this world, it is not because He had need of you; for you are of no use to Him whatsoever. But He has desired only to exercise His goodness toward you, by imparting to you His grace and glory. To this end, He has given you understanding to know Him, memory to remember Him, will to love Him, imagination to set before you His benefits, eyes to see the wonders of His works, a tongue to praise Him, and so with the other faculties.
2. Since you were created and placed in the world for this purpose, you must carefully avoid and reject every action contrary to it; and as for those that cannot serve you, you must despise them as vain and superfluous.
3. Consider the misery of the world, which thinks not of this, and lives as though it believed itself born only to build houses, plant trees, amass riches, and occupy itself with frivolous amusements.
_Affections and Resolutions._
1. Be confounded, reproaching your soul for the misery in which it has lived until now; a misery so great that it has thought little or not at all of all this. Alas! you must say, what was I thinking of, O my God, when I was not thinking of Thee? What did I remember, when I forgot Thee? What did I love, when I did not love Thee? Alas! I ought to have nourished myself with truth, and I filled myself with vanity; I served the world, and the world was made only to serve me.
2. Detest your past life. I renounce you, vain and useless thoughts; I abjure you, detestable and frivolous memories; I detest you, false and treacherous friendships, wasted services, blind gratitude, miserable complaisances.
3. Turn unto God. And Thou, O my God, my Saviour, shalt henceforth be the sole object of my thoughts; nay, never will I apply my mind to that which might displease Thee. My memory shall every day be filled with the immense and infinite goodness which Thou hast so graciously exercised towards me. Thou shalt be the delights of my heart, the charm and happiness of my life.
Ah! it is done: such and such amusements to which I applied myself, such and such vain exercises that occupied all my time, such and such affections that captivated my heart—all these shall now be hateful to me; and to preserve myself in these dispositions, I will make use of such and such remedies.
CONCLUSION.
1. Give thanks to God, Who created you for so excellent an end. Thou hast made me, O Lord, for Thyself, that I may enjoy eternally the immensity of Thy glory: when shall I be worthy of it? when shall I bless Thee as I ought?
2. Offer. I offer Thee, O my dear Creator, all these same affections and resolutions which Thou hast inspired in me; I also offer Thee my whole soul and my whole heart.
3. Turn unto God. And Thou, O my God, my Saviour, shalt henceforth be the sole object of my thoughts; nay, never will I apply my mind to that which might displease Thee. My memory shall every day be filled with the immense and infinite goodness which Thou hast so graciously exercised towards me. Thou shalt be the delights of my heart, the charm and happiness of my life.
Ah! it is done: such and such amusements to which I applied myself, such and such vain exercises that occupied all my time, such and such affections that captivated my heart—all these shall now be hateful to me; and to preserve myself in these dispositions, I will make use of such and such remedies.
CONCLUSION.
1. Give thanks to God, Who created you for so excellent an end. Thou hast made me, O Lord, for Thyself, that I may enjoy eternally the immensity of Thy glory: when shall I be worthy of it? when shall I bless Thee as I ought?
2. Offer. I offer Thee, O my dear Creator, all these same affections and resolutions which Thou hast inspired in me; I also offer Thee my whole soul and my whole heart.
3. Pray. I beseech Thee, O God, to take pleasure in my vows and desires, and to give Thy blessing to my soul, that it may accomplish them through the merit of the blood which Thy Son shed upon the Cross, etc.
Make the little spiritual nosegay.
Make the little spiritual nosegay.